Chapter 35
Ascream startled Ro awake. She bolted upright, heart racing, trying to shed the fog of sleep. She knew that voice. A second scream pierced the night.
Ro jumped out of bed, pulled on her robe, and ran to the adjoining door that led to Aunt Violet’s quarters.
She slipped through just as another urgent whimper broke the stillness.
“No,” Aunt Vi cried out.
Ro found her way into the woman’s bedroom. “Lights, soft.”
As the bedside lamp illuminated, Ro went to Violet’s side. She wept in her sleep, face lined with terror even though her eyes were closed. “Aunt Vi, you’re okay, you’re just having a bad dream. Vi, it’s me, Sparrow.”
Ro sat on the side of the bed and held onto her aunt’s arms as they flailed against some imaginary foe. “Aunt Violet, you’re okay, I’m here. It’s all right.”
Violet came awake with deep, gasping breaths, eyes wild. She seemed to look straight through Ro at first. She blinked as she focused. “Ro?”
“Yes, it’s me. I’m right here beside you. You were having a nightmare.”
Violet began to weep again. “Oh, it was horrible. That creature. It was…hunting me.”
Ro pulled her aunt into her arms. “It’s okay, you’re safe. Nothing is after you now.”
Violet clung to her, her sobs softening, the faint smell of lavender in her hair.
Someone pounded on the door to Violet’s quarters, making them both jump. Ro blew out a breath. “I’ll go see who that is.”
Violet shook her head. “Don’t leave me.”
“Aunt Vi, I won’t be gone long, I promise. Look at me. You’re safe. Say it.”
Violet swallowed, eyes focused on Ro. “I’m safe.”
Ro nodded and smiled. “Good. I’ll be right back.”
She hurried to the door and opened it.
Vincent, her aunt’s personal guard, stood there, still buttoning his uniform shirt. “Is everything all right, your highness? I was told I was needed immediately.”
“It’s fine. She had a bad dream. A very bad dream, but I’m here with her. Go back to bed.”
“I can stay, if it would make her feel better.”
Ro hesitated. That might really help Violet. “I’ll ask her. Come into the sitting room.” She left him there, then went back to her aunt. “Vincent was at the door. He said he’ll stay if you want him to.”
Violet hugged the quilt to her body, her gaze directed toward the sitting room. She looked at Ro. “I hate to ask that of him.”
“You can come sleep in bed with me.”
Violet immediately shook her head. “No. You have a kingdom to run. You need your sleep.”
“Then do you want him to stay?” Ro could tell that was exactly what Violet wanted; she just didn’t want to inconvenience him. “It’s his job to look after you.”
Violet frowned. “But not because I’m a silly old woman who’s had a nightmare.”
She was definitely feeling better. “You’re not silly and there are no parameters on what his job entails. Just that he protects you. Protection comes in many different forms.”
Violet sighed. “It would make me feel better to know I’m not alone.”
“I’ll tell him,” Ro said. “Now, you lay down and go back to sleep.” She tucked her aunt in, then took the extra blanket off the foot of the bed and carried it out to Vincent. “Make yourself comfortable on the couch. She’d like you to stay.”
“Happy to do it,” he said as he took the blanket.
“You’re a good man. Thank you.” Ro whispered the lights off and slipped back through the adjoining door.
Benny had settled into the warm spot she’d left behind. “Buddy, I love you, but you’re taking up way too much of the bed.”
She scooted him over, climbed in, and after a few minutes of a breathing exercise, managed to fall back to sleep herself.
She walked through a dim corridor of the palace, moonlight shafting through the windows, striping the long hall in cool light. She was headed for the southwestern wing, to talk to Dove about something. She didn’t know what, just that it was important.
The stone floors were cold beneath her bare feet.
The corridor stretched longer than she remembered.
Shadows puddled in the corners like spilled ink.
A faint draft carried the scent of damp earth and something sweeter, almost cloying.
She rubbed her arms, trying to shake the chill. And the growing sense of being watched.
A soft scrape echoed behind her. A shoe on stone. Or claws. Ro paused, glancing over her shoulder. Nothing. At least not that she could see in the swampy blackness behind her.
She quickened her pace, her pulse beginning to thrum. The sound came again, closer this time, accompanied by a wet, ragged breath.
She turned to look a second time. At the end of the long hallway, where lamplight failed to reach, a shape unfolded from the darkness.
There was no body. Just impossibly long arms and legs, pale and corpselike, the skin stretched thin over angular bones and mottled with the gray-green hue of decay.
Air felt harder to come by. The creature’s head was oversized, dominated by a massive, slack-jawed mouth filled with needle-like teeth that clicked together hungrily.
Sunken eyes gleamed with awareness as the creature skittered forward on its elongated limbs, moving with a horrifying, spider-like grace.
Terror clawed at Ro’s throat. “Leave me alone,” she demanded, backing away.
The creature didn’t speak. It only opened its maw wider, a low hiss escaping as it lunged forward. Ro turned and ran, the familiar corridor twisting into a labyrinth.
Behind her, the clicking of its limbs grew louder, the thing’s breath hot on her neck. Why was it chasing her? What did it want?
She rounded a corner, heart pounding, only to find the hallway narrowing. She was going to die; she felt it in her bones. The creature was toying with her, she realized with sudden horror. And in the depths of those dead eyes, there was something almost…personal.
For the second time that night, Ro jolted awake. This time with a sharp gasp, her heart hammering against her ribs as the creature’s clicking limbs echoed in her ears. She was vaguely aware that Benny had walked across her, but she was still trapped in the dream.
Sweat trickled down her back, as cold as the fear coursing through her veins.
Moonlight slanted across her bedchamber, gilding the familiar surroundings, but the terror of the dream clung to her like damp fog, making it hard to breathe. She sat up, pressing a trembling hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing.
She searched the shadows for any sign of the creature, knowing it wasn’t there but unable to stop herself.
Benny was beside her, pawing gently but insistently at her arm with one soft paw, his pupils wide in the dim light. He let out a low, concerned trill and butted his head against her side, then climbed into her lap as if his very presence could chase the nightmare away.
Maybe it could. Ro exhaled, wrapping her arms around his warm, purring body and burying her face in his fur. “Good boy,” she whispered, voice shaky.
She was tired, but returning to sleep held no appeal. She spoke the lights on and stayed up, reading until the sun brightened the horizon. As soon as the hour was decent, she rang for breakfast.
Once that was done, she stepped out onto the balcony, robe tied tight, to get some fresh air. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs. Whatever that dream had been last night, it had stayed with her. Even now she could hear that awful clicking. She shuddered.
“Ro?”
She turned to see Violet at the door. She made herself smile. “Good morning. How did you sleep the rest of the night?”
Violet’s weak smile and little shrug answered that question.
Ro understood. “You’re not going to believe this, but I had a nightmare, too.”
“You did?” Vi asked as she joined Ro on the balcony.
“It was awful.” Ro shivered. “I can still hear the sound of that awful thing.”
“Like a…clicking?”
Ro stared at her aunt. “Yes, exactly like that. Was the creature all arms and legs? With a wide mouth filled with little needle teeth?”
Vi started nodding before Ro finished talking. “And it had the skin of a dead thing.” Her lip curled. “Disgusting.”
“We had the same dream. Or at least we dreamed of the same creature. I’m just hoping that my gift of dreams that come true won’t apply to this one.”
A footman came out and bowed. “Your highness, your breakfast has arrived. Also, there is a note for you.”
Ro linked her arm through Violet’s. “Come on. A little coffee and cocoa will do us good.”
They went inside and sat at the dining room table, letting the footman pour for them. While he did that, Ro opened the note. She was surprised to see it was from Posey.
Dear Queen Sparrow,
Forgive me, your highness, but I won’t be available today. I had a terrible night’s sleep and just feel out of sorts. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes you. Althea Cloudtree might be available to fill in if there’s a need. Again, I apologize.
With regrets,
Posey
Ro looked up. “You’re not going to believe this, but Posey didn’t sleep well last night. Enough that she’s taking the day off.”
Violet frowned. “You don’t think she had the same nightmare we did, do you? What would be the odds of that?”
Ro set the note down and took a long drink of her coffee-cocoa mix. “I don’t know, but I think we should go find out.”
It took them a few minutes to get dressed and make themselves presentable, but as soon as possible, they were headed down the hall to Posey’s quarters.
Violet knocked.
Posey answered, still in her robe and looking haggard. “Your highness,” she said as she saw Ro. She curtseyed, then straightened with regret in her eyes. “Am I being fired?”
“Fired? No,” Ro said. “We need to talk to you about why you didn’t sleep.”
Posey’s confusion was evident in her expression. “I had a terrible dream. It’s that simple.”
Ro glanced at Violet before shaking her head. “This is anything but simple. Can we come in?”
“Of course.” Posey stepped out of the way.
They all settled in her small sitting room. Ro led the discussion. “Tell me about your dream.”
Posey grimaced. “It was awful. This creature with long legs—”
“And long arms?” Violet asked.
Posey nodded. “And a wide mouth—”
“Filled with little teeth,” Ro finished. “And it made a clicking sound as it hunted you.”
“Yes,” Posey said. “How do you know?”
“Because we all had that same dream,” Ro answered. “This was not a coincidence. This was an attack. We need to talk to Uldamar.”