Page 112 of Kiss Slay Replay

I spin around.

The sprites have the uncle in the air. They’re ripping him limb from limb, chanting in their language. Their voices sound like if a bunch of cats huffed helium on double speed. They tear off one leg, then lose some leverage. A small group of them saw at his middle with a piece of broken glass. They gut him like a fish in the middle of the dance floor, while making an unbearable racket. Goblin-pitched war cries.

It might be the grisliest thing I’ve seen so far. This man’s disemboweling.

Ravi emerges from the surrounding madness, runs up to me and knits his arm around my back. He helps me limp to the hall, and through it into the kitchen. “You all right?”

I nod. “Are you?”

“I—”

“What in the ever-loving fairy fuck is happening?” It’s Cassie. And Luke and Evan and Wyatt. They come sprinting into the kitchen.

“What did I take, what did I take, what did I take? Dude, my shit was laced. It was laced. I’m so fucked,” Luke says, tearing off his shirt like the Incredible Hulk.

“Hurry. I hear them coming,” Wyatt says, corralling us with his enormous wingspan. He pushes us around the corner and out the back door.

7

The grass is up to our ankles. It’s grown.

The air is dense with the stench of flowers, of dirt, and of something heady. Something sour. Evan sneezes. My eyes itch.

Some guests stagger across the lawn in a daze. Some run toward the path—maybe to take shelter in the cabins or get to the parking lot. Most of them took the shuttle, so they’re stuck here.

“Luke, do you have the keys to the van?” I ask.

“Do I…Do I…What?” He’s not with it.

“Cassie?”

She shakes her head.

I get my key out of my bag and toss it to her. “Take my car. You, Luke, Evan, Wyatt. Just go. Don’t stop for anyone else. Drive.”

“What about you?” Evan asks. “We’re five in a sedan. We’ll fit. Don’t be a hero.”

“I need to do something.” Ravi has caught up with Tanya, and the two of them are sprinting toward the cabins.

“Let him go,” Evan says. “Willa. Let him go.”

“I have! It’s not about that.” I lumber after Ravi and Tanya. “Trust me. Leave. Now. Please.”

“Willa!” Cassie yells. “Willa! Get the fuck back here!”

“Go!” I shout without turning around. Ravi and Tanya are too fast. I scream their names, but they must not hear me. I can’t close the distance between us. They’re almost to the first cabin.

They stop short.

The window boxes. There are window boxes on all the cabins. Full of flowers.

Yellow goo covers the porch. The sprites dance on the banister.

Ravi and Tanya backtrack, and I intercept them.

“Tanya! Does it matter when I go through? Should I look for it now? In the woods? Will it stop all this?”

“I…I…” Her gorgeous face is covered in scratches. Her eyes are practically swollen shut. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to think.”