Jesus, no.” Hallie and Boyd and everyone else had worked too hard, sacrificed too much to open up the under again. “You have to open it,” Beth said. “I have to go through.” “Why?” Beth stared at her as if she thought the answer were obvious. “Because I’m going to take his place.” There was one brief moment when Hallie felt a wave of relief. One less thing, one less burden dying and coming back had demanded of her. No more visits from Death, no more wondering when the hammer was going to drop. She could just live. Well, with ghosts and Maker and the occasional weird occurrence demanding her attention. But at least without demands from the afterlife. But no. This wasn’t the answer. She couldn’t claim a solution for herself at the expense of a nineteen-year-old who’d lost her entire family. “You have no idea what it means,” she told Beth. “I think I do.” Beth tilted her chin, as though defiance were the same as strength. “You really don’t,” Hallie said.
