4

“Jack! Jack!”

Jack looked up from the Compendium as a wide-eyed Vicky rushed into the kitchen.

“What’s up, Vicks?”

“That thing! That weird thing! It’s gone! It’s not in my room anymore!”

Jack was surprised, but then realized it made sense. Vicky no longer carried the Stain, so the Lilitongue would no longer be hovering around her.

“No kidding? Let’s go see.”

Gia was in the shower, so Jack followed Vicky upstairs to her bedroom and, sure enough, no Lilitongue hanging in the corner.

Jack let out a breath. Here was confirmation that the damned thing’s connection to Vicky had been broken.

“This is great, Vicky.”

She looked up at him with concern in her big blue eyes. “Is it gone for good? It won’t be back?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Good. I felt like it was watching me. It was scary.”

More than you know, Vicks, he thought. More than I hope you’ll ever know.

When Jack stepped out into the hall she stayed close behind him—still didn’t want to be alone in her room, he guessed.

She ran downstairs while he stopped at the phone in the hall and called home. He wanted to ask Tom if the Lilitongue had returned to its chest, but no one picked up.

As he passed the bathroom he heard Gia sobbing in the shower. His throat tightened. Jack had felt like sobbing himself when he’d seen Vicky’s clear back. He’d been worried sick about her, but he couldn’t have been as terrified as Gia.

He moved on, but as he passed her bedroom, something caught his eye. He backed up.

His blood turned to ice as he recognized the Lilitongue hovering in a corner. He stood in the doorway, unable to move, unable to breathe, feeling as though the world around him had come to a screeching halt.

The Lilitongue had moved… okay. But why here instead of back to its chest? Vicky had spent the night in Gia’s room, so that might explain it, but it should be gone. If Vicky was in the clear, why was it still hanging around?

Or was she in the clear? What if the Stain had been only temporarily removed? What if it was back?

He ran downstairs, but before heading for the kitchen he looked for Vicky. An awful thought had occurred to him: What if the Lilitongue’s presence meant that the Stain had returned?

He found her reading the latest Mutts collection in the library.

“Hey, Vicks. Mind if I take a quick look at your back? I just want to make sure that mark is gone.”

A concerned look flashed across her face. “You don’t think it came back, do you?”

“Nah. Just want to make sure, is all.”

“Okay.”

She turned and lifted her T-shirt partway up her back. Jack dropped to his knees behind her and raised it the rest of the way. He released a sigh of relief when he saw her unmarred skin.

“Nope. Still gone.”

He dropped the back of the shirt and rose to his feet.

“Good! I hope it never comes back.”

“You and me both, kiddo. You and me both.”

Okay. Vicky was clear. So why was the Lilitongue still here?

Jack wondered if Gia knew. No. Couldn’t. She’d have said something. She was going to be upset when she found out. Maybe he could find an explanation before she finished her shower.

He raced to the kitchen and grabbed the Compendium. As he flipped through the pages, he heard the shower stop. Had to hurry.

He went back and forth until he found a section called Remedies. Could that be it?

A long section. He searched page after page until a heading stopped him: Stealing the Stain. That had to be it.

But something about it rang a warning bell.

He flashed through the list of odd ingredients until he came to the oddest of all.

“And last, to make the transfer complete, the taker must wish the Stain for himself. There can be no success without the wish. If successfully transferred, the Stain will appear on the taker who shall be required to wait only the hours remaining to the original Stained until escape. Have no fear of losing the Stain to the original Stained: Once lost, it may never be regained.”

Jack read the passage again. And again. The tone was throwing him off… almost congratulatory. But he pushed through, trying to assemble the words into a shape, a thought, a message that made sense and wouldn’t send him tearing upstairs screaming for Gia to tell him that it wasn’t true, that she hadn’t done this.

He couldn’t. No doubt about it. He didn’t need to see her back to know that Gia had taken—”stolen”—the Stain from Vicky and transferred it to herself.

He understood it… so typically Gia… she’d do anything to protect Vicky.

Jack leaned back and forced his numb brain to review his options. He came up with only one.

He heard Gia on the stairs. She walked in wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Her hair was still wet. Her red, puffy eyes told the story. She hadn’t been sobbing with relief in the shower—she was frightened.

As she entered the kitchen Jack rose and faced her.

“Gia, how could you?”

She burst into tears. “How could I not?”

Just then the doorbell rang. Jack looked past Gia, saw Vicky run to the front door and peek through the sidelight.

“It’s Tom!”

She pulled open the door and let him in. He held up a white paper bag.

“Hi, everybody! I come bearing gifts!”

“What?” Vicky cried.

“Donuts!”

As Vicky cheered, Jack muttered, “Oh, shit.”