The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson (me reader TXT) 📕

he had been experiencing the magnitude of our energies each time they had mingled, just as I had from the moment we met. When his lips pressed softly against my forehead, the stress melted away and I would have testified in a court of law that a weight had been lifted from my chest. Unfortunately, the sound of Cian’s phone broke the connection and the significance of my reality crashed over me as he pulled away to answer the call.

“This is Cian . . . I see . . . Do you have him in custody? . . . I’ll be right there.” He ended the call and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him. “I have to go to the office for just a little while.”

“You have an office?” He hadn’t mentioned an office, though as soon as the words left my mouth, it hit me that he might mean the office at Rocky’s Tavern.

“I do. It’s on the third floor at the bar. Apparently, someone tried to break in by challenging my wards with dark magic. The police have the suspect. You should come with me.” He stood and slipped his shoes on while he talked, then walked over to the front door and grabbed his jacket. I followed.

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stay here and look over a few things. I’ll see what I can find in the blank journal while you’re gone. You are coming back here, aren’t you?” I wasn’t afraid to sleep in the cottage alone, but there was comfort in not being by myself. There was even more comfort in being near Cian.

“Of course. You just keep the wards up and I’ll text ya when I’m heading back.”

I snapped my hand to my forehead and grinned. “Sir, yes sir.”

With a crooked smile and an eyeroll, he placed another warm kiss on my forehead. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

“Okay. I’ll hold down the fort, Captain.”

With a wink, he closed the door behind him.

I raised the wards and stopped in the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. The thought of Kara questioning my late-night caffeine intake popped into my head and I let out a snicker. Unlike me, who could drink two cups of high-test and go straight to sleep, Kara would have been up half the night if she drank coffee after seven. I glanced at the clock, decided she’d likely still be awake, and gave her a quick call before getting back to the books. I went back to making my coffee while the phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

When I got her voicemail, I left her a message saying I’d be available for half an hour or we’d catch up tomorrow. Then I took my mug of coffee and stood in my hiding spot that looked out on the waves, drinking slowly and contemplating.

A text sounded and pulled me back to the couch. I sat the mug down and checked my messages.

Kara:      “Sorry I didn’t answer. Dealing with work BS. If everything is cool, I’ll just chat with ya tomorrow.”

Me:      “Yeah. No worries. Tomorrow is fine. Have fun! OUT.”

Kara:       “Fun. Yeah. Barrel of laughs around here. TTYT. Ciao! OUT.”

I grabbed the Tartaros Blade journal, plonked down on the couch and crisscrossed my legs, then laid it open in my lap and began flipping through the pages one by one. If there truly was something written randomly on one of them, maybe I’d find it. I fidgeted absentmindedly with Grams’ pendant as I turned each page, trying to be sure I didn’t miss even a small scribble if it existed.

A few pages in, I leaned over to grab my coffee from the table and a glow swelled into my peripheral vision. I initially thought I’d forgotten my phone was in my lap and accidentally activated the screen. But that was not the case. Light radiated from the pages of the journal beneath the influence of my pendant. I sat back and the illumination dimmed until it was no longer there. Lips pursed in curiosity, I leaned back over the book, directing the pendant for accuracy, and watched the page spark to life. Silver words danced beneath the pendant as I moved it along the page. It was just like what happened to the book in my dream.

I let out an enthused laugh. The kind that escapes when something isn’t really funny, but you’re super excited about whatever just happened. And I was ecstatic that I had just discovered the Tartaros Blade journal wasn’t blank after all.

My first thought went to Cian. I could hardly wait to tell him. Then, I immediately wondered if there were more hidden messages written in the other journals. I grabbed the journal for the Kanna Stone and opened it up. I removed my necklace to make it easier to hold the pendant over the pages. Sure enough, there were notes written along the margins. I turned until I got to the first blank page, or what appeared to be a blank page, and held the pendant close until the words came to life.

I might have done a little happy dance sitting there on the couch. It was right there; everything we had needed to know about finding the Kanna Stone had been there all along. Only we didn’t know it. Couldn’t see it.

That’s when they hit me. The questions. What gave my pendant the power to make the invisible visible? Did Grams know it had such power? Did she ever use it? I needed to show Uncle Lachlan and Cian. I jumped up and slipped my boots on just as headlights flashed through the front window into the room. I scrunched down to get a view of the driveway and saw the silhouette of Cian’s SUV. Perfect timing.

He hadn’t even gotten one knock before I had the wards down and was opening the front door.

“You forgot to text me.” I scolded playfully as I grabbed my coat. “No