Page 20 of Endless Terrors
I searched the horizon, confirming that he wasn’t near the cliffside, either. The air was cooler than I was used to here. I’d get a sweater from the cottage and see if Oliver was there. I started walking in that direction, holding my hands out on either side of me so the tips of the long grass could tickle my palms. Despite the chill, the dreamscape seemed to have solidified in its current state of being. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Something to worry about on another night. For now, I needed to find my friend.
“Hello?” I called, pushing the door open. “Ollie?”
At first glance, the cottage seemed to be empty. None of the lamps were on and silence clung to the air like mist. But there was a fire in the hearth, and it cast an orange glow over everything. Maybe Oliver was upstairs. I started to turn, frowning.
A sound reached my ears, and if it hadn’t been so still, I probably would’ve missed it. A slight scraping, like something dragging along the wooden floor. I paused and scanned the room again, keeping my gaze low. This time, I caught sight of a shoe poking out slightly from behind the kitchen island.
“Ollie?” I rushed over to him and dropped to my knees. He was curled on his side, shivering. I helped him sit upright, noting as I did how much weight he’d lost. How had I missed that? “What’s wrong? What can I do?”
Moving him seemed to make things worse. Oliver cried out, clutching his head in both hands. Desperate to help, I grabbed his arms without thinking. Alarm jolted through me when I discovered that my best friend’s skin was slick with sweat, and beneath it, he was as cold as the wintry lands where we had once fought ceti and minotaurs. “Ollie, what can I do?” I repeated.
He didn’t lift his head. “I don’t think I can keep him out much longer.”
“Then let him in,” I said immediately. My voice was firm. “Just let him in. I can take him, I promise.”
“Never,” Oliver said through his teeth. “He’s not coming near you.”
“Ollie—”
“Water. I need some water.”
I recognized the set to his jaw. The request for water was nothing more than a way to end the conversation, redirect my focus. I let Oliver win this round, simply because he was expending energy arguing with me. I bit back my protests and stood. I filled a glass and kneeled down again, picking up Oliver’s hand to curl his fingers around the water.
Knowing it would only make him feel worse, I didn’t let any guilt show on my face. It raged inside me, though, like a hurricane tearing a city apart. On the other side of reality, my body was resting and comfortable, tucked between two faeries. And here was Oliver, suffering, because of me.
“What can I do?” I asked a third time.
The words had barely passed my lips when the ground began to rumble. It was like thunder, but not. Dishes rattled in the cupboards. Oliver still didn’t look at me, and his voice was hoarse as he said, “You can run. He’s been whispering things to me. Or maybe … maybe I just overheard them. I can’t … I can’t tell anymore. But he knows where you are, Fortuna. You need to wake up and run as fast as you fucking can.”
Goosebumps raced over my skin. I gripped his arm and shook my head. “I’m not leaving you like this.”
Oliver’s eyes snapped open, seeing something I couldn’t. A vein stood out along the side of his neck. “Fortuna, he’s almost there. He’s so close that he can see the sign of the town you’re in. Go,” he bellowed.
I scrambled back, my heart pounding in my ears. Lightning flashed outside the windows, or at least, I thought it was lightning. “Wake up. Wake up,” I chanted, picturing the motel room.
Just as the entire cottage began to shake, my vision went dark.
CHAPTER SIX
My eyes flew open.
I half-expected the bed to be empty, or for Laurie to be gone, at the very least. But both of the faeries I’d fallen asleep next to were still very present. They were everywhere, all at once, six feet of hard male on either side of me.
My mind absorbed the situation I’d found myself in. I was on my back, staring up at the shadowed ceiling. Laurie’s arm was across my stomach, resting against it, and his hand ever-so-slightly touched Collith’s. Collith was facing me as well, but his head was higher up on the pillow. He’d removed his shirt at some point, and his bare skin gleamed in the weak light slipping in from beneath the door. One of his legs was tangled with mine and his long fingers curled against the curve of my neck. As if he had been playing with my hair when he’d fallen asleep.
I got my leg free first. Laurie’s arm was trickier, and I spent far too long lifting it off me. I kept darting glances at his sleeping face, convinced he was faking it. It seemed impossible that someone like Laurelis Dondarte actually slept. But once the weight of his arm was gone and I was free, he didn’t stir. Moving as if the mattress were a field of landmines, I gingerly made my way to the end of the bed. My bare toes touched the floor and I almost let out a breath of triumph. When I settled my full weight on it, however, the wood emitted a low moan.
I froze for an instant, then dared to look over my shoulder. Neither of them had moved. Collith’s chest still rose and fell in deep sleep, and Laurie’s eyes twitched beneath the lids. I pushed myself up and retrieved my bag. There was no time to get dressed, but my coat was easy enough to shrug on silently.
Taut as a bowstring, I reached for the doorknob. Something stopped me. It was the same feeling I’d gotten the night I left Collith standing in the road, back at the last motel—the same weakness. An instinct to look behind or go back. I gave in to it again, twisting to see the warm bed I’d abandoned and the two figures lying in it. I didn’t allow myself to think about the fact I’d woken up entangled with both of them. I traced each male with my eyes, committing the image to memory. They wouldn’t find me this time, not if I could help it. I’d be more careful. After another moment, I opened the door and crept through.
The second I found myself alone in the hallway, I realized I had a problem.
Laurie mentioned that he’d gotten the boys a room of their own. But there was no way of narrowing that down, and I couldn’t knock on doors without alerting Collith and Laurie. Swallowing a curse, I dug my cell phone out. I kept the message short and vague. Time to go. I’ll wait for you at the rendezvous point we agreed on. Hurry.
This time, the rendezvous point was a gas station down the street. I pocketed the phone and pulled up my hood, then hurried down the stairwell. The elevator was slow, and the faeries could wake up any second. On the first floor, I slipped out a side door, fishing for my car keys at the same time. Cold air slapped me in the face. God, what state were we in, and why had we stopped here?
