“What is it?” I asked.

“Don’t you hear that?”

I listened. “What is it?”

“Whispering.”

“It could be Liz. She—”

Brady went rigid. His eyes rolled. Then his head flew back, the tendons in his neck popping out, bones crackling. His throat convulsed and he gurgled. Instinctively I reached out to help. My hands passed through him, but I could feel the heat of his body, a scorching heat that made me fall back in surprise.

As I recovered, Brady went still again. His chin lowered and he rolled his shoulders, as if working out the kinks. Then he looked down at me. His dark eyes were now a glowing yellowish-orange. The chill in my gut slunk up my spine.

“Frightened, child?” The voice coming out of Brady’s mouth was a woman’s, so high and light it was almost girlish. “Your instincts are excellent, but you have nothing to fear from me.”

“W-where’s Brady?”

She looked down at the body she was possessing. “Do you like him? He is pretty, isn’t he? All of dear Dr. Lyle’s creations are so very pretty. Perfect balls of perfect energy, waiting to explode.”

In a blink, “Brady” was in front of me, his face coming down to mine, bathing me in scorching hot breath that smelled strangely sweet. Those orange eyes met mine, the pupils slitted like a cat’s.

“The boy can’t help you, child. But I can. You just need to—”

Her eyes rolled back, darkening to Brady’s brown, then back to orange as she snarled.

“They’re pulling him back to the other side. Call me, child. Quickly.”

“C-call—”

“Call me forth. I can—”

Her eyes rolled again, her snarl deepening into something inhuman, a sound that made the chill in my veins harden to ice. I stepped back and smacked into the wall.

“Call me forth,” she said, voice going ragged, deepening into Brady’s. “I can answer all your questions. Call me—”