CHAPTER FIVE
Aweek passed. Then, two.
There were no more dreams about Oliver, and Laurie didn’t send word about any new findings.
I continued seeing Consuelo, the therapist Emma had found for me after I’d made the crossroads deal.
I trained with Adam and Gil at the garage.
I worked at the bar, pretending that it didn’t feel like someone had jabbed my chest with a red-hot poker every time Bea avoided looking at me—ever since she’d learned the truth about what I am, she hadn’t been the same.
Then Cyrus would call out from the kitchen, and the sound of his voice made the feeling fade.
Everything was so mundane, so close to the life I’d always wanted.
But … there was a shadow over it. A threat of darkness, hovering at the edge of every good moment.
It felt like I was constantly holding my breath.
Looking over my shoulder as I took out the trash at the bar.
Scanning the trees for any sign of movement when I played with Matthew in the yard.
Listening for sounds in the night while the rest of my family slept peacefully around me.
I couldn’t escape the sense that something was coming, and I needed to be ready when it did.
My friends felt it, too. New clocks kept appearing around the loft, which seemed to be comforting to Nym, somehow.
And no matter where I was, there was always a member of the Shadow Court nearby—they thought they were being subtle about it, but I hadn’t explained to anyone how our bonds worked, mostly because I was still figuring it out myself.
The connections between me and my Court members were as powerful as mating magic.
All I had to do was think about one of them, and focus on what I wanted to know.
Then the answer came in soft flashes or gentle thoughts.
I’d close my eyes and see Cyrus filling up his truck at the gas station.
I’d hear the whir of a drill or a heavy metal song, and I knew Gil was at Adam’s shop.
I’d picture Nym and shudder against the waves of agitation that he always seemed to be drowning in.
It was no wonder our bonding spell had been kept secret by the fae.
In the wrong hands, this power could be diabolical.
I didn’t use my newfound ability often, since it felt like a violation of my family’s privacy.
They weren’t exactly giving me the same consideration with this around-the-clock guard thing, but it was hard to be mad at anyone when I could literally feel their concern, their love like a living thing in my chest.
Tonight was the first time my Court members had eased up in weeks.
When I finished my closing shift at the bar, there was no one waiting for me in the parking lot.
I gave a mental shrug and unlocked the van, waving back when Phil called goodbye.
He was the only other employee still here—it had been a slow night, so the others were cut early.
I checked my phone for messages, relieved when there was nothing except a meme from Gil.
Along the top it said, Why did the vampire refuse to work at the mirror factory?
The answer was beneath a cringey picture of an actor from an old movie, his plastic fangs gleaming in a smirk. He just couldn’t see himself working there.
Don’t make me block you, I texted back. My lips twitched as I pocketed my phone.
Seconds later I was on the road, driving in the direction of home.
My feet ached and I reeked of beer, since Angela had spilled some on my shoes earlier.
Completely by accident, of course. Sighing, I rolled the window down and leaned my head back.
My thoughts turned to Oliver, as they usually did these days, and how we could find him now that the dreams had stopped.
Then something walked into the road in a flash of long limbs and pale skin.
I gasped and slammed on my brakes, instinctively jerking the wheel. The van careened out of control. Pain ricocheted through my neck as my ears filled with the sound of squealing tires, and I screamed. All I could do was hold on as the entire vehicle spun like a carnival ride.
After a few seconds, there was a brief falling sensation, then another neck-snapping jolt. The airbags exploded and the horn went off, blaring through smoke and a distinctly chemical scent. I sat there for an instant, my mind slow with shock.
Before I could move or think, the passenger window shattered.
There was no time to react—at the same moment a spindly arm reached inside, the overlong fingers tipped with black claws, I yanked my gun out of the middle compartment and flipped the safety off.
The world exploded with sound as I pulled the trigger three times, shouting.
The arm yanked back and I heard an otherworldly noise, something partway between a shriek and a roar.
My skin crawled as I yanked the door handle and stumbled out, my ears ringing.
Glass sprinkled down onto the grass. I kept my head up, searching for the thing that had run me off the road.
The horn continued bellowing into the night.
The creature rushed at me in a blur of milky white skin and shrill noise. My spine slammed against the van and I gritted my teeth, shooting it again, twice. Its bony torso jerked and ruptured with every hit. The creature screamed and ran again, plunging into the darkness.
My entire body was singing with adrenaline. I only had three more bullets, and apparently none of them were going to do jack shit against this thing. Breathing hard, I took stock of the other weapons I had. It didn’t look good. Just two knives and a small container of mace.
All my talk about being ready and now here I was, about to get killed in a ditch.
“Collith. Lyari. Laurie,” I muttered, backing toward the driver’s seat again.
I’d left my phone in the cup holder. What were the odds it was still there?
I held the gun up and kept my eyes on my surroundings, trying to reach backward.
My breathing felt loud as I scanned the trees, patting blindly around the seats and the floor. Where was my goddamn phone?
It came from above this time.
I felt the entire van shake and the crackle of the roof caving in, and then the creature moved faster than my eyes could track, reaching in to grab me. Pain shrieked through my legs, and a split second later, I flew out of the van.
Gravel embedded in my skin as I hit the ground and rolled.
I cried out, and I hadn’t even come to a full stop before the creature was on me again.
Its claws dug into my arms as it pushed me down, and I only had enough time to flatten my hands against its misshapen chest before it attacked.
I screamed, jerking to the side as its jaws snapped, globs of foul-smelling saliva flying. This thing wanted to eat me.
My arms trembled with effort—God, it was strong—and I kept summoning my Court as I tried to get inside the creature’s head.
I hadn’t used my powers in months, not like this, and I was slow with uncertainty.
Everything in its psyche was pitch-black and cold, so cold that it hurt even as I fought for my life.
I stared into the creature’s round white eyes, distantly noting that it had slits where nostrils should’ve been.
Its mind felt like something that had been in the dark for eons, starving, wasting away until all that was left was the hunger. A mind with no hope, love, or light.
Suddenly those jaws faltered.
My eyes widened, and my blood quickened. That was it!
Light, I thought.
Even the mention of it made the creature flinch, and when I saw that, I didn’t hesitate.
In the space of a single heartbeat, I imagined blinding incandescence, just as I had with Jassin when all of this began.
The creature recoiled, making that terrible noise again.
It shielded its eyes as if the light were real.
I pushed myself up, wincing. The edges of my vision darkened.
But there was no time to worry about injuries while this creature was still alive.
I gritted my teeth and stood to the sound of its unearthly screams. It was stronger than I’d anticipated.
Most of my victims would’ve been dead, insane, or unconscious by now.
I drew power from my Shadow Court to put more energy into the illusion.
Sunlight, chandeliers, lightbulbs. Everything blinding and flickering, battering this thing from every direction.
It writhed against the road, the bitter taste of its terror exploding on my tongue …
but it still didn’t die. Guess I have to fucking stab this thing.
Thankfully, the knife I kept tucked against my ankle had stayed in place.
I fought another wave of dizziness as I pulled it out and flicked the holy blade open.
I was about to take my first step toward the creature when its head lopped off.
Its screams were cut short as its skull went flying into the dark.
I froze in shock, staring with wide eyes at the creature’s face, or rather, at the bottom half, since the rest had been chopped away.
Lines of dark blood ran down its mouth, neck, and chest. Slowly, the rest of the creature’s misshapen body toppled over, twitching.
Lyari stood on the other side.
The creature was clearly dead, but my friend didn’t move. She looked down at what was left of it, holding her sword across her body. Her face was splattered with blood and the expression on her face was … feral.
We hadn’t spoken in weeks. My voice was an uncertain whisper as I said, “Lyari?”
She lifted her head, and I blanched.
Her eyes were yellow. Bright, blinding yellow.
In a terrible way, they reminded me of Finn’s in how they flared in the light. A moment later, I watched those eyes fill with shame. Lyari had undoubtedly seen my reaction. Fuck.
Before I could say anything else, my friend ran.