My Heart Is a Chainsaw (The Indian Lake Trilogy, #1)

by Stephen Graham Jones

“I was going to burn it all down.” Jade tries to process this, finally says, “With that candle?” She feels Letha nodding. “Why?” “We shouldn’t be here,” Letha says, shuddering now, holding the back of Jade’s fingers to her mouth, speaking warmth right onto them. “In Proofrock?” “This side of the lake,” Letha whispers, the hush of her words rushing up Jade’s arm to the base of her jaw, the center of her chest. “But—” “People, I mean,” Letha goes on. “This side of the lake isn’t for people.” “Why do—why?” Jade asks. “I’ve seen her,” Letha says, barely able to get it out before pulling Jade closer all at once. “No, no,” Jade says, letting herself be drawn in. “This isn’t the Golden Age, that’s—it was your dad in a wig. I saw him too, from the water. That’s how these things—” “On the water,” Letha says. Jade’s skin prickles. “Paddleboard,” she says. “He doesn’t know how,” Letha says back.