Page 27 of Chaos Carnival (Cirque de Sanguine #2)

Chapter 26: Prophecy Unbidden

Maverick

I guided the car through Crimson City's streets, stealing glances at Tess. Flickers of spectral energy danced across her skin when the streetlights hit just right. My grip tightened on the wheel.

Stone and Lux had rented a place nearby, since none of us were willing to risk phasing back to the house while the hunters were so active. One wrong phase and they'd have our location. Besides, with Lilith around, it made sense to stay close. Still felt strange though, all of us crammed into the city like normal humans.

“You okay?” I reached over and squeezed her thigh.

“Define okay.” Tess leaned her head to the window. “I'm seeing about three different versions of reality right now.”

“Fuck.” I pulled into the parking spot. “Just stay with me.”

The walk up to their third-floor apartment felt longer than usual. Each step seemed to echo through the dimly lit stairwell as Tess stumbled once, then twice. I steadied her with an arm around my waist, pulling her close against my side. The familiar fragrance of her hair helped ground me, even as anxiety churned in my gut.

Stone opened the door before we could knock, his expression grim as he noticed Tess's condition. We walked into his meticulously organized living room, the air thick with tension.

“How are you?” asked Lux from his perch on a leather armchair, his usually smooth voice tinged with concern. His eyes tracked Tess's unsteady movements as I guided her toward the couch.

“I'm...” Tess paused, clearly searching for the right word. “Stable. For now.”

A sharp bleat drew our attention to the corner of the room, where a small black goat stood partially hidden behind Stone's legs. Its eyes had an unnaturally glossy sheen to them, and it trembled as it watched us.

“Stone,” I said slowly, eyeing the trembling creature with a mix of disbelief and amusement. “Why is there a goat in here?”

Stone crossed his arms defensively, his jaw set in that familiar stubborn way that told me he wouldn't appreciate any smart-ass remarks about his new pet. His expression dared anyone to comment, practically screaming 'try me.' “I got him from Mac,” he stated flatly, shifting somewhat to better shield the anxious animal behind his legs.

“Did you?” I looked between Stone and the goat, trying to process this information. “Mac's goats? The ones he...” I fell silent, remembering exactly what Mac did to his goats.

“She wasn't taking to the binding well, so…” Stone said gruffly. “Mac was going to put her down.”

The goat bleated again, softer this time, and pressed closer to Stone's legs. Something about its movements was wrong, but I didn’t know how.

“So you... you rescued it?” Tess asked, leaning forward to get a better look. The goat skittered backward, and she stopped.

“Someone had to,” Stone muttered.

I was too focused on Tess, who'd sunk onto Stone's couch, her eyes tracking something otherwise invisible. The goat shuffled closer to her, its hooves making soft clicks against the hardwood floor.

“Easy,” Stone warned, but the goat ignored him.

It approached Tess cautiously, head lowered. When it got within a few feet of her, it stopped and let out a soft bleat. Tess blinked, her focus shifting to the creature in front of her.

“Discotek,” she murmured. “The binding... it's like looking at a broken mirror.”

Lux, who'd been watching this exchange with poorly concealed amusement, finally spoke up. “Stone has quite the soft spot for Eris.”

“Eris?” I echoed incredulously.

“She needed a name,” Lux chimed in, grinning. “Stone insisted it wasn't staying, but I thought…“

“Eris, goddess of chaos and discord. That’s fitting,” I said.

I watched as Eris settled more comfortably at Tess's feet, her otherworldly presence seeming to resonate with whatever Tess was experiencing. The goat's eyes flickered between normal and something darker, deeper—like staring into a void. I caught sight of Tess's face, her eyes distant again.

It was unsettling as hell watching them both, like they were tuned into some frequency the rest of us couldn't access. Even Stone was being completely ignored as the demon-bound goat pressed closer to Tess's legs.

“It's temporary,” Stone cut in, though his hand dropped to rest protectively on the goat's head. “Just until she's stronger.”

Stone, our stoic, serious Stone, had rescued a traumatized goat. It was almost too absurd to process—the man who didn’t seem to warm to anyone, was now playing nursemaid to a demon-possessed farm animal. If I hadn't been watching him stroke Eris's head with uncharacteristic gentleness, I wouldn't have believed it.

“Well,” Tess said diplomatically, “she seems sweet. But bitter like licorice too. Shadowy.” The words came out dreamy but wrong, and she didn't seem to notice how her fingers traced patterns in the air. I tensed, remembering Lilith's warnings, about how the strands could unmake her.

It was concerning that she could taste shadows now.

The goat—Eris—chose that moment to headbutt Stone's leg, then dart behind the couch.

“She's still adjusting,” Stone said defensively. “Mac's binding process is brutal. It'll take time for her to recover.”

I opened my mouth to make a comment about Stone's unexpected nurturing side, but caught Lux's warning look and thought better of it. Instead, I settled for, “As long as she doesn't eat the furniture, I guess.”

“She won't,” Stone assured us, then quickly changed the subject. “How are things with Lilith?”

The mood in the room shifted instantly. Tess moved closer to me, and I wrapped an arm around her waist.

“There's been some complications,” I began, as Tess tensed beside me.

As we explained what had happened with the webs, I noticed Eris peek out from behind the couch, her unnatural eyes homed in on Tess. Maybe she sensed something in her now, one magically altered being recognizing another.

Stone's face darkened as we described the incident at the restaurant, his jaw clenching in that way it always did when he was pissed off. Lux listened with interest from his perch on the arm of the couch, occasionally nodding as though pieces of a puzzle were falling into place in that calculating mind of his.

“So now what?” Lux asked when we finished. “These threads are just a part of you?”

“The lines whisper such pretty lyrics,” Tess said dreamily, then blinked hard. “But they're hungry songs. Always so hungry.”

A soft bleating drew our attention momentarily, but I was growing more concerned about Tess. Eris emerged from behind the couch and slowly approached Tess, her trembling less pronounced.

“Well,” Stone said, watching his traumatized charge with something like pride. “What's the plan for Ad—“

“Oh!” Tess interrupted, her eyes suddenly wide and unfocused, pupils dilating until barely any color remained. She stumbled back, pointing at Lux with a trembling finger, her other hand clawing at empty air as if trying to grab invisible strings. “The ravens are circling you. Black wings and betrayal, betrayal and black wings...”

Lux stiffened. “Tess—“

“She's coming for you,” Tess continued, her voice taking on a sing-song quality. “The witch with feathers deep inside. You'll choose her over everything. Over everyone.” She chuckled, the sound sharp and brittle. “The strands show me. They show me everything now.”

“Tess, look at me,” I said firmly, trying to get her attention, but she twisted away from my grip.

“You don't believe me.” Her eyes darted between all of us, hurt and wild. “But the lines never lie. They can't lie. They're made of truth and forgiveness and—” She broke off, pressing her hands to her temples as if trying to keep her skull from splitting open.

“She's not well,” Stone said flatly. “We can't take these ramblings seriously.”

“They're not ramblings!” Tess snapped, suddenly fierce. “I saw it. Clear as blood, sharp as crystal. Lux will fall for the raven witch, and he will choose her over us. So much blood.”

Lux crossed his arms, his usual easy demeanor replaced by something harder. “I would never betray my brothers.”

“The heart doesn't ask permission before it breaks everything,” Tess whispered, eyes wide, swaying lightly. Eris bleated softly and pressed against her legs, as if trying to steady her.

I pulled a trembling Tess closer into my arms. The clarity she'd shown just hours ago after our morning together was already fading. These moments of lucidity were getting shorter—what had started as half a day of peace now hardly lasted a couple of hours. “We can't trust everything they show you, love. They're changing how you see things.”

“Or maybe,” Tess said with another unsettling laugh, “they're finally showing me how things really are.” She turned to Lux, her eyes clearing for just a moment. “I don't want it to be true either.”

The tension in the room was palpable. Stone had moved closer to Lux, his protective instincts clearly triggered.

“I think we should head home,” I declared, already calculating how long it would take, because she needed me again. Not that I minded, but her laughter had taken on that manic edge and it worried me. “I'll text you.”

“Rest won't change it,” Tess murmured as I helped her to her feet. “The ravens are coming...”

As we made our way to the door, I caught sight of Lux's troubled expression and Stone's darkening scowl. This vision, true or not, had planted seeds of doubt that would be hard to uproot. And Tess, lost in her thread-induced delirium, seemed both tormented by and delighted with her role as unappreciated prophet, the webs waiting to show her more horrors dressed as truth.