GHOST PORTAL (#1 GHOST PORTAL series)

TWENTY-EIGHT

Jessamine stared at the house, defyingly. "I refuse to sacrifice them. To sacrifice anyone."

She wasn't sure, so busy glaring at the front door, willing it to open, but there was a scoffing sound coming from Faz, though he didn't say anything to accompany it.

Shaking, she gripped the car's door handle and pressed her face to the window. Her breath fogged up the glass, but when it evaporated, she continued to watch the house as if it were about to grow legs and walk up to her, taunt her. As if it were going to grab her by the scuff of her neck and swallow her.

But she wouldn't, she couldn't let this building and its terrifying inhabitants win. They'd killed Amy, they'd more or less killed Landon and Angela, too; and she wouldn't let them kill Avery and Jamie. Not for her, not for what she represented, and not so they could preserve their fucked up secrets.

"Can they hear me?" Jessamine squinted up at the area she assumed was the attic; a blue light shimmered through the tiny slits in the boarded windows. "The other Guides in there? I assume there are more of you, yeah? And the... the demons? Can they hear me too?"

Faz made a noise akin to a cough, coming through as weakened. She'd forced her way through his protection, broken his hold on her, somehow. Now, he was reduced to a figment of her imagination, unable to control her motions. Was it the power of the discovery of a serious link between her and Avery? Or something else? Jessamine wasn't positive she wanted to know.

"Yes," Faz said, wading through the weight of Jessamine's thoughts to make certain she paid attention to his voice. "But there's nothing you can say that'll make a difference. You've chosen. They," Faz's voice strained, "they'll draw you in now, it's only a matter of time. Minutes. Your only safety is me... and this car."

Jessamine racked her brain for memories, for a means to resist a demonic pull. Had she resisted them three years ago, or had she had help? How did they do it in movies, in TV shows?

She was still clutching her phone, tight. She glowered at it, thinking of calling Avery to see if he'd respond, if his phone was still working, if he was still alive. Because he'd know, naturally; he'd have all the answers. He'd tell her how these supernatural things functioned, how these situations were handled, and he'd likely drive her back to Louise, who'd be even more adept with such matters.

She needed Avery to get out of that house. Now.

"You can go in there, though, right?"

She was surprised to hear her own voice raising, stronger than it had been previously. Was Faz's weakness her strength? Had her overpowering of him given her some means to dominate him, to cease her discomfort? She winced; no, her head was still pounding and her stomach still queasy. Whether or not he was strong, Faz was still a foreign entity occupying her body, and her body didn't like it.

"You can bargain for Avery and Jamie's lives, yeah? Get them out, and we'll leave. We'll never come back. I'll free you, you can return to your kind, and all is well, yeah?"

"It doesn't matter." Faz had shown little emotion in his tone until this moment—aside from his barking warnings at her and using his temper to stop her from looking at the house—but now there was a flicker of despair in his intonation. A child robbed of his favorite toy, a student failing classes; that sappy, sad puppy demeanor one took on when missing the last train. "If Ada doesn't kill them tonight, they'll die anyway, after the demons possess you. And at this rate... I'm sorry, Jessamine, but they'll prevail in possessing you. You've made yourself available to them."

Jessamine gulped. Something inside—her conscience, maybe?—told her Faz was correct, and she'd have done better to obey him and to drive the fuck out of there, without Avery or Jamie. They'd have understood, right? Sacrifice for the greater good; if Jessamine stayed, she'd be devoured by demons and the world, according to Faz, would be in danger.