From Breath and Ruin, page 5
When the burrito stand lady walked past the trashcan to talk with another person walking near, I blinked, and the shadow was gone as if it had never existed.
Yet I knew it had.
Because I couldn’t be losing my mind, I couldn’t. That meant something else was going on.
I needed to talk to the one person I trusted more than anything to make sense of it all.
I threw the last of my breakfast away, my stomach roiling at what I’d just seen—or perhaps hadn’t seen—and jogged to Braelynn’s house. I texted her on the way when I stopped at a corner, waiting for a car to pass, and hoped she was awake.
Me: Are you up? I need to talk.
Braelynn: Just up now. I’ll meet you at the back door.
I quickly put my phone into the pocket of my jacket, letting out a deep breath. I knew I could count on Braelynn, and the fact that she hadn’t even asked why I needed to talk to her so urgently and in person meant everything.
I was just about to turn onto Braelynn’s street when I heard someone call my name.
“Why are you running this early?” Emory asked as she ran toward me, her keys in hand. All of us lived near each other since we were in the same school district and neighborhood, but with everything on my mind, I’d forgotten that Emory lived on the way to Braelynn’s place. “Now you have me running.”
I stared at the girl I’d once thought I loved before I realized that it was only an infatuation of young hearts, and knew that Emory should probably be part of this conversation, as well. She might not be my best friend, and I knew that our lives would be going their separate ways, but I also knew she would be the voice of reason while Braelynn would help me settle my nerves. I needed them both, and yet I was afraid of what they might say.
“I’m headed to Braelynn’s to talk about…well, I need to tell her something. Can you come, too?”
There must have been something in my voice because Emory gave me a weird look. “Everything okay, Lyric?”
I started to nod before shaking my head. “I don’t know. Can you come?”
She stared at me long enough that I was afraid she was going to say no, but then she stuck her keys into her pocket and shrugged. “Okay. You’re being weird, you know?”
“I know, but…but thank you.” I turned and walked the rest of the way to Braelynn’s, Emory right behind me. My friend sat on her back porch, a cup of tea in her hand, and a small frown on her face. I knew the mug held tea since Braelynn wasn’t a huge fan of coffee, and it was too early for hot chocolate for her.
“What’s wrong, Lyric?” Braelynn stood up and set down her mug.
“Can we talk inside? Or somewhere private?” I didn’t want to air all my dirty laundry and insanity to the world. It was bad enough that I was about to do it in front of Braelynn and Emory.
“My parents are out of town, so, of course. I only said go through to the back because I was already sitting out here enjoying the morning.” Braelynn took a step toward me and hugged me close. I held her back, my nerves soothing ever so slightly just by being in her presence.
“Let’s get on with it then.” Emory said. “I was on my way to get a latte, and now I’m caffeine-less and hungry.”
I pulled away from my best friend and turned so the three of us could walk into Braelynn’s house and into the living room. Once we were seated, however—me beside Braelynn on the couch, and Emory sitting on the chair in front of us—I had no idea where to start.
How could I tell the two people who knew me better than most that I was seeing things? And that I thought that, somehow…something was connected to my fall up in the mountains. An accident that the others said wasn’t as bad as I thought it had been.
“Spit it out,” Emory said. “You’re starting to freak me out with all your lip biting and hand wringing. It’s not like you.”
“Emory…” Braelynn began, but I held up my shaking hands.
“No, I’ll start. I know I might sound like I’m losing it, but I want you to hear me out. Okay?”
Braelynn took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. I settled immediately. She was always so good at that. “Of course.”
Emory didn’t say anything, yet I hadn’t expected her to.
I didn’t know where to begin, so I just started…hoping I was doing the right thing.
“Sometimes, I think there’s something in the shadows. Something more than a trick of the eye.”
The others didn’t say anything, and for that, I was grateful. So, I continued.
“You know how you think you see something move and yet when you look, nothing’s there? I’ve had that in my life. I’ve always looked, as quickly as possible, but I could never catch it. When I was little, my mother used to say that it was fairies and magic, and only the ‘special’ could see. But then I got older, and I stopped telling her I still saw the shadows.”
I took a deep breath, and Braelynn squeezed my hand again. Emory looked bored, and I had no idea what to do with that reaction.
“But the shadows are growing. At least, in my mind. I think something happened to me on that mountain. I don’t know what, but…I don’t know. I’ve been having dreams. Or, I guess nightmares. I don’t know. But I can’t sleep, and I swore I saw a monster today while getting breakfast, the same ones I’ve been seeing out of the corner of my eye, and similar to the ones in my dreams.”
“You’re kidding me,” Emory drawled. “How much sleep did you get last night?”
I looked down at my hands, knowing I deserved any reaction she gave me. “Not enough. That’s for sure. But that’s the problem. I’ve been having dreams for as long as I can remember. Vivid ones.”
“We all have dreams. Not everyone is special or magic. No one is.” Emory rolled her eyes, and she was lucky I didn’t smack her. I knew I was probably making no sense, but I was also baring myself to her, and she was being a brat about it.
“That might be true, but I still think something happened up there. I remember falling, Braelynn. I remember the pain and thinking it was going to hurt and yet I woke up and you looked confused and Rosamond and Rhodes said I was fine.”
“You fell?” Emory sat up straighter. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it all happened so fast and, honestly, they said I wasn’t hurt. But I remember.”
“I told you going on that hike was a bad idea.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose with my free hand, Braelynn still holding my other and staying quiet. “I know, but that doesn’t help now.”
“And, for hell’s sake, Lyric, you aren’t making any sense. You’re talking about dreams and monsters and shadows, and yet going on about falling? I don’t get it.”
“I don’t either,” I snapped. “That’s why I’m here. I’m trying to get my thoughts in order. I saw a monster, you guys. It had claws and big teeth, and I didn’t move so it wouldn’t look right at me. I don’t know if that was the right thing to do, but I saw it. I’ve always seen shadows, always felt them in my dreams, but nothing like this. And the only thing that’s changed is the hike. It has to connect. Or, maybe I’m really just seeing things and need to be committed. I don’t know, but something is wrong, and I can’t keep it to myself anymore. Not if I want to keep my mind intact.”
We were quiet for a long while, my mind whirling, and Emory glaring until Braelynn’s voice punctured the silence.
“I think we should talk to Rhodes and Rosamond.”
I turned to her. “Why? Do you believe me?” I hoped she did because I didn’t want to be alone. I had known deep down that Emory wouldn’t believe me, but Braelynn… Braelynn understood me.
She had to.
Braelynn met my gaze with sad eyes before nodding. “I don’t see shadows or monsters, but I know something happened on that cliffside. My brain is trying to tell me what that is, yet it’s all fuzzy. I don’t remember you falling, but I don’t remember how you ended up on your back with the others hovering around you either. I think we need to talk to the Luces because I know something happened, yet I have…nothing. It’s like there’s a gap when I try to remember, and that scares me.”
My heart thudded in my ears, and I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “I…I don’t know what to ask them, but I think we need to go.”
Emory let out a sigh. “I think you’ve both been watching too many scary movies. But if you think the twin freaks are hiding something from you, don’t let me stand in your way. In fact, I’ll be right by your side because I don’t like the idea that they’d hurt you. Or lie. Or whatever.”
It was as good as I would get from Emory, so I took it. The three of us looked at one another, and I knew as we made our way to Rhodes and Rosamond’s that something important was happening, something that could change everything.
I had seen a monster today—not just a shadow.
I had changed—not just my circumstances.
Somehow, I knew as soon as we met with them, everything would be different. I should be running the other way. I should be thinking about my future and not things that could and should not be. Yet I couldn’t stop my path, couldn’t shift my direction away from their home.
Something was coming.
Or rather, I feared, something was already here.
And I was in the middle of it.
Chapter Seven
I stood on the doorstep of a home I’d never been in before, but I knew who lived there. It was a decent-sized ranch home and only one story, but I knew the back faced the mountains, so there had to be a few good views that way. Not all homes here were two stories, and many were split-level thanks to all the hills, but this one was pretty simple. Only, it didn’t really feel simple just then. Nothing did.
Rhodes and Rosamond were private people, and I’d only ever been in their SUV, and that was just yesterday—the same day I had miraculously survived a fall that had to be far worse than they said it was.
I had no idea why my mind kept coming back to that fact, but I knew it had to be true. There was no way I could have imagined everything that had been happening to me recently, and while I didn’t know if it was all connected, I did know that there were two other people who had been there that day. Maybe they had answers.
Or, perhaps they’d call me crazy and help have me committed because I felt like I was one nightmare and shadow away from that already.
But I’d seen the fangs.
I remembered my dreams.
I could still feel the air on my face and the feeling of that thing tugging on my ankle as it pulled me down.
I remembered the fear.
No, I wasn’t going crazy.
But I didn’t feel sane either…
“It’s early, but whatever. I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you fell. Like, what the hell, Lyric?” Emory narrowed her eyes at me before ringing the bell.
I winced at the sound, realizing it was, in fact, really early. In actuality, there probably wasn’t a reason for us to be here, ready to…what? Ask them point-blank if they lied about my fall and how I magically healed before seeing monsters?
Ugh. I was so stupid. Like, how on earth did any of this make sense? I needed to go home, pop an aspirin, and forget everything I thought I saw. Forget the fact that Braelynn felt like something was off, as well. For all I knew, she was only feeling the way she did because I was, and somehow I’d convinced her that something was wrong.
“We need to go.” I blurted the words and took a step back, nearly falling off the stoop as I did.
Emory took my forearm in a punishing grip, frowning at me. “We’re not kids. We don’t ring and dash, dude.”
I didn’t have time to respond to her, not that I knew what I’d say anyway, because the door opened, and Rosamond stood there, her brows drawn together.
“What’s wrong, Lyric?”
Emory stepped in front of me, and Braelynn had to hold my hip for a moment to keep me from falling. That step and I were not getting along today apparently as I’d tripped more than once today.
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong. You let Lyric get hurt and, apparently, you’re lying about it. I knew you two were freaks, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. What the hell did you do to her? Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Emory.” The steel in my voice must have reached her because she turned her head, her mouth parted, and her hair swishing over her shoulders.
“What?”
“Stop it. Don’t be a bitch because you’re annoyed I don’t tell you everything.” I let out a breath, trying to gather my thoughts. “Can we come in, Rosamond? I know it’s early and we’re here out of the blue, but I have something to ask you.”
“We do,” Braelynn added beside me. “If it’s okay. Please. Thank you.” Braelynn was rambling at this point and I let out a breath, wondering what we were doing here and why we’d come as a group as we had.
Rosamond looked between the three of us, a curious look on her face that I couldn’t read. She was about to step aside when the hairs on the back of my neck rose, and something skittered just out of my line of sight.
A shadow.
I turned, my heart beating fast as I tried to catch what I thought I could see out of the corner of my eye. But before I could fully turn, Rosamond shoved her way through the three of us, moving Braelynn and Emory to the sides and me backwards enough that I almost fell. Again.
“What the hell?” Emory asked, turning, a glare on her face. She shoved her dark hair back behind her ears and moved toward Rosamond.
Braelynn put out a hand, stopping her, and Emory glared at her instead. “Stop. Something’s wrong.”
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong. We shouldn’t be here.”
“No,” Rosamond said softly, her hands outstretched, and her long, dark hair blowing in the wind. “They shouldn’t be here.” And with those oddly terrifying words echoing in my ears, I finally looked at what Rosamond saw.
“Oh, God.” I hadn’t even realized that I’d said the words aloud until Braelynn and Emory both looked at me, confusion on their faces. Maybe they couldn’t see what I could, what Rosamond obviously could, but that wasn’t any different than before. Perhaps I was truly losing my mind.
The monster I had seen at the burrito place had found friends, and they were prowling toward the house. The shadows each had long fangs, dark eyes that glowed red, and even longer claws that dug into the ground, tilling the soil and browning the grass.
Rosamond stood in front of us as five monsters crawled our way. I had no idea what she was doing. She was so small, like a tiny dancer, and yet she looked as fierce as a warrior right then, ready to battle against these…things.
Rosamond looked over her shoulder at me, and I swore I could see something in her eyes that spoke of someone far older, something that spoke of memories and an age that didn’t make sense.
Then she turned away and held out her arms. She whispered something under her breath, and a bright light shot out from her hands, making me take a step back into Braelynn. A film slid down from the sky, almost like when you break an egg over a glass bowl, and the sides become harder to see through. Now, I could only see the lawn, my friends, and those monsters. It felt as if the rest of the world wouldn’t be able to see what was going on within the bubble, and yet we couldn’t truly see outside of it either.
Or, maybe I had hit my head, and none of this was real.
Then, a monster jumped.
Rosamond ducked out of the way, and I ran toward her, knowing I wasn’t strong enough to help. But I couldn’t just leave her alone out there.
“Get inside!” I yelled to my friends. “Go!”
Emory turned on her heel, but as soon as she did, one of the shadows grabbed her ankle, tossing her off the steps. She fell hard and didn’t get up. I screamed, but before I could help her, another shadow picked up Braelynn and threw her into a car. It didn’t seem like it was too hard, but Braelynn let out a soft sound and then passed out, lying near the tire as the shadow turned away and stared at me.
Directly at me.
“Crap.”
This was real. All of this was real. And I had no idea how to fight these things. I wasn’t a fighter, I wasn’t even good at watching action movies because I got bored. I looked over to my right, and Rosamond was fighting four of the monsters, moving her hands in weird patterns I didn’t understand. Somehow, without even touching them, the shadows flew away, hitting the ground hard and making deep grooves in the yard where they landed, only to scramble back and try to get at Rosamond again. She seemed to be holding her own, even if I didn’t know how she was doing it.
That left the fifth monster to me, it’s dark, ash-covered skin reminding me of a picture of a Hell Hound I’d seen when I was younger. Maybe it was from the pits of hell, and this was my apocalypse.
The thing lurched toward me and met my gaze. I couldn’t look away, but I couldn’t run either. I knew it would chase me, and I couldn’t leave my friends lying unconscious, possibly hurt—or worse.
I swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise at that thought, then ducked quickly when the shadow jumped at me. Somehow, I remembered my meager self-defense training from my single class and rolled over my shoulder to land on my feet. I didn’t do it particularly well and almost fell on my face, but the shadow’s claws at least missed me.
I whirled around, then fell on my side when the shadow jumped again. That time, I hadn’t been fast enough. It raised a clawed hand at me, and I shielded my face, knowing that I wouldn’t be quick enough to get away, but hoping it would miss me somehow.
Or maybe I just knew that I wasn’t strong enough to fight.
If I got out of this alive, I’d find a way to learn. I never wanted to feel this helpless again. But before I could lament even more, the shadow screamed, a terrifying, high-pitched sound that made me shut my eyes…but only for a moment.
I needed to know what had made the shadow shriek.
Because if something could hurt it, it could hurt my friends and me, too.
