I can’t sleep. Not only because of the scare I had with Caz running off with Garrett, but also because we’re going to see Phil Patterson tomorrow, and I don’t know what to expect from the trip.
For all I know, Phil is some psychopath who murdered his fiancée and is pretending this whole portal thing happened to rid his mind of the guilt. The only thing keeping me glued to the idea of visiting him is the woman who said she could help him get his fiancée back…the one who Caz believes is a con artist.
If there is a woman who can reach out to other universes, why not try? I used to think supernatural things like that were impossible, but that was before I wound up in Vakeeli. And Caz’s statement from earlier still rings true: there could be people on Earth who have powers but hide them for their own safety.
This woman, if she has the power, could find a link to one of the other Regals Caz mentioned, help us get to them, and maybe even help us defeat Decius. It would be simpler if Decius wasn’t so powerful. The Regals are at the top of the food chain. They are the creators and the originators, then there were the originating Tether couples, but Decius stole all their energy and killed them, thus leading to him being this multifaceted being that is a cross between a damn wizard and a demon who can manipulate people’s mind and cast spells. Then there are the Cold Tether children—people like me and Caz who are descendants of the original Tethered people. However, I’m not sure if we have power. Caz has his power as monarch…but it’s more a commoner’s thing. The most power we have as a couple is through our love. Hearing each other, feeling, seeing, breathing. We’re on the same wavelength and that is a power in itself…but I’m curious if there’s more to us that I’m not grasping. This trip may have a small possibility of answers, but a small one is better than none at all.
We’ve packed and I booked a rental car to pick up by morning. I would take my car, but it’s a 2010 model with way too many miles on it, and I don’t think it’ll make it that far, plus after Garrett rammed into the side of it, I don’t think it’s worth taking. Faye will be riding with us, and based on the text messages she’s sent, she’s excited for the adventure. I don’t think she realizes how dangerous it could be.
I’m ready for the trip, but I can’t help feeling like something is off tonight. I’ve felt it since the last time I was home, even more so when Garrett would appear. There’s an ominous presence lingering over me, weighing me down, reminding me that someone is out there, and he wants me and my mate dead.
The apartment has been eerily quiet. Not even my neighbors have made much noise, no stomping above my head or doors opening and closing outside, which is rare considering they have two kids. The deafening silence could be all in my head, but with where we are now, I’m not sure I can believe that.
I shift my gaze to Caz, who is turned onto his side, resting. After all those nights of not sleeping in Vakeeli, perhaps he needs it right now, so I leave him be and climb off the bed to go to my dresser. I take out a new pair of pajama pants and a camisole, toss my locs into a bun, then go to the bathroom to start the shower.
I crack the door as the water runs and face the mirror, wondering how I’ve gotten myself into any of this mess.
Multiple universes.
A Tethered soulmate.
A soul-sucking demon wanting to rip us apart.
Something tells me we don’t have much time to figure this out. And what if we do all this for nothing? What if Decius takes us anyway and makes us suffer even more because we ran away?
No. I can’t think that way. We will get out of this, even if it means going through every universe and portal we can find.
I strip out of my clothes and toss them in a pile on the floor, turning for the shower. But it’s when I open the glass door that a hiss fills the air.
A cobra, all black with a thick head, glares at me with beady eyes, and I freeze. It opens its mouth, revealing sharp fangs with poison dripping from the ends. Its tongue flickers as it sways left, then right, then rises higher above me, and all the blood drains from my body as I stare at it, stuck in a trance I can’t pull myself out of.
I find that I can’t scream. There’s a snake in my shower, it’s clearly about to attack me, and I can’t scream. Every sound is trapped, deep, deep, deep down.
I slip backwards and my back hits the counter. The snake hisses again, shooting toward me, and I scramble toward the corner, waiting for the bite to pierce me—for its venom to sink into my blood and kill me—but nothing happens.
Instead, the snake remains only inches from my face, and a large hand is wrapped around the throat of it with a white-knuckle grip.
My eyes travel up the arm attached to the hand, and Caz towers above, nostrils flared and lips pinched tight. He wears only a pair of basketball shorts and nothing more. He lifts the snake in the air and raises a knife in the other, and when he brings the blade forward, he slices the head off the snake.
Blood splatters onto the wall, and the body falls onto the floor with a splat right next to me. I push up farther against the wall as it wiggles lifelessly.
“Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod.” The words tumble out of me as I stare at the creature’s body. “That’s a—that’s a fucking snake, Caz!”
“I know.”
“How did you…”
“Your fear. I felt it.” He collects the body from the ground and carries it along with the head of the snake out of the bathroom. I can’t bring myself to move as I hear him rustling about. When he returns, his hands are clear, and he reaches down to help me up. My legs are like Jell-O, even as I rise, but he keeps me steady, placing me on the toilet seat.
“Decius is here, Willow,” Caz says in a low voice. “He’s come to your world.”
I swing my eyes up to his, fear dripping into my veins. “Through a vessel,” I whisper.
His jaw ticks.
“Beatrix said this would happen. He knows where we are, Caz.”
“I fear he’s always known.”
A paralyzing fear wraps around me. He knows where we are. He knows how to get to us. I knew something felt off. It was like a static in the air, and I was waiting with bated breath for something awful to happen, for a shoe to drop.
“We can’t stay here. We need to move, find answers. As long as we’re moving, he can’t get to us,” Caz declares.
“But what if—what if he finds another vessel? Another snake? A damn anaconda this time!”
“No.” He works to swallow, his eyes bouncing around the bathroom. “Something tells me he’ll use something bigger and smarter than a snake next time.” He pushes to a stand and turns around to shut off the shower. “Are all your things packed?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He grabs my hand. “It would be best if you call Faye now, let her know we’re leaving.”
