Page 85 of All Hallows Game

He nodded. “In my pocket.”

“Good. Stick close to me.” I kissed him quickly and let go. “We need to find Honey and get back to Tor and Cat.”

“I don’t like being away from them for so long,” he agreed, keeping pace as I checked under the study tables.

“Neither do I,” I murmured, a sense of unease tightening my stomach. Cat hadn’t called my name like she would if there was an issue, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. The faster we found Honey and discovered why she’d vanished from the memorial, the sooner we could get back to Cat and Tor.

“She’s not down here,” Miz said with clear frustration. “She must be upstairs.”

“Agreed.”

I held in the urge to call her name, not wanting spook her or alert Nightmare if she was lurking upstairs. We took the stairs with careful quietness, a blanket of darkness spilling around my feet as my unease grew. But with it came excitement, an eagerness to bludgeon Nightmare with a mace of shadows and rip her to bits.

“Calm down,” Miz hissed at me as we neared the top.

“I am calm.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you’re shaking.”

He was right. Rage had filled me until I shook with the force of it, more darkness gathering around my feet, spilling out of me, a death sentence to anyone I attacked with it.

I motioned for Miz to fall silent as we reached the top of the staircase, the second floor dominated by a sloping roof and low-slung bookcases, tables placed sporadically in spare bits of space. At one of those tables, Honey sat with her hands bound behind her, duct tape across her mouth, and a vicious red bruise on her eye and cheek that would turn black.

“Shit,” Miz hissed, hurrying over to her with his knife in hand while I scanned the room, pushing out waves of death magic. If anyone else was here, they’d have died screaming, but we were alone. My breathing came faster, the need for violence making blood rush in my ears.

“Easy,” Miz soothed, “I’m just gonna cut the ropes. I wouldn’t hurt you; you’re Cat’s.”

When I was satisfied we were alone, I turned back to face them and winced at the bruise on Honey’s face. “That looks vicious,” I murmured, peering closer. No blood or broken skin, though. It would heal in a couple weeks. Urgency bled into her eyes, widening them as she tried to communicate.

“Sorry in advance,” I said and ripped the tape off her mouth.

“Fuck!” she yelled, tears welling in her eyes, spilling down her bruised cheek. “That’s worse than getting a Brazilian.”

“And that’s entirely too much information,” I said, trying to quell my bloodlust even as my hands shook with it. I pulled my magic back enough that it wouldn’t touch Honey but I couldn’t entirely smother it.

“Who did this?” Miz demanded, golden eyes sharp.

“Phil,” Honey replied, panting as she got unsteadily to her feet, leaning against the table. “She came at me like a madwoman and dragged me into the library. I tried to fight but she’s stronger than she looks.”

“Phil,” I repeated, frowning. “Cat’s friend?”

But she’d led us right here, to Honey. That made no sense. I shook my head, missing something. “Why did she want us to find you?”

“To separate us,” Miz said, jolting like he’d been hit. He spun, knife in hand, and threw himself at the staircase.

“Fuck,” I growled under my breath, every instinct screaming at me to follow him immediately. But I couldn’t leave Honey. “Come on, I’ll help you down the stairs.” I held out my arm as an offering.

“I’ll be fine,” she disagreed, taking a step—and scrambling for my arm when her knee buckled. “Alright, so maybe I won’t be fine.” She gave me a wide-eyed look as we headed for the stairs as quickly as she was able, which was torturously slow. “Cat isn’t alone, right?”

“No,” I replied. “She’ll be fine. Tor’s with her, they’re all waiting outside. Phil, too.”

Honey’s brow scrunched into a frown. “Why is she doing this?” She answered her own question. “Nightmare got to her, too.” A shudder went through her. We carefully descended the dark stairs, lit only by moonlight through tiny windows.

“It seems that way,” I agreed calmly, even if blood roared in my ears and I wanted to leave Honey here and run until I had each of them in my sight—Tor, Cat, and Miz, all of them safe, protected.

We were only halfway down the staircase when Miz burst back through the front door, leaving it hanging open. “They’re gone,” he blurted.

“Oh, god,” Honey breathed, rigid beside me.

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