Delirium (9 page)

Harlen’s nerves just pulled tighter.

No. He couldn’t tell Rook.

Rook might feel compelled to tell Jordan, since her sister might be in danger, too. No, Harlen could tell no one but Sera. And only later, when they were alone. And then he’d assess if it was safe to reach out to Mirren and Vince, which by Fleight’s account would be too late.

His friends might be in grave danger, Maze City itself quaking, but the best thing to do was nothing at all. Dammit. Call the senator’s bluff.

***

Rook stood blinking at the strange elderly couple in the living room of the beach house he’d rented with Jordan. The owners, maybe? Had they let themselves in? Jordan had paid cash to a rental service. Maybe there was a mix-up.

Disoriented from being underwater so long, he put a hand to the hallway wall to steady himself.

The lady looked over, and then straightened. Older, but nice looking. “Marshal Rook?”

No mix-up. They’d been found. The first rush of adrenaline had him standing upright again, demanding, “Where’s Jordan?”

The woman came forward, holding out her hand. “She and Sera stepped out for groceries. Actually, I think they just wanted to speak without me listening in. We’re Harlen Fawkes’s parents.” They shook hands, though he was still totally confused. She continued, “Thank you for letting us stay. I hope we can be of some use.”

Over her shoulder, the front door opened, screen door banging, and Jordan came inside, Sera behind her. Bulging plastic grocery bags dangled from their arms.

Jordan was okay. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked back at the woman standing before him. “Fawkes’s parents?” Then shifted his gaze to Jordan. “What happened?”

“You’re up!” Jordan hurried over, pausing to leave her bags on the kitchen counter, and then pecked him on the cheek. She smelled good, fresh and sweet.

“Woke just now,” he said. “Had a bad moment worried about you. What happened to Fawkes?”

“I put a sticky note on your chest to tell you I’d be back soon.” She got him a glass of water. “Harlen’s fine, but Allison Bright was murdered this morning, soon after you went under. We figured it’d be best, you know, for maximum safety and Harlen’s peace of mind, to warn and protect his family.”

He took the glass of water and drank it all. He’d been under for at least ten hours. “Director Bright was
murdered
?”

Sera stopped putting the groceries away, anger and sadness in her eyes. “By James Dugan.”

Rook dropped himself into one of the dining room chairs to hear the details, and when Sera was done, he had his head in his hands, heart in his throat.

“Bright was a good lady,” he said. “Real
nice
to me when I first started. I was such a stupid kid, showing off, fighting. She told me that no criminal I tracked was worth losing myself over. Made me try even harder.”

Jordan put her arms around him from behind, crisscrossing his chest, and kissed him on his neck. Her body was warm against his back.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she said.

But he couldn’t talk about it anymore. It made no sense to him. He was numb, and yet hurting, as if he were on a bad silver trip, like in the old days.

Somehow Jordan knew it, too. She dropped another kiss on his head and didn’t hover, busying herself with Sera in the kitchen. Another glass of water appeared in front of him, and a nudge from behind made him drink it. Jordan and Sera became blurs of movement and soft sounds. Fawkes’s parents seemed to retreat out of his vision entirely.

The Oneiros had made a big move. Nightmares were traveling freely through the black market. Something even more terrible was going to happen soon. He could feel it.

It was when Fawkes himself arrived awhile later that Rook looked up and the world came back into focus. Fawkes understood everything with one glance. “It’s a shit day.”

“Yeah, it is,” Rook said. “I’d go after Dugan right now but Sera says Bright already took care of him.”

“She took care of everything, man. A soldier to the end, right on the front lines.” Harlen went over to his parents and first gave his mom a hug, then his dad. “Sorry about this. I hate to involve you, but the world’s going to hell in a handbasket.”

“Whatever you need,” his mom said. “We’re here for you.”

“Sera can kidnap us anytime,” his dad added.

Watching them made Rook think of his own mom. He wasn’t the target that Fawkes was, but he needed to make some arrangements for her, as well. Send her on a vacation, maybe. All cash. Jordan would know a nice place.

“What are you going to do now?” Rook asked Harlen. Bright had been the heart behind Chimera. Why stay if it was corrupt?

Fawkes turned to Rook. He dragged a chair out from the table and sat down across from him. “I’m going to do the work she asked me to do. What else is there?”

Jordan sat down, as well, mumbling, “Don’t mind me. Sera kicked me out of the kitchen.”

Rook tried to smile and make a joke. “It’s probably for the best.”

“No argument there,” Jordan said. “She’s scary with a knife.”

Rook passed a hand over his eyes. Trying to be funny had made his eyes burn. “Any word on a funeral?”

Harlen shook his head. “Not yet. I don’t think you should go, anyway. Too dangerous. When Coll gets back we can do our own thing to remember her.”

Sera reached over Fawkes and placed a serving platter of pasta on the table. “Eleanor? Gary? Dinner’s ready.”

They came over and sat down, too, gazes sharp. They’d clearly been picking up fragments of the conversation.

“How’s the rest of Chimera taking it?” Rook asked.

Harlen shrugged. “I was only with my new team today, and honestly, they were so overwhelmed by the nightmare thing that Bright’s death just hovered on the edges.”

“They hadn’t seen nightmares before today?” Rook couldn’t believe it.

“A few had but I don’t think many had gone out into the Scrape before. And then—” Harlen glanced at his parents, then seemed to decide to continue “—to be surrounded by nightmares, capturing one, and dragging it back to the Agora, beset by attacks on all sides… Yeah, they’re all probably stupid drunk right now.”

“Drunk is one way to cope. Silver gets the job done quicker, though,” Rook said. It’s how he’d numbed himself years ago when he was on the street using dirty hookups to live Darkside.

Jordan held out the platter. “How about some yummy food instead? Bliss out on Sera’s cooking.”

The spread did smell and look good, a family-style meal—looked like Italian because there were meatballs and pasta, but there were lots of platters of other stuff he didn’t recognize, too—enough to feed an army. He was sure it would taste good going down.

“What’s a nightmare?” Harlen’s dad asked.

Harlen took the platter after Rook. “We found life, of a sort, Darkside. We call them nightmares because they can trick the mind into thinking they look like someone you know, who’s haunting you. They feed on revelers. Those who succumb never wake again.”

Harlen’s mom put her napkin in her lap, which reminded Rook to do the same. Her voice was a little high when she asked, “And this is what your Darkside Division is supposed to handle?”

“Yeah.”

Rook thought it interesting that Harlen didn’t press his parents for secrecy. Maybe Bright’s death had done away with the need. Or maybe Fawkes just needed to talk.

“Shouldn’t Chimera issue a warning?” his dad said.

“Thus far, the nightmares have only breached the Agora once,” Harlen said. “It’s still considered safe.”

Rook stabbed a bite of meatball and spoke through a mouthful, shaking his head. “Nightmares are moving freely in the black market.”

Harlen paused, glass of water in hand. “Attacking people?”

Rook shrugged. “I don’t know. I was going to suggest that you come back with me to observe and maybe follow, but you’re too damn recognizable now. Your handsome mug is everywhere. And even if you tried to disguise yourself, lot of people in the market have Darksight. If they see you—the head of the dream police—you’re dead for sure. Can you send someone from the team? Is there anyone who you think can handle it?”

Harlen waved his fork at him. “I don’t even know who I can trust yet. No matter how careful Bright and I were selecting my people, at least one of them has to be Oneiros. A mole.”

“This can’t wait, man,” Rook said, more certain than ever. The way those nightmares strode through the crowd in that club made him feel trapped, surrounded. “Feels like something is going to happen soon. And now, especially with Bright’s death…”

The future was screaming toward some dark horizon, the waking world soon to be covered in Scrape sand.

Harlen took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to avoid it, but I think there’s no other way. I’m going to have to do another proxy. The question is who. Fleight’s been trying to get me to proxy an Oneiros.”

“Can’t trust her. She was Oneiros and could be still,” Rook said. “Besides, you need to see what
I
saw as soon as possible.” Which meant that Harlen needed to proxy
him
. The very thought made it harder to take another bite. Harlen inside his head. God, no.

“The last proxy made you sick.” Sera put another platter down and finally joined them herself. “You can’t be serious.”

Harlen shrugged. “A proxy would give me cover.”

Rook decided to man up. “I’m game. Can’t let Harlen have all the hero cred.”

Sera made a face. “If he’s going to proxy anyone from our group, it’s me.
Obviously.
”

“Hell no,” Harlen shot back across the table. “Rook’ll do it.”

Sera turned to Jordan. “Who just crossed the Scrape to kick mercenary ass, and then crossed back again?”

Jordan blinked extrafast, as if thinking her hardest. “Was it you?”

Rook rolled his eyes and shook his head at Harlen.
Here we go.

Sera looked mock aghast, then said, as if horror were dawning. “Why, I think it
was
me.”

Jordan frowned deeply, working the melodrama. “But the
nightmares
, Sera. Surely you haven’t seen the
nightmares
!”

Sera went super solemn. “I
did
. One followed me, actually. It took the form of my future mother-in-law, if I’m going to be completely honest.”

Harlen’s mom coughed and grabbed for her water.

“It was only for a sec,” Sera said to her quickly, “and only because I care so much about you liking me again.”

Rook couldn’t help but chuckle. Sera played dirty. He had to admit that she was made of tough stuff. Maybe there
was
an alternative to him. In fact, Jordan could’ve probably handled a proxy, too, except no way in hell was Harlen Fawkes sliding inside his woman’s dreams.

“I have the experience,” Sera said to Harlen, dropping the act. “More than anyone on your new team, apparently. I can handle it.”

Harlen shook his head. “I don’t doubt you—”

“So we agree?” Sera cut in.

“I’d shut down Rêve entirely if I could,” he explained. “I don’t want anyone I care about in the waters, much less scouting nightmares.”

“You were just considering Rook.”

“I don’t like him much,” Harlen said.

Rook laughed out loud.

“Listen,” Sera said. Rook thought she was trying to sound reasonable, but with the way her eyes flashed, he guessed she was burning inside. “I don’t want you in the waters, either, but someone has to do it.”

“You didn’t sign up for this Chimera bullshit,” Harlen said.

“I signed up for
you
,” she told him, batting her eyes. “Honey, think about it for a sec. You’ll be there with me the whole time.”

The table was silent while Harlen wrestled with his demons. “Fine,” he finally said. “A trial first.”

“Fine,” she echoed, smiling.

The matter decided, all the forks at the table lifted together. All but one.

“Future mother-in-law?”
Harlen’s mom repeated, gaze slicing back and forth between Sera and Harlen. “What don’t I know?”

CHAPTER FIVE

Fire.

Sera stood with a full tumbler of champagne in her hand—the beach house had no flutes with which to make engagement toasts—watching a news report of a house fire. At the Fawkeses’ house.

Harlen had his arm around her—the happy couple—but his expression, which had been cocky a minute before, was now a mask of devastation and disbelief. A call from Jake, Harlen’s brother, on the burner phone had alerted them. And the news on TV confirmed it.

“It’s not your fault,” Sera said. The sweet sparkle of champagne on her tongue tasted bad, wrong now.

He shook his head. “They couldn’t find me, so they—” He swayed slightly on his feet. “If you hadn’t—”

She kept her arm around him tight. “But I did, and they’re safe. They’re right here.”

“The Oneiros are definitely making a move,” Rook said. “They don’t even care if they get caught anymore.”