I froze in place, staring out the window as the last stars dwindled away. Then I heard another familiar voice.
"Jason, there you are! So you decided to sleep with Dawn like a baby?"
I turned from the window. My relief returned as I saw Jake enter the room.
"What are you doing here?" Jason demanded.
"I woke up early, and then I couldn't get back to sleep," Jake explained. "Then I remembered..."
Relief flooded through me. It was almost morning. We could all wait here until the sun rose and the knocking went away. Until the Dreamtaker left.
Then I scolded myself for being an idiot. There was no Dreamtaker. It was just a stupid story made up by somebody's overactive imagination. And even if there was, the knocking hadn't sounded like that.
"Uh, Jake? Can I ask you something?" I interrupted the twins' bickering. "Were you knocking at the door just now?"
"Oh, yeah! Were you?" Jason demanded.
"Uh, no," Jake said. "I thought you were asleep. I just opened the door." I felt my spirits sink slightly, but I tried not to be too disappointed. "And now I'm going to head out."
"What?" My jaw dropped.
"Didn't you hear anything I said?" Jake rolled his eyes. "I left my Gameboy downstairs—"
"Dropped it while chasing me," Jason muttered. "And I'm not joining you, no matter what you say!"
"Fine, you wimp. I'll get it myself," Jake declared.
I grabbed his arm as he stepped towards the door. "No! You can't!" He stared at me. "I mean... why now? It's so early. Can't you get it later?"
"I'll be bored out of my mind," Jake insisted. "Even annoying you two gets old after a while. Come on, it won't take long. I'll be back before you know it, even if Jason's too much of a coward to join me—"
"No!" I protested desperately. "What if you get lost?"
"Didn't you hear the knocks just now?" Jason added.
"What knocks?" Jake demanded.
Jason and I exchanged looks. "Somebody was knocking at the door," Jason explained.
"I don't hear anything," Jake quipped.
We all went silent for a moment as I listened carefully. Sure enough, I didn't hear anything aside from the birds beginning to chirp outside. The knocking had disappeared completely.
"Well, whoever it is, they're gone now," Jake said. I could tell he didn't believe us. "If I run into them, I'll be sure to ask why they were knocking."
"Don't do it, Jake," I pleaded, grabbing his arm. "Something terrible could happen."
He pulled away. "If you're too much of a coward, that's fine. I'll go by myself. Are you sure you don't want to come with me, Jace?"
"Of course not!" Jason protested.
"I knew you were a baby," Jake taunted. "I can't believe we're the same age. You couldn't even go to sleep in the same room as me."
"Don't listen to him," I insisted, wrapping my arms around Jason. "Leaving is a terrible decision. There really is someone there!"
"Stop trying to freak me out," Jake scoffed. "I can tell you both made it up to scare me. Well, it's not going to work!"
Jason and I tried to protest, but it was too late. Jake had already shot across the room like a bullet, flung open the door, and flown out.
My heart sank. Jason leapt after his twin, but Jake had slammed the door behind him. I shot out of bed as Jason tugged at the handle.
"Don't go outside," I warned, dragging him away. The last thing I wanted was for my remaining brother to foolishly run out into whatever was outside as well.
"But Jake's out there!" he protested.
"Do you really want to go out too?" My heart was pounding. I cursed Jake for being so stupid. Seeing the look on Jason's face, I tried to reassure him. "Don't worry. He said he'd be back quickly, remember?"
I turned to the window, comforted by the lightening sky. "If he's not back by dawn, we'll go out to look for him."
The wait until sunrise was the longest of my life. I huddled close to Jason, muttering comforting words and trying to distract him. But I had to resist the urge to run after Jake myself. I couldn't shake away the image of the Dreamtaker sucking away my brother's life.
Then I told myself to snap out of it. There was no such thing. Jake would be fine. Maybe he'd even run into the person who had knocked – maybe Rosa – and they'd have a good laugh about it.
Then why was I so afraid to leave the room?
I jumped as I felt movement below me. A soft snore. I glanced down to see Jason had dozed off again. I ran my hand through his curls before gently away.
I turned to the window, feeling a wave of relief as I spotted the first pale rays of sunlight streaking across the horizon. I was finally awake at sunrise – in more ways than one.
I admired the sky for a moment, stalling going after Jake. Then I jumped out of my skin as I heard a knock behind me. I froze, keeping my gaze focused on the rising dawn.
"Dawn." The soft voice made me spin around. I saw Jason sprawled out on the bed where I had left him, drooling into the pillows.
The voice called my name again, louder this time. A familiar voice.
"Jake?" I called hopefully.
A pause. "Yes. It's dawn. Please let-"
He didn't have to finish. I shot across the room and flung the door open. There stood my little brother, his blue eyes wide and curious and his brown curls falling over his face. But even though he looked exactly the same, there was something… different about him. Something off about the paleness of his face, the empty look in his eyes.
But I was too relieved to see him. I threw my arms around him as I dragged him inside. I jumped at how cold his body was, but I supposed that was from wandering the hotel. Still, something about the chill emanating from my little brother made me let go of him.
"Jake, I'm so glad to see you," I said. But the look on his face made me shudder. A cold expression devoid of emotion, with no gleam in his eyes or color in his cheeks.
And then, a smile spread over his pale face. Even though he finally showed emotion, that disturbed me even more. A strange, chilling smile, with none of his usual warmth or playfulness.
"I am, too." His icy blue eyes glistened sharply without the mischievous twinkle, like the edge of a knife. His gaze felt like a knife piercing through me as well as he stared directly at me.
I shuddered, feeling a chill down my spine that was as cold as he felt. Even though Jake was back, he was nothing like the little brother I knew.