Thin Places (The Shadows of Miskatonic Book 2) by Barbara Cottrell

Author:Barbara Cottrell [Cottrell, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798986593838
Publisher: Vanishing Edge Press
Published: 2023-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The entire world swayed beneath her. Ellen’s eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t open them. She let the world reach her through her other senses. She took in the mingled smell of salt air and damp wood. Heard the muffled thump of feet over her head. The clanging of a bell.

A ship, she thought, I’m on a ship.

It was a strange choice. The Barrens had its fair share of lakes and rivers, but why was she on a ship? If she was injured and needed medical care, why not choose a faster form of transportation? An ambulance or a helicopter? Finally, curiosity forced her to open her eyes. She lay in a narrow bed. All around her were crates, ropes, and barrels. Candles flickered in smoky glass lanterns, throwing off murky light.

Three images flashed through her head.

Solomon Reye. Andrew. The nightgaunt.

Ellen sat up.

She banged her head on the bed above her.

“Ow. Shit!”

A figure stirred in the shadows.

“You’re awake. It’s about time.”

A man stepped forward. He had dark hair, cold blue eyes, and a beard. He was dressed like someone’s romantic idea of a pirate.

Despite his outfit, Ellen recognized him immediately.

“You’re Randolph Carter.”

The man stiffened.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“You’re on a ship in the Cerenarian Sea.”

“The Cerenarian Sea?” Ellen frowned. She knew the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. Her knowledge of seas and oceans ended there. “Where’s that? Between Japan and Russia?”

He gave her a withering look.

“You’re in the Dreamlands.”

“How did I get here?”

“You fell out of the sky. Just like Icarus.”

Ellen shivered. She thought of the picture Solomon Reye left in her room. The boy falling into the water. The ship sailing past him, the crew unaware of the drama being played out.

“We were on our way to Celephais when we saw you,” he informed her. “You made quite a splash. You must have fallen a long way.”

“Only from New Jersey.”

“New Jersey? New Jersey as in America?”

She heard the eagerness in his voice. Somehow, it made him less intimidating. “New Jersey as in America. The Pine Barrens, to be more exact.”

“What were you doing there?”

The words came out in a torrent. Andrew Carter. Emilio Carranza. Solomon Reye summoning a gateway to the Dreamlands. Randolph sat and listened. Ellen thought she saw him cringe when she mentioned Solomon, but she couldn’t be sure. She was still getting used to the Dreamlands. Everything seemed blurry—as if the world had yet to define itself. When she finished her strange tale, Randolph got up and moved closer, shining a lamp in her face.

Ellen shied away from the light.

“I thought I recognized you,” he said. “You’re that girl I took to the Gateway.”

“My name is Ellen. Ellen Logan.”

She offered him her hand.

He stared at it.

“You can’t expect me to remember your name. A lot of people drift in and out of here. Most of them looking for me.”

Ellen opened her mouth to say something sarcastic. Then she remembered what her Carter, the other Carter, once told her about the weight of his reputation.

“The Carter Curse,” she murmured.

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