I look behind him, expecting to see someone else emerging from the fire-ridden house, but there’s no one.
Grim steps up close to my side as my childhood crush runs his gaze over me. His lips lift in a sneer when he eyes my rounded stomach. My hands come up to rub it protectively. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me.
“Why are you here?” My voice is unsteady. I really want to know where Gunnar is, but I need to deal with this first. Even though the light of the fire should be illuminating him, he’s still mostly made of shadows.
“Would this be better?” He makes the slightest shift, but everything about him changes. Now he’s a man. He looks human. This is the image of Antonio I’ve come to know. My mind scatters.
I’m so confused. I don’t know if Antonio is pretending to be Boogey, or if it’s the other way around. “What the fuck is going on?” I snarl, ready to rip his throat out either way.
“Come with me and I’ll explain everything,” he offers. His face may look like Antonio’s, but his voice is all Boogey. The sting of betrayal has me clenching my teeth so I don’t lash out. If he thinks I would go anywhere with him, he really is delusional.
“You know me better than that, or should I say I thought you did.” I make a point of wrapping my hands around Grim’s and Calix’s. I’m not the lonely little girl I once was, hurt by the fact that I never felt good enough for anyone.
The sharp edges of the amulet Gregory gave Grim poke into my palm. I’m not sure if Grim’s intent is for me to take it from him or not.
The windows on the house shatter as a small explosion rocks what’s left of the building. The roof collapses, and none of us react.
“I know that you’ll come with me if I tell you it’s the only way to save the other one,” Boogey says, while wearing the witch’s face.
“Where is he?” I break away from my men, keeping the amulet in my fist as I do. It’s clear I’m going to have the best chance at getting close to him.
“Come here, and they can go get him—what’s left of him anyway. The fire was a bad idea.” He fake winces.
“Damiana.” Calix says my name like a warning, but I don’t know if he really is trying to warn me, or just make Boogey think that I’m going against his wishes.
The image of Antonio drops, and he’s the Boogey I grew up with again, the one that held my hand under the bed. My stomach tightens, and I feel like I might throw up.
“Ignore him,” Boogey coos, as if he’s happy I’m listening to him.
“Tell them where Gunnar is and we can talk.” I cross my arms over my chest and give Boogey a hard look. If he knows me at all, he would never expect me to give up easily or be bossed around. I test the air, calling his soul to me, but nothing happens. Is it because he’s protected, or because he doesn’t even have a soul like the creatures he manipulated?
“He’s in the cellar. I might have spelled the entrance to look like the back door.” I’m sure he survived the fall… now the fire?” He winces.
“Go get him,” I order, without taking my eyes off Boogey.
From my peripheral vision, I watch Calix dart past. “Send him too.” Boogey nods behind me.
“He’s stubborn.” I look over my shoulder, making sure the fucker in front of me believes he has an advantage, but really, I want him to make his move. I want him close enough so I can activate the amulet. I should have been paying better attention, because I have no idea how to do that, other than to get it close to him. “Grim,” I call, but he doesn’t even look at me. His red, blazing eyes are all for the guy behind me.
“Don’t waste your breath, Omnia.” His voice is layered, as if hundreds of him are speaking at once. It even sends a shiver down my spine. Every ounce of trepidation I might have felt evaporates. I know no matter what happens, I’m going to walk away from this, and so will Calix and Gunnar, but I want answers.
“He’s…” I start, but Boogey grabs me roughly as I turn back around. His arm is around my throat, and I stumble a little. It’s easy to lose your balance when your center of gravity is so skewed.
Grim charges forward, but I stop him with a raised palm. With my other hand, the one with the spell, I reach up as if to loosen Boogey’s grip on my neck, and the metal hits his skin and sizzles. Boogey lets out a started yelp and flings me away, digging into the black rune left behind on his arm. The useless trinket that held the spell falls to the ground.
Grim pulls me away from Boogey as he continues to dig into his arm, his claw tipped fingers are covered in gore, but the mark remains. “What did you do?” He moves like he might jerk forward, but he’s stopped by an invisible barrier. Not even the spittle flying from his mouth flies past.
“Would you look at that?” I tilt my head. “How does it feel to be caught in one of your own little traps?”
“Fuck you!” He slams his hands against the barrier and looks around. I don’t want to dillydally too much, because I know snares are breakable. I’ve broken more than one myself, and he has much more experience than me.
“Let’s end this quickly, shall we?” I mutter. “Tell me how the hell any of this is possible.” Boogey ignores my question and slams his fists on the invisible barrier created by the ward, his features distorting until he morphs back into the witch.
Grim steps forward. His cloak is on, but the hood is back, exposing his devastatingly handsome face. His scythe is glowing the same red as his eyes, as if fire is dancing along the blade. “He’s a Boogeyman. They are able to create visages to inspire fear.”
“So, he’s not Antonio? I don’t understand.”
“You don’t understand anything!” the witch shouts. “You get to fucking live. All the rest of us are forced to exist in the shadows, just real enough not to wither away, yet you waste what you’ve been given, feeling sorry for yourself because the humans don’t like you, and your mommy and daddy were afraid of you,”he mocks.
