Sunny forced a smile and prepared to shadow step out of there.
"What do you mean, ma'am?"
Dunn raised an eyebrow as he looked over.
"What is it, Daly?"
Daly's smile widened as she took a step closer to him.
"You were the one who recommended the lemon cakes to Rozzane, right? She mentioned a handsome young man who worked there. Anyway, I tried one of them, and they were absolutely delicious."
Sunny almost let out a sigh of relief before he masked it behind a smile.
"Yes, I was, I work there, and I'm glad you enjoyed them. I made them myself."
Daly smiled at him again before turning to Dunn.
"Where do you want it to be?"
Dunn gestured around the short corridor.
"Here is fine,"
Daly nodded and began walking off.
"Alright, I'll be ready in a few minutes."
Dunn Smith gestured to a specific room on the right side of the small corridor, and Sunny spotted what looked like an entertainment room with a sofa and a table with a candle holder in front of it.
"Sit, get comfortable. Normally, this entertainment room is reserved for formal members of the Nighthawks, but today is an exception. Would you like any water?"
"Yes, thank you,"
Dunn Smith nodded.
"Alright, I'll be back,"
Sunny walked towards the room and sat down on the left side of the sofa alongside Klein, who sat on the right side, while Leonard, who had grabbed a book from somewhere, followed and sat between them. Crossing his legs, the young man flipped to a random page before he began reading it.
"You know, If I hadn't known you weren't from this world, I would've thought you were a long lost son of Azik Eggers because of how much you smell of death."
Sunny looked around. Confusion was abundantly clear in his onyx eyes.
"What? Who's Azik Eggers?"
And what did one of them mean by the smell of death? Was it because Sunny was a divine shadow of the shadow god? Was he already caught? As more questions ran through his mind, Klein turned his head to him with a confused expression, while Leonard looked up from his book with a raised eyebrow.
"We didn't say anything, Mr. Sunless."
Sunny scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"Oh, alright, my apologies. I didn't sleep at all last night, and I guess it's finally catching up to me."
Not that it mattered, since transcended beings could go weeks without sleep and still be just fine.
If it wasn't either of them who said that, then who the hell did? And why was Sunny the only one who could hear the voice?
Sunny knew it wasn't a form of invisibility because his shadow sense was extended throughout the entire headquarters; it had been the moment he stepped through the door. He would have sensed their shadow if they were near him, unless of course they could mask their presence as Silent Stalker could do.
He knew that it had something to do with the strange woman taking one of his powers. But what? Did she do something else to him? Was there something in that monocle she gave him that was making him have auditory hallucinations?
Did she poison it?
'No, even if she did, then Blood Weave would have already taken care of the moment it entered my system.'
So what the hell did she do to him?
He would take a look at the monocle when he got the chance.
Leonard stared at him for a while longer as if trying to look through him before he nodded with a smile.
"So you've said in the horse carriage on our way here. You should really do a better job at taking care of yourself, Mr. Sunless. After all, we wouldn't want you passing out on us. But I must ask, why are you working at a bakery of all places when you could most certainly be a model for a magazine?"
"I don't like the spotlight. What about you? I could ask you the same thing."
As his green eyes shone with mirth, Leonard pushed his long, slightly unkempt hair out of his face, leaned back, and put his feet on the table with a relaxed smile.
"They wouldn't be able to capture my full looks in the magazines."
Klein and Sunny stared at Leonard, confused, then at Sunny and smiled.
"How has working at Smryin's bakery been?"
Sunny smiled back and shifted to look at him fully.
"It's been good, she's great company."
Klein smiled and took off his half-top hat.
"I'm glad she has someone to keep her company. I can't help but worry about her sometimes as she gets older. Oh, and to answer your question from a moment ago, Mr. Azik is my former lecturer at Khoy University. Do you know of it?"
Sunny nodded.
"Yes, I've heard of the place. Thank you, Mr. Moretti."
It wasn't a lie since it was one of the many places Smryin told him about earlier this morning.
As Klein stared off elsewhere, Sunny's thoughts soon began to drift back to what Dunn Smith said about the nameless temple and how only Beyonders could see it, and how it could've been the headquarters for the dreamspawn. That meant the Nighthawks had been monitoring the temple since Sunny and everyone else arrived here. So they should have seen them leave the temple to go into Tingen Street, as well as all the other times they left and returned to the nameless temple.
And yet, Dunn made no mention of anyone leaving the temple, only that it could be the headquarters for the dreamspawn. So, that meant it was likely the same god that was protecting them and making all the civilians forget was also the one who made the Nighthawks forget seeing Sunny and his companions at the temple.
Or…Or was some other god somehow concealing Sunny and his companions from the Nighthawks gaze until Sunny or anyone else in the nameless temple went to Tingen Street or Iron Cross Street or anywhere? That would explain why the Nighthawks had no idea who occupied the temple and why they never mentioned anyone leaving.
Sunny immediately shook his head, getting a look from Klein, which Sunny ignored.
'Two gods protecting us? No, no, that's absurd.'
One god protecting them was more "realistic."
Besides, surely they would know if they were being hidden by a god even if it was for a brief moment, right? Then again, Sunny had no idea he was in a dream until Dunn Smith told him to wake up.
And the others did mention a strange, dark fog that mostly blocked their view of their surroundings until they reached Tingen Street. Sunny saw it too whenever he left for work, and every time he left the temple and returned. But he found himself passing it off as a natural occurrence in the city.
Though it was odd that he couldn't recall seeing the dark fog until now, he kept that in the back of his mind as another thought popped up in Sunny's head.
Did the church of the Evernight goddess know that Sunny and his companions were occupying the temple?
After all, they had to be more powerful than the Nighthawks, considering that Dunn Smith said he would call them if the dreamspawn turned out to be a high-sequence beyonder. Which, obviously, meant that the members were high-sequence beyonders as well.
Or was the god protecting them also making the Evernight goddess's church members forget, too?
Or were they not affected because of their high sequence? If they weren't affected, did the members of the church already know about Sunny and his companions, too, and decide to keep watch to see if they were a threat? Did their high sequence even matter when compared to the power of a god? How many other organizations were keeping tabs on them since their arrival?
'Gods- I mean goddess, I don't know.'
Sunny made a mental reminder to tell everyone, as The Lord of Shadows, including that bastard Mordret, to develop a habit of saying goddess instead of gods from now on, so that they didn't get caught.
Sunny knew he was being paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, he didn't want anyone to accidentally anger the Evernight goddess for not acknowledging her as one.
But he digressed. There were far too many questions running through his mind. Everything was too confusing and overwhelming for him. Regardless of whether or not the members of the church knew of their arrival, Sunny knew for a fact that at least one god was watching over and protecting them for an unknown reason.
"I can assure you that 'He' is not a god. Heh Heh, that means you and your friends could be caught at any moment. It's thrilling, isn't it, not knowing what might happen. Well, probably not thrilling for you, but it most certainly is for me; it's like watching a play."
Oh yeah, and to make things even more complicated, Sunny was pretty sure he was losing his mind as a random voice kept speaking in his head.
'Give me a damn break.'
Sunny was torn from his thoughts when a hand holding a cup of water came into view. Sunny looked up to Dunn Smith in front of him, slightly leaning down.
"Here you are,"
Sunny took the cup of water from the man's hand and nodded.
"Thank you,"
"You're welcome, we can start whenever you are ready."
Sunny paused as he was about to take a sip.
"Start what?"
Dunn seemed to recall that he never told Sunny what they were doing.
"Right, I forgot to tell you. Daly is going to go into your mind to look for clues on the rogue beyonder and see if you truly aren't associated with him."
'What?'
No, no, no, they couldn't do that, then they would see the waking world and know that he wasn't from here at all!
"So this is an interrogation, but you told me I wasn't a suspect. Why lie?"
Dunn met his eyes with a neutral look.
"I didn't lie, you're not a suspect, in fact, I fully believe you, Mr. Sunless. And that, in itself, is a problem because if he is a high-sequence beyonder, as Leonard believes. How do I know that 'the dreamspawn' didn't manipulate my thoughts and make me believe you?"
"You don't,"
Dunn nodded.
"That's right, I don't. We are dealing with a possibly very dangerous beyonder Mr. Sunless. That's why we have to know for sure that you have no connections with him. We also have to find out what he looks like, as you never gave me a description. And if possible, we can hopefully find out what that spirit was doing in your dream, but that is not our main concern, as it being there brought no harm to me or you."
"Ah, I see,"
Dunn seemed to notice his tension and held up his hand in a calming gesture.
"I can't promise you that it won't take long, but I can promise that going into your mind won't hurt. In fact, it will feel like you're falling asleep like any other night. Mr. Sunless, no harm will come to you as you're not an enemy."
"Right, of course, thank you, Mr.Smith. I suppose I should get this over with. Do I need to follow you anywhere?"
Gods…uh, he meant Goddess! What was he supposed to do? He couldn't run as he didn't want them to think he was with the dreamspawn, as they could be potential allies in the future, and he couldn't allow them to enter his mind. If he did the latter, then he would be caught, and the gods of this place would know and annihilate him along with everyone else who was brought here as well.
He was forced to focus on the present when Dunn Smith shook his head.
"No, Daly said that the couch is fine, as she wants you to be as comfortable as possible."
"Alright then,"
Daly, who came back with what looked like two small glass bottles, matches, and a candlestick, held a look of curiosity as her eyes scanned over him, likely peering into him. Her next words confirmed his suspicion.
"Mr. Sunless. You're stressed. Is something troubling you? Well, I shouldn't be asking such a silly question when there's an obvious answer. I can see why you would be stressed, considering that you've never been in such a situation before."
Sunny nodded with a partial nervous smile, though he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
"That's right, ma'am,"
She smiled as she moved towards the table and set her candle down in the candle holder. Then she pulled a chair and sat down across from him at the table with the two thumb-sized bottles in her hand. Striking a match, she brought it to the candle and lit it. Sunny watched in fascination as the flame slowly turned from orange to blue.
"There's no need to be so formal, as I'm positive we're around the same age. Call me Daly."
Sunny nodded.
"Alright then, Daly."
Daly smiled in response as she held up one of the thumb-sized bottles and opened it, dripping a few drops onto the candle flame. Almost immediately, a sweet fragrance filled the air around them.
"Now then, I call this 'Amantha', it means tranquility in the Hermes language."
Sunny sniffed the air and felt himself relaxing into the sofa.
"I can see why it's called that now,"
Daly put the cap onto the first bottle and set it down. She opened the second one and dripped a few drops onto the candle flames
"This is called the eye of the spirit. I'm not going to go over the ingredients for these, as I don't want to take up any more of your time. And because I'm sure you've already heard me say it before."
That last part was… strange, to say the least, as Sunny was sure she didn't know it was him watching them. But now, he was starting to doubt himself as he listened to her speak. He noticed that her voice was echoing around the room as if she were everywhere.
"How long does it take to work?"
Daly didn't respond; instead, she silently smiled at him while her emerald eyes focused on the crown of his head, for some reason. As he was about to ask again, he noticed that the room began to sway, and he began to float as if gravity suddenly stopped existing.
Colors began to blend into each other like a canvas with no painter in sight; every color he saw seemed a deeper shade than before.
He was so focused on them that he barely registered the hundreds, if not thousands, of people murmuring around him despite seeing no one else but Daly in his direct or peripheral sight. Sunny realized that, despite his high mental fortitude, he was unable to form a single coherent thought without feeling as if his mind were trying to swim through mud.
Meanwhile, Daly, who was still sitting in the chair, suddenly stood; her smile was long gone as she began walking towards him. She stopped walking when she was a few meters away.
"I know you were the one spying on us when we were in the apartment, trying to get answers from Klein's mind. You can hide your presence, but you can't hide your smell, Mr. Sunless. The smell of death."