Page 131 of Ever After

“Blue, you must destroy the book,” Branok commands. “Look to the book.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I snap. I edge around the faun. The ground is uneven and I grab hold of the cold marble and squeeze hard, trying to maintain the grip on my sanity.

I take a step back, and then another, and then I’m running, zigzagging around the statues as footsteps sound behind me. They’re measured and so heavy, each one like a mini earthquake. Before I know it, she’s behind me.

Air whistles by my ear and I spin just as her huge hand comes down, her fingers snagging my jacket. As it tightens on my arms and neck, I rise off the ground. Remembering Levi’s trick, I shove down the zipper and spring free from the jacket, feinting to the left and then, after she takes a step to follow, sprinting to the right. But my next step has me slamming into another statue, and her big hand scoops me up.

Her touch is so cold that it burns my skin. I struggle as I see the book and my missing lighter fall to the ground below, and then the sky is a dizzying whirl above me. When everything rights itself, I’m looking into her cold eyes.

“No,” I gasp as she opens her mouth. I have a dim impression of very sharp white teeth and then her breath comes at me like a gale, earthy and full of decay. I hold my breath for as long as I can, struggling frantically, and then everything goes dark.

CHAPTER 21

LEVI

Irace towards the hall, stumbling and slipping on the grass before coming to a stop on the gravel forecourt. How the fuck am I meant to get in the house?

My breaths are coming fast, and any air I gulp seems filled with doom. I can’t bear that I left Blue behind with Boynton. My husband can be so fucking cavalier about his own personal safety, happily dismissing any threats unless they’re directed at me. Then he gets serious quickly.

But this ghostly situation is different. I was possessed by the creature we’re battling and felt deep in my bones Boynton’s arrogance, his wicked gloating, and deep, sickening coldness. I know firsthand how evil he is, and I just left Blue with him.

I twist my wedding ring around on my finger, getting myself under control. I’m not going to help Blue and Branok by standing around like a twat.

A sound comes from my right, and I spin to see a window slowly sliding up. Jowan gestures to me, and I race over. “Thank you,” I say breathlessly. I climb over the sill and tumble to the carpet on the other side to find myself in a huge dimly lit dining room. “We need to find the ring,” I tell Jowan.

He cocks his head. “Ring?”

“Yes, the ring that Xander wore. Branok and he had the same rings.”

His eyes narrow. “Aye, I remember them. Pretty pieces. Never saw the captain without his.”

“Blue thinks Xander’s is in this house.”

“Plenty of places to hide things around here. Come on. His lordship will know where it is.”

I climb to my feet and hasten after him. We head down the long corridor lined with paintings of dour men and women in period dress. In the dim light, they look even more unnerving.

I fall in by Jowan’s side. “Where are we going?”

“His lordship will be in the library. He was always in there when he was alive. Either that or haring off after the captain.”

“We’re not going in the walls again, are we?” I ask uneasily. When he gives me a sidelong glance, I clarify, “It was a bit creepy when it was daytime. There is no way I want to go there in the dark.”

He chuckles. “I remember many a time in my life when I’d slide in there. I could move around the house gathering information for the captain and never be heard.” He sighs. “Good days. Anyway, we are going the main route through the house tonight. Time is precious.”

“It really is.”

“Do you think it will be over tonight?”

“I hope so.” He nods but doesn’t say anything. “Will you be glad?”

“I reckon his lordship will be right sick of my company by now.”

“What about you?”

He winks. “I’m never bored. I’ve always had business to attend to. I don’t see why death should stop me. The afterlife is full of unexpected things.”

A butler pops up suddenly in front of us. “Fuck,” I breathe.