invasion. A deadly possession of my will. An infection of something monstrous.
Insanity.
And its name is Madness.
23
Robin
Waking slowly with a hum, I burrow into the warmth surrounding me, eyes still closed. Letting my fingers play over the fabric of the blanket, I encounter an arm. Brain fuzzy with sleep, it takes a moment to process I’m not alone. Eyes snapping open, I’m confronted with a familiar bedroom.
Morpheus’s room.
Laying snuggled up to either side of me on the mattress is Illusions and Nightmares. A tide of hatred consumes me causing my vision to mist for a second. I feel it pulse in time with my heart.
“That…that thing is part of you. He’s a monster.” It’s a tiny whisper but filled with so much enmity it has both men rearing away in surprise.
A flash of pain shadows Illusions’ youthful features. “We love you Robin. We’d never hurt you…”
“But you did… he did,” I sneer, scooting to the end of the bed and scrambling off to stand on the carpet. Finding my shoes, I stuff them hurriedly onto my feet.
“He’s not one of us. Where are you going?”
“Bullshit, we both know that’s a lie. He…you let Cupid violate me. How can I trust you now?” The snarl barely leaves my lips before I’m out of the door and sprinting for the stairs. An overpowering urge to escape them drives me forward. Laughter rings in my ears. The memory of the Doll Maker’s raspy voice describing in detail what he was doing to his victim as he did it. How he’d dissected her before me piece by piece. Cupid’s hands on my body. An echo of pain from his defilement. His promise that it wasn’t over. That it had only just begun. All their fault.
“I’m sure Morpheus can take care of himself.” Gabriel’s voice sounds from the vicinity of the kitchen.
“But I thought Thanatos said the very fabric of dreams would unravel if he was away from the island for too long!” Snatch argues in reply.
“That was a slight exaggeration.” The god of death admits, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor. “As long as one of them is here, the isle is safe.”
“So, you just thought it was fun to try and give the rest of us a heart attack?”
“It’s called motivation.”
Racing out of the front door, I find the house sitting on a secluded slope on the shores of a crystal-clear lake. Purple flowers in different hues entwine over a mass of trees and bushes, creating a web of color around it. It’s so beautiful it brings a sense of unreality. So still and peaceful yet lacks the sounds of nature. Bird song, the drone of insects, and the sight of animals.
I’m drawn toward the edge of the shimmering, sparkling water. I can’t shake the feelings of hate seething through me. All I am is rage. It spreads through my soul shutting down every other emotion. How dare they do this to me. They had no right to make me a victim. To take something that wasn’t theirs to take.
“Rubeen.”
Turning I find Nightmares behind me. He gives me a swift searching glance, his deep rich voice mesmerizing as it caresses over my senses. Although I don’t understand the words he speaks, they somehow soothe me a little.
“You have to trust us,” Illusions insists earnestly looking pale and shaken next to him. Reaching out, he touches my cheek in a soft caress. “We need you.”
“No.” Slapping his hand away, the negative feelings surge. A shockwave that rings out.
Gabriel appears on the steps of the house, wearing a look of concern. “Robin, what are you doing out here? You’ve just escaped the hands of a demented god and a mad man. You should be resting.”
A black, dense, smoky cloud forms to the right of me. Moving from side to side it spins, rotating in the air before shooting off over the water. I’m aware of its consciousness, its desires, and as I focus fully on them, they begin to grow. A chilling screech echoes out, and the sky is instantly alive with a flurry of black skin stretched over bones.
Snatch and Thanatos come running out of the house behind the archangel at the commotion.
“What in darnation is happening? Those things shouldn’t even be able to exist somewhere like here. It’s not possible!” the god of death exclaims, dark eyebrows arching up under the rim of his hat.
“I just baked you some shut the fuck up cookies. Let me think!” Gabriel snaps, his eyes