Page 148 of Nightshade

“No. Why do you ask?”

I could’ve really used a drink right then. “No reason, really. Question …. Do you … ever have any strange dreams?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Ravenshaw, was it? I’m up soon, and I’m just trying to calm my nerves a little bit.”

“I understand.” I lifted my shawl from over the marking on my arm, drawing her attention toward it, and a flicker of panic flashed in her eyes. “Do you recognize this?”

“Who are you?”

“You wouldn’t believe me, if I told you. Your memories have begun to fade, but I suspect if you recognize this symbol, there might be a small bit that you can recall from your old life.”

“Old life? What are you talking about?”

I glanced around, noting that no one was within earshot. “You weren’t born in Keselshire. You’re not from here. No one is originally from here. Because everyone in this town, aside from only a few, are ... ” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Well, they’re …”

“They’re what?”

“Dead.”

“Come again?”

“The symbol on my arm … it was left behind. At your crime scene.”

“Okay, I’m gonna ask you nicely to just step away.”

I scoured my brain for the measly details I’d picked up from the picture Hines had shown me. Unfortunately, there was only the mutilation itself that I could remember most vividly. “They cut your face. I don’t know why, but they did. They also cut your fingers to the knuckles.”

Brows knitting together, she stared off for a moment and lifted her gaze to mine again. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to know who hurt you.”

A short and portly man, dressed in a long, white, pointed hat, like some kind of winter gnome, hobbled toward us, holding drinks contained in horned-shaped cups. He offered Alicia one, and she took two, handing one off to me. I could only see his lips stretch to a smile beneath the brim of his hat, before he hobbled off again.

I stared down at the fluid, swirling the icy-colored liquid around inside, and gave it a sniff. The scent of it was inviting enough, a sort of fruity aroma that had my mouth watering, but I didn’t trust it. I handed it back to her. “You can have mine.”

Swiping it out of my hand, she gave me a strange look. A furtive glance around, and she leaned into me. “You asked about dreams,” she said in a hushed voice. “I do have one. My face sliced.” She motioned there with a trembling hand, in spite of her face appearing completely intact. “My fingers cut to the knuckles. I want to know …” Her fidgeting heightened, and she paused, tipping back the drink in her hand. “I want to know why you know this. Why I felt like I was there. Why I could feel the burn on my face. I could hear screams. My screams. Over and over. Me screaming for help, and nobody coming to help me. They feel real. So real, I still smell the musty odor of that motel room. I can still feel the cut of the blade on my cheek.”

I had no words. Nothing to comfort her. What she’d dreamed had actually come to pass, given the report Hines had supplied, and there was no shielding the truth from her.

“Why do these dreams feel real? Like that stuff really happened to me.”

“Because it did.” With some hesitation stirring in my gut, I glanced around at the nearby guests, who seemed far more interested in their drinks. “This isn’t your home, Alicia. It’s called Nightshade.”

“What the hell is Nightshade?” The loud pitch of her voice sent a jolt through my muscles, and I raised a finger to my lips to quiet her.

“It’s where nonbelievers go.”

“What does that mean? Where nonbelievers go.” Though she’d quieted her voice that time, her irritation bled through loud and clear.

“It means …. It means those nightmares you had … they’re real. They really happened.”

“How?” She held up her fingers, wriggling them around. “Still got my fingers. My face isn’t all hacked up.”

“This isn’t your physical body.”

Frowning, she shook her head. “Not my physical body?” She pressed her finger against my arm, knocking me back a step. “How can I touch you, move you, if this isn’t my physical body?”

“I’ll admit, it’s otherworldly to me, too, so it doesn’t make much sense. The best I can explain it is that our laws of reality don’t apply here. You have a physical presence, but your … your body is still in the earthly realm.”