Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
She smiles at me again, but this time it’s not the typical loving grin my mother usually gives me.
No, it’s hard. Sinister.
“Mom?”
“You know, I didn’t think it was such a good idea in the beginning, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.”
“What idea, Mom?”
She blinks up at me as if she’s been in a haze.
“What? Oh, hello, pumpkin.”
“You were telling me about an idea.”
That sinister smile slips over her lips once more. “We’re not really supposed to talk about it, but it’s such a good idea.”
“What is it?”
“How we’re going to kill you three girls, of course.”
I back away and knock over a bookshelf, sending hardcovers skittering across the hardwood floor.
“What?”
“Now, don’t act like that. It wouldn’t be so hard if you hadn’t had the wards tattooed on the backs of your necks. But I think we’re finding a way around those.”
“You’re not my mom.”
Just like that, the form changes from my mother to the man who held me hostage in my house on Samhain.
The one from Hallows End who tried to kill me.
But it wasn’t the man himself who’d attempted to murder me. Something evil had possessed him.
“Hello.”
His voice is a hiss like a snake, and it makes my skin crawl.
“You’re not real.”
He’s walking, circling me, and we’re in the dark, somehow in the middle of a spotlight. I don’t know where we are.
When I try to turn and run, my feet won’t move.
“You can’t leave,” he hisses and moves closer to me. His face is mere inches from mine, and he drops that jaw in a horrible, awkward way that looks as if his jaw is unhinged. And then he screams.
“Oh, goddess.”
I jump out of bed, my heart racing and breath coming fast, and hurry to turn on the lights. Merlin was sleeping on the bed, but he lifts his head and blinks his green eyes at me.
“Holy shit,” I mutter, grasping my hands between my breasts and trying to catch my breath.
“Hey.” Giles hurries into my room, topless and bathed in sweat. Then, without a word, he yanks me to him, wraps his arms around me, and holds me tightly. “Are you okay?”
“Nightmare,” I mutter against his bare, muscled chest.
“Me, too, but I woke up to you screaming.”
I frown and pull back to look up at him. “I screamed?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m pretty sure they heard you down in Boston.”
Having him here like this is comforting, and I’m beginning to settle just a bit. When he leads me back to the bed, I don’t argue. We sit, our backs against the headboard, and he pulls me against him again as if he has to have me in his arms, to make sure I’m safe. His skin is warm and smooth, and resting my cheek against his chest feels good.
“Wanna talk about it?” I ask.
“I couldn’t get to you.” I hear him swallow thickly. “You were crying out, and it was taunting you, and I was on the outside again, unable to protect you.”
I tighten my grip on him. “That sounds pretty horrible. I’m sorry.”
“What about yours?”
“I think it was the same dream, except from the other perspective. He had me, I couldn’t run, and he was taunting me.”
He buries his lips in my hair, and we sit quietly for a moment, simply holding on to each other.
“I’m sorry, too,” he says at last.
“It’s not your fault.” I look up at him and cup his rough cheek in my hand. “None of this is any fault of ours. What I don’t like is that he used my mom to hurt me in this one, and she would never hurt me.”
“No, she wouldn’t.” He kisses my head again. “Let’s at least try to get some sleep.”
“Okay.” I’m not quite ready for him to go, but he’s right; we need all the rest we can get these days. “Thanks for coming to check on me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
But he doesn’t move. When I look into his eyes, I see they’re full of humor.
“What?” I ask.
“I’d like to stay here. As in, we should try to get some sleep.”
“Oh, I probably won’t have another nightmare. You don’t have to stay just to take care of me.”
“No, I’d like to stay so you can protect me from the nightmares. You’ll be doing me a favor, Breena.”
I can’t help but laugh a little as I scoot down so I can lie on the queen-sized bed.
“Merlin sleeps on the bed, and you’re allergic.”
“I got the medicine. I’ll be fine.”
Giles cuts the light and lies down, facing me in the moonlight.
“Will it always be like this?” I ask in a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“Scary. Uncertain. Mostly just scary.”
“No, sweetheart.” He cups my cheek, and I can see the concern in his eyes, even in the dim light. “It won’t be. We’ll get through this, and life can get back to normal, whatever that means.”