Page 65 of Waysider
This time, the revenant didn’t just vanish. The tethers around it dissipated first, and then the enormous, spider-like creature unraveled in a bloody eruption. A black substance splattered over the floors and walls like tar. Then, silence.
It had all happened in a matter of seconds.
Cass’s chest heaved, and she found herself staring at empty air. Someone said her name again. Cass recognized Sinister’s voice, but she couldn’t respond. The queasiness had returned in a rush. She fought it, leaning down to brace her hands on her knees. She would not throw up in front of these people—she’d seen her teammates from the corner of her eye, but there was no chance to feel relieved that everyone was okay. Cass squeezed her eyes shut and breathed through her nose. In and out. In and out. Her stomach quivered. Thank god none of that black shit had stuck to her, Cass thought.
Big mistake.
She jerked her head up and vomited all over the floor.
No one made a sound. Cass resisted the urge to spit out the bitter taste in her mouth. She’d humiliated herself enough for one night. She pressed the back of her sleeve against the lower half of her face and breathed deeply through her nose again.
“Let’s move out,” Sinister ordered, speaking over Cass’s head. “Stay on your guard. There could still be some residual energy in the house.”
Footsteps made the floor creak. Cass swayed there for another moment, and she made sure her stomach had calmed before she dared to stand upright again. Sinister waited at her side. He didn’t reach for her, but Cass got the sense that if another wave of dizziness hit her, he’d be ready.
She followed Webster and Frenchie to the door, noting that there was no sign of Chad, Wolfgang, or Camila. Sinister brought up the rear, just like he had at the start of the night. Cass could feel every part of her body that had slammed into walls and furniture during the fight, which must’ve meant the adrenaline was wearing off. It also meant the revenant was truly gone, Cass thought. She had no way of knowing for certain, since the See could’ve just worn off or the revenant was taking another breather. But somehow, she knew she was right. She would’ve known if it was still there.
They emerged into the hallway. Cass’s eyes immediately went to the figures sitting on the floor. Wolfgang and Camila were a few yards down the hall, where she must’ve dragged him after he got hurt. The Pennyseeker leaned against the wall, holding the ring in his hands. The threads around it had vanished. Now it was just a ring. Cass slowed, staring at it. She realized that Wolfgang must’ve untethered the revenant right when she’d struck it with her paracaus blade.
But for an instant, just an instant, Cass had really thought she’d been the one to kill it.
Frenchie and Camila helped the large boy to his feet. He grumbled at them, but he accepted their help—he must’ve hit the wall pretty hard. They all left the house together, seven shadows slanting over the floors.
Outside, Chad was hovering by the van. He spoke the instant the group was within earshot, words leaving him in a frantic stream. “Oh, man, that was insane. Glad everyone made it out okay. Wolfgang, you took a hit, man. How are you feeling? Did you guys—”
“Hey,’’ Cass cut in. Her head was pounding, and the sound of Chad’s voice was like a car alarm or a dog that wouldn’t stop barking. He looked at her and she said, “You know that thing you do where you open your mouth and sounds come out?”
Chad frowned. “You mean… talking?”
“Yeah, that. Stop it.”
Frenchie snickered. Cass walked past Chad, not bothering to watch his reaction. She climbed into the van and settled into the spot she’d been in before. The others moved to do the same, but this time, Sinister didn’t sit up front with Webster. He slid in beside Cass, sitting so close that she felt his hip brush hers as he turned to put on his seatbelt. When he faced her again, his eyes flicked down. Cass followed his gaze and saw that she was still holding the paracaus blade. Probably should give it back to him, she thought.
But Cass didn’t lift the blade. She just stared at it and enjoyed its weight, thinking about how she’d been able to cut that revenant. To hurt it. An unearthly shriek of pain echoed in Cass’s ears, and she felt something inside her stir at the memory.
Sinister’s hand appeared in her line of vision. His long, elegant fingers closed around Cass’s, tightening her grip on the weapon. He let go within the space of a breath. “I’m pretty sure it was made for you,” Sinister murmured.
Cass looked out the window to hide her expression.
Seconds later, the van coughed and rattled its way back down the winding driveway. Cyndi Lauper’s voice filled the air, blending with Frenchie’s low murmur as he spoke to Wolfgang. Cass kept waiting for someone to talk about the Haunting, and all the shit that just went down in the house shrinking behind them, but it didn’t come up. The others acted like the terrifying night they’d just had was normal. Like it happened all the time. Cass stared out the window and tried to imagine it—a life like this. An existence that included battling monsters on a regular basis. Of looking death in the face, again and again, and saying fuck you.
It was the feeling she’d been looking for that night she’d climbed onto one of the roofs at her old school. As if Cass were the most awake she’d ever been, and utterly fearless. All of her problems ceased to exist because nothing else mattered except the defiance pumping through her veins. The sense that she was completely in control, when the rest of the time Cass felt like she had none.
“Are you okay?”
Sinister’s voice was low, attempting to ask the question privately. Cass turned from the window and met his gaze. For once, she didn’t need to think about what to say. Cass could feel the truth blazing through her exhausted, bruised body.
“I’ve never felt more fucking alive,” she told Sinister.
Cass expected him to smile or agree with her. But he just looked at her quietly, moonlight racing across his angular features. Cass’s mood dimmed with uncertainty. She looked away again, and neither of them spoke for the rest of the drive.
It felt like less than a minute had passed when a familiar archway appeared. Else & Bellows loomed on their left, streetlights shining on the paths like guardians. The moment she laid eyes on it, Cass felt an odd surge of relief. This place hadn’t been any safer than the rest of the world, and yet, it still felt as if she were arriving somewhere protected and familiar. The van pulled up to Old Main and squealed to a halt.
Webster stayed where she was as they all piled out. Chad left without saying a word to anyone, hurrying down the sidewalk with his shoulders hunched. The others gathered on the sidewalk and spoke in low voices. While they were all distracted, Cass paused by the driver’s window and gave Webster a tight smile. “Thanks for saving my ass back there. I owe you one,” she said.
Silence met her, and somehow, Cass wasn’t surprised. But she’d just started to turn away when Webster blurted, “Please don’t tell anyone.”
Cass paused, frowning. “What?”
