Page 12 of All Hallows Masque

Panic made my heart even faster, and I wanted my husbands with a desperation that made me want to cry. I just wanted to be in their arms, but the universe had a grudge against me because here we were miles apartagain.Realms apart.

Against my better judgement, I peered closer at the two men and the hole they’d dug. It was messy and big, but long enough to be a grave? I didn’t think so. Relief had my breath expelling in a gust. Not unless the body was cut into pieces. Seeing two people dig a hole was bad enough, but a grave right under my window? I didn’t—

Wait, I knew one of those men. It shouldn’t have taken me so long to realise, but I was so used to seeing him in a sturdy top hat that I didn’t recognise him in a dark beanie. The porter from Ford. Doyle, who always gave me the creeps. I remembered the way my dad joked when he dropped us off at the school and a lump rose into my throat. I missed my mum and dad, too. Missed them so much it hurt.

But if I reached out, they’d get dragged into this like Virgil, and I couldn’t risk that. For the same reason, I hadn’t contacted Tannie. What would I tell them? Three of us had been in that car with them on opening day and only one of us had survived.

A tear escaped and tracked down my cheek, but I blinked my eyes clear and scrutinised the other man. It wasn’t a huge leap to assume it was his brother, the mechanic from Ford’s village. But this meant they were working for Cruelty, and probably had been Nightmare’s lackeys. Her followers. No wonder Poppy had been so helpful about getting my car to the mechanic. I bet they searched my car for things to use against me.

If they weren’t opposed to burying something for Cruelty, what else had they done? How much of the torment I went through was because of them?

I wanted to run out and confront them, but I didn’t have the nerve. I might have been a jaguar, but I was still a woman and running into the dark night to confront two men who could be capable of just about anything was a good way to die.

So I watched through the curtain as they packed the dirt flat to the ground, picked up their tools, and disappeared around the side of the manor, leaving me alone with the moon and the topiary figures.

8

Torment

Every sharp, cutting pain in my life brought new artwork to my skin, imprinting my torment on my body for everyone to see. My newest piece had appeared when I woke up in a landscape entirely dominated by white, opaque mist. It was like the veil had broken, like the veil waseverywhereinstead of hanging like a curtain between realms. Being swallowed by the mist had been goddamn petrifying, but when I woke up in the courtyard of our castle instead of floating away into the nothingness of space like I expected, there were bigger problems to worry about.

Death was missing. The whole realm was like an underwater city left to ruin, albeit under fog. And there was a brand new dark coil of ink on my side.

Even looking at the tattoo from above, it was clearly a dark cat with its fluffy tail curled around a smoke-grey trichocereus,a baby pink flower blooming on the cactus. The cat was facing away, only her silhouette in view. Lost to me.

My throat knotted, a vicious sting attacking my eyes. I swallowed that knot, ignoring the way my nostrils flared and the tip of my nose tingled. I wasn’t going to fucking cry. I was going to get our girl back. But first, I needed to find Death.

“When was the last time you saw him?” I demanded, letting my shirt fall back into place, covering the tattoo for the moment. I strode across the misty courtyard to where Miz and Madness hovered at the top of the castle steps.

“He was right beside us before the fog rushed in,” Misery hissed, raking a hand through his long hair until it fell messily and unkept, one lock sticking straight out. His golden eyes were wild, his breathing fast. Ah, shit.

I strode up the steps and grabbed his shoulders, dragging him into my arms and gripping tight. “We’ll find him. We just need to figure out what the fuck happened. Madde, any ideas?”

“Well, he’s not here,” Madness mused, chewing the inside of his lip and looking distracted. His stare fixed on the opaque mist where the gates ought to lurk at the other end of the courtyard.

“No shit,” I snapped, putting the long, white strands of Miz’s hair back in place.

“But what if the fog dropped him somewhere else?” Madde suggested, ignoring my snarly tone. He kept glancing around guiltily, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “He could be in the village below, or back at my castle or—”

“Why do you look so shifty?” I demanded, not letting go of Miz even as I snapped out a hand and grabbed the front of Madde’s dark pink Hello Kitty shirt.

“I, uh—” Madde dropped his head, devastation in bright blue eyes as he peered up at me, that guilt in his expression again. “I thought she might run away. I didn’t know for sure, but I knowher,so I could tell she was up to something. But she told me totrust her, and I do, I really do. I’d trust my lioness with my lifeandmy death, but I wish she were here so we were all safe and she could slaughter our enemies like she killed her own and—”

“Breathe,” I ordered, giving him a little shake, my heart a tight knot when he immediately complied at the same time Miz dropped his head on my shoulder, sniffling. Motherfucking shit. What was I supposed to do? I was so used to having Death to rely on, to look towards for answers, to have his shit together. I literally never had my shit together, but there was no ignoring my protective instincts. I amended my to-do list.

Look after Miz and Madde.

Somehow, some way, stay fucking sane.

---