Dark Consort

by Amber R. Duell

  Darkness swelled in my chest. It was probably dangerous to try this without any of Kail’s instructions, but the grin hadn’t let me down yet. I had to trust my power. Trust myself. Besides, Kail’s instructions were basically to toss a problem at me and wait to see if I sank or swam.

  “Lady?” Halven asked, concerned.

  I brought my head up, shoulders squared. “Wait here. We’ll go back to the Blood Tower when I’m finished.”

  I called upon every ounce of confidence I had and strode out to the table. Please don’t be one of Rowan’s. But Halven was with me. I trusted him at least this much.

  The nightmare looked up from his work to reveal pupil-less white eyes covered in pulsating blue veins. “Lady Nightmare,” he said in a high, shocked voice. “I didn’t do it!”

  “Do what?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Anything.” He blinked rapidly. “I swear it.”

  Halven stepped up behind me, and I let out a breath. “Watch him,” I told Halven in a low voice, then nodded at Bell. “I need to borrow your Dreamer.”

  “But I’m hungry,” the nightmare whined like a small child.

  “I’ll give him back when I’m finished. It won’t take long.”

  “Yes, Lady.” He pouted. “Thank you, Lady.”

  I knelt in front of Bell and picked at the knotted rope around his wrists. He shrieked and thrashed at the touch. “Enough,” I shouted. “Relax. It’s Nora.”

  “Nora?” His pupils blew wide as he focused on my face. “Run! Run before he catches you.”

  My hands stilled, the knot still intact, and I sat back on my haunches. There wasn’t time to chase Bell all over the Nightmare Realm. This would have to happen here. With a deep breath—one I instantly regretted making this close to the spoiled meat—I reached inward toward the grin. It was waiting for me, lips curled in contemplation, and a wisp of black guided my hand until my pointer finger pressed against Bell’s forehead. His mind exploded through me. Every fear, every want, all spread out before me like a buffet on Halloween. Only, instead of chocolate severed fingers and ghost-shaped Peeps, they were the real thing. I gasped at the shock of it all, but the darkness urged me onward. Deeper and deeper. Until I came to a small orb of glowing light.

  Take it, the grin seemed to say.

  I wrapped my fingers around the gentle warmth, and the ground fell out from beneath me. My body felt as if it was expanding. Changing. Rational thought came and went. Up and down. Side-to-side. Dizziness dug its claws in deep. Then it stopped in an instant, a head-on collision at eighty miles an hour. My neck whipped back. My ears rang so loudly I felt it echoing in my skull. I sat up gingerly and massaged my head. Only it wasn’t my head. Not unless someone had shaved it in the last sixty seconds, and if that was the case, there were going to be big problems.

  But it only took a moment to understand I wasn’t in the Nightmare Realm. Instead, I was in a room lit only by a small television atop a dresser. A striped comforter covered the lower half of my body. No, not mine. Bell’s. I did it. I was in. I flexed his hands, testing out the motions, and the mattress shifted beside me.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” A dark-skinned woman, her hair covered with a colorful scarf, leaned up on one elbow, frantically blinking the sleep away.

  “Nothing,” Bell—I—said. The darkness guided me from beneath the covers. Coaxing—but not forcing—his actions so they seemed natural. “Just a bad dream.”

  “I told you not to watch that movie before bed,” she half-mumbled, rolling back onto her side.

  I padded across the room and grabbed a pair of pants from the back of a chair. I stood back and let the grin do the work as it led him through the steps of making himself presentable.

  “What are you doing?” the woman asked.

  “I’m going to take a drive,” I said, Bell’s voice robotic. “Clear my head.”

  The woman didn’t say anything else after that, and within five minutes, I was driving to my house in a silver sedan.

  I stole glances in the rearview mirror every so often. His facial expression remained blank the entire trip, and the grin kept trying to poke at his thoughts. No. I snapped the unspoken order at it. This already felt uncomfortable—I didn’t need to know Bell’s deepest, darkest secrets. I wondered if he was aware of what I was doing or if it felt like a dream. Maybe neither. Maybe he would have flashes of this later and wonder, like he seemed to with what happened before.

  I parked his car in my driveway, walked to my door, and knocked. Panic burst in my chest, and I scrambled to back away. To exit Bell’s head. Suddenly, I didn’t want to do this. To see them. But the grin held tight as Paul answered the door. His mouth parted, and he stared for what seemed like an eternity before slipping outside. “Detective.” He closed the door with a soft thud. “Tell me you’re not here for the reason I think you are.”

  “What reason would that be?” I pressed. The darkness seemed to shush me.

  Paul paled. “A homicide detective shows up in the middle of the night while my daughter is missing—”

  “No, no,” I said. “Nora’s fine.”

  Paul blew out a breath. “Come in. My wife will want to talk to you.”

  Ha! My mother had threatened him with a lawyer the last time he had me at the station. But the grin ignored me, and I followed Paul into the living room. Everything was in perfect order, which somehow made seeing my house again worse. My favorite blanket was folded over the back of the couch and the dancing stuffed turkey remained at the center of the coffee table, even though it was well into December now. The automatic air freshener periodically spritzed a pumpkin spice scent into the air. Usually by now, the tree would be up in the corner and our stockings would be tacked up above the television. Seeing the house Thanksgiving-ready, like it was when I left, was a gut-punch.

  “Val?” Paul paused at the top of the stairs. “Can you come down here a minute?” I heard my mother mumble a reply, then Paul turned back to me. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  I shook my head just as my mother appeared at the top of the stairs in holey sweats and a stained sweater. Her hair was matted with grease, and I swore it had thinned since I left. Her dead gaze found mine, and she started down the staircase like a zombie. The closer she got, the more the shock wore off, and I realized that she was wearing my sweater. One I wore to bed a lot during the winter, printed with the words ‘I don’t do mornings.’ Except when I left, it was in much better shape. Had she been living in it? I sneered at the thought. Clutched in her hand was a small stuffed bear my dad gave me when I was little that I hadn’t seen in years. If only she had held me as close.

  “You remember Detective Bell, don’t you?” Paul said gently.

  “Hello,” I said. “I have some good news and some bad news, if you’d like to come sit down.”

  “Good news?” My mother perked up and rushed into the living room. “You found Nora?”

  I nodded. “She called the precinct from a restricted number when she found out you reported her missing. She’s safe in Nevada with a friend.”

  “A friend? What friend?” She twisted to look at Paul with wild eyes. “She doesn’t know anyone in Nevada.”

  “Is it her boyfriend, Ben?” Paul asked. “Have you found him yet?”

  Ah, crap. I hadn’t thought about the fact that the Sandman wouldn’t be Day Walking anymore. Of course they would think he was either with me or guilty of something. Probably the latter, in my mother’s case, since she liked to believe the worst of everyone. “They’re together,” the grin made me say.

  “She wouldn’t do this to me,” my mom insisted, nearing hysterics. “There’s no reason for them to run off together. We never stopped them from being together. Why would she—”

  “Mom.” Katie rushed down the stairs, glaring at Bell as if she knew, or at least suspected, it wasn’t really him. “It’s true. Nora called me too.”

  Paul shifted to address Katie. “She called you? When?”

  “Toni
ght. I was going to tell you.” The lies rolled easily off Katie’s tongue. “She wanted you to know that she loves you and she’s sorry.”

  My mother leapt to her feet and began pacing. “Send someone to bring her back. She’s a minor.”

  “I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” I said.

  “Maybe we should go to Nevada and talk to her face-to-face,” Paul suggested.

  “You’re right.” My mother squeezed the tiny bear so hard, I expected its head to pop off. “I’ll pack right now. We’ll catch the next flight out and talk some sense into her.”

  “Mom,” Katie implored. “We can’t just show up and hope we stumble into her. She wouldn’t tell me where she was staying, let alone what city she’s in. It’s a big state.”

  “Your sister lied about an internship and then took off in the middle of the night with her boyfriend. I’m going to track her down and drag her back by her ears if it’s the last thing I do,” my mother insisted and headed for the stairs. “I don’t care if I have to comb every square inch of Nevada to do it.”

  “Katie’s right, Val,” Paul said. “Please think about this. We should go, but only once we have a plan in place.” Paul followed her up the stairs, his voice fading away.

  Katie stepped closer to me and narrowed her eyes. “Nora didn’t call, did she?”

  “Of course she did,” the grin insisted, though I didn’t know why it bothered.

  “Liar.” Katie waved a hand through the air to cut off any forthcoming denial. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I do know where she is. If you talk to her again, tell her that Rowan knows, and she’s marching.”

  My breath caught. How? How did Rowan know? How far was she from the Keep? I pressed forward to beg for details, but the darkness was faster. “Who is Rowan?”

  “I hope Nora gets there first,” Katie said with a knowing scowl.

  The grin flew into action, sending Bell’s body racing back to his car. The tires squealed as I sped away from my house. I took corners so fast, the vehicle nearly tipped, and at the first red light, I slammed the car into park. The darkness pulled back, and I struggled to hold on. I couldn’t leave him in his car in the middle of the street—a million things could happen after I let go. But the grin bared its teeth, insistent.

  In the next moment, I was back in the Nightmare Realm beside an unconscious Bell. I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding a mile a minute. There was no time—he was on his own now. I stood and wheeled on Halven. “We have to hurry.”

  “Goodbye, Lady.” The green creature resumed his chopping, but I blocked it out.

  Rowan knows. There was only one thing Katie could’ve meant.

  “She knows we’re going for the tree.” I looked up at Halven and knew that behind his mask, his face reflected my own fear. “We have to get there first.”

  “Kail—”

  Kail. He could handle himself, but I needed that army. Just in case. I held my hand out. “It’s too far to walk. Do the thing you did to me at the Doll Maker’s.”

  Halven didn’t hesitate as he clasped my hand and sped us back to the Blood Tower.

  26

  Nora

  The Blood Army’s moans filled the courtyard of the tower and carried into the neighboring tundra where Halven and I stopped. Rocks rolled away from the sound, bumping into each other, into us, with tiny, surprised oofs. Small pixie-like nightmares dressed in furs fled from patches of dried grass, filling the air like a swarm of dragonflies, tiny sacks in their arms. Halven and I stood there in mutual terror.

  “This isn’t right,” I breathed. It didn’t make sense. Why would Rowan be here? If she thought I was heading for her tree, what purpose would she have coming to the Blood Tower? “Where is the army? Why aren’t they doing something?”

  Halven shook his head.

  “‘No’ what?” I whisper-yelled.

  He pointed to the top of the tower where a plume of red mist billowed upward. “You don’t have one anymore,” he croaked.

  “No. No, no, no. They can’t all be dead.” There were so many—and the Blood Army was the main force I expected to face. My army should’ve been prepared to fight them. My mouth ran dry, and I stepped forward. Halven put his arm out to stop me. “We have to do something,” I insisted.

  But what could we do? My army was dead. And Kail—no. There was no way he was dead too. The army may not have been ready, but he always was. He was the king of hidey-holes and escape routes. A virtual Houdini. The Blood Tower probably had more hidden passages than Paris had Catacomb tunnels.

  A scream rose above the low moaning, and the familiarity of it cut me in two. Oh. Oh, no. Kail was alive… but he hadn’t escaped. After the quaking pain of his cry, I wasn’t sure if I should be glad he was still breathing.

  Halven was the one to step forward this time, but I dug my fingers into his forearm. “I know another way inside.” His chest rose and fell with heavy, labored breaths, but that was the only part of him to move. “Come on, before it’s too late.”

  That got his attention, and he locked my hand in a death grip. “Where?” The question was harsher than usual.

  “There’s a hidden door beneath all those teeth on the—”

  We were running then, faster than ever before. The wind stung my eyes, and each inhale felt like I was suffocating, but the discomfort was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching fear. It was like thinking the Sandman was dead all over again. Like turning on that lamp in Emery’s living room and knowing what I would find when I looked up. I shouldn’t care if Kail lived or died. What I should be doing was racing to the trees while I knew Rowan was occupied. But maybe she wasn’t. Maybe someone else led the Blood Army here. I shook my head. It didn’t matter who was hurting Kail—it only mattered that I stop them.

  A blanket of teeth crunched beneath our feet. If one didn’t look too closely, they could be mistaken for pebbles ranging from the whitest of whites to yellow to black. “The door is—”

  I took a shuddering breath and tried to regulate my breathing. To calm down. Focus. It was buried somewhere near the center, but I hadn’t been paying much attention when Kail and I escaped the fiery attack. Halven and I didn’t have time to dig through this entire place, so I jabbed at the grin. It popped open with impatience. I let go completely, and the darkness urged me forward. “Here,” I shouted, and fell to my knees a few paces away.

  Halven joined me, and we scooped handfuls of teeth out of the way. Some of them still had bloody roots attached, others slimy with what I assumed was saliva. The small piece of rope finally appeared. Halven wrenched the hatch upward, and a shower of teeth flew into the air. More funneled into the dark opening with a chorus of tiny pings. I jumped inside, teeth pelting my head, catching in my hair, with Halven right behind me.

  The door slammed shut, casting us in darkness, but my feet moved as confidently as if the tunnel was brightly lit. The walls stretched out in front of me as solid shadows, and Halven’s outline was perfectly clear against the grey haze. Another scream echoed somewhere overhead. I shivered, my fury needing an outlet, and ran.

  “I can’t reach,” I huffed when we reached the overhead door.

  Halven reached up and paused to let out a long, shaky breath. Then he eased the trap door open a crack. After what felt like an eternity of him looking into the room above, he lifted it open the rest of the way and climbed out. A moment later, he reached down for my hand, swinging me up with graceful ease. I shook teeth from my hair. Focus. I had to focus. There was no telling how many things were lurking inside the tower right now.

  A loud thud bounced down the hallway. “Where is she?” Rowan shrieked.

  Her voice slithered over me, blinding me with rage, and I barreled from the room. I didn’t think. Didn’t pause for a moment. The blackest part of me ruled my movements, and I let it take me straight to Rowan’s old room. What I found inside had my own lips mimicking the grin’s internal sneer. Rowan’s burnt wings blocked the doorway, but between the cha
rred branches, I saw Kail, bloodied and broken on the floor.

  “Just kill me,” he wheezed, blood gushing from his mouth.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Rowan growled.

  She bent and grabbed Kail’s chin. Her touch ripped a cry from his throat and brought every scream I’d ever heard crashing through me. Starting with Katie’s. Ending with my own. No more—there would be no more screaming because of me.

  “I’m right here,” I said in a deadly voice.

  Rowan whipped around, her red-flecked eyes wide. “Dream Keeper. I was looking for you,” she said confidently.

  “Oh.” I released a mirthless laugh. “I think you mean Lady Nightmare, though I’m not sure how you could make that mistake. This is your fault, after all.”

  Her expression tightened. “You left the Nightmare Realm before I could congratulate you.”

  “Kill me. I left before you could kill me. We’re past pretending otherwise.”

  My gaze slid to Kail, his head hanging in defeat, and anger roared in my ears. End her now, the grin demanded. Energy crackled over my skin, and I lunged. Mindless. Unseeing. My body was a wild, reckless blur of magic. I was in the backseat, watching myself move with an ease that couldn’t be taught. My shoulder slammed into Rowan’s chest, and she tumbled backward into the giant bed.

  But instead of yielding, she gave me a predatory smile. “The Weaver’s magic has done wonders for you.” Imagine what it could do for me. She didn’t say it, but the thought hung in the air between us.

  Until I smashed through it, fists flying.

  They each met her face with a sickening crunch, and the sureness faded from her eyes. My next blow met her palm. Her fingers dug into the back of my hand, and the blazing pain had me crawling back into the driver’s seat. A scream built rapidly in my chest, and it wouldn’t be long before it escaped. Whatever force oversaw my body slammed down on the gas pedal. My body moved without my mind, twisting and turning in ways neither the Sandman nor Kail had ever trained me. I tried to stop it. To move another way. Any way that would show I still had control.