House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(33)

I forced myself to turn away then, stomping my way back through the trees. I hadn’t realized how far in we were, and by the time I reached the porch where my dad waited, most of my annoyance at his interruption had died off.

“Sorry,” I said immediately, cutting him off. “I didn’t realize I was so far away.”

He just shook his head at me, before folding an arm around me. “Come on, your mom has prepared some food for everyone. Then it’s straight to bed. We have an early start in the morning.”

“Before dawn,” Lexen confirmed as he came around the side of the cabin. “I’m not taking any chances of a Laous ambush.”

Avoiding a Laous ambush was very high on my list of priorities, too.

That night, I ended up eating dinner with just Brad and my parents. The others were patrolling and packing. It was a quiet sort of meal, all of us wondering what tomorrow would bring. I went straight to bed after that, and despite the early hour, I fell asleep in an instant. With dreams of trees and the beautiful gods that walked among them keeping me company.





10





When I awoke, the room was still dark. My brain came online almost instantly, and even though I sensed it was too early for our departure, I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep. Not knowing we were heading to Overworld today. Soft breathing from the other bed told me that Brad was still sound asleep, and not wanting to wake him, I slid out of the bed and tiptoed across to the door. I pulled it back and waited for the creak – this was an old cabin, there had to be a creak, right? – but it swung in silently.

I closed it behind me and walked more freely along the hall. As I moved down the spiraling staircase, I wasn’t sure what my plan was, but maybe a glass of water would help.

The light in the kitchen had been left on, and the clock on the wall read … 3:56 A.M. Which meant it actually was pretty close to departure time. At that thought, I realized I was starving– it felt like a really bad idea to run for your life on an empty stomach.

The fridge was a huge, white, two-doored piece. Modern and sleek, it didn’t really go with the dark wood kitchen, but it was one of my favorite pieces in here. Although the old wood burning oven, with freestanding legs, was a pretty cool second.

Opening up the fridge, cold air washed over me. There was fruit, some pre-made Greek salads, and a tray of sandwiches inside. I grabbed a salad sandwich and a bottle of water. I didn’t have a plate, because there was no way I was opening cupboards to search for one, so I ate over the bench to catch any crumbs, sipping on my water in between bites. Just when I was about to shove the last piece in, a shuffling noise drew my attention. I froze, only my eyes moving as I stared toward one of the large bay windows near the front door. Curtains were across them, but as I continued to watch I could have sworn that a shadow darted across in front of it.

Just a flash of movement, then nothing else happened, but my unease did not disappear, my heart beating fast enough that I could hear the thundering in my ears. Swallowing, I slowly straightened, trying to decide if I would investigate or run back to my room to hide. Come on, Maya, you can’t let everyone be murdered.

If there was something bad or dangerous out there, I needed to warn the people in this cabin. It was a no-brainer. Stepping forward, I ducked down and took an indirect route across the open floor, in case someone was peering through the curtain gaps. When there were only a few feet to go, I crawled, pressing myself to the wall below the front window.

Pausing for another mental pep talk, I prepared to stand, not even close to being ready for what I might see on the other side. Eventually, I convinced myself that if something was out there, sitting on the floor was not going to get rid of it. I eased up slowly, using the frame to stabilize myself. When I was standing right on the edge of the window, I flicked the side of the curtain an inch. Before it fell back into place, darkness was the only thing I saw. So I did it again.

Nothing…

Frustration pawed at me, so I sucked in a deep breath for courage, gave myself one final mental pep-talk, and then wrenched the curtain completely aside. I should have known better than to try to see into the darkness outside, especially with the backlight from the kitchen. The first thing I saw was my own reflection and I just managed to hold a scream back. Laughter bubbled up inside of me. My own reflection had almost caused me to pee myself.

That laughter died off as my night vision adjusted and I saw the second set of eyes … and a face that was masculine, and scary, and creepy. He smiled, and even through the glass I heard the word “Gotcha.” This time, there was no holding back my screams, and it felt like three seconds later I was surrounded by half-naked men. In any other circumstance I would be thanking my lucky stars and searching for dollar bills to shove into their shorts…

This wasn’t the time for that, though.

“What happened, Maya?” Lexen had me by the shoulders, spinning me around and pulling me from the window. I was out of his hands in seconds, and I knew exactly who held me now.

Chase. My stomach was flipping all over the place. “There’s a man outside,” I gasped out. My body felt cold as shock kicked in.

Lexen and Daniel were out of the cabin in a flash. Chase didn’t leave me. Shivers were rocking through me, and they weren’t all about fear. I tried not to think about the way his arms were wrapped around me … bare skin pressing against mine … tingles racing across my skin.