Since Raven revealed herself, I’ve scoured my head for any suspicions or indications something wasn’t right. Did she put some kind of weird spell on me to stop me questioning things? She must have. I lived with her for twenty years, and not once, did it cross my mind she wasn’t ageing. They had me pinned and under their control until the moment they needed me, everything an illusion. Locked in my own world, refusing to get close to anyone, she was on my periphery and she kept me on hers.
She became the sister I lost and all along it was a clever fucking game.
I stand. “I guess I’ll think about it.”
Julian’s eyes widen in amusement, and then he laughs. “Tick tock, Alek. She won’t be there forever, and then you’ll both go to Hell. Could you do that to Rose?”
This time, Tom has to agree to see me. He must know who Dante is, and if he doesn’t, we need to find out.
***
Tom’s house is as faceless as his human life is. I stare at the flaking green front door, memories of Rose flooding back because this is the last place I saw her. Nobody is home or they’re ignoring me, so I sit on the cold stone step and wait.
Fortunately, Tom appears first, the weird skinny guy dressed as if he was twenty years older than he is, nondescript trousers and shirt. At school, I’d have teased the hell out of this guy. Now I have to ask him for help. He pauses on the pavement and eyes me warily. “Alek?”
“Tom. Rose needs your help.”
“I tried to call her loads and she’s not answering. Is she okay?”
“No.”
He doesn’t approach, clutching the handle of his large bag. If I stand, he could get intimidated, so despite my desperate need that has me on the edge of demanding or threatening, I stay where I am.
“Where is she?”
“In danger from some of these people you track.”
“The Dark?” His expression changes to one of interest.
“Worse. Do you have some kind of database with names? I need to find out who somebody is.”
“You won’t hurt me, will you?” he asks.
“What the fuck? If you’re the only person who can help me find Rose, what do you think?”
“Okay.” Tom edges toward me. I move to one side.
As I enter his house, the punch in the guts accompanying thoughts of Rose hits again. We walk into the kitchen. I stare out the window at the spot on the pavement where the man died. The place I last saw her.
“What happened after the party? Did the police come?” I turn back to him.
Tom sets his black messenger bag on the table. “They arrested the guy who did it. There were plenty of witnesses. Our landlord is threatening to evict us, though.” He makes a soft sound in his throat. “Our first ever party.”
I scoff. “You did invite Between, Dark, and Reapers, Tom. Who invited the nurse? I’d like to talk to him about what he saw Finn do.” And kill the Dark bastard.
“Finn or Rose, I suppose? I don’t know him. What did Finn do?”
I bristle, suspicious of Finn again. His reaction to Rose’s disappearance was genuine shock, though. Or is he a good actor because he now refuses to help? I tell Tom the story, about how I saw Rose disappear and of my suspicions. I don’t give him the story about Lizzie and Julian.
The front door opens and Tom goes out to see who arrived. Grace’s voice travels from the lounge and she comes into the room.
“Hey, Alek. Why are you here?”
I edge to the corner of the room, aware I’m drawing some of their energy, and I want to stay and talk. “I have a name and I need to find out who it is.”
“Raven?” asks Grace.
I stare at her. “How do you know about her?”
“I lived with her, didn’t I?”
“What the fuck?”
“We’re paranormal investigators, Alek.” She pauses and fixes me with a disparaging stare. “Not ghostbusters. We don’t waste time trying to find ghosts, our work is a bit more than that.”
“There’s bigger stuff happening,” says Tom. “Otherwise, why would Grace risk living with two demons?”
Shocked silence isn’t a normal response of mine, but it’s all I have.
Tom pulls a couple chocolate bars from his bag and throws one to Grace. I frown. “To counteract what you’re doing to us,” he says, unwrapping the bar.
“I’m not deliberately taking your energy.”
“I know, but you drain a lot more than Rose. You can’t stay here long.”
In a room full of people, I don’t do much harm; in a room with just a couple, it’s tough not to. “Can’t we go somewhere else and talk?”
Grace shakes her head. “We’re not talking about this publicly and we don’t want to be seen with you. The party has put us in the spotlight as it is.” She throws Tom an unimpressed look.
“How was I supposed to know what would happen?” asks Tom.
“You should’ve listened to Zach!” she retorts.
“Look, if I have to leave soon, just tell me what I need to know and quickly,” I say.
“Which is?” asks Grace
“Who’s Dante?” I ask.
Grace’s hands hover where she’s taking her laptop from her rucksack. “Dante? Where did you hear that name?”
“Obviously you know him. How about the doctor at the hospital? Julian Granger?”
Tom pulls out a small, red notepad and I stare as he writes something down. “I put everything in my book, so we don’t lose anything if we get hacked.”
“What if you lose your book?” I ask.