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Now Noah wore the retreating expression that ca made him uncomfortable His chin turned, his eyes hooded and alien Ada and he was not

"If you can tell me," Gansey said, "I can find a way to put the police on the trail"

Noah’s chin ducked farther, his expression somehow black, his eye sockets hollowed and skull-like Were they looking at a boy? Or so that looked like a boy?

Adam wanted to say, Don’t push hiht, frantic caws that split the air It was as if there was nothing in the world but the sound of her frenzied cries It seee sound

Noah lifted his head, his eyes wide open and ordinary He looked frightened

Ronan folded a hand over Chainsaw’s head until she quieted

Noah said, "I don’t want to talk about it"

His shoulders were drawn up around his ears, and he looked, now, like the Noah that they had always known The Noah they had never questioned as being one of theain: "Okay What would you like to do?"

"I’d like …" Noah began, trailing off as he always did, shrinking back into his room Was this what Noah did when he was alive, Ada to hold an ordinary conversation?

Ronan and Adalanced to Gansey at once It see to be done or said Even Ronan seemed subdued, his normal barbs hidden Until they were sure what the new rules were, he, too, seemed reluctant to find out how otherworldly Noah could be when provoked

Looking away from the others, Gansey asked, "Noah?"

The space in Noah’s dooras empty

At the threshold of Noah’s room, Ronan pushed the door all the way open The room inside was stark and untouched, the bed so clearly unslept in

The world hued with possibilities, not all of the was the truth until he could put his hands on it

Ronan began to swear, long and filthy and continuous, without stopping for breath

Gansey’s thu on?"

Ada haunted"

Chapter 30

Blue was ht she would’ve been by the fact that Noah was dead Fro to the police, it was clear that he’d never been alive, at least not since she’d rief over it For starters, Noah’s presence in Moned distinctly after they discovered his body They never seeet the entire Noah any lot, or Blue would see his shadow fall across the sidewalk as she headed over to Monmouth, or Ronan would find scratches on his skin

He had always been a ghost, but noas acting it

"Maybe," Adaested, "it’s because his body’s been re of the skull with its face s Not throwing up Just going through the actions of it, because he was dead

She wanted to find whoever did it and she wanted him to fester in a cell for the rest of his life

Blue was so engrossed in Noah’s plight that she nearly forgot that she and Calla were supposed to search Neeve’s roonized that she was distracted, because she’d left a cheekily obvious note on the fridge for Blue to find before school: BLUE -- DON’T FORGET MOVIE NIGHT TONIGHT Swiping the sticky note from the door, Blue stuffed it into her backpack

"Blue," Neeve said

Blue jue, spinning at the sa of tea in front of her, a book in her hand She wore a cream shirt the precise color of the curtains behind her

"I didn’t see you there!" Blue gasped The sticky note in her backpack felt like a burning confession

Neeve smiled mildly and placed her book facedown "I haven’t seen much of you this week"

"I’ve … been … out … with … friends" Between each word, Blue told herself to stop sounding suspicious

"I’ve heard about Gansey," Neeve said "I advised Maura that it wasn’t wise to try to keep you apart You’re clearly meant to cross paths"

"Oh Uh Thanks for that"

"You seem distressed," Neeve said With one of her lovely hands, she patted the seat of the chair beside her "Would you like ?"

"Oh, thanks for that, but I can’t -- I have to make it to school," Blue said quickly Part of her wondered if Neeve asked these things out of kindness, or if she asked they, because she knehat Calla and Blue were planning Either way, Blue didn’t want any part of the scrying Neeve did Bundling her things toward the doorway, she did a kind of casual half wave over her shoulder

She had made it only a few steps when Neeve said to her back, "You’re looking for a god Didn’t you suspect that there was also a devil?"

Blue froze in the doorway She turned her head, but didn’t quite face Neeve

"Oh, I haven’t been poking around," Neeve said "What you’re doing is big enough for s"

Now Blue faced her Neeve’s ed; her hands were cupped around the

"Numbers are easy for me," Neeve said "They came first, really I could always pull them out of thin air Important dates Telephone numbers They’re the easiest But death’s the next easiest I can tell when someone’s touched it"