by H G Lynch
As predicted, not long after she’d drifted to sleep, she was plunged into a familiar scene.
***
She was sitting on her swing in the park, and the temperature was freezing enough that she had goose-bumps. As ever, it was eerily, surreally silent. Not a breath of noise. The moonlight spilled down on the snow, making it glow and sparkle like tiny diamonds glittered across a white canvas.
This time, though, Ember didn’t have the urge to scream, and her heart wasn’t crashing pointlessly into her ribs. She watched everything calmly, seeing the same innocent play park she saw during the day, just…well, darker.
She looked down at herself, saw she was wearing jeans and her Vans, along with her hoodie. She’d never paid attention to what she was wearing in the nightmares before, but now, knowing what she was wearing helped her realise she really shouldn’t have been this cold. I’m part vampire, she thought, I don’t feel the cold this much.
And, just like that, the gooseflesh on her arms relaxed, and she stopped feeling like she was encased in an ice-cube. It was startling, and amazing. She felt a slow grin creep across her face. For the first time since these nightmares started, she was in control of what happened in them.
Standing, she walked casually toward the trees, ignoring the lack of sound as her feet crunched across the snow. Somehow, she knew that no amount of brave thinking or confidence would make the silence crack. That part of the nightmare was too strong —for now.
Once past the broken, crumbling fence, Ember stepped up to the tree she usually saw Raphael in, and sure enough, he was perched on a low branch, staring at her with those unfathomably dark eyes, his expression as blank as it had been when she’d first met him. His wings were folded, but visible over his bare shoulders. A couple dozen crows were settled in the branches around him, watching her with cold, black eyes. They didn’t intimidate her. She knew Raz now, knew he wouldn’t let anything hurt her. He was her personal guardian angel, after all.
Grinning, she tried something that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of before. She waved at Raphael, and instead of using her voice to communicate, she let her mind do the talking. Hey Raz, she said telepathically. The nightmare Raphael blinked in shock, and then abruptly evaporated into a damp mist. Smirking, Ember looked around at the crows and then, shrugging, turned on her heel and began to walk leisurely down the narrow, snowy path. They couldn’t chase her if she didn’t run.
Curiously, she peeked over her shoulder as she walked, and saw the crows hopping after her on the ground, their little clawed feet making no dents in the pristine snow. They moved after her like a creepy black wave, but she didn’t let it scare her. They were just birds. It’s not like they could kill her. She could incinerate them if she chose to, not that she’d hurt an animal unless she absolutely had to.
Up ahead, she could just make out the humped shape of the two faceless members of The Society holding an unconscious Reid. Her heart skipped a beat and picked up its pace, but she sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm the bubbling coil in her gut. Reminding herself she had vampire blood in her, her eyesight sharpened up and she could see the three figures more clearly. But that only made her heart jump into her throat, where it had a party with the bile burning the inside of her oesophagus.
As always, Reid was bloody and covered in impossible —or not so impossible, now that she’d seen what The Society’s weapons could really do — gashes and burns. The faceless men dropped him face-down in the snow, and she forced herself not to run to his side. Instead, she held herself still several feet from the faceless men, waiting to see what they’d do next.
Usually, this was around the time when they grabbed her and cut her with their magic, rune-marked knife. Now, though, they just stood there, looking at her with those blank ovals of skin over skull. Though they didn’t have eyes, she got the impression they could see her anyway. It was creepy. Shivers skittered down her spine like icy scree.
Keeping her eyes on the men, Ember crouched by Reid in the snow, pretending not to see the deep gashes or the blood seeping into the snow so it looked like someone had spilled a raspberry slushie. She rolled him over, pushing the wet, blood-matted hair off his face. Mentally, she prodded at him, Reid? Reid, wake up. Please. You need to wake up now. She let her mind-limb reach out, but it hit a barrier around his skull. She couldn’t get into his head. Damn.
Then Reid’s eyes opened, the blue very pale. Ember would’ve let out a sob of relief, but without any noise in this place, it more like she just silently choked on the lump in her throat.
Reid, thank God. What happened to you? What did they do? Never mind, we need to get out of here now, before they—
Suddenly, she was yanked backward, away from Reid. She’d forgotten to keep watching the faceless men, and now one was dragging her by her hair through the snow, pulling her further from Reid as the other faceless man hefted her beaten boyfriend up and threw him over one bulky shoulder. She couldn’t understand what was happening. This shouldn’t be happening. She tried to summon up her fire ability, the little heat she could draw from the surroundings tingling in her hands, but when she snapped her fingers, nothing happened. It didn’t make a noise and no flames sprang up from her fingertips.
No. No, I should have my fire! I should be able to burn them! But she couldn’t. She tried again and again, tried sending the heat to the faceless man carrying Reid away, tried sucking the heat out of him, but nothing worked. He just kept walking away, carrying her boyfriend limply over his shoulder like a marionette with the strings cut. They were almost out of sight when Reid’s voice breathed in her mind:
Ember.
***
She woke up bolt upright in bed, her heart smashing into her ribcage as she gasped. Curling her fists into the duvet, she cursed under her breath, closing her eyes and willing her heart to calm down.
“It was just a nightmare. Just a damn nightmare,” she whispered to herself, but the sick feeling gripping her stomach wouldn’t loosen up. It kept squeezing until she was sure she’d throw up. Breathing deeply through her teeth, she tried to convince herself that everything was fine. That the nightmare didn’t have to end that way. That next time, she’d control it completely, and it would end with her and Reid walking away, perfectly fine. Hell, maybe she’d even pause to set the faceless men on fire next time. That would be fun to watch. But no matter what, she’d make her own ending to the nightmare.
Smiling faintly, finally relaxed enough that her stomach wasn’t trying to escape through her mouth, she opened her eyes again, amused at how they instantly adjusted to the darkness. Another vampire trait. She’d keep that in mind next time too.
She turned to Reid, hoping she hadn’t woken him…and felt her stomach lurch up her throat again. He was gone. She was alone in the bed. Her heart screamed to a halt and started up again three times faster than it should’ve been. Her eyes stung with terrified tears. She didn’t feel human and vulnerable now, but she did feel scared witless.
As if she was sure her eyes were deceiving her, she reached over and patted the other side of the bed. It was flat and smooth under her hand. No invisible person was lying there. Oh, God.
She put her hand over her mouth, swallowing her stomach, and slid out of the bed.
Without pausing to pull on a jumper or her shoes, she pulled the door open and crossed the hall. The back room was empty, except for Hiro, curled up and snoozing away in fox form. She padded to the glass doors and looked out, but there was no sign of life in the back garden either.
Getting more panicked by the second, she almost ran down the hall, and found the kitchen, study and living room all empty as well. Reid was not in the house. Oh, no. Oh God, no.
Yanking the keys from their hook by the front door, she hastily unlocked it and ran out. The chill hit her instantly as she stepped into the thick snow. It encased her bare feet as she walked, soaking the bottom of her pyjama trousers. A brisk, cold wind lashed at her, but the gooseflesh rising on her a
rms had nothing to do with the temperature.
Her legs shook as she trod carefully across the snow to the street, and into the park. For a moment, all she could register was the dark, snowy play park, with its frosty swings and sad roundabout, and the heavy shadows that slithered about on top of the snow like oil. It looked exactly like it had in her nightmare. There was a long, excruciating few seconds where she couldn’t hear a thing over the pounding of her own heart. Her vision blurred and all she could hear was her pulse hammering erratically in her ears. Everything else was frozen around her, her own muscles locked down so she couldn’t move.
Then someone grabbed her arm, and she blinked. Noise came whooshing into her head, flooding her ears with bliss; Rattling tree branches, whining wind, clanking chain swings, the groaning metal of the roundabout. And a voice that made her want to collapse in a heap on the ground in relief.
Reid was standing in front of her, shaking her by the shoulders, asking her what was wrong, why was she out here, telling her they should go back inside. Ember just stared at him, looked him over carefully, making sure he was alright. He was dressed in jeans and boots and a t-shirt, and there wasn’t a speck of blood on him. His face was clean, his hair shimmering like gold, and his eyes were the bright, opulent blue of azurite. But his brow was creased, his mouth pinched. He looked worried.
Oh. That made sense. She was standing outside in her pyjamas, staring at him wordlessly. Of course he was worried. He was worried about her. How…silly. “You were gone. I woke up and you were gone so I…” She frowned, blinking and focusing on him properly. “I was worried,” she said quietly.
Reid’s gaze softened, and he sighed, finally releasing his grip on her shoulders. “That’s all? You were worried about me? Ember, you looked terrified just a second ago. What, did you think I’d been kidnapped?” he said lightly, clearly meaning it as a joke. But Ember flinched and he noticed. His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly as his brows pushed down over his eyes.
“Wait, you actually thought I’d been kidnapped? Ember, that wouldn’t even be possible. Think about it. Nobody can get past the wards to…” He stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he searched her face more intently.
She waited, wondering what he was reading on her face. She couldn’t tell what expression she was wearing anymore.
After a long moment, Reid shook his head slowly, reached up to hold her face gently between his palms. “You had that nightmare again, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.
Her heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze and she nodded.
Reid closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, they were dark with pain. It confused her momentarily. “Nightmares. Like when you used to wake up screaming, after Sherry…I couldn’t do anything to help you…” Reid muttered, apparently to himself, his eyes unfocused. Then he blinked and seemed to see her again.
His hands were warm on her face, making the rest of her feel colder in comparison. She really wanted to get inside now.
“What is this nightmare about? Is it…is it like the ones from before?” he asked cautiously, a haunted look flashing in his eyes so quickly she barely saw it.
She knew he was talking about the nightmares she’d had after Sherry was killed. From what Ricky had told her, Reid had gone almost mad trying to deal with her screams every night.
She shuddered, but shook her head. “No. No, nothing like those.” Except, that was half a lie. These nightmares were like those, in that someone she loved died in each. In the ones before, she’d been re-watching Sherry’s death over and over, unable to change it because you couldn’t alter something that had already happened. In this new nightmare, she had to watch Reid die instead, and she was damned if she was going to let it happen for real. You could change the future, even if you couldn’t change the past.
Reid let out a breath of relief, muttering something so low she couldn’t hear it though he was less than a foot away. He looked at her again and asked gently, “What are these nightmares about then?” When she simply shook her head, he frowned. “Ember, I know they’re bad. I know you’ve been waking up in the middle of the night for the past week because of these nightmares. Whatever they’re about, you have to know they’re just nightmares. They aren’t real.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she had the feeling they weren’t just nightmares. These were a prediction of the very near future, and unless she could find a way to stop it, Reid was going to die for real. She couldn’t let that happen.
Chapter Twenty
After dressing, having breakfast, downing three glasses of Coke, and doing a few necessary chores, Ember was still agitated. It wasn’t even eight in the morning yet, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. After last night’s battle, she expected everyone else to still be asleep till noon, which left her with little to do to distract herself. Which was not good.
If she didn’t find something else to do in the next five minutes she would either explode, or have to go for a walk outside. Unfortunately, she was pretty sure she’d get in a lot of trouble for leaving the house alone. The Society might’ve lost last night, but they’d be back, and they could even be waiting for her in the trees right now.
But, as it turned out, she was willing to take that chance. She pulled on her Vans and a hoodie, and unlocked the front door, kicking away the line of warding powder that kept the whole house locked down. She’d only be gone a little while, long enough to clear her head and calm her nerves, so she didn’t bother locking the door again behind her.
She wandered into the park, hugging her elbows as she crunched through a fresh layer of snow. It was quiet this morning, no sounds but her own breathing and someone’s dog barking a couple of streets away. No breeze. But it was still a little chilly.
When she reached the back of the park, she peered in at the trees, checking to make sure nobody was lying in wait for her. It appeared that the only thing waiting for her was an untouched pathway of snow between the trees. It was so pretty that she would’ve photographed it if she’d brought her camera.
Instead, she shrugged, and stomped right into the trees, destroying the pure beauty. She didn’t care right now. But once she was amongst the trees, she found that she didn’t want to go for a walk along the trail. It was stupid, but, looking along the path, deeper into the trees, she could imagine she saw the shadows of two tall, faceless men. Stop being stupid, she told herself. Yet, she didn’t want to take any chances. She turned and walked toward her favourite tree. She scrambled up it in the same manner she had done since she was eight years old.
When she reached a ‘v’ in the trunk that she’d always been too small to risk climbing before, she paused, considered, and then stuck her foot in the ‘v’, pushing herself up to grab the next thick branch up. She managed to pull herself up three branches higher than ever before, and then balanced herself high in the boughs, looking down twenty feet to the glacial ground. It was an achievement of sorts, and the climb had worn off some of her restlessness. But now she had plenty of time to think about what it was that was making her so edgy —besides the caffeine, of course.
Last night. Last night had been…tough. To say the very, very least. It had all been a veritable nightmare, but it was her actual nightmare itself that plagued her. That made her want to pull her hair out and bang her head on a wall and curl up in a sobbing ball. She hated that nightmare. She hated waking up to find Reid gone, and instead of assuming the most logical thing —that he’d gone for a walk — she’d completely freaked out.
She remembered she’d been thinking that her nightmare wasn’t just a nightmare, that it was a vision of the future, like some of her other prophetic dreams. Now, in broad daylight, wide awake and buzzing with caffeine, she was sure that her mind had been hazy from sleep. Her nightmare was just a nightmare, and she needed to get over it. She was acting like a kid, frightened of the monster in the closet.
Yet, even now, when she knew Reid was safely in bed, still asleep, her heart clenc
hed as her mind taunted her with images from last night’s nightmare. She’d tried to change it, she’d tried to face it down, and she’d almost succeeded…right up until the end. And it was always the ending that counted. There was no point in killing the dragon and rescuing the fair princess if you got killed by the guards on the way out of the castle.
Ember wasn’t sure what she feared more now; the original ending to her faerytale nightmare where Reid was killed in front of her, or the new one, where he was dragged away to God knows where for God knows what. The faceless men could want to torture him with those evil weapons of theirs. They could keep him caged up and prod him with sticks and examine him, feeding him itty bitty amounts of blood to keep him alive like a lab rat. They could chain him up in some underground dungeon and barricade the door, keeping him there for as long as he would live.
No. No. It wouldn’t happen. None of it would. She wouldn’t let it happen, couldn’t let it. She told herself that over and over, but failed to think of a way to prevent it. Sure, nobody was gunning directly for Reid right this minute, but she was sure that if they got the chance, if he slipped up on his next perimeter sweep or went for another moonlight walk alone, The Society would get him. And what they did with him, she couldn’t bear to imagine.
“Ember!”
She gasped and nearly toppled off her branch at the fury in the voice that yelled up to her. Clutching her hand to her chest to contain her thrashing heart, she cast her gaze down, and saw Reid glaring up at her. He looked furious, she could see even from here. Uh oh.
Swallowing, she started to slither down the tree, hissing when a small twig caught her collarbone and left a scratch.
With her feet firmly on the ground, she delayed having to look at Reid by plucking scraps of imaginary twigs out of her hand, and straightening her clothes. But eventually, she had to look at him, and she shrunk back under his glower.
