Page 55 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

T he next morning I barely managed to contain my tears as Orion got ready to leave. He had the baton hidden at his thigh, sewn into a bit of fabric.

“And don’t forget, you’ll have to bring?—”

“The music. Don’t worry, I’ll have it with me,” I assured him.

“And we meet at the church ruins.”

“Yes. As soon as you can get away from Charon. Sing the souls toward you, and when I arrive in Emrys I’ll run to Death’s church.”

And once the music was destroyed, I’d return to Orion. He would be waiting. He had to be.

When he reached the door, he turned back and rushed to me, hauling my body against him. He kissed me like he wanted to devour me, and I threw myself into the embrace.

He left for the Meadow, and I tried to distract myself.

Waiting to follow him was pure torture. I busied myself with a final round of showing the tree hoppers the jewelry, then rewarding them with food when they came to my side. When enough time had passed that Orion was well ahead of me, I set out.

I fixed a pair of glimmering pink earrings into my ears and a matching bracelet around my wrist.

The tree hoppers flitted through the trees, keeping pace.

The walk to the Meadow felt shorter than ever before.

I was so ready to go home, but this was it.

No matter what happened, everything would change for us.

Even if Orion returned to the Ether, and I had to come back for him, our situation would be drastically different.

I would make my way back to Charon’s stronghold if that was what was required.

Either entering an empty realm or facing a defeated god well aware of what we had done.

When I reached the edge of the forest, I could see the Shades moving. They were becoming more alert as they went. More agitated. There were a few yells, and I could hear crying. All the emotion they’d tamped down for the year was welling to the surface. All the longing, compelling them to sing.

Please let them remember.

At first, I didn’t see them, and I worried that as Shades they hadn’t been able to stay alert enough; that they’d forgotten me.

Then, two men floated toward me. Their shoulders were pulled back, and they moved with purpose.

I could imagine them striding if they’d been able to touch the ground again.

Even with their features faded and washed out, I was still struck by the resemblance.

Regi’s hair might have been black, and his eyes wholly blue, but the sharp lines of his jaw and the stubble on his face was all Orion.

Watching Remi was like looking at a younger Orion.

My stomach twisted as I joined them. Regi stayed slightly in front of me and Remi at my side, ready to shield me from prying eyes if Charon decided to have a last look at his unwilling troops .

I reached out, taking Remi’s hand. He gasped, looking down at where we touched. His limbs felt light, like they might float away, but he still looked strong.

“Thank you,” I managed, tears building. “I wish you could stay with us.”

It was a miracle I couldn’t manage for Orion, but I could give his brothers peace.

We followed the crowd past the Meadow. I was relieved that the tree hoppers stayed near me, flying low enough that they could also be easily lost in the crowd.

We made it to the sparse area where I’d first entered the Ether. Light, pure and blinding, forced me to close my eyes as we kept walking.

When the light faded, I blinked my eyes open as my vision adjusted.

Somewhere near us, the clock sounded.

It was midnight, and I was home.

Remi and Regi were still with me, but the Shades drifting away from us were fewer in number. How Charon ensured each soul came out at the country of its death I couldn’t begin to fathom, but the souls weren’t my main concern when it came to my plan.

I looked around but didn’t spot Orion or Charon. Ry had told me that the god went from country to country during the hour. He could be anywhere in Rayus. As long as he was far away from Orion, our plan would work.

We’d arrived just inside the Fox Haven gates.

“This way!” I waved the brothers onward, toward Death’s church, but they didn’t respond .

Orion’s brother let go of my hand, and the two of them began to drift away.

“Remi! Regi! What are you?—”

They weren’t listening. They were singing. The streets were filled with fog, and the lanterns were dark.

There was a clacking sound, and I looked up to see five tree hoppers circling overhead. Somehow, they’d made it out. I flashed my wrist, a pink bracelet glinting through the fog. The birds cawed in response.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I could do this. I could stop this whole thing—hopefully before the brothers or other Shades hurt anyone else. It was possible Orion had already started singing at the ruins. At any moment, the Shades might all follow his voice.

I raced over the cobblestones in the center of town, forcing myself not to stop at any of the familiar landmarks. As I neared the clock tower, the urge to turn west toward my family’s estate was stark, but I ignored that as well.

Just one more night. You’ll have plenty of time with them soon enough, I reminded myself.

As I raced past the clock tower, I saw more Shades. They were grouped together around the apothecary. Singing, with their hands joined.

Orion had said Shades tended to target their old friends and neighbors. I supposed they could be patients, but he’d never indicated Shades could behave this cohesively.

I paused when I heard the door creak open.

Dr. Stephans emerged.

“No! Don’t come out here!” I ran for him, but he froze, dropping to the ground before I could reach him. Within seconds, a new Shade wearing Dr. Stephans’ face joined the crowd.

I put a hand over my mouth, covering a scream and backing away in horror .

Dr. Stephans and the other Shades moved as a unit to the next building.

This was how Charon planned to win. He had enough Shades, and perhaps enough Shades with their emotions built up over so many years, that walls and doors weren’t enough anymore.

If I didn’t succeed, the entire town would be dead by the end of the hour.

I’d tried to prepare myself to fight against the urge to sing. I’d brought extra cloth to stuff in my mouth, but I didn’t have the slightest inclination to join the Shades.

Maybe the music I held in my hand kept me immune.

I sprinted the rest of the way to the church, past other groups of Shades.

The massive structure loomed over me. I put a hand out to the twisted metal of the church door-knocker, but I couldn’t grasp it.

I wasn’t really a Shade, but I’d been in the Ether for a year.

Orion had said it had taken him years to work out how to grab things in this realm, and he’d never breached someone’s sanctuary when they hid during the hour.

I’d beat the other Shades to this particular location, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

On instinct, I wanted to start beseeching the gods for help, but one was already doing as much as she could. One would kill me if he found out what I was up to, and the others hadn’t bothered to answer me anyway.

I was on my own. This plan had to work. With new determination settling in, I reached for the knocker with one hand, and the handle to the right side door in the other. I took several steadying breaths, and squeezed.

I couldn’t help the surprised squeak followed by the sigh of relief as my hand closed around the cold metal. I could feel it.

I tugged hard, but the door didn’t budge .

“Blasted ghosts!” Think, Celia . Of course they had barred the door for the Unseen Hour.

The church was a safe haven. Desperate people without a home of their own, or who had ended up out alone too near the hour, had probably sought refuge within it.

Refusing to give up, I turned and began circling the church.

I went around the side of the building, pressing my head up against each darkened stained-glass window.

The scenes depicted were beautiful in the sunlight, but in the dark of night appeared haunting.

The face of Day looked down on me, eyes dark and disapproving without the sun to make them shine.

In his hands, he held the wheat and scythe.

“That’s not yours,” I murmured, staring at the scythe.

I had to be careful. If I entered and left an opening behind me, the other Shades might lure people out before I could destroy the sheet music. I’d be a killer as much as if I’d sung them to the Ether myself.

There were very few individuals I would happily see dead, and I doubted any of them were hiding in the church.

I looked again at the stained glass, then at the ground around me.

I was sending up a silent plea for forgiveness as I bent down and grabbed a rock. I was about to bash in a window when I saw movement.

Someone was walking toward the doors.