“No,” Booker whispered. “Sky and your Gran prepared the vessel this afternoon and gave it to Patchy to…I don’t understand how he got it here. But anyway, that’s not important. Now it has to absorb this atmosphere so it can be a smooth transition. If Sky can’t send it through easily enough, it can get away and come back to me or go after someone else.”
“What the hell? How come no one told me this?”
King sounded angry, so I leaned into him, trying to offer some comfort. “Because of how you’re acting right now, big guy. We all knew you’d get mad. I know you want to keep me safe, but Gran doesn’t think it’ll actually attack me. It’ll go after you or try to disappear if I don’t get this right.”
“Why isn’t it just leaving now?”
“It can’t,” Booker said. “That’s why the layout of the candles. It’s actually stuck with us unless…”
“Unless what?” King asked through gritted teeth.
Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I sighed. I didn’t know why any of us thought we’d be able to avoid telling him the truth. “If that thing gets its hands on you, it could…well, Gran couldn’t really remember what. She just knew it would be bad.”
My poor boyfriend growled low in his throat. “This is not a good plan. There will be no more planning sessions without me. This is a terrible plan.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but I agreed. Gran said I’d know when the mirror was ready, and so far it looked exactly the same. The mimic screeched in outrage, and we all jerked our heads up to watch it grow taller and wider. The features began distorting from a middle-aged woman and transitioning to something grotesque. It was a hideous display as the clothes disappeared first, leaving enlarged breasts before the skin melted away, leaving behind muscles and tendons and veins, and ick.
As suddenly as that began, skin knitted, covering the outer organs and a dick the size of two baseball bats and the thickness of a watermelon sprang out with balls that dangled to the ground. Booker gagged, and I almost threw up. Then there were clothes, and I was staring at…my father.
“Skylar, why do you make everything so hard? If you’d just do what you’re told, your life would be so much easier. I’d say this was all your mother’s fault, but your cousin is even worse, isn’t he? How me and my brother managed to produce such lily livered?—”
“Shut up!” King screamed. “We don’t care about you. You can’t have him either!”
My man was incensed, and I appreciated, but I knew this wasn’t my dad. It actually sounded too kind to be my father.
“Did my son trick you? How long did it take him to spread his legs for you? I heard he’s a little whore. Do you know how embarrassing it is, Skylar? Knowing that my own son, my flesh and blood, will take it any way he can get it from any man willing to give it to him. Disgusting. I told your mom that’s probably how you afforded to live in the city. How you were able to never come home and beg us for the forgiveness that you don’t deserve. Whoring yourself.”
It wasn’t true. This wasn’t my father, but these were his words, and King was hearing every word. He was hearingwhat the man who was supposed to love me no matter what had said about me. “How do you know this?” I screamed.
“I know everything, Skylar. I’m your father, and you owe me an apology,” it roared.
I almost dropped the mirror as I stumbled back, trying to escape that voice, those words. And then its freakishly large hand reached out, fingers splayed as it came for my neck. “It’s not my fault I have to punish you. As your father, it’s my job to keep you in line.”
I glanced between the palm about to make contact with my neck up into the eyes that were exactly like mine, except where mine sparkled, his reflected his soul. Dead inside. I screamed, and King pushed me behind him. “Get the fuck away from him. You don’t touch him.”
The mimic threw its head back and barked out a menacing sound of triumph. “Thank you, Dreamwalker,” it said silkily, in that same tone my dad had always used when my mother submitted to his wishes instead of fighting for me, fighting for us.
Then it yanked King up by the leg, dangling him from one hand, while raising the other arm up and twirling it in the air like he was drawing. A small slit of grayish blue appeared.
“Sky, look.” One of the candles was flickering, like whatever air current had been let in by that tear would blow it out.And it had King!
Glancing back down at the mirror, I saw a glimmer of silver, but there was no way that was enough to pull it into the compact. And now it had King, could I even get it in there without sacrificing him, too?
“Sky, tell Patchy to get you and Booker out of here. Go on.”
Patchy barked, hopping at the clawed feet of this nightmare as King swung. What if it dropped him? He could kill King, the first man who’d ever made me feel something. Who’d evertreated me like I was worth more than one night. He was my everything. I stared at the mirror, willing it to activate while tuning out the steady stream of vitriol coming from the creature.
“This is what happens, son. When will you ever learn? I’m always right. You make your life harder. Stand up and be a man.”
How many times had I heard that in my life? How many times had I blown it off? But right now, it hurt with everything in me because my inability was going to cost us all King. Tears slid down my face, and I willed this damn compact to activate. It was our only chance, and with me controlling it, it might not even be enough.
Chapter 25
Ego
“Something’s wrong,”Chance yelled.
As soon as Sky and King drifted off from Rosie’s special hot chocolate, we realized that Booker was still anxious as fuck and wide awake. It had taken an extra dose of the herbily-blended chocolatey goodness for him to finally unwind enough to stop fighting sleep. I’d been singing him a lullaby, completely focused on him, hoping that he’d be able to stay under long enough for King and Sky to find and help him.
