She doesn’t say a word until we have crossed the street. “She’s really dying?”
I pull her to a stop and brush soft strands of hair out of her eyes. “Without life support, her body is too frail to sustain her.”
Her gaze lowers to the snow-covered sidewalk. She shivers, even though the temperature is rather pleasant. “It’s sad to think no one cares about her.”
I lean nearer and touch her cheek. “She never had the chance to form lasting connections with the younger generations in her family. The only thing she has ever been to her niece and nephews is a drain on their inheritance. To them, she is already dead.”
Amelia’s eyes snap to mine. “That’s horrible.”
I shake my head. From her perspective Earth is the only existence that matters. “Do not feel sorry for Charlotte. She will be reunited with those she loves most, instead of living the same moment every day, every hour, every minute. Erobos have not been able to influence her since her accident, and she will leave your world whole. You should be happy for her.”
Swallowing, Amelia nods, wiping an errant tear from her cheek. “Can we just get out of here?”
I pat her hand and say, “Follow me.”
Conflicting emotions still eat at my heart. How can I cry for a woman I’ve never met? I swallow again, hoping to shove the lump in my throat to my toes where it belongs.
I have no idea where Seth is taking me. He’s sure footed, yet he glances over his shoulder every few seconds as if he is worried we’re being followed.
I scan the empty roadway behind us. “Why are you so freaked right now? Is it because of that guy?”
“He’s not helping.”
“Is he one of those things?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then why are you so worried?”
“One can never be too careful.”
I’m still not sure who that guy is, but he didn’t say anything to me other than I looked beautiful. I smirk at Seth, a little surprised and fascinated by his show of jealousy. “If one ever wants to have fun, one should relax. If he’s not a danger then what’s the problem? Don’t tell me you’re going to be a complete bummer on my first mission.”
“Mission?” he asks with a laugh.
“Isn’t that what this is? Like Nancy Drew or something?”
His tawny brows furrow together, sending an urge to my fingers to smooth the lines from his face. I shove my hands into my coat pockets and pull my arms tight around me. It’s not that it’s cold, exactly. It’s just—it should be. There’s snow everywhere, littering the tops of the trash bins and cars parked along the street.
It’s eerily quiet for a city that is never supposed to sleep, or is that Vegas? Suddenly curious, I ask, “I thought you said this was supposed to be the nineteen sixties. Why is it deserted?”
“The framework for the entire city is in Charlotte’s memory; however, beyond her apartment no one else exists in this world.”
Dread slices along my body. “Why is that so creepy?”
“It is perfectly safe.”
“Then why do I feel like we’re being watched right now?”
Seth stops and clutches my shoulders between his hands. His concerned eyes eat up my face in an instant. “What do you mean, exactly?”
“The hairs on the back of my neck are standing straight up, and there’s an empty feeling spreading through my gut. I’m almost nauseous.”
Seth’s eyes widen minutely, but he might as well have screamed RUN.
Lightning races through my veins while my breath tightens into spastic puffs. All I can think about is getting the heck out of here. Something unnatural is after us. Something really bad.
A keening wail rends the air, followed by low thumps that shake the ground. Seth picks me up, zooming away from some unknown that I would rather never see.
Even still, I look behind us.
A monstrous beast, black with an elongated snout and jagged teeth, races toward us, its beady black eyes trained on us. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s got spindly legs like a horse, but it has claws, not hooves. The horrible part is the thing is three times as big as any horse could be. The onyx hide glints with either sweat or beaded snowflakes, like it’s made of rubber or something else, maybe tar? It might as well be sewage from the pungent smell.
A long, forked tongue slithers out of its mouth before it makes that horrendous sound again. I cover my ears, but I can’t look away from it.
It’s a living, breathing nightmare that is gaining ground on us.
“Whatever you’re gonna do, you’d better get at it!” I scream. “That thing is right on our tail and getting closer!”
Seth puffs out between breaths, “Not helping, Amelia.”
I’m tempted to jump out of his arms to hoof it myself, but he’s still faster than I am. “What can I do?” I hiss at him.
“Stop distracting me. We’re almost to the portal.”
Sill listening for the thing behind us, I glance ahead. I don’t see any stinking portal. There’s nothing but buildings…forever. Seth has us headed directly for a plate-glass window of some oversized department store. I’m not exactly dressed for looting or, um, to crash through a freaking glass window.
The creature makes another ear-slitting wail that chills my insides. The overgrown lizard is no more than ten feet away from us. I gasp, which seems to prod Seth into running just a bit faster.
The air sizzles with my fear. It’s going to get me. It’s going to eat me.
My eyes widen in panic while my heart lurches to my throat. That pink, dripping tongue lashes out. On instinct, I pull my arm that is around Seth’s neck away from the thing, but it lassos me anyway, shredding through my jacket as if it’s made of water. Where it touches me, my skin erupts in agonizing pain. I scream, grappling to wrench it off me, but my hand burns like I’m grabbing acid.
Seth whirls us toward the monster and thrusts out the hand that supports my back in front of us. The creature skids to a stop, but it’s so close its rancid breath cankers my nose.
To keep myself from falling, I cling to him with my good arm. He whispers some words I don’t understand and the beast rears back, unleashing me from its tether.
Seth’s eyes narrow at the thing before his hand lights up. The strange, orange glow reminds me of the flames of his fire wall.
The creature snorts then howls, lifting its head to the sky and stamping its front legs. Now that I’ve gotten a good look at it, I still have no idea what it is. All I know is that blisters have erupted all along my arm where it lassoed me with its disgusting tongue. The hand I used to get it off me isn’t in much better shape.
Trying not to be a wimp, I grit my teeth against the growing pain.
Seth says something again and his hand brightens more. The creature kicks its rear legs against a parked car, sending it crashing down the road before it sprints away.
“What did you just do?” I ask him.
“Sent him back to the dreamer that conjured him,” he says.
“Why didn’t you just do that to begin with?”
“I didn’t want to alert the Erobos to our presence. They will know I interfered.” Eyeing me every step of the way, Seth retreats toward the large window behind us. Instead of being stopped by the glass, when he presses his back against it, we’re wrenched through the window.
My head spins, which gives me a momentary break from the pain, but just as abruptly we’re dumped into open air that whips my hair out of its pins as we plummet toward the ground.
Clutching tighter to him, I yell, “Where the hell did you take me, Seth? Or is this Hell?”
He laughs as I tuck my face into his neck, groaning against the nausea, trying to escape the vertigo, not able to look at the patchwork brown-and green-covered earth that rushes toward us.
“Hold on to me,” Seth demands.
No problem there. I thought I already was. I mold myself to him, lifting my legs around his waist and pinning myself to hi
s torso.
He ruffles his jacket behind us and it morphs into a parachute. We snap against the harness when the wind catches. I’m barely able to hang on.
“Thanks for the warning,” I grumble.
He smiles. “I told you to hold on.”
My arm throbs more with every minute that passes. I shift my hand so it’s not touching his neck anymore because it hurts too bad to keep it there. We take forever to land, and I’m painfully aware of the hard lines of Seth’s body pressed so close. If possible, he presses me even closer, then inhales a long breath.
“I’m sorry, Amelia. You must be in terrible pain. I’ll send you back as soon as we touch down.”
“No way,” I tell him.
He licks his lips and grits his teeth before he says, “You’re injured.”
I make myself look away from his distracting lips. “I’m not going back without you.” For a fleeting moment, I worry he won’t be safe without me. It’s a stupid thought, so I shove it away. Seth’s been dealing with this place forever. Nothing I do is going to change his experience.
“I’m not arguing with you.”
“Good,” I say, shifting against him. “It’s settled then.”
He stiffens, tightening his grip on me. “It is not settled. You will be no good to me until you are healed.”
“Then heal me. If you can turn a jacket into a parachute, you should be able to manage my wounds.”
He shakes his head. “I brought you out too soon. This was a bad idea that can only get worse.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Be reasonable.”
“Why should I be? Nothing else here is.”
He doesn’t say another word until we make it to the ground. Whispering curses the entire way, he glides us in for a relatively soft landing, which I am very grateful for.
The minute I can, I unwrap myself from around him and take a step away. When he pulls on the parachute, it morphs into a coal-black suit jacket, once again.
Even though I want to make it clear to him I’m not leaving, it takes a few seconds for my brain to stop spinning. I bend over and grasp my knees, hoping it will help me steady my breath. When I’m finally coherent, I ask, “What was that thing?”
Seth gives a minor shrug. “A nightmare.”
I frown, adjusting my ponytail. “Seriously? Poor Charlotte. Hasn’t the girl gone through enough?”
He inches closer to me, as if he will tell me a secret, but I’m not prepared for what he says. “It wasn’t Charlotte’s nightmare.”
I nod, skeptical eating up my face. “Whose nightmare was it then?”
I shove my hands in my pockets and stare at Amelia. “That, I don’t know. I’ve been attempting to find out who the Erobos are using, but my efforts have been thwarted on every single venture.”
“What do you mean?” Amelia asks, eyeing my every movement.
“Nightmares are not what you think.”
She cocks a hip. “Okay, so what are they.”
“The Erobos use humans to infiltrate dreams, just as Onieroi. However, we have fewer recruits, which puts us at a marked disadvantage.”
“No kidding,” she says with a sharp twist to her lips.
I ignore her posturing. “Nightmares, in essence, are malicious manipulations used to derail the dreams we send. It used to be we would control nightmares or vanquish them, but the Erobos have become great teachers in evasion tactics.”
When I catch a glimpse of her hand, blistered and damaged, I cringe. Her questions have distracted me from my task.
Moving beside her, I gently grasp her arm above the last coiling line of blisters and rip the sleeve at the seam. When the fabric floats to the ground, I have a full view of the horrible damage. She has to be in agony, but she is facing me without giving a glimpse of her emotions.
Her wounds are disturbing in numerous ways, not the least of which the bubbling pustules that coil around her arm like a viper. Her body should not react to the venom meant for me.
She is more present than I thought possible on her first venture into the Dreamscape. She’s vulnerable, but so, so brave.
When my fingers hover over the damage, she bites her lip and flinches before I have a chance to touch her. I glance at her and our eyes connect. Not taking my gaze away from hers, I raise her arm near my lips and blow.
The injury withers away into the nothing it should have been. I take another breath and she closes her eyes, her breathing erratic now. I smile, letting my lips brush her skin along the path of blisters.
She gives a tiny gasp when I pull one damaged finger into my mouth. That little sound sends a rigid slice of pleasure through me.
She snatches her hand away before I can complete my task. Smiling, I stand up and give her a questioning look.
Her breathing still hasn’t recovered, and I have no intention of letting her calm down, just yet.
When I move to claim her mouth, she struggles in my arms for the briefest of moments until she yields under my touch, allowing me to devour her essence. I take every ounce of her I can get. She intoxicates me.
I pull her closer, savoring the taste of her, savoring the soft contours of her body that I would love to explore more fully. She could never be anything other than new to me.
Boisterous laughter from behind us interrupts any further interaction with Amelia. I release her and glare at the intruder.
My voice comes out strained, but not as malicious as I intend. “What are you doing here?”
Amelia stiffens in my arms, turning her head just enough to get a glimpse of the prat I deal with on a daily basis.
“You’re late,” barks my brother. He makes a show of eyeing Amelia, surely to infuriate me. The worst part is it’s working. He gives a slow smile. “Who’s this?”
He shouldn’t be asking such a question. He should be jabbing me about taking my pleasure with fantasy women. He shouldn’t be able to tell Amelia is anything different than an illusion, but in all the excitement, I haven’t shown her how to dampen her life force.
She twists in my arms. “You first,” she says, giving him a hard stare, making me brim with pride.
Ian narrows his eyes as they eat up her frame. I want nothing more than to pummel his face for even looking at her, but I keep myself where I am.
“I’m anyone you want me to be, honey,” says my not-so-subtle sibling.
Amelia shifts out of my arms, rolling her eyes at Ian while picking imaginary lint off what’s left of her jacket. “Someone should really teach you guys about suave because what you’ve got is nothing but amateur.”
A sharp round of laughter rushes out of me. “I’d say that sums him up.”
“Shut up,” says Ian. He turns to Amelia again and smiles. “I’m his brother, and you have created quite a problem for me.”
“I haven’t done anything for you,” says Amelia, staring at him, her lips turning in a frown. “I’ve had no hand in what’s happened the last little while, so don’t go laying something on me that is so not my fault.”
Ian holds up his hands. “Whoa, hold on there, girlie. Suave may not be my thing, but you need a lesson in chill.”
“Oh, I’ll chill once I know you’re not a threat.”
He shifts his legs wider and puffs out his chest. “What if I am a threat?”
Amelia alters her stance, just like I taught her. She’s ready for anything, or so she thinks. Ian—although my brother—is not one to fool with in his current situation. He’s gone longer than I have between recruits. Oneiroi are better equipped to handle the Dreamscape and the Erobos when we have a Sibylline to diffuse the darkness, yet having a recruit we don’t convert can leave us vulnerable. Ian was a mess after he let the last one go, even though they fought constantly.
Not to be intimidated, Amelia licks her lips. “Bring it, stud.”
I step in front of her. Ian will level her and take pleasure in the act, woman or no. When I glare at him, he glares back. “I was on my way,” I tell
him. “We got sidetracked.”
“Since when do you let some chit distract you?”
Amelia pokes her head around my shoulder. “Hey, I’m no chit. I have no idea what that even means, but I’m not it.”
Ian laughs. “Really? Seems you’ve gotten yourself in plenty of trouble for only being a shadow, and you, miss, are most definitely a chit.”
“Whatever you say, douchebag. I’m only here for the ride.”
Ian stutters, “Do-Douchebag?” A rouge tinge creeps into his face. “No one calls me a douchebag and lives to say another word.”
Amelia laughs, cocking her head and flipping him off—with both hands.
Oh, bother.
When Ian lunges, I grab him in a bear hug. “Go back to headquarters. I’ll be along shortly.”
“What about our meeting? We have things to discuss, and you’ve just loaded us with a major problem.”
“Later,” I tell him. “Go.”
He stiffens, no doubt attempting to assess a way out of my hold. To my surprise, he leans into me, leering at Amelia over my shoulder.
“I have a long memory, chit. Just you wait.”
“You will leave!” I tell him.
“Yeah, sure, brother. Zed will be furious. We don’t have time for distractions. You should have warned us you’d picked up a warm body.”
I had hoped to drop Amelia at my office before I met up with him. “I will be there shortly!” I tell him. “I will deal with Zed. You cannot help me here.”
He storms away, looking back with acid in his stare before he shifts into a crane, soaring into the distance in a matter of moments.
A relieved sigh bubbles out of me. I had hoped to keep Ian from meeting Amelia for a few days. A few centuries would be preferable. Now, I will have to rethink my strategy.
When I face Amelia, she’s staring into the distance, a worried veil over her eyes as she tracks Ian’s departure. She should be worried. Ian is this close to converting to Erobos. He doesn’t need her to help him along the way. I will have to be careful. I will have to make sure Amelia and he do not meet up again anytime soon.