Page 43 of Somnium

The sidewalk outside was still blissfully empty. And quiet. Oh, so gloriously quiet. It almost felt wrong when Sera’s voice cut through the peace, drawing Cadi’s attention.

“Do you like dogs?” she asked as they reached Cadi’s sedan.

Cadi lifted an eyebrow, slipping her key into the lock. “Yes … why?”

Sera’s face broke into a wide grin. “I’m headed out of town on Monday, and my usual dog sitter bailed. Any way I can convince you to spend a few nights with Cuba? She’s super sweet and easy. You’ll love her.”

Cadi shrugged; it wasn’t like she had anything else going on. “Sure, no problem.”

Sera rubbed her hands together with a look of delight. “Excellent, swing by here on Sunday around two and I’ll give you the keys.”

“Sounds good,” Cadi said. She laughed as Sera backed away, wagging her eyebrows suggestively before she turned to jog back toward the bar. Cadi shook her head as she slipped into the driver’s seat and locked the door. Something tugged at the edge of her mind as she watched Sera disappear, and she couldn’t fight the strange feeling that she had just agreed to more than she realized.

13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CADI

Two days later, Cadi eased her car against the curb in front of The Crow’s Nest, tucking her keys into her bag as she stepped out onto the sun-scorched asphalt. She walked around the front of her car and peered up at the eerily quiet exterior. It was always strange to see bars in the daylight. Everything about it felt out of context, displaced, like the building itself was resting in a state of stasis with no evidence of the excitement that would come with nightfall.

Stepping inside, Cadi blinked in the dim light as her eyes slowly adjusted to find Gunner staring at her from around the wall to her right, his bulbous face scrunched in question.

“Can I help you, Cadi?”

She startled at the casual use of her name before she remembered what Elias had told her about troll memories. Of course Gunner remembered her. He remembered everything—a fact that she still found deeply unsettling.

“I’m just here to grab something from Sera.”

He hesitated, his black eyes assessing her, almost as if deciding whether or not he believed her reason for being at the bar so early. Cadi shifted, anxiety simmering in her gut as she tugged on a loose string that hung from the frayed hem of her shorts.

The idea of being turned away and forced to send a rescue text to Sera from her car made her skin feel one size too small, but she supposed it wouldn’t be the complete end of the world. She would simply never come back to The Crow out of shame. No biggie.

Finally, the troll’s shoulders lowered, and Cadi felt her own body respond in kind as he tossed his head in the direction of the main bar.

“She’s in the office. Just head through the kitchen, can’t miss it. It’s the only room without kegs or holiday decorations.”

“Thanks,” Cadi replied, thankful to have been spared an embarrassing retreat as she made her way toward the black door that stood between the front of the house and the kitchen.

Nearly every one of her senses were immediately assaulted when she stepped through the door. In place of the soft, sultry lights of the front, in the kitchen she found harsh fluorescent bulbs that flickered so violently she was sure she was about to develop a twitch. The clang of pots and pans bounced off cold tile to blend discordantly with raucous conversation and the crackling music that poured from an ancient speaker stashed on top of a cabinet.

Fixing her gaze on the hallway located on the far side of the brightly lit room, Cadi scurried forward, doing her best to avoid making eye contact with any of the workers as they prepared the evening’s menu.

The clamor of the prep line died down as soon as she stepped into the hall and most of the noise was absorbed by the stiff carpet. She passed stacks of boxes filled with napkins, condiments, and various other bar supplies, peeking into each open room until she found herself in front of a closed door with a simple placard designating it as “Private.”

She raised a fist to knock, but stopped when the sound of muffled voices drifted through the thin wood. Even from her place in the hall, it was clear by the tones that whoever was in there was not happy. Careful not to make a sound, she pressed her ear as close as she dared, and promised herself that this was the last time she eavesdropped.

Unless it was important. Or interesting.

“We have to do something,” a man hissed, “the situation is escalating, we can’t just sit around hoping we end up in the right spot.”

“Things have aligned in a way we did not anticipate,” said another male voice, his accent hinting at somewhere in the east. “Though it isn’t ideal, we do have everything we would need for the ritual if you could just⁠—”

“No,” Elias interrupted, “I already told Sera that isn’t an option.”

“I’ll keep tinkering,” Sera said, “I have a few things I want to try, but I’ll be honest, I don’t feel very confident about any of them.” Cadi’s throat went dry at the defeat that laced her friend’s voice when she spoke. Whatever was going on, it sounded serious.

Elias sighed. “Alright, we’ll all just have to keep digging where we can for the time being. Kai, don’t look at me like that. It’s our only option for now.”