I hadn’t planned on any of that happening.

I was a dick, but I wasn’t that big of a dick.

What had happened between us was because I wanted her and she had wanted me back. It had nothing to do with the trace, nothing to do with who we were. It didn’t matter in those moments that it had been wrong or that we spent more time fighting each other than anything else. The only thing that had mattered was how she’d felt, how she’d tasted, and the way she’d whispered my name.

But it had been wrong.

Wasn’t it?

Needless to say, my mood was knee-deep in Shitville, and it being Halloween didn’t help. In class, I’d overheard Lesa and Kat making plans to give out candy at the former’s house. Although Kat’s trace was barely there, I didn’t like the idea of her being out there when Baruck was still roaming around.

Without a trace, an Arum wouldn’t be drawn to her, but Baruck had seen Kat. He would be able to recognize her, so like a creep, I’d followed her to Lesa’s house and watched over her. I stayed down a block, and when I saw her leave in her Camry, I headed back home, beating her there, since I’d gone the Luxen route.

Dee had the front porch decked out with carved pumpkins that had tiny lights in them. I was surprised she hadn’t broken out the string ghosts and bats like she normally did.

The moment I stepped into the house, I smelled something weird and burned. Frowning, I headed into the kitchen. Dee was hovering over a baking sheet. There was another on the kitchen counter. Dark, burned specks covered that sheet. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Baking pumpkin seeds,” she replied, brow furrowing as she placed her hands over the sheet.

“You know, you could just use the oven.”

“What fun is that?” She twisted toward me, eyes narrowing. “You need to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“You need to leave,” she repeated. “Kat is on her way over here. We’re going to watch a bunch of stupid horror movies.”

Leaning against the counter, I poked at one of the charred pumpkin seeds. “Sounds like fun.”

“It’s going to be a ton of fun, but you need to go. I don’t know what went down between you two.”

“Nothing,” I murmured, glancing at the window beyond the kitchen table.

Dee snorted. “Yeah, that’s what she said, and I don’t believe her. I don’t believe you, and whatever happened made her avoid me for days. So I don’t want you here, because you will ruin the night.”

“Ouch.” I placed my hand over my chest and faked a wince.

Dee shoved me. “Whatever. Go hang out with Adam.”

I was planning to do that already. Adam and Andrew wanted to see if they could lure Baruck out, but there was an irresponsible part of me that wanted to stay here until Kat showed up. I wanted to see her even though I knew she was going to ignore me, but after what I’d done, that took dickdom to a whole new level.

Pushing off the counter, I dropped a kiss atop Dee’s head. “I’ll be with Adam and Andrew. We’re going to try to lure the Arum out.”

Fear flickered across Dee’s face, and then she steadied herself. “Be careful.”

“Always,” I replied.

Eyeing the baking sheets one more time, I hoped she didn’t try to make Kat eat any of them. Yikes. Snagging my keys off the counter, I headed out and met up with Adam and Andrew in the parking lot of Smoke Hole Diner. They’d come the fastest way possible.

Andrew swaggered up to the driver’s door. “What’s the plan? Same as the last couple of nights?”

I glanced at Adam, who hung back a few feet. “Yep. Light up in the woods closest to the roads. Run away and see if you can draw them out. I’ll drive around and see if I can sense him.”

We’d been doing this with no such luck since Sunday, one of us taking turns doing the driving, which was by far the most tedious of assignments. I’d rather get out there in my true form than sit behind the wheel.

“I’ll head toward town,” Adam said.

Andrew shot his brother a look. “I guess I’ll go away from it.”

Smirking, I shook my head as I pulled out of the parking lot. The streets were still pretty busy. Parents taking their kids back to their homes after trick or treating in town. Others were on their way to parties. At a red light, I saw a Ninja Turtle in the driver’s seat of a car next to me.

Heh.

I cruised up and down the highway, circling back through town a couple of times and killing almost two hours before my cell rang. It was Adam.

“Talk to me,” I said.

“We spotted him.” Adam was breathing heavily. “Baruck. He’s heading toward the colony. Andrew is coming, but I’ve lost track of him.”

“Shit.” Glancing up in the rearview mirror, I saw the road was empty behind me. I yanked the wheel to the right, spinning the SUV around. Tires spun out on the gravel along the road as I hit the gas. “Get there now.”

“On it.”

Hanging up on Adam, I immediately dialed Dee. She answered on the third ring, exasperation dripping from her tone. “This better be good, Daemon, because—”

“Baruck has been spotted. He’s heading toward the colony.”

“What do you mean?” she said.

My hand tightened on the phone. “He’s going toward the colony and he’s going to pass right by our house. We’re on our way. Is Kat still with you?”

“Katy is with me, but her trace is barely noticeable!”

I hit the gas pedal to the floor. “It still can be seen. Just stay inside, Dee. Keep her there.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Be careful. I love you.”

Fury roared through me. The son of a bitch probably had no idea how close he was actually getting to the colony or to where Dee and Kat were. With the beta quartz so close by, it would throw him off, but it was too close for comfort. I needed to ditch the wheels, but I was too close to town and too many cars were around to do it without drawing attention. Andrew and Adam were fast. They’d get there before—

My cell went off again, this time from Dee. A knot formed in my gut as I answered it. “What?”

“It’s Katy,” she said, voice shaking. “She made me trace her—”

“What?” I hit the brakes, nearly causing the van behind us to rear end. “She did what?”

“She made me trace her and then she left, trying to draw the Arum away from here. She’s going where the field party was. Daemon, she’s glowing.”

My heart lodged in my throat. Fury and horror slammed into me like a punch to the chest. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle my sister. How could she let Kat do this? But there wasn’t time to yell at her. That would definitely come later. My head started working quickly. “Get in touch with Adam and Andrew, but text me her number now.”

“Daemon—”

“Dammit, Dee, text me her number now!” I shouted, my heart pounding as I hung up. Why would Kat do this? It was suicide. Why? A second passed and then Dee’s text came through. Hitting the numbers, I waited as the phone rang.

“Hello?” Kat’s voice was another hit to the chest.

I lost it.

“Are you out of your freaking mind?” I yelled into the phone, swerving around a slow-moving sedan. “This has to be the stupidest thing—”

“Shut up, Daemon!” she screeched. “It’s done. Okay? Is Dee okay?”

Is Dee okay? Did she not realize what she had just done?

Kat was insane!

“Yes, Dee’s okay. But you’re not! We’ve lost him, and since Dee said you’re glowing like a goddamn full moon right now, I’m betting he’s after you.”

There was a pause. “Well, that was the plan.”

“I swear on every star in the sky, I’m going to strangle you when I get my hands on you.” I was literally going to do it. “Where are you?”

“I’m almost to the field,” she said. “I don’t see him.”

“Of course you don’t see him.” Good God… “He’s made of shadows—of night, Kat. You won’t see him until he wants you to. I can’t believe you did this.”

“Don’t you start with me!” she yelled back. “You said I was a weakness. And I was a liability back there with Dee. What if he came there? You said yourself he’d use me against her. This was the best I could do! So stop being such a damn jerk!”