Page 81 of All Hallows Game

“Don’t panic,” Wil called confidently from the stage. I envied his ability to be unruffled. The longer the room stayed in darkness, lit only by phone screens, the faster my heart beat. “Just a power cut; I’m sure they’ll reconnect the electricity in a few minutes.”

“Everyone reconvene outside,” another voice shouted, throaty and deep. I didn’t know his name, but I guessed he was part of the event committee. “The floodlights in the park run on a different generator; we’ll finish the memorial there.”

“Let’s go, little bride,” Death said calmly, stroking my back.

“I need you to find Honey,” I replied, shaking my head, gasping down breaths that became harder and harder to take. Not Honey too, please not Honey. “I can’t—I need you to find her, use your magic, whatever it takes—”

“Shh,” Death soothed, warm lips pressing to my temple and lingering long enough that the grip loosened a fraction on my chest. “It’s just a power cut, she’ll be fine.”

“I’ll go find her,” Miz offered, already pulling away.

I tore from Death's arms and lunged in Misery’s direction, grabbing his shoulders in bruise-tight fingers.

“You don’t get to leave,” I said in an urgent voice. “None of you.”

Nightmare would get to them if they left.

“I’ll find her,” a welcome voice offered, and I squinted through the scant light at Phil, her face flushed and shiny, her hair ragged. “I’ll text you when I’ve found her. Can you believe there’s a fucking power cut on the one night we choose to hold the memorial?”

“No,” I said and meant it. This wasn’t a coincidence. I no longer believed in coincidences, only in unsettling events that led to blood and murders and me screaming as I lost someone else. When Phil slipped into the crowd, elbowing people out of the way, I said, “We need to find Virgil. We’ve run out of time.”

“It’s just a power cut,” Tor reassured me, one hand on my shoulder, the other on Miz’s.

“It’s not,” Misery muttered, shaking his head, a tremble beginning where he held onto me. “It’s not a power cut. Can’t you feel it?”

“It’s just your fear amplifying your senses, Miz,” Death said so gently, someone’s torch light bouncing off his face, illuminating the aching sadness in his eyes. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I shook my head. I was with Miz on this one.

“Come on,” Tor coaxed, his voice unwavering as he turned us to the door. “Let’s go outside, find Honey, and we’ll comb the island for signs of Virgil. Death, you reckon we can get some of the others to join a search party?”

“Pain, definitely,” Death agreed, walking a step behind us to make sure no one got left behind. “Maybe even Madness. Violence would sabotage any rescue attempt, so he’s not an option. I wouldn’t trust Cruelty, either; she’ll do anything her brother does.”

My head spun at the casual mention of so many gods. How many death gods were there? I shuddered and my darkness surged, brushing against my trembling soul.

No death god is a threat to you. You’ll rip them apart with your bare hands before they can touch a single hair on your head.

It was a nice sentiment, but something told me killing a god took a little more than my bare hands.

“Honey?” I called as we exited Old Ford House into the cold stone corridor beyond, the crowd pressed from one side to the other, crammed in like sardines. “Honey!”

She didn’t shout back. My stomach twisted. I was going to lose her, too. My breathing came shorter, sharper. I couldn’t stop the spiral once it began. This wasn’t a power cut; it was a calculated move by Nightmare and she was going to rip my best friend and my brother from me in one fell swoop and—

My phone vibrated in my leather jacket pocket, a lifeline while I drowned in panic. My hands were shaking so badly that Miz slid it from my pocket and held it in front of me.

“What’s your password, my universe?”

“1402,” Tor answered before I could.

“You remembered,” I said, wide eyed.

“I’ll always remember your personal data,” he replied, kissing my forehead, gesturing in front of us to create a path to the exit, magic pushing people out of the way. Candles flickered from sconces along the walls, sending a little shiver over me. I felt like I’d stepped back in time to when Nightmare first hunted Ford.

“Someone named Phil has found Honey,” Miz told me. “He says she’s near the library.”

“She.” I frowned. What the hell was Honey doing out there, on the other side of the park? But I was so relieved that I could wait to question her; I just needed to hug her so tightly that no one could ever hurt her.

Candles almost guttered as the heavy doors at the end of the hallway were heaved open, the grating sound scraping my nerves until my composure was almost non-existent. But we were nearly out, and I knew where to find Honey, and she was safe with Phil.

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