“Yes, but it never hurts to hear it again.” I smiled.

Noah kissed my forehead and leaned back to give me one of his special grins that warmed my insides. He walked toward the bedroom door, casually brushing his fingers through his hair.

“I’ll be quick. Fifteen minutes max.” He stepped out into the hall, but before closing the door, he looked back inside. “Want me to bring anything back up with me?”

“Popcorn?” I asked, raising a brow.

“You got it.”

“Oh, and a soda!” I called as he closed the door.

The second I couldn’t hear his footsteps any longer, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and, with a deep inhale, walked into the bathroom. I dragged my finger over the medallion and sighed. “It’s time.”

It pulsed against my wrist as if it knew. The medallion did everything it could for me, and it was time to return it to its rightful owner. No more being selfish. No more making excuses.

It was time to return it to Darkness.

Chapter

Two

Igrabbed my brush and ran it through my hair before pulling on my sweatshirt. If Noah were busy with work, he wouldn’t even know if I stepped outside for a few minutes. All I needed was enough time to meet with Darkness, give him the medallion, and return to the bedroom.

Of course, I'd have to be sneaky with all the lights on and security cameras, but I knew where I could and couldn’t go. I’d be back before Noah even noticed I was gone.

Once I was done, I’d feel better. Noah would feel better. And Darkness would be thrilled to be done with me. Things would just go back to normal…ish.

I stared at my gaunt reflection, which only verified that I was making the right choice. I looked like I was at death’s door, even though I knew I wasn’t. The dark circles under my eyes made them pop out like I was a horrifying character from a Tim Burton film. All I needed was scissors for my hands, and no one would know the difference.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured, forcing a thin-lipped smile at myself. My eyes shifted down to the medallion around my wrist. “You’re the best thing that happened to me in a long time, but I need to go on without you. Thanks for showing me the way to go.”

The medallion, of course, didn’t respond. But I wasn’t really talking to it… I was talking to myself.

I’d manage. I’d get therapy. Noah and Aunt Joyce would be my support system. I would do whatever it took to deal with the trauma from my past.

I grabbed my concealer from the drawer and leaned forward, lightly tapping the creamy liquid to the papery skin under my eye. It wasn’t like I was trying to look nice for Darkness, I just didn’t want to look like a ghoul.

As I stared at myself, the mirror wiggled slightly as if a tiny pebble had dropped into a pond of water, sending a single ripple outward. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the mirror in disbelief.

Disturbed, I swallowed hard and placed my hand over my mouth. My reflection did the same movement, but it seemed a bit… slow. Different. My heart quickened its pace, echoing the erratic rhythm of my thoughts.

The room felt unnaturally still, the air thick with a sense of unease. Even though the room was immaculate, there was a faint scent of mold and mildew, as if I were in the middle of a forest after a violent thunderstorm.

It was strange. I didn’t feel as though I were alone in the bathroom, yet I knew with the spell on Noah’s house, I had to be.

My hand trembled as I leaned forward, reaching out to touch the cool glass. I met my own gaze as a smirk grew on my reflection’s face, along with a mischievous glint sparkling in my reflection’s eyes.

My face was still. Absolutely still.

Again, the mirror’s surface rippled like pond water, distorting reality as my doppelgänger inched closer to her side of the mirror. A shiver coursed down my spine as a knot tightened in my chest.

My reflection placed her index finger over her lips. She wanted me to be quiet.

I was dreaming. It all had to be a horrible dream. But when hadn’t I fallen asleep? I hadn’t. Noah visited me in the bedroom, and I got up. That couldn’t have all been a dream, could it?

“Nightmare?” My voice was hushed and filled with feathery apprehension.

My reflection curled her finger, and I shook my head. A hand shot out toward me with alarming speed. Its icy grip wrapped around my arm and pulled me through the glass as if I were weightless.

When my eyes fluttered open, I found myself cocooned within an inky shadow. The only light was from a solitary half-moon, which dared to venture beyond its cloudy shroud, casting a feeble glow upon my surroundings.

An assembly of impossibly tall shrubs encapsulated me. The first six feet in height of the foliage was thick and lush. But at the tops of the shrubs, the branches extended like skeletal fingers, reaching up toward the heavens with an unsettling urgency. The air was still, holding a tension that clung to me with an annoying, damp chill.

I didn’t know where the hell I was. The hand that had pulled through the mirror wasn’t there. Even though I was standing there alone in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t feel alone, although I wished I did.

Concealed within one of the shrub walls was a dark, discreet exit. Or perhaps it was an entrance, but it was the only way I could go. I stepped closer, studying the parting vegetation that unveiled a slender corridor, inviting me to take the only available path.

I pulled in a heavy, humid breath before ducking under a droopy branch. My arms wrapped around my middle as I carefully took each step on the packed down, hard earth.

I slid my hand down my clammy, prickled arm and clutched the medallion around my wrist as I followed the winding path. My eyes darted around, half expecting to find something hiding within the shrubs or something to jump out at me.

At the end of the path was a lantern hanging on a rusted metal pole, lighting my choices. I could go left, or I could go right down what seemed to be perfectly identical paths.

“Well, shit,” I muttered, my voice less than a breath as I glanced back over my shoulder. The path I’d just been on was gone, as if the shrubs had moved to block me from going back. “What the hell?”

It was barely noticeable, but in the silence, I heard a soft pounding sound, like a horse trotting down another path. On the other side of the shrubs I was facing, there were hushed but urgent voices whispering in what sounded like another language.

With a quick breath, I turned down the left path, away from the sounds. I stayed close to the shrubs, hoping the shadows would keep me hidden.

“She’s here,” the words seemed to float through the air, brushing against my cheek.

I gasped and leaned back into the shrubs, looking for the owner of the voice. But no one was there. Until something clawed at my ankles, trying to pull me back deeper into the shrub.

I jerked a foot forward, breaking free from whomever’s grip, losing my balance. My body thudded to the ground, a breath escaping my lips as I skidded to a harsh stop.

The sinister hedges seemed to chuckle as if they were alive. Pale moonlight filtered through the leaves and branches, casting eerie shadows that danced like specters.

With my heart pounding, I struggled to my feet, my palms scraping against the hard, pebbly earth. Panic gnawed at the edges of my mind, realizing my feelings had been right and I wasn’t alone.

Fair rustling from the ominous sounds of the unseen creatures reached my ears. It sounded as if they were clawing their way out of the shrubs.

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could.

Whatever they were, they were chasing me. Every step I took, their malevolent pursuit echoed with the frenzied beat of my heart. The rhythmic cadence of the feet padded against the ground in a twisted symphony of my impending doom.

I knew they wanted the medallion. What I didn’t know was who they were.