Page 61 of Sweet Nightmares
Jane knew it was a man because she repeatedly heard his voice in her night terrors.
But to find them, she needed to find the connection between these victims. Jane closed her eyes and tried to call upon her magic, but it was in a mood tonight. Like a crusty, infectedwound: red, raw skin oozing green pus. When her magic felt like this, it never complied, but she tried anyway.
Jane curled her fingernails into her palms, forcing them to bite into the skin. A small sense of discomfort helped her appeal to her magic. She closed her eyes and asked,Show me the way. Help me see with your eyes, your strength, and your smarts.
Seducing her magic and complimenting it always did wonders. It was not a person or a being, but sometimes it acted like it and loved praise.
Her intestines tightened, her pulse quickened, and her skin prickled. Something was happening—some kind ofknowing. Jane opened her eyes and scanned all the documents again, her magic thrumming. When she finally saw it, she felt so foolish.
The location.
They weren’t all found in the same place. That would have been obvious. But all had some sort of foliage on their body or nearby. Eucalyptus leaves or flowers. Notable, because they were in only one place in the city. The Nature District, located on the west side by the Lake of Mirrors.
Eucalyptus trees weren’t native to New Swansea. They came from a country far across the Kardic Ocean. So, the only place these victims could have died was the Nature District.
Jane jumped up, grabbed her tweed coat and gun, and promptly left Nightmare’s mirror. Her magic vibrated in her bones—pleased she was going on a dangerous adventure. Possibly even directing it.
Sometimes, Jane was just a little too impulsive. Running out of the mirror and taking the first cable car to the Nature District was not the smartest choice. Only one cable car station waslocated in the Nature District, and it transported people to the trail that led to the Lake of Mirrors.
It was still a twenty-seven-minute hike to the mirrors, and unfortunately for Jane, most of the Eucalyptus trees surrounded the mirrors.
Church bells struck midnight. The ringing was heard all the way from the Spirit District. Jane jolted at the sound. Sheshouldjust turn around and go home, but as soon as she had the thought, her magic tensed, causing a sharp sensation through her body.
So, her magicwasdriving this mission.
It didn’t make Jane feel better. The last thing she needed was an inanimate force deciding her actions.
But here she was, so on she went, taking the trail to the mirrors. A sliver of moonlight cut through the forest canopy, formed of mostly cypress and pine trees, and illuminated the path.
Moving slowly and purposefully, she tried to get as far along the trail as possible while avoiding cracking sticks and crunching foliage beneath her feet—she did not need to attract the monsters hiding in the Nature District.
The Nature District was a hunting ground.
Jane swallowed past the lump in her throat. The area devoted to parks and wildlife was no place for a reasonable person to be after dusk. Black market dealings and gangs canvased the Verona Forest. The good news was that she, too, was a gangster—an armed one.
Yet, danger still lingered on the wind.
Insects buzzed, and low grumbling howls and owl hoots echoed through the trees, their branches scratching the heavens. The trees, shadows, and midnight hid all that should not be seen. All that should not be done.
Her stomach grumbled loudly at the sight of twinberries, her mouth watering. Her limbs weakened, and a daze hit like a boulder as she realized she’d not eaten in hours. Unfortunately, twinberries were toxic, and would kill her most unpleasantly. So she trekked on, searching for any sign of vampires.
What she would do if she found one, she had no idea. Because, like a fool, Jane hadn’t thought this through.
Which was so unlike her.
Jane was meticulous and reasonable. She wasn’t impulsive or reckless.
But her magic was.
It was hungry for something. It was directing her actions, and senselessly, she was listening.
When an owl cry came from next to her ear, Jane’s heart stumbled. The forest was not a safe place for a woman at night. Jane really should have brought Emrys or, if not Emrys, then at the very least, François and some of the Fantômes’ guards.
Jane reached a clearing and was met with the face of a tortured statue. Hundreds of such statues surrounded a vast and glamorous mirror. She was here.
Sweat dripped from Jane’s temple, and her left calf spasmed. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she sucked in a labored breath.
The Lake of Mirrors was a lake formed from seven separate mirrors. The most well-known of which was the Mirror of Chaos.
