Grace’s POV Scene

Scanning the overflowing shelves of Gretchen’s library, binder after binder full of mean, nasty and disgusting monsters, I search for one to share with Greer—with my sister—while Gretchen—my other sister—takes a shower. I grab the one labeled Nuli. I vividly remember the picture of the ordinary looking creatures with feet that face backward. I’d almost snorted my soda when I saw that. Maybe Greer will think they’re funny too.

I drop into the chair and flip open the binder, looking for the image.

As I browse, I think about just how much has changed in the past few weeks—few days, really. My sisters and I have been reunited, I’ve learned about my mythological heritage, and I’ve taken down a handful of evil monsters. I can only imagine how much will change in the next few weeks.

I turn the page and find the drawing of the nuli.

“Look at his feet,” I say, pushing the binder across the table at Greer.

“Gross,” she says.

Not quite a smile, but I’ll take what I can get.

“You should see the panotti,” I say, making a face. “They have ears the size of their bodies.”

“Have you memorized all the binders?” she asks.

“No.” But I kind of have. I lower my gaze to the binder, embarrassed by my blatant display of nerdiness. What kind of girl obsessively remembers mythological monsters? “I’ve digitized most of them, though,” I say, “and the funnier images stand out.”

Greer looks like she’s about to say something more when she gets a horrified look on her face. She pushes to her feet, sending her chair clattering to the floor behind her.

Gretchen walks into the room.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I—“ She leans forward, bracing her hands on the glass table top. “I don’t know. It’s just, all of a sudden, I got this really awful feeling.”

I glace at Gretchen.

“What kind of feeling?” she asks.

Greer looks at our sister. “Like something bad is about to happen.”

At that exact moment, Gretchen’s phone rings. Talk about weird timing. She runs to grab the call, and I turn my attention back to Greer. She looks terrible—pale and nauseous. What can I do? Should I offer her something to drink or—

Gretchen races back into the room, screaming, “Run!”

I’m so stunned by her outburst that I don’t react fast enough. She grabs each of us—me and Greer—by an arm and drags us toward the balcony. I hardly have time to brace myself before Gretchen lifts Greer and tosses her into the water below, then turns and does the same to me.

I have never felt anything so cold. The water is practically ice, shocking the breath right out of me as I try not to breathe in. I have to think clearly. I have to get back to the surface. I force myself still for a moment and then, as soon as my body begins to float up, I point myself that way and start kicking.

Breaking the surface, I suck in a hard breath of salty air.

My entire body shivers, erupting into violent shakes. I clench my jaw and struggle to keep my muscles and my panic under control.

Once my bloodstream has oxygen again—my brain accepts that I’m not going to drown—I start looking for my sisters. Greer is already up, treading water a few feet away. Her eyes widen with relief when she sees me and then we both start scanning for Gretchen. As I turn back toward the loft I see the flames.

Even as Gretchen emerges, safe and sound in the frigid bay, I can’t take my eyes off the blazing building above us. Gretchen follows the direction of my stare and sees her entire life burning to the ground. What happened?

“This is bad,” Greer mutters.

I blink through the tears. “Somebody tried to kill us.”

“You think?” Gretchen barks.

“All those books.” Shaking my head, I say, “Thank goodness I got most of the binders done, but all those resources…”

I can’t believe the library is just gone.

I can’t believe my sisters and I almost died. Again. Clearly, the biggest danger isn’t behind us. I have a feeling things are only going to get crazier from here on out.