Page 38 of Endless Terrors
Sunlight filtered through the curtains of Damon’s room.
Voices moved through the stillness like ripples across water. My friends were discussing the possibility of using dragonfire to break the spell on Damon. Cyrus, in his quiet way, rejected this idea. A second, less-familiar voice piped up and supported him.
Cyrus had joined us right after he got home, and he’d brought Ariel. The dragon and the faerie were now up to date on everything. Collith’s predicament. The spell on Damon. Lucifer’s twisted bargain. They’d wanted to help, immediately, and so our strange little army had added two more to our ranks.
But all afternoon, my mind had been on something else.
For the first time in hours, I was alone. Well, almost alone. Hello was curled in my lap, her purring vibrating against my palm as I stroked her. As Gil’s voice floated through the stillness, followed by the low, annoyed rumble of Finn’s, I sat in the chair next to Damon’s bed and stared down at my phone. A name stared back at me. Another minute passed, then I quickly tapped the screen and raised the phone to my ear.
It went straight to voicemail. I couldn’t tell if I was relieved or disappointed. Once the automated greeting had finished, I cleared my throat and held my phone tighter. “Hey, Bea. It’s Fortuna. I just thought I’d call to see how Gretchen is doing … and how you’re doing, too. With everything we talked about. I know it was a lot. If you have more questions, maybe we can meet somewhere and talk.”
I hung up and released a long, tense breath. After a moment, my gaze went back to Damon.
In the harsh light of day, I noticed the subtle dips in his cheeks beneath the respirator mask. The slight darkness around his eye sockets. I stared at his pale face and silently willed him to open his eyes and look at me. When that didn’t feel like enough, I leaned close and put my hands on his arm. The motion jostled Hello, and she leaped off me, complaining loudly as she wandered away. I just kept watching the quiet figure in the bed.
“Are you there? Can you hear me?” I whispered. “If you are, keep fighting, please. Please.”
My brother slept on.
Seconds later, Emma appeared in the doorway. She leaned her hip against the wall and brushed a strand of gray hair out of her eyes, drawing my attention to it for a split second. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her real hair color. Then my focus went back to Damon, and stayed there.
“Lunch is ready,” Emma said. “You need to eat something. Coffee and cookies don’t count.”
I didn’t move. She fell silent as she watched me. I told myself to say something, but I couldn’t. My mind was too busy, too consumed with slow realization. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emma push off the doorframe and go to the other chair. It made a creaking sound as she sat.
“Damon is dying,” I said quietly, my eyes still glued to him. “And my deadline is almost up. We’re out of options. I’m out of options.”
Emma leaned forward. “There’s still time, Fortuna. Don’t give up yet.”
There was a note of urgency in her voice; she must’ve seen the shift in me. I’d felt like this before, and it usually resulted in disaster. Today would probably be no exception. It was time to use my own connections, which meant contacting Gwyn and Dracula. One was a psychopathic hitwoman and the other a deadly vampire with an overzealous mission to keep the shadow world hidden. It would be a miracle if involving them didn’t end in disaster.
“I’m going for a walk,” I said, standing abruptly. I knew if I put this off any longer, I wouldn’t do it, and seeing Damon had revived the urgency in my veins.
Emma didn’t offer to come with me. Maybe it was obvious that I wanted to be alone. After murmuring a swift, distracted goodbye to her, I walked back into the warm brightness where everyone else still sat.
The scene they made seemed like something from a really good dream. Danny had come back—out of uniform, this time—so there were several figures sprawled throughout the room, ancient books splayed in their laps or open beside them. Ariel rested with her head on Cyrus’s stomach. The coffee maker bubbled in the kitchen and cast its familiar scent through the air. A freshly-stoked fire popped cheerfully, consuming the logs Finn must’ve recently added. Stanley, Cyrus’s droopy-faced dog, was asleep on the wooden floor. Gil sat beside him, absently stroking the hound’s head while he turned a page. His bleached hair glinted in the firelight. Nearby, Hello was now perched on her hind legs and batting at a piece of paper on the coffee table. The pile of notes in the center had gotten taller, just in the handful of minutes I’d been with Damon.
Saving the pile from Hello’s mischievous claws, Lyari plucked her up and deposited the kitten on the cushion beside her, all without looking up from the book she was reading. Her lips were puckered in concentration.
My spot on the couch was still open, waiting for my return.
But I went past it, and moved past the kitchen, too. I felt eyes follow me to the door. Thankfully, none of them tried to offer company. I pulled on my coat and hurried down the stairs.
Crows chattered to each other as I stepped into the daylight. Their caws tore through the still, frost-laden air as I waved at Collith—he was on the porch, his eyes on me while he spoke quietly to someone on the phone—and the sound followed me down the driveway. Most of the people I kept company with these days had excellent hearing, and I wanted to make sure I was beyond earshot. I passed the mailbox, crossed the road, and stepped into the trees. Ice and dead sticks cracked under my boots.
Once the barn was out of sight, I took my phone out again and scrolled to a different name on the contact list. This time, I didn’t let myself think before touching it. The line rang twice, and then a deep, rich voice filled my ear.
“A call from Fortuna Sworn. Fate has smiled upon me today.”
“What can you tell me about the Dark Prince?” I asked without preamble.
Silence came from the other end. The sense of amiability between us faded, becoming something more intense. A faint, almost-imperceptible sound whispered against my ear, and I would’ve bet money that Dracula was communicating with one of his associates. He came back a moment later, and all he said was, “Whatever you think you know about him, you don’t.”
“His witches bespelled my brother, and he’s offered me a deal to get Damon back.” Dracula fell silent again, and I smiled, turning toward the horizon. I could picture the way he’d gone still, the polite expression that came over his face whenever he was evaluating, calculating. “Sorry, friend. Wherever you are, you wouldn’t get here in time to stop me. One of your warriors might, but I’m pretty powerful these days. I could probably take ’em.”
I waited for his response. Now that I’d told Dracula the truth about Lucifer, or part of it, at least, I found myself hoping he actually had something helpful to share. More seconds ticked by, sounding in my head like a tapping finger.
When the vampire spoke again, his voice was less friendly. “If you do make a deal, be on your guard, Lady Sworn. Give yourself a backup plan. A failsafe.”
