Read Online The Waking Dreamer by J. E. Alexander - Free Book Online
Authors: J. E. Alexander
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or a devil at the fireplace?” called out a baritone voice.
A pair of men entered the room from another door, walking as much as strutting. Not appearing much older than Keiran, they were deeply tanned identical twins with short brown hair and brown eyes, though one of the twin’s eyes seemed to sparkle as if flecks of silver swirled in his irises. Like Amala’s. And whereas Keiran was athletic and strongly built, the twins’ wide barrel chests strained against their shirts.
“All right?” Keiran smiled, clapping each on the shoulder. “Emmett, this is Sebastian and Paulo Rodrigo.” He gestured to each twin in turn.
Both nodded silently at the same time. The twin with the sparkling eyes narrowed them, staring at Emmett. “Interesting coloring,” the twin said.
“How long with the Rot?” the second twin asked.
“Three nights ago in Florida.”
“How unexpected,” the twin with the strange eyes commented.
Emmett felt like a child being talked about by grown-ups at the dinner table.
“I never got to say good-bye after the aurora australis in the spring,” Keiran said, ending the momentary uncomfortable silence.
“It’s okay, we had to head back to Noronha early …”
“Allessandro sends his regards…” the other twin added mid-sentence, to which Keiran smiled knowingly.
“So what brings you up here?” Keiran asked.
“ La Pastora had us hunting the coast. We left Natal two weeks ago.”
“Anything of interest?” Keiran asked.
“Rumors. An old man in Pureza said that several of the area’s children had gone missing. The trafficking trade is too extensive to be certain what happened to them.”
The other brother nodded. “There was talk of a disease spreading through an isolated village in Martins—odd muscle spasms, high fever, eventual death … the typical thing you’d expect if they were active in the area and failing to cover their tracks …”
“… but since there was massive flooding in the area and the main roads were washed out, the villagers couldn’t wait for officials to arrive. They burned the dead in case of malaria, leaving nothing left for us to check.”
“So no evidence of Revenant activity?” Keiran asked.
“We followed a trail of similar signs north through the Amazon until we reached what we thought was a dead end in Veracruz. Then we started hearing talk of el hombre de la bolsa again …”
“… which we hadn’t heard that far south of Monterrey before.”
“The man of the sack?” Emmett finally interrupted. And though he’d heard of the foreign horror movie of the same name, he knew just enough Spanish to understand nothing of what was presently being discussed.
The twins turned and looked to Keiran as if it were his responsibility to explain. Emmett couldn’t tell if they were being deferential to Keiran or were simply irritated.
“The Sack Man is a story parents in Latin America tell misbehaving children about an ugly old man who collects and eats bad children. Classic bogeyman story … except, of course, that it’s not entirely untrue. Not when the bogeyman really does kidnap children and eat them, anyway,” Keiran said.
Emmett’s mind numbly absorbed Keiran’s words as the twins resumed. “Honestly, brother, I wish we chased real shadows instead of our own. Some children went missing and some farm animals were slaughtered, but no Revenants.”
“Since we were so close to the border, we caught a flight to rest and visit here. Paulo’s got a crush on that widow who runs that restaurant you’re so fond of.”
The other twin—Paulo apparently, though Emmett was uncertain if he could ever tell them apart but for Paulo’s unusual eyes—jabbed his brother before looking back at Keiran. “We were heading to say hi to Sophie. We’ll let you get back to your tour.”
Keiran clasped their hands individually before they left through the door Keiran and Emmett had just exited. Emmett watched them leave, noting that neither turned
A pair of men entered the room from another door, walking as much as strutting. Not appearing much older than Keiran, they were deeply tanned identical twins with short brown hair and brown eyes, though one of the twin’s eyes seemed to sparkle as if flecks of silver swirled in his irises. Like Amala’s. And whereas Keiran was athletic and strongly built, the twins’ wide barrel chests strained against their shirts.
“All right?” Keiran smiled, clapping each on the shoulder. “Emmett, this is Sebastian and Paulo Rodrigo.” He gestured to each twin in turn.
Both nodded silently at the same time. The twin with the sparkling eyes narrowed them, staring at Emmett. “Interesting coloring,” the twin said.
“How long with the Rot?” the second twin asked.
“Three nights ago in Florida.”
“How unexpected,” the twin with the strange eyes commented.
Emmett felt like a child being talked about by grown-ups at the dinner table.
“I never got to say good-bye after the aurora australis in the spring,” Keiran said, ending the momentary uncomfortable silence.
“It’s okay, we had to head back to Noronha early …”
“Allessandro sends his regards…” the other twin added mid-sentence, to which Keiran smiled knowingly.
“So what brings you up here?” Keiran asked.
“ La Pastora had us hunting the coast. We left Natal two weeks ago.”
“Anything of interest?” Keiran asked.
“Rumors. An old man in Pureza said that several of the area’s children had gone missing. The trafficking trade is too extensive to be certain what happened to them.”
The other brother nodded. “There was talk of a disease spreading through an isolated village in Martins—odd muscle spasms, high fever, eventual death … the typical thing you’d expect if they were active in the area and failing to cover their tracks …”
“… but since there was massive flooding in the area and the main roads were washed out, the villagers couldn’t wait for officials to arrive. They burned the dead in case of malaria, leaving nothing left for us to check.”
“So no evidence of Revenant activity?” Keiran asked.
“We followed a trail of similar signs north through the Amazon until we reached what we thought was a dead end in Veracruz. Then we started hearing talk of el hombre de la bolsa again …”
“… which we hadn’t heard that far south of Monterrey before.”
“The man of the sack?” Emmett finally interrupted. And though he’d heard of the foreign horror movie of the same name, he knew just enough Spanish to understand nothing of what was presently being discussed.
The twins turned and looked to Keiran as if it were his responsibility to explain. Emmett couldn’t tell if they were being deferential to Keiran or were simply irritated.
“The Sack Man is a story parents in Latin America tell misbehaving children about an ugly old man who collects and eats bad children. Classic bogeyman story … except, of course, that it’s not entirely untrue. Not when the bogeyman really does kidnap children and eat them, anyway,” Keiran said.
Emmett’s mind numbly absorbed Keiran’s words as the twins resumed. “Honestly, brother, I wish we chased real shadows instead of our own. Some children went missing and some farm animals were slaughtered, but no Revenants.”
“Since we were so close to the border, we caught a flight to rest and visit here. Paulo’s got a crush on that widow who runs that restaurant you’re so fond of.”
The other twin—Paulo apparently, though Emmett was uncertain if he could ever tell them apart but for Paulo’s unusual eyes—jabbed his brother before looking back at Keiran. “We were heading to say hi to Sophie. We’ll let you get back to your tour.”
Keiran clasped their hands individually before they left through the door Keiran and Emmett had just exited. Emmett watched them leave, noting that neither turned
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