Fading Into Darkness: The Under Series Book 2 (26 page)

“Cameron Teller/Janitor/Death tracker.” Aimee said picking up both mugs. “What would some
death tracker want with Ruby? It still makes no sense.” she added putting the mugs in the sink.
“It must have something to do with her ability, it's the only thing we can think of.” Carly said.
“The mind reading thing. God I hate to think what she heard inside my head when she was here.
How did you spend everyday with her knowing she could do that? Didn't it bother you?”
“No, we were close we shared everything. Her reading my mind wasn't a problem it was like having
a twin that finished your sentences for you, she already knew what I was going to say before I said
it. We didn't have any secrets so I had nothing to hide. We used to have entire conversations like
that at school. I'd be talking to her in my head and she'd be on the other side of the classroom
nodding or shaking her head at me or abruptly laughing out loud in class from something I'd said to
her.”
“You need to come out for a drink with us. You, Beck and I. Leave Micah here.” Aimee said.
Carly joined her at the sink. “Hmm I'm sure he'd love the idea of me going out drinking with you.”
“One way to kill a party, bring Micah.” Aimee said laughing. “I'm kidding of course bring Micah.
You both need to get out of this tiny trailer and have a little fun.”
“See how things go next week. Depending on his mood I mean.”
“Whenever, just give me a call anytime. Speaking of time,” Aimee said checking her watch.
“It's getting late, I should go. It's Beck's night off. We're going to that new bistro that's just opened
up near the sports store. I love the name
'Late Night Bistro'
so cute. You should come.”
“Oh no, no not tonight I don't feel like going out. I can't be bothered to get dressed up and put make
up on.”
“You don't need make up, it's only us two silly.”
“Maybe some other time. I'm tired, I'm just going to go to bed.”
“Okay well if you change your mind you know where I'll be.”
“Thanks Aimee.”
“Oh before I go, do you want me to take some of this laundry? Beck wont mind.” Aimee asked
looking at a pile of clothes next to the bathroom door.
“No it's okay. It's my main mission for tomorrow. I'm gonna get up early and head straight to the
laundrette they open at seven.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes I'm sure. I think Micah will have a fit if he knows you're washing his dirty undies.” Carly
smiled laughing
“Gross! Maybe you're right. So promise you'll call if you need anything?”
“I will.” Carly replied as Aimee pulled her in for a goodbye hug.
Carly locked the door behind Aimee and started filling the sink up with water to wash up but
changed her mind. Instead she took the microwave meal out, took one look at it and chucked it in
the trash. She turned the lights off and took herself off to bed.
The next morning the sound of her dreaded high pitched alarm buzzed on her cellphone as it
vibrated loudly across the nightstand. Carly reached over and madly tapped the screen trying to
make it stop. She groaned and rolled over, after another ten minutes of drifting in and out of sleep
she finally managed to wake herself up and get out of bed. She pulled on anything that looked half
decent to go outside in. Leggings and a grey cardigan. Last nights rain had turned half the driveway
to muddy slush so Carly opted for her pink Wellington boots. She took the three large bundles of
laundry and shoved them into the back of her red VW Beetle. Trying to get the car out of the drive
was a chore it kept going into all the mud holes. Carly knew it was about time she changed her car
if she was going to stay living on the trailer park in a town that never stopped raining. The main
reason Carly had held onto the car was it reminded her of back home, the lovely beaches, the
warmer weather and it had been a present from her father. She missed her parents terribly but after
what had happened with Ruby disappearing and Carly learning the truth about everything, going
home didn't seem like an option. She couldn't leave and move on with her life it didn't feel right and
over the past twelve months she'd fallen for Micah, she'd never felt this way about anyone else
before it was different. It wasn't some silly teenage crush. It felt real and was the only thing keeping
her going.
She arrived at the laundry dead on 7am where a little old lady in a pinafore opened the door for her.
She listened to her ipod and kept herself busy filling in quizzes inside
cosmo
magazines that had
been left behind. By the time all her washing was done there weren't enough dryers free, so she
decided to take the rest of the damp washing back to the trailer to air dry on the line out back.
On the way back home Carly detoured and drove around to the club where Micah worked to see if
his truck was there. He hadn't come home and it was becoming a more frequent occurrence. She
didn't like to think she was becoming one of those jealous girlfriends but something always made
her want to check up on him every once in a while to see he was where he said he was. He seemed
to be putting more and more distance between the pair of them and Carly felt the need to keep an
eye on him. Sure enough when she swung round into the parking lot she saw his Dodge parked up
round back. She sat in the car with the engine running debating whether to ring him, she didn't like
the way they had left things last night. In the end she decided against it, she'd wait at home for him
until he decided to come back on his own.
When she arrived back she took the dry laundry inside and spent a good thirty minutes organizing
and putting the clothes in the right places, she'd almost forgotten about the damp clothes in the car.
She went back out to the car and dragged the heavy bag out and lumped it around to the back of the
trailer where the washing line was.
Hushed voices caught her attention, she looked over her shoulder. The piece of clothing she was
holding fell from her hand and she stood motionless frozen on the spot looking over at someone she
had not expected to see ever again.
Ruby stood watching her, no emotion showed on her face. Ruby wore a hoodie Carly had seen on
her many times even the shoes she was wearing Carly remembered. Carly finally took a step
forward, the corners of her lips turned up and tears were appearing already. She started to walk
towards Ruby but the stranger that was standing next to her put his arm out protectively in front of
her. Carly had never seen him before, he had very light ebony skin and dressed like a spoilt teenager
in hi-tops that probably cost more than Carly earned in a week. Ruby softly pushed his arm aside.
“Kenzie it's okay,” Ruby said to the boy.
He frowned looking back and fourth between Ruby and Carly, but finally he let her pass. Ruby
stepped forward and Carly who had been trying her best not to cry burst into tears and rushed
towards Ruby hugging her tightly. Ruby slowly lifted her arms and hugged her back.
Carly pulled back and sniffed. “Ruby where have you been? I thought you were dead.”
“It's a really long story.” Ruby replied looking over at Kenzie.
“Well are you okay?” Carly asked holding tightly onto Ruby's arms afraid she was imagining this
whole moment and Ruby would disappear at any minute.
“I'm fine, except I don't really remember you.”
“What?” Carly asked confused looking between Ruby and Kenzie.
“There was this thing that happened the night I disappeared, it sort of screwed up my memory.”
A sudden gust of wind whipped leaves into the air, Kenzie held his hat in place re-adjusting it and
Ruby shivered.
“Come on, let's go inside and you can tell me everything. If that's okay?” Carly asked aiming the
question at Kenzie who had been watching her closely with guarded eyes since they arrived. Ruby
looked over at him and he nodded.

“I'm scared if I let you leave I'm never going to see you again.” Carly said running her fingers
through the ends of my hair like it was the most natural thing ever and it felt oddly comforting,
something she had probably done many times before.
“Now that I know how to get out, I will definitely be coming back.” I said trying to reassure her.
I smiled, then noticed Kenzie's hardened look. He hadn't spoken one word while we'd been inside
with Carly. The only thing he'd said was
'no thank you'
when Carly offered him a drink. She had
made me a cup of tea, apparently just the way I liked it. I did like it, no one had made the tea taste
that good back at the manor.
“I wish you could stay longer. Micah should be back any minute. I doubt he's going to believe me
when I explain all this to him, especially about Jessie. Are you sure you can't stay? I know Micah
will want to see you and you could tell him about Jessie yourself.”
“I would but.....” I looked sideways at Kenzie who was checking his watch again. “I'll come back. I
Promise.”
She nodded and held onto me hugging me tightly, I wondered whether she was ever going to let go.
I didn't mind though. It was a strange feeling and I couldn't explain it, it felt as though I already
knew her even though I couldn't remember her. She certainly knew me from everything we had
talked about. I had told Carly everything. Even Kenzie looked surprised at all the stuff I was telling
her but most of the time he just looked uncomfortable I didn't think he wanted me telling her
anything. He had looked angry though when I was telling Carly about what Emmett had been doing
to me each night to stop my memories from coming back. Something he didn't know about and he
didn't look too pleased about it. I left out the part about Alex giving me that tip about the elevator
and the fourth floor. I kept it simple and said I'd figured it out by myself, I didn't want Alex getting
into trouble no matter how much I disliked him.
“Ruby we need to go.” Kenzie said pulling on my sleeve, surprising us both when he spoke.
“Okay.” I replied.
I saw the way Carly's eyes darted to his hand that was still holding onto my sleeve. Since the
moment I had explained to her what Cam and Kenzie are she had looked at him differently. Not
scared of him but not too sure either.
“Do you want a ride?” Carly asked.
“No!” Kenzie said louder than necessary.
When I'd been explaining to Carly how I'd found my way out I hadn't told her the exact address, I'd
only said it was a large house over the back of the trailer park. I didn't think it was a good idea to be
giving out the address to the underworld, and Kenzie was giving me some worried looks when I
was talking about it.
“It's okay we'll walk.” I said noticing how tense Kenzie suddenly looked.
Kenzie pulled his hood up over his cap and started walking without me. I took one final look at
Carly and smiled, wondering if this would be the last time I'd ever see her. I didn't know what
Kenzie was going to say to Cam or if he'd say anything at all.
“What's the rush? It's 11.20pm back home. Everyone one will be in bed by now. No one's going to
be looking for me, they'll just think I'm upstairs and technically I am.” I said making a light joke at
the end but he didn't reply. I jogged to catch up with him.
“Kenzie, slow down.”
“Sorry but we need to hurry up. I keep envisioning Cam cutting off my balls.”
“A little too dramatic don't you think?”
“Damn I hate walking. I never walk anywhere. How do humans get anywhere? This takes ages.”
“Well not all of us are demons, fading isn't in our DNA. Anyway that's what they invented cars for.”
“Well I've never needed a car. If I want to go anywhere I just think of the place I want to go and I go
there.”
We reached a long metal gate which looked like the proper entrance to the park not the back way
entrance Brandon had brought me in.
“Tell me about this thing Emmett has been doing? This yodelling stuff.” he asked.
“Chanting,” I laughed trying to keep up with him.
His legs weren't much longer than mine but he somehow managed to put distance between us with
every step. “He comes into my room chants some random words. Don't ask me to remember what
they were because I can't. Then he lights a candle and sets it on my nightstand. End of story.”
“Why would Cam not want you to get your memories back?”
“Because if I don't remember anything or get my memories back I would never want to leave the
manor. I would have no reason to. At least that's what I make of it.”
“How could he do something like that to you?”
“He has his reasons. If I didn't remember anything I would never want to leave, it's simple logic I
guess.”
“Except it didn't work you still wanted to leave.”
“Kenzie, do you know where Jessie is?”
“Sort of. From the place you described I have a pretty good idea.”
“Can you take me there?”
“No way.”
“Why not? It's your fault Jessie is locked up down in the tunnels.”
“My fault, how is it my fault?”
“You said it yourself, you're the one that bought him down to Under.”
“Yes on Cam's orders. You don't question Cam.”
“Kenzie you need to help me get Jessie out of there.”
Kenzie started shaking his head. “No there's obviously a reason why Cam put him down there.”
“Kenzie...”
“No it's not happening. There's no way I'm taking you down to the tunnels Cam would kill me.
Anyway I wouldn't even know where to look there are thousands of tunnels in Hell.”
“Kenzie we need to...,”
“No Ruby. All we need to do right now is get you back and I somehow need to do it without you
getting seen. You don't get it. If what you've been saying is right and Cam finds out about this he
will lock you up for sure until he finds another way to get rid of your memories. So we need to get
you back without anyone else finding out.”
“So are you going to tell Cam about this? I asked.
“No. He would put you on lock down and have you guarded with no freedom at all. Is that what you
want?”
“No. But I don't want Cam taking my memories permanently either. It's just a matter of time before
he finds another way, another person like Senka to,”
Kenzie cut me off. “There's no one else like Senka he's one of a kind. The only other person that
could do anything like that to you would be Maite.”
“Who's Maite?”
“A witch, she lives in the woods somewhere in Under. Cam's been looking for her for months, I
didn't know it had anything to do with you though.”
“Kenzie I don't want Cam to take my memories.”
“I know and we will figure it out. But first we need to get you back.”
“So that big house
'Rose Cottage'
it's just a front. It's really a doorway to the underworld?”
“Yes. In the beginning it was just a hole in the ground and over time a house was built on top of it
which has been enlarged and modernised over the years.”
“Is that the only way into Under?”
“No there are other doorways just in different locations.”
We crossed the main road and kept to the grassy verge. I made sure to stay a good distance away
from the puddles, I didn't want to get drenched again from another passing car.
It took us about thirty minutes to get back to the area I vaguely remembered from last night.
“Get down,” he said ducking down into a coloured shrubs, his vibrant red hoodie blended in
amongst the leaves. We peeked through the leaves at Rose Cottage which was across the street.
There wasn't much to see, large walls with overgrown ivy trailing everywhere and a pair of large
black iron gates.
“In the bushes again, this is becoming a habit.” I said to myself.
“So why are we hiding if it's an empty house? If no one lives there we could go straight in and if
anyone comes along I could hide in a closet or something.”
“I never said no one lives there,” he looked sideways at me. “Em lives in there.”
“That's Em's house?”
“Yep and he's probably in there right now, middle of the day with nothing to do.” he said pulling his
cell out.
“Wait if it's the middle of the day up here, then it's 11.50pm down there which means Em might be
on his way to my room to light his voodoo candle.”
“That's what I was thinking.”
“He didn't last night though, which is odd after I told Vivienne what he'd been up to she said she'd
sort it. Do you think whatever she said worked?”
“Maybe, maybe not. He usually does as he's told.” Kenzie grunted a laugh.
“Why would he listen to the Doctor over Cam?”
“Cause Vivienne is his big mama.”
“Really? How come no one ever told me?” I asked surprised Emmett had never mentioned before
that Vivienne was his mother.
Kenzie shrugged. “It's no secret I assumed you knew. How could you not tell? He looks just like her
but he's a boy obviously.”
“Huh, learn something new everyday or in my case a new bombshell drops on my head everyday.”
Kenzie put his cell to his ear and held his finger to his lips shushing me. I leaned closer and pulled
his shoulder towards me so I could listen in. I could hear the phone ringing on the other end after
four rings Em picked up.
“Kenzie what's up?”
“Hi Em, what you up to?”
“What right now?”
“Yes. That's what I asked.” Kenzie said.
“Oh I was actually still looking for Ruby. I can't find her anywhere. No one has seen her since lunch
time. Don't you think it's strange she's just disappeared?”
“What are you talking about? She's been at my cottage on and off all day. Then at dinnertime she
said she wasn't hungry, that's why she skipped dinner. I thought I told you.”
“Skipped dinner, since when did skipping dinner become optional? She knows she's meant to be at
dinner whether she eats it or not. It's one of the few ways I can keep tabs on her. Well where is she
now?”
“She said something about going upstairs to play air hockey with someone.”
“With who?”
“I dunno?” Kenzie looked over at me, he was getting frustrated with Emmett which wasn't hard.
Emmett huffed loudly.
“What's wrong?” Kenzie asked grinning.
“You know I'm not allowed up there.”
“Oh didims no one likes you up there. I forgot.” Kenzie said trying not to laugh. I pinched him in
the arm.
“So why were you calling again?” Emmett snapped at him.
“I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. I've had a busy day. You know busy collecting dead people's souls and I'm just letting off
some steam. I'm a little drunk.” Kenzie shrugged, even he didn't know what he was saying. “Up
here in Heaven's Point. You wanna join me? I'm in a bar.”
“Yeah. No that sounds cool man. It will be like the good ol' days. Remember them?”
“No.” Kenzie replied bluntly.
I smacked him on the arm and he quickly changed his tune.
“Yes that's exactly what I was thinking.” Kenzie said.
“We should hang out more often.” Emmett said, sounding rather excited at the idea. “So which bar
are you at? It sounds really quiet there.”
Kenzie looked at me for ideas. I just held up my hands.
“I'm outside, I don't know the name of the place.” he said looking at me like I had all the answers.
“Hmm one that's open all day.....” Emmett said mulling it over.
I looked over at Kenzie, it was the middle of the day not many places would be open.
“Is it Jinx? Oooo is it Blue Murder?” Emmett asked excitedly.
“Err maybe, Yeah, no that one.”
“Which one?” Emmett asked.
“Blue...Murder.” Kenzie replied hesitantly.
“Coolio I'll be there in ten.” Emmett said trying to sound all cool and casual like Kenzie but it just
sounded out of place.
“Coolio.” Kenzie said back to him before he hung up.
“There's really a place called Blue Murder?” I asked.
“I have no idea, I don't hang out in bars or clubs.”
“So now what?” I asked.
“Now we wait for him to leave.”
“So when you've got me back inside are you going to go meet him?” I asked.
“What no way.” he said pulling a face.
“Kenzie that's so mean, did you hear how excited he was?”
“That's cause he has no friends. Talking to Cam's bird is exciting to him.”
“Kenzie,” I said in a stern tone.
“Really you want me to go meet him in some weird bar where they probably have cages and people
dressed up in gimp suits?”
“What? When did you last go to a bar?”
“I haven't. Have you?”
“I can't remember. Remember? Anyway it's the middle of the day, I don't think they get the whips
and chains out until after dark,” Kenzie looked horrified. “I'm kidding. Anyway you told him it was
a bar not a sex club and he listed them off to you. Maybe it won't be as bad as you're expecting?”
“Probably worse. I'll be squashed in between a hundred people all gyrating against me.” Kenzie said
shivering in disgust.
“Okay calm down germaphobe.”
“I'm not a germaphobe. I just like being clean and not having dirty smelly humans touching me.”
“So I'm dirty and smelly?” I joked.
“Nah! You're a Neph and you smell lovely, like strawberries.”
The sound of a car engine caught our attention and we both ducked down lower, I wasn't sure how
much lower we could actually get. We ended up on our elbows and knees in the dirt. The sound of
an engine revved loudly as the gates opened. A large yellow Hummer pulled out onto the street with
music blasting loudly out the speakers.
“What is that?” I asked.
“That is Emmett being over the top and flaunting his wealth, well not even his more like Cam's.
Everyone's meant to keep a low profile coming and going from Rose Cottage but not Em. He likes
the attention it brings him.”
“Kenzie what is Em?”
“What apart from being an annoying pain in my ass.”
“I'm a Neph, you're a death tracker. The servants at the manor are humans, they are humans right?”
“No robots,” he joked. “Yes humans.”
“And Em is what exactly?” I asked watching the Hummer turn the corner at the end of the street.
“A lonely teenage boy that craves attention.”
“No there's something else...”
“There is but it's a question for another day.” he said.
“Can I help you?” said a snobby accent from behind us.
I quickly stood back up and brushed my legs down.
“My shoes are dirty.” Kenzie said turning his heel out to inspect.
The lady coughed loudly looking at me crossing her arms.
“We were looking for something on the floor.” I said trying to be casual about it.
“Great another pot head in my garden. Do I need to call the police?”
“What no we were just going.” I said looking over at Kenzie who was grinning.
“What's funny?” I asked smiling at him.
He shrugged but carried on grinning.