Page 14 of Silver Claw

It was Lucy. “You’re on speaker, Luce,” I told her. “Remy and Joe are with me.”

“Good,” she said. “That’s good.”

I simply waited. Lucy had something to tell me, and when it was extra heavy, sometimes she was slow at getting to her point.

“My dreams,” she said finally, reluctantly. “Ugh, Kait.”

I blew out a hard breath. “I’m listening,” I said.

“There’s a girl,” she said.

I nodded, though she couldn’t see me. There was always a girl, and there was always an asshole hurting her. At least in Lucy’s dreams.

“Well fuck,” Remy said, not as patient as I was. “Whatever’s going on with her, she’s going to die while you’re figuring out how to talk. Spit it out, Spooky.”

Lucy wasn’t a fan of Remy’s nickname for her, but at least it got her going. “She was restrained on a bed,” she said.

She trailed off for approximately two minutes.

“Yeah?” asked Remy.“And?”

“Quiet, Remy,” I snapped. “Let her talk.”

“I’d love to let her talk,” Remy replied. “But it seems like she forgot how.”

She did seem to be a little more reluctant to talk about her dream than usual. “Are you okay, Lucy?” I asked.

“Okay,” she said. “Yes. Yes, I’m okay. I should have sorted out my thoughts before I called you. My mind is still half asleep. Half in that place.” She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and her voice was stronger when she began again. “She’s restrained on a bed. The room is big and it smells sort of…old. Dusty. It’s cluttered. I know that, but I didn’t see it.”

“Maybe she’s in an attic,” I said.

“I think so,” she agreed. “It feels like an attic. She’s terrified of the person who has her, and I get the sense that he enjoys her terror. Other than the terror, all I felt was hopelessness. She doesn’t believe she’ll be found.” She hesitated. “Or…maybe it’s more like she doesn’t ever believe her life will be better if she is.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Joe said, emotionlessly, “that all she has known for a very long time is hell.”

“Yes,” Lucy said softly. “She has no hope.”

“Okay,” I said, and my protective instincts rose up to choke me. As did my rage. “Give me something I can take to Rick, Lucy.”

“I don’t have much yet. She craves ice cream. She wears a wedding ring. She’s a brunette. She’s worried about a cat.”

“So we’ve got an overweight married woman with a cat,” Remy said. “Probably only one or two in the whole city.” He laughed, amusing himself.

“She’s young,” Lucy said, ignoring Remy. “I get the feeling she married when she was still a teenager. I don’t know if she’s still married, if her husband is alive, or what he looks like. I don’t have a name. I can’t see her face.”

“It’s early. You just started dreaming about this girl. Every dream will give you something new.” I didn’t have to reassure her. She knew her ability better than anyone. But maybe she needed the reminder.

“That’s right,” she said, her voice a little brighter. “I don’t think she’s in immediate danger. I don’t think he’s going to kill her. He wants to keep her alive. Aware.”

“I’ll give Rick what we have,” I told her. “Let me know when you dream anything new.”

She yawned. “I will.”

“Lucy,” I said, before she could hang up. “Any word from Sam?”

“No. I’d tell you immediately.”