The Darkness of Dreamland by T.L. Bodine

Author:T.L. Bodine [Bodine, T.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Glass Rat Media
Published: 2021-06-21T22:00:00+00:00

* * *

Sonia knew, the moment the cat’s paw touched the gravel at the foot of the walk, that they were too late. It wasn’t the fresh trail of pockmarks left behind by the carriage, or the “closed” sign posted on the door that tipped her off. She hardly noticed any of this. Instead, she felt Adrian’s absence in her gut, the place of intuition. He had been here. He had dreamed. And now he was gone.

She slid off the cat’s back, ignoring the call of the others who followed her, and walked up the path. The outer courtyard of The Swaggering Spider was in disarray, messy from the night before. Bottles lay broken in the grass, and dream-lanterns hung in sad, deflated tatters from the walls. “She must have left right away,” she said, mostly to herself. She heard footsteps behind her, and knew the others were catching up, but she was already pressing through the door and into the tavern.

The bar was nearly empty. A handful of creatures sat at one table, heads bowed deep in discussion. An old, wrinkled faerie man with enormous drooping wings pushed a shop broom over the sticky floor, shoving dirt and debris into an already-swollen pile of broken glass, discarded bottles, and other trash.

“Where’s Lorelai?” Sonia asked.

No one looked up. Someone muttered, “We’re closed.”

Behind her, Sonia heard the door open as the others entered. Evangeline broke away from the others and made her way to the bar, where rows and rows of dream-infused liquor lined the shelves. Sonia’s heart hammered painfully in her chest, but she forced herself to stay calm.

“It’s important,” she said. “Do you know when she’ll be back, or where she’s gone?”

The wrinkled bar-man snorted. “As if she tells us anythin,” he said, pausing to shake out the sticky bristles of his broom. “It’s always ‘Do this, do that,’ with her, innit?” He grumbled, giving his broom an angry shove. “An’ then she takes that maid with ‘er, dumber’n a dead dog she is. They ‘ead out to gods-know-where to do gods-know-what an’ leave me ‘ere to clean up this place an’ put up with you lot.”

“Yes, yes, it’s all very sad,” Laurel said. “But where is she? She stole something valuable from us, and we need to get it back.”

“Valuable?” He glanced up again, brows raising. His eyes were large and watery brown, and they were filled with immeasurable sadness. “What kind of valuable?”

“The kind that’s none of your damn business.”

He shrugged. “Well. If she’s in trouble wi’ the law, I’d suggest lettin’ the law handle it.”

“Funny enough,” Evangeline said, “We are the law.” She parted her short gold-chain skirt over her thigh, flashing the branded mark of the Crossroads law enforcement that sat just below the bone of her hip.

Laurel did the same. “So I suggest, if you know more than you’re letting on, that you start talking.”

“I don’t know nothin’ about no dreams!” he said, and then his eyes widened with an ‘I shouldn’t have said that’ look.

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