Page 68 of Obsessed in Blood

ChapterTwenty-Four

After a dead-to-the-world nap,we were back in Devon’s office, the four of us in our same seats. I had just polished off a glass of Colantha’s juice, which knocked away the cobwebs from my nap.

We didn’t waste any time as Colantha created the construct of Guildford’s study, and I reached for Hamilton. His face appeared almost immediately, but he turned away from me, unwilling to listen.

Instead of trying harder, I relaxed. “Keep the construct open. I’ll go get him.”

I focused on him and his room. We needed to map a complete layout of his prison, and as much as I wanted to get a start on it now, this wasn’t the time. He had to be removed from this environment and see what awaited him. There wasn’t time to coddle him. I had to take a chance, so I grabbed his hand and tugged him into Colantha’s construct.

“Come, Hamilton.” I walked along the bookcases, reviewing the spines. “Guildford had so many books, but many appear to be in other languages. Were you able to read these?”

Silence answered me, and I thought I’d already lost him. But then a light whisper reached me.

“Only a handful. I preferred the ones in Greek.” Hamilton’s figure appeared ghostlike, a transparent figure that trailed behind me, his fingers grazing over the books as he passed.

I ignored Colantha, who sat in one of the study chairs as her gaze followed Hamilton.

“How many languages do you speak?”

“Five.” He paused and squinted at a thick tome. He chuckled, and the sound startled me. “Six if you count Latin.”

“Why wouldn’t I count Latin?”

He shrugged. “How many do you speak?”

“One.”

He laughed. “You’re young, aren’t you?”

“Trying to guess my age?” I teased.

“You seem new to dreamwalking.”

“I only recently discovered what I am. What I can do.”

“Are you real?”

I laughed. “Oh yeah, I’m real. My name is Cressa, by the way. I don’t think I ever introduced myself.” I stopped. “But you knew that already, didn’t you? Did Lorenzo tell you, or did you find out some other way?”

His shape began to dissipate, flickering as if he’d disappear altogether. “I might have dipped into his dreams.”

“Can you call him into one?”

“I never tried. I didn’t want to give him any more power over me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t pity me.”

“You seem stronger today, but you’re fighting me. Why won’t you speak with Colantha and me?”

He stopped and turned, noticing Colantha for the first time. His figure solidified then lightened to a filmy white transparency. He stood next to her, his clothes ragged but clean.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“No, child. We’ve never met, and I’m sorry for that.” Colantha wore a red silk pantsuit with a simple white shirt underneath. Her medallion hung around her neck for all to see, and Hamilton stared at it while reaching for his own necklace.

His hand fisted when he found nothing there. “I feel drawn to you for some reason.”