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Nine
DUNCAN
I dropped my chin to my chest, absorbing the warmth of the water as it cascaded downward, along both sides of my face. It dripped in rivulets from my cheeks and chin. Formed splash-pools briefly at my feet, before swirling its way down the drain.
And still, the dream was there.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried pushing the remnants away. I’d woken up drenched in sweat again. Sometimes it was a cold sweat, but other times, like today, I felt hotter than the sun.
The dream…
It always started the same, with me walking amongst family, friends, people I knew. In time they faded away one by one, the crowd dispersing when I wasn’t looking, for reasons I couldn’t even begin to know why.
When I finally looked up again I was alone, and this time I was walking through the snow. It gathered at my feet, my knees, my waist. It kept falling and accumulating and weighing me down. Eventually it was up to my chest, and I was finding it difficult to breathe. I kept plugging on, though. I kept moving.
Just ahead of me, the last of my companions were disappearing into the mist as I struggled to keep up. A staircase materialized before me, made entirely of compressed snow steps. Yet every time I tried to climb it, my foot would go right through the powdery substance. No matter how hard I tried, I was left stuck exactly where I was.
I took a deep breath, and then the snow turned to sand. And then the sand was slipping downward, falling away. Sliding out beneath me as I struggled to keep my footing, until I was being swept ever downward along with it.
I landed where I always did, no matter how the dream got me here: a cold, dry cave. And not just any cave butthe cave.The place I’d spent six and half months in, not so very long ago. The same four rough-hewn walls I’d resigned myself to knowing would be the last walls I’d ever see in my entire life.
At least, until Julius kicked the door in and carried me out.
The shower I’d designed here at the mansion was big enough to accommodate all three of us at once, something Liam had begrudgingly pointed out was complete overkill. For me though, it had been non-negotiable. If we werereallygoing to do this, and we were going to live in the renovation as well, it was something I outright demanded. I’d ponied up the extra money to make it this way, and to keep the shower walls far enough apart that I could stretch my arms outward in any direction and never touch a single one of them. Fingertips extended and everything.
It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of maintaining my own sanity. Whether the guys disliked it or the architect thought it ‘incongruent to the rest of the restoration’, I didn’t give a shit either way.
I finally killed the water and toweled off before slipping into some fresh workclothes. Escaping that cave in the desert had come with a price, and not just for me but for my friend as well. Julius had saved me, but he’d also sacrificed something important that day. A piece of himself I couldn’t ever give back to him.
“Hello?”
The living room was empty, except for a few scattered toys. They were the kind of toddler noise makers that were always going off in the middle of the night, whether you pressed the buttons or not. Faulty batteries. Bad design. Ghosts, trying to communicate from beyond. Whatever it was, it was pretty damned annoying.
“Where’s Julius?” I called, making my way into the kitchen.
“City,” Liam shot back. He was at the table, spoon-feeding the little ones. Jace was being fussy, shoving the spoon away so abruptly it smeared peas on his face.
“He’s at the Shop?”
“Yeah.”
We went to the Shop at least once or twice a week, each of us. It was a warehouse space-turned-office in uptown Manhattan, where at least five different mercenary groups hooked up to form teams and plan company business. Julius had founded it, right after his almost court-martial. In just a few years, it had become quite the important hub of freelance activity.
The Shop was also a tremendous money-sink. It was taking away from the renovations at the house, which made us feel collectively guilty about it. But for right now at least, there was nothing to be done about it.
“I’m heading over there too in a little while,” Liam added. “As soon as—”
“No you’re not.”
Liam dropped the spoon an inch beneath Jace’s chin and stared back at me. “Why not?”
“Because I’m framing today,” I shot back. “I’ve got a whole crew coming. They’ll be here any minute.”
Liam’s expression went sour. “So it was my turn to watch them today?” he asked. “And I outright forgot?”
“Apparently.”
“Shit.”
