Page 16 of Noctis

Wonderful. Exactly what I didn’t want to hear.

I toyed with telling her I’d seen it too. If nothing else, the shared experience might build a bond between us. Except I hadn’t really seen it. Not clearly.

Not yet.

Chapter Six

Rowan

When I was a kid, I’d loved Christmas. I’d done that thing children often do on Christmas Eve, where they try to stay awake long enough to catch Father Christmas delivering presents. Tonight felt similar, except I expected something terrible to happen as soon as I closed my eyes, rather than eagerly looking forward to something good.

Some part of me had hoped talking to Laura would help—that I’d detect the psychosis lurking behind her eyes and come away certain there was nothing real about her encounters. Instead, she’d described everything with such calm conviction that it had only made things worse.

After the forest walk, I’d tried calling Tyler again, figuring he might see sense once I told him something demonic was lurking in my room. I’d been prepared to promise him anything: going to another rehab if it made him happy, staying for however long he wanted, and participating in every therapy session they threw at me.

Just not this rehab.

He hadn’t answered. Again. Neither had Remy when I tried him next.

Eventually, exhaustion won out, and I fell asleep with the lamp on. I woke some time later with that same sickening sense of dread. This time, however, the light offered no comfort. It meant all I needed to do was turn my head to discover whether my fear was justified.

I could feel something behind me, a presence so tangible that it could have been a nurse standing beside my bed. Maybe it was. Maybe they got their kicks by creeping into patient rooms and looming over them while they slept.

“I know you’re there,” I said eventually.

Nothing.

“And I know you’ve switched your attention from Laura to me. Guess you like blondes, huh?”

The silence pressed in around me.

Turn your head. If you do that, it will go away.

Maybe it would.

Maybe it wouldn’t.

“I don’t know what you want from me, but whatever it is, you’re not going to get it. And if you’re trying to scare me, it isn’t working.”

I was the world’s biggest liar because I was fucking terrified. The longer I refused to look, the more obvious that became. I’d backed myself into a corner, leaving myself no choice but to suck it up, stop being a coward, and face whatever was behind me.

I counted down silently from three, propped myself up on one elbow, and turned.

It didn’t vanish.

For seven or eight endless seconds, it remained exactly where it was, giving me plenty of time to absorb every terrifying detail. Laura’s description had been accurate, but woefully inadequate.

She’s said it had horns. She hadn’t said they were long and curved. She’d called it tall without mentioning that it stood close to seven feet. And glowing red eyes didn’t do justice to the fiery orbs fixed intently on me.

The rest of it was vaguely humanoid. Broad shoulders narrowed to a powerful torso, but below that its form became less distinct, dissolving into churning shadow. Then there was the fucking tail, long and sinuous, swaying slowly behind it.

For those few seconds, neither of us moved.

Then it was gone.

I scrambled off the bed so quickly that I almost fell, and threw myself into the bathroom. There was no lock, presumably to prevent uncooperative patients from barricading themselves inside. Since the door opened inward, the best I could do was seat myself on the floor with my back wedged against it.

I remained there for a long time, knees drawn to my chest, waiting for my heart to stop trying to batter its way out of my rib cage while I formulated a plan.