Temper

by Mary E. Twomey

  I watched Mariang’s face fall, but she recovered quickly enough with a calm smile and a curtsey to Von, who did a gallant, sweeping bow in return. “Milady.”

  Danny slapped the pencil and notebook down on the top of the dresser with a glower at the too many smiles in the room. “We need to find the bloke who’s manipulating October’s dreams,” he reminded us. “Work first, playtime later.”

  My grin fell at the reminder that life was still upside-down, and something janky was in my head that shouldn’t be. “Okay, Danny. You’re right.”

  Von groaned dramatically at what passed for art supplies at my house. “Picasso was never asked to sketch on lined notebook paper.” He climbed into the bed and leaned against the headboard next to me, settling in with his shoulder kissing mine. His lips brushed my cheek and my hand before he poised his pencil to the paper. “Alright, Peach. Describe my competition.”

  I hid my face in my hands at Mariang’s coo of longing over our affectionate state. “Philip’s not your competition. He was pretend. This feels so stupid. Really, I’m sorry I’m making you do this.”

  “Sleeping naked with me means never having to say ‘I’m sorry’.”

  “I’m sure Boston might have a thing or two to say about that.”

  Danny snapped his fingers irritably. “Would you two focus? I know you’re all about snogging right now, and I get it. But this is serious. Draw me the bloke, so I can see if Captain Finn, Prince Langgam or King Kabayo can find him. Maybe your dream chap’s this Thad soldier of Finn’s who found you the weed. Then he’d be easy to locate.”

  I began describing Philip in detail, watching as Von made sense of my mumblings, and correcting the lines when they didn’t ring true. Slowly, with a few false starts and crumpled papers, Philip began to surface. Before I could describe the last few details of his face, Von hid the notebook from me, sketching with panic in his eyes as he finished the portrait without me telling him how. Dread was plain on his face when he showed me the final drawing, as if he was hoping he’d gotten it all wrong. “Tell me this isn’t him.”

  “Whoa! How did you do that? I didn’t even tell you how to do his nose or his chin.”

  Von hung his head and turned the notebook to Danny and Mariang. “Boston! Get in here, mate. If you thought things were mucked up before, get ready for a whole new level of rubbish.”

  I blinked at Von. “What? Do you know that guy? He’s a real person?”

  Boston came into the bedroom, stopping short when he saw the portrait. “Um, why is that here?”

  “It’s the man who came to October in her dreams. The man who claims the baby’s his. The git who gave her the himila weed in her mind, and no doubt told Finn’s man Thad where to get more when he couldn’t infiltrate her dreams anymore. This is who’s been in October’s head.”

  Boston clapped his hand over his mouth and stepped back out of the room. “I’ll tell Ezra,” he called over his shoulder. Then he started swearing in a low string of unintelligible sentences as he yanked his phone from his pocket.

  Mariang took a visible step back from me, as if my association with Philip made me a leper. Danny moved in front of her, shielding his unborn baby from me. “Go stay with Boston. Don’t come into this room unless I say so.”

  “Danny, how could he get into her head? It’s impossible for her to have had sex with him in real life, much less kiss him, so they couldn’t dreamwalk. It’s just not possible!” Mariang was visibly scared, her face pale and her eyes watching me with a note of dread. “October, you’ve never met this man in real life?”

  I shrugged, trying not to worry at what I didn’t understand. “Never. I made him up in my mind because I was lonely.” I swallowed, looking down at my fingers that were twisting in the comforter. I knew I should’ve stuck with Mr. Brady. “You’re saying he’s a real person?”

  Danny nodded, motioning for Mariang to leave the room. He shut the door after she was gone. Then he reached for the knob and turned the lock, securing the three of us in the room together. Danny sat at the foot of the bed, picking up the notebook and staring at the picture with a hard expression. “No one can dreamwalk with an Omen unless they’ve had sex or apparently have done what you two did. You’re sure you haven’t had sex with this man?”

  “Only in my dreams. Not in real life.” When Danny didn’t seem to believe me, I stiffened. “I was dreaming about Philip before the doctor confirmed that I was a pregnant virgin, if that helps you.”

  “When did it start?”

  I buried my face in my hands. “This is so embarrassing. I really have to explain my fantasy life to you guys? I would never make you do this in front of Mariang.”

  Danny surprised Von by clapping him on the shoulder. “Give us a moment, mate. Go help Boston explain to Ezra what’s going on. And if he can send word to Mason, that would be good. Mason’s still her Reaper, and he should know.”

  Von seemed in a world unto himself, his eyes far away as he chewed on his cinnamon stick until it crumbled in his mouth, bringing him marginally back to life. “Yeah. I’m going to go get some air. I need... This is all a bit much. I mean, when I thought Finn was my biggest problem, that was one thing, but this?” He patted his chest and then his jeans pockets. “I’m taking the car out to run some errands.”

  Danny gripped his brother’s wrist as Von stood. “Be back tonight, yeah? I’ll not have her going into labor without you here.”

  Von grunted absentmindedly, not even bothering to say goodbye to me before he left.

  My heart plummeted in my chest. Something about him leaving with no plan of coming back, or saying where he was even going made me nauseous. Von was running, just like he’d done when he’d found out I was pregnant. I could feel it shifting the air around me.

  I couldn’t lift my head to look at Danny when he cleared his throat. I didn’t want him to see the raw emotion on my face. Danny set the notebook down on the mattress, his voice low and steady as he delivered the blow. “That man? The one in your dreams? His name isn’t Philip. He’s from Terraway, and even though he calls himself a king, he can’t port Topside like the other kings and important officials can.”

  “Just give me a name, Danny. Is it that Thad guy of Finn’s?”

  Danny’s gaze held me a few moments, his voice quiet and careful when he answered. “No, darling. His name isn’t Philip, and it’s not Thad. That man in your dreams is Sama.”

  My eyebrows puckered in confusion. “No, but Sama’s evil. He’s the big bad guy with the undead army. He wouldn’t spend his time seducing me on a beach. He wouldn’t be sweet to me. You’re wrong. Maybe he just looks like Sama or something.”

  Danny took my brush-off in stride. “He um... Sama was cursed a century ago when he apprenticed under the last Kapre.” He rubbed his forehead. “A Kapre was a giant-like creature who had a fascination with charm work, stones and all things magic. To apprentice for a Kapre meant you were already a force to be reckoned with. They only accepted the best.”

  My voice was quiet, and I still couldn’t bring myself to look up at him. “Okay. So Sama’s like a witch person?”

  “He’s an immortal witch person, called a Mangkukulam. He and another apprentice found a mixture of curses and combined them to make themselves immortal. The Kapre was furious. He made it so that Sama would live forever, but alone. He’s alive still, of course, being immortal, but he’s confined to an island no resident of Terraway could ever get to.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible. What a steep punishment.” Bits of this story rang familiar. I was pretty sure someone had already told it to me, but my brain was a little unsteady from all the excitement and too much pulling.

  “Yes, well. The Kapre also took away Sama’s ability to have an heir, since he’s on the island alone. It makes sense that’s the obsession he’s got. Sama wants a child to pass his legacy down to. I never imagined he’d try dreamwalking, or that it would work. That he could actually get you pregnant in your dreams. But I mean, you and Von
can dreamwalk without ever having had sex. The framework for the magic’s there; I just never thought the limits could be tested like this. You’ve never met Sama in real life, yet somehow, he’s found his way into your dreams.”

  My lower lip started to quiver as my arms wrapped around my belly protectively. “But Philip, or Sama, didn’t get me pregnant. Von did. September belongs to Von and me.”

  “That may be true. But it might be that Sama found a way around the last Kapre’s punishment.”

  My nose crinkled in confusion as I started rocking myself back and forth. “No, it’s not Sama. His name is Philip.”

  Danny tapped the notebook. “Philip isn’t your dream man. It’s Sama who’s been visiting you.”

  “But, no! I’ve never met him before in real life. Sama’s an evil guy who’s got an army and whatnot. Philip brings me presents. He goes on long walks with me and makes love to me. He’s sweet.”

  Danny pointed to the picture. “Make no mistake, this man you’re seeing is Sama.”

  “No! And it’s impossible, Danny! It’s all impossible. Even if that is Sama, how could he have knocked me up? I’ve never even met the guy in real life.”

  “If there’s a chance Von got you pregnant by dreamwalking, then there’s just as much chance Sama could’ve. The man works in psychic magic, controlling an entire undead army remotely without ever leaving his island.” Danny didn’t pull any punches when he dropped the nonnegotiable bomb. “The baby could be either Von’s or Sama’s.”

  I don’t know why it was that I couldn’t stop rocking, but Danny’s hand on my shoulder was the thing that finally spooked me enough to break my rhythm. “She’s Von’s! September is Von’s!”

  “Okay, I’m not saying she’s not. But I’m telling you that this is a possibility. And if she is Sama’s, he won’t stop until he’s got September.” He blew out a gust of all the things he didn’t want to say to me. “And if Sama’s found a way around the last Kapre cursing him so he couldn’t have an heir, then he won’t stop until he’s got you, either.”

  My storm of tears was pushing up against the dam of my stubborn will, and I knew I didn’t want Danny here for my breakdown. “Could you go out there and give me a minute?”

  “No. Believe me, I’d rather be anywhere else right now, but one of us has to stay with you, or you’ll go into labor.” He moved to Von’s place on the bed and rested his back against the headboard, his hand lightly touching my spine to pull from me.

  “Please, Danny. Just go. I don’t want you here for this.”

  “You want I should get Boston instead?”

  “No. I want you should let me be alone.” I turned my head from him as my tears fell, making tracks down my cheeks and wetting my lavender fitted top. I’d felt so pretty putting it on, but now I was a knocked-up girl who didn’t know who the father of her baby was. I was a month away from delivery – if I made it that long, and I was completely and utterly lost, with neither potential father of the baby anywhere in sight.

  “Door’s locked,” Danny reminded me. Then he stood up and turned on the ceiling fan. The whirring sound was subtle, yet just loud enough to cover my quiet hiccups as the crying became too much to hold back. “They can’t hear you, so go ahead.” He scooted in next to me again, but instead of maintaining a healthy distance, he scooped me into his arms. Despite how big I was now, Danny pulled me onto his lap, tucking my head under his chin so I could lean my temple to his shoulder, my tears wetting his shirt.

  I gripped his arm, too upset to examine how strange it was that Danny was passing up a perfectly good opportunity to be nasty to me. He wasn’t entirely unpracticed on how to hold a woman, gently pulling from me as he brushed his fingers down my bicep. With every pass, I cried harder, letting go of the pride I’d thought was so important. I wept all over Danny, who took it like a champ.

  “Von’s gone!” I eked out between sobs. “I don’t know why I thought it’d be different just because of this stupid ring. First sign of things getting hard, and he runs. I’m such an idiot that I fell for it!”

  Danny held me tight, stroking the nape of my neck as if he didn’t hate me at all. “Von’s not gone. He just stepped out for a minute so he didn’t say anything unhelpful. It’s a lot to deal with, and he just needed the space to sort it all out. If you could send me away, you would, too. A little space isn’t always an ocean of it.”

  “Why isn’t Ollie back yet? This is too much. He’s been gone too long. If I’m about to have an evil baby by myself, I want my brother here.”

  Danny chuckled, despite the fact that I was within clear punching range. “First off, you’re not about to have an evil baby. September’s half yours, and I haven’t found a whole lot of evil to you yet. Secondly, you’re not by yourself. You’ve got your old brother here.” He squeezed me in a tender hug. “I’m your brother, and I’ll make sure whatever the doctor hands you in the delivery room isn’t evil.”

  “They have tests,” I remembered, my brain sparking and spluttering. “Amnio tests that can determine the paternity of the baby in utero. They’re risky, but I don’t want to wait a month with the knife hanging over me like this.”

  “How risky?” Danny frowned.

  I shrugged. “Have to ask the doctor about that. I need to know what I’m working with, here. If it’s me and Ollie, or us plus the Vandershots.”

  “We don’t need a test for that.” Danny’s hand migrated to my stomach, which made me hold my breath. Getting Mariang pregnant brought about a whole new side of him that I didn’t want to jinx, but it constantly surprised me all the same. “September’s my niece because you’re my sister, no matter who the father is.”

  My voice was quiet as more tears rolled down my cheeks. “You and I both know Von won’t come back.”

  “Von will be back before the sun sets. And I’ll be here, no matter what.”

  I cried hard at the comfort I never expected to find with Danny. The promise of loyalty struck a chord deep inside of me, allowing my fingers to cling to him, even when I didn’t understand the twists and turns of the world.

  Danny stayed with me while I faced the uncertainty growing inside of me, but Von wasn’t there. Even after the sun set, Von remained right where I should have expected – gone.

  Long after my sobs quieted, I very slowly slid off my engagement ring, dropping it in Danny’s palm with an air of finality. If Von wanted the ring on my finger, part of me knew he would be there to see that it stayed on me.

  “No, kid. He’ll be back. I just know he won’t run out on you this time.”

  This time. Boy, was I an idiot.

  It was a sad thing to watch Danny finally start to believe the best in Von, only to have Von disappoint, and leave us both hanging. Danny set the ring on my nightstand and held me and September. Over and over, I cursed Terraway and every single choice that had led me to this moment. It was all just plain too much, so I closed out the night crying myself to sleep in Danny’s strong and steady arms.

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  book seven in the Terraway series.

  One.

  Not Buried Yet

  I was afraid to dream when I fell asleep that evening. I didn’t know if I’d see Von or Philip, and dreaded meeting either in my subconscious.

  My brain tripped on the mistake I made without thinking. Not Philip. There never was a Philip. The man with white-blond hair who came to me in my dreams was named Sama. We’d slept together in my imagination because I’d been lonely and wanted something fun to distract from the unending stream of exhausting work that Terraway never tired of throwing at me. So I’d conjured myself up a fake boyfriend. I would say that’s pathetic, but it’s not like everyone else doesn’t do the exact same thing. Most other people choose Ian Somerhalder or David Duchovny as their fantasy hottie. I thought I’d made Philip up. But it was Sama, the dude with a surfer’s body who wanted nothing less than all the power in Terraway, and an heir to
share it with. He couldn’t get a girl pregnant in real life, due to his remote location, so he’d found a way to possibly dreamwalk into my uterus. It was anybody’s guess who the father was: Von or Sama.

  Von had been gone for three days, and I think at this point only Mariang was holding out hope he’d be back. Gotta love the girl for her sweet heart and total optimism. The engagement ring Von had given me was tucked in the drawer of my nightstand, taunting me with beauty I couldn’t bring myself to look at.

  “I made you some tea, Lady October,” Graham offered as he came into my bedroom. He and Alton were the two brothers sandwiched in the middle of the Vandershot birth order. They had been brought in to pull for me with Boston, and to guard the house I hadn’t left in days.

  “Thanks, Graham. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  My room had once been my sanctuary, but now it was my man in the woods cabin with a “beware all who enter” invisible sign. Graham respected the charade that I had some say in my life, and kept the tea in the kitchen, which I appreciated.

  Boston and Alton were both wolfing down a salad bowl full of scrambled eggs. They were practically starving from pulling all night long for September and me. “Sorry, guys,” I offered, but they waved off my apology. Boston didn’t even look up as he reached around in the air for my arm to rest his hand on it. He pulled from me while he shoveled in as much as he could swallow.

  Graham plated me some eggs and slid them in front of me on the table – a gentleman amongst boys. “I hope you’re hungry, your grace. There’s plenty.”

  I didn’t have it in me to ask him again not to bother with formalities. Alton and Graham were polite and proper around me. It bespoke of how much I’d changed that I didn’t care enough to correct them after the second reminder that a formal address wasn’t necessary. “This is perfect. Thanks, man.” I ate my food like it was my job, taking no pleasure or time to wonder whether or not this is what I wanted, or even if I was hungry.