Page 92 of Malice

“Okay, so it’s just a little peek. I promise not to linger.”

“I can’t stop you.”

Smiling, I nod. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Darting past Crash, I open the door to the attic and glance up the stairs. My breath turns shaky and a shiver runs down my spine. This is reckless, but I refuse to sit around waiting to be victimized again. I should at least know what my attacker is up to.

As I creep up the stairs as silently as possible, the air thickens around me, like walking through fog, making it harder to breathe. Once I reach the top, I look around, finding the blob of pulsating energy in the middle of the floor.

It seems to notice me, reacting by flashing streaks of red, but it makes no attempt to move. Maybe it’s a false sense of security, but I don’t feel threatened by it. If it could attack me, I think it would.

I walk slowly toward it, pausing about two feet away. If I focus, I can make out faint facial features and what looks like a hand in the dark gray gunk. I wonder if I could see him as he used to be in the astral plane.

The vial in my pocket suddenly feels heavy, noticeable, and I pull it out. If I drank some, what would happen? Aster came back just fine. Maybe I could finally confront Chester, just once before he’s gone forever.

I pull the tiny cork plug out of the bottle, catching the scent of slightly moldy earth, like damp leaves decaying on the ground. Before I can overthink it, I tilt the bottle and let a few drops land on my tongue.

I shiver and nearly gag. It tastes disgusting, but worse than that is the reaction. My eyesight tunnels as blackness edges my peripheral vision, and I lose my balance, stumbling backward until I can grip the banister to keep from tumbling over. The room spins and the sensation of falling takes hold.

I land with a thud, managing to get on my hands and knees and blinking into the darkness. As my eyes focus, a figure comes into view, large and ominous even in the darkness. It kneels in front of me, and my heart nearly stops.

“Well, hello there, Hudson.”

Chester. I’m so fucked.

Chapter 30

Aster

“Aster, wake the fuck up!”

I shoot upright, blinking to focus on Crash. “What’s wrong?” I look around the room. “Where’s Hudson?”

“That’s why you need to get up.”

I’m off the couch in a flash as Otto runs in circles, whimpering with worry. “Where is he?”

“The astral plane, dude.”

Those words stop me cold. “What?”

“I couldn’t get to him to make him stop. By the time I heard what he was doing, he drank that stuff Wilder left. I think he’s planning to confront the Horror.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. Why would he do something so reckless?”

“No idea, but if you want him back in one piece, you better get over there.”

“Where’s his physical body?”

“Attic.”

I run up the stairs two at a time, practically tripping over my feet. I find Hudson slumped on the floor near the stairs, the vial clutched in his hand, and eyelids fluttering wildly.

My heart races with panic. I can’t believe he did this. I kneel and pry his hand open to get the potion. A fresh wave of panic grips me at the coldness of his skin.

“Why is he cold?”

“Side effect. You were cold too. You just didn’t know it.”

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