be left the fuck alone?

The tiny spirit cocked her head, waited.

Darius exploded. "What the hell do you want from me?" The buzzing in his head was becoming unbearable. He leaned forward. " _I can't help you_. Don't you fucking get that?"

He didn't realize he'd grabbed his glass off the side table until it crashed against the phonograph. Madison shrank back, her small face pinched and frightened. Darius surged to his feet, staggered as the room reeled around him.

"Get out! _GET OUT_!"

Without a word, Madison blinked out.

A couple seconds ticked by before it clicked that he was actually alone. Darius swayed. The buzzing in his head was gone, replaced by a dull, throbbing pain. His stomach felt like it was on fire.

Fire.

What had J's last moments been like? Theget back. She glanced around again, then hopped the fence into the garden.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't _quite_ what Darius would do.

She landed with a soft crunch on a blanket of decorative mulch. The garden was laid out in a small, tidy square, dotted with small trees and lush clusters of Lily-of-the-Nile. Neatly-trimmed boxwoods formed a low, labyrinthine maze throughout.

Georgia straightened, and started down a mulched path. She still wasn't sure what she was expecting to find. She looked up at the cupola. Pale morning sunlight glinted off the clean glass panes.

Doubt nagged at her. If the hellhound really had been here, wouldn't it have left some trace? The house in Forest Hill had been devastated. Here, she wouldn't have guessed anything had happened. No broken windows. No