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Jazz music played in the background. It was soothing. So was his hand and the way he would squeeze it every so often. I didn’t consciously do it, but I laid my head down on his shoulder. The second I realized it, I jolted up. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” With a gentle hand, he pushed my head back down on his shoulder. “I like it.”
I closed my eyes.
Minutes or moments later, I realized he carried me in his arms.Where are we going?
“She okay?” Was that Mary’s voice?
“Quiet, she’s actually sleeping,” Cruise answered. The firm softness of the mattress hit my back as he settled me onto the bed. “Hit the button, will you? She could sleep downstairs, where it was stronger. In here, she needs more so that thing can’t keep her awake.”
There was a pause. “Of course. But I doubt it was the scent as much as it was you. We both know you like her. You have since the second you started talking to her over text.”
I liked him, too. I snuggled down, hugging the pillow. Sleeping on him in the living room was nice, but the bed was comfortable, so I let myself drift back off into nothingness. Sleeping surrounded by strangers in the tent city was awful. Anything could happen.
The door closed quietly with a click.
I almost never dreamed anymore,but I could tell it was a dream even as I experienced it.
I followed a pretty woman who reminded me of Mary, with the same brown hair falling to her shoulders as she floated like a ballerina ahead of me. It seemed impressive to my dream self that, although the white nightgown she wore reminded me of a hospital gown, she could still look so graceful in the ugly garment.
She spun to hold a fingertip over her lips, the universal sign of silence. I nodded, covering my lips to show her I wouldn’t make a sound.
Her lips curled into a smile as she reached for my hand. I smiled and squeezed her fingertips, touched at her tenderness.
On quiet feet, we crept into a dark room. People lay strapped to tables lining the walls from one end of the long room to the other. They yelled and screamed, straining against their restraints as they cried out for help.
“Please, don’t do this to me! It’s killing me.”
“Quiet,” an older man with gray hair and scratches on his cheeks yelled at her, anger in his voice. “That’s the demon speaking. You’re here to be saved. Besides, if you die, at least you’ll still have your soul.”
Oh fuck.I blinked.These are the hunters, and that has to be the famous Robert Gage. One of their exorcists.
One of the people rolled over as best she could to puke on the floor. Things became clearer. Everyone wearing black, including Robert, was trying to perform an exorcism on these people. They couldn’t possibly all be qualified. It wasn’t something you could learn to do like operating a machine.
The people were beat up. How had they all gotten there? Swollen eyes—someone hurt them, and it wasn’t the demons.
My guide turned to me, squeezing my hand. “Be careful, Addalee. You’re very important.”
I am?
I woke up, the sun coming through the windows through holes made when the fan over the bed hit the shade, making the light seem to move gently. I sat up. Wow. That was some dream. I looked around, surprised to find myself in the bedroom they’d loaned me the night before.
My phone, plugged in next to the bed—nice of either Cruise or Mary to plug it in for me—said it was almost eleven o’clock. What? I had never slept so late in my entire life. I flung my legs over the bed, surprised to find them wobbly, and went to the bathroom. I used the toothbrush someone had left out for me gratefully and washed my face.
Finally, I dressed in my warmest clothes, which included my sweatshirt, and made my way downstairs.
I followed the sound of a tv to the kitchen, where I found Willow reading at the table.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as my demon surfaced.
“For what?” She leaned back. “Sleeping? Don’t be. Hey, listen. That thing you said about?—”
Whatever she was going to say got cut off when Cruise entered with a cheerful, “Hey. Good morning. I’m about to head into work. All government offices were shut down until noon because of the snow. Give you a ride? Unless you’d like to stay? That would be great, too.”
Stay?
“We’ll be leaving.” My demon spoke through my mouth. “And you won’t get to pull this again.”
