Page 97 of Divine Oaths

When he spoke, his voice wasn’t just his own, but another’s joined in a choir of Pete’s rage.

“That’s the only thing you’re meant to inherit, Kasem. The curse. Not Westfield. Your blood isn’t worthy of the estate. He saw to that. To every death of your lineage. And even if there’s collateral damage with the accidents on campus, with people like Danny, he doesn’t care. He’s evil. Pure evil, Kasem. And he will never die.”

“Who is ‘he’?” Kasem said, glaring at Pete.

Pete laughed. “You’ve met him already. You all have. He is in control, and he will have the Westfield estate.”

He grabbed Kasem, forcing him to stand, despite the rope tying Kasem’s feet, before maneuvering him toward the door of the shed.

“He says if I don’t do what he demands, his curse will consume me and trap me here with him,” Pete said. “It’s your fault I was marked. And if I’m not the one to kill you, Jay’s here too. He’ll finish the job. We have to. Or he’ll kill us both.”

There it was again, the person Pete wouldn’t name. If I could just get close to him, I could channel my powers and see what ominous force we were facing.

“You don’t have to kill me to survive this,” Kasem said. “Sianna survived the death the curse ordained for her. If you outlive it, then you’ll be free without giving into its demand.”

“She’s protected by the Ԑnhye. I’m not. No one can save me.”

“I’ll save you,” Kasem said. “This curse is because of my family. If I can find its origins and stop anyone else from suffering, then you can have your life back. Pete, you were expelled from Westfield. Disappeared. Just to hide and become a murderer. Is that what you want? Do you want it to corrupt you more than it has?”

Pete was silent for a moment. “That’s why we’re here. A drowning doesn’t have to be murder. It can be an accident.”

My heart hammered in my ears. He was going to kill Kasem. He was going to drown him and make it look like a hazing accident.

“Pete,” Kasem pleaded. But Pete was stone, and Kasem’s words couldn’t move him.

“The engine’s ready,” Pete said finally. “Let’s go for a boat ride.”

I could barely see from behind my lashes as I pretended to be unconscious, but faintly, I watched as their figures retreated outside.

Kasem looked back at me, regret filling his gaze, and something else that I couldn’t read.

And then they were gone, like two specters in the night. Gone, like smoke.

“Are you going to just lie there or are you going to help me?” the veiled Theta snapped once Kasem’s and Pete’s figures had retreated.

I recognized Honey’s voice instantly. And sure enough, when I turned to face her, her green eyes bore back at mine through the lace veil.

“How did you end up here?” I asked. “Aren’t Theta and Sigma working together?”

“We’re supposed to be,” Honey said. “But it’s like what happened at Theta House. Something or someone has interfered. Rush has never been like this. It’s like our members were being controlled, like they were puppets without their own will.”

“Do you think it’s a wraith?” I said, remembering what Angelica had told me.

“But so many of them?” Honey shook her head. “There would need to be dozens of wraiths, each deciding to work together and possess our members to cause such chaos. Wraiths aren’t like that. They’re single-minded, monstrous. Isolated. We’ve kept campus protected, even when some of the ghosts turn. The Ԑnhye, Sigma, and Theta wouldn’t allow the number of wraiths at Westfield to grow so much, to spiral.”

“So it’s something else? Someone living?”

Honey shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Our societies will have to convene and find an answer. But right now, we need to get out of here.”

She gestured to the door.

“We’re not far from campus,” Honey said. “The groundskeeper has an ATV behind the shed. We can get help.”

But that might be too late. If Pete was planning on drowning Kasem, we didn’t have long until the fan boat started. And soon they would be too far into the swampy waters for us to reach them.

Honey finished cutting through her bonds before turning her attention to me. When she was done, I wrung my wrist, the flesh raw and reddening.

“We won’t be able to help him,” Honey said.