Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
My stomach drops at her words. That is an awful thought—but not nearly as strange as the truth.
“So I went to open the bedroom door,” she continues, “But it didn’t lead to the bedroom.”
I sit up straighter.
“Let me guess—instead you saw a long hallway?”
Her eyes widen.
“Yes! Exactly.”
“That’s what happened to me, too,” I tell her. “Only for me, it was in my bathroom—not the living room.”
“God, Jules.” Hanna lets out a shaky laugh. “That actually makes me feel a tiny bit better. I thought I was losing my mind.”
She starts pacing again, clearly unable to stand still.
“So before I can even process what I’m seeing, this Whistler guy is there. He’s gathering up all of Mr. Mittens’ stuff—his bowls, his toys—even his scratching post—and shoving everything into this weird black sack.”
“A sack?” I ask, frowning. “But how could he fit everything in one sack?” I’m a good cat mom—Mr. Mittens has enough toys and accoutrements for five cats. There’s no way all of it would fit in a single sack—not even an industrial sized garbage bag.
“I don’t know.” Hanna shrugs. “But he made it fit. It never got any bigger, either ” she adds. “No matter how much he put into it. It was like he had his own personal black hole or something and he was just shoving everything into it.”
“It’s probably part of his magic or something,” I mutter. I make a mental note to ask Lucian more about exactly how Realm-Hoppers work and how they’re able to transport people and things between the Human world and the Shadow Realm.
“I was holding Mr. Mittens,” Hanna continues. “Because I scooped him up, meaning to get away, you know? But it all happened so fast and it felt so unreal—like maybe I was dreaming. So when that weird Whistler guy finally turned to me, I didn’t do anything—I just stared at him.” She shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know why I didn’t just run out the front door. I just… froze.”
“It felt like a dream to me, too,” I say, trying to comfort her.
“Well it felt like that until he touched me, anyway,” Hanna says. “But the second he touched my arm, it was like my self-preservation instinct finally kicked in and I tried to bolt.”
“What did he do?” I ask, worried for her.
“He said something like, ‘I don’t think so, girly.’” Hanna shudders. “Then he grabbed Mr. Mittens, took me by the arm, and dragged me through the door into that weird hallway.”
My jaw tightens and I feel so bad for her. None of this is her fault. It’s all on me and I feel awful about it, even though it’s not really my fault either.
“I broke free for a minute,” she says. “I ran back toward the living room—but it was gone. Just…gone. There was nothing there except that hallway—it was endless. There were no doors and no windows. Just that long stretch of hall.”
“It happened to me too, when I tried to get back,” I tell her. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“I didn’t either.” She wraps her arms around herself. “That’s when he said, ‘You’d best come with me, girly—if you don’t want to be caught in the In-Between.’”
The In-Between. The phrase sends a chill down my spine.
“So what did you do?” I ask, though I can already guess.
“I went with him.” Hanna shrugs helplessly. “I didn’t know what else to do. And he had Mr. Mittens—I wasn’t going to let him get away with stealing your cat.” She lets out a humorless huff. “I had no idea he was taking us to a whole other world.”
“You’re right,” I say softly. “It really is a whole other world—or a whole other Realm, I guess.”
Hanna looks at me then, really looks at me, like she’s seeing me for the first time.
“I’m so sorry, Jules. I didn’t mean to get so upset. It’s just…this is all so weird.”
I shake my head.
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. Lucian was only trying to make me feel better by bringing Mr. Mittens. I’m sure he never meant for you to get caught up in all this.” I wave a hand, indicating our surroundings.
“But what is all this?” she asks, gesturing helplessly. “I mean… I feel like I’ve walked straight into a gothic vampire romance novel.”
“You’re close,” I say grimly. “Try a gothic vampire mafia romance novel.”
She blinks.
“A what?”
I scrub a hand over my face.
“Okay, let me try to explain. The Shadow Realm—which is the name for this whole world—is divided into different territories and each one is ruled by a Don. There’s a Vampire Don—that’s Lucian. A Demon Don—I met him yesterday.” I shiver, remembering Kael. “There’s also a Dragon Don, a Shifter Don, a Fae Don… oh, and a Necromancer Don, who you already met,” I continue.
This time it’s Hanna’s turn to shiver.