A strange, prickling sensation crept over Ashley’s neck. She looked out the window and, outside the police station, she saw a shadowy figure flickering in the yellow light. She squinted, waiting for it to take shape. The faint scent of fuel wafted in through the air conditioner.
“Tristan,” Ashley whispered.
Alejo turned to look outside the window. His eyes widened, and he looked at Ashley. “So this is Tristan. I’ve seen him a few times.”
“I thought he was bringing me to you guys,” Ashley said. “But I think I’m still supposed to follow him.”
She climbed out of the car into the empty night. Behind her, the passenger door opened and Alejo stepped out. He pulled a jacket from the minivan and threw it on over his T-shirt. “Has he made you follow him before?”
“He hasn’t made me do anything,” Ashley said. “But he led me to Nick’s body. And he led me here.”
“Interesting.”
Brandon leaned across the front seat. “We have to get to the cabin.”
Ashley shook her head. “You guys go. I have to follow Tristan.”
“She can’t go alone. She’s a kid,” Alejo said quietly, like he thought Ashley wouldn’t hear him. He stood with his hands on his hips, brow furrowed in frustration. His gaze traced Tristan’s outline, lips quivering. “I’ll go with her. You go to the cabin. Find Logan.”
Brandon shook his head. “No, I can’t—”
“She needs you.”
“She doesn’t need me.” Brandon’s eyes were wide, magnified by his glasses. His knuckles on the steering wheel were white.
Ashley looked between them. It didn’t matter who came with her and who went to the cabin; they needed to go. Tonight was the night this all ended. Tristan was already gliding out of the parking lot, fading quickly into the night. He turned to look over his shoulder, but Ashley couldn’t see his eyes. They were running out of time.
“I’m going,” Ashley said.
“Hold on,” Alejo snapped. He closed his eyes and slipped a hand over Brandon’s clenched fist. “You’re the only one who knows the Dark. You can stop it. You can do this.”
Brandon stared.
“It’s stronger than it ever was with me. I don’t know what it’ll do.” He cleared his throat. Black clouds rolled past the moon above them, scattering silver light over the road. In the dark, Ashley heard Brandon breathing, slow and methodical and weary. “If it’s too strong … I don’t know who will come back.”
“You will.” Alejo shakily laughed. He wore an easy expression for Brandon’s sake, but Ashley saw the way his grip shook against the passenger door. “Because I’m not doing taxes with that thing again.”
“A fate worse than death.”
This wasn’t a normal send-off. Ashley understood, suddenly, that they’d expected this day. They’d known it would eventually come down to this moment. They’d known Brandon would have to face the Dark alone. After everything, they were always going to have this goodbye. The kind that might be forever.
“I love you,” Alejo said.
Brandon nodded. “We’ll be okay, right?”
“One day,” Alejo breathed.
Brandon smiled. “See you when it’s all over.”
Alejo reached into the minivan and took Brandon’s face in his hands. He kissed him, soft and lingering and mournful. When he drew away, he held Brandon’s face and looked into his eyes.
With that, Brandon closed the door, threw the van into drive, and tore down the highway toward the woods. Down the road, Tristan lingered. He waited, hovering along the pavement, both there and gone at once. In the night, he looked more smoke than human, but she knew the shape of him, no matter how gone he was. Wind howled through the valley, whistling off the water like a scream. There was death in the air. The night was swollen with it.