“They don’t want me here,” I said, biting my lip.

Nightmare laughed. “They’re just interested.”

“Interested in seeing me die.”

“I don’t think it’s that at all. You’re the first of your kind to visit,” Nightmare said, flicking me a look.

“My kind,” I repeated, looking out of the corner of my eyes at the accumulating crowd.

Nightmare turned to the left, and I instantly noticed a three-story building in the distance. It looked as though it was going to crumble to the ground if I breathed too hard.

He walked up to the door and pulled it open before turning around to face the spectators. “Shows over. Go home.” He gestured toward the entrance. “Won’t you please come in?”

“Sure, I guess,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around my middle as I stepped inside the creepy, most definitely haunted house. The house was mostly empty except for a few wooden chairs pushed against the walls and a rickety end table with an antique lamp. “Is this your place?”

Nightmare chuckled. “Definitely not. This is my brother’s home.”

“Why did you bring me here if he’s not here?” I asked.

“I guess to see if you’d pick up on anything or if the medallion would,” Nightmare said, studying me.

I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m not following.”

“Thought maybe you’d feel or see something,” Nightmare explained.

“I’m not psychic,” I said, blinking as I stared at him. “What happened exactly?”

Nightmare looked at his fingertips. “If I knew, I’d go get him myself. He’s gone, and I’m starting to expect the worst. After seeing the Seraphim, I realized how quickly this is all happening. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Time before what?” I asked.

“The war.”

I looked around the dark, empty house. “The war.”

“He’s told you about the war, hasn’t he? Without the medallion in his possession, we’re all in trouble,” Nightmare said, shaking his head. “I’ll never understand why he let you keep it.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to anything. It began to feel as though I was just trapped in another dream… a bad one, likely constructed by the man I was with.

“I have one more idea,” Nightmare said, stretching out his hand. “Will you come with me?”

I took his hand. “I don’t feel as though I have a lot of choices.”

He led me through the house. I tried to see as much of it as I could, but it was so dark and just so empty. Nightmare opened the back door and led me to a shed at the back of the barren yard.

His eyes were on me as he pulled open the door, revealing a swirling pool of glitter and light. My mouth dropped open.

“It’s a portal,” Nightmare said, smirking.

“Of course it is,” I replied, swallowing hard.

“This is how Darkness is able to travel so fast. Anywhere he wants to go, he can go,” Nightmare said, stroking his chin. “Just hope it works for us too.”

My eyes widened. “You haven’t used it before?”

“Of course, I have. You need to work on your sense of humor. We’ll be fine.” The amused smile stayed glued to his face. “I like messing with you. I can see why you intrigued him so much.”

“He hates me,” I muttered.

Nightmare laughed. “Sure he does. Or is my brother just oddly unemotional? He’s hard from years of trying to keep order in the Between while also trying to prevent your world from being destroyed by good and evil.”

“I see,” I said, drawing in a breath as I watched the blues swirl the sparkling glitter.

“He means well. Everyone here respects him, and I’m sure word of his abrupt disappearance is spreading quickly,” Nightmare said, glancing back at the house. “We should really get moving. I’m not sure how much time we have before—”

“The war?”

Nightmare pressed his lips together. “Or before my brother is obliterated by one of our enemies.”

“You have a lot of enemies?” I asked.

“Just the angels and demons.”

I tilted my head. “Why are they your enemies?”

“Because they both want absolute power, and we don’t want either of them to have it,” Nightmare said, pushing his shoulders back. “Neither can have it all.” Nightmare shook his head and groaned. “We need to go. Ready?”

“Wait! Why do you think I can help? I don’t even know where the hell I am!” I said, my nerves tightening my insides.

His gaze shifted to the medallion. “If you can’t, perhaps it can.”

I pressed my hands to my face and inhaled deeply. My hands dropped as I released a sharp exhale. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Chapter

Six

Instantly, we appeared at a tiny wooden shack. The building had closed floral-print curtains in the windows, and the front door was peeling green paint. It has faded red trim which made the shack stand out in the dreary surroundings.

“Come,” Nightmare ordered, the pebbles and dirt crunching beneath his steps. “The clock is ticking.”

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” I said, pressing a hand to my stomach.

Nightmare wrapped his arm loosely around my shoulders, guiding me toward the house. “You get used to the traveling in these parts.”

“Why would I need to get used to it?” I asked as rain poured down from the gray cloud above, soaking me from head to toe. “Why do you guys want to live in a place like this anyway?”

“It’s a plane. And it’s our home,” Nightmare said as if the answer were simple. “It hasn’t always been like this. One day, things will go back.”