Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book One)

by Kayla Krantz

  “I think he killed again,” Luna whispered, her eyes clouding over. “In the real world, not the dream.”

  Max raised an eyebrow at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “I watched the news this morning, and it says Susan went missing last night. It was almost to the exact same detail as Kate.”

  “Susan Cross? The one who came to talk to you about Chance?” Max asked, tucking his chin as he stared at her.

  “Mhmm.”

  “What makes you think he did it?”

  “I think he found out that she slipped,” Luna said, reaching across her body to clutch her elbow. “What other reason could there be?”

  He was silent for a moment, and Luna felt he didn’t believe her.

  “When I woke up this morning, he was standing outside my window. I think he had just gotten rid of her body.”

  “Whoa,” Max breathed, reaching up to run a hand through his short brown hair. “That’s really, really creepy.”

  “I know. But when I closed the blinds, he walked away. I think he was going home.”

  Max shook his head and moved past Luna to sit on the couch. “Damn, this whole situation is spiraling way out of our control.”

  “I’ve been thinking the exact same thing,” Luna replied, eyes on him the entire time.

  Max stared at her, dark eyes glittering with defeat. “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know what to do anymore. Let me see your wrists.”

  Luna walked over to the couch and sat down beside Max. She pulled up her sleeves to reveal the blackened marks. Max set his fingers to the skin as he stared at them.

  “My God, these dreams are far from being over. Your wrists look awful.”

  “I know. Every dream I have makes them darker.”

  A knock sounded from the door and rang out through the silence enveloping the house. Max and Luna exchanged glances, their faces equally ashen. Shakily, she stood to her feet and made her way over to the door. She set her hand on the doorknob but didn’t open it.

  “Luna, be careful,” Max called from his spot across the room. “It could be Chance.”

  She nodded in response but didn’t take her attention off of the door. With her mind alert for the first sign of danger, she grasped the gold handle and pulled the door open. On the porch in front of her stood Chance.

  She took an involuntary step away from him. Chance looked rugged and had dirt smudges on his face and neck. His hair was rumpled and mud clung to his black boots. His eyes were glazed and unfocused, and in his right hand he clutched a half-empty bottle of whiskey.

  “Hi…Luna,” he slurred, obviously wasted.

  “Hello, Chance,” she said uncertainly.

  “How’re you doin’, babe?” His words slurred once again, so she had a hard time understanding him.

  Luna took another step backwards, and Chance took a clumsy step forward. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed his lips to hers. The taste of alcohol flooded her mouth. She let out a squeak of surprise and disgust at the sudden movement. As hard as she could, she pushed against his chest. He broke away from her easily but stumbled forward toward her. His heavy weight leaned against her, and his head slumped onto her shoulder.

  “Luna…?” Max called, peering around the corner from where he stood beside the couch.

  “I’m okay. He’s drunk, he passed out.” Luna grunted as she struggled to stand against Chance’s weight.

  “Bring him over here,” Max commanded, motioning to the sofa.

  She wrapped her arm around Chance to keep him in place. Carefully, she dragged him over to the couch. Max held a hand against his shoulder blades to prevent her from dropping him, and she laid Chance down on his back. His head lolled limply, but his eyes stayed closed. Luna and Max glanced at each other then down at Chance.

  “Hard to believe that boy is nothing but pure evil,” he scoffed in disgust as he glared at him with all the venom he could manage, folding his arms across his chest as he did so.

  “I believe it. I know what I saw in that room, and I know he threatened me about it,” Luna said, hugging herself slightly at the memory.

  “He’s the source of all of our problems, yet, there’s nothing we can do about it. Even though he’s right here, he’s out of reach of anything that could help us.” Max clenched his hand into a fist and for a moment, Luna thought he would give Chance a solid punch to the face.

  She wouldn’t stop him.

  Luna rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing we can do. Hopefully, things will just pass with time.”

  “After everything that’s happened, do you really believe that?” Max asked, raising his eyebrows.

  She studied Chance, and his lip twitched. She remembered how his eyes had smoldered rage, and he had snarled venom at her. He wouldn’t let things pass with time—and neither could they. “No, I don’t.”

  “Good. We don’t know what he’s planning to do,” Max reminded her.

  She looked at him evenly. “I know, and until we figure it out, we have no idea how to stop him.”

  “He’s evil. The only thing that stops evil is death. But of course, we can’t do that.” Max snorted with another bitter glare to their rival. “He can kill us through our dreams, but we can’t do a thing back to him.”

  “If we did, no one would believe we were only defending ourselves. They’re all too deep under his spell.” Luna paused for a minute. “Not to mention how crazy this whole thing is.”

  “At least we see him for what he is.”

  “That’s an upside, I guess,” she replied, shrugging.

  “He thinks he’s tough, but he’s not.”

  Luna tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”

  “His biggest weakness is that he works by himself.”

  “He relies on Satan,” Luna added quietly, staring at the wall behind Max with the picture of the five-point star in her mind. “He thinks he gets all he needs to be powerful from him by doing his rituals.”

  “That’s true,” Max said, cocking his head to the side. “And he’s dangerous for his insanity.”

  “And the fact that we still have no idea what he’s planning to do.”

  He nodded. “That’s true too, but we know one thing for sure—we’re both pawns in his plan somehow.”

  He sighed, and they both fell silent as they stared at Chance. She had the feeling their thoughts echoed one another as they considered their extensive list of problems.

  “Now what do we do with him?”

  Luna shrugged. “I guess he’s gonna be here until he wakes up. I don’t know where else to put him.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be all right with him here?” Max asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine, and you’ll be here to keep an eye on him so I won’t be alone. He only goes into that mood when it’s just me and him.”

  “Actually, I was thinking I should head home now,” Max said quickly, looking at her apologetically. He took a step toward the door when he froze, shifting his weight more to the leg closest to her as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

  “Why?” Luna flinched at his words, feeling a bit of fear at the thought of being left alone with Chance…even if he was unconscious.

  “If he’s here, his dogs will stay around here. I’ll be safe long enough to get home this way,” Max pleaded, the desperation in his brown eyes obvious. “Please, Luna. Please, do this for me.”

  Her eyes darted from him to Chance’s limp form. “All right, Max, you can go. Just…please be careful, you don’t know if the dogs will follow you or not.”

  Max set his hand to the top of her arm before pulling it away. “Of course, and thanks. I won’t forget this.” In a flash, he crossed the room, opened the door, and disappeared, closing it quietly behind him.

  Luna watched him go in silence. His leg had been horrible—that wound could’ve easily been on his throat. If he died, her hopes of stopping Chance would die with him. Without Max to gu
ide her, she was blind and helpless. As weak as the injured bird Chance had crushed.

  She sighed and sat down on the couch beside Chance’s legs. What could she do until he woke up? Her eyes began to droop as her exhaustion kicked in. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and she felt it now.

  She glanced at him momentarily to see he remained unconscious. His silver-blond hair lay out of his eyes, which stayed closed. She stared at him for a moment as she realized that he was handsome. His nose was small and his lips thin making them proportional to his face—easy to see why girls swooned over him.

  Satan was beautiful too.

  Luna leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes as she thought. His irresistible charm would spell out doom to the girls who fell for it. When no one else was around him, he showed his evil side. How could he be stopped when no one saw through his spell until it was too late like a cobra waiting to spring on an unsuspecting mouse.

  And then there was Max.

  Chance wanted to kill him. Even though Max would never fall for Chance’s spell, what would happen to Max now that he had broken his own rule and pulled the killer dogs out of the dream? If Max made one more mistake, he’d fall prey to their cruel jaws.

  What had happened to Susan? Had she tried to go to the police or had Chance simply grown tired of her?

  Luna turned and looked at Chance once again. Did the boy on the couch beside her have something to do with Susan’s disappearance…and Kate’s as well? Or was he as much a victim of DreamWorld as Max and Luna were?

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  CHANCE PEELED OPEN his eyes as he felt pressure on his chest. He glanced down to see Luna lying on him. He smiled, ready to make a retort when he realized she was sleeping. He lifted her up a bit, just enough to pull off his shirt, before he took his alcohol bottle and set it gently in her hand. The worse he could make her look, the better it would work for him. She mumbled something in her sleep, and Chance glanced at her before he heard the front door open. He looked up to see David carrying a bag of groceries, but at the sight of Luna and Chance together, he nearly dropped his bag.

  “What is this?” he asked, curling his lip as his eyes focused on Chance, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

  Chance glanced up at him. “I’m so sorry, sir, it was Luna. She called me, crying. I came over to see what was going on, and to try to get her to stop drinking. I tried to comfort her, and she passed out.”

  David stood silently for a moment, grip tightening on the bag in his hands. “Where’s your shirt?”

  “She used it to blow her nose, sir.”

  “I see,” David said, crinkling his nose. He went into the kitchen to set down the bag before coming back into the living room. “You said she was drinking?”

  Chance gently lifted Luna’s hand, still clutching the whiskey bottle. David stared at it, shaking his head in disappointment.

  “This is unacceptable.”

  “I agree, sir,” Chance stated, biting his lip slightly to keep himself from smiling.

  “Sad or not, I think she needs to be punished for this,” David grumbled, pursing his lips.

  “Do you really have to do that?” Chance wondered, tilting his head to the side as he watched for the slightest hint of emotion.

  “I think being grounded for a while will do her some good,” David replied, eyes focused on his daughter for a long minute.

  Chance nodded, glancing down at Luna.

  “Would you mind keeping an eye on her? I’m planning on grounding her for about a week, and I need to be sure she stays on track at school.”

  “I don’t mind it at all, sir.”

  “Great. I’ll tell her when she wakes up.”

  Chance bobbed his head again as David left, closing the door behind him. He smiled to himself; his plan was working to perfection once again.

  ***

  “WAKE UP, LUNA,” a soft voice whispered, and Luna felt warm breath sink into her scalp.

  She groaned in her throat but didn’t open her eyes. She was tired and comfortable; for once her sleep wasn’t plagued with nightmares. She snuggled closer to her bed as she wanted the warm, soft covers to pull her back into deep sleep. As she rested her ear on the surface once again, she realized it wasn’t fabric…then she remembered she wasn’t in bed.

  She struggled to open her eyes against the exhaustion. She finally managed to open her groggy eyes but saw ivory skin on a chiseled chest. She followed the skin up to meet Chance’s blue eyes. She realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  “You’re finally awake, huh?” He smiled widely at her.

  She shot off of him as fear and disgust pierced through her. “What…What’s going on? Please tell me I’m imagining this.” Luna shuddered as she looked away from Chance.

  “I know I’m incredibly gorgeous, but it’s all real,” he said confidently.

  “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” she demanded, almost not wanting the answer.

  He smiled wider, showing all of his teeth. She stared at him, eyes wide and lips parted. What the Hell had happened in the time she had fallen asleep? She didn’t remember a thing.

  “Put your damn shirt on before my dad sees you,” Luna snapped, scrunching her face as she regained control of herself.

  Chance’s grin now split his face in half. It was so wide it looked painful. “He already saw us together so don’t worry about that.”

  “Together?” she echoed. “What do you mean ‘together?’”

  “You’re my trophy, Luna,” he replied.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He shrugged. “Oh, by the way, David is furious with you.”

  “I wonder why that could be.”

  Chance tilted his head to the side, and Luna recognized that false innocence again. “Is it ’cuz of your drinking problem?”

  “I don’t have a drinking problem!” she snarled.

  “Then what’s that in your hand, love?”

  Luna looked down, and for the first time, she realized she clutched the neck of Chance’s whiskey bottle. She stood up and dropped the empty bottle on the couch at Chance’s feet.

  “That’s your bottle! Not mine!” she said, pointing at it with a shaking finger. “You had it when you came over.”

  “So you say, Loon.” He shrugged again. “You have no proof.”

  She rolled her eyes and stormed into the kitchen. Oh, how she wished Max had stayed with her instead of going home! Max was her proof; without him, it would once again be her word against Chance’s, and she knew how that battle would go. If Max had stayed, none of this would’ve happened. Chance seemed to know what had gone on in that time, but he wouldn’t say it…to her at least.

  Half the school would know by Monday, she was sure. Her father knew too apparently. She shivered at the chill running down her spine; she wished she would’ve never answered the door for him! The day turned out to be one of the worst of her life.

  To think she had thought Chance was a victim for even a second! She heard the front door close with force. Great. Her dad was home from wherever he had been. Immediately, his attention flicked to her, eyebrows drawn tight as his face flushed tomato red.

  “Luna, I am very upset with you,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s gotten into you.”

  She looked up at him and frowned. “I don’t know what happened, Dad, I’m serious! Chance came over drunk a few hours ago—you can even call Max and ask him because he was over—and Chance passed out on the couch, then Max left. I was so tired that I fell asleep next to him, and I woke up on him.” She grimaced at the memory.

  “I saw the bottle in your hand! It was completely empty! If anyone was drunk, it was you. And to make things worse, you’re trying to pass off the blame onto Chance. He’s a good kid—unlike you. These past few weeks, you’ve really shown your true colors.”

  “Dad! I’m telling you the truth,” Luna pleaded, standing from the table to stare him down.

  “That’s what you said a
bout smoking too.”

  “Listen to me. That was Chance’s bottle. I’ve never drank alcohol in my entire life. Nor do I ever want to! I want to go to an Ivy League school, not be an alcoholic.”

  “Then how did the bottle get in your hand?” He enunciated each word, saying them as slowly as possible.

  “Chance tricked me! He put it there when I was sleeping!”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “To get me in trouble,” she replied, holding her palms out at her sides. “This is exactly what he did before.”

  Her father shook his head. “Smoking and now drinking. Luna, what am I gonna do with you? You’re turning into a problem child. I never thought I’d see this day.”

  “I did nothing wrong!” she cried desperately, hoping he would get over his stubbornness long enough to see she was telling the truth.

  “I’m gonna call Rose again and tell her what’s happened this time. We’ll decide your future from there,” he said, walking over to the phone.

  She frowned, irritated. “Dad, don’t! I mean, you really have no reason to—”

  He put up his hand, done with the argument. She slammed the chair back under the table, legs scraping loudly across the floor, before she stomped back into the living room. Either way, she had to deal with someone thick-headed. Chance still lay on the couch with his shirt off…much to her annoyance. She sat down by his feet.

  “My dad’s calling my mom now, and I might be sent away,” she complained, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the blank face of the TV.

  “Good, you’ll get a cure for your problem.”

  Luna scoffed and turned to glare at him. “Chance, you know damn well I don’t drink. I can’t believe you did this to me. Why did you put that in my hand?”

  “I didn’t,” he replied, and his face remained calm. “You drank it.”

  Damn his acting.

  “No, I didn’t. Now tell me what you’re trying to do by getting me in trouble,” she growled, staring fiercely into his blue eyes. For a moment, she considered punching him just to see how he would react—she was in trouble anyway, it might be worth it since her father already thought she was a bully.

  Chance glanced around the room like he searched to see where David had gone before he looked back at her. “Do you really want to know? I want to get you grounded.” He exaggerated the way he said “grounded.”