Page 31 of Changeling
Once again, when Sasha got to the title line, Nathan joined in, closing his eyes and continuing to supply harmony as Sasha charged on into the next phrase of the song.
Nathan had always thought of the song in relation to his brother, how, regardless of what anyone else might say, or what might happen, he knew the truth of what mattered, who and what he loved in life, and the rest…well, the song said it best. Now, Nathan started to see Sasha in the song too, all the things that made up Nathan’s life, with both Jim and Sasha beside him.
The guitar faded away as the song ended, and only when it was completely silent did Nathan open his eyes. He didn’t look up, but he could feel Sasha watching him through the rearview mirror.
“Nathan?”
“Yeah?” Nathan prompted, feeling the car jerk as the trunk slammed shut, though he doubted Sasha noticed.
“I think you have a really nice voice.”
Jim was coming around to the passenger side door. Nathan could see him.
“You know what I think?” Nathan said, glancing up into the mirror finally. He waited until Sasha’s eyes were on him, and then he smiled. “I think I love you.”
The expression on Sasha’s face melted to pure shock, and a moment later, Jim opened the door and climbed into the front seat.
“What were you guys listening to?” Jim asked as he situated himself. He glanced back at Sasha. “Were you playing? Serenading us to Maine?”
Nathan kept watching Sasha in the mirror and had to grin at how the incubus was at a complete loss for words. “Sure is,” Nathan supplied, since Sasha couldn’t find his tongue just then. “Any requests, Jim?” He turned the car on and shifted into gear. “It’s gonna be a long ride.”
“Depends,” Jim said, “you gonna veto any suggestions I make?”
“Only if they suck. Hey, Sasha,” Nathan said, glancing up at the rearview mirror one more time to find Sasha absolutely beaming, “surprise us, huh?” And he winked, because really, he had to.
Sasha repositioned the guitar on his lap, smiling widely. “Whatever you want, Nathan.”
Chapter 13
Breakingintothehistoricalbuilding known as the Animus House in Ellsworth, Maine, was easy. Since it was before dawn, Nathan, Sasha, and Jim each had a flashlight. They were also armed with handguns—more easily concealed than shotguns in a residential area no matter how early it was. They were running low on iron bullets, so only the first three in each of their guns were made of iron to help conserve their supply.
The entryway of the building seemed normal enough as they snuck inside, large with a spiral staircase that went up to the second floor. There were doors on either side of the staircase that led off down separate hallways.
“The police have already been through the house,” Sasha said. “Only one officer was found later in the same catatonic state as the squatters. Report says he went up to the third floor alone. I’m guessing the dark fae we’re looking for is up there, but we should still search the whole house."
“The weird thing is, even though the building was considered a museum, it used to have private tours years ago," Jim added. "There were strange reports then too. People missing, dead, or who ended up like the recent squatters and were sent to mental wards since there was nothing physically wrong with any of them. After the building was closed up, those kinds of reports stopped. Until now.”
“You thinking the timing is a little too coincidental?” Nathan asked.
“Considering how many dark sidhe we've come across and reports of the Veil thinning...” Sasha said, solemn and steady of voice, “it wouldn't surprise me if this is connected.”
Nathan and Jim nodded. They headed left but, as they came to the doorway, Sasha stopped them.
“Look.” Sasha lifted his flashlight and shone it over the top of the doorframe where some kind of writing had been carved into the wood very neatly. It took Nathan a moment to recognize it as Gaelic, and the meaning clicked into place as Sasha read it aloud. “Here begins your beginning.”
Jim went over to the door on the right side of the entryway and shone his light above that one. “Your path begins elsewhere,” he read. “Okay…I guess we chose correctly the first time."
"Let's follow the house's rules for now," Sasha said.
"The house's rules? You make it sound like this place is alive," Nathan said, and then stopped. The others looked at him and all of them shivered. Anything was possible when fae were involved.
Jim returned and they continued through the door at the left. The feeling that something supernatural was going on was unmistakable, and not only because of the fae language. This side of the house seemed to be just one long hallway, which finally curved off to the right and probably connected back around to the other door, unlike any floor plan Nathan had ever seen, or at all like how the house looked from the outside. Alongthe walls were open doorways, maybe six or seven, evenly spread out. Nathan tried not to notice the similarities of this place to one of his nightmares.
They came to the first open doorway and peered inside. It was just an empty white room.
“Well that’s anti-climactic,” Nathan grumbled.
Sasha pointed his flashlight above this new door and once again found Gaelic. “Yourself without one?” he said skeptically. “Yourself losing one? Yourself minus one? I don’t know what this means.”
