Ghost at the Feast: The Nightwatch Book 3

by Cassidy, Debbie

  I sat up straighter on Killion’s lap, eliciting a tortured groan when I rubbed against his bits.

  “Shit, sorry.”

  He grunted. “Stay still.”

  Okay, so I could totally just get off his lap, but heat.

  “What do you remember?” Killion asked, deflecting from the fact he had a hard-on.

  “I saw the monster. I’d be dead if the monster hadn’t saved me.”

  “Monster?” Tris asked. “You mean the neon-eyed beast?”

  “He saved me from the riders and … and he …” Shit, my head hurt. I pressed my fingers to my temples. “I think he spoke to me. Something important, I just … I can’t remember.”

  Kris shuddered. “Is the window open?”

  I looked up to see Philip standing behind the demon.

  “No, it’s Philip.”

  Kris froze. “Where?”

  At the risk of sounding like a member of a pantomime audience, he’s behind you.

  The sight I’d pushed into Kris and Mai would have worn off by now, but he glanced over his shoulder anyway.

  Philip floated toward me, his expression uncharacteristically somber. “Thank you. What you did was selfless and dangerous, and we’re eternally grateful.”

  “How many spirits did we lose?”

  “Twelve.” His eyes were sad. “We’re having a remembrance service for them tomorrow. Harmony wanted me to tell you she has no idea what could make the riders behave in such a way, but that it may be connected to the specter you brought to her earlier. She said to tell you that we’re looking into it.”

  I nodded. “Keep me updated.”

  “We will, and thanks again.” He misted away, and the temperature rose once more.

  I filled the others in on what Philip had said.

  “Where is Jay?” Mai walked to the door and looked out. “He should be here.”

  My eyelids drooped, and Tris tutted. “No. We’re done for the night. Kat needs her rest.”

  “You need me to carry you upstairs?” Kris asked.

  But Killion was already standing easily with me cradled in his arms. “I have this,” he said.

  Tris climbed up his leg and onto his shoulder. “If you’re offering?”

  His mouth twitched.

  Now was the time to be macho and stand on my own two feet, but damn, I was wiped. I shot Killion a grateful smile. “Thanks, big guy. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  Killion delivered me to my door and lowered me carefully to the ground. “Henri would be upset if you died,” he said softly, his ember eyes boring into mine. “You need to make wiser choices. There is no shame in self-preservation.”

  I pushed up on my toes and kissed his cheek. “Like I said earlier, Henri isn’t here. As for the rest, thanks, I’ll take it under advisement.”

  Tris patted Killion’s shoulder and climbed into my arms.

  Back in my room, the book Luther had lent me stared at me accusingly, but it would have to wait. I was shattered, and the only thing that would complete the healing process was a good day’s sleep.

  * * *

  I woke to afternoon sun. “Gah. Seriously?” The patch on the binding had really messed up my sleep pattern. If I hadn’t stopped setting my clock to see Bres the last two nights, I wouldn’t even have realized it. Which reminded me, I needed to ask Lark if Karishma had been in touch with him about checking the binding between Tris and me.

  Tris was on the windowsill this time, but her body was hanging off as if she’d been climbing up when she’d turned to stone. A paperback lay open on the floor by the window. Had she dropped it when she turned to stone?

  It was obvious that she was turning before the sunrise. But how much sooner? Once she was safely on the bed, I shoved my feet into slippers and headed blearily toward the exit. My gaze caught on the book Luther had left for me. Tris must have placed it on the table in our little seating area. I tucked it under my arm and left the room. It was an hour and a half before sunset, and I needed caffeine. Bad.

  Voices drifted up the steps to the dungeons. Lark and Bres. Lark sounded excited, Bres sounded tense. The door to Bres’s cell was open. He had his bare back to me, and the runes on his skin were glowing a soft amber. Lark moved around Bres, muttering a low chant. Neither of them looked over as I entered, too absorbed in what they were doing. Jay lay on Bres’s bed with his shirt open. His pale chest glowed with runes also, rising and falling evenly in sleep.

  He would be awake in a few minutes.

  What was Lark doing? I moved around the pair so that I was facing Bres. Our gazes locked. The corner of his mouth lifted, but he didn’t speak.

  Lark pressed a quill to Bres’s velvety taut skin and etched glowing silver lines that combined into a rune. Bres closed his eyes and tipped his head back as Lark worked.

  Finally, the weaver stepped away and began to chant, too low for me to catch what he was saying. Several runes on Bres’s body burned brighter before rising off his skin. They hovered in the air, ethereal holograms, then melded into a ball that stretched into a silver rope and whipped out to connect to Jay. Jay arched as the thread burrowed into his chest.

  “Yes.” Lark was breathing fast in excitement. “Do not move.” He approached the thread and slowly, carefully reached out to grasp it. His body shuddered, and a strangled sound slipped from his lips.

  “Lark?” Bres called out in alarm.

  “No,” Lark said through gritted teeth. “Don’t. Move.” He tucked in his chin, his body trembling, and snapped the thread.

  Bres let out a bellow and crumpled to the ground. I joined him, on my knees, cupping his face before I could think my actions through.

  “Bres? Bres, are you okay?”

  His shoulders began to shake.

  “Shit, Bres?” I looked to Lark, who was staring at his own hands as if they were bombs. “Lark? What did you do?”

  Lark stared at me, wide-eyed. “I … I think I just freed them.”

  And then a sound filled the room, rich, creamy, and fucking awesome. Laughter. Bres’s laughter. He sat back on his haunches, tipped back his head, and laughed.

  * * *

  Jay buttoned his shirt. “You did it.” He grinned warmly at Lark. “I had faith in you, but honestly, I didn’t expect you to find a solution so soon.”

  Lark sat on the edge of Bres’s bed. He looked pale and shaken. “Honestly, neither did I. Most of the research was completed before I … before the shimmer man. But something was missing. I realized what it was after speaking to Karishma. She asked me to check on the bond between Tris and Kat. She explained it as a series of knots. I needed to test each knot to see if it would hold, and it hit me. The fomorian mage who saved your lives by binding you made a knot. A huge fucking messy knot, but that knot wasn’t binding you, it was binding your life forces, hiding the thread that linked them. I had to unravel that before I could cut the tie.” He stood slowly. “You’re no longer connected.” He looked to Bres. “I added some new runes to your pulse points. They’ll keep you safe from detection. You’re free.” He wiped a hand over his face. “And I need to lie down.” He took a step toward the door and buckled. Jay moved fast to grab him around the waist.

  “I’ve got you.” He helped the weaver to the door but paused to look back at Bres. They locked eyes for a long beat, and then Jay smiled. “I’ll understand,” he said before helping Lark out of the cell.

  It was just me and Bres now, but Bres was staring at the clock. Five-thirty, the sun would have set by now. His hands clenched into fists, and then he let out a sharp breath.

  “I’m awake. It’s real.”

  He’d been expecting to fall asleep. To be forced into slumber by a bond that had trapped him and Jay for decades. But he was free. No need to be confined to the dungeon, no need to hide in a room engraved with runes.

  He turned to me with a look of wonder on his face. “I’m awake, raspberry girl.”

  There was a softness to him in that moment. It drew me closer and mad
e me want to touch him, to trail my fingers down his cheek and trace his delectable mouth.

  I tore my gaze away from his savagely beautiful face. What the fuck was I thinking? Feeling? “What did Jay mean … he’ll understand?”

  “If I choose to leave,” he said simply.

  Well, that was a slug to the chest. “And where will you go? Lark said you could go wherever you want.” A pit opened in my chest. He was leaving, of course he was. Why the heck was my throat tight. I cleared it. “So … What’s your plan?”

  He blinked slowly. “Can I spend the night with you, raspberry girl?”

  My pulse missed a beat and then was thudding super hard in my throat. “What?” My voice was breathless.

  He smiled knowingly. “Doing whatever you Nightwatch do.”

  Oh, that. Yeah. Ahem. “Sure. I … Um, I have to read this book, actually.” I retrieved the book from the counter and held it up like a shield between us. “It’s in Latin, and I can read Latin. I mean, I can now that Luther did some mojo on me.” I pressed my lips together to stop the word vomit.

  Bres studied the book. “It looks old.”

  “It is.”

  Boot falls echoed down the stairs, and then Mai appeared in the doorway. “Oh, my God. What the hell are you still doing down here?” She stood hands on hips. “You’re free, get your butt upstairs. Emmett’s busted out the pound cake and made enough tea to drown a colony of rats. Even Emmitt’s put his mop away for the occasion, and …” She faltered and looked from me to Bres then back again. “I’ll … see you up there.”

  Words hung between us, unspoken things like the fact that he was free but deciding to stay. Was it because of me? And why did I want it to be?

  “I think,” Bres said as he pulled on a T-shirt, “we should go upstairs and take a look at that book of yours.”

  Yeah. Sure. Good plan. I took the lead to the door before my word vomit could make a comeback.

  Bres was free, and my emotions had hopped on a rollercoaster, and feelings were churning. I climbed the stairs, aware of him close behind me. I stifled the urge to look back because if I did, he might see the truth on my face.

  The truth that I’d held off on acknowledging for the past couple of weeks.

  The truth that I was fucking falling for him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The kitchen was buzzing with activity, but everyone stopped what they were doing when Bres and I entered.

  Kris held up his coffee mug in greeting. “Welcome topside, Bres.” He looked to Jay, who was seated at the table with a full English breakfast in front of him. “And welcome to being the master of your own sleeping patterns.”

  “Hear, hear,” Mai said.

  Killion raised a hand in greeting from his seat. Wow, he was fully dressed, aside from shoes and socks, but still.

  “Right?” Mai said, catching me ogling. “I almost didn’t recognize him with all the clothes on.”

  Killion speared her with a flat look, but then the corner of his mouth lifted in an almost smile.

  Emmett was busy at the stove frying sausages and bacon and scrambling eggs. He was like a mini whirlwind. He’d even extended the kitchen table to seat us all, and it was already set with plates, cutlery, toast, and a full pot of coffee. My tummy did a happy dance.

  Bres stood in the doorway, staring at the spread, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I slipped my hand into his on instinct and squeezed before letting go.

  Mai took the spot between Jay and Kris. I pulled out the seat next to Killion, and Bres sat beside me. I kept the book in my lap since the table was heaving with food.

  “Is Lark all right?” Bres asked Mai.

  “Taking a nap,” Mai said.

  I looked around the kitchen. “Have you seen Tris?”

  “I went to fetch her, but she was still stone.”

  “Fuck. The patch-up job Karishma did for us has messed with our sleep schedules.”

  “Ooh, are we having a party?” Tris slid into the room as if on cue and then stopped at the sight of Bres.

  “You must be Tris,” Bres said.

  “Well …” Tris looked at me. “No wonder your alarm clock was getting so much action.” She smiled up at Bres. “Nice to finally meet you in all your inked flesh.” She canted her head as she studied him. “Kris, you may have competition in the abs department.”

  “Like hell,” Kris said.

  Tris sighed. “Only one way to find out for sure. I need you both to take off your shirts and stand side by side.”

  “I second that motion,” Mai said, straight-faced.

  “How about we eat?” Jay suggested.

  “Spoilsport,” Tris muttered before taking the final seat.

  The next half hour was filled with conversation and good food. For a little while, it was easy to forget that there was a monster out there waiting to get his claws into me, or that my mother was dying and I needed to go and see her. It was easy to forget that I’d almost been killed by riders a few hours ago and that there was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that screamed I was forgetting something vital.

  For a few minutes, there was laughter and hope and possibility, but too soon, Emmett was clearing away our plates and making tea, and it was time to remember the book in my lap.

  Time to get back to work. Urgh.

  I lifted the tome and placed it on the table in front of me.

  “What is that?” Jay asked.

  “Luther lent it to me. There’s a chapter on a place called the Dreaming he thinks might be useful to us in getting a handle on the shimmer man.”

  “Because he reaches you through your dreams … Right.” Jay nodded. “And what does it say?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.” I opened the book. “But I’m going to look at it now. You guys want to stick around?”

  Emmett placed a teapot on the table with a plate of cake.

  “Yep,” Kris said, eyeing up the cake. “I’ll stay.”

  Tris began to serve the tea.

  “Read it out,” Jay said.

  I opened the book, and he frowned. “He gave you a book in Latin. Can you read Latin?”

  “Oh, she can now,” Tris said. “Luther slapped some mojo on her.”

  I found the chapter Luther had marked. “I got it.” I looked up with a grin. “Everybody comfortable?” I began to read.

  “The Dreaming is not one place, but many places, and it has many names across the multiverse. Each universe has its own Dreaming, a sea of consciousness populated by the souls that inhabit that universe, a place where our souls travel to refuel before returning to their physical shells. For the purposes of this text, we will look at Somnium, the Dreaming sea shared by humanity and the creatures that inhabit the mortal plane.

  Somnium is a sea ruled by an entity with two names. Some call him Marowitz, others call him Morpheus.”

  I looked up. “You think that could be the shimmer man?”

  Kris frowned. “Possible. Read on.”

  Lark entered the room, and Mai held her finger to her lips and indicated he take a seat.

  Okay. “It is all one and the same. His dual purpose is to harness both pleasure and pain, and his dominion is the sea. The sea houses mortal human souls to the east, and immortal inhuman souls to the west. The two must not ever merge. There is no bridge between the two, no bridge out. Morpheus maintains the integrity of his domain. The people of Somnium—” Wait, people? There are people there? “The people of Somnium were once lost souls taken in by the lonely Morpheus to form a small kingdom. There is no release for these souls for even death has forsaken them. There is no path in or out of Somnium that does not pass through the arms of sleep. Only Morpheus’s soul may pass freely from Somnium to the waking plane.”

  I scanned down the page. “There’s stuff on other Dreamings and some maps of this place, Somnium.”

  “What I want to know is how the author knows all this,” Jay asked.

  “Sounds like a fairytale,” Tris
said.

  Kris was pensive. “Maybe, but back home in Demonica, they have a phrase, something we say to younglings when we tuck them into bed at night, roughly translated it would be, I wish you a good dive in the sea of dreams.”

  “But demons don’t belong on this plane,” Bres said, “just like fomorians don’t.”

  I nodded. “And according to this, your souls are connected to a different Dreaming sea.”

  “So, the Dreamings are another world,” Mai said. “A world that’s linked to many multiverses. A world filled with seas of souls.”

  “Mind fuck,” Kris said. “I have enough issues keeping up with what’s going on in ours.”

  “Wait, check this out. And how do I know all this, you may wonder? Because sometimes, in very rare cases, lost souls find their way home.”

  Tris shuddered. “Well, that isn’t creepy at all.”

  I sat back and closed the book. “I don’t get it? How does this relate to the shimmer man?”

  “You’re not buying my theory that he might be this Morpheus dude?” Kris asked.

  “No, because if he was, he’d be able to get out. It says Morpheus can get out of Somnium, but the shimmer man … Fuck, the shimmer man is stuck there. He has to be—”

  “A lost soul?” Mai suggested.

  “Could be.” My mind was whirring. “My gramps bound me and Tris to stop the shimmer man from getting to me. He stopped me from dreaming.”

  “He kept you out of the sea,” Lark said. “Your connection to Tris recharges your soul as a dream would do. It’s a bond much like the life force bond Jay and Bres shared, except in your case, Tris feeds your soul with her residual energy while she is in stone form.”

  I sat back in my seat. “He’s trapped, and he needs me to be his bridge.”

  “But why you?” Mai asked. “It makes no sense.”

  I rubbed my upper arm, where the shimmer man’s handprint remained. “It has to be something to do with my father. I’m different in some way that he needs.”

  Tris climbed into my lap. “I won’t let him get to you, chickie.”

  I hugged her to me. “It’s not me I’m worried about. I’m just a door, a means to an end. He wants entry to our world, and goodness knows what he’ll do if he gets it. Fuck, we don’t even know what the hell he is.”