Chapter 8 Aurelie #2
and it had no face, just two glowing red eyes. It didn’t appear to be stalking the lamplighter, however. It seemed hesitant,
lingering for some unknown reason. A moment later, the demon turned to her, its eyes meeting her own. Aurelie stumbled backward,
drawing the curtains closed on instinct.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she collapsed back into her chair, jostling her tea in its saucer. In all her years, Aurelie
had seen only a handful of demons aside from the ones she created and killed. And now she’d been within feet of not one, but
two somnia in a single day.
She’d scoffed when Daisy offered to be of service, but Aurelie wouldn’t have minded if she strolled by at that particular
moment. Or even the big guard—he was brutish and rude, but she couldn’t deny that he looked more than capable of handling
a demon. Or twelve.
“Are you all right, miss?” Bonnie said, causing Aurelie to jump halfway out of her seat. “Apologies, miss. I didn’t mean to
startle you. I thought I heard a noise.”
“Yes, fine, all good,” Aurelie blurted, her words jumbled together. She risked a glance at the window, but the somnia was gone.
As she gathered her belongings, Aurelie tried to convince herself there was no need to sleep in her old bedroom tonight. The
walk across campus to her laboratory was short, and there was an iron gate between her and the somnia, not to mention the campus guard on duty, but she still contemplated taking the salt cellar with her just in case. It wouldn’t
kill a demon, but it might buy her some time with a somnia.
Finally, unable to put it off any longer, Aurelie thanked Bonnie for the tea and said goodnight. But the moment the door to her uncle’s house closed behind her, cutting off her one light source, she knew she’d made a mistake.
She stared across the dark campus, made darker still by the tall buildings and ancient trees that cast sinister shadows over
the courtyard. A part of her wanted to turn around and request a lantern from Bonnie, but how could she admit she was afraid
to walk such a short distance? Bonnie might even ask the guard to escort her, which would be mortifying. It was only several
hundred feet to Easton Hall, and she would walk like the proper lady her uncle expected her to be.
For the first few minutes, everything was fine.
A breeze picked up, tickling the hairs on Aurelie’s neck. Somewhere behind her, a branch scraped against a brick, causing
goose bumps to erupt on Aurelie’s arms.
She squared her shoulders and forced herself to continue walking.
The sound again, closer now.
She was imagining it, surely.
Then why don’t you want to turn your head?
She told herself she was being daft. Wisteria City was a safe place. There hadn’t been a demon fatality in nearly a year,
and she’d never heard of a somnia attacking a human. Besides, Daisy and her posse weren’t the only members of the Iron Guard patrolling the streets tonight.
If there was a demon on the prowl, they would be hunting it.
To her left, the gates stood proud and straight, each spike-tipped iron bar a sentry warding off any would-be intruders.
In the distance, she heard a man whistling.
One of the campus guards, making his rounds.
She forced herself to take a deep breath and winced at the ache in her ribs.
Curse the giant and his ridiculous muscles.
Something shimmered in the corner of her vision. Aurelie’s back broke out in a cold sweat as sudden certainty swept over her.
She couldn’t pretend this wasn’t real. A somnia was stalking her, and she was still a considerable distance from Easton Hall. Under ordinary circumstances, Aurelie didn’t
make decisions without conducting research or thinking through each possible outcome and weighing it against the others. Under
ordinary circumstances, Aurelie prided herself on her rationality.
Tonight, Aurelie hitched up her skirt and ran.
A scream was rising in her throat, but she pushed it back down, unable to afford the wasted breath. She didn’t spend a lot
of time running, and her coat, her bruised ribs, her blasted floppy boots, all conspired against her to make it as difficult
as possible.
She was imagining the cold draft at her back, she thought as she sprinted for the doors. There was no mournful voice whispering
unintelligible words behind her. She was simply panicking, her subconscious taking over and running wild with fear.
Run, Aurelie. Run.
The breathing at your back is not real.
You’re imagining the long, sharp fingernails tugging at your braid. None of this is happening.
Run, run, run.
She fumbled the iron key out from under her collar and leapt up the steps. By some miracle, she fitted it into the lock on
the first try, turning it and slipping through the door and slamming it shut behind her, her back pressed to it, her breathing
ragged.
She’d made it. She was safe. There was nothing behind her.
Aurelie took a deep, steadying breath and turned.
A demon stood on the other side of the glass, staring back at her.
Aurelie squeezed her eyes closed like a small child afraid of the monster in her closet. For a moment she stood there, praying
that when she opened them, the red-eyed creature would be gone. She could go to bed and forget about this entire day, preferably
forever.
But when she cracked open one eye, then the other, her stomach sank with dread. The demon was still there, its long, thin
arms ending in sharp-tipped claws, its glowing eyes boring into hers. Hanging from one claw was a tangle of velvet ribbon.
Unconsciously, she reached up and touched her braid, only to find her hair unraveled.
With trembling fingers, she reached into her pocket for her iron blade and met only lint. Blast. She didn’t carry it on campus. She’d never felt the need to before.
The demon was tall and thin, its face little more than a blur with eyes. If it had a mouth, she couldn’t see it. She’d always
assumed the shimmering quality of somnia had to do with their insubstantiality, but from here, she could see it was covered in iridescent scales. It was very different
from the demons she’d conjured in her laboratory. Still frightening, yet incongruously calm.
Why wasn’t it leaving? Why was it staring at her as if waiting for something? Surely if it was chasing her, it was with ill
intent. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wanted something from her, beyond her life.
Suddenly, Aurelie heard a deep, resonant voice as though it were in her head.
He wants more.
Was the demon speaking to her? If so, this was an incredible breakthrough, something no one had ever experienced, as far as
she knew.
“Who wants more?” she asked, throat dry as sandpaper.
Listen, child. He wants more.
“Miss Aurelie?”
Aurelie let out a yelp and pressed a hand to her chest. A lantern was bobbing toward Easton Hall. The guard was coming. Her
eyes met the demon’s once more before it disappeared into the shadows.
“I heard the doors slam,” the guard said when he reached the stairs, his voice muffled by the glass. He held up his lantern.
“Aciano’s beard, are you all right?”
She must look a fright, she realized, with all the blood drained from her face and her hair loose and wild. She glanced from
the corner of her eyes to confirm that the demon was gone. Cautiously, she opened the doors. “Did you see it?”
“See what, miss?”
She almost said “The somnia,” but something stopped her. Embarrassment? Doubt? Or was it something else? If she told the guard there’d been a demon on
campus, he would alert the Iron Guard. And she couldn’t shake the feeling the demon hadn’t been trying to hurt her.
“Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
“It’s no disturbance at all, miss. I was making my rounds. Would you like me to escort you to your uncle’s cottage?”
“I just came from there. I’m heading to my la—” She caught herself and smiled. “To my office. Thank you so much for your help.”
The guard, who would have been the age of Aurelie’s grandfather, if she had one, scratched his head uncertainly. “Are you
sure, miss? I’d be happy to stay with you for a bit, make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m all right, really. Goodnight. And thank you again.”
It was a relief when Aurelie locked the doors behind her and made her way downstairs to her lab, where she immediately collapsed
onto her sofa.
A moment later, she felt the sharp sting of Mephisto’s claws at her ankle. “Hello, little friend.” She bent down and held
out her hand, and Mephisto clambered onto it, allowing her to lift it to her lap. The demon curled up in her skirt as she
reached for a sketchpad. She needed to draw the somnia while it was still fresh in her mind.
As the drawing came to life under her hands, Aurelie could still hear its rusted-door voice, see the way it stared at her
with those eerie red eyes. She must have imagined it speaking to her. Mustn’t she? The more she thought of it, the more the
adrenaline faded away, the less plausible it seemed. Surely someone would have reported it by now if such a thing were possible.
Skeptically, a little embarrassed, Aurelie leaned down to where Mephisto slept, snoring softly. “Erm, excuse me. Just wondering
if you’ve been capable of speech this entire time and I’ve missed it?”
Mephisto, oblivious, slept on.