As Blue rushes to Annabelle’s still form, I race toward Charlie. I reach out to touch her, but she stops me with a stare. Her eyes are wild and ferocious, and I’m not sure what she’ll do if I get any closer.
She raises her palms to the sky like she’s making an offering. She looks like an angel.
An angel painted in blood.
The blood is everywhere. It drips from her fingers. It covers her chest. It’s in her hair. Along her neck. There’s even a splatter of dark-colored dots peppering her left ear.
I don’t care where the blood came from. The Quiet Ones will fix it. They’ll make Charlie better. And they’ll make Annabelle wake up.
My arms snake around Charlie, and she stares at me like she’s not sure who I am.
I guide her toward Annabelle. Blue has to get her. He’s got to help Annabelle, and we have to get both of them inside. Now.
Blue turns toward me, but I can’t see the expression on his face. If he looks grief-stricken, I will hit him. Annabelle has to be okay. She has to. Blue wraps himself around Annabelle and starts to stand. I hear Anna groan, and I’m so relieved, I think my knees may buckle. But they can’t. I have to be strong. Strong enough for me and Charlie both.
I follow behind Blue as he walks Annabelle back toward the front of the house.
My heart hammers in my chest, and all I think is,
The four of us have only made it ten feet when I hear Charlie mutter something.
I try to ignore it. I can only focus on one thing right now, and that’s getting us out of here before the sirens climb up from their grave.
Charlie speaks again, and this time I hear her. I hear her, but I don’t want to.
She repeats herself over and over. I try to shush her, but when I do, she raises her voice.
“I killed him,” she says. “He’s dead, and I did it.”
Blue doesn’t take another step even though I’m telling him to hurry the hell up.
“It was a siren, I think. It must have been.” Charlie holds her hands out again. “I didn’t think it would kill him.”
“What?” Blue asks, his arms still holding Annabelle upright. “What killed him?”
Charlie smiles. I know it’s a nervous gesture, but it sends a chill up my spine all the same. “He was crouched in front of Annabelle. He wouldn’t get away from her. He was going to hurt my best friend.” She shakes her head. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
“Blue,
He remembers we’re outside and turns back to his burden. For every two strong steps he takes, Annabelle takes one labored one. He’s all but dragging her behind him, and that’s fine as long as it gets her closer to safety.
Charlie keeps talking beside me. “It’s like he was waiting for me,” she says, her voice devoid of emotion. “So I let him come. I ran away from Annabelle so he’d chase me and get away from her. And then I turned and faced him.” Charlie puts a hand to her chest like she’s feeling for something that isn’t there. When she pulls her palm away, there’s a bloody handprint left behind. “I stabbed the horn directly into his eye. And his eye…it just burst. So then I tried to stab him in the other eye. But I missed and got his throat. After that, I just kept going at his face until he stopped—”
“You did what you had to do,” I say, cutting her off. My arm grips her waist so hard I know it must inflict pain. But I can’t loosen my grasp. I may never take my hands off her again.
“Do you hear that?” Charlie asks. She sounds like a child, like she’s asking about ice cream instead of demons buried by the dark.
I spin around and see what she heard—the shadow of a man creeping slowly toward us.
“Blue,” I say, instilling as much calm into my voice as I can. “I want you to take Charlie and get the two of them inside.”
His gaze meets mine. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but I already know.
“We’re cool,” I tell him. “We’re always cool. Now go.”
When I crane my head back around, I find that the siren is now racing forward. I fill my lungs and then start running in his direction, too. It’s just one siren, just one, and behind me is my world.
We’re only a few feet apart when I realize his eyes aren’t on me. They’re set on the people fleeing toward the house. He snarls, and his shoes pound the earth. He’s so close now. Close enough that I reach out to grab him. But I miss. I made a mistake. I misjudged how fast he was going, and now he’s past me and crashing toward Charlie like a bolt of lightning.
“Blue!” It’s the only word I can get out.
Blue jumps into action. He lets go of Annabelle and leaps in front of Charlie. His arms spread out behind him, pushing her back.
But the siren speeds past Blue and Charlie both.
I suddenly understand who he is headed for, who he was
And now it’s too late.
34 
My Reason
The siren—not much older than me—takes Annabelle’s head in his hands. His voice comes out rough, like the sound a truck makes driving over pebbles. “I’m going to snap her neck. And you’re going to watch.”
Charlie comes alive in an instant. The blood is forgotten. The body she left behind—gone. Now there’s only Annabelle. She shoves Blue from behind, and he’s so startled, he tumbles to the ground. “I know what you want,” she says, her head held up high. “I’ll go with you.”
The siren smiles, and the sight raises goose bumps across my skin.
“Charlie, don’t move,” I say, slinking toward her. “Don’t take another step.”
But she’s not listening. She wants this. She’s waited for a moment when she could protect those she cares about instead of the other way around. And now she won’t be denied. Charlie moves closer, and the siren’s grin widens.
“Rector is going to be so pleased,” he says, licking his lips.
My pulse pounds at my temples at the name. Rector. The head collector. The same collector who got too close to my mom, who forced Charlie to forfeit her soul, who
“Get back,” Annabelle mumbles to Charlie, barely conscious. It’s the first time I’ve heard her speak, and her words, the life in them, fill me with courage.
I’m almost to Charlie when the siren says, “You’re all Rector wants, so I guess it doesn’t matter what I do with this one.”
He means Annabelle.
He’s going to kill Annabelle even though Charlie is within his reach.
But in a flash, the siren is airborne.
He’s flying through the air, and Kraven is standing in front of Annabelle like a wild dog. His wings spread out, and he roars with unbridled fury. He turns once and takes Annabelle’s face in his hands. His eyes search hers.
Then he’s soaring toward the siren, his wings brightening the night sky.
The siren screams so loudly, my ears ring. I don’t know what Kraven is doing to him, and I don’t care. There’s a quick snapping sound, and the screams stop. Seconds later, Kraven is touching down in front of Annabelle. He glances around, searching for any other source of danger, but there’s nothing to see.
Except for the blood covering Charlie’s body.
Annabelle’s knees buckle, and Kraven sweeps her into his arms. He leans his head down and presses his cheek against hers. And then, as if he remembers we’re watching, he pulls away.
