Chapter 9
Nate
The visit at the mall was far less eventful than I expected.
Tristan insisted on paying for everything in cash, which made me wonder if the Nightmare Realm also uses US Dollars as its official currency.
He asked me to help him pick a ‘typical human’ piece of clothing, and since there is a crab in his family crest, I convinced him to get the official hoodie of our local baseball team, which happens to have a crab as their mascot.
Tristan loved it so much he got a tiny one for his nephew as well. We had milkshakes and went to a trampoline park, where he showed me the craziest of stunts, and then kissed me while we were both in the air.
I don’t know what I expected to happen after that, but it wasn’t him donning that red hoodie underneath his fancy cloak and carrying me away toward the sunset.
A cop car stopped us right after we left town, but I managed to talk our way out of getting arrested for vagrancy, and we soon left the edge of the asphalt road, heading off into the woods.
Which is when my trust in this experiment starts to dwindle.
Yes, he did show me incredible things.
Yes, my grandparents told me to go for it.
He seems kind, and respectful, but it’s still not impossible that he convinced me to believe his delusion, and once we are hidden from view, he could break my neck and sacrifice me to Satan. Just because the police would later find him and put him in prison wouldn’t make me any less dead.
“I don’t want to be rude,” I say as it becomes too dark for me to comfortably see everything around me. “But where will we be crossing into the Nightmare Realm? This place is deserted.”
Tristan rubs my chest reassuringly. “It won’t be too long now. I just need to find the right cave,” he says, once more pulling out what looks like a compass, but its golden dial doesn’t act like one. At least I’m dressed warm.
My large backpack is attached to the horse, and contains some extra clothes, vegan snacks, and a couple of books I wanted to read for a while.
I also bought, or rather allowed Tristan to buy, canned peaches as a gift for the Lord of the Nocturne Court, because apparently, I will be ‘officially presented’ to him.
Is it really so strange that after years of reading fantasy and romance I want to believe Tristan? Or will following him tonight be the last terrible decision I ever make by trusting my heart?
“A cave? That’s where the palace is?” I ask, now worried Tristan’s a member of a cult, and the lord he’s taking me to is their guru.
Despite it being so dark, neither my knight, nor his horse seem bothered, and the animal calmly climbs the incline, maneuvering a narrow path with dense bushes on either side.
At least I don’t have to walk this path in the dark.
It’s worrying how much reassurance Tristan’s arm around my waist gives me.
I’m melting into him and his fantasy world already, and I won’t even be his Dark Companion, which…
taints the whole experience a little bit.
“No, but it’s where the crossing is hidden.
We still don’t know for sure how these gates between our worlds appear.
Most elves think it’s a question of star alignment.
A crossing that has been there for years can sometimes just disappear.
Last year, I was summoned to a village, because an old human lady was found in the woods.
She was helpless and confused. Apparently, she went out to forage for mushrooms, slid down a hill, and the next thing she knew, she was wandering a forest in our realm.
If you ask me, she was one of the lucky ones.
Humans unaware of the dangers they can encounter are sadly most likely to perish devoured by a beast or poisoned by plants they shouldn’t have eaten. ”
“Oh, my God. She must have been terrified. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, I escorted her home personally. One of my more exciting jobs to date.”
“Really? Escorting someone home was exciting?” I ask with a frown, and Tristan sighs.
“Oh, I know. When I signed up to the Nightcloaks, I thought I’d be visiting the human realm every week. Instead, I’m dealing with lots of paperwork.”
“So… is it really this dangerous out there? Should I be worried?” I ask, sinking deeper into Tristan’s chest. He picks up the sides of his cloak and covers us both with it.
“I’m by your side, so no. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” He kisses the side of my neck, making me all warm and gooey inside. Tristan is so affectionate and open. So unlike any of my past boyfriends who dreaded romantic gestures and promises.
I must have terrible taste in guys, since obviously happy couples exist. They get married and always support one another. I just never found anyone who’d want to share that with me.
I exhale, letting my head loll over his shoulder. “Hm? You’d protect me even from a wolf like this one?” I ask, opening the duffel bag in front of me a bit wider to pet Lady, who’s sleeping soundly, lulled by the horse’s rocking gait. Half of all my shopping was supplies for her.
I’m surprised by a moment of prolonged silence before he speaks. “Yes. I am your escort, and I take that very seriously. Here we are.”
I can barely see in the darkness, but there’s a rock wall next to us, and when Tristan helps me off the horse, my boots meet soft moss.
“Who goes there!?” A raspy old man’s voice assaults me from the side, and when that combines with the stranger turning on a flashlight, I yelp at the sight of his long beard and bulging eyes.
“Good evening, Earl,” Tristan says and flashes me a smile as if he were expecting praise for remembering a human name.
The old man stands in our way with his chest puffed. “I advise you to turn around now. There’s evil in this cave more ancient than this country!”
My knees go a bit weak, because there are far too many things trying to warn me away from the path I’m on. Sure, the man appears to have lost his mind a bit, but Tristan has shown me impossible things, so why wouldn’t Earl have something important to say about the Nightmare Realm?
“What do you mean?” I ask while Tristan fiddles with one of his saddlebags.
Earl’s eyes narrow in the shadow of his thick brows. “This is one of the entrances to the secret city of the lizard people. Those who enter never come out. That’s why so many people disappear in National Parks.”
Oh-kay…
Tristan pulls something out of the inner pocket of his cloak. “And…?” He raises his eyebrows at Earl as he shows him a palm-sized metal brooch of a crab framed by seaweed. “Toxi…”
Earl bows so deeply I take a step back in shock. “Toxic gasses. Yes. I didn’t forget. Just wanted to build it up, you know? Sir. Your Highness.”
It’s baffling to see the man drop his act. How deep does this rabbit hole go?
“Is everything all right?” I ask, but Earl offers me a bow too.
“Absolutely. I am… how to say it… a professional hermit. As long as I stay in my role, people keep away from the cave,” he explains and pulls out an energy bar. “Best job I ever had, young man.”
Tristan passes him a small parcel, and now I know why he bought a whole box of nut bars. “The Lord of the Nocturne Court wishes to thank you for your loyal service,” he says, but then heads into the darkness ahead of us.
As freaky as all of this is, the presence of the strange man does reassure me that the Nightmare Realm doesn’t exist only in Tristan’s head.
Lady grunts in the bag slung over my shoulder, and I slide my hand in to calm her.
Tristan squeezes my fingers a bit harder and leads me through the mouth of the cave, past a chamber equipped with a television screen and a comfortable-looking sofa.
This must be Earl’s hermitage, or at least a part of it, but I don’t get to consider it any further, because the massive horse is following us closely, and its muzzle pushes at the small of my back.
It nickers when I take a large step forward, walking into Tristan. “Does he always crowd people like this?” I ask, imagining what would happen if this massive animal got spooked by a bat and charged straight through us in this narrow tunnel.
Tristan gives the horse a harmless slap on the ear. “He’s just a bit mischievous. He might be excited to show you what he really looks like. Not long now, Stone.”
At some point, Tristan pulls a delightfully gothic lantern out of a saddlebag and attaches it to the saddle horn. I stiffen when out of nowhere it fills with an eerie green flame, but neither the elf nor his horse are phased, so I choose to just follow their lead.
We walk on for a while, and I’m not worried when I step into a puddle, since my boots are waterproof, but with the next step, my foot is ankle deep. I stop in my tracks, pulling on Tristan’s hand.
“Wait. Is this a stream? An underwater cave?” I’m not some brave explorer. What I’m doing right now is already the biggest adventure of my life, and now all the documentaries about people getting stuck in caves come to the forefront of my mind.
Tristan shakes his head, looking strangely ominous in the jade glow. “Only the shallow water is real. Just trust me.”
This is insane. We’re both probably on drugs, and the horse is the dealer.
But can I really not have a bit of faith?
I can swim, so even if the water gets deeper, I should be able to return to the shore.
Heat crawls up my back when my gaze meets Tristan’s, because he has charmed me, and I so very much want him to not be a crazy lying psychopath.
“You promise I’ll be safe?”
His warm smile is all I need, but he still steps back and gives me a soft kiss on the lips.
“I promise. I’ve been through here before.
It’s a strange place, but we’re not the first to travel this way.
I can’t wait to cross so we can be alone again.
” My knees go weak when he licks the seam of my lips, but then Stone presses his muzzle to my ear, and Tristan pushes back his head with a groan. “Did I not say ‘alone’, you bastard?”