Page 11 of Kiss the Dawn (Order of Helsing #4)

ORINA

T he Ministry grounds were beautiful beneath a storm. Lightning and thunder and lashes of rain and the view from the clock tower was the best of all. I leaned against the arch, arms crossed, watching nature rage while Nyx sat on the ledge painting her fingernails purple.

Quinn was torn between the light show and Nyx. “Kellar will go nuts when she sees your nails.”

“She’s already nuts,” Nyx said. “Besides, what’s she gonna do? Ask me to take it off? Oooh, scary.”

“She could take away house points.”

Nyx rolled her eyes. “Oooh, I’m even more scared now.”

“I am…” Quinn said. “Scared of what’ll happen after… ”

My heart sank. “You’ll be fine. You have us. We’re going to work together, remember?”

She smiled up at me and nodded, but I saw the doubts in her eyes, and my gaze flicked to Nyx, who was also now watching Quinn with concern.

“Listen,” she said. “Life is what we make it. And trust me, I intend to make ours the best. Together forever, remember? No matter what, we have each other’s backs.” Her smile was wicked and sharp. “After all, we did sign a pact. In blood and all. It’s legally binding.”

Quinn perked up. “We did.” She beamed, and my heart squeezed with love for her. For Nyx too. My best friends. The sisters I would have chosen.

The world lit up, and Quinn let out a squeak. “Did you see that one!”

“Fucking hell,” Nyx said. “I dropped my polish.”

A shadow moved by the hatch, and I tensed, but the others continued to chat, unconcerned. “Guys, did you see that? There’s someone?—”

A man with dark, tousled hair climbed into the tower and regarded me with eyes like the sun.

Quinn and Nyx’s voices faded a little beneath the thump of blood in my head as reality asserted itself.

This was a dream.

A memory.

And Ezekiel just dream-walked into it.

“What is this place?” he asked, joining me by the arch .

“I went to school here. These are my best friends.”

Quinn and Nyx were frozen now, smiles on their faces as they stared out at the storm.

“This was a happy place for you?” he asked.

“The best.” I turned from the storm outside to face the tempest that was Ezekiel Tepes, and a flutter filled my chest because he was even more beautiful in my dreams.

His golden eyes darkened as he leaned in to brace his hand on the brick above my head, effectively caging me in with his body. “Where are you now?” he asked in a tone that was more suited to sweet nothings.

“Somewhere on the Gateway Road.”

“I can feel the distance.” He lightly caressed my cheek with his free hand. “I don’t like it.”

I turned my cheek to his palm and closed my eyes for a beat. “Will it be a problem for us communicating like this?”

“I believe it might.” His breath coasted across my lips, and mine parted in anticipation of his kiss, but it never arrived. In fact, I could no longer feel him.

I opened my eyes to find him gone.

“Five days.” His voice echoed in my head. “Be back…”

“Orina?” Lorenzo called. “It’s time to wake up.”

The Ministry melted away, but it would always be there when I needed it. A safe haven in the deep recesses of my mind.

The town of Rayloft was a small settlement on the coast dotted with whitewashed buildings that looked tiny from the rise we’d parked on.

The crisp air, wet with the scent of the sea, filled my lungs with vitality.

“Thanks for the ride,” Levi said. “Maybe we’ll see you again someday.”

“Yes, maybe,” Lorenzo said.

“You’re not heading into town, then?” Curi asked.

“In a little while,” Lorenzo said.

“Okay, bye.” Levi set off, and after a moment, Curi followed, headed down the road that dipped toward the town.

I stood with my back against the motorhome. “You don’t think they’re going into town, do you?”

“Oh, they’ll go into town, but they might not stay there.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

The guard house was to the east of the town, set on a cliffside that could only be accessed on foot. Rodney drove us as close as he could before saying his goodbyes. He’d wait for us in town.

Lorenzo loaned me his coat, a fleece-lined affair that came down to my knees, and we trudged up the hill and onto a winding rocky path.

“So no one knows this place is here? ”

“People know it’s here,” Lorenzo said. “But the owner is an eccentric old man who likes to be left alone. At least that’s what they’re led to believe. But Ian is a witch, and he works for the Circle.”

I stopped asking questions after that because the climb was brutal, and I needed to focus on it. Lorenzo shielded me from the worst of the gusty wind; still, by the time we reached the top, my face was frozen and my lungs ached, but it was over. We were here, at the small cottage that sat atop this cliff. It even had a white picket fence.

A heavyset fellow wearing a raincoat and wellington boots walked out to meet us at the gate. Hard eyes glared at us from beneath a hood, but the scowl on his surly mouth melted at the sight of Lorenzo.

“Crescent. Been a long time,” he said.

“It has.”

They shook hands.

“Things have changed a mite since your last visit,” Ian said.

“Hardly surprising. Is the door still in the house?”

“Nah, moved it a while back after a storm took me roof off. You got the papers? Got to do the protocol.”

Lorenzo handed him the documents, and he gave them a perfunctory glance before handing them back. “Waiting on two more before we head down.” He glanced at his watch. “Though they’re cutting it fine. Seven minutes to door opening, and it won’t stay open long.” He glanced past us, eyes narrowing. “Ah, there they are. At least I hope it’s them.”

Curi and Levi ambled toward us.

“I fucking knew it!” Curi said.

“Papers?” Ian asked.

Levi pulled a document from his bag and handed it to Ian, who scanned it and handed it back.

“This way.” He closed the gate behind him and led us around the fence to the side of the house, then around back to an outbuilding.

Was he seriously saying the doorway to the Isle was inside there?

He opened the door to reveal a pristine toilet and pressed his hand to a spot above the cistern. The wall lit up then slid back to reveal a set of steps.

“Follow me.”

Lorenzo indicated I go first, following close behind, while the gargoyles made up the rear. We descended into gloom where there was just enough light to make out the steps so I didn’t miss one and smack into Ian.

We ended in a small room where another wall panel admitted us into a circular chamber. One wall was covered in arcane symbols, and the floor had a circle with more arcane symbols drawn on it.

Once again, Ian looked at his watch. “Any second now…” The air crackled, and the circle filled with amber light. “There you go,” he said. “Hop in. Hurry up.”

I allowed Lorenzo to take my hand, and we stepped into the light. The gargoyles joined us, squishing in so we could all fit.

“Now what?” Curi asked.

“You never been through a portal before?” Ian said.

“Plenty of times, but they usually activate straight away and?—”

The lights went out.