by Anthea Sharp
“She won’t be back.”
He didn’t feel like explaining anything more. No need to give his sister weird ideas about the forest. They’d both been in there, after all. It was perfectly safe.
“Worried she’s going to kick your ass?”
“She doesn’t have the training for it,” he said.
“Oh?” Emmie’s eyebrows went up. “You two spent some private time in the back, I noticed. She’s cute, in a stern kind of way, but I didn’t think she was your type.”
“What is my type?” he countered. Marny Fanalua wasn’t his problem anymore, and he was done talking about her.
“Well now, that’s a good question. For a while, I thought it was those tall, leggy girls with too much hair. But now, I’m not sure.”
Neither was he—not that he’d admit it to his little sister.
“You and Sula finish up and get to bed,” he said.
“I’m ready for a couple days off,” Sula said, giving the bar one last polish with her towel. “This has been a lot of work.”
“Worth it, though.” Emmie shot her a grin. “Plus, next week Nyx is giving us a raise.”
“I am?” He tried not to smile at her audacity.
“Sure you are. We all know you started us low. But now that the club is a big success, you can afford to pay us what we’re worth. Plus, we’ve got experience.”
“I’m not sure two days counts—either in the experience or the solvency department.”
“Pessimist.” Emmie rolled her eyes at him, then beckoned to her friend. “C’mon, Sules, this tightwad can close up by himself.”
He shook his head, but Emmie was right—he was planning to give them a raise. Next month, though, not next week. He finished locking up, then stood in the warehouse, studying the forest.
It looked peaceful and serene, unchanging, but it was almost time for him to go in-game and get some more anchor points. The longest that one of his bubble worlds lasted had been three days, so this one was due to dissolve tomorrow. Which was fine, since the club would be closed until Tuesday evening.
He almost went to the hidden compartments and took out the anchor points, but a yawn grabbed him, so big it made his eyes water. Damn, he was tired. The forest would fade away soon enough, and he was suddenly so weary he wanted to lie down right there on the floor and sleep.
Luckily, his bedroom wasn’t far. He trudged into the hall and opened the door, hearing Emmie and Sula giggling in the guest room. Tomorrow they’d leave, and he could fire up his sim system and grab some more leaves, or maybe change over to the meadowscape instead of the forest.
But first, sleep.
Frantic banging on his door wrenched Nyx to consciousness out of weird, silver-lit dreams.
“Nyx! Wake up!” It was Sula’s voice, shrill with fear.
He rolled to his feet, alertness washing over him like he’d been doused with cold water.
“Coming!” he called. He flicked on his light, then swiftly pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt.
The alarms around the perimeter of the warehouse hadn’t been tripped, or he’d hear the blare of sirens. Maybe Emmie was sick? He yanked open his door.
Sula stood there, her eyes wide and scared, her arms wrapped around her ribs.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Emmie’s gone,” she said. “At first, I thought she was just pranking, but when she didn’t come out, I tried to find her. And she wasn’t there at all.”
“Wasn’t where?” Ice clutched his chest.
“In the forest.”
Damn, damn, damn. He was such an idiot.
Why hadn’t he removed the anchors? Why hadn’t he listened to Marny?
Maybe it was all a mistake—a misunderstanding. Maybe Sula had a bad dream and Emmie was in the bathroom.
He strode down the hall, checking each room, but there was no sign of his sister. The forest stood serene and shining in the main warehouse.
“Emmie!” he cried, senses straining.
“She’s not there,” Sula said behind him, sniffling loudly.
He wanted to dash into the trees—but first he needed to know exactly what Sula had seen. Or thought she had seen. Information first, then action. Forcing himself to breathe more slowly, he turned to Emmie’s friend.
“Come into the kitchen,” he said, “and tell me what happened.”
Pushing down the dread swamping his thoughts, Nyx led Sula into the back. She perched on a chair, but he couldn’t sit. He leaned against the counter and folded his arms, regarding her.
“I woke when Emmie got up,” Sula said. “She opened the bedroom door and there was this noise like bells chiming. Something about it made me want to follow that sound. It was coming from the club—from the forest.”
Nyx nodded, a sick feeling crawling through his gut. He was supposed to protect his sister, not let her stumble into danger.
“Then what?” he asked.
Sula’s brows drew together. “There was something in the forest. Some kind of white creature, moving through the trees. Emmie went in, and it went right up to her.”
Hell. Nyx clenched his hands into fists. He should’ve paid attention to what Marny had been trying to tell him, but he’d been so sure the enchanted forest was safe. Nothing could come out of it.
Except something had.
“What did it look like?” He was half expecting Sula to tell him a unicorn had come and stolen his sister.
“It was a big white deer,” she said. “Big as a horse, with antlers. It bent down, and she got on it and rode away.”
“Why didn’t you follow her?” The words came out harsher than he wanted, but this was his sister they were talking about.
“I tried!” Sula gave him a wounded look. “Do you honestly think I’d just stand there while my best friend was kidnapped by some freaky animal that appeared from out of nowhere?”
“Okay, sorry.” He held up his hands. “I know you care about Emmie. So you went after her.”
“I ran right into the forest, but the white deer was gone. I called and called her name, and kept running, but I was just going around in circles. After a while I gave up and came to get you.”
He only wished she’d done so sooner.
“Hey, don’t cry,” He handed her a paper towel, though he felt like crying himself. Stronger than tears, however, was anger—at himself, at the forest, at Marny, who had tried to warn him. “I’m going to take another look in the forest.”
“Don’t leave me alone,” Sula cried, jumping up. “This place is tweaked.”
He didn’t try to deny it, or calm her down. Instead, he lengthened his stride until he was almost running down the hall.
The trees remained quiet. A breeze stirred the leaves, but there was no flash of white between the pale trunks, no glimmering stag carrying Emmie on its back.
Though he knew it was useless, Nyx plunged into the woods, calling her name until he was hoarse. He caught glimpses of Sula standing tensely just outside the boundary of the forest, refusing to set foot on the velvety mosses. He couldn’t blame her.
Forty-five minutes later, he had to admit defeat. He’d been in and out of the trees a dozen times, and there was no trace of Emmie.
“Now what?” Sula asked, her eyes red from crying. “Call the police?”
“And tell them what? My sister disappeared into a magical forest riding on the back of a white stag?” Nyx sank down on one of the barstools and rubbed his forehead.
“As soon as it’s light, I want to go home,” Sula said. “This place is way too freaky for me.”
“All right.” Good thing the club was closed for the next two-plus days. Though he had no idea how to get his sister back. He swallowed down the panic rising in his throat.
There was one person he could go to, who might know what the hell was going on. Marny Fanalua. If only he’d been smart enough to get her messager number—but he could sleuth it out.
Two hours later, the sun was rising, his eyes were gr
itty from too little rest and staring at the screen, and Sula was asleep, curled up on top of his bed. He hadn’t found any answers to where Emmie might have gone, other than some old Celtic myths about the White Stag. They couldn’t possibly be true, though—could they?
He also hadn’t been able to ferret out Marny’s contact info, but he knew where to find her. Intertech.
Now that it was morning, he’d head for the immense skyscraper and track her down. Failure wasn’t an option.
Where was Emmie? The question scraped him until he wanted to yell with frustration—but that wasn’t going to help anything. Instead he shook Sula awake, helped her gather her things, then called a cab to take her home.
“Let me know as soon as you find Emmie,” Sula said, her voice strained.
“I will. Until I do, try not to say anything.” The last thing he needed was his parents freaking out all over him, on top of everything. He could solve this. He had to.
“Okay.” Sula nodded. “I know you’ll find her.”
Her faith in him made him feel a little ill. What if he couldn’t find his sister? But he kept his expression confident. Sula was freaked enough without seeing him fraying at the edges.
The cab carrying Sula pulled away from the curb outside the warehouse, headlights dimming as the day dawned. To the north, the tall Intertech building was outlined in red-tinged light. He tried not to compare it to the color of blood.
It was only the sunrise.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
June 28
An irritating buzzing noise woke Marny, coming from outside her room. She blinked at her tablet, trying to wake up enough to figure out what was going on. Six forty-five in the morning—way too early for a Sunday. She’d planned to sleep in. Grimacing, she pulled the extra pillow over her head and hoped that one of her roommates would deal with the noise.
It stopped and she let out a sigh of relief, only to toss the pillow aside a minute later when the buzzing started up again.
“What?” she mumbled.
It didn’t sound like a fire alarm or anything too urgent. Had Anjah set her clock to go off, and then forgotten about it?
Marny pushed back the covers and got up. She didn’t care if Anjah or Wil saw her in her garish tropical-print nightgown. It would serve her roomies right for waking her up.
A quick check of Anjah’s room showed her neatly made bed, and no alarm ringing. Either she was up way early, or hadn’t yet come home. Marny shook her head, but it wasn’t up to her to police her roommate’s behavior.
Wil was sound asleep, snoring with one arm hanging off the bed. The buzz wasn’t coming from his room either, but from the front of the apartment. From the intercom by the door, to be exact.
She tapped the button. “Yes?”
“Front desk calling. Is Miss Fanalua there?”
“Speaking. What is it?”
“There’s a Mr. Nyx Spenser here, insisting he needs to see you immediately.”
Adrenaline jolted through her, waking her up quicker than a strong cup of tea. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
If Nyx was there, after summarily throwing her out of his club the night before, then something had gone very wrong.
“Can’t I go up?” Nyx’s voice filtered through the connection. “It’s important.”
“Sir, wait. You can’t access the elevators without an escort. Mr. Spenser!”
“I’ll be right down,” Marny said into the intercom. But not dressed like a Samoan grandma.
She hurried back to her room, pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals. A quick detour to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She stared at her hair in the mirror for a second, but it was pretty hopeless, so she just smoothed it back with her hands.
At the front door, she pivoted and dashed back to grab her badge. It wouldn’t do for both of them to be stuck downstairs.
The elevator seemed slower than usual. She watched the numbers count down, trying not to fidget with tension. When it finally reached the lobby level, the door slid open to reveal Nyx standing there, his mouth set in a tight line. A security guard hovered behind him—not one of Mr. von Coburg’s pets, she was relieved to see.
“He’s okay,” she said, waving her badge at the guard. “Guests are permitted, right?”
“Usually you need to notify the front desk in advance,” the security guy said.
Nyx gave her an imploring look. She could tell he was doing everything possible to contain the tension coiled through his body. His fingers were curled into fists and he balanced lightly on the balls of his feet, as if he were about to explode into action. He looked like a fighter—which she supposed he was, with his black belt in judo or whatever.
“Next time, I’ll do that,” she said. “Can he come up now?”
“All right,” the guard said. “But follow protocol in the future.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Nyx practically bolted into the elevator. Marny kept a pleasant expression on her face for security’s benefit, but the second the door closed, she turned to Nyx.
“I can tell it’s not good,” she said, then glanced at the camera mounted in the upper corner of the elevator. “But hang on just a minute.”
Nyx gave her a terse nod and stared at the glowing readout as the numbers flashed by. He stayed silent as she led him down the hall to her apartment, his footsteps quiet and deadly, like a lion on the prowl.
“Is it safe to talk?” he asked softly as the apartment door slid closed behind them.
“Maybe. I’ll put the water on to boil, and then you tell me what’s going on.”
The sound of the electric kettle wouldn’t completely mask their conversation, but it might discourage any casual listener manning the security boards.
Nyx followed her into the kitchen, and as soon as the hiss and gurgle of heating water filled the space, he spoke.
“My sister’s missing. And I owe you a huge apology.” He glanced down at his hands, then back at her. The edge of panic lurked in his eyes. “I should have listened when you told me the forest was dangerous.”
She bit her tongue. I told you so wouldn’t help anything, and Nyx was clearly paying a high price for not heeding her warnings.
“Your sister—the blonde-haired girl at the juice bar?”
“Yeah. According to her friend, a creature came out of the woods and carried Emmie away.”
“Crap. What kind of creature?” This was severely bad. If the Dark Court was involved—well, Nyx’s sister might be next in line for blood sacrifice.
“A white deer. I did some research, and in Celtic mythology, the White Stag is some kind of messenger between the worlds or something.”
“Okay. That makes sense.”
“How?” He reached out and grabbed her arm. “How does any of this make sense? Tell me what you know. Please.”
She gently pulled away and took a breath. Honesty time. Hopefully the sound of the bubbling electric kettle would be enough interference. What she was about to reveal could get all of her friends in trouble—plus put way too much power in the hands of Intertech, if anyone overheard. Well, overheard and believed her wild tales.
“The game of Feyland opens a gateway to the Realm of Faerie,” she said, leaning forward and keeping her voice low. “Not like happy-happy fairyland, but the place of the old tales and ballads. Magical, and dangerous.”
He didn’t scoff at her, to his credit. Instead he blinked a couple times, processing the information, then focused back on her. “So how do I go to this Realm place and get my sister back?”
“Yeah—that’s the question. Usually people go in-game and then transition into the Realm. I think you’ve been doing that without realizing it.” Or perhaps he’d known something was off, but not understood the peril.
“So I can log in to Feyland, play the game, and find my sister that way?”
“Maybe.” She frowned, thinking. “But your sister didn’t get sucked in by playing a sim game. She wen
t into the Realm via the forest in your club.”
“Dammit.” He began to beat his fist softly against the counter. “It was supposed to be safe.”
The kettle shut off with a loud ding, and the sound of boiling water subsided to a quiet simmer.
“Dealing with the fey folk is never safe,” Marny said. “We need to go to your club and figure it out from there. Maybe the forest will let us through.”
She still had plenty of questions for him, but this wasn’t the place.
“Right,” he said, some of the desolation leaving his voice. “Come on.”
“Let me put on some real shoes and grab my jacket. Give me a minute.”
It wasn’t quite cold enough to warrant her coat, but she felt like she needed the extra layer of protection. She didn’t mention her knife, but she took the time to grab it out of her underwear drawer and strap the calf sheath on under her jeans.
As she and Nyx stepped out of the apartment, Marny caught sight of a black-garbed figure at the end of the hallway. One of von Coburg’s guards. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, obviously staking out the elevator. She hoped it wasn’t on account of her and Nyx, but the cold feeling in her gut suggested otherwise. Nyx must have felt her tense up, because he shot her a look.
“What is it?” he asked, leaning close. His breath tickled her ear.
“Top-dog security,” she replied. “Your early morning visit is a little… unusual. Made them suspicious.”
The proof that Intertech was watching her so closely made the hairs on her arms prickle, but there was nothing to do except brazen it out.
Nyx put his hand on the small of her back. “Keep walking. And trust me.”
She made herself stride forward. Nyx kept pace, still touching her. It should have felt annoying, but instead the light pressure of his hand was oddly steadying.
A few paces from the elevator, the guard straightened and gave them a fake-looking smile. “Good morning, Miss Fanalua. A bit early to be having guests, don’t you think?”