The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Nightmare Kid

The boy stepped into the motel room. The door shut behind him. No weapons, no threats, just an easy grin, and yet Raveena found herself instinctively pressing herself back against the wall behind her. The others tensed, the concern on their faces growing.

"Why are you here, and how did you find us?" Charles asked.

The boy lifted an eyebrow. "You're not even going to ask my name?"

"We know who you are," Beth told him. "Nightmare Kid."

Annoyance flickered across the guy's face, gone as quickly as it came. "First, I'm clearly not a kid. I'm nineteen." He smiled. "And my real name is Malcolm."

Charles's eyes narrowed. "Okay, Malcolm. Care to answer my other questions?"

"I found you because I'm a spy, and I'm good at my job," Malcolm replied. "And as for the why, well, I'd like to help you fight Scorpion."

"Why?"

"Let's just say that helping you take them down will help me. I have my own...personal issues with them."

"Why us?" Summer asked. "Are a few inexperienced kids really the best you could do, as far as potential teammates go?"

"Summer," Beth warned in a low voice.

"Oh, you have far more potential than you realize." Malcolm's gaze moved between them. A chill ran down Raveena's spine when his eyes passed over her. "In fact, I might know more about you all than you know about yourselves."

"Like what?" Sam asked warily.

Malcolm's attention moved to him. "Sam Martinez." His smile spread wider. "I was hoping I'd get to meet you."

Veronica stepped in front of her brother. "Listen here, you—"

"Oh, you're all so terrified. Feeding off each other's fear." Malcolm laughed. "There are plenty of others just like you, you know. Maybe it would be easier to go find them instead."

"I think we've had enough vague answers." Summer lifted her fists. The air cracked and electricity ran across her skin.

Beth's eyes widened. "Summer, wait—!"

And then she dropped. Summer followed, and then Charles, and Veronica, and Sam, and—

Darkness swallowed Raveena. One moment her eyes were drifting shut, and the next, the world was gone.

~

Dread washed over Raveena. She turned in circles, taking in the endless, blinding white hallway she was trapped in. Footsteps approached from somewhere in the distance.

She was being hunted.

The fog in her brain lifted. This was familiar, she realized. She'd been here before.

A nearby door opened, and Claudia Montgomery stepped into the space in front of Raveena. Lifted a gun. Took aim.

"This isn't real," Raveena whispered. She was dreaming. She was in control. She willed the gun to disappear. Claudia stared at her empty hand in surprise.

The events leading up to the dream came back to Raveena. The motel room. Malcolm.

The others were in danger.

"I'll see you soon," Raveena said, even though she knew this wasn't the real Claudia.

Dream Claudia glared at her. "You will never win against me."

"We'll see."

Raveena focused on waking up. The dream fell apart around her, plunging her into darkness. Her stomach dropped. A moment later, the world shifted, and she came to lying on the floor. Her eyes fluttered open.