Page 68 of Muzzled

The taxis had kept them two steps ahead of the shade’s influence, the pressure of its presence barely getting its footing before they were off, zigzagging through the city and across the river.

*

Ryan and thetwins had been gone for hours, her frequent texts remaining unanswered and unread.

“It feels wrong.”

She looked over at Logan and grabbed his hand. “Honey, I’ve been priming you for this since the day I took you on. The rush of the festivals is gone for me. Same with the thrill of bouncing from city to city every few weeks. I want to slow down a bit, maybe practice under a master somewhere or travel overseas.” Giving his hand a squeeze, she let go and turned her attention to the passing cars. “I know I’ve been hard on you, but I needed to make sure you have the will to go with your incredible talent. You have the skills to create, the knowledge of the business, and the respect of every other artist on this circuit. You’re ready.” When he didn’t answer, she glanced over at him. “If you cry, I’ll stab you with my eyeliner.”

He puffed his cheeks out and exhaled loudly. “I’m good. I just…when are you taking off?”

When the hellhound I’m falling hard for kills off the spirit haunting me.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back in her seat and hoped he was buying her nonchalance. “I’ll be around to watch you rule the festival for a few nights. And you’ll always have the others, okay? They’ll help you. You won’t be alone.”

The taxi pulled up to his hotel, and she passed the driver a stack of bills as her phone buzzed.

We’re on our way.

Watching Logan unload the bags, she thanked the driver and fired off a reply.

Meet me at home.

*

Micah grinned asRyan pulled up and she caught a glimpse of the twins smacking at each other, Alex turned on his knees in the front seat to give him a longer reach toward Bo who was lining up a booted foot with his brother’s arm.

“I’m sorry I doubted your assessment of them.” She laughed as he got out, the tension in his shoulders and face releasing a little when he slammed the door and walked over to her. “Just leave them in there for now.”

He groaned and rubbed a knot out of his shoulder before he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. “There are laws against leaving dumbasses in the car.” His hold tightened on her. “You’re okay?”

“Squashed,” she murmured into his shirt, but she refused to move away when he released his viselike grip. “How did it go down there? I was getting worried.”

The car door slammed, and he muttered under his breath for a moment. “We were down for under an hour, but we aren’t great at pinpointing our return point, so we ended up dogging it from Cranberry Flats.”

Alex and Bo sauntered up to them, looking her over quickly. “No funky shit?” Bo asked, scanning the yard.

“Nothing,” she replied, pulling her key from her purse. “Every time I felt the slightest pressure, we called a cab and went somewhere else.” She led them to the side door, opened it, and descended the stairs. “So what happened?”

“Persephone’s a bitch,” Ryan stated, sliding past her to be first into the suite. “Let’s get you packed and get out of here before we press our luck.”

“Luck’s not a big fan of me,” Bo chimed in. “I may have banged the dispenser of it a while back, so my presence is probably not helping the chance factor any.”

Alex smacked the back of his head. “You’re fucking obtuse,” he said as he passed, planting himself directly under the window.

She stepped inside with a sharp inhale, taking in the damage she’d done to the small room. “Oh. Wow.”

Ryan’s hand grasped hers. “Once we’re out of here, I’ll transfer repair funds to the homeowner,” he said quietly, bringing her fingers to his lips. He let her go and knelt by her bed, then pulled her suitcase out from under it. “I’ll empty the bathroom.”

She nodded absently, her eyes locked on a disturbing image of what looked like the early stages of a baby, its features almost alien as its disproportionately large head obscured most of what appeared to be a second baby.

“Yeah, that one freaks me out,” Bo called over. “But I’m not a kid guy, so it might just be me.”

Backing away, she shook the image from her mind, refusing to think too hard about the faded coloring of the hidden embryo, as though she’d tried to erase it from existence. “It’s not just you,” she muttered, running her hands through her hair.

The rest of the room wasn’t much better, blackened eyes watching them from every wall while Ryan tossed hairbrushes and shoes into her jammed suitcase. Layers of paper and glue morphed some of the images while she crossed the floor, the slight change in angle creating shadows accenting the madness she’d channeled hours earlier. Easing her phone out, she snapped a few pictures, determined to make sense of the images when she was somewhere that didn’t hold the frenetic energy still reverberating through the room.

“Let’s go.”

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