My gaze lifted enough to see Xander in the distance. He paced back and forth on the silt, behind his bars. His sapphire eyes burned, wild with fear. He was the only one who could protect me, but he couldn’t escape his prison. Xander shook the bars, but they were immovable.
The heat grew stronger, burning me alive. God, it hurt so fucking much.
"Miranda," Xander reached out to me through the bars. "You have to kill me. It's the only way to stop him."
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, even if it meant saving the world.
In my last moments, I turned to face the presence more powerful than the sun. A scream caught in my throat before frying away, my flesh sizzling and turning to ash.
My eyes flew opened. Still covered in sweat and violently shaking, the world came into focus as I woke from my nightmare.
I found myself on my knees, the cold, coarse texture of concrete biting into me. I trembled, disoriented and vulnerable, like a newborn calf dropped into an alien world.
Where the fuck was I?
Harsh, flickering fluorescent lights punctuated the dimly lit cavernous space. The sharp, metallic smell of oil and stale air invaded my nostrils.
A parking garage?
Someone bellowed my name. “Miranda,” Bob yelled. I gripped him fast, but he was so heavy my shoulders tilted to one side. His metal shook, as if he were trying to wake me up.
“I’m awake,” I said, my words hoarse. Barely able to maintain my balance, I tried to rise, my shaky limbs protesting against the effort. I had to figure out how I ended up here. But first, I needed to stop trembling.
“Oh, sweet Afterlife,” Bob breathed. “I couldn’t wake you up.”
“H-how did I get here, Bob?”
His tone was darkly serious. “You got in your car and drove here. Your eyes were open, but you were unresponsive.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw my car perfectly backed into a spot. Straightening slowly, I noticed it was the parking garage of Sinopolis. On unsteady legs, I made my way back to my vehicle, collapsing in the driver’s side. I set Bob down on the passenger side.
“How are you feeling?” Bob asked gently.
My lips twitched at the corner. Yesterday I’d been beyond freaked out by my talking blade, but today I was grateful for his presence.
“Not good, Bob. Not good at all.” Somehow being honest with him was easy.
“There there,” he soothed. “We need to get you home, with a nice cup of tea. Perhaps. . .perhaps we should find someone to drive us home?”
My knuckles flexed on the steering wheel as I turned the car on with my other hand. I’d left my keys in the ignition. It was just after four am. Cold air blew from the vents and it felt good against my overheated body.
“No,” I breathed. “I got this. It was just a nightmare.” Still, I didn’t put the car into drive. I just sat there, trying to find my footing.
“I’ve never done any sleep walking before, Bob,” I said, voicing my concern.
“I’m not so sure you were sleep-walking, Miranda.” he said, still using that gentle tone.
I sighed, resting my forehead against the steering wheel. “I was dreaming. Dreaming of something terrifying, something that was coming for me. It was going to burn me up, burn the whole world up. Like a vindictive sun.”
“Sounds frightful.”
“Xander can’t do that can he?” I was scared to ask the question. It was more for myself anyway. Was my subconscious detecting a danger in him that Bianca had foretold?
“No,” Bob said with certainty. “I’ve tasted his blood many times now, unfortunately,” he said with evident disgust. If he had a nose, it would be severely wrinkled. “The god’s dominion is water and the seas. While Nun, or Xander, possesses an unsteady current of electromagnetic field of power, it can’t do what you describe.”
I let out a breath. Since when did I take stock in dreams?
Since you sleep-walked from your house across the strip to work,my brain answered.
