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Istood in the gardens, not far from where Bug and I had had our picnic. The water fountain wasn’t running now, and the sky was dark, the full moon casting an eerie glow over the area.
I drew in the cool night air as I glanced around. A chill swept through me and I rubbed my arms as an uneasiness settled over me. I shuddered as a sense of doom washed over me, and I searched around desperately for the cause. But I couldn’t figure out where the sensation was coming from or what was causing it.
I peered over the hedges at the mansion, searching desperately for my hellhounds.
“They’re not here to save you.”
I seized up at the wicked chuckle that rose up behind me.
I spun around to find Charlie behind me with a sinister grin, his brown eyes flooded by pools of black.
The sight made a chill course down my spine, like the dead were running their spindly fingers down my bones.
My breath came out in visible puffs as the icy air gripped me tight. It was too cold, and even as I thought of my hellfire, I knew instantly that I couldn’t draw it forth. It was like someone had cut off my link to my inner power.
“You’re the key, Lily. The one that can change everything,” Charlie smirked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled as I fisted my hands.
“You will, in time. But first, you need to pay the price needed. You need to spill the required blood!” Charlie snarled as he launched forward, and I froze up. My body refused to co-operate as I saw the darkness glinting in his eyes, taking in that foul expression as darkness exploded from his body. It swirled around me like a shadowy vortex, locking me into the center. Where were my hellhounds? Why weren’t they here?
How was I going to get out of this?
I whimpered as I threw my arms up in an attempt to shield myself. Charlie had disappeared into the blackness that encased me now, whipping around me like a raging storm. The shadows tugged and tore at me, slashing my skin and leaving bloody gashes as I cried out.
I needed to save myself. No one else was going to come to my rescue. I needed to do it.
I screamed as I willed my fire to life, delving into my very soul to yank it forth. It resisted, withdrawing from me, but my scream pierced the air like a shrill siren, and I tore it free from within. The hellfire exploded all around, burning away the shadows and purging the area.
But the sinister laughter that filled the air rocked me to my core, and I squeezed my eyes shut as my fire burned on.
I awoke with a start, gasping for air as my heart hammered away madly. It took me a moment to register my surroundings.
It was strangely hot, and smokey.
I shot up and stumbled off my burning bed as it groaned and collapsed, the mattress in flames. I coughed and covered my nose and mouth as I just stared in bewilderment at the fire that now encased my bed. What was going on?
A shout had my head snapping to my bedroom door in time to see Bug and Chum bursting in.
Their eyes lit up as they spread out their arms and drew the flames into their limbs.
I just watched in stunned silence as the flames tornadoed off my bed into them, leaving the charred, broken remains of the mattress and frame in a miserable pile.
It was beyond repair, the springs jutting through the smoking remnants of the mattress, and all I could do was stare in dismay.
“Are you okay?” Bug asked as he stepped closer.
Chumley moved over to my closet and returned with my dressing gown, and I realized I was now naked, covered in ash and reeking of smoke.
“I’m okay, thanks,” I mumbled as I accepted the gown and slipped into it. It would need a wash, but right now, I just needed to get covered.
“What happened?” Chumley asked as he rubbed my arm soothingly.
My mind moved back to the nightmare, and I sighed as I rubbed my temple.
“I think I set it on fire with my hellfire after a bad nightmare,” I groaned. Now it made sense.
