The Nightmare Charade (44 page)
Read The Nightmare Charade Online
Authors: Mindee Arnett
I faced him, barely listening. There couldn't be anything better than the news Lady Elaine had just given us.
But I was almost wrong about that. Mr. Corvus slid his hand into his pocket and withdrew a silver bracelet. I gaped, my heart now fluttering in my chest.
“Is that⦔ I began, but the words died in my mouth. Corvus had removed the glamour, revealing the sword beneath. It was Bellanax, whole once more.
“Not everything about sword lore has been lost,” Mr. Corvus said, and he held the sword out to me.
I hesitated, glancing at Eli. “Are you okay with this?” The sword had been the means of his death, after all.
He smiled, the expression genuine. “Of course. That sword saved us, didn't it?”
And he knows its name now,
I remembered. I nodded. Bellanax had saved us. But the sword had been broken. Was the spirit still there or was it just a sword?
Bracing myself for the worst, I took the sword from Corvus. At first, I felt nothing but the hard, slick bone of the hilt against my skin. Disappointment set in at once, a despair nearly as deep as what I felt for Paul.
But then the hilt began to warm in my hand. Bellanax slowly stirred to life. The sword seemed to purr inside my mind, the feeling one of welcome and relief. It had missed me, and I had missed it.
Swallowing the emotions rising up my throat, I fixed my eyes on Mr. Corvus. “Thank you.”
He bowed his head, and for the first time I noticed the Borromean ring on his finger. “You're welcome. It was the least I could do. You stopped Marrow and you helped me bring justice to my brothers. I would give you the world to show my gratitude if I could.”
For the first time ever, the reality of Marrow's death hit me. It was like a massive weight being pulled off my soul. I felt so light I half-expected my feet to leave the ground. It was over. Truly over.
I applied the glamour to Bellanax and then slid the silver bracelet onto my wrist where it belonged. Where it would always stay, for as long as I lived.
“Come on then,” Lady Elaine said, flashing a quick smile at Mr. Corvus. “Let's leave these two alone.”
Leave us alone
. Three words had never been more beautiful.
And they made good on the statement, walking away from us and not looking back once.
Eli kissed me again. It was shorter this time, but no less sweet. “I think I'm going to have to do that about once every five minutes. That okay with you?”
I laughed. “I don't know. Five minutes seems like an awfully long time.”
He grinned, and the two of us started walking again.
“I wonder what our dreams will be like now,” Eli said after a few moments of silence.
“Better than they've ever been?” I ventured.
“Oh, that's a given, but there will still be trouble, sooner or later. I mean, we are still the dream-seers.”
“I suppose so.” I paused. “And Marrow is gone, but he still has supporters out there. Some in the senate even.”
Eli nodded.
“Is it weird that I'm kind of glad? I mean, all the death and destruction aside, the mystery-solving, hero stuff is pretty fun.”
Now it was Eli's turn to laugh. He stopped and kissed me again. “I wouldn't want you any other way. That's why we're the Dream Team.”
The Dream Team come true
, I thought. But I didn't say it aloud. There was no need. We walked on, exploring new paths as we went, heading deeper and deeper into the cemetery. With Bellanax on my wrist and Eli by my side, I realized the real world had now become the dream. And I wanted to stay in it forever.
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Mindee Arnett
lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She's addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic and the macabre. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines, and she has a master of arts in English literature with an emphasis in creative writing. She also blogs and tweets, and is hard at work on her next novel in the Arkwell Academy series. Find her online at
www.mindeearnett.com
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Contents
Tor Teen Books by Mindee Arnett
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE NIGHTMARE CHARADE
Copyright © 2015 by Mindee Arnett
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Kate Forrester
A Tor Teen Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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New York, NY 10010
Tor
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is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3335-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-0070-0 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466800700
First Edition: August 2015