Chapter 400
Ian:
Going to the North by train was one thing. I was always prepared for that. But stepping into it like this, straight from clean air, felt different. It felt wrong.
“Look around. She must be here,” Miss Rue shouted, as if Clementine would be sitting nearby.
I moved deeper into the forest.
“Where are you going? She must be here somewhere,” Miss Rue called out.
I ignored her. Of course Clementine was not there.
“Clementine,” I called out several times. If she had been nearby, she would have answered.
So I went farther in, toward the deeper parts of the dark North.
I could no longer hear Miss Rue. As I walked through the woods, I noticed the faint scent was everywhere. But when mates are not marked, that kind of scent only appears if someone has bled a lot. That terrified me.
I even came across one of the bat people. From the way it had been torn apart, I could tell without a mistake that my Clementine had done it. So maybe she had been spying on them.
“Clementine!” I yelled, not caring if a monster heard me and came to attack.
Even if something tried, I was sure it would catch Clementine’s attention. She would come and save me. I laughed at myself for thinking like that.
I was desperate to find her. It had been two days, and I had not seen or heard from her.
As I walked along the road, I saw something appear in the far distance. It was a tall shape, standing with its long limbs moving around. Its head stretched forward with no features. I studied it for a few seconds before I grunted under my breath.
“That is a hollow man,” I muttered, recognizing it from my grandfather’s drawings.
Now I understood why my grandfather had been so adamant about making sure I remembered each and every monster from his drawings.
“Do you remember how to kill it?” my wolf asked, and I began to nod, not breaking eye contact with the hollow man.
“Yeah,” I replied under my breath, shifting my weight, “but it is not easy. And remember, I am here to find Clementine, not fight monsters,” I added.
Before I could move closer, I heard a strange disturbance in the distance, almost like screeching and howling. My body went on high alert.
“That has to be her,” I told my wolf, then broke into a run.
The noises died out far too fast, and that scared me. I slowed near the theatre doors, forcing myself to breathe evenly.
I remembered this specific theatre from the drawings as well. I stepped back, trying to steady myself. I closed my eyes as those drawings came back to me.
“The Watchers,” my wolf muttered, and I nodded faintly.
I remembered those drawings had scared me the most because I was afraid of clowns. People who faked smiles and hid their true faces.
“But we have to pass through this if we want to get close to her,” my wolf reminded me, and I bobbed my head while keeping my eyes closed.
“Do you know how to defeat them?” my wolf questioned.
I nodded again, more firmly this time, because I did know.
“As long as I do not look at them,” I replied, and my wolf groaned in approval.
It was true. I remembered every monster clearly. If I did not look straight into their eyes, I would be fine.
The moment I made eye contact, they would activate and come after me. If I avoided eye contact, they could approach me, but they could not attack.
From the noises I had heard inside, I could tell Clementine did not know that trick. She must have looked at them and then turned her back on them. That worried me.
I quickly turned the door handle, pushed it open, and stepped inside. The moment I entered, I lowered my gaze and closed my eyes, only opening them slightly.
The air shifted so drastically that I felt movement around me. They started to get closer. Their footsteps were loud.
Something leaned near my shoulder, whispering into my ear, even asking me to open my eyes and look at them.
Of course, I kept my back to them. They were moving now, but I had not made eye contact. I was fine.
I kept my eyes on the floor, barely opening them to see the shadows and avoid bumping into anything.
The Watchers walked around me, leaning in close, whispering into both of my ears. They said so much, but I did not give them any attention.
Finally, I reached the other side of the theatre. I pushed the door open and burst out, taking a deep breath before staring up at the sky.
I turned around and noticed they were no longer there. They had returned to their original places because they had failed to get my attention.
Then blood curdling screams rose from one of the streets, and it struck me. I sprinted forward but stopped at the sign.
“The misty corners,” I muttered, remembering what I would find inside.
“The Fades,” I added quietly.
I did not even stop. I rushed toward the misty corners, and right at the entrance, I saw her. There she was, on her knees, gasping before her body gave out.
The moment she hit the ground, I rushed forward and scooped her up, pulling her close as I turned and ran.
The fog chased us for a few steps, but the moment I came out the way I had entered, it disappeared. I ended up on the road with her in my arms. She looked so fragile as I held her in my lap.
“Clementine,” I said, wrapping one arm around her back while holding her head up with the other.
I leaned down and gently pressed my lips against hers. That was when she gasped, and without opening her eyes, she recognized me from the touch alone.
“Ian,” she whispered.