Craving

by Sofia Grey

  For one heart-stopping, brain-numbing, and paralyzing moment, I thought I’d died. I couldn’t see anything. Dust filled my nose, coated my eyes, and lined my throat. It was only the pains across my body and the pounding of my heartbeat that convinced me I was still alive.

  Where was that damn knife? I fought the bubbling hysteria and made myself remember where I’d last seen it. When the chair tipped over, it had been to my left, and I’d moved since then. It should be right behind my back and near my hands.

  I fumbled behind me, flexing and stretching my fingers, and scrabbling for anything. My nails brushed against something cold and hard. I paused, shifted myself a fraction, and then tried again. I had to get the knife first, before the bouncers. In the distance, I noted a cracking noise, followed by a low rumble that made the floor vibrate. Dear God, please don’t say the entire ceiling was coming down. We were underneath the main dance floor where hundreds of people had been rocking out a short time ago.

  My fingers sifted through the dirt, groping desperately. Another stream of dust fell onto my face, and I whimpered, fear a tight ball in my chest. There it was. Hard and slender. A brief flash of anxiety that I might accidentally slice my hands open. A muffled groan from nearby spurred me on, and I closed my fingers around the object—yes! So far, so good. I knew I held the handle and from the way it felt weighted, I could work out where the blade was.

  Sweat dripped into my eyes, making them sting. My palms were sticky, and I felt sure I’d drop the knife before I could do anything with it. Gingerly, I wiggled it to press the end against rope and then flexed my fingers to make a sawing motion. In the movies it looked easy. They lie. My heart raced, and I forced myself to breathe in and out, nice and slow, try to throttle back on my fear. The knife dug in, and I felt the rope give. Yes. I sawed again, trying to hurry and felt the edge nick one finger. Slow down, I told myself. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and tried to visualize what I was doing. More sawing. The tension eased some more. I tugged my wrists and felt them pulling on the rope. More finger flexing and cutting, and then I jerked my hands apart and felt them come loose. For a second, it didn’t register that I was free, my hands at least. I heard a dull clatter. I’d dropped the bloody knife.

  Stay calm, I told myself. Both hands traveled cautiously over the floor, sweeping close to my body, and there it was again. Careful to pick up the knife, it was the work of moments to free my ankles.

  Dante was somewhere in here. I had to find him before he bled to death.

  15.7 Josh

  “What did you do with your Talisman, babe?”

  I glanced at my empty wrist. “It was in my pocket. Where’s my fleece?”

  She smiled and slipped her arms around my neck. Her eyes sparkled with good humor. “I’ll get it for you, darling.” She nuzzled my face and kissed a trail up my cheek, pausing at my temple. “I’ve got some work to get out of the way first, but I’ll make a deal with you.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “You go back to sleep, and I’ll go and get your fleece. Let me have the Talisman, and then we’ll stay here as long as you want.”

  Her lips whispered over my eyelids, and I fought to stay awake. There was something important I had to say. My voice came out slurred, as if I were drunk. “Why do you want my Talisman, Suki?”

  15.8 Dante

  It felt as though my brain had been filled with cotton wool. Every thought took an age to process. My eyes locked onto Kitten. “Your place? You mean your Dad’s?”

  Her smile was guileless. “Sure. He won’t be back for ages.”

  An icy hand closed around my heart, and for a second I wanted to throw up. I steeled my voice to sound hard. “I don’t know how you’ve done this, Alistair. This isn’t real.”

  Kitten’s eyes widened. She lifted one hand to her mouth, and silence hung between us.

  Bile rose in my throat. “You’re not real, Kitten.”

  “What do you mean? Angel, I—”

  I cut her off and pushed back the duvet to scramble out of bed. “Alistair.” I yelled. “Get the fuck out of my head.”

  15.9 Katherine

  I knew it was Dante by the feel of his jacket. I needed some light to find out how badly he was bleeding—the solution was obvious. My tiny handbag still hung off my shoulder and my phone was inside. Seconds later, the screen lit up and cast a tiny patch of light. Not enough to help Dante, hardly enough to see through the gloom. A creaking noise suggested more of the ceiling would soon be coming down. I tried to dial the emergency services, but there wasn’t any signal.

  “Please, baby, wake up.” I slapped his cheek. “Dante.” Nothing. “Angel, wake up, we have to leave.”

  Dante’s eyes snapped open. The intensity of his gaze seared me, even through the near darkness. I sank to the floor, shaky with relief and smiled at him through my tears. “Can you move? We need to get out of here.”

  He lurched back, shoving himself away from me and scrambled to his knees. “Fu-uck.” Hunching over, he turned his head to look at me. “My shoulder hurts.” He sounded pleased.

  I scrubbed a filthy hand over my eyes and lifted the phone to cast the light toward him.

  “Nanette did that. Can you get up, Angel? We need to help Josh.”

  Breath rasping, he slowly stood up. “What the fuck happened in here?” He looked at me fully. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Yes.” More tears threatened. “I will be.”

  “Alistair?”

  “I don’t know.” Another stream of debris cascaded from above, and I ducked instinctively. Stepping forward, I stumbled on something and bent down to feel with my hands. A leg. I flashed the phone to my feet and saw it was Nanette. As far as I was concerned, she could stay here. The crazy bitch had tried to kill me.

  Dante had other ideas though. He staggered to her and bent, trying to pick her up. “Help me, babe.”

  I just stared.

  “She was possessed. Like your friend.” He grunted and managed to drag her upright, her floppy body held in his arms. “Where’s Josh?”

  “Umm,” I turned, and climbed over one of the unconscious bouncers, bending over to shine the phone at the floor. Behind me, I could hear Dante breathing heavily as he carried Nanette. I’d never been the hysterical type. I’d been conditioned to lock down all my emotions, but right now, I was finding it hard. Concentrate, I told myself, you need to find Josh.

  A blue light flashed on the floor a few feet away, and I paused. What was that? On and off, it flashed, and when I listened hard I heard a buzzing noise that matched the flashing. Josh’s phone. “Over here.”

  Another bouncer to step over, and more rubble to avoid. I dropped to my knees and grabbed the phone before it stopped ringing. Suki.

  15.10 Josh

  “This isn’t real.”

  The deep male voice was unfamiliar, and I cracked my eyes open again. I’d never met this guy before, but I knew him. I squinted, through heavy and tired eyelids. Where had I seen him?

  Suki slipped off the bed and stood beside me, reaching to take my hand. “Go back to sleep, babe. It’s just a dream.”

  “You know this isn’t real, Raphael.” The stranger took a step closer.

  Suki’s smile lit up a notch. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? Think how good it will be to have some time together. Just you and me.”

  My eyes darted from her to him. Did she know he was there?

  “She’s ignoring me. She wants your Talisman.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you to wake up. This is just an illusion. The longer you stay, the harder it will be to leave.”

  Suki pressed a kiss to the palm of my hand. I dragged my attention back to her, and then took a deep breath. “When did we unpack the books?”

  “What?” Her nose wrinkled as she laughed. “We did them ages ago. When we moved in. Don’t you remember?”

  “She doesn’t know, because it never happened.” His voice was compelling, and I looked
back at him.

  “I know you from somewhere.” I spoke slowly. It felt like a huge effort. “Who are you?”

  “I’m your father.”

  15.11 Katherine

  “Jesus, Josh. I’ve been tearing my hair out. Where the hell are you?” Suki’s voice was high and worried already.

  “It’s Katherine.” I pushed on before she could say anything. “We’re in a room under Armageddon, and we need help.” The words poured out of me. “Josh is unconscious, Dante is hurt, and I think the building is about to—” Her gasp made me falter. “Suki, please get help.”

  “Yes, but… what… where are you? Oh my God. The club looks as though a bomb went off. They’re evacuating it. And Josh is in there?” I heard footsteps hurrying, Suki’s uneven breathing, and then a rapid, muffled conversation.

  “Tell me exactly where you are.” I didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but he sounded strong and reassuring.

  “We’re in a small room underneath the main dance floor.” I tried to remember how I’d got there. “I came down a set of stairs and turned left. I don’t remember after that.”

  “Good,” said the stranger, “you’re doing fine. Can you see an exit?”

  “No. The lights have g-gone out.” My breath hitched, and I wiped my eyes again.

  “Okay. I need you to try to get yourself upstairs. Are you hurt?”

  “No. But my friends are.”

  “We’re trying to reach you now. When you hear us shouting, get ready to shout back, okay? We’ll get you out of there.”

  15.12 Josh

  Scattered, hazy memories flashed through my brain. Dante telling me he summoned Raphael, but he looked older. This man looked like an older version of me. I knew his voice. An image of myself as a small boy riding on someone’s shoulders. Ice cream melting over my hands on a hot summer day.

  I never knew my father—or my mother. My earliest memories were of growing up in a series of foster homes.

  The stranger smiled at me and lifted one hand to show me a Talisman around his wrist.

  Suki squeezed my fingers and spoke urgently. “Josh, baby, you need to rest. You’ve had a concussion. They said you might have hallucinations.”

  I ignored her, all my attention on the man. “What is happening? How are you doing this?” My voice came out hoarse.

  “Right now, you are lying in a basement room while your brother tries to wake you. The real Suki is standing outside in the rain, clutching her phone and praying you escape before the building collapses. I managed to slip in here to warn you, but I will be missed soon.”

  “Wait.” I struggled to process his words. I remembered the nightclub. Dante and Katherine. Alistair. My Talisman. “My brother? I don’t have–”

  “You have brothers and a sister. And soon you will have a child of your own, if you wake up.” He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. “I must go.”

  “Why don’t I know about them? My family?”

  He hesitated, his eyes flicking over his shoulder again. “It’s for your protection—all of you. Now wake up, Raphael.”

  I took one last look at the smiling woman next to me and tugged my hand free. “I’m leaving.”

  The man’s voice rang inside my head. Wake up, Raphael.

  “Come on, Josh. Wake up, please.” Another familiar voice—female—nudged at my consciousness, and I blinked. The world had changed again. Everything was dark, had I gone blind? I blinked, and as my eyes adjusted I recognized the face above me. Katherine. She held a tiny, dim light in one hand but it was enough to see her smile. “He’s awake,” she called to someone, before speaking to me. “Can you get up?”

  15.13 Dante

  Nanette felt like a dead weight in my arms, but I couldn’t leave her behind. There was no guarantee we’d get out at all. While this looked real enough, it might just be another image Alistair had conjured. I shifted positions, and my shoulder screamed in pain. Every movement intensified the burning sensation until it felt as though my back was on fire.

  Kitten leaned over Josh. I heard the urgency in her voice as she tried to rouse him. Guilt weighed heavily on me. It was my fault he was here. If I’d been honest with him in the first place I could have told him to stay away.

  “He’s awake,” she cried, and I sagged a little.

  Thank fuck for that and not a moment too soon. There were more cracking noises above us, even more debris crashing down. A large chunk of something hard landed inches from my boot.

  “Dante?” Josh gripped my arm. “I’m fine, let me help. How the fuck do we get out of here?” He took Nanette’s limp body and hoisted her over his shoulder.

  “I think the door’s over here.” Kitten sounded hoarse.

  Josh stumbled toward her, and I followed, almost tripping over another body. What had happened to everyone? Were they dead? And where was Alistair? I expected to see him appear at any moment. I had to get Kitten and Josh to safety before completing my deal.

  My foot tangled with something, and I crashed to the floor. Shockwaves of pain roared over me, and I couldn’t hold back a whimper. Cold sweat trickled from my forehead when I tried to push myself back up. Already, the glimmer of light from Kitten’s phone was receding.

  “Don’t be such a girl, Dante.” I didn’t need to see Eve to know she was rolling her eyes.

  “I’m good,” I grunted. Back on my feet, but weak and shaky as fuck. The wall was over here somewhere… my outstretched hand touched cool concrete, and I leaned against it while I tried to catch my breath.

  “Come on. Not far to go now.”

  “A minute.” I slumped against the wall. I had to rest. I didn’t even have the energy to speak.

  “Dante!” Katherine’s voice cut through the swirling fog of pain. “Come on, Angel. Nearly there.”

  I breathed as deeply as I could, forced my leaden limbs to move, and staggered toward her voice, to the light ahead. I took one step, then another. I would do this. The hand closing around my ankle froze me in my tracks.

  “Help me,” rasped a voice from near my feet. One of the bouncers. I hesitated.

  Eve’s fingers were cold on my cheek. “Move it, Tat-Boy.”

  His grip tightened, fingers curling around my boot. “Take me with you,” he growled. I tried to shake him off. He clung with a grim determination, and I felt his other hand dig into my calf as he tried to haul himself up my body.

  “Get rid of him, Dante.”

  “If I don’t get out of here, you little shit, you don’t go either.”

  He was a dead weight pulling me down. My knees were buckling, but I fought to get free. When he clawed his way up to my arm, pain tore through me, and I kicked out, uncaring what I hit. There was a dull thump as my boot collided with something fleshy, a muffled howl and he let go. I lurched forward.

  Up ahead was a flashing light. Escape. From this current hell at least.

  Chapter

  ~16~

  16.1 Katherine

  Everything looked different. The only light came from our phones, tiny squares of brilliance in the darkness of the corridor. We inched along, feeling our way by the walls. I’d never been scared of the dark before, but this… it felt as though the ceiling pressed down on us. Dust clogged the air, and we tripped and stumbled over unknown rubble. I had no idea how far we’d moved, how much further we had to go. Fear squeezed my lungs ever tighter, and panic bubbled constantly. If I gave in to it, I’d turn into a hysterical blubbering mass. I swallowed, my throat clogged with grit. One step more. And another. What if we’d gone the wrong way? I swallowed.

  I heard voices in the distance. Voices shouting my name. Hauling in a deep breath, I yelled back. There was a pause, and then they answered. Josh bumped into me, still carrying Nanette.

  “Is Dante behind you?” Sick with worry, I was terrified he’d lost too much blood, that we might not get him out in time.

  “Here.” He sounded in pain, his voice slurred.

  I snaked an arm around Josh and
touched Dante’s hand. “Help is coming. Stay with me, Angel.”

  There was a flurry of movement from Josh. Next minute, Nanette stood next to us, wide awake and in a state of shock. “Oh God, Chuckles. I’m so sorry.”

  I heard her sob as she hugged Dante, wrapping around him. Her words were garbled, but I gathered that she’d been unable to stop herself. Possessed, Dante had said. He leaned on her, hugging her tight. I dragged my eyes away. Seconds later, bright lights flashed, and two men in emergency vests approached. Everything went chaotic.

  They led us through more dark and congested corridors and up a narrow flight of stairs. Walkie-talkies chattered, lights flashed, and minutes later we emerged into fresh air, on a wet Manchester side street. Fire engines, police cars, and ambulances jostled for space, blue lights blinking and sirens wailing. I rubbed my eyes and turned my face to the night sky. Rain. After being trapped underground it felt like heaven.

  Josh came out next. He gripped my arm. “You okay, Katherine?”

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  Armageddon had collapsed in on itself. It was a miracle we’d been able to get out.

  It took forever before Dante emerged with Nanette stuck to him like a fucking limpet. Meanwhile, Suki ran up in a blur of loose blonde hair to hurl herself into Josh’s arms.

  I stood alone. I watched Dante as he sat on the curb, head bowed, Nanette calling for help for him. I took a step backward.

  It was all too much to cope with. I had the overwhelming urge to seek out my godparents, to try to block out everything that had happened. He said he loved me, and then he’d picked Nanette. I still had no idea what the hell was going on with him. I slipped further back toward the cordons. Dante had a pretty, blonde paramedic examining him. Nobody paid any attention to me.