Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(89)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Sam scooped them out of my palm and used my already ruined sweater to wipe them clean and hold them out. We all leaned forward to see the Lucent Marbles. They were beautiful, which was a surprise because they came from such a desolate place. They looked like balls of glass, almost clear, without any imperfections.

“I’ll hold onto them,” Sam said, stuffing the trio into the front pocket of his jeans. I gave a silent sigh of relief that they were tucked away somewhere safe and away from Logan.

“How do we know where the Map is?” Cole asked.

I thought back to the voice that called to me moments ago. “I know where it is.”

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.

“This way,” I said, ignoring them and walking away from the water.

“How do you know where to go, Hev?” Cole asked from behind me.

I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Sam, who was watching me with a tight frown on his face. “I’ve dreamed of this place,” I answered.

“You mean when that guy was getting in your head?” Cole asked.

I nodded, feeling sick and not liking the thoughts swirling through my mind. “This is where I usually was. In Hell.”

Everyone digested that. I felt Sam lace his fingers with mine. Heven?

He’s calling to me, Sam. He knows I’m here.

I felt all the muscles in Sam’s body tense and the familiar feeling of my insides fluctuating that I always got when Sam was about to shift. No, Sam. I squeezed his fingers. He might know I’m here, but I’m not in danger. We can use this to find the scroll.

How? Sam worried. I thought I destroyed the thread he used to get into your head.

I thought you did, too. Had it all been a ruse to lure me under a false sense of security?

We walked in silence for a while, stepping over broken, dead trees and stumbling through rocky, uneven terrain. Suddenly, I had a flash of recognition and I knew that just ahead was the valley from my dream. I skittered to a stop.

“The last time there were demons down there.”

Without another word Sam and Cole stepped in front of me and were soon joined by Gemma and Logan. We all walked forward to stare down into the valley.

It was empty.

In fact, everything here was vacant and deserted. It wasn’t anything like how I remembered it.

“He knows…” I murmured.

“Who?” Cole asked.

I looked up into my brother’s concerned blue eyes. “The powerful one. He knows we’re coming. He wants us to come; he doesn’t want anyone to stop us.”

“Who is this guy?” Cole wondered, turning to look at Gemma. Her face had gone pale.

That was not a good sign.

“Doesn’t matter,” Sam said. “I’m going to kill him.”

Logan laughed under his breath.

Yet another clue that he was not who he seemed.

My eyes shot to Sam. He had to have heard his brother laugh. The area around Sam’s mouth tightened and pain was the briefest emotion through the liquid honey of his eyes. But he smoothed out his features before turning to face his brother. “Something funny, little brother?” Was there an edge to his voice as he spoke?

Logan seemed to realize his mistake and looked regretful. “No. Sorry. I’m just nervous. I—I don’t want you to get hurt trying to kill someone.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to kill someone,” Sam responded patiently.

Logan nodded. “I know. But this man, he must be very powerful if he was able to get inside Heven’s head.”

“I was able to destroy the Dream Walker’s thread,” Sam reminded his brother. I kept my expression smooth, knowing he must not want Logan to know that we suspected the thread may not be broken.

I suppressed the urge to shudder. I knew the kind of power this man carried. It was unlike anything I ever felt before. I hated to admit it, but Logan might have a point. Would Sam be able to fight someone this powerful?

“Sam’s not alone,” Cole spoke up. “I may not be a hellhound, but I can fight.”

Sam held out his fist and Cole pounded his against it.

Great, now I had to worry about the both of them.

Gemma rolled her eyes and started moving again.

I peeked over my shoulder at Logan, who seemed to be concentrating awfully hard. He caught my stare and gave me an odd sort of smile. I thought about telling Sam what happened back at the water, but now wasn’t the time. We couldn’t afford to lose focus on what we came here to do.

I shook my head and regretted the motion because the pain in the back of my skull was beginning to grow with a vengeance. “We’re getting closer,” I whispered.

We came upon a huge rock that jutted out from the ground. It obscured the view up ahead and was gray, covered in soot and had sharp jagged points sticking out at every angle.

I knew what was beyond this rock.

Him.

The back of my head was now splintering with pain and I felt like I was being tugged farther along. I dug my feet into the rocky terrain and stopped. No! I shouted as loud as I could in my mind.

Behind me Sam made a noise and was instantly at my side.

Welcome home, the powerful one called. The tug became stronger, but I fought, grabbing on to Sam’s hand.

Sam let out a roar and tugged me against him, his arms forming iron bars around me. You aren’t alone! the Dream Walker screeched. My ears rang with his madness.

“Is he always this way?” Sam choked.

I twisted my head back so I could see him. He winced with every shout and scream the powerful one made. “Can you hear him?”

Sam nodded. “As soon as I touched you. He’s so close to the surface of your mind that I can hear him now too.”

Relief made my knees go weak. Part of me was afraid that Sam would think I was going crazy.

“I must have only weakened the thread he left in your mind, not severed it,” Sam whispered.

I nodded, already thinking the same thing. “It must just be easier for the Dream Walker to manipulate it here in Hell because we are closer.”

Sam pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’m sorry I didn’t get him the first time around. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Oh, you severed the thread. But this is his hometown,” Gemma said, coming to stand beside us. “He marked a claim on Heven, probably the first time he dragged her here. Whenever she’s here, he will be able to get into her mind because he has been there before.”

“Do you know who is doing this?” I asked.

“I have an idea,” Gemma hedged.