Betrayal by Lee Nichols

saying, “Oh, and Emma?”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œThe ghost Edmund didn’t tell you about that dagger. I’d prefer if you didn’t lie to me.”
    I nodded briefly, went upstairs, and locked myself in my room. I stared at my homework but thought about the memory of killing the man in the cornfields.
    I wasn’t just seeing and talking to ghosts anymore. The wraiths at the Knell, the ghasts at the playground. It was all life and death. When had things changed? I used to argue with Bennett about dispelling ghosts, yet I was the one doing most of the killing these days. I pictured the Emma in the tapestry at the Knell. She hadn’t looked afraid. She looked as though she liked slaying ghosts. And now I knew my Emma had turned into someone who could kill a man, not just a ghost. I worried that it was going to take that kind of fierce darkness to finish Neos, and that it wasn’t a place I wanted to be.

8

    I kept my head down during school the next day, and things seemed slightly better. Like I’d moved from a living hell to mere purgatory. Either Natalie’s speech had succeeded, or I was getting major points for introducing a new cute guy to school. Anyway, there were fewer frowns and more nods than the day before. Even from some of the girls, who tended to be less forgiving than boys.
    Kylee caught me just inside the front hall and offered to pair up with me for fencing. Kylee was ninety pounds soaking wet, and could barely lift her own backpack, yet still could kick my ass at fencing. She was good at following the intricate rules. I was good at killing wraiths, not executing perfect coupés.
    â€œI noticed you and Sara are kind of …” She tilted her head, waiting for me to finish.
    â€œYeah,” I said, unwilling to go into details. Everyone knew Sara and Coby were best friends. How hard was it to figure out why we’d stopped talking to each other?
    â€œAnyway,” she said, “I promise to go easy on you.”
    â€œThanks,” I said, heading off to Latin. I knew there was a reason I’d always been nice to her, despite the butt-kickings.
    Natalie was across the room leaning on Harry’s desk, seemingly flirting with him. The traitor. I went and sat next to Lukas, who sprawled at a desk that he made look miniature. He was even taller than I’d realized.
    â€œI think I’m in love,” Lukas said.
    â€œWith who? You’ve only been here like ten minutes.”
    â€œOkay, so it’s lust.”
    I glanced at him in alarm. “Not with Natalie.”
    He sat up straighter. “What? She’s hot. Though I’d have to be a fool to fall for another ghostkeeper.”
    I grunted.
    â€œOh, sorry. Forgot about you and Bennett.”
    Natalie sauntered over to join us. “Did you tell him about Bennett?” I asked.
    â€œIt’s no secret, Emma,” she said. “You’re like a legend in the ghostkeeping world. Word gets around.”
    Great. My heartbreak the subject of Knell gossip. Just what I needed.
    â€œWhat were you doing talking to Harry?” I asked.
    â€œIntel,” she said. “Trying to figure out how to end this feud between you.”
    â€œAnd?” I asked, hoping for some inspiration.
    â€œAnd he smelled like booze.”
    â€œAlready?” I glanced at him and he glared back at me.
    â€œThat’s not good,” Lukas said in Latin. The dead language came easily to him. He was a ghostkeeper. We bring the dead to life.
    Lukas sat with me and Natalie for lunch. He swaggered in, looking edgy and sexy in his uniform. I swear I heard girls sigh as he passed their tables. Harry and Sara were conspicuously absent, which was a relief. Though I wondered if Harry was off drinking and if Sara had joined him, just like she used to down espressos with him.
    I still needed to talk to them about Coby. Add that to my list of impossible things I needed to accomplish.
    Lukas seemed oblivious