Page 42 of Nightshade

“How will I know where to find it?”

“It’s inevitable that you’ll find it. The question is, will you return when you see it.”

“Of course I intend to return. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Nightshade has a way of making you forget. You can’t be two different people, so your memories of this life begin to fade. My advice is: remember who you are. Cling to it.”

I couldn’t imagine such a thing. Forgetting who I was. “Tell me honestly--this isn’t some twisted way of drugging and robbing me, is it? Because I’d much prefer to hand over my valuables now, than go through the trouble of passing out, or dying.”

“Perhaps you should return when your doubts no longer dictate your thoughts. I am not in the business of stealing, Miss Ravenshaw. If I were, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time entertaining your questions.”

“My apologies. I just … I want answers. The truth. But the risks …”

“Are only worth your level of curiosity. No one is forcing you to decide.”

For so many years, I’d been obsessed with finding the truth. How many more could pass without action? At what point would I stop chasing after something I’d never found in this world?

“Does it hurt? Traversing?”

“The tea helps. You may feel out of sorts, at first. Hallucinating isn’t uncommon.”

“And I have to consume the flower to come back. What if I can’t find it?”

“You’ll remain there.”

“What do you mean remain there? Like, the rest of my life?”

“Yes. Eternally. After some time, the memory of your old life will fade, until it’s nothing but a dream, or fairytale.”

“What’s so special about this flower?” I asked, staring down at the dark liquid again.

“Find one. Consume it. That’s your ticket back.”

“So, I drink the drink and that’s it.”

“Well, besides falling.”

“Falling …”

“There’s only one way to get to Nightshade. Down.”

Dread sank to the pit of my stomach as I dared to peek over the edge. “You mean jumping off this building …”

“Precisely.”

Down.

The word echoed inside my head. My father had leapt to his death. Or so everyone thought. I’d spent a lifetime wondering what had happened to him.

My gut told me to walk away, and I never typically ignored that feeling. What if he’d been crazy toward the end? He’d tried to take my life, after all. Who in their right mind would believe such a thing as falling into another world was possible?

Except, if it wasn’t, then surely the man I’d seen leap from the building the day before should’ve been splattered all over the cement. Surely, I wasn’t crazy, unless I was, and in that case, there’d be no questioning, right? Crazy people didn’t question themselves, did they?

My alternative was having my spine ripped out by some Pentacrux-obsessed whackjob.

Nausea gurgled in my stomach, as I stared down the length of the building. Aside from drowning, my one true fear was heights. “Is there no other way? Walking through a wall, or taking an elevator, or something?”

“Only one way. Once there, you’re free to walk around, but I’d be wary if I were you. The shadows there are not to be trusted.” He squared his shoulders, pointing at me with an earnest look in his eyes. “There is only one rule, and you must follow it carefully. Do not attempt to bring anyone back with you.”