Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Taste My Wrath
Other books by Debbie Cassidy
About the Author
Copyright © 2019, Debbie Cassidy
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover by JMNart
Chapter One
My hand stung from the slap I’d delivered to Henri’s face.
He didn’t flinch, but hurt flared in the depths of his sapphire eyes. My gut twisted in disgust at my loss of control, but my anger was a burning persistence that overshadowed it.
Henri’s nostrils flared as if he was taking a fortifying breath. One of his ungolem traits that had always given me pause.
“I understand that you’re mad I left,” he said evenly, “but let me explain.”
His calm, collected tone pissed me off even more. Who the fuck did he think he was, sauntering back into my life and telling me he understood? The guilt at striking him died a quick death as Tris’s face filled my mind, and everything that had happened over the past few months mingled with my rollercoaster emotions and crashed into me.
“You understand?” My voice rose in pitch. “You want to explain? What the fuck do you understand, eh? That you abandoned your friends at a crucial fucking time to go find yourself, or that you didn’t have the balls to tell me face to face? What the fuck are you gonna explain? Why you didn’t call or write even once in the past few months?”
He opened his mouth to speak, and I held up a hand to cut him off. “Or maybe you can explain why you weren’t here when Tris died.”
His face froze in horror, and a stab of satisfaction lanced through me to see my pain reflected in his eyes.
“Tris?” He looked around the room.
“You won’t find her here. She’s gone. The fucking shimmer man killed her.” My throat pinched, and my voice got thick. Like fuck would I cry. “She sacrificed herself to save my life. She stayed. She was here when you …” My lip curled. “Fuck you, Henri. I don’t need you. We don’t need you.”
I pushed past him and ran out into the foyer and up the stairs.
I slammed into my bedroom and began to pace, a hardcore thud-of-the-boots pacing. Fuck my life, fuck him for being here. Fuck me for wanting to go back downstairs and take it all back and throw my arms around him.
He was back.
Henri was back, and my heart was still pounding from the cocktail of emotions his presence evoked.
There was a rap on the door. “Hey, raspberry girl.”
Bres’s presence was a balm sweeping across the room and washing over me. The agitation swirling in my chest instantly dropped a notch in intensity.
I walked into his arms.
He hugged me to him and stroked my hair. “Not my place to say, but it isn’t his fault.”
And the guilt was back. “I know.”
“He just found out Tris is gone …”
I’d dropped it on him and stormed out. I’d slapped him in the face. “Urgh, I fucked up.”
“You’re angry. You’re hurting, and he’s a reminder of a simpler time. Simpler times that are gone, but here he is walking back into your life like he can pick up where he left off …”
There was a slight edge to his tone. “Bres?”
He pulled back and looked down at me, pain etched across his face. “It’s all right to want him back. It’s all right to love him again. I understand.”
Confusion clouded my mind. “What?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, but his eyes were sad. “I was supposed to be the distraction, and things got a little complicated along the way.”
Panic gripped me. What was he saying? Wait, did he think … “No.”
“No?” It was his turn to look confused.
“That’s right. No. I’m not in love with Henri.” I looked deep into his eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “Kat? You believe that.”
A strange, calm certainty settled over me. This, here with Bres, was the eye of the storm. The calm, safe zone. This was a haven.
I stroked his cheek. “There was a time I thought I couldn’t do this job without Henri. A time where he was essential. When he was my anchor, my voice of reason. When he left, he hurt me, but his absence didn’t break me. In fact, it made me stronger. It made me realize who I could be. I care about him. I love him, but not in a romantic way. I know that for sure now. I’m glad he’s back. Hell, I’m not even pissed at him for leaving anymore. I get why he did it, I just … I guess I’m pissed off he wasn’t here when I needed him, my best friend, the most.” I cupped Bres’s face and tilted my chin up so our lips almost touched. “Whatever I feel for Henri pales in comparison to what I feel for you. I love you, Bres. In all its romantic, sexual, soul-touching glory.”
He kissed me softly, pressing his lips to mine and brushing noses with me. “Truth …” he said against my lips.
I smiled against his mouth. “Yeah, big guy, truth.”
* * *
I found Henri sitting on the porch steps watching the lazy swirl of snow as it fell to earth. He didn’t stand or speak as I approached, but his shoulders under his wool polo shirt tensed slightly, telling me he knew I was there.
I lowered myself beside him and rested my forearms on my thighs, joining him in watching the snowfall.
Long seconds ticked by, but neither of us spoke.
“Kris and Mai filled me in,” he said finally. “If I’d been here, then maybe Tr—”
“Would still be dead.” I sighed and watched as my breath plumed in front of my face. “It’s not your fault. Nothing that’s happened since you left is your fault. I had no right to hit you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m glad you did,” he said. “It tells me you still care.”
“Seriously?” I snorted. “Dude, that’s pretty fucked up.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You know what I mean.”
Yeah, I did. My excessive response showed that I’d missed him. “A hug would have worked just as well, if not better.” We sat in silence for another long beat. “Did you find what you were looking for? I mean, why’d you come back now?”
He tucked in his chin. “I had my adventures. I had the chance to be me without your emotions crowding mine. It was … interesting. But I woke up two days ago and realized that the only place I wanted to be was right here and that the thing I’d been looking for was the very thing I’d run from.”
My breath stalled in my chest. Wait … what was he saying?
He turned his head to look at me with his
beautiful glamoured face and smiled. “I belong here, Kat. I belong with you.”
I couldn’t read his face. What did he mean exactly? Oh, God, was he telling me that he was in love with me? “Henri, I—”
His eyes widened. “Oh. No. I …” He looked down with a wry smile. “Mai told me about you and Bres. I’m happy for you. It reinforces what I learned when I was away from you.” His gaze touched my face in a familiar caress.
The knot in my chest unraveled. “Yeah, and what was that?”
“That I love you.” He said it simply with a slight shrug as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if he’d been crazy to doubt it. “Soul-to-soul love, Kat, the kind where I’d fucking lay down my life for you, the kind that if someone tried to hurt you, I’d rip off their arms. But I’m not in love with you. That confusion melted away once the bond between us was broken.”
I exhaled sharply. Yes, that was it. That steady feeling, that comfort, that protectiveness he evoked in me. Unromantic love. “Oh, thank God.”
He nodded. “Yes. It’s a relief to me too. I was worried coming back that you might … well, you know.”
“That I might be in love with you?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t blame you. I am pretty awesome.”
I snort-laughed but didn’t contradict him. Being around Bres had taught me the value of a lie.
“I’m sorry I had to leave,” he said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. But I know it was the right thing to do. We both needed space. But now …” He looked down at me with a determined frown. “Now, I’m not going anywhere. Ever. We’re a fucking team. Partners.”
I grinned up at him. “Partners.”
He stood and offered me his hand, hauling me to my feet. “And you can tell Bres if he ever hurts you, I will tear off his arms. Slowly.”
There was no doubt in my mind that he was deathly serious.
I had Henri back. I had my best friend back, and in that moment, nothing felt impossible.
* * *
We buried Tris beyond the maze on the other side of a tiny herb garden that Killion cultivated.
Was the hellhound okay? He hadn’t been in touch. No one had said it, but we were all wondering if he’d possibly succumbed to the sleeping sickness. He was Demonica-born like Kris, but while they were on this plane, their souls went to Somnium to recharge just like ours.
Speaking of Kris. I slid a glance his way. He was paler than usual, subdued, withdrawn. I’d been so caught up in my own shit, I’d blocked out the fact that Kris had gone through an ordeal of his own. Kidnapped and locked in a stasis chamber while the Custodians drew blood from him.
Grief made us selfish. But there was no room for selfishness when you were part of a team. No place for it if we were going to defeat the threat.
I stood between Bres and Henri, shielded from the chill by their huge frames. Even though my body didn’t feel the cold, it was nice to have them both beside me. My two anchors. The two men that had my heart.
Jay lowered Tris’s broken stone body into a hole Bres had dug into the frozen earth. I’d wrapped her in a silk scarf, one she’d picked out for me a long time ago. I’d worn it once, but she’d taken it out often to simply play with it, running it through her fingers and marveling at the silken feel of it. It should have been hers. My eyes pricked, and I bit the insides of my cheeks.
Jay looked up at me. “Would you like to say some words?”
Words? There were so many words I could say, but words wouldn’t bring her back. They fell from my lips anyway.
“I promise I’ll make him pay, Tris. I promise your sacrifice won’t be in vain. I love you. I’ll always love you.”
My throat tightened, and my final words came out strangled and thick. I ducked my head, angry at the tears that stung my eyes. No more tears. No more wasted energy. I took a deep breath and lifted my chin.
“Let’s get back inside and crack open every single book. We need to find Morpheus and Death, and when we do, we’re going to kick the shit out of the shimmer man.”
Chapter Two
The lounge was littered with books. They were piled on the floor, on the coffee table, and every available surface. Emmett brought more down and took away the ones we’d read as we worked.
Bres and I sat on the rug, legs stretched out, backs against the sofa. Our thighs touched, and the contact was grounding.
Henri had taken the single-seater and was flipping through a book the size of an encyclopedia. A neat tower of equally daunting-looking books sat on the floor by his leg. He was a fast reader, able to digest a ton of information in half the time of a regular supernatural, so that pile wouldn’t last long.
Kris had pulled up a side table and made himself at home in his favorite window seat. His hair was pulled up in a man bun, but tendrils had escaped to frame his face, and he swiped at them every now and then with a slight frown of concentration on his brow. There was more color in his cheeks now, which was a good sign.
Mai was sprawled on her front on the long sofa behind Bres and me, making sounds of exasperation every now and then before turning a page. My gaze slipped to Jay, standing by the mantelpiece, reading the journal Tris had kept.
I couldn’t bear to look at it, to see her slanted script lying across the page, to read the events penned in her voice. But there could be a clue somewhere in it, and if there was, Jay would find it.
Lark was with Poppy at the hospital lab, where they were working on formulating a drug that would stifle our REM sleep and prevent the shimmer man from trapping us in Somnium.
So far, we’d all come up empty. I’d put in a call to Luther at Wicked Imaginations to check on him, to warn him about the shimmer man, and hopefully tap into his literary resources, but there’d been no response.
He was okay, he had to be. He was a powerful independent weaver, but still, my gut squirmed with doubt, and concern niggled at the back of my mind. I’d try again in a bit. If he didn’t answer, I’d drive down and check on him. If he wasn’t there, I’d break in and take what I needed.
Simple.
Gramps was another worry I’d pushed to the back of my mind. There’d been no answer on his mobile phone, and no answer when I’d Called him. The compact mirror had remained dark. Last I’d seen, he’d been at the care home making funeral arrangements for my mother. Did he know what was happening? Or was he the shimmer man’s prisoner too? Anxiety churned in my belly, but short of driving up to the care home, there was little more I could do, and right now, stopping the shimmer man had to be a priority. If Gramps was okay, he’d find a way to get in touch with me, and if he was stuck in sleep, the best thing I could do was find a way to break whatever spell the shimmerfucker had cast.
Karishma wandered into the lounge, clutching her phone to her chest like a talisman. She’d been on a call for the past half hour arranging for certain texts to be shipped from Council headquarters, but with so many essential personnel having evacuated to the Academy, it was easier said than done.
“Any luck?” Kris asked Karishma.
“Yes.” Her smile was weary. “I managed to get hold of one of my admin assistants. She’s collecting the books to send to us.” Darkness crossed her features. Anxiety, worry.
“What is it?” Jay prompted.
“Most of HQ is down,” Karishma said. “Greta, my assistant, has been on caffeine pills to stay awake, but it’s only a matter of time before her body gives out. I checked in with Poppy and Lark. The hospital is full of humans and supernaturals under the sleeping sickness, and the staff has started succumbing too. They’re running on a skeleton staff. It won’t be long until they have no doctors and nurses at all. Greta’s been trying to contact the other councils, but she’s getting no response.”
I closed the book I’d been reading. “It’s spread to them already?”
“Yeah, it would seem so.”
“I called home,” Karishma said. “There’s no answer.”
“I thought Mirage Hills was safe,” Bre
s said.
Karishma looked nauseous. “Yeah, so did I. The wards around the complex are just as strong as those around the Academy, but unlike the Academy, Mirage Hills isn’t built in its own pocket of reality.”
The Academy land merged with fomorian land, and the weavers had somehow manipulated it to become its own mini pocket of existence, accessible only via ports. It meant that anyone on those grounds would be safe from Somnium when they slept. Mirage Hills … not so much.
“You’re worried your family has succumbed,” Henri said.
Karishma nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry.” Kris pulled her into a hug and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “But we’re going to fix this. Together.”
She blew out a breath and nodded. “Yeah, I know, but it seems that our pool of resources and allies is dwindling by the minute.”
I picked up another book. “Then we work faster.”
The room fell into silence as we continued to pore over the texts. Jay had handed me the books written in Latin, and thanks to Luther’s mojo, reading them was a breeze. But learning about interdimensional portals and strange, one-inch supernatural parasites wasn’t going to help me find Morpheus or Death. A wave of realization washed over me. In fact, what the hell were we doing wasting time searching for information on those entities?
I closed my book with a thud. “Fuck it. For all we know, Death is gone. Killed or dismantled, or whatever the shimmer man does, and Morpheus … The shimmer bastard took his body, but the dream god’s soul could be anywhere. It’s like chasing a rainbow. No.” I shook my head as the conviction inside me bloomed. “We need to focus on the shimmer man himself.”
Lay the Ghost: Nightwatch Series book 4 Page 1
