A few hours later, Gabriella was silent as they drove the few blocks to the cemetery. In all honesty, they probably could have just walked there from their headquarters. But they had equipment with them and no one felt safe without having a quick getaway available. Gabriella briefly wondered if the Foundation would compensate them for gas this close, then remembered that the Foundation would never know about this.

If all went well, that was.

They pulled up just outside of the cemetery gates. Like last time, the sky was mostly clear as they were walking up. A few fat, puffy clouds drifted through the darkening sky, but the stars were already coming out and the moon was full and bright.

“Okay,” Amelia said, fastening her helmet strap beneath her chin. “We can do this. Once the mischief is restrained, it’s just another case. Lure it in, then banish it.”

“Any thoughts on how we’re going to lure it?” Bradley asked.

Amelia grimaced. “I was thinking I go in as bait.”

“Let the record show I hate this plan,” James said, his voice crackling over Amelia’s speakerphone.

“I know,” Amelia said. “I know. But we need someone to get it and I’m the senior person out here. So I’m not sending someone else in. I’m going to walk further in and while I do that, Bradley and Gabriella set the trap. It’s simple, just an iron circle once it’s folded out. But make sure it’s interacting with me in some way before you do it.”

“I don’t like this plan either,” Bradley said, tightening his own helmet.

“Noted,” Amelia said.

Gabriella didn’t say anything. The heavy helmet was muffling their voices somewhat and made her feel disconnected from the case. She shook her head, trying to get rid of that feeling. She needed to focus. In a couple minutes, they’d be in the thick of it and she couldn’t afford to think about the last time they were here or the way she was now pretty sure Elliot was going to dump her. Or the way that her boss had pulled a knife on her on a hot summer night in the woods. This was about the mischief spirit and wrapping up this case.

They got out of the van and walked the short distance to the cemetery entrance. The gates were closed and the CONSTRUCTION AHEAD sign that Gabriella and James hadn’t been able to get up several days ago was now securely connected to the iron bars of the gate. Gabriella shivered as she saw it, and Amelia clearly noticed.

“It’ll be fine,” she said, sounding confident in a way Gabriella was sure was false. “Let’s go in and do this. Then we can go get a beer or something. We’ll make James pay.”

“I’ll accept that,” James said, his voice muffled this time by the padding over Gabriella’s ears.

Amelia pushed the cemetery gates open and strode down the path, the picture of confidence as Bradley and Gabriella waited at the entrance, just outside the gates. Bradley held the trap, which was tightly wound into an iron ball. He pulled at it from the top and it started to fall open.

“It’s pretty small,” he said, holding the fully extended circle in his hands.

“Does it stretch at all?” James asked.

“Does the iron stretch?”

“Tug on it, jackass.”

Bradley pulled the sides of the metal circle, and it expanded just slightly, tiny joints sliding into place. “Not enough that it matters,” he replied.

James was about to reply, but Father McEnerney’s voice came over the comms instead. “It’s fine,” he said. “The smaller the better, right? As long as you can get the mischief inside.”

Bradley and Gabriella looked at the trap. It was probably about three feet across now that it was fully extended. “I think it’s big enough,” Bradley said.

Gabriella nodded her agreement. “Excellent,” Father McEnerney said. “I’m going to head over there in a moment. I just got back from the Urgent Care.”

“We’re right outside the gates,” Gabriella said.

Bradley hooked his phone to his belt, and they turned to watch Amelia. The city had cleaned up a lot of the mess that the mischief had left, but she could see caution tape and equipment around some of the broken stones further down the path. Gabriella wondered how much of the damage was covered by the illusion. After all, she was still seeing perfectly rounded Halloween tombstones and swirling leaves.

“Bradley,” she whispered.

“What?”

“What shape are the tombstones?”

He looked at her funny. “There’s a bunch of them. Why?”

“A bunch of shapes? Can you describe them?”

“Yeah. I can see a cross over there, then a bunch of different colored ones. Again, why?”

“Because I’m seeing cartoonish gray stones.”

Amelia was walking slowly down the path, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. Like she was taking a shortcut home from work. As Gabriella looked at her, the illusion wobbled. The dead trees lining the back of the cemetery were still full of leaves, just for a split second.

“It’s an illusion,” Bradley said, his voice equally quiet.

“I know,” Gabriella said. “How do I get rid of it?”

“Look through it,” he said. “I know it sounds ridiculous. But this happened at my old branch too. Once you can convince yourself that what you’re seeing isn’t real, it’ll go away.”

She nodded and tried to focus on the gravestones, adjusting her gaze like she was looking at a magic eye in the Sunday paper. Her vision blurred and she squinted as her eyes began to ache. But she could see the other colors, the peach and the shining black behind dull gray.

“They’re all different colors?” she repeated.

“They are,” Bradley replied. “Don’t lose focus though.”

Right, they were already on the case. She tore her eyes from the graves, which were coming in clearer and clearer behind the fading illusion, and moved back to Amelia, who was still ambling down the path.

As Gabriella watched, Amelia turned and stepped onto the grass between two rows of graves. She turned and looked at them, then her expression went from thoughtful to pained as an invisible force pulled her backward, throwing her into the cartoonish RIP engraved tombstone, which Gabriella could still see clearly.

Amelia slid to the ground and Gabriella went to run toward her, but Bradley grabbed her by the arm. “Hang on,” he said. “Give her a second.”

Amelia stood up, slightly wobbly, and laughed. Her helmet was slightly askew, but still on her head. “You’re so big and bad?” she taunted the mischief entity, raising her hands up by her head. “Going after twelve-year-olds in their dreams? Fuck off, Freddy, I’m not afraid of you.”

That was when Amelia began to rise into the air, the tips of her toes brushing the dead grass between the graves. This was all part of the plan, Gabriella knew it. But that didn’t stop the bright flash of terror that went through her at the sight of Amelia rising higher, like she was being lifted by invisible strings. As she watched Amelia, Bradley slipped through the gates, setting the trap in a patch of grass right near the entrance. The tall grass swallowed the iron ring, concealing it as he walked silently back.

Amelia was levitating about four feet in the air now, her taunting laughter now tinged with fear. Before either Bradley or Gabriella could do anything, the mischief tossed her to the ground. She landed about six feet away and her helmet bounced away as her head made contact with the ground. She didn’t get up.

Gabriella bolted toward her before Bradley could catch her. As she reached Amelia, Amelia started to stagger to her feet. Blood was running down the side of her face from a nasty-looking cut on her temple. “Get out,” she hissed to Gabriella.

“You need to get out before it kills you,” Gabriella retorted, just as quietly. “Hurry up.”

She took Amelia’s arm and started walking her toward the entrance. It was slow, tense, familiar work, and she was sure the mischief was going to catch them at any second. She’d get to the entrance and, just like last time, it would catch her by the hair. Daring her to keep going and lose another patch of it. They were almost at the entrance when she heard her name.

“Gabriella? What are you doing here?”

Elliot was standing a little way down the path with a small sprig of purple flowers in his hand. He looked just like he always did, long legs in torn jeans and a neat flannel shirt buttoned and half tucked in. His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

This was wrong. “What are you doing here?” Gabriella asked.

“Visiting my grandmother’s headstone,” Elliot said. “She’s buried here.”

He looked so real and so normal that she almost wanted to believe this was really him. “Plus, I wanted to check in with you,” he said. “I know we didn’t end the conversation on the best terms. Do you work around here?”

Wait, how did the mischief know about that? Was there the slightest chance that this was the real Elliot? In which case, he was in serious danger.

She tried to look through him, like she’d done with the graves and the trees. But there was that spark of doubt, wasn’t there? She couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that wasn’t Elliot and that was why the image of him wasn’t fading.

“Come on,” Amelia hissed, tugging her toward the gate.

“You know this isn’t a good time,” Gabriella said to Elliot, slowly backing away from him and toward the gate. “We’re in the middle of a ghost story right now.”

Elliot grinned at her, a trace of mischief in his smile. “Oooh, I love a good ghost story.”

There it was. She didn’t need to look through him, that was all the confirmation she needed. Gabriella turned and saw Bradley standing at the entrance, reaching out to help her pull Amelia to safety. She steered Amelia to him, making sure she was supported before letting go.

“Do you want to take a walk?” Elliot asked behind her.

God, this thing was good. If she just stayed like this, she could really think that was him. But this could work in their favor, couldn’t it?

Gabriella caught Bradley’s gaze and held it for a second, trying to convey her plan through as little motion as possible. He looked at her and she raised her eyebrows, just a little, hoping he could see her expression under the helmet. Apparently, that was all it took, because as she turned around, he didn’t say anything to call her back.

“A walk?” she said. “But it looks like it’s about to rain.”

Elliot, or the thing wearing his appearance, shrugged. “We won’t melt,” he said. “Besides, a stroll in the graveyard as the rain comes down? Perfect Halloween date, right?”

Heart hammering in her chest, Gabriella nodded and stepped forward on the path. She heard Amelia behind her, but her voice was weak as she tried to call Gabriella back.

The mischief was a few steps ahead on the path, holding out his big hand to her. It was warm and soft as she took it, and she suppressed a shiver. This wasn’t Elliot. This was something using her weakness to hurt her. And she was letting it do so.

Not-Elliot turned and stroked her cheek with his other hand. “So this is what you do when you’re not with me,” he said.

She smiled, hoping it looked relaxed. “Yeah,” she said. “This is a nice surprise. I wanted to call you after work.”

“Take off your helmet, I want to see your pretty face.”

There was really no way around it, was there? If she said no, the mischief would know that she saw through its disguise. She’d just have to do it and hope it didn’t have a head injury planned for her immediate future.

Gabriella took off her helmet, letting her messy ponytail fall as she did so. Not-Elliot ran a hand through her hair, pressing down on the injured area in a way that had her swallowing a hiss of pain. His movements were so quick that she could never prove it wasn’t an accident. But she knew what it was.

She walked toward the side of the cemetery, hoping her moves seemed ambling and aimless as she loosely steered them in a roundabout way back toward the trap. The mischief had a look of triumph on its face and she wondered briefly what its plan for her was. Whatever it was, she needed to get this thing into the trap, or she was in for a world of hurt.

“I’m parked that way,” Not-Elliot said, pointing toward the other end of the cemetery where she knew there was no exit. “We’ll hop the fence and go have some fun?”

Fuck. She knew exactly how she was going to do this now and she hated herself for it, just a little. “Or,” she said with what she hoped was a seductive smile, running a finger up his chest. “We could have some fun right here.”

Before he could say anything else, she pulled the mischief tightly against herself and wrapped her arms around its neck. Then, avoiding its gaze, she tried to blank out her mind as she took its mouth on hers.

This kiss was nothing like the one she’d shared with the real Elliot and she had a flash of gratitude for that, at least. The mischief began to kiss her back, clearly reveling in the way this would build the reveal. She ran her hands over its body, wincing internally as she made out with this creature stealing the appearance of her potential boyfriend. His mouth tasted like old soil as it was locked on hers and his tongue poked awkwardly at her mouth, seeking entrance.

It’s worth it, it’s worth it, Gabriella repeated in her mind, taking a careful step backward as she let him in. His tongue felt huge and clumsy in her mouth, and it took everything in her not to gag. This was going to ruin dating for her forever, wasn’t it? Son of a bitch.

Another step back as the mischief ran its hands up her back. Then, one more step back and she pulled away sharply and shoved the off-balance creature to the ground.

Elliot looked up at her, genuine hurt on his face. “Ow, Gabriella, what was that for?”

“Amelia! Bradley! Now!”

Bradley ran over, Amelia right behind him as she moved as well as she could with her injuries. Not-Elliot stood up, took a step toward Gabriella, and stopped short as a spray of sparks blocked his way. He looked around and saw the small circle of iron around him in the grass. Amelia began to chant, the memorized stanzas rolling off her tongue even as she leaned heavily on Gabriella’s shoulder. As he glared down at Gabriella, Elliot’s handsome features melted away to reveal a grayish, smoky form that still somehow had a smirk on its blank face.

“You bitch,” it muttered, its voice swirling through the rushing sound of wind around them.

“Tricked you.”

She heard Bradley on the phone with someone as Amelia finished the recitation, splashing a holy water-based tincture on the rapidly dissolving entity. With a final, furious roar, it disappeared in a flash of flame.

Amelia fell to the ground and Gabriella nearly went down with her. Instead, she lowered herself down beside her in the grass as Bradley hurried over to them. Amelia looked up at her from where she was laying and shook her head with a giddy laugh. “Jesus,” she said. “You’re good. Was that your boyfriend it was pretending to be? He’s cute. Wasn’t he cute, Bradley?”

Bradley rolled his eyes, but he laughed slightly. Gabriella laughed too, and it sounded completely deranged in her ears. “Yeah,” she replied. “I’m going back to Headquarters and never getting out of the shower. Are you okay?”

Amelia nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. I know I’m going to hurt like hell later though.”

“Father McEnerney’s on his way,” Bradley said. “He was already in the car when I called. Are you alright?”

“We’re fine,” Amelia said.

Gabriella stood up, then pulled Amelia to her feet too. As they were walking out of the cemetery a moment later, Father McEnerney’s car pulled up behind the van and the priest got out.

“You got it?” he asked, sounding shyly hopeful.

“We did,” Amelia said, still shaky.

Father McEnerney went into the cemetery to do one last blessing over the area and the trap as the other three staggered over to the van. Bradley slid behind the wheel and Amelia climbed gingerly into the back seat. Gabriella got in the passenger side, opened the glove compartment, and started digging through for anything to get the taste out of her mouth.

“Do we have any mints?” she asked, pushing aside receipts from a decade-old repair job.

“Don’t eat anything you find in there,” Bradley said. “Here.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled pack of gum. Gabriella took one and went to give it back, but he held out a hand to stop her. “I’m good,” he said. “Keep it.”

Gabriella’s skin was still crawling when they got back to headquarters a few minutes later. She wanted to go straight for the shower, but they had to check in with James first. He hurried over as soon as they walked in the door.

“Are you okay?” he demanded.

Amelia nodded, then winced. “We’re fine,” she said. “It beat me up a little, but we got it.”

“What happened?” he asked. “The camera kept cutting out, but I saw Gabs with it.”

“It disguised itself as Gabriella’s boyfriend and she tricked it right back,” Amelia said with a faint laugh.

James looked at her, eyebrows raised. “The same boyfriend you said you blew it with?”

The gum had already lost its flavor, so Gabriella put another stick in her mouth as the other two looked at her. “It tried to trick me, so I gave it what it wanted,” she said, shoving the wrapper in her pocket. “Please destroy the evidence.”

James looked like he almost wanted to laugh, but kept it to himself. Without another word, Gabriella started walking down the hall to the bathroom. Now that everyone was back safely, she was getting in the shower and never getting out.

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CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 23