The Man In The Midnight Blue Suit

Chapter Fifteen

"Jonathan! Jonathan!!"
"Casey?! What's going on?"
I collapse into the warm embrace of my brothers' arms. I had to get away from the horror. His room was the only place I could think of. Jonathan leads my shaking frame inside, shutting the door behind him. He sits me on his bed, his light blue eyes full of concern and worry.

I'm a blubbering mess. I can't stop tears from streaming down my cheeks, my breath coming in frightened hiccups. All I can think of is those creatures kept hidden away, and that weird six-pointed star. Lucian is sick. I knew he was dangerous, but I never imagined this. And we're trapped here, in this mansion, by this insanely powerful man. I'm being trained by him. I can only shudder to think of what he has in store for me.

Jonathan hurries around his room, lighting his two sconces with a match before pulling a pack of tissues from a draw. His blonde hair is dishevelled and he wears a rumpled t-shirt over long pyjama pants. He looks shocked and scared. I bet I do, too. The scream echoes in my head.

"Shhh. Quiet now. I'm here. You're safe." Jonathan pulls me into his arms and smooths my hair, just like he did when I was younger. Suddenly I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia. I used to suffer from horrible nightmares when I was little. They were like the stuff of horror movies, inflicting a nine-year-old's dreams. When I woke screaming in the middle of the night, Jonathan was the one who comforted me. Our mother was never the best of parents. Sure, she made my lunches and came to my assemblies. But for the tough stuff, I always went to Jonathan. After a nightmare, he always held me just like he did now. As I sob in his arms, dampening his t-shirt, I feel like a kid again. After he disappeared, I had to deal with those nightmares on my own. I did a lot of growing up in that first year.

Not for the first time, I'm hit with overwhelming gratitude for having found him again.
Once I've dried my tears and my hectic breathing has returned to normal, Jonathan leads me to the sofa by the window. I look around his room. It's the same size as mine, with a door to the bathroom in the same place. The similarity stops there. His dark green bed is shoved into a corner to make room the 19th century Recamier sitting below the window. Jonathan has to move a pile of books to a table against the far wall, already cluttered with all manner of scribblings, papers and a few more books. Apparently, Jonathan's study isn't restricted to the library.

He sits beside me on the sofa. The sun's first morning rays are just beginning to shine over the gardens surrounding the mansion. The night may have slipped away, but its terrors are still here, closer than ever.

"Casey, what happened? Is it Lucian?" Jonathan starts. I can see he is barely holding back a stream of questions.
"I've done it. I've been up there... I know you told me not to, but I saw an opportunity and my curiosity got the better of me. The things I saw..."
"Wait, where did you go? Casey, what have you done?"
"I went to the top floor."
"Impossible." Jonathan gapes at me, his face a mixture of disbelief and fear. "You can't have gone up there."
"I did, Jonathan. I've been to the room you talked about when you told me about the girl."
Jonathan cuts me off with a wave of his hand. His brows slightly creased in concern, he gets up and slowly moves to extinguish the flames in his two scones. He moves back to me. The early sun is just bright enough to see our faces.

"Quiet. I'm not taking any risks." Jonathan says. If Lucian were to know that I've seen everything... it would mean anger we can never imagine.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going there?" Jonathan asks, in a whisper.
"Because I knew you wouldn't let me," I say, guilt overcoming my urgency for a moment. Jonathan sighs and runs a hand through his messy hair.
"Tell me what happened," He says.

Quietly and carefully, I explain about the training card, left in my room. I tell him what it meant, and how I got to the top floor. Most importantly, I tell him about the creatures kept there. I don't leave anything out. Hopefully, he'll be able to figure out what it's all for. If we know what Lucians doing, we'll be better prepared for what's coming.