Night Shade (27 page)

When I’m back in the same room as before and I open my eyes, I almost collapse when I see who’s waiting for me.

‘Hello, Zoe,’ Dante says, grinning.  He looks exactly the same as he does in my dreams: crooked scar faintly visible on his cheek, dark hair curling round his ears and a lean muscular body that embodies predatory danger.

My legs buckle and I clutch my chest. Dante barks out an order to the policeman and rushes forward, grabbing my waist and helping me onto a chair. Two seconds later, I’m breathing into a paper bag while he strokes my hair and tells me to calm down.

‘Shall I fetch a doctor?’ Dante asks. I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak. He nods to the policeman who leaves, closing the door behind him. I keep the paper bag in front of me but my eyes are trained on my nemesis. He adjusts his cuffs and sighs.

‘Panic attack?’ I nod mutely. ‘You don’t have to be afraid of me, Zoe.’

He has to be kidding. He’s tracked me down to a goddamn police station and inveigled his way inside. Who can do that?

He sighs. ‘I mean it.’ He kneels down in front of me and puts his hands on my thighs, his skin burning through my trousers. I jerk away. ‘I’m not the bad guy,’ he says softly.

Keeping a grip on the bag, I take it away from my mouth. ‘What are you doing here?’ I whisper.

‘Rob contacted me. He said you were in the Dreamlands earlier and you were up to something. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything stupid.’

‘So why come here? How did you even know I was here?’ My voice is rising.

‘Shhh,’ he says. ‘Don’t start getting stressed again.’

That’s easy for him to say. ‘How did you know I was here?’ I repeat.

‘I told you,’ he says, standing up. ‘I’m a tracker.’

‘In the Dreamlands! Not in real life!’

‘It wasn’t that hard. You knew Doctor Miller, so you had to be from this area. And your IP address helped.’

I close my eyes. I knew that was a stupid move.

‘I heard that someone had been taken in for questioning about Miller’s death,’ Dante continued, ‘so I put two and two together–’

‘You heard about this?’ I screech. ‘The Mayor is here too! He’ll have heard about it too.’

Dante remains calm. ‘I doubt it. He doesn’t have the same connections that I have.’ He looks at me seriously. ‘I can get you out of here, you know. I can keep you safe.’

I snort. As if I’m about to jump from the frying pan into the fire.

He regards me steadily. ‘You can trust me, you know.’

‘Why?  Because I’m a dreamweaver and you think you can use me like the Mayor wants to?’

He seems puzzled rather than offended. ‘Why would I want to do that?’

‘You used to work for him. For all I know, you have the same goals.’

‘You’re being paranoid.’

‘Well, it comes with the territory,’ I mutter. ‘Besides, I’m fine. I got myself into this so I can get myself out.’

He stands back. ‘As you wish.’ I get a sudden whiff of spicy aftershave. ‘How can I help?’

‘You can’t. I have everything under control.’

He glances at the paper bag I’m clutching. ‘If you say so.’

I grit my teeth. ‘I had everything under control until you arrived.’ I throw him a dirty look. I find it so easy to read other people; why can’t I read him in the same way?

‘Were you already sleeping?’ he asks suddenly. ‘Is that why you’re so annoyed? You were back in the Dreamlands and I had you pulled out?’

Suddenly I can’t look him in the face. ‘No. I couldn’t sleep.’

He laughs. ‘You really are new to all of this, aren’t you? You can’t spend all day there and expect to find it easy to get back at night.’ He tosses me a small packet. ‘Here. You’re lucky I anticipated this.’

I stare at the envelope. ‘What is it?’

‘It’ll send you off to sleep. Although,’ he adds with a wink, ‘I don’t imagine you’ll be wearing any sexy nighties like you were the first night I met you. Not in this place anyway.’ My eyes fly to his and I feel my cheeks heating up, but he’s already moved on. ‘I’m on your side, Zoe. I’m not trying to use you.’ He scratches his neck. ‘And about what I said on Somnolence? I was trying not to let anyone see what I was really thinking so I lied.’ His eyes glitter. ‘I think you’re beautiful.’

If Dante’s trying to make me feel better about myself, he’s failed. I’m horrified he’s brought it up. Now I look like someone who’s petty enough to be disturbed by a comment like that from someone I hardly know. I’m desperate to change the subject. ‘Why are you helping me now? You could have done something about the Mayor a long time ago. You can say it was too hard but you still could have tried.’

I’m surprised when he looks slightly shamed. ‘You’re right,’ he says quietly. ‘I should have done something. I guess I needed someone as brave as you to give me a kick in the balls and get me to wake up.’

I blink rapidly. ‘I’m not brave.’

He reaches over and takes my hands. This time I don’t flinch away. ‘You’ve done more in a couple of weeks in the Dreamlands than anyone since–’

‘Salib?’ I guess.

Dante looks surprised. ‘Actually, I was going to say Albert Hall. The last dreamweaver.’

I feel awkward. ‘Hey, I’m just making this shit up as I go along.’

‘I want to help. Let me help.’

I shake my head. ‘Everything’s in place. I just need to sleep. If you hang back then...’ I swallow, ‘there’ll be someone left to try again if I mess up. You and Bron.’

His face abruptly shutters. ‘Right, Bron.’

I chew on my lip. ‘Actually, there is one thing you can do.’

‘Name it.’

‘Somnolence. Get it back up and running. Tell anyone who’s still awake to go to the square and wait there.’

‘Wait there for what?’

‘I need an audience,’ I say grimly.

He looks like he’s about to say something but thinks better of it and nods at me. I’m relieved he trusts me. ‘Those pills are pretty strong,’ he tells me in warning. ‘Once you take them, the police will find it difficult to wake you up.’

‘That’s okay,’ I say, already thinking ahead. ‘If this doesn’t work then I’ll either be dead or sent to prison for a very long time. The police can wait.’

I stand up and take his hand, attempting to be formal. It’s my way of apologising for not trusting him any more than he initially trusted me. He turns my hand over, his thumb stroking my palm. Then he mutters something to himself that sounds like ‘fuck it’ and pulls me to him, his head bending down to kiss me. My stomach squirms – and for the first time in a long time, in a good way.

He breaks off abruptly, stepping back and watching me with an expression that’s completely unfathomable. ‘Good luck.’

I murmur something inane, press my palms to my cheeks as if to quell the heat that’s surged back into them, while he strides away.

Ladies who play with fire must remember that smoke gets in their eyes.

Mae West

––––––––

D
ante was telling the truth about the sleeping pills. Barely five minutes after I’ve swallowed them, I feel my eyelids droop and the heaviness of sleep encroach. I don’t doubt that despite the lateness of the hour I’ll be called back to answer more questions soon. I don’t know much about the justice system but my house is probably already being searched right now. I repress a shudder at the thought of strangers traipsing through it.

I’m relieved that Dante thinks the drugs are strong enough to keep me under. I’m going to need time to see my plans through.

The moment my ears prickle, I leave the forest using the same route I used the last time. It’s easier now I know what to expect and I have a route mapped out. When I scoot from rooftop to rooftop, however, the thatch is even more irritating and I stop several times to scratch at my skin. I end up not only scraped and raw from the compacted straw but also covered in scratches from my fingernails. If the Mayor does get the better of me and my fate is the same as Miller’s and Salib’s, whoever conducts the post-mortem will have a gay old time trying to work out what I did to myself.

This time I bypass the castle and take the long way round to the oxbow lake. I’m relieved when I cross the last row of cottages and spot Ashley sitting humming to herself. Sending her a silent apology for what I’m about to do, I check the coast is clear then leap down to talk to her.

She’s so lost in her own world that I’m behind her before she notices me. She jerks in fright until she sees it’s me. ‘Good grief, Zoe! You scared the living daylights out of me!’

I smile. ‘Sorry, it wasn’t intentional. How are you doing, Ashley?’

‘I’m good.’ Her mouth turns down at the corners. ‘I heard about the mares. I can’t believe you led them through the town like that. It must have been a hell of a sight.’ Despite her grim expression, there’s a hint of awe in her tone.

‘It wasn’t such a big deal,’ I say. ‘But I guess you heard what the Mayor said afterwards.’

‘Yeah.’ She bites her lip and nods doubtfully. ‘They are pretty dangerous.’

‘Except,’ I point out, ‘they didn’t attack anyone when I freed them.’

‘No,’ she says slowly. ‘But why would the Mayor capture them except to keep them safely away?’ The answer is already written all over her face; she just doesn’t want to admit it. She looks even more troubled. ‘He’s been looking for you, you know.’

‘The Mayor? Don’t worry, I’m going to find him and speak to him.’

Her eyes widen. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’

I smile. ‘I want to do it before he gets too upset. But I need your help.’

‘Of course! What can I do?’

She’s so eager to come to assist me that I know I’ve got the right person. I hope she’ll manage to forgive me when all this is over. I force myself to meet her eyes. ‘I was in the castle earlier today and I found a butcher’s knife there. I know I’m supposed to hand it in because we’re not allowed to carry weapons but I didn’t think it would be a good idea for me to take it.’ I twiddle with my hair awkwardly. ‘If the Mayor saw me carrying it...’

‘Yeah,’ she agrees. ‘He wouldn’t like it very much. You should ask Esme to collect it for you.’

‘I was hoping you would.’

‘Ask Esme?’

I shake my head. ‘Fetch the knife.’

Ashley’s face pales. ‘But I don’t go into the castle. No one goes into the castle apart from Esme.’

‘Yeah, it’s kind of creepy.’

She shudders. ‘Kind of? It’s like some horrid tomb. All those unconscious people – there are even kids there.’

‘I know.’ I drop my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘But Esme only goes in because no one else will. It’s obvious it’s really hard for her. I mean, she’s like them, isn’t she? She’s in a coma too.’

Ashley stares at me. ‘Oh gosh,’ she whispers, ‘I never thought of it like that. She must hate it.’

I nod. ‘She does. I asked her.’

I can see that Ashley really doesn’t want to go there and I don’t blame her.   ‘We could just leave it there,’ she suggests.

‘Ordinarily I would but, like you said, there are kids in there. If one of them wakes up or sleepwalks or something and finds it...’

‘They do that? Sleepwalk, I mean?’

‘That’s what Esme told me,’ I lie.

‘I had no idea.’ Ashley looks sick at the thought.

I wait for a moment, giving her time to think it through. ‘I can see you don’t really want to do it. It’s alright, Ashley, I’ll ask someone else. Or maybe I’ll go and get it myself. How mad can the Mayor get?’ I force a laugh.

Stricken, she shakes her head. ‘No, you ... you’re right. You can’t let him see you with it. He flies into a rage sometimes and if he thinks you have a weapon...’ She sounds more decisive. ‘I’ll get it for you. Don’t worry, Zoe.’

‘Thank you so much, Ashley. You don’t know what this means.’

‘Sure,’ she mumbles, her face still pale. ‘Should I go now?’

I feel awful. ‘Yes. It would be better to get it out of way. Meet me in the square when you have it.’

She swallows hard, then walks off in the castle’s direction. I watch her go, worry gnawing at me. I’ve come this far, though; I have to see this through.

As soon as Ashley’s out of sight, I clamber back onto the nearest roof, hunching down and moving swiftly. I probably only have five or ten minutes once Ashley’s entered the castle, so I can’t take long. It’s harder to stay unnoticed now because the streets at this end of town are busy; I have a few hairy moments when I’m sure I’ve been spotted. I’m not, however, and eventually I’m crouching down on the roof of Esme’s little shop.

Annoyingly, there’s a crowd of teenagers standing in front of it. I recognise them as the ones who were getting drunk in the pub during my first visit. They are having a good-natured argument about whether it would be better to be eaten by a mare or trapped in the Badlands; the general consensus is that the mare option would be the worst. I scowl. The Mayor has certainly succeeded in keeping everyone in a state of fear. I’m not denying that it’s wise to be wary of the mares but they’re hardly monsters.

I watch them argue for a few minutes. It doesn’t look like they’re going to move away from the door any time soon. Even if they did, there are so many other Travellers standing around and gossiping, or wandering up and down the street, that nipping inside without being seen will be impossible. I guess I need another entry point.

I smile humourlessly; it’s the Mayor’s benign, Santa Claus-like appearance that gives me the idea.

I cross the roof and stoop behind the chimney. I take a moment to steel myself and double-check that no one is looking up in my direction, then I drop my legs down the stack. As I’d hoped, the chimney is fairly large. I have to wriggle my hips to get fully inside, and twist my shoulders to avoid getting stuck completely, but in seconds I’m fully enveloped by the stifling, claustrophobic darkness. At least the tight squeeze means I’m not going to fall down to the fireplace and break a leg.

I shimmy my way down, inch by inch. The soot tickles my nostrils and makes breathing hard. By the time I’ve pushed myself round the curve in the chimney flume and can feel my legs dangling in air, I’m coughing and spluttering.

‘What on earth...?’ I hear Esme say from below.

I call down. ‘Hi Esme!’ My cheery tone is spoiled somewhat by the hacking cough that follows it.