Dreamscape (23 page)

Every muscle I have bunches to spring at this imbecile,
yet, I make myself stay calm. Amelia eyes me as they swirl away from me, her
expression far from the fear I expect. She seems calm enough, only curious. I
told her to run from Erobos, but like me, she probably does not feel darkness
in this man. I promised myself I wouldn’t delve into her thoughts, but I cannot
leave it be at the moment.

When I enter her mind, I slide into a storm racing to
nowhere. Thoughts blur together, hardly distinguishable, but I manage to catch
a few.
Who is this guy? Why is he here? Why is Seth so upset? What should I
do? I could stomp on his foot. Tell him you’re thirsty. Tell him to let you go.
How did I even end up dancing with him? He
is
sort of handsome. Who am I
kidding; he’s smokin’ hot. Let Seth stew till the song is over.

A low growl erupts from my lips, making a handful of people
stare at me. I offer a cordial smile before I bound over to the stranger and
waylay him right in the middle of the dance floor. Hisses of concern flit
around me, but I take no further heed before I grab Amelia’s hand and haul her
with me to the front door.

She stares at me for a few moments before she says, “Was
that entirely necessary?”

“Absolutely.”

She huffs, attempting to pull her hand from mine. I give a
solid squeeze and tug her shaking digits through the crook of my elbow, which
manages to bring her reassuringly closer.

She offers me a frown then says, “Why’s that?”

“You said you wanted an expedited departure. I am merely
accommodating you.”

“Ha!” Electricity sizzles between us, and I am tempted to
yank her against me for a dance she will never forget. She goes on, not showing
a single sign of the charge she creates in me. “Don’t think I missed how you
looked at that guy. Who was he, anyway? And why does he keep showing up in my
dreams?”

Not waiting for the butler to do it, I grab a coat for
Amelia then throw the door open and escort her into the hall. “No idea, and
what the hell do you mean? You’ve seen him before?”

She glances over at me, but her gaze travels to the
oriental hallway runner, making it hard for me to gauge her reaction. I’ve
already violated her privacy once tonight, and I will not do it again. I didn’t
exactly enjoy the interaction. Before I can pull her down the stairs or into an
elevator, she yanks her arm out of my grasp and careens to a halt. “He warned
me that you were coming before you came to get me. It’s why I woke up that night.”

“You never mentioned this before.”

“I didn’t exactly remember what he said until I showed up
here, in his arms.”

“You were already dancing when you came live?”

“Yeah. I didn’t exactly get to talk to him, either. You
just ruined my chance to ask him who he is.”

“When he warned you about me, what did he tell you?”

“To learn and then to contact him. Is he one of them?”

“I don’t know, Amelia.”

When she attempts to move away from me, shaking her head, I
reach for her hand. She pulls back, just out of arm’s length.

“What is this, Seth? And don’t give me that crap about you
not knowing him. Something’s going on, and I want to know what!”

A couple comes around the corner laughing, clearly drunk.
They pass us, mouths agape, staring the entire way, their laughter long
forgotten. Once they get down the hall, the man asks the woman if she thinks he
should call the police. She giggles in response.

Taking a deep breath, I give Amelia a pointed stare. “I
would not lie to you about this. I do not know who the man is, but I intend to
find out. That being said, we must leave. We are running out of time as it is.
This world will disintegrate in a few minutes.”

She pales, her green eyes widening. My lie is necessary.
The truth is, I don’t know if it is a lie. Charlotte could pass to the next
life within moments. There is no way for me to know for sure, and with Amelia’s
soft heart, I do not want to expose her to the brutal facts of the Dreamscape,
just yet. I planned to bring her in slowly, show her the joys. Now, I don’t
know if it’s is possible.

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 his 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.”