The front of the house was a dumping site for damaged drywall, soaked insulation, floors, the old sprinkler system, and whatever else needed to be replaced.
When I lifted my stare from the grass, I saw several tiny fires along the edge where the cabins stood. Torches, small fire pits, even a couple portable grills glowed in the darkness, and I saw more of them the closer I got. Then as we reached the corner of the house and I had the entire backyard in my sights, I had to admit it caused a reaction. My stomach dropped uncomfortably.
Christ.
There had to be at least thirty or forty fires, and they created a semicircle around River, Reese, and Shay.
Shay was only in jeans, and he was blindfolded.
“What the fuck is the purpose of this?” I asked. “Why’s he blindfolded?”
“I don’t know,” Greer answered pensively. “I’m guessing it’s a perception thing. How we perceive danger is usually different from the actual threat.”
I supposed that was true.
“Tell us what you hear, boy,” I heard Reese command.
I approached slowly, not wanting to make a sound, and stopped at the loungers on the other side of the covered pool.
“Same as before,” Shay responded tightly. “I hear the flames. It’s warmer. You’ve lit more of them.”
Reese and River exchanged a brief look.
“Still the same number of fires, li’l pup.” River cleared his throat. “Greer and Corey are here now. They’re gonna do their own therapy session farther down the lawn, so you just focus on us, yeah?”
“Yes, Owner.”
Greer clamped a hand down on my neck, and he nodded for me to follow him.
I swallowed uneasily.
As opposed to aiming for the other side of the semicircle, Greer headed straight for the twins, and they exchanged a few quiet words before Reese extended something from his pockets. Looked like another silk tie used for blindfolds.
I didn’t see a single reason for me to be blindfolded, though.
“What do you smell, Shay?” River asked.
“Paint thinner,” Shay answered.
I cocked my head. Paint thinner?
As Greer led me away again, down the slope, toward the other side of the fire line, I eyed the fires more closely. I only saw firewood and regular charcoal for barbecues.
“You heard us clank two metal cans together, and your mind goes straight to the paint thinners your old man used to keep in the basement,” Reese murmured. “There’re no thinners around, sweetheart. Plenty of canned beans in tomato sauce, though.”
I winced and felt for Shay. He stood there in the darkness, all those little fires behind him, and looked so damn lost.
I knew that feeling.
“You feel sympathy,” Greer said quietly.
I stiffened and side-eyed him. “I know what it’s like to be lost, is all.”
He hummed in acknowledgment and told me to stay put. We were closer to the temporary venue now than we were to TenShay, so I guessed this was where Greer planned on “cracking” me.
He disappeared into the massive tent to fetch something, and I folded my arms over my chest. It was a pretty neat structure. Its walls were made from a sturdier material than plastic canvas, and the flooring felt secure to walk on. Now Tate and Ivy were in charge of turning it into a club.
They’d rescued the chandelier from the main house, which I wasn’t sure had ever been used.
When Greer returned, he was holding a dozen torches and a bottle of lighter fluid.
“Those won’t trigger anything,” I said.
I was more convinced than ever that the setting of my nightmares was a fluke. After all, I was around fire all the time and barely noticed it. Greer had a gas stove at home. They had a fireplace. They evidently hosted barbecues all year-round. None of that bothered me, and I’d gotten over my initial unease about returning here fast.
“You can lose your sweater and undershirt,” Greer told me. “The fires should keep you warm.”
Should.
Nice.
I shrugged and went along with it, and I dropped my clothes on the grass. Then I folded my arms over my chest again because it was freaking cold.
“Why aren’t we just using the cabin?” I asked. I’d spent a night in the sleep loft now, and it was essentially a bunch of mattresses stacked together, taking up plenty of space. Plus, books. So many books. Books, mattresses, pillows, blankets, two big duvets, and more pillows. Whatever Greer had planned, we could do up there. We’d have no neighbors to worry about.
“Want me to tell you what you’re getting for Christmas too?” he grunted, jamming one of the pikes into the ground.
I sighed heavily.
This wasn’t going to work.
He didn’t speak again until all the torches had been lit in a wide circle around me, and he must’ve changed his mind about letting me in on his reasoning.
“I wanna use the fires to push you closer to your nightmares,” he said. “There’s nothing triggering about the cabin.”