Craving (30 page)

I just stared.

“She was possessed. Like your friend.” He grunted and managed to drag her upright, her floppy body held in his arms. “Where’s Josh?”

“Umm,” I turned, and climbed over one of the unconscious bouncers, bending over to shine the phone at the floor. Behind me, I could hear Dante breathing heavily as he carried Nanette. I’d never been the hysterical type. I’d been conditioned to lock down all my emotions, but right now, I was finding it hard.
Concentrate
, I told myself, you need to find Josh.

A blue light flashed on the floor a few feet away, and I paused. What was that? On and off, it flashed, and when I listened hard I heard a buzzing noise that matched the flashing. Josh’s phone. “Over here.”

Another bouncer to step over, and more rubble to avoid. I dropped to my knees and grabbed the phone before it stopped ringing.
Suki
.

15.10 Josh

“This isn’t real.”

The deep male voice was unfamiliar, and I cracked my eyes open again. I’d never met this guy before, but I knew him. I squinted, through heavy and tired eyelids. Where had I seen him?

Suki slipped off the bed and stood beside me, reaching to take my hand. “Go back to sleep, babe. It’s just a dream.”

“You
know
this isn’t real, Raphael.” The stranger took a step closer.

Suki’s smile lit up a notch. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? Think how good it will be to have some time together. Just you and me.”

My eyes darted from her to him. Did she know he was there?

“She’s ignoring me. She wants your Talisman.”

“What do
you
want?”

“I want you to wake up. This is just an illusion. The longer you stay, the harder it will be to leave.”

Suki pressed a kiss to the palm of my hand. I dragged my attention back to her, and then took a deep breath. “When did we unpack the books?”

“What?” Her nose wrinkled as she laughed. “We did them ages ago. When we moved in. Don’t you remember?”

“She doesn’t know, because it never happened.” His voice was compelling, and I looked back at him.

“I know you from somewhere.” I spoke slowly. It felt like a huge effort. “Who are you?”

“I’m your father.”

15.11 Katherine

“
Jesus
, Josh. I’ve been tearing my hair out. Where the hell are you?” Suki’s voice was high and worried already.

“It’s Katherine.” I pushed on before she could say anything. “We’re in a room under
Armageddon,
and we need help.” The words poured out of me. “Josh is unconscious, Dante is hurt, and I think the building is about to—” Her gasp made me falter. “Suki, please get help.”

“Yes, but… what…
where
are you? Oh my God. The club looks as though a bomb went off. They’re evacuating it. And Josh is in there?” I heard footsteps hurrying, Suki’s uneven breathing, and then a rapid, muffled conversation.

“Tell me exactly where you are.” I didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but he sounded strong and reassuring.

“We’re in a small room underneath the main dance floor.” I tried to remember how I’d got there. “I came down a set of stairs and turned left. I don’t remember after that.”

“Good,” said the stranger, “you’re doing fine. Can you see an exit?”

“No. The lights have g-gone out.” My breath hitched, and I wiped my eyes again.

“Okay. I need you to try to get yourself upstairs. Are you hurt?”

“No. But my friends are.”

“We’re trying to reach you now. When you hear us shouting, get ready to shout back, okay? We’ll get you out of there.”

15.12 Josh

Scattered, hazy memories flashed through my brain. Dante telling me he summoned Raphael, but he looked older. This man looked like an older version of me. I knew his voice. An image of myself as a small boy riding on someone’s shoulders. Ice cream melting over my hands on a hot summer day.

I never knew my father—or my mother. My earliest memories were of growing up in a series of foster homes.

The stranger smiled at me and lifted one hand to show me a Talisman around his wrist.

Suki squeezed my fingers and spoke urgently. “Josh, baby, you need to rest. You’ve had a concussion. They said you might have hallucinations.”

I ignored her, all my attention on the man. “What is happening? How are you doing this?” My voice came out hoarse.

“Right now, you are lying in a basement room while your brother tries to wake you. The
real
Suki is standing outside in the rain, clutching her phone and praying you escape before the building collapses. I managed to slip in here to warn you, but I
will
be missed soon.”

“Wait.” I struggled to process his words. I remembered the nightclub. Dante and Katherine. Alistair.
My Talisman
. “My
brother
? I don’t have–”

“You have brothers
and
a sister. And soon you will have a child of your own, if you wake up.” He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. “I must go.”

“Why don’t I know about them? My family?”

He hesitated, his eyes flicking over his shoulder again. “It’s for your protection—
all
of you. Now wake up, Raphael.”

I took one last look at the smiling woman next to me and tugged my hand free. “I’m leaving.”

The man’s voice rang inside my head.
Wake up, Raphael
.

“Come on, Josh. Wake up,
please
.” Another familiar voice—
female—
nudged at my consciousness, and I blinked. The world had changed again. Everything was dark, had I gone blind? I blinked, and as my eyes adjusted I recognized the face above me. Katherine. She held a tiny, dim light in one hand but it was enough to see her smile. “He’s awake,” she called to someone, before speaking to me. “Can you get up?”

15.13 Dante

Nanette felt like a dead weight in my arms, but I couldn’t leave her behind. There was no guarantee we’d get out at all. While this looked real enough, it might just be another image Alistair had conjured. I shifted positions, and my shoulder screamed in pain. Every movement intensified the burning sensation until it felt as though my back was on fire.

Kitten leaned over Josh. I heard the urgency in her voice as she tried to rouse him. Guilt weighed heavily on me. It was my fault he was here. If I’d been honest with him in the first place I could have told him to stay away.

“He’s awake,” she cried, and I sagged a little.

Thank
fuck
for that and not a moment too soon. There were more cracking noises above us, even more debris crashing down. A large chunk of something hard landed inches from my boot.

“Dante?” Josh gripped my arm. “I’m fine, let me help. How the fuck do we get out of here?” He took Nanette’s limp body and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“I think the door’s over here.” Kitten sounded hoarse.

Josh stumbled toward her, and I followed, almost tripping over another body. What had happened to everyone? Were they dead? And where was Alistair? I expected to see him appear at any moment. I had to get Kitten and Josh to safety before completing my deal.

My foot tangled with something, and I crashed to the floor. Shockwaves of pain roared over me, and I couldn’t hold back a whimper. Cold sweat trickled from my forehead when I tried to push myself back up. Already, the glimmer of light from Kitten’s phone was receding.

“Don’t be such a girl, Dante.” I didn’t need to see Eve to know she was rolling her eyes.

“I’m good,” I grunted. Back on my feet, but weak and shaky as fuck. The wall was over here somewhere… my outstretched hand touched cool concrete, and I leaned against it while I tried to catch my breath.

“Come on. Not far to go now.”

“A minute.” I slumped against the wall. I had to rest. I didn’t even have the energy to speak.

“Dante!” Katherine’s voice cut through the swirling fog of pain. “Come on, Angel. Nearly there.”

I breathed as deeply as I could, forced my leaden limbs to move, and staggered toward her voice, to the light ahead. I took one step, then another. I
would
do this. The hand closing around my ankle froze me in my tracks.

“Help me,” rasped a voice from near my feet. One of the bouncers. I hesitated.

Eve’s fingers were cold on my cheek. “Move it, Tat-Boy.”

His grip tightened, fingers curling around my boot. “Take me with you,” he growled. I tried to shake him off. He clung with a grim determination, and I felt his other hand dig into my calf as he tried to haul himself up my body.

“
Get rid of him,
Dante.”

“If I don’t get out of here, you little shit, you don’t go either.”

He was a dead weight pulling me down. My knees were buckling, but I fought to get free. When he clawed his way up to my arm, pain tore through me, and I kicked out, uncaring what I hit. There was a dull thump as my boot collided with something fleshy, a muffled howl and he let go. I lurched forward.

Up ahead was a flashing light. Escape. From this current hell at least.

Chapter

~16
~

16.1 Katherine

E
verything looked different. The only light came from our phones, tiny squares of brilliance in the darkness of the corridor. We inched along, feeling our way by the walls. I’d never been scared of the dark before, but this… it felt as though the ceiling pressed down on us. Dust clogged the air, and we tripped and stumbled over unknown rubble. I had no idea how far we’d moved, how much further we had to go. Fear squeezed my lungs ever tighter, and panic bubbled constantly. If I gave in to it, I’d turn into a hysterical blubbering mass. I swallowed, my throat clogged with grit. One step more. And another. What if we’d gone the wrong way? I swallowed.

I heard voices in the distance. Voices shouting my name. Hauling in a deep breath, I yelled back. There was a pause, and then they answered. Josh bumped into me, still carrying Nanette.

“Is Dante behind you?” Sick with worry, I was terrified he’d lost too much blood, that we might not get him out in time.

“Here.” He sounded in pain, his voice slurred.

I snaked an arm around Josh and touched Dante’s hand. “Help is coming. Stay with me, Angel.”

There was a flurry of movement from Josh. Next minute, Nanette stood next to us, wide awake and in a state of shock. “Oh God, Chuckles. I’m so sorry.”

I heard her sob as she hugged Dante, wrapping around him. Her words were garbled, but I gathered that she’d been unable to stop herself. Possessed, Dante had said. He leaned on her, hugging her tight. I dragged my eyes away. Seconds later, bright lights flashed, and two men in emergency vests approached. Everything went chaotic.

They led us through more dark and congested corridors and up a narrow flight of stairs. Walkie-talkies chattered, lights flashed, and minutes later we emerged into fresh air, on a wet Manchester side street. Fire engines, police cars, and ambulances jostled for space, blue lights blinking and sirens wailing. I rubbed my eyes and turned my face to the night sky.
Rain
. After being trapped underground it felt like heaven.

Josh came out next. He gripped my arm. “You okay, Katherine?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

Armageddon
had collapsed in on itself. It was a miracle we’d been able to get out.

It took forever before Dante emerged with Nanette stuck to him like a fucking limpet. Meanwhile, Suki ran up in a blur of loose blonde hair to hurl herself into Josh’s arms.

I stood alone. I watched Dante as he sat on the curb, head bowed, Nanette calling for help for him. I took a step backward.

It was all too much to cope with. I had the overwhelming urge to seek out my godparents, to try to block out everything that had happened. He said he loved me, and then he’d picked Nanette. I still had no idea what the hell was going on with him. I slipped further back toward the cordons. Dante had a pretty, blonde paramedic examining him. Nobody paid any attention to me.

“Kathy!” I turned, slowly. Tristan. “She’s my friend,” he argued with the policeman holding him back. Not much of a friend, the way he’d stuck me with Nash, but any port in a storm. I rubbed my grimy face and walked up to the cordon.

“Can you give me a lift, please?”

16.2 Dante

At some point between leaving the basement and getting outside, Kitten vanished. I’d been on the verge of passing out, only upright because Nan shored me up, but when my head finally stopped swimming, and I looked around, she’d gone. I was frantic. The paramedic tried to walk me to a waiting ambulance, but I refused.

I called out to Josh, standing there with Suki in his arms. “Hey, did you see where Kitten went?”

He lifted a dirt streaked face from Suki’s neck. “No. I thought she was with you?”

The paramedic tried again. “You’re bleeding, sir. We need to get you to the hospital.”

“Not without my girlfriend.” She wouldn’t have walked away. Please God, not Alistair.

Josh placed a hand on my arm. “Go and get patched up. We’ll find her and then come and get you.”

“I’m fine, I don’t need–”

He stuck his face in mine. “I said, go. You need stitches. I’ll find her.”

* * * *

Hours later, I emerged from my cubicle complete with eight stitches. Christ knows how bad it would have been without my leather. The nurse gave me a polite smile, dispensed a little bottle of antibiotics, and then shooed me back to the waiting room. Stitching tattooed bikers would be a regular pastime for the hospital night shift, and her frosty attitude reinforced my conviction that Kitten had been right. I belonged in the gutter. What had Alistair shown Kitten when he played with her memories? Had they made a deal before I arrived with Josh? Did he have her now? Fear twisted my guts.

When I saw Josh and Suki waiting for me, without her, my heart plummeted to my boots.

“I’m sorry, mate.” Josh gave me a sympathetic smile. “She’s gone with her friends.”

Suki touched the back of my hand. “I asked everyone near the cordon, and two separate people told me she went off with a couple. They called her ‘Kathy’, so I’m guessing they were the friends she went to the club with. Have you tried ringing her?”

I shook my head. “My phone’s dead. Can you?”

“We did. It keeps dropping to voicemail, and she hasn’t replied to our texts.” Josh held up his car keys. “I know where some of them live. We could go and try there. It’s nearly six in the morning so we should catch them at home. What about Nanette? Is she coming?”

I gave up trying to ease into my leather and draped it over my shoulders instead. Looking up, I met Josh’s steady gaze. “Nan went to talk to the police. She saw who knifed Ash.” I closed my eyes for a moment. “She’s in pieces over this, especially since the blame had been loaded onto me.”

The darkened city streets passed in a blur of shops and houses with me paying little attention. How would I complete the deal with Alistair, now that
Armageddon
was just a crumbled heap of bricks? I’d try the Jeweler first, but before I handed myself over, I
had
to know Kitten was safe. If she hated me and never wanted to speak to me again, I could handle it. After all, I only had a couple of days left at most.

The car stopped, and I dragged my attention back to Josh. “This is it.” He gestured to a terraced house, a light shining behind the front curtains. “I guess that answers the question about them being up.” He climbed out of the car, and after a moment’s frozen hesitation, I followed.

He rang the doorbell. I swallowed hard and scrubbed a hand over my face. I knew I looked rough, but I’d never matched up to her glossy friends anyway.

Tristan answered the door and scowled when he saw me. “What the fuck are you doing here? I told Kathy she’s better off without you.” He crossed his arms and blocked the open doorway. “You broke Nash’s nose.”

Who? Oh, the prick on the dance floor.
“Is she here? I need to speak to her.”

“Give me one good reason why I should give a fuck.”

Josh took a step forward. “I want to thank her for saving my life.”

Tristan pursed his lips. “You’re too late. She’s gone.”

“Gone where?” My hands itched to grab him by his T-shirt and punch the information out of him, but I held back.

“Dunno, she wouldn’t tell me. I dropped her at Piccadilly Railway Station a few hours ago.”

16.3 Josh

After an hour of searching the railway station, we drew a blank. Katherine clearly didn’t want to be found. Dante fretted that she’d gone to her godparents’ place in Cornwall, but there was no way I would be driving halfway across the country until I’d had some sleep. Equally, I dismissed his suggestion to ride there on his bike. I took his bike back to the hotel, while Suki drove him in the car.

He ate some breakfast with us, but declined to take a room. He buzzed with a nervous energy I found exhausting. I sprawled on the bed, Suki dozing beside me, and watched him pacing up and down.

“That was some weird shit, Dante. Are you going to tell me what was going on?”

He paused and turned haunted eyes to me. “I’m not sure I can.” He fiddled continuously with his Talisman. I’d soaked them in soapy water to clean off the fuel, and they were safe on our wrists again.

“Okay. I get that you’re upset about Katherine, but can you blame her for being less than pleased with you?”

“No. She has every right to hate me.” He started pacing some more.

“You need to talk to her. Give her a few days—”

“I don’t
have
a few days.” He clamped his lips shut, and I stared at him.

“The police don’t want you any more, so what’s the problem?”

He tugged at his hair and stared out of the window.

“Dante.” I softened my tone. “What’s wrong?”

He slumped onto the sofa and sank his head into his hands.

I waited.

Eventually he peeked at me through his fingers. “I made a deal with Alistair. He’d write off my debt, but I had to give myself to him. He gave me five days, and I reckon that’s up tomorrow.”

Another time I might have laughed, but after seeing what Alistair could do, I took Dante seriously.

“What will he do to you?”

“I don’t know. But it won’t be pretty.”

He sat up straight and fixed me with an intense gaze, his eyes so pale they were almost translucent. “This is important. Eve told me there are seven Talismans and Alistair already has two. He wants them all.”

I frowned, remembering the bizarre dream, the man who claimed to be my father. He wore a Talisman.

“You need to be on your guard in case he comes looking for you. Alistair brokers deals so I guess you need to be careful of signing up to anything.”

Another flash of memory. Dream-Suki offering to do a deal with me. I shuddered. “What about your Gran?”

A crooked smile in return. “He’s wiping out my debt for her. She should be okay.”

I nodded, unsure how to proceed. Glancing at the sleeping woman by my side, I felt a surge of protectiveness. “I had a dream, while I was unconscious. There was a guy with a Talisman, and he claimed to be my father.”

Dante narrowed his eyes, his body vibrating with tension. “I bet that’s one he’s already got.” He hesitated. “What did he look like?”

“Like me, but older. He called me Raphael.” I ran a gentle hand over Suki’s hair, needing the reassurance of her presence. “He said I have brothers and a sister. A family.”

I watched his fists clench on his knees, his face paling. I took a quick breath. “He also told me that we’re brothers.”

Silence hung.

“Just a crazy dream, huh?”

“No.” Dante spoke gruffly. “Alistair told me the same.”

16.4 Katherine

My phone didn’t work any more, and I didn’t want any of the numbers on it so I threw it in the trash can at the station. My arrival there was perfectly timed. I caught the first train to London, changing there for Exeter, and then took a series of bus connections to Sam and Ellie’s farm.

I finally walked down their drive in the darkness of early evening, footsore and weary. I’d bought a new jacket, but I still felt cold. I was chilled from the inside, and I didn’t think anything could thaw out my heart.

Rapping on their door, it struck me how much had changed in just one week. That’s all it was. I met Dante at the first séance on Thursday. Eight days later and my life was in pieces, my heart trampled into the dust of a collapsing nightclub.

Ellie took one look at my face and pulled me into a giant bear hug. “Oh, Katie. What have you done?”

I didn’t know how to answer.
Battled a demon? Talked to a dead man’s spirit? Nearly been crushed alive? Had a crazy bitch holding a knife to my throat? Fallen in love with someone who doesn’t want me?
I took refuge in her warm embrace and stayed silent.

“I’ve been so worried, love. Marina rang and said you left home days ago. I had visions of you sleeping on the streets. Why didn’t you just come straight here?”

I almost laughed. The fight with my father was unimportant in light of everything that had happened since. I realized she waited for me to speak, and I cleared my throat. “I, uh, stayed with friends.”

“Well, you’re here now.” She pushed back and looked at me intently. “You look thin. I don’t suppose you’ve been eating. Why didn’t you ring us? We’d have come to pick you up, you know that.” A look of alarm flitted across her face. “Please don’t tell me you hitchhiked down here… do you know how dangerous that is?”

Dangerous? After everything I’d seen this week? A hysterical laugh erupted, and Ellie stared at me, clearly worried.