“Take this.” Bres offered me a spoonful of the icky concoction Lark had synthesized.
I took it and then pulled off my clothes and flopped onto the bed in my underwear.
Bres’s body heat brushed against my arm as he lay beside me, and then his hands were in my hair, massaging my scalp. Damn, that felt so good.
So fucking good.
I was back in the dark place.
Shit.
Okay, I could deal with this if it meant my body got a chance to recharge. All I needed to do was stay quiet.
Was he out there?
The shimmer fucker?
Was he listening, waiting for me to breathe too loudly or fart or something? Wait, if you farted in a dream, did it make a sound?
“Kat?”
My heartbeat accelerated and then slowed again. Not the shimmer man.
“Bres?”
“Is it really you?” he asked.
“Where are you?”
“Here … Wherever here is. I understand what you were talking about yesterday now.”
He was close, but there was zero visibility in the dark place. Just suffocating blackness that pressed on me.
“Is he out there?” Bres asked.
“I don’t think so.”
The telltale prickle at the nape of my neck was absent.
“Hello? Kat, is that you?” a tremulous female voice called.
“Karishma?”
“What is this place?” Jay said from somewhere to the left.
I didn’t know why, but my gut told me this was a bad thing. Us all being here in the dark place together was somehow a bad thing.
And then the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention. “Hush, everyone be quiet. He’s here.”
Soft laughter trickled into the darkness, and my scalp tightened with fear.
“Hello, Kat and friends. Did you have fun with my pets?”
The horrors … He was referring to the horrors.
“Oh, come now, you can talk to me. It’s not like I can get to you. You have to come to me, remember? We may as well have a conversation.”
Yeah, not happening.
“Fine, then I’ll do all the talking. You’re almost out of time, Kitty Kat. I warned you what would come. I warned you that once they were free, I’d be the least of your worries, and I meant it. What you’ve seen is nothing compared to what’s coming. They’re almost free. When the skies glow red, you’ll have three moons before they tear into your world, and then the only power that can remove them is mine.”
I pressed my lips together to stop the curses that wanted to hurl themselves into the darkness.
He chuckled again. “No worries. You don’t have to talk to me. I have a new friend to play with now. Lark and I are going to have a fabulous time. We’re old friends, he and I, and I’m going to enjoy getting reacquainted with him.”
Ice shot through me. Lark? What? How could he have Lark?
“You think your tricks can keep me at bay?” His tone was harsh, saturated with anger. “The body has a way of taking what it needs. Tick Tock, Kitty Kat. Enjoy your friends while you can.”
I woke with a hungry gasp for air. Safe. I was safe. Awake. Bres opened his eyes a moment later. Our gazes locked, and then we were leaping out of bed. We tugged on our clothes and ran out of the room. Lark’s bedroom was at the end of the corridor.
I didn’t even knock.
The drapes were drawn, but there was enough sunlight spilling in through the gaps for us to see by.
Lark lay curled on his side in bed. His breathing was slow and even in sleep.
I exchanged a nervous look with Bres.
“Lark!” Bres called out. “Wake up.”
Nothing.
I shook him, hard. “Lark. Come on.”
Nothing.
My pulse was pounding too fast now. “Lark, wake the fuck up.” I slapped him hard across his face.
His head lolled, but he continued to sleep.
Oh, God. Oh, fucking God.
The shimmer man had him.
Chapter Eleven
“We can’t rely on the drug,” Henri said. “It’s not a guarantee.”
We’d gathered in the lounge, once again, and Emmett had brought in some tea and sandwiches, not that anyone was eating. My stomach was in knots, and Karishma looked like she wanted to throw up. Lark was gone. Trapped in Somnium, and it was obvious that Karishma, Bres, and Jay were all wondering if it could have been them nabbed by the shimmer man. The drug could have failed for any one of us. Even me.
Gramps sat by the fire, warming his hands. He didn’t look like he’d opted to sleep. Probably for the best considering what had happened.
“I don’t understand why the drug failed?” Henri said. “No REM sleep means no Somnium.”
“Some studies show that our brains need REM to recharge,” Karishma said. “Kat’s binding allowed her body to recharge using Tris’s energy. Lark’s body probably circumvented the drug, maybe he needed a higher dose … there’s no knowing. All we can conclude is that it’s unreliable.”
“When the skies glow red …” Bres said. “He said when the skies grow red, we’d have three days, but when the fuck will that be? How long do we have?”
“Is that what he said?” Max asked. “The Abyss has crimson skies … he must be talking about a major breach, one large enough to admit the major horrors.” He picked up the teapot and began to pour cups of tea, almost absently, as if his hands needed something to do. “The nick Death made must be growing.”
“Fine.” I blew out a breath. “We knew that more would come, now we know to look for red skies as a warning.”
“That’s a positive way to look at it.” Max looked surprised.
I shrugged. “What I really want to do is run around the room, waving my arms in the air screaming the sky is falling, but I doubt it’ll do much good.”
He cracked a smile.
Jay joined us in the lounge. “Poppy isn’t picking up, but I just spoke to Mai. They’re on their way home, about an hour out.”
“Everything go okay?” Bres asked.
Jay nodded. “Until the next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Max said, his expression somber. “If major horrors get through, no prison on this plane will hold them.”
Oh, fuck. “Luther! I have to warn him.” I retrieved my phone, hands trembling, and hit dial.
Luther answered on the third ring.
“The drug isn’t reliable.” I blurted out the words.
He was silent for a long beat. “I was just about to try it. It’s lucky you called.”
“We have to find another way to avoid the shimmer man. Any ideas?”
“No, sorry. The only way to do that is to be in a different reality or a pocket like the Academy, maybe a place in between.”
In between … Wait a bloody second. The Christmas decoration store, what was it called? “The Emporium! It’s a port, right? An active port. Kris told me it exists simultaneously across night markets. Can that work?”
“Yes,” Luther said. “Yes, it can, genius.” His tone grew excited. “It exists outside of this reality. Kat, I do believe we have a solution to our problem.”
“I need you to speak to the owner and get back to me.”
“I’m on it.”
I ended the call to find everyone staring at me.
“Pack up, guys, we’re moving into the Emporium.”
* * *
The next hour passed in a blur as we packed up the books and supplies that we’d need for our stay. Luther had the go-ahead from the owner of the Emporium, a young feyblood woman. She’d agreed to host us. Now, it was just a matter of getting there.
Lark was already tucked into the back of my Fiat. Bres and Henri carried Death out of the house and placed him on a blanket in the back of one of the vans. He looked smaller now that the lower half of his body was human, and someone, either Henri or Bres, had put a pair of joggers on him to cover his nakedne
ss. His feet were bare, though, pale and large feet. My dad’s feet.
Weird.
Gramps watched the guys make the half beast, half man comfortable.
“What is that?” he asked finally. “Kat … Who is that?”
Oh, shit. That conversation. I sighed. “That’s Death. That’s my father.”
Gramps didn’t look at me. His attention remained on Death until Jay closed the van’s doors, blocking out the image.
He seemed off. Tired. Quiet. Smaller. “Gramps?”
“It makes sense now,” Gramps said. “What you can do makes sense now.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of a relief actually. A relief to know who I am and what happened to Mother.”
He blinked in surprise. “He spoke to you about your mother? He knows what happened?”
“I’ve got a lot to tell you. I promise I’ll fill you in on the way to the Emporium.” I grinned. “Just in case I get side-tracked once we get there.”
He returned my smile. “It’s okay, Kat. I understand you have to focus on stopping the shimmer man. You’re doing your job, and I’m so proud of you.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Tris would have been so very proud of you.”
My eyes grew hot. “Urgh, now you’re going to make me cry.” I squeezed my eyes shut and sniffed.
Gramps pulled me into a hug, and it was hard to ignore how frail he felt. Fear lanced through me. He was old, like old old, but he’d always been a powerful presence in my life. The father I’d never had. But the way he leaned on me now, the sigh that rattled his body, told me that he was bone-tired.
“I love you, Gramps.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
“Okay, everyone, load up,” Jay called out. “Mai and Kris will meet us at the Emporium.”
Gramps released me, and I looked back at the mansion to see Emmitt and Emmett standing in the doorway.
I waved at them to hurry up. “Come on, guys.”
“They’re not coming, Kat,” Jay said.
“What? Why not?”
His smile was sad. “Because they belong here. With the house.”
What the fuck? “I’m sure the house can take care of itself.”
“I don’t think it can,” Jay said. “I didn’t understand it when I took over here. But I think Emmett and Emmitt are physical manifestations of the prison.”
“Mai told me you employed them.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say that. She must have assumed.”
Karishma joined us. “I’ve read about this. It’s a rare phenomenon. To be honest, I thought it was a myth, but Scorchwood isn’t like any other town I’ve ever been to, and the leylines make it a powerful location.”
“I thought they were hobbits.”
“They are,” Jay said. “They’re also a part of this mansion.”
Emmett and Emmitt were still standing in the doorway, gentle smiles on their faces, so alike, yet so different. So tiny, yet as large as the mansion because they were the mansion. Not real … No, they were real. This house was real. It had life, a heart, and these two were it.
I waved at them. “We’ll be back.”
They both raised a hand in unison and returned my wave.
I watched them in the rearview mirror as we drove away, standing … just standing there until their faces were a blur and an awful dark foreboding gripped me, the conviction that this was the last I’d be seeing of them.
* * *
The owner of the Emporium did not look happy to see us. In fact, she looked downright pissed off, and as I glanced about the shop floor, I could see why.
Luther had commandeered the sales counter for study, piled it with books, and shoved stools up against it. Several cushy sofas had been dragged to the front of the store too. Gargoyles were everywhere, and most of the stock had been moved to the back of the store.
Luther had well and truly taken over.
As the others piled in behind me, bringing more books and supplies with them, I approached the owner with a tentative smile. Was I giving off I-come-in-peace vibes? I hoped so.
“Hi, I’m Kat.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts. “Petunia.”
“Thank you for accommodating us.”
“Happy to help.” Although she sounded like she regretted it.
Something somewhere in the shop smashed. She winced and grit her teeth.
“I’m so sorry. This is your space, your store. I’ll ask everyone to be mindful of that.”
The tightness around her eyes melted a little. “I’d appreciate that. Luther explained what’s happening out there. I’ve had no customers for days, which makes sense now. If this place can be a haven to help you stop this entity, then I’m all for it, and—”
Another crash.
Petunia flinched.
Oh, bloody hell. “Everyone, stop!”
The babble died down, and all eyes were on me. “If you break it, you pay for it. And from now on, we confine ourselves to the front of the store. This area.” I waved my hand in the general vicinity I was referring to. “No one traipses about without Petunia’s permission. We have blankets and sleeping bags, so we can camp here.”
Petunia’s shoulders relaxed. “I have plenty of food. I’m happy to share.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind. We brought some food with us too. Could we use your kitchen?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Of course, whatever you need. In fact, I’d like to help with your research, if possible.”
“That would be great.”
And just like that, Petunia was on our team.
* * *
Three hours later, we’d amassed a ton of information on the primordial god Gaia, from folklore to mythology to eyewitness accounts. Yep, some of the older scrolls from Nightwatch HQ were anonymous journal entries. But nowhere was Tartarus’s heart mentioned. In fact, Tartarus was barely mentioned, and if he was, it was as the name of the prison, the Abyss.
Mai was across the room, checking on Lark to make sure he was still breathing. I caught Kris watching her covertly. I guess those three were going to need time to get used to the new dynamic.
“I need hot chocolate,” Karishma said, sitting back and rubbing her eyes.
“Don’t you mean coffee?” Max said.
“Nope,” Karishma said with a sheepish smile. “Hot chocolate is my fuel.”
They remained eye-locked for a long beat. Wait, were they checking each other out?
“Do we have any hot chocolate?” Max asked, never taking his eyes off Karishma.
“Did you bring some?” Petunia asked, looking up eagerly from her book.
I looked to Jay and Henri, who’d been on food supply duty.
“I didn’t pack any,” Henri said.
“Nope, sorry,” Jay replied.
The café across the square was visible through the swirling snowflakes falling outside the window. The cute building was unlit, probably locked up tight, but this time I’d brought my lock picks.
I needed to get off my ass because it was getting numb. I stood and stretched. “No worries. I’ll just pop across the road and do a little breaking and entering.”
My gaze locked with Bres. He gave me a knowing smile and made to stand.
“I’ll come with you.” Henri was already on his feet.
Shit. I glanced at Bres, who nodded slightly. He was telling me to go with Henri. I’d hoped for some one-on-one time with my boyfriend, maybe a snog? Didn’t look like that would be happening.
I smiled tightly at Henri. “Sure.”
I pulled on my coat and headed out into the square. It was getting dark, and the streetlamps had already come on. The huge tree in the center of the square lit up the gloom cheerily, but none of that was able to dispel the eerie silence that spoke of death and impending doom.
A shudder ripped through me, and I hugged my coat tighter around me.
Henri strode beside me, but neither of us spoke. There was this strange elastic tension between u
s I couldn’t define, and it wasn’t coming from me. Luther’s words filled my mind. “Henri is in love with you, Kat. You know it. You just prefer to take his word that he isn’t because it makes life easier because you, yourself, have moved on.”
I pushed them to the back of my mind. We were fine. The fact that I’d caught him staring at me several times with an unfathomable expression on his face when I’d been snuggled up to Bres didn’t mean anything.
It didn’t.
The lock on the café was almost too easy to pick, and we were inside in seconds. The café smelled of cinnamon and mold. The owners had obviously fallen under the shimmer man’s spell several days ago, and without having cleared up the pastries that were on display. Everything had gone off.
“Just hot chocolate?” Henri asked stiffly.
“Yeah.”
He lifted the counter flap and disappeared into the back.
Urgh, the weird tension between us was fucking pissing me off. This wasn’t us. I needed to fix it.
I found him scouring the cupboards for a tub of drinking chocolate.
“Henri, we need to talk.”
His shoulders tensed. “I realized as soon as I offered, okay. You wanted Bres to come with you. I’m sorry.”
He found the tub of chocolate and placed it on the counter.
Dammit. “It’s not that. Look at me, please.”
He turned to face me, his expression unreadable.
The best way to deal with this was to be forthright. Honest. Just say it. “Are you in love with me?”
He sucked in a sharp breath, looking horrified.
Whoa, way to be wrong. I held up my hand. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just. Luther said something, and then I noticed this weird tension between us, and I just thought …” He walked toward me, and my mouth went dry. Wait, I knew that look … “Whoa, Henri …”
And then he was too close. His hand cupped my face, and he tilted my face up to his, his gaze falling to my lips. “I want to kiss you, Kat.”
“Henri … what you’re feeling is—”
“I know what I’m feeling, Kat. And I know you think you don’t feel the same way. But you love me, I know you do, and I’m in love with you.”
Lay the Ghost: Nightwatch Series book 4 Page 8