Free Midnight Ruling by E.M. MacCallum Page B

clucked his tongue in approval. “So you decided to keep your word. Well then, if you indulge the Midnight Ruling, things will continue as they are.”
    I eyed him. “So you’re going to keep giving me hallucinations and weird mail?”
    He leaned away from me, something sparking in his vortex eyes that I couldn’t quite understand. “Hallucinations? This is a dream.”
    “In the library…”
    “Nora, I came here tonight because you found the book. You know what is inside this.” He waved the book at me again. “If you hadn’t found it, I wouldn’t have to be here at all.”
    “But why send me an envelope?”
    He shook his head, dismissing me. “That wasn’t part of the warnings. Not the Demon’s Grave. You’ve received two so far.”
    The cross thingy and the Robin doll, I realized. What about the others? Something told me he wasn’t going to say anything about them. Maybe it was a clue of some sort.
    Seeing my eyes widen, Damien sucked his cheeks in, as if he were biting them to prevent from smiling.
    “Why come to warn me personally?” I asked.
    The charming smile returned, though a corner of his mouth twitched as if distracted. “If you lose this Challenge, you will be trapped alongside everyone else. If you win and fail to rescue the others, they’re trapped. I can hardly lose.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at the black book. “I figured,” I said. “You didn’t have to come and tell me that, though.”
    “Because I need a Neophyte for the Demon’s Grave,” he answered, and for once, he looked away from me first.
    I stared at him. “A…what?”
    Nell had said that. The Erebus needed a Neophyte .
    Aw crap. I felt every muscle seize, and I shook my head hard enough to feel my brain jostle. “You’re kidding.”
    Damien’s predatory gaze shifted back to me before I could move. He was perfectly still, perfectly balanced in his crouch. It was unnatural at his angle. He should have toppled backward.
    “I’m here,” he said, “to tell you that if you lose, Nora, you will be trained as the next Challenger to the Demon’s Grave.”
    My skin prickled, and I knew my eyes were close to bursting. My lips parted, but I couldn’t make a sound. Joel’s words echoed in my head: Everyone will find out what kind of people you really are.
    Taking my silence as an opportunity to speak, Damien said, his smooth voice threatening and low, “By then, you won’t be so worried about keeping your friends alive.”
    My throat was dry, and my voice cracked with my next question. “My friends are still alive?”
    “Don’t you already know?” He cocked his head in a bird-like motion.
    “I guess,” I said, remembering the dreams. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, “Why’d you kiss me?”
    It was refreshing to see Damien uncomfortable. He looked away immediately, his expression hidden before I could see it.
    “Was it a mistake?” I asked.
    He paused and leaned closer to me. “Was it?” he asked, eyes narrowing.
    “Was it a test?”
    He’d leaned closer, eyes darting to my mouth.
    “Yes and no,” he said, looking back up.
    He was close enough that I could feel his breath, cool and inhuman. I almost leaned in just to kiss him again when an image of Aidan stopped me cold. The temptation was squashed by nervous embarrassment. I cracked a half smile, feeling snarky. “Don’t tell me it’s because I smell like some kind of fruit.”
    “No,” he said, his gaze hardening. “You smell like fear.”
    I swallowed nothing, my throat dry. He had me there.
    “Watch out for the other three warnings,” he said. Then with a dismissive flick of his wrist, he added, “Wake up, Nora.”
     

CHAPTER TEN
     
    My alarm blared, making me jump and slap the off button so hard my palm throbbed.
    Looking around, I realized I was in my bedroom. The morning light drifted through the window, appearing like mist.
    The shrill sound of the alarm still rang in my ears as the dream stabbed at my