Let It Burn

Chapter 3

The blood won't come off. No matter how hard I scrub, it remains. I toss the necklace away, frustrated. I lean on the sink with both hands and stare into the mirror. Dark circles sit under my eyes. The rims are bright red from crying.

All I can do is think about last night.

When I took the cross out of its box, Ian snatched the note from my hand. He flattened it out and read the words. His face paled, and he looked up at me with an expression as helpless as I felt. And I was sick; I felt so nauseous.

"What is it?" Holden asked, troubled.

My voice shook. "It's Dad's cross. He never takes it off." I examined it further and found that the clasp got broken. Tears spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't stop crying. "It looks like someone ripped it from his neck."

Ian's voice was gentler than I'd ever heard it. "Let me see."

I handed the necklace to him. He looked it over three times before he gave it back to me. His eyes filled with tears. That was another first.

"What could this mean?" Holden asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said. "Someone has Dad. We don't know if he's dead or alive. I have to go."

"The note didn't say you had to go alone."

He knew as well as I did that it was a trap. Somebody was trying to lure me there, but why?

"And she isn't going to," Ian said. "The plan still stands. We have to figure out what someone in Crimson Pass wants with Iris. We're still going."

I shook my head. At that point, I was terrified. I didn't want to go anymore. "We should go to the police."

The last person I thought would object rose to the occasion. "No police." Mom stood in the doorway. I don't know how much of our conversation she heard, but she'd been crying again. She held two small boxes in her hand and a note. "I found this in Isaac's shoebox."

I stared at her. Dad kept anything special to him in his shoebox, the one that his favorite pair of boots came in. It was the one he's had since we were toddlers. If those boxes were in there, I knew they were significant.

"What are they?"

"It doesn't matter. The note says what to do if Isaac ever turns up missing. It was like he knew." Mom cleared her throat. "He knew this might happen."

Holden came over and kissed my forehead again. "I'd better go. Fill me in tomorrow. I need to go home and see if there is a little surprise on my doorstep."

A lump formed in my throat, and it was hard to swallow. "I hope not. I love you. Text me when you get home."

"I will." Holden left me with a smile. I needed it.

"What does the note say, Mom?" Ian asked. I was afraid to find out.

She cleared her throat again. "It says if Isaac goes missing in Crimson Pass, don't call the police. They won't be able to handle the threat. Under no circumstances are we to go there no matter what happens." She smiled despite the tears leaking from her eyes. "But since he knows us so well, don't go without wearing these."

She touched a gorgeous silver cross with a diamond in the center of the cross resting against her chest. I didn't notice until her hand was on it. She presented Ian and me with the boxes. I opened the gift box, and all the wind escaped from my lungs. Inside lay my cross necklace, an exact copy of Dad's, only the cross itself was smaller than his. The cross was gunmetal outlined by a thin layer of silver. The chain was even the same.

I looked over at Ian. His was already around his neck. The cross was as big as Dad's, but it was silver with no design. I slipped mine over my head. The weight against my chest was heavier than I expected. I had no idea why wearing a cross was mandatory for going to Crimson Pass. Maybe it was a religious thing.