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ritual actually destroys them?”
    Lex nodded, her eyes sharpening as she watched me.
    I pressed my luck under her scrutiny. “So—if the ritual succeeds, does the First Born become little more than slime?”
    “Zoë!” Rhonda barked.
    I looked at her. “What? I’m asking a question here—getting answers.”
    What are you up to? Joe’s voice was loud and clear in my head. He’d been so quiet, I’d forgotten he could do that.
    Moi? Nothing.
    Zoë—
    Shhh.
    “Insensitive . . .” Rhonda was saying.
    Well, that might be . . . but there was a really weird similarity here between that thing TC fought and what I’d just learned.
    TC?
    I booted Joe out of my head as painfully as I could and smiled when he nearly dropped his notepad. Served the perv right.
    “You can save her, Irin Daughter.”
    It was a good beat before I realized she was talking to me. I looked at her—blinked. “Huh?”
    “You could release her from the pain.”
    “But you just said there was no release,” Rhonda said.
    “There is no release that I can give her.” Lex looked directly at me. “But you can.”
    I took a step back, my arm tingling from the burning cold. “No . . . I can’t touch that. I can’t release her—she’s buried too deep.”
    Please . . .
    “But you can—if you do not surrender the flesh.”
    I blinked at her. “Surrender the flesh?”
    “Your flesh will protect you.”
    Now—I kinda got what she was meaning. I just hoped the other two didn’t. As in she was saying I could release her if I didn’t go OOB and used my Wraithiness in the flesh. Which—of course—I had no intention of doing.
    Sensing there was a tense moment, Rhonda spoke up. “Lex—the symbols. Can you read them? Do you know if the ritual is complete?”
    This seemed to pull big bad vampire girl’s attention away from me, and I half listened as I stared down at Mialani’s face. I strained to hear her—to sense her there. But the truth was if she was buried in that muck—I might never have found her.
    When were you going to tell us?
    I jumped at Joe’s voice and looked at him. He stood at the body’s feet, his arms crossed, his eyes intense on me. I lowered my gaze. You read my mind?
    No . . . I’ve known Lex a long time. I know what she’s implying. He paused. So you can go Wraith now, without going OOB?
    I didn’t nod. Didn’t need to.
    Well . . . congratulations there, kiddo. Hope you find your new life fulfilling. And with that he moved out of the room.
    Lex and Rhonda stopped talking as he left, and Rhonda looked at me accusingly. “What did you do?”
    I was irritable because of no sleep, hungry, angry, and just plain . . . oh, my sugar was just messed up. I moved around the body and out the doors to follow Joe. He wasn’t inside, so I went outside and found him just by the curb, looking up at the sky. It was foggy out—and there were cars starting to fill the parking lot. Employees getting in to work. Seeing a man there with a gun in a shoulder holster meant nothing to these guys.
    I stood behind him. I’m sorry.
    He whirled on me then, his eyes flashing. Sorry? Something this important happens to you, and you don’t share it with us? Why, Zoë? Why? What happened? When did it happen?
    I held up my arms. “I don’t know—well, yeah, I kinda do. It happened the first time that day at the warehouse with Holmes. When Daniel saw me. I—I actually released Holmes with a touch—without slipping the meat suit. And then I got so scared and things got so crazy and you disappeared and Daniel disappeared, then I got sick and couldn’t OOB . . .” I let my voice trail off—not really sure what else to say.
    Joe came to me then, a daunting man with broad shoulders and a musky, manly smell that I always liked. He smiled down at me, and I wished I could hear his voice again. He reached out and took my chin in his hand. I told you why I left. When I kissed you—I knew it meant more to me than it would mean to you. Your heart was