Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“I need to find answers for my mouse.”
“Kazimir,” Pavel’s voice broke through my turmoil, softer now, tinged with an empathy I hadn’t expected. “There are no right answers in a place like this, and especially for you. There are only bad choices and consequences.”
No.
This was Emily.
My mouse.
The one person who had seen beyond the murderous beast inside of me and had reached into the darkness to find my heart.
“Pavel.” I scowled at him. “If there is even a sliver of a chance that I could help Emily, protect her in a way that I never could in the physical world. . .”
Pavel shook his head.
“I owe it to her to try.”
“And if you get lost in here or trapped—”
“I raced around Paris naked, wielding my rocket launcher. I have bombed for Emily and killed many. Even recently. . .” I let out a long breath and turned my view to my mouse on the ground. “I jumped into a pit of alligators just to get an eye.”
Pavel sighed. “Kazimir, think of Emilio.”
I snapped my view to him and sneered. “And you think of Paolo.”
Pavel blinked and edged back as if I had slapped him.
I pointed at my mouse. “Paolo needs Emily to be healed. To him, she is everything. Just think of the mother my mouse would be if she were truly able to fully heal.”
Pavel rubbed his forehead.
But still the fear of becoming trapped, of becoming a ghost in her psyche, unable to leave, unable to live, haunted me.
I was a man of action, not of introspection.
Yet, here, action and introspection were one and the same.
I gritted my teeth and did my best to shove away the fears.
The little girl watched me. “I can take you to Lunita.”
Am I going to do it? Go to Lunita? Or wake up?
And there it was—the crux of it all.
Choice.
The foundation of all our lives, human or otherwise. Every action, every decision, tended to lead to the crossroads between action and reflection.
Echoes of my past life, the cold steel of guns, the whispered oaths of loyalty to the Brotherhood, the blood spilled, the deaths, all seemed distant yet hauntingly present, as if Emily’s subconscious had somehow entangled with the dark undercurrents of my own existence.
“I should meet everyone,” I murmured, more to myself than to Pavel and the little girl. “It could help somehow.”
Pavel frowned. “Help?”
“I could search for the original. Narrow down places or. . .somehow get clues.”
“Clues?” Pavel deepened his frown. “This is not a mystery, cousin. This is a horror—one where if you die at the end. . .in here. . .you may be a vegetable in the real world.”
A cold shiver ran through me.
Pavel pleaded with me. “Would that be helping Emily?”
I sighed. “We do not know what could happen.”
“Kazimir, every moment here could be a gamble against her sanity—and yours.”
I fisted my hands at my side.
“Which is why we should leave.”
I wanted to punch him in his face. “How can you be dead and also be a coward at the same time?”
“I am being smart. That is a big difference.”
I turned back to Emily, her form still and peaceful on the cold cement. This was more than about getting out; it was about going in, deeper into the heart of my mouse’s darkness, to maybe, just maybe, bring her into the light.
To my surprise, the little girl whispered into the stuffed lion’s ear, her small frame leaning in close to the toy as if sharing a secret with a trusted friend.
And for some reason, that made me smile and. . .it helped me to truly understand what I needed to do.
I knew the risks.
I could become lost, a shadow in Emily’s mind forever.
But love. . .
It was not just about holding someone close; it was about diving into the unknown for them.
I love you, mysh.
With a deep, steadying breath, I made my choice. I would stay, for now, delve deeper into the enigma of Emily’s mind. I would face her demons, confront any fears, and unearth the secrets buried within.
Because if there was even the smallest chance that this could bring her healing, mend her shattered pieces, then it was a risk worth taking.
For her, I would brave the unknown, even if it meant losing myself in the process.
“Alright,” My voice steadied. “Let’s go deeper.”
“No, Kazimir. No.” Pavel waved his hands in front of me. “You must listen. It is time to go.”
I kept my view on the little girl. “Take me to the roof. I want to see Lunita.”
Chapter forty
Mean Ole Lion
Kazimir
The little girl led us up a haunting gray staircase—a child guiding two grown men through the labyrinthine of her shattered mind.
Her small arm clutched firmly around the stuffed lion’s neck.
I really need to make that bigger. It is too small.
Each step creaked under our weight.
Pavel got to my side, drew a cross on his forehead, and whispered in Russian, “In the shadows, we seek the light, guide our hearts, spirits of night.”