We never mentioned the past.
The reality of the city hit us when we returned to the highway and the streams of stationary cars. Jet maneuvered the yellow Audi through the maze of tombs until we were back in the city limits. Most of the cars had been moved long ago in the built up areas. Either ransacked or trashed, all the vehicles had met some miserable end.
Much like the adults.
Jet steered the car toward my apartment just as the sun was all but gone from the horizon. The twilight hour set in, casting dark and sinister shadows everywhere.
I climbed out of the car, sad to be leaving it. There was no telling if I’d ever get to drive in a vehicle again. They were so rarely seen anymore and even rarer was the fuel. Jet probably had a good supply hidden somewhere, but even that would run out eventually. Especially if he took a few trips to the farm and back.
Without warning, my head exploded with pain. It was like a vise was gripping my brain and twisting it around until it was no longer attached to my neck.
A moment later everything went black.
Chapter Eleven
My teeth chattered from the noise. It was so loud and high pitched that it squealed through my head and hit every single nerve on its way through.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drown everything out. It was sensory overload, too much to bear. My hands covered my ears but it was like the noise was coming from inside my skull. It radiated outwards instead of the opposite direction.
And it was killing me.
Someone was repeating my name. Someone was holding onto my shoulders so I wouldn’t fall to the ground.
The pain was excruciating, a million different nails shooting into me and boring into my skin. I didn’t want to be touched but I couldn’t shrug the person off. Every jolt sent a new round of pain coursing through my head.
The noise drowned out the voice. It whined and moaned, screaming with the damage it was delighting in causing.
The screams could have belonged to me. I wasn’t sure what was real and what was in my head anymore. Reality no longer existed. All that was present and accounted for was the shooting pain.
“Everly, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong.”
Someone was worried.
I couldn’t reply.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, their trail setting my skin on fire like I had been stabbed with hundreds of hot pokers. I couldn’t survive this pain. I couldn’t breathe.
I was going to die.
I wanted to die.
Anything was better than this ache. The world faded away and it was just it and me. Darkness. Blackness. Misery. I begged for it to swallow me up. I wanted it to consume me like it was trying to do. I would let it rip me away from the planet and I would be its servant for all eternity.
If only it would stop hurting.
“Everly, talk to me.”
There was no chance I could speak. Not when my ears rang with the squeal so loud I couldn’t even think properly. Pain was the only thought I could conjure.
And then…
It stopped.
Just as quickly as it had started, the noise vanished into thin air and released me from its iron grip. The neurons in my brain formed images again, thoughts, sentences, words.
I pushed open my eyes but didn’t dare move anything else. Jet was behind me. He had his arms around my waist, taking my weight to keep me upright. I should have stepped away but I wasn’t entirely convinced my legs would hold me yet.
“Are you okay?” Oliver asked. He was standing in front of me, his brows knitted together with concern. He reached out for me, remembered he couldn’t touch anything, and took his hands back again.
“I’m fine,” I replied, my voice barely more than a croak. My throat was a gravelly mess. I must have been screaming out loud and not just in my head.
“Everly, God, I was so worried about you,” Jet said, pulling me closer against him. “Are you alright? What happened?”
I tested my legs, trying to get my body to work once more. It seemed sluggish, I was sluggish. All my energy was taken from me with whatever that noise was. I felt drained and exhausted, wanting nothing more than to lay down and sleep.
For a thousand years.
Or longer.
My knees seemed to lock in place so I wouldn’t fall over, for now. I straightened up as Jet relaxed his hold on me and allowed me to move away. He helped spin me around so I leaned against the Audi.
I had to blink a few times to get my vision clear again. “What was that?” I asked.
Oliver stood on one side of me while Jet stood on the other. Their expressions mirrored one another – worried. It would have been funny if I was in a better state of mind.
“What was what?” they said in unison.
“That noise. It was so loud.”
Their expressions turned to confusion. Perhaps there was only one of them and I was really seeing double? The thought made me want to giggle uncontrollably.
“There was no noise,” Jet replied seriously.
My eyes flicked to Oliver. “Did you hear it?”
“No, I told you I didn’t,” Jet said.
“There was no noise. It was silent,” Oliver answered.
“But… my head… I could feel it. It was like someone was trying to crack my head open from the inside.” My hand still rested on the side of my head, as if making sure it wouldn’t fall off and roll away.
It felt like it was shattered into a thousand pieces, each individual splinter ready to fall out and crash to the ground.
The echoes would reverberate through the entire city.
“Everly,” Jet said sternly, pulling my attention back to him. Every little movement made my head pound anew. “You need to get inside. Come on.” He draped a strong arm around my waist, pulling me so that my weight rested against him.
Dozens of spirits that had been standing around us quietly suddenly approached. They wore the same masks of concern across their faces.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She said she heard a noise.”
“I didn’t hear anything. Did you?”
“Nah, I didn’t.”
“She doesn’t look too good.”
“She’s our only hope, she has to get better.”
“I don’t like our chances. Or hers for that matter.”
“That boy will look after her.”
“He doesn’t know what happened either.”
“So? It doesn’t mean he can’t help her.”
“Which one? The dead one or the live one?”
I pushed their voices aside as we staggered toward the door. Oliver hovered next to me, giving as much attention to the other spirits as I was. It seemed neither of the boys in my life wanted to be an inch away from me at that moment.
I stumbled over my own feet, lurching forward.
Jet grabbed me before I could fall.
He always seemed to do that.
“Hold on, girl,” Jet mumbled as he reached down and lifted me off the ground. My arms went around his neck, holding on as tight as my weak body could manage. I could feel his breath on my neck.
I hated weakness.
I hated showing any vulnerability.
But, right at that moment, I didn’t have much choice. I let Jet carry me inside the building. I let him carry me up the four flights of stairs and use his key to enter the apartment. I let him gently place me on the folded blanket I used as a bed. And, lastly, I let him brush the hair from my face and tuck it behind my ear.
“It has to be the demon,” I mumbled. Oliver was looking down over me too now. “He did this to me.”
Jet’s hand was still on my temple, lightly caressing the skin. It didn’t hurt like I thought it would. He was gentle, caring, so unlike the boy I had first met. “Shh. Just rest, don’t be worrying about things right now.”
“But it was him,” I insisted. Every word was a struggle to remember, sentences formed in the haze and fog of my addled brain. The no
ise had penetrated every cell in my head and attempted to scramble it like the static in between stations on the radio. “Oliver, I know it was him.”
“Sleep, Ev,” Oliver soothed. His voice was so calming. Like a hug on a rainy day. “We can work it out tomorrow. Now, you have to get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“No, I have to say it.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. “Oliver, he wants to scare me. Kostucha is trying to make me stop hunting him. But I’m not going to. I’m going to kill him.”
“It’s okay, we’ll find him,” Jet said. The way his thumb moved over my skin was making me even sleepier. I wanted him to stop so I could stay awake.
But I didn’t want him to stop, too.
My heavy eyelids drooped, blinking in slow motion. One minute Oliver and Jet were looking down at me, the next just blackness.
Then repeat.
Again and again.
Oliver and Jet.
Jet and Oliver.
Darkness.
Relief.
Sleep.
Nightmares.
Kostucha confronted me in my sleep. He stood before me in all his evil glory, his red eyes ablaze with the kind of hate and fury only a demon of hell could conjure.
He held out his hand and a long sword materialized on it. His fingers, thin black claw-like tendrils closed around the handle. He held it up, his eyes never leaving me.
“I’m coming for you,” he said. His voice was loud, unearthly, menacing. “And I’m going to kill you.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I lied.
We both knew it wasn’t true.
Kostucha laughed, his head stretching backwards to let all his amusement escape from his mouth. Everything about him was loud. I thought if I could concentrate enough, I would be able to hear every one of his bones, muscles, and tendons move as he did.
They would creak.
Because hell was dry.
There would be no moisture within him.
“After I kill you,” he continued, “I’m going to eat your spirit. Your soul is going to keep me alive forever. It will give me time to finish off every last spirit in the world. And it’s all going to be because of you.”
I screamed.
And screamed.
Until my voice was raw and the sound was choked in my throat.
My eyes sprung open and I sat up. My body was damp with sweat, even in the cold apartment. I looked around, it was still dark but not the inky blackness of the middle of the night. Morning shadows were filtering through the windows. Soon, the sun would chase the moon out of the sky.
But it would never catch it.
Did I have as much chance of capturing Kostucha as the sun did with the moon?
Jet was asleep on the floor beside my poor excuse for a bed. His chest rose rhythmically up and down with his steady breaths. I had never seen him sleep before. He looked… peaceful, younger, innocent.
Oliver was at my side in an instant. “How are you feeling?”
I did a survey of my body, nothing seemed to hurt. Even my head seemed clear and still held together. “Surprisingly okay,” I replied, keeping my voice low so I didn’t wake Jet. He visibly sagged with relief.
“Good. I think you’re right about Kostucha being behind what happened to you. The noise, the pain, the draining of your energy. It’s all too much of a coincidence.”
“I’m glad you agree.”
He gave me a small smile. “I was so scared. All I could think of was taking away your pain and I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how I could help you in any way.”
“Nobody could. Don’t give it any more thought, please.” I returned his smile, trying to cheer him up. I knew it hurt Oliver being powerless more than anything else. But it wasn’t his fault. Someone took his life from him, he didn’t sign up for any of this. “Promise me, Olly. Promise me you won’t blame yourself for anything.”
I gave him the look. The one that dared him to do anything other than what I asked of him. He’d learned years ago that I was stubborn.
Not to be messed with.
Scary when angry.
Finally, he sighed. “Okay, alright. I promise.” The corners of his mouth threatened to quirk up again, despite how much he was trying not to grin.
I loved that look on him.
I was going to miss it one day.
Jet stirred beside me. The moment he blinked his eyes open and saw me awake, he bolted upright. “I must have drifted off, I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”
I dragged my eyes away from Oliver to give Jet a reassuring nod. “I’m fine. No harm done.”
He shifted so he could lean against the wall. Running a hand through his hair, it did nothing to tame the mess of curls he had there. Jet had the kind of hair that never actually did what it was told. Some boys could spend hours in front of the mirror trying to get that mussed up look. To him it came naturally.
I braced myself for the onslaught of questions that would surely come. I knew they would be exactly the same as Oliver’s had been. The answers would be the same, reassuring him that I was okay and not about to keel over.
So when Jet did finally start his interrogation, his question took me completely off guard. “Who’s Oliver?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to pull off confused and not quite achieving it.
“Last night, before you went to sleep, you kept saying ‘Oliver’. It’s not the first time you’ve mentioned him.”
I had not had enough of my faculties to keep quiet last night. I should have clamped my mouth shut and kept it that way. But no, I had continued to speak even though I wasn’t sure what I was saying.
I would not betray Oliver.
One glance his way and he was remaining in stubborn silence. I was doing the right thing.
“I was probably delirious,” I finally answered. “I could have been saying anything and I wouldn’t have any idea what it meant.”
Jet seemed satisfied enough with that explanation. He stood, sliding up the wall in one fluid movement. “You should eat. Do you still have supplies?”
“Yeah.” Thanks to him.
“Good. I’ll make you some breakfast.”
I raised my eyebrows at Oliver. Jet cooking. That was going to be interesting.
Standing up too quickly, my head swam with the effort and everything went black for a moment. I managed to recover before either of my babysitters noticed.
Jet was in the kitchen, rummaging through my small stack of supplies when I caught up to him. “You should be resting.”
“I’m fine,” I protested.
“You’re running low on food. You should have told me so I could bring you more.”
I felt appropriately scolded from his chastising. “Everyone is running low, why should I be any different? I don’t deserve food any more than anyone else.”
His dark brown eyes shot up to meet mine. “You are different. Don’t ever think like that.”
He went back to the cupboard, leaving me speechless. I had no reply to his comment and he probably wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say either.
So I leaned against the bench and waited to see what he would choose. It was either going to be a can of baby potatoes or some dried noodles.
Not exactly the most appetizing breakfast in the world.
He stood, holding the can of potatoes. “Do you want me to heat these up?”
“Yeah, let me-” I made the mistake of reaching for a small cooking pot. My head was dizzy again, spinning like a tornado. I went down… only to be caught by Jet.
Again.
“Whoa,” he exclaimed. “Let me do this.”
Oliver was there in an instant, silently watching everything. I glanced his way, hoping to offer him comfort that I was fine.
I was fine.
Jet’s arms were warm around me, reminding me I was still resting against him. I pushed away, embarrassed Oliver had seen me so close to him.
“Thanks, but I’m okay
,” I muttered, resting against the counter once more. “The cooking pot is in that cupboard. You can use it to heat the potatoes.”
Much to Jet’s credit, he didn’t fuss over me anymore. He found the pot and lit a small fire in the sink. He held the potatoes above it until they were warmed through – not hot, nothing was actually hot anymore.
Halfway through the meal, panic crossed Oliver’s features. “Ev, will you be okay? I have to go. The spirits are… restless.”
I really wanted to press him for details but I couldn’t with Jet right there. Instead, I nodded and mouthed ‘be careful’ before he disappeared into thin air.
Spirits didn’t get restless.
They were eaten by Kostucha. I wasn’t going to be fooled or deluded.
“You should rest today,” Jet said, interrupting my worrying.
“No. I need to work out how to kill Kostucha.”
“It can wait, you’re not well.”
I ate the last of my potatoes and placed the bowl on the counter. My head wasn’t giddy now, something in my brain had equalized. “No, it can’t wait.”
Jet sighed dramatically, like I was physically hurting him by not obeying his command. Sometimes I really couldn’t work him out. He had kidnapped me once. And now he cared about my welfare?
“Fine. What are you going to do then?”
That was the million dollar question.
I wished I had more of a definite plan. But I didn’t. The best I could do was grasp at straws. “I’m going to the city library and see what else I can find there.”
He almost choked on his last potato. “The library? Why on earth would there be something about Kostucha there?”
I knew something Jet didn’t.
That fact made me happier than it should have.
“It’s not your average library,” I replied, trying to keep the smirk from my face.
Jet raised both his eyebrows in question. “I’m coming with you then.” He held up a finger to silence me when I started protesting. “We had a deal, remember? You only hunt demons if I’m hunting with you.”
I did promise that.
And perhaps I could use the help.
Reluctantly, I agreed and we were walking to the library as soon as the sun came up. After Jet hid the Audi in the building’s parking lot, of course.
I Am Never Alone Page 12
