open the cover and my eyes bulged. It was a first edition.
Now holding it like gold dust, I guided it back onto the shelf and checked a few others. Nearly all of them first editions. Some had even been signed by the authors themselves and dedicated to Mr Farris. I whistled under my breath. The collection must have been worth in the millions.
I jogged up the stairs and onto the balcony above. The books on that level had far more relevance to the HASEA. Some were occult books on Demons and Witches. Others were local legends and folklores, handwritten in regional dialects. I scanned diaries of panicked people claiming to have seen creatures skulking around their villages. I pulled out giant tomes, squeezed shut with buckles to prevent the pages bursting free.
I finally found what I was looking for in the far corner. I picked out the dog eared copy of the HASEA handbook. It had a similar mottled cover to mine, but I could tell it was a far more recent version. I pulled open its string and thumbed through a few pages. Sketches still sat underneath each heading, but they were copied. Photographs had been added, as well as large blocks of printed text. I screwed my nose up — it felt too clinical, mine had a much more nostalgic feel to it.
But you might be able to tell me something mine can’t. I flipped to the section right before the missing part of my copy and turned the page.
I froze.
The sketch at the top of the page broke my dreams. They came rushing back to me in a torrent of images. The hideous mask. The eerie Graveyard. The derelict mansion. And that dark, suffocating fear.
The sketch was of the creature from my nightmares.
The one that had found me.
The title at the top was thick, the words seeming to scream out at me from the page.
The Sorrow.
The candle slipped from my hands and snuffed out on the carpet. I cried out as I was plunged into darkness. Using my free hand to feel my way forward, I stumbled over stacks of books and bumped into tables as I frantically made my way back to the spiral staircase. I staggered down, using the same hand to stop myself from collapsing.
Something heavy barged into me.
Instinctively, I lashed out. My fist connected with something hard. The intruder stumbled backwards, hitting the wall.
Whump. Something hit the floor. A crackle of blue electricity bloomed in front of me. The burst of light mixed with two red dots and exposed the outline of a Golem.
“Wait, I’m a Guardian!” I shouted as it swung the crosier. The staff stopped inches from my neck. I could feel the hairs standing up on end.
“What’s going on in here?” demanded a voice from the doorway. The main lights flickered on and Agent Green stared at me, wearing a look of utter confusion.
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, even though all I wanted to do was scream until I had no air left in my lungs. “I hurt myself. I think the Golem thought there was an attack.”
“Are you okay now Mr Eden?”
“I’m fine. I just need a few more minutes.”
I barged past the Agent before he could say anything else and sprinted through the hallway and up the stairs. I ran all the way to Gabriella’s room. With a shaking finger, I stabbed the doorbell repeatedly. Come on! Come on! Come on! The door swung open and a dishevelled looking Gabriella squinted out at me. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked. I pushed the door open and moved into the apartment. “The book,” I blurted, “the book you gave me. It had pages missing from the back.” She looked uncomfortable. “So?”
I held up the copy in my hand. “This one doesn’t. I need you to tell me why this thing is in my dreams.” I opened the page and pointed to the sketch.
All the colour drained from Gabriella’s face. “What?”
“I’ve been dreaming about this thing for weeks! But I haven’t been able to remember them until now. Ella, why am I dreaming about The Sorrow?”
Her legs buckled and she slid down the wall.
“ No, no, no, please god no. Not you too.” She buried her face in her hands. “This can’t be happening.”
Her reaction made my blood run cold. I tried to pull her face towards me, but she refused. My hand came away damp with her tears.
“Gabriella talk to me,” I pleaded. “Why is The Sorrow in my dreams?”
It was no use, she had descended into convulsive sobs. Seeing her so upset made me feel like I was dying — her unhappiness was worse than any form of torture I could think of. Feeling useless, I could only rub her back while she wept. The normally pleasant charges had morphed into nasty little electric shocks, which made every part of my hand singe with pain. I didn’t stop comforting her. I stayed in the same position for several minutes — my own heart thumping away in my chest — before trying again.
“Please tell me what’s going on. Why is it in my dreams?” I whispered into her ear.
This time my words seemed to register. Gabriella lifted her head up and turned towards me. Her eyes were swollen and red. She swallowed hard before replying.
“Because it’s tracking you.”
23
Fear wrapped around my throat, choking me. “W-what do you mean it’s tracking me?” I managed to croak.
Gabriella stared up at me, her eyes bloodshot. “That’s how it tracks, using your dreams as a scent.” She took a few sharp breaths before continuing. “If you’re dreaming about it, then it’s trying to find you.”
A lump rose in my throat, which wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I swallowed. “Oh god, in the last dream I had, it found me.”
Gabriella pushed herself onto her feet and seized my arms. “We have to go and speak to Faru, he’ll know what to do next.” She was already at the door before she’d finished the sentence.
“We can’t.”
She whirled around. “What are you going on about? This is serious! We have to speak to him now.” I moved ahead of her and closed the door. “I already know what he’ll do next.” A deep frown appeared on her face. “And that is?” “He’s going to seal the Veil to stop The Sorrow reaching Earth. That’s why the other Sages were here. To vote on it.” Gabriella shook her head in bewilderment. “Alex, how could you possibly know that?” I took a deep breath. “Because I spied on their meeting.”
Her voice was so shrill it hit my ears like a knife. “You did what?”
“I know. I shouldn’t have. I’m so sorry Ella. It’s just I accidently overheard him speaking to Sage Asmund and he said that the meeting may have something to do with me. I had to find out, so I followed them and spied on the meeting. That’s why I can’t go and see him now; I’m too drunk and scared. If he gets inside my head, he’ll know I was there for sure.”
Gabriella drew her lips together. Her eyes were burning with such intense anger that I felt about an inch tall. “Tell me everything,” she demanded.
I told her, including how we’d almost been caught.
“You selfish idiota!” she screamed. “Do you have any idea the amount of trouble you could have caused? Everyone involved could have been banished from the Alliance!”
“I didn’t realise, I’m so sorry-”
“Forget your apologies! You put everyone in a terrible position by asking them to do what you did! Not to mention that you went and did the exact opposite of what I told you to do! Like it or not Alex, I am the leader of Orion. So when I order you not to do something, you damn well listen!” She stormed past me into the lounge. I followed her like a chastised puppy.
“Plus your little plan made Midnight believe that a girl he sees like a daughter was slipping away from him! God knows that man has been through enough in his life already.” “But, Rachel told her to do that, I didn’t-” “It
