Under Attack

I nodded. “He told me after he bailed me out of jail. Yesterday.”

Alex’s eyes flashed. “Geez, Lawson. Jail?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

Alex rubbed his palm over his forehead. “Okay. So how does this Will guy know anything about you—about you being—”

“The Vessel.”

Alex just nodded, wouldn’t say the words.

“He’s the seventh guardian.”

Shock registered across Alex’s features. “Well, I’ll be... .”

I bit my lip. “So, you really didn’t know.”

“Know? Lawson, I’ve been chasing my tail around this my whole afterlife. If I knew it was you I’d—”

“You’d what?”

He looked me up and down, slowly, carefully choosing his words. “I—I don’t know. I don’t even know what this means for ...” He let the word trail off.

“For you. You don’t know what it means for you.”

“Come on, Lawson. This is a lot to process. You’ve got to give me a minute. I mean, first you’re Satan’s kid, then Ophelia’s sister, now this. Are you sure? Absolutely sure?”

“As sure as I can be. I don’t know what any of this”—I flung my arms open wide—“means.”

Alex opened his mouth and then closed it again. “Plain sight,” he murmured.

“Plain sight,” I agreed.

“I don’t understand.”

I shook my head. “Neither do I. But I’m not wrong.”

“Okay,” Alex said with a monumental sigh. “Now what?”

“Now what? Now we throw a big welcome-home party for my dad. I don’t know! I’m a vessel. I’m a thing !”

“You’re not a thing, Lawson. You’re you.”

“Eloquent.”

There was a soft knock on the office door, and then Nina poked her head in. “Are we done spying? I’m bored.”

“Nina! You’re supposed to be standing watch!”

Nina looked over one narrow shoulder. “Clear,” she said.

I grabbed Alex by the sleeve of his shirt and hustled him toward Nina. “I want to get out of here. I need to get out of here.”

Nina followed behind us. “What’d you find out about dear ol’ dad? Cross-dresser? Closet masochist? Satan?”

“It wasn’t about Szabo,” Alex said, his voice steady as he carefully chose his words. “It was about Sophie.”

“And Ophelia,” I interjected. “Ophelia is my sister.”

Nina’s eyes widened. “Oh. Lord.”

“I need a milkshake.”

Nina and Alex nodded and followed me to the car, Nina chattering the whole way. “So, Ophelia, huh? Interesting.” She looked from me to Alex. “You’ve dated sisters. Major no-no in the Dater’s Compendium.”

“I think the afterlife version might be different,” I whispered. Alex reached out and squeezed my hand, and though the move was meant to be comforting, it wasn’t. “Wow. I have a sister.”

Nina bit her lip. “If Ophelia is your sister and Satan is your dad, who’s Ophelia’s mom?”

My eyebrows went up, and Nina and I both swung to look at Alex, who shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Never got that serious, huh?” Nina said.

I thought of my own mother, her eyes warm, her touch so soft. My throat tightened. “Milkshake. Please.”

We slid into the car and drove in silence, until Alex found an In-N-Out Burger. He ran us through the drive- through, handing a chocolate milkshake back to me and balancing a basket of fries on his lap. I snatched a few, pried the lid off my shake, and dipped.

Alex looked at me. “That’s gross.”

I swallowed a chocolaty, salty mouthful. “I’ve had a bad night.”

“So,” Nina said as we coasted back onto the highway, “did you find out if Pops is Satan?”

Alex wagged his head, sipped at his shake. “It didn’t seem important anymore.”

“Because of the Ophelia thing?”

I took another handful of fries and a big gulp of chocolate shake. I could feel the soul-soothing triumvirate of salt, grease, and fat begin to work through my system.

“And because of the Vessel,” Alex said.

Nina’s eyes were wide and she tossed me a panicked look, sitting up straighter in the car seat. “What do you know about the Vessel?” she asked Alex.

“It’s okay, Nina. I told him.”

Nina’s shoulders fell a millimeter, but her eyes narrowed angrily. “You might know her secret, angel, but if you lay one hand on Sophie just because she’s this tank thing, I swear you’ll regret it for all your lives to come.”

I watched Alex’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Noted.”

I reached across the seat and squeezed Nina’s hand. My dad might be Satan, I was thrown in the slammer for a disappearing murder, and I might be some kind of supernatural Tupperware, but I had the best best friend in the world.

I stole a glance over at Alex. His eyes were icicle blue and fiery. He was focused straight ahead on the dark road before us, and the muscle in his jaw was twitching the way it did when he was concentrating. I didn’t want to consider what he was thinking, so I sunk down in my seat and tried to close my eyes.

I thought about us lying in bed together, our naked shoulders touching, and him telling me about Heaven. I thought about the way he had talked about being restored to grace—about “going home.” And I thought about how I was the only way he was going to get there. I swallowed a sob.

The truth hurts, doesn’t it? My eyes flashed open. He doesn’t want you. He wants the Vessel....

I clamped my hands over my ears, trying to silence Ophelia’s singsongy voice.

Do us all a favor ... .

I gritted my teeth. Did you like seeing photos of Daddy and me? Maybe we can all get together some day ... go out for ice cream. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect family outing? He used to take me out for ice cream all the time....

Shut up, I thought, closing my eyes, clenching my fists, and going rigid. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

There was a faint, echoing giggle, and then she was gone.

I opened my eyes and saw Nina bite her lip, thinking. “So, if Sophie is the Vessel, then ... how do we get to it?”

Alex was silent, avoiding my gaze. “Alex?” I asked.

“The only way to possess the Vessel in this”—Alex’s eyes wandered over me, met mine—“form, is to release it.”

“Release it? What does that mean?” Nina asked.

I swallowed, the truth washing over me. “Death,” I said, my eyes fixing on Alex’s. “He has to kill me.”

Now you know what Alex was thinking this whole time.... He gets close to you, you fall in love with him, trust him ... and he kills you.

“No,” I murmured under my breath.

“Sophie?” Alex asked.

“That’s not true,” I whispered.

You think he really cares, don’t you? You don’t think he knew what you were all along? Come on,