Gran kept a gun in the house, hidden away in the fake eve a foot away from me. She wasn't aware that I knew about it and I didn't even remember when I first found it. Just that I'd known it was there for as long as I could remember.

Never in my life did I think I'd actually need it.

I sat on the couch closest to the eve, watching Jake from the corner of my eye. One wrong move and I'd go straight for the weapon. Sure, I had no idea how to use it, but it couldn't be that hard. Pull the trigger and pew, pew, pew.

Jake stirred the tea I'd brought out a little while ago, the little spoon occasionally clinked against the edges of the cup. His was as sweet as mine, filled with cream and sugar. Neither of us could tolerate bitter tastes.

I picked up my own cup and took a sip to give myself something to do. Sitting still felt wrong. Off. It made the unease creep back into my chest and steal my breath. And it was already difficult enough to breathe with him in the room.

"It's not safe here anymore. You and your grandmother you stay someplace else until they catch whoever did that."

There it was again. That concern.

"I don't think this place was ever safe. Not all monsters are openly gruesome. I'm sure they've wandered among us for a while."

Something in his face changed - his lips twisted, his eyes narrowed.

"Do you need more sugar?" I asked, sounding all too innocent.

"What?"

"Sugar. You look like you bit into something sour."

"No, it's fine." He finished up his cup in a few more gulps. "All good."

"Mhm."

"But you and your grandmother really should consider it. Stay with my family, maybe?"

"I don't think Gran will like that idea. Neither do I, to be honest. Can't sleep unless it's in my own bed."

"Forgot. Sorry."

I'd planned on acting the way I normally would have, but it was impossible. The conversation had turned into something of an interrogation. "Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong."

The cup in Jake's hand shook as he set it down. He pulled his hands into his lap, pressing them together, but it did nothing to disguise the tremors. The sweet, easygoing masquerade was wavering. He couldn't even meet my eyes anymore. Maybe he wasn't a psychopath after all. If he was, he surely would've been better at hiding his guilt.

I pretended not to notice. "I don't think you'd ever do anything wrong. You're just not capable of it."

Jake closed his eyes. "Neith, I-"

A car horn blared outside and he lost the nerve to speak.

"Probably your mom."

Jake let out a breath and got to his feet, nervous as he pulled the door open. "Yeah, it's her. I'll text you later, okay? Make sure you lock this door." Without waiting for an answer or a goodbye, he slipped out.

The tension in my body dispersed and I slumped back in my seat, waiting for my pulse to return to normal. I hadn't realized how overwraught I'd been the whole time - sweaty palms, dry mouth, heart rate too fast to be good. But Adrian was right earlier. The shock had faded and now it was there. Rage. Hot and wild and ready to blow over, egging me on to pick up the gun.

⁂

"I'm rotting."

Gran was so unfazed that she didn't bother looking up from her book. "I know you're rotten."

"I'm serious, Gran."

"Eat your vegetables."

Gran wasn't one to talk much at the dinner table. She preferred to read or work while she ate - whether she was grading a student's paper or brushing up on her mythology.

"No, Gran, I'm decomposing."

She looked up at me from over her spectacles. "Don't worry, honey. It'll be just fine. Amanda and I are getting close to a solution."

"A solution? What is it?"

She smiled. "Don't worry yourself."

"Let me help."

She sighed. "You'll see tomorrow morning. Amanda's getting the supplies tonight to summon him."

"What? Summon Anubis? That's insane!"

"No dear, not Anubis."

"Then who?"

"Osiris. If anybody knows how to handle a curse involving the undead, it would be the god of the underworld."

"But if he's out there, why's Anubis in charge?"

"I don't know. But you can ask him."