Chapter 4

I woke up to the smell of damp earth and mildew. My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache. My hands and feet were bound tightly with rough rope, the fibers cutting into my skin.

I was in a basement. The only light came from a single, bare bulb hanging from a wire overhead, casting long, menacing shadows on the stone walls. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

Footsteps echoed on the concrete floor. Three large, brutish men emerged from the shadows. I didn' t recognize them.

"She' s awake," one of them grunted.

They surrounded me. Fear, raw and primal, clawed at my throat.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I managed to choke out.

They didn' t answer. One of them kicked me in the ribs. Pain shot through my side, stealing my breath. Another one grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.

"Boss said to rough her up a bit," he sneered, his breath hot and foul. "So she knows her place."

They kicked and punched me. I curled into a ball, trying to protect myself, but it was useless. Pain was everywhere. A metallic taste filled my mouth. Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the dirt and blood.

I couldn' t die here. Not like this.

"Please," I sobbed, the word torn from my throat. "Please, stop. I' ll do anything."

My begging seemed to satisfy them. They laughed, a cruel, mocking sound that echoed in the small space. They backed away, leaving me a crumpled, whimpering mess on the floor.

Then, I heard another set of footsteps, lighter and more deliberate, coming down a set of wooden stairs.

Lily appeared at the bottom of the steps, a triumphant smirk on her face. She looked me over, her eyes filled with cold satisfaction.

"See, Sarah? This is what happens when you get in my way," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "I knew you remembered. I could see it in your eyes. You thought you could come back and get your revenge, didn' t you? You thought you could watch me fail."

"Lily, why?" I whispered, the pain in my ribs making it hard to breathe.

"Because you don' t deserve a second chance!" she shrieked, her composure cracking for a moment. "I was supposed to go to Harvard! I was supposed to have everything! You ruined it. But not this time. This time, the swap is going to work perfectly. But it won' t be my soul going into the dog."

Her eyes gleamed with a terrifying, mad light. "It' ll be yours."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object. It was an amulet, carved from a piece of dark, polished stone that seemed to absorb the light around it. It felt ancient and wrong.

"I found the real witch doctor this time," she said, dangling the amulet in front of my face. "He said this will guarantee the transfer. Your soul will go into the dog, and you can live out the rest of your pathetic life eating kibble and chasing squirrels. I, on the other hand, will get a perfect score on the SATs, go to Harvard, and with your body, I' ll even get close to the Blackwoods. Maybe I can get Ethan to fall in love with me."

A wave of nausea washed over me. The thought of her, this monster, in my body, near my real family...

"You' re evil," I spat, tasting blood. "You' ll never get away with this. You' ll rot in hell for what you' ve done."

Lily just laughed. "Maybe. But you' ll get there first."

She knelt beside me, her face inches from mine. "Open your mouth."

I clamped my jaw shut.

She sighed dramatically. "Fine. Have it your way." She signaled to her thugs. Two of them pinned my arms, while the third pried my jaw open with brutal force. The pain was excruciating.

Lily took the cold, smooth amulet and pushed it into my mouth.

"Swallow it," she commanded.

I tried to spit it out, to fight back, but they held me fast. With one final, cruel shove, she forced the amulet down my throat.

I gagged, a desperate, choking sound. A profound, unnatural coldness spread from my stomach through my entire body. It felt like my very essence was being extinguished, replaced by something hollow and dark. I was losing myself.

Lily stood up, brushing the dust from her designer jeans, a look of ultimate victory on her face.