Chapter 11

Eleven

I hear the others come back. Each of them in their own car this time, and at all different times. But aside from a quick kiss on the head, they leave me to it, and I push on until the small candle in the corner gutters.

"Find what you were looking for?" Joshua asks, his question is hopeful as he reaches for me, wrapping me in his arms when I go to him.

"No. But my eyes need the rest and I'd like to spend time with you. We've got a little while to figure it out."

Chase holds up a box and shakes it, the contents rattling. "We've brought game night to you this week."

"Awesome."

"Clue is first on the docket." Johnny brings me a plate of filo dough triangles, and I crunch through the flakey spinach puff.

"We'll snack while the pizzas finish in the oven."

While Thomas slips the cards into the envelope, Chase hands me the red piece. Thomas, Joshua, and Johnny get the yellow, green, and purple, respectively.

"How do you decide who gets to play the woman's token?" I ask, knowing none of them actually care.

"We settled into a routine a long time ago." Johnny says, shrugging and shuffling the deck to deal.

Chase sets Mrs. White's token down.

"Flames," he says in a shrill voice. "On the side of my face."

The others laugh with me as he winks. "We should definitely watch that the next movie night.

I pull my cards from the table and start to sort through them, but a chill runs through me.

Miss Scarlet isn't what I thought I'd see.

The rest of the board looks exactly the same as the classic game, but…

"Is this one of those weird novelty sets?"

"What do you mean?"

I turn the card to them and set it on the board. "I don't think she was like that last time."

"No. She definitely wasn't."

Because Miss Scarlet is missing her head.

The illustration is jarringly graphic.

Joshua's jaw sets and he pulls the Mrs. Peacock card. She's perfectly normal, but Johnny throws the colonel mustard card down… the man is gone, but in the same tweed suit, a werewolf has taken his place.

A clearly dead wolf.

It's the same for all of their character cards.

Behind me, the wolves growl. The fact that I can hear them again…

When I turn, they're all focused on the French doors that lead back to the deck.

It's too early for her to use any tricks, and I'm definitely awake, but still.

I watch the shifting darkness outside.

The lock hasn't been turned.

It shouldn't be necessary, but it'll make me feel better.

When I stand, I don't get that far.

The door blows open and Aphrodite's specter rushes toward me.

There's a clatter of noise and someone grabs me to haul me back, but it's not necessary.

She bursts like a bubble the second she slams into the protections of the threshold.

"It's okay," I squeeze Johnny's hand hoping he knows I'm not just saying it. "We're safe from her inside the house. She's just trying to freak us out."

"Well, it's working."

The sharp ding of the oven timer makes them all flinch, but Thomas is back on his feet a moment later. He goes to the doors, shutting them and snapping the lock closed.

"The cards are normal again." Joshua holds up Miss Scarlet, her teased 80s hair perfectly in place.

"It was just an illusion."

"All the same…" Johnny sets the pizzas on the counter. "I'd rather switch to cards."

While they clean up the board and get the cards out, I slip into the kitchen and start pulling down jars.

"What's that for?" Johnny asks, when I come back to the table, sewing up the tiny sachet full of coarse salt, lavender, and a few chips of amethyst.

"It's a dream pillow. Hopefully it will help keep her out of my head tonight."

None of them look happy, but Thomas pulls me into his lap and slides my cards to me. "I'm sitting this one out."

I'm not surprised when I see we're playing hearts.