That Way Madness Lies: XV of Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined

by Dahlia Adler

“We are gathered here today to say farewell to one of our own.” As if there’s much of Julia left to say farewell to. I still see it when I close my eyes. I’ve got the strongest stomach of any of us—I had to, to hold my own with her—but the smell of burning rubber and the sight of intestines draped over a steering column proved hard to scrub away. But now—right now—I don’t want to scrub it away. I need that power. I need that hate. And Julia—god, if there’s one thing she knew how to do, it was provoke. Briony and Cassie rub their thumbs over rough crystals, readying for tonight, dreaming of the Dark. Gathering their strength. But watching them gives me the strength I’ll need to see this through. The initial slap of Julia’s death has stopped stinging, and what’s left behind is different for us all. For Briony and Cassie, it’s the void now at the dark heart of our summoning circle and the question of who will fill it. For me, it’s the weight of everything Julia left undone. “Julia Simmons was a bright girl,” the principal continues. “A pillar of our student body.” Bitch, most would say. Tyrant. They wouldn’t be wrong. It was never about who Julia was, though. It was what she made out of the rest of us. “Her kindness and generosity should be an inspiration to us all.” Julia had claimed Westbrook’s greatest treasure for herself, and it got her killed. There was nothing generous in it. Nothing kind about her leaving me behind. But the worst part is that Cassie thinks Julia’s pla...