night mare.”
In some ways it really was too bad this version of Paige had to go. “ Dreamscape ?” I echoed. “Now there’s a classic.”
Matt stared at Paige, stunned. “You can’t remember your parents, but you know key plot points from some 80s flick?”
Paige shrugged. “It’s three days before Halloween, old scary movies are all that’s on TV.”
“Okay,” Matt drawled, shaking his head. He turned to his brother. “She does have a point though. Mom knows a lot about dream interpretation, dream control. If that’s how we take this thing down, she can get Eryn prepared.”
Across the table from me, Alec’s smile was far too smug. Lovely.
Working with Marie meant spending time at the Delacroix ranch because the woman never came to Redgrave. She and the townsfolk mixed like Wade and holy water. In turn, spending time at the ranch ensured I’d be in close quarters with Alec. He’d love that—with me dodging his efforts to slide passed my defenses, muddying the clean break I hoped for.
Alec I could handle. The really scary part of all this?
I’d have Marie walking in my dreams. Dreams where I hunted, killed, and couldn’t hide how much I liked it. Demon or no demon, I wouldn’t be able to control what Marie saw. What I dreamed of hunting and tearing to shreds.
And that her son might just be on the menu.
We arrived at the house a few hours later in a loaner from Whip, a rusted orange Volkswagen peace van. Its miniature tires spun and slipped along the recently plowed road. Alec grumbled about the van’s lack of power steering, its busted heater, and how Matt had better finish repairing the truck, or else.
Matt, riding shotgun, said, “Hey, I’m a healer, not a miracle worker. These things take time.”
When we shuddered to a stop, I grasped the latch and heaved the sliding side door. It clacked on the track, setting Brit and me free. I climbed out of the van, and my breath caught at the view. It did that to me every time. Cast in fading sunlight, the Delacroix ranch was set on a postcard-idyllic country landscape, complete with sprawling two-story home nestled in a tangle of woods. From the wraparound veranda to the gabled windows and lacework embellishments, the entire structure was blanketed with snow and frost. Beyond the gingerbread-esque house lay a vast expanse of wintry fields.
The epitome of home .
Something I might never have again.
“Hey, Eryn,” Brit said. She stood at the top of the veranda steps, waiting for me to follow the others inside. “Get a move on, I’m freezing.”
I lingered as long as I could, but when Brit jumped down the steps to drag me inside, I didn’t resist. I crossed the threshold thinking if I was the vampire of our crew, Marie would never have invited me in. But I was wolven. And so Marie had let me into her home, was willing to help in any way she could. Exactly what had she let inside? A fellow hunter? Or a wolf in not-so-chic clothing?
“What you’re asking isn’t easily accomplished, Alec. Dreamwalking involves trust, a willingness to open your mind,” Marie said as we stood in the Delacroix kitchen, the meeting place whenever we descended upon the ranch. She gestured to me, propped in the doorway, not quite committed to entering the room with the others, my arms folded across my chest. “Does that look like a girl who trusts me to walk through her subconscious?”
“That looks like a girl with a stick up her—”
Brit elbowed Matt before he could finish the sentence.
Paige snickered and then pulled out her cell phone. The thing was practically glued to her hands. She soon lost interest in us. I wished I could escape so easily. Of course, I wouldn’t be the one with brain cancer in twenty years.
But chances were I’d meet a violent death soon enough. Really soon if Marie had her way. I met her assessing gaze. “I’m sorry if I don’t seem receptive to the idea. But, Marie, I just don’t get you.” I ignored Alec’s start. Maybe he hadn’t
In some ways it really was too bad this version of Paige had to go. “ Dreamscape ?” I echoed. “Now there’s a classic.”
Matt stared at Paige, stunned. “You can’t remember your parents, but you know key plot points from some 80s flick?”
Paige shrugged. “It’s three days before Halloween, old scary movies are all that’s on TV.”
“Okay,” Matt drawled, shaking his head. He turned to his brother. “She does have a point though. Mom knows a lot about dream interpretation, dream control. If that’s how we take this thing down, she can get Eryn prepared.”
Across the table from me, Alec’s smile was far too smug. Lovely.
Working with Marie meant spending time at the Delacroix ranch because the woman never came to Redgrave. She and the townsfolk mixed like Wade and holy water. In turn, spending time at the ranch ensured I’d be in close quarters with Alec. He’d love that—with me dodging his efforts to slide passed my defenses, muddying the clean break I hoped for.
Alec I could handle. The really scary part of all this?
I’d have Marie walking in my dreams. Dreams where I hunted, killed, and couldn’t hide how much I liked it. Demon or no demon, I wouldn’t be able to control what Marie saw. What I dreamed of hunting and tearing to shreds.
And that her son might just be on the menu.
We arrived at the house a few hours later in a loaner from Whip, a rusted orange Volkswagen peace van. Its miniature tires spun and slipped along the recently plowed road. Alec grumbled about the van’s lack of power steering, its busted heater, and how Matt had better finish repairing the truck, or else.
Matt, riding shotgun, said, “Hey, I’m a healer, not a miracle worker. These things take time.”
When we shuddered to a stop, I grasped the latch and heaved the sliding side door. It clacked on the track, setting Brit and me free. I climbed out of the van, and my breath caught at the view. It did that to me every time. Cast in fading sunlight, the Delacroix ranch was set on a postcard-idyllic country landscape, complete with sprawling two-story home nestled in a tangle of woods. From the wraparound veranda to the gabled windows and lacework embellishments, the entire structure was blanketed with snow and frost. Beyond the gingerbread-esque house lay a vast expanse of wintry fields.
The epitome of home .
Something I might never have again.
“Hey, Eryn,” Brit said. She stood at the top of the veranda steps, waiting for me to follow the others inside. “Get a move on, I’m freezing.”
I lingered as long as I could, but when Brit jumped down the steps to drag me inside, I didn’t resist. I crossed the threshold thinking if I was the vampire of our crew, Marie would never have invited me in. But I was wolven. And so Marie had let me into her home, was willing to help in any way she could. Exactly what had she let inside? A fellow hunter? Or a wolf in not-so-chic clothing?
“What you’re asking isn’t easily accomplished, Alec. Dreamwalking involves trust, a willingness to open your mind,” Marie said as we stood in the Delacroix kitchen, the meeting place whenever we descended upon the ranch. She gestured to me, propped in the doorway, not quite committed to entering the room with the others, my arms folded across my chest. “Does that look like a girl who trusts me to walk through her subconscious?”
“That looks like a girl with a stick up her—”
Brit elbowed Matt before he could finish the sentence.
Paige snickered and then pulled out her cell phone. The thing was practically glued to her hands. She soon lost interest in us. I wished I could escape so easily. Of course, I wouldn’t be the one with brain cancer in twenty years.
But chances were I’d meet a violent death soon enough. Really soon if Marie had her way. I met her assessing gaze. “I’m sorry if I don’t seem receptive to the idea. But, Marie, I just don’t get you.” I ignored Alec’s start. Maybe he hadn’t
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