“If you get a chance,” I said. “No big deal.”

“Did you come across a door you couldn’t open?” she asked.

I hesitated. “A couple of closets. We want to make sure there aren’t mice living in there.”

“I can understand that,” Mrs. Redmond said. “The property is pretty big, and Miss Colchis, by her own admission, never threw anything away. Maybe there’s another key in the house somewhere?”

I’d already searched the turret, the bedrooms, all the closets and drawers. But I did find a secret room, so there was still the possibility that I’d missed something.

“Listen,” Mrs. Redmond said. “I’ll double-check my office and see if I left anything behind.”

“Thanks,” I said. I handed the phone back to Karter, and he hung up after saying bye.

“You guys having trouble opening doors?” Karter asked. “Are you sure it’s locked? Sometimes in these old houses the hinges get stuck and you have to—” He stopped short.

I followed his gaze to the waist-high grass surrounding us. The blades were stretching toward me like a thousand eager arms. How could I have been so stupid? Walking through the grass with him like that? I couldn’t make him unsee what was happening, and to make things worse, the blades turned an obscene shade of bright, neon green. They refused to be ignored.

Karter grabbed my arm. “Why is it doing that?”

I had a choice to make. I could rush him back into the house and act like I was just as confused as he was. I could start the vicious cycle of lies and pretending, or I could do something I’d never done before. What would it be like to let everything be right out in the open? This friendship with Karter was new and I didn’t want to have to hide the way I did with Gabby back home.

I studied Karter’s expression. He was anxious, but he’d moved closer to me, not away. I took a deep breath.

“It’s me.”

He blinked repeatedly. “You’re making the grass do that?” He glanced around the yard. “How?”

“I—I don’t know. Please, Karter. Please don’t be afraid.” He stayed quiet but didn’t move. I took that as a sign that he wanted to know more. “Come with me.”

I took his hand and pulled him toward the hidden path. We stopped at the tree line. As if on cue, the curtain of vines parted in front of me. Karter’s eyes grew wide. He stepped back, snatching his hand away from me.

“What—what’s happening?” he stammered.

I turned to Karter. If he was freaked out, he could leave. I’d be disappointed but not surprised. “I know it’s strange. But I need to talk to someone about what I found.”

Karter’s chest heaved. He was in a half-crouched stance, like he was ready to sprint away at any moment.

“Just walk with me,” I said. “For a little bit?”

Karter exhaled, long and slow. “Walk with you where?”

I stepped onto the path and looked back at him. “It’ll be easier if I can show you. Please?”

I held out my hand, hoping he’d take it and give me a chance to prove to myself that I was capable of this.

He took a tentative step forward, then put his hand firmly in mine.

CHAPTER 15

Before, the plants along the path had pulled back, making a way for me. Now, they stayed close to my feet, slithering like poisonous snakes and crowding the trail, ready to strike. Karter kept a death grip on my arm as I led him through the trees, which creaked and groaned as they arched toward me.

“Keep moving,” I said. “And stay close.”

We emerged into the clearing and Karter loosened his grip though I didn’t let go of him. Images of Alec being reeled in by vines as thick as my arm tumbled through my head. He’d been a threat to me, and this place had sensed that and acted accordingly. I still wasn’t sure what mechanism made that happen, but if I kept Karter close, I thought I could keep him safe.

The black bat flowers that blanketed the meadow shifted in unison. Karter looked beyond them, his gaze resting on the gate. “What’s in there?”

“More plants,” I said, unsure of how to tell him exactly what it was. “That’s what I wanted to show you.”

“If it’s just plants, why is it sealed up like that?” He gestured toward the lock.

“Some of them are poisonous,” I said. I took the key from my pocket and unlocked the gate. The bougainvillea pulled back as the rusted gates swung open. I took Karter’s hand again and we walked into the walled enclosure.

Karter moved closer to me. “The poisonous stuff—is it like poison ivy or somethin’?”

“No, more like oleander and belladonna.”

His eyebrows knitted together. “I have no idea what that means, but it sounds like something I don’t want no parts of.” He gazed up at the tree in the center of the garden and around at the plots. “Are these the poisonous ones?”

“No. These are pretty harmless, but . . .” I glanced toward the wall that divided the garden in half. “The plants back there are deadly. They could kill you by brushing against your skin.”

He swallowed hard but kept his eyes on the gate. “For real? So we can’t go in there?”

“No.”

He angled himself toward me. “But if they don’t touch my skin, I’m good? You’ve been in there, right? And you’re okay.”

“Yeah. But the poison—it doesn’t affect me the same way it affects other people.”

Karter raised an eyebrow. “Okay. So I’ll be careful. And I’m not really sure what you’re doin’ or how you’re doin’ it, but I—I want to see everything.”

There was a ring of excitement in his voice, but I had a vision of him tripping over his own feet and falling into a bed of stinging nettle.

“I promise I’ll be careful,” he said, as if he could sense my hesitation.

I wanted to share this place with him because I was done being afraid to get close to people. I didn’t want to hide anymore. “We can go right inside the gate. Don’t touch anything. Don’t even brush up against anything, okay?”

“I swear I won’t,” he said, craning his neck to look past the moon gate.

I moved toward the circular opening in the dividing wall. I led him through, stopping just inside. The locked door in the back was shrouded by ivy once again. No one would have known it was there unless they were looking for it.