Her chin shot up. “I don’t hide. Especially not when I’m responsible.”

“Okay,” Laurie said, walking into the hall, Baldwin trailing behind. “So how do we fight these things? What exactly are they?”

“Spirits, right?” Matt said. “Like ghosts. That’s what I saw outside.”

Astrid nodded.

“But they’re inside, too,” he said. “Or they can get inside us somehow. In our brains. Mess us up. You said you thought you’d gotten rid of them. What did you do?”

“It won’t work for you,” Astrid said. “That’s why you guys should go down—”

“We’re staying,” Matt interrupted. “Just explain.”

“Quickly, please,” Laurie said, glancing out the side window.

“I’m descended from Queen Gunnhild of Norway, who was believed to be a witch. She was—and I have her powers. Dispelling the mara takes magic. Special magic. I’ll handle that part. You guys just… do what you can.”

“Laurie, can you wake Fen?” Matt said. “I’m liable to get my hand bitten off if I try.”

“Like Tyr,” Astrid said, struggling for a smile.

Something crashed in the living room. They all ran in, Matt pushing into the lead.

It was Fen. He’d fallen off the chair and lay on the floor, still sleeping.

Matt laughed under his breath. “Have fun trying to wake him up, Laurie. He’s dead to—”

Matt saw Fen’s eyes then, wide and staring, and he ran over, dropping beside him. Fen lay there, frozen, eyes filled with terror, mouth open, too, chest heaving as if gasping for breath.

“Sleep paralysis,” Astrid said. “Like you had.”

Matt shook Fen’s shoulder.

“Don’t!” Astrid said, leaping forward. “You’ll only make it worse. You have to let him snap out of it naturally.”

Matt turned to say something to Laurie. But she wasn’t there. He turned and saw her across the room, staring into nothing, and he thought she was frozen, too. Then her lips parted, and she whispered, “Jordie?”

Jordie? Who was—?Her little brother.

“She’s hallucinating.” Matt leaped up. “Laurie? It’s not—”

“Jordie!” she shouted and ran from the room, as if chasing her invisible brother.

Matt looked back at Fen, still frozen and wide-eyed on the ground.

“We’ve got this,” Astrid said. “Baldwin and I will be here when Fen snaps out of it. You go get her.”

Matt ran after Laurie. He could hear her, her voice choked with sobs, saying, “I’m sorry, Jordie. I had to leave. I had to.”

Matt followed her voice to the kitchen. She was standing in the middle of it, looking toward the counter, tears streaming down her face as she begged her brother for forgiveness.

“I didn’t know,” she said. “I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t know.”

“Laurie?” When she didn’t turn, he said, louder, “Laurie? It’s not him. It’s not Jordie. Whatever he’s saying happened, it didn’t. It’s a mara, remember?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No!”

Matt thought she was talking to him, until she said, “I would never do that. I was trying to stop Ragnarok. Protect you.”

“Laurie!”

Matt strode over and stood between her and the counter. He was right in front of her, but she couldn’t seem to see him. Trapped in a waking nightmare, like the one he’d had.

“No!” she screamed. “Jordie, no!”

She rushed forward and plowed right into Matt. When he tried to hold her back, she clawed and kicked, and finally, he moved out of her way and she dropped to the floor, sobbing and reaching out, as if there were someone there, lying on the floor.

“Laurie.” Matt took her shoulder and shook her. “Laurie!” When she didn’t respond, he grabbed her under the arms, heaved her to her feet, and said, as sharply as he could, “You’re dreaming. Jordie’s fine. He’s miles away. You know that. You knowthat.”

She started to struggle, but weakly, as if she could hear him. He said it again, even sharper, then he gave her a shake and pulled her away from her brother’s imaginary body.

“Wh-what?” she said, looking up at him. “Where—?” She looked up at him and shoved him away. “Thorsen!”

“You were hallucinating. I think you thought Jordie died and it was your fault.”

“Jordie…?” She swallowed and swayed, as if it was coming back, but when Matt reached for her again, she pushed him away and straightened, then took a deep breath.

“Everything’s fine,” Matt said.

“Is it?” said a voice behind him.

Matt turned slowly. There stood his father, his hair and clothes soaking wet, his face almost… melted.

“Do Ilook fine?” Dad said, stepping forward. “You let your snake swallow me, Matt. You let it eatme, and you did nothing to stop it.”

“I couldn’t. I—”

Matt stopped himself and squeezed his eyes shut. Hallucinating. He was just hallucinating. He knew that, but it felt real. That was the magic, like with Laurie. She knew Jordie couldn’t be there, but it feltreal.

“Matt?”

He heard Laurie’s voice, but dimly, as if she were across the house. She’s right there. Focus on her. Pull yourself back.

He kept his eyes shut as he turned back toward Laurie’s voice.

“Keep talking,” he said.

“Talking about what?” It was Jake now. “What’s there to talk about, Matt? You messed up. I knew you would. You always do.”

“Laurie? Talk. Please.”

He could hear her saying something, but her voice was drowned out by another—Josh.

“Why’d you let this happen, Matt?” Josh asked. “I thought you could do it. Even when Jake said you couldn’t. Even when Dad thought you couldn’t. I believed in you.”

“Laurie? Louder.”

He felt her fingers wrap around his arm. “Snap out of it, Thorsen. Get a grip. You know it’s not real. Fight it!”

His eyes snapped open, and he saw her standing there, glowering up at him.

“I’m back,” he said.

“ Stayback.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked around, blinking away the last of the vision. “Okay, we need to get to—”

A scream from upstairs.

“The twins.” Matt pushed Laurie toward the door. “You check on Fen. I’ll go help them.”

As they ran for the door, something hissed to Matt’s left, and he looked to see a serpent’s head coming through the window, red eyes glowing.

“It’s not there,” he muttered under his breath. “Nothing’s there.”

Laurie shrieked, hands flying up to cover her head as she ducked from some unseen monster.

“It’s not—” Matt began.

“I know,” she said, already uncovering her head. She cast an angry look around the room. “Not real. You hear me? You’re not real.”

“You got it.” Matt put his hands on her shoulders and steered her, in front of him, toward the doorway.

When a puff of smoke appeared in the doorway, swirling, he instinctively stopped and pulled Laurie back. The smoke took the shape of a woman—so thin she looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over her bones. Long white hair swirled around her. Her eyes were empty pits. When she opened her mouth, it was filled with rotting stumps of teeth.

“You’re not there,” Matt said, pushing Laurie forward. “You’re a figment of my imagination.”

The apparition hissed and reached out a long, bony finger.

Laurie dug in her heels. “Uh, Matt? Are you seeing a really ugly woman pointing at us?”

“Yeah…”

“Then she’s actually there, because I see her, too.”

“A mara,” he said. “That must be what they look like.” He stepped in front of Laurie and squared his shoulders. “But it’s still just a spirit. It can’t hurt you. Remember that. Close your eyes and hold my shirt, and we’ll walk right through—”

Something shot from the hag’s finger and hit Matt like a jolt of electricity, knocking him to the floor and stunning him.

Laurie pulled him up. “Your theory is wrong.”

“No kidding.”

The mara pointed again, this time at Laurie. Matt pushed Laurie to the side and dove after her. The bolt hit the wall, leaving a sizzling hole in the plaster.