Chapter 2

2

I tried to walk past them into my house, but Alistair blocked the door. He hovered over me, his shadow long and threatening.

"Elara, don't think you can play your games this time. Misty is the hero here. You will never set foot in the Blackwood estate," he hissed.

I realized then that he had also returned from the future. He remembered everything.

"Alistair, stop being so full of yourself," I snapped. "You think you're some prize? I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on Earth."

"You―" He raised a hand as if to strike me, but he was interrupted. A bucket of thick, red paint splashed over his head.

Alistair didn't have time to move. He stood there, dripping in crimson, looking like a monster from a horror movie.

A group of about a dozen people suddenly swarmed my driveway. They blocked us in, their faces twisted with anger.

"There she is! That's Elara Vance!" a woman screamed. She lunged forward and grabbed a handful of my hair.

"She took thirty thousand dollars from me! She promised she'd save my brother, but he died and she vanished!"

"She's a fraud! She makes money off the dead! She's a soulless bitch!"

They started swinging wooden bats and heavy signs at me. Alistair's first instinct was to shield me, but when he heard their accusations, he stepped back.

He wiped the red paint from his eyes and watched with a cruel smile. He enjoyed seeing me cornered.

Misty hurried over, acting shocked by the paint on Alistair. She tried to pull him away, but he shook her off.

"See, Dad?" Alistair shouted as Silas watched from the car. "I told you she was a scammer. If we had trusted her, Finley would be dead. Thank God for Misty."

Silas looked at me with pure disgust. He didn't say a word. He just tapped his driver's shoulder and they sped away.

"How many people have you cheated, Elara?" Alistair taunted. "Let's see you talk your way out of this."

I looked at him through the chaos. "Did you pay these people to come here, Alistair?"

He laughed. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? It would give you an excuse. But you're just a common criminal who belongs in a cell."

The crowd surged forward again. A fist caught me in the jaw. I fell, my knees slamming into the concrete steps.

"Stop it…" I gasped, but my voice was drowned out by their insults. Alistair was cheering them on like it was a sport.

"Stay back!" I yelled. I pulled a small, silver blade from my belt and pointed it at the leaders.

"Anyone who takes another step dies!"

Alistair pushed through the crowd, laughing hysterically. "Look at you! You're finally showing your true colors. You're a violent psychopath."

"I don't know these people!" I screamed. "This is a setup!"

Alistair's eyes turned dark. He stepped back and nodded to the angry mob. "If she won't admit she's a fraud, beat it out of her. Then we'll call the police."

The group moved in for the kill. I braced myself, ready to fight for my life.

Suddenly, a powerful voice boomed across the yard. "Stop! Every single one of you, back off!"