When All is Null and Void

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Caleb's teeth chattered as she sat him in the chair. The pain from his ring was forgotten. "Deep breath," she urged, then plunged the sharp point into the crook of his arm. Caleb grit his teeth, but in less than two heartbeats, he swam in darkness.

+++

Nothing could be done for the Ringlock other than time and patience. The matter of how it came to pass, how Caleb had entered the Void physically—and escaped—was the point of this foray into the boy's mind. She'd been patience incarnate since Titus told her the events this morning. She'd prepared herself to wait longer, as her father had taught her. Patience is a virtue of authority. They will come to you.

Rhea wasn't going to blurt out her theories, frantic and fearful. She wouldn't prove too eager to solve this. She was playing a long game, and her resolve was an ally she wouldn't alienate.

The serum which Rhea James injected Caleb with was similar, but not identical, to the sleeping draught she developed for Natalee. The girl was a special case, wholly different from the Voidsick she spent hours with, sifting through memories and thoughts. What she was doing with Caleb, now, was akin to that process—as long as his ring didn't block her out. Placing her palms to Caleb's Rhea let her eyes fall closed, establishing the connection.

Within Caleb's thoughts, Rhea sifted through the memories, using her own ring to Hop back to reach the party. A mere bystander, Rhea experienced only vague senses within the memory scape. She observed the way Caleb spoke to the girl, Danielle. His heartbeat was distant and disconnected, the subtle flutter of his ring in her vicinity faint. No girl had ever given Caleb her phone number. Rhea tried not to pity his excitement.

The memories moved on, the evening passing until the moment Caleb's ring yanked the two into the Void. Rhea halted the memory, moved backward. Watched again. Slowed the recollection to fragmentary instants. Rhea was only able to focus Danielle's scowl-covered face when Caleb's hand touched her forearm.

A faint, golden glow did not come from Caleb's ring, as expected.

Danielle was, in fact, the one exuding the tiniest burst of light.

And then Rhea saw the Void for the first time. Dark, shrouded in a misty cloud, Rhea understood why Caleb had described it as a cave.

Letting the memory move forward, Rhea's own ring mimicked the angry pulse of Caleb's as it latched on, unwilling to be stolen. The ring fluttered like a bird, panicked at some unseen predator.

Caleb wasn't aware of the danger; Rhea knew it in the way his heart remained steady. But Rhea saw it.

The beast he once saw in the Nightmare she'd induced. The one Carter had tried to raise and failed in doing. Long and lanky, the beast was somewhere between woman and serpent, all shadows dripping like melting ice. Stalking behind Danielle, Rhea watched as the beast slid long, scaly fingers against the fabric of the girl's shirt. None of its four eyes focused on Caleb.

Danielle was the focus, the prey to this lioness on the prowl.

The beast—was thisLoss?—leapt at Danielle, but the funnel of a Hop distorted the memory.

Rhea watched it all again.

Shivered.

Why did this monster want Danielle?

Rhea released her grip on Caleb's head. He would have a bruise. From her pocket, Rhea produced a new bottle and syringe.

She waited only three seconds before Caleb's eyes snapped open.

+++

"Lean back," Rhea said as Caleb shot forward. She'd been inside his head, tinkering around, and the violation of it sent disgusted shivers down Caleb's spine. He'd known her intentions, known what she wanted to see, but he'd been confined in darkness.