KT'S POV

We wait patiently for Cassidy to begin to speak, to tell us what she knows. She seems uncomfortable, even though she was the one who practically forced us to let her in. I can't fathom what she must know. If she knows more than we do about this horrible evil sweeping over us, then no wonder she's fraught.

"Cassidy," I say quietly, urging her to go on. "C'mon."

"This was a mistake," she says. "I can hardly handle the truth, much less put this weight on your shoulders."

"You have no idea what we've been through the three years before this. We can handle anything," Amber states confidently.

"You don't understand," Cassidy says sorrowfully. "Madame Kahn isn't what you think. I think… I think I've met her before. She's powerful. Evil. Something Eddie can't handle by himself. He… he needs help." She stutters on the word help as if she fears it.

"Cassidy," Fabian says calmly. "What is Madame?"

"The truth is, I don't know exactly. Whatever she is is still too powerful for Eddie. I have no idea what she is. I've done boatloads of research, but nothing adds up. There's nothing remotely resembling Kahn's state."

"Her state?" I ask.

"I have this feeling that whatever she may be, it isn't voluntary. I feel that she isn't purposefully, or even knowingly, attacking Eddie."

"Why is that?"

"The eyes. I think when they change, she turns into a monster. There might be something inside of her, trying got control her, but she doesn't even know she's hosting it. In a normal state, she can act like a regular woman."

Fabian's eyes light up. He bounds across the room and opens Joy's laptop, typing frantically into the URL bar.

"Fabes, what is it?" Joy asks.

For a moment, he doesn't speak. After scrolling and searching different sites, he leaps into the air screaming "YES!" repeatedly.

I muster a laugh and ask him what he's doing. He stops twirling and stares at me. He smiles and grabs my shoulders.

"I found it. I know what she is, I think," he whispers.

My eyes bulge so large I'm surprised they don't fall out of my head.

"Cassidy said something that reminded me of something Jasper told me two years ago. He mentioned that there was a legend that Egyptian gods and goddesses would possess the bodies of weak minded mortals. Hosts. That's what they were called." Fabian is so elated at his discovery, proud that he's made this find, that I can just see delight in his eyes.

"That actually sounds considerably accurate," Cassidy agrees. "I know I've heard that legend before, but it slipped my mind… which is weird, considering I have an eidetic memory…" she immediately begins to worry about why she's forgotten something. It seems impossible to her that an imperative piece of information has slipped her perfect mind. She begins frantically pacing, determined to recall what she's forgotten.

"So a host… like she's possessed by a god or goddess? That sounds so far fetched," I say.

"According to this, it's happened in ancient Egyptian times. A god would seek out a weak minded yet able bodied being to control, completely take over, become the mortal. The mortal would act like him or herself but would occasionally succumb involuntarily to the god's will. They'd be capable of harnessing all of the powers of the god. It's basically as if a god is taking a physical form for them to meander on earth," Fabian thoroughly explains.

"Wait," Amber interjects. "So Madame Kahn has some ancient god stuck inside of her making her go crazy and attack Eddie?"

"Wow, Amber, you actually followed along," I tease. She sneers at me, but the proud smile never leaves her face.

"Now, of course, this is only a hunch, but it seems like a probable solution," Fabian says.

"Cassidy," I say. "You said you knew a lot about this. Is there anything else?"

She pauses in the midst of her panic and turns to face me, a shaky smile on her face. "I don't understand. I feel like I'm forgetting everything. Everything, all of what Fabian just said, I know it all. I knew it before. Now I can't remember it at all. What if the god or goddess is purposely making me forget everything so we have no advantage? I know for sure I have heard ways of stopping this!"

The rest of us don't know what to say. I urge her to tell us what she does know in the hopes it will jog her memory.

"I've told you most of what I know."

"You promised to tell us everything," Fabian argues.

"I know… I just can't tell you one thing…"

"Cassidy, you assured us you'd tell us the entire truth, every bit of it. You swore."

"I know!" She's on the verge of tears and I don't know why. "But… I can't tell you… yet. It's too personal at the moment. I need to speak to Eddie."

"Eddie?" I'm confused. "What does Eddie have to do with something you're hiding? You two don't know each other. You've never spoken."

"He has everything to do with it. I can't let you know before he does."

"Know what?" Fabian demands.

"His past. Who he is. Why he is what he is. What his purpose is."

At this, the five of us stare perplexedly at one another. Cassidy knows about Eddie's past?

"I… I thought… all I know is that Eddie's parents divorced. Eddie and his mom moved to America and he's lived there his entire life. And he's a descendant of some Egyptian pharaoh or something." I blurt out all I've heard about Eddie, but something inside of me tells me it's wrong.

"You don't know the least bit about Eddie," Cassidy cries. "All that you just said, it's a lie. A cover up. It was made to make Eddie never uncover the truth. He thinks what you just said is true but it's not. None of it."

Fabian changes the subject to trail away from the mysterious knowledge of Cassidy. I don't understand how it is possible for Cassidy to know the truth, or why, but I listen to Fabian and forget about it."

"Here's what I propose. We all want to know the truth, and we can only get that from Madame Kahn. Of course, we can't simply stroll up to her desk and ask if there's some evil god living inside of her. She might not even have any idea that she's a host, if she is. Tomorrow is the day before Halloween, so while everyone is busy planning and setting up for the party, we do a Sibuna stakeout at the school. We spend the night there, see what Eddie and Patricia know, and find out what Madame has been up to."

We all nod in agreement, admitting that it may be the only option we have. We unanimously decide to spend the night and take turns on the watch for any suspicious activity. As far as we know, Madame never leaves the building. We may have her cornered.

"Jerome and I are in charge of the party," Joy says. "I need to stay. Plus I can cover for you guys. Just… just be careful tomorrow. I've seen the effects this god can have on someone as powerful as Eddie."

"Don't worry, Joy," Fabian says. "We're Sibuna. We're a team. We can handle anything."

It is decided that I, Fabian, Amber, Alfie and Cassidy will find Eddie and Patricia and discuss our plan. Then the 7 of us will spend the night of the school, hoping to uncover the truth about Madame.

A voice bellows from downstairs:

"It is ten o'clock! You have five minutes precisely, and then I want to hear a pin drop!"

I chuckle lightly. Oh, classic Victor. I exit the room and step into the hall, Fabian right behind me. Once everyone else is back in their own rooms, I turn to Fabian and stop him from going downstairs.

"Good plan," I say brightly. "You make a good leader."

"Why, thank you. I like to think I hold this team together," he jokes. Goodnight, KT." He kisses me on the cheek and goes downstairs, leaving me standing alone in the hallway, grinning broadly to myself.