Chapter 28
––––––––
Jillian
––––––––
Jillian woke with a violent gasp, her hands clawing at the air. She sat up fast, blinking feverishly, trying to focus her vision. A sense of doom left her panicked.
She wasn't in her bedroom.
She wasn't in her house.
Stainless steel counters loomed above her, warped by the dim, gray light filtering through the windows. The air smelled faintly of old coffee and maple syrup. The familiar scents of the restaurant in Everstill threw her into terror.
"No." She scrambled backward until her spine hit the wall. "No, no, no."
Her breath escaped her. Her chest squeezed painfully.
"Moe?" she called, voice cracking. "Moe!"
Silence answered her.
She pushed herself to her feet, grabbing the counter for balance. He was with her. She'd held his hand. But the shadow...
"Moe!" she screamed louder. "Moe, please. Where are you?"
A shadow shifted near the doorway.
Jillian spun.
Copper stood in the room. His unreadable expression, carved from centuries of quiet suffering, never changed. His eyes held too much knowledge, too much resignation, too much of Everstill's truth.
"Where's Moe?" she whispered, afraid of the answer.
He looked at her with what she could only call sorrow so deep it made her stomach drop.
"Where is he?" she said again, louder this time.
Copper's jaw tightened, and he slowly, deliberately looked away.
Jillian's breath shattered as anger swelled inside her. "No. No—don't you look away from me. Tell me he's here, damnit. Tell me he made it."
Copper closed his eyes. Jillian's knees buckled.
She grabbed the counter to keep from collapsing, her breath breaking in sharp, painful bursts. "He was holding me," she whispered. "He was right beside me. He wouldn't let go."
"The veil doesn't always take both," Copper said quietly.
She shook her head, denying what he was telling her.
"He wouldn't leave me," she whispered.
Copper simply stood there, offering her no hope as she crumbled.
She pressed her hands to her face, sobbing into her palms. Her entire body shook, grief and shock tearing through her. "I can't do this without him," she whispered. "I can't—"
"Jillian..."
Her breath froze. She cocked her head, her gaze darting around the restaurant.
Copper turned toward the door to the kitchen. She spun so fast she nearly fell, her eyes wide, her heart slamming against her ribs.
"Moe?" she whispered. "Where are you?"
"Jillian." The voice came again, strained, hoarse, desperate.
Hearing him deeper in the building, she shoved past Copper, sprinting across the kitchen, skidding to a stop at the top of a narrow staircase. The light down there was dim, flickering, barely enough to see.
But she saw him.
Moe was at the bottom of the steps on his knees, one hand gripping the railing, the other pressed to his ribs. His face was pale, his breath uneven, his body trembling with effort as if he'd fought his way out of hell.
"Moe!" She scrambled down the stairs, dropping to her knees and reaching for him. "Oh my God, you made it."
"I'm here," he whispered, voice breaking.
She wrapped her arms around him. He collapsed against her, his forehead pressing to her shoulder, his breath shaking.
Strength filled her. He was alive. It didn't matter where they ended up. They were together. They'd find a way to go back home.
Copper watched from the top of the stairs as Jillian clung to Moe, sobbing into his shoulder, her entire body trembling with relief. He wasn't dead. He wasn't lost. He made it through.
She kept one arm around Moe's waist as she helped him up the narrow cellar stairs, her other hand gripping the railing, so they didn't both collapse. Moe's breath was uneven, each inhale tight and strained, but he didn't let go of her. His fingers stayed curled in the fabric of her shirt.
He was hurt. The darkness had tried to kill him.
"Easy," she whispered. "Just a few more steps."
He nodded, though the motion was weak. "I'm okay."
He wasn't, but he was alive. That was enough for now.
They reached the top, and Jillian guided him into the kitchen, easing him onto one of the metal prep tables. He sat heavily, elbows braced on his knees, head bowed as he tried to catch his breath.
Copper stood near the doorway, watching them with that unsettling stillness he always carried. Jillian brushed Moe's hair back from his forehead. She couldn't see any wounds.
"What happened?"
"I don't know." Moe swallowed hard. "I woke up in the dark. I thought I'd been dropped through the floor. Took me a moment to realize I was in the basement under the restaurant." He looked up at her, eyes still unfocused. "You weren't with me."
Her throat tightened. "I am now."
He reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "You're the reason I kept moving through the shadow. I had to find you."
She leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes for a moment, letting the relief wash through her. He was here. He was breathing. He was hers.
Copper cleared his throat softly. She looked at the older man. His grave expression brought them back to the present.
"Everstill didn't bring you back by accident," Copper said, stepping forward.
Moe tensed. She held on to him tighter.
"It doesn't take people without purpose. It doesn't return them without intention," said Copper.
"But we left." Jillian swallowed. "It was our choice to leave together."
Copper faced Moe. "You were brought back because Moe was never meant to leave Everstill."
Moe's jaw tightened. "I wasn't letting it take her."
"And the veil noticed," Copper said. "It doesn't like being defied. It doesn't like losing what it chooses."
A chill crawled up Jillian's spine. They talked as if the veil was a breathing, living entity. Everything in her wanted to deny what she'd experienced. But it was true. She felt the shadow. It was alive.
"Why me?" She shook her head. "I don't belong here."
"You're the door through the veil." Copper nodded once. "It chose you the moment you came through the first time. And doors don't get to walk away."
"Shut up about the door and the keys." She groaned in frustration. "None of that means anything unless you explain why it happens."
Moe pushed himself upright, ignoring the pain that flashed across his face. "She's not staying here. We're getting out."
"You can try," Copper said quietly. "But Everstill brought you both back for a reason. And it won't let you go until it gets what it wants."
Jillian's breath trembled. "What does it want?"
Copper swung his gaze toward her. "You," he said. "It wants you."
Moe's hand tightened around hers, fierce and protective.
Copper stepped back, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And it will do anything to keep you."
The kitchen fell silent.
Moe laced his fingers with hers, reminding her she wasn't alone. But Copper's words lingered in the air.