Robb took my arm as if I couldn’t walk on my own. I wanted to pull back, but he did before I had the chance. He unlocked his blue Suburban, and I climbed onto the passenger seat as he got in the driver’s side. The engine shook the car, and Robb blew into his hands before grabbing the steering wheel. It was colder in the car than it was outside.

  “This is going to be a harsh winter,” he said, turning the wheel as he pulled out of the parking lot. I agreed, but I was unfamiliar with Hayworth’s average winter. Since arriving in January, it had only snowed once.

  “It doesn’t normally get this cold until October,” he continued.

  I fought the urge to argue with a local. October was only a month away.

  My stomach twisted again, for no reason in particular, and I closed my eyes to fight the feeling away. My body was reacting to nothing.

  “It’s those nightmares, isn’t it?” Robb’s brown eyes left the road and pierced me through the darkness. “You told me, remember?”

  “That was weeks ago.”

  “But you haven’t been the same since.” His grip loosened on the steering wheel. “You always look tired.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing,” he clarified. “I’m saying it because it’s true.”

  I turned to the window and felt him glance over a number of times before he accepted my silence. I didn’t want to talk about it with Robb. He had blown me off the first time, and I didn’t want it to happen again.

  The Suburban came to a squeaking halt. My bedroom light spread onto the front lawn, and I exhaled, calmed by the familiar sight.

  “Want me to walk you up?” Robb asked.

  I shook my head, but he got out anyway, leaving his car running. I jumped out and walked next to him.

  We didn’t talk, and I reached into my purse for my keys. They curled around my fingers, and I pulled them out. They jingled as I lowered my hand to my hip. “Thanks for driving me, Robb.”

  His eyes darted around the lawn, and I looked over my shoulder. “What are you looking at?” I asked.

  His neck snapped as he turned it back. “Nothing,” he said. “I thought I saw something. Probably an animal.”

  “I hope so,” I said, fighting the urge to search the neighbor’s trees for whatever he saw. A part of me hoped it was an animal, but a bigger part of me wished to see one of the boys from my dream.

  I barely turned to the door before Robb spoke up again, “What are you dreaming about?”

  My neck tightened like I was being choked. “Nothing important.” I cleared my throat, but Robb didn’t budge, and I dropped my eyes to the ground. “A boy.”

  The words, spoken aloud, sounded weirder than I expected. It sounded dangerous, not comforting, and I could sense Robb’s discomfort. He’d shifted away, and his back was pressed to the wall. He crossed his arms before uncrossing them and shoving his hands in his pockets.

  “Have you thought about calling the police?” he asked.

  “Why would I do that?” I squeaked. “It isn’t real.”

  Robb’s lip pulled into a smirk, but it dissipated quickly, leaving me to wonder if I had seen what I did. “You seem upset enough that I figured you thought it might be.” His eyes searched my yard again.

  “Do you think I should?”

  He pushed his back off of the wall. “I think the more attention you give your dreams, the more dreams you’ll have,” he said. “The dreams will stop if you want them to.”

  “I’ll try that,” I said, but I wasn’t sure I wanted them to stop.

  “I should get back to Zac and the others.”

  “Thanks again,” I said.

  He threw his arm over my shoulders. He hugged me from the side before striding down the sidewalk and disappearing into his car. I went inside before he drove away and tried to ignore my gut.

  Someone − or something − was in my yard, and it didn’t feel protective like the boys from my dreams. It felt malicious, and it was focused on me.

  Jessica

  He stood beneath the shadows of the trees, but he was immune to the darkness. His blond hair illuminated without light, and his face didn’t cast a single shadow. The man didn’t move, but he seemed to be vibrating, causing the leaves to shiver above him. On a windless night, he was the eye of a storm – still, but awaiting something.

  I, immediately, feared I was that something.

  His eyes, widened past the usual circumference, were black pits, but I somehow knew he was staring at my bedroom. And I wasn’t awake.

  The image flashed on and off in my mind as I clutched my blankets, desperately searching for reality, but I was stuck. I couldn’t wake myself up, and my skin was burning. Even my pajamas felt like they were ignited by electricity.

  He was in the yard, but I could feel a hand on my chin, a blade to my neck. The air was warm, but my mind was frozen. I wanted to move − fight and run − but I couldn’t. I could only scream.

  …

  My scream shattered the nightmare, and I sprung up, blinking the image away furiously. I leapt from my bed, sprinted across my bedroom, and slammed against the window as I searched my front yard for him. He was gone, nothing more than a nightmare, but I didn’t want to believe it. I could feel him. His presence remained.

  “Jessie?” My father burst in my bedroom with my mother following. His puffy eyes were red when they met mine.

  My mother’s face was pale. “Are you okay?”

  My chest knotted, pushing against my breath, and I rubbed my forehead. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t like lying. I never had.

  “We heard you scream,” my mother continued as my father walked over to the window.

  He looked out the window, and his eyes scanned the same yard I had looked at. I wanted him to see what I couldn’t, but he grabbed the blinds.

  “I wish you’d shut these,” he said, pulling the cord. The blinds slammed into the windowsill.

  I fought the urge to argue. If the blonde man was there, I wanted to see him coming.

  “I must have been sleepwalking,” I suggested, grabbing my jacket off of my desk chair. I draped it around my shoulders. The clothing felt like the embrace I needed.

  “Let’s get back to bed,” my dad said, moving past me as if he were the one sleepwalking.

  My mother hung behind. She teetered on the edge of speaking, but her lips pushed to one side. She grabbed my door as she walked out of my room. “Goodnight, Jessie,” she said, shutting it softly behind her.

  I was alone again, and I stood with shaking knees. I grabbed the cord and pulled my blinds up, half-expecting the blonde man to reappear. But he didn’t. Even his presence was gone now.

  I sighed, and my breath fogged over the window. When I touched the glass, it was cold, and goose bumps trailed over my arm. I wanted to let go, but I couldn’t. I wanted to feel the cold until it meant something − like it was supposed to mean something − and I curled my fingers against the condensation. I had to dream again.

  I was ready for the insanity to consume me if it meant I could understand what was happening.

  Eric

  A Light was at her house, and it was a powerful one.

  I slammed on the breaks, and my car’s engine vibrated through my sudden panic. My hand slapped against the door as I shoved it open, and the electric air sizzled against my lips.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I whipped around with my fist in the air, but Pierce grabbed my wrist. I sucked in breath as he tossed my hand to the side. He was glaring, and I was too.

  “Do you feel that?” I asked, spreading my fingertips out, but everything that had been there had dissipated.

  “No,” Pierce said.

  “You were here for a reason,” I argued, gesturing toward Jessica’s house. It was only a few yards away.

  “I bet you were, too.”

  “I was driving by,” I said, attempting to keep my voice down. He was keeping something from me, just like the elders. “A light was at her house.”

  “Near her house,” he corrected. “Not at it.”

  “Is that relevant?” I spat.

  Pierce eyed my car. “Are you going to turn that off?”

  “No.”

  His sigh came out rigid as he swiftly shut the driver’s door. “We shouldn’t be talking out here,” he said, remaining in his shade form.

  “Why aren’t you a human?” I asked, knowing he was prepared for something. The light was powerful, and it was near Jessica. That wasn’t something to ignore, yet Pierce wanted me to. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re handling it.”

  I surveyed the road. “Who else is out here?”

  “Eu and Bracke.”

  My hands shook. “My father?” This was a big deal.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Pierce spoke as if he could hear my thoughts.

  “Where is he?” I asked, searching my radar for my father.

  The neighbors were up, and a few kids were smoking cigarettes in the park. A dog walked around by itself, and Pierce touched my shoulder.

  “He’s busy—”

  As I prepared myself to disappear, a circle of smoke curled through the air, and my father appeared. His shoulders rose, and his eyes were in slits. I knew the look. He was preparing to yell at me.

  “You’re looking for me?” he asked.

  I ignored the accusation. “All I want to know is what happened,” I said, surprised by my hardened voice.

  My father didn’t react to the tone as I had hoped. He remained calm, and he pointed to my car. “Go home, Eric.”

  “I know more than any of you,” I growled, but my father walked toward me as if he could shepherd me to my Charger. “She’s frequently dreaming.”

  He stopped. “What are you talking about?”

  I repeated myself. “She told me,” I said, “in class.”

  My father turned to Pierce, but his hands went into the air. “They’re in homeroom together,” he defended. “I can’t stop her from talking to him.”

  “You shouldn’t have talked back, Eric,” my father said.

  My eyes shot to the ground. “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “She told me, and it means something, especially if lights are coming near her.”

  My father’s jaw locked as mine did, and Pierce put a hand on my father’s shoulders as if he needed to be held back. My father shrugged him off.

  “Why would she talk so openly?” he asked.

  I had to defend her. “She only told me.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “She didn’t say a word to her friends. She was too busy griping over—” I cringed. “Zac.”

  My father blinked. “Who’s Zac?”

  “Don’t ask,” Pierce interrupted.

  My father turned back to me. “Did Jess say anything else?”

  “She has dreamt every night since school started.” My words didn’t seem real, but they were. She’d opened up to me more as a human this time around, and I wondered how strong her subconscious was.

  “You’re telling me Luthicer’s spell only worked for one month?” My father continued his interrogation, but I couldn’t answer. Only Jessica could. “Someone had to trigger something.”

  Pierce and my dad focused on me, and my anger sizzled like the Light. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Eric.” My father didn’t believe me.

  I grabbed my hair with fists. “I’m trying to help, and you’re accusing me of being the problem.”

  “Because I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m leaving,” I muttered, yanking my car door open before getting inside.

  My dad grabbed the door. “Calm down before you drive.”

  I pulled hard, and he moved his hand before the door squished his fingers. My foot laid on the clutch and gas, and I was gone, speeding away until the trees became blurs of midnight blue. I had to get away, far away.

  Eric. Pierce’s voice broke through the sound of my engine, and I shifted again. I wanted to see how far I had to go before the Dark couldn’t penetrate my thoughts.

  Don’t speed, he continued.

  Get out of my head, I said, blocking him.

  My father’s voice echoed behind. You’re going to crash.

  I never crash, I replied, downshifting to take a corner. I was getting on that highway whether they liked it or not.

  His voice paused, but his presence floated around, and I knew he was sensing my actions. I saw the highway, sped up, and aimed for the on-ramp. My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as the car flew across the blackened pavement, curling up to my escape.

  You’re going to crash, my dad repeated quickly.

  I tightened my grip. I don’t crash.

  Slow down, he screamed, and my concentration shattered at the exact time my tires hit the on-ramp.

  My wheels skidded, and the back of the car leapt. Air froze in my lungs, and a rush of sounds pounded against my ears. Pierce’s voice returned, accompanied by my father’s yelling and the brief squeal of the tires.

  Then, I was flying – floating upward toward the windshield, and I squeezed my eyes shut when the horizon began tilting dangerously. I felt myself transition away from my human form, and even with the car spinning I could feel the seatbelt against my chest. A sound ripped the air just before I lost consciousness.

  The smell of smoke broke through the blood dripping from my nose. I thought about moving, but nothing happened. After a moment, a moan finally escaped me and I blinked through the dusty debris.

  I coughed, but my chest resisted the effort, squeezing my lungs. I coughed again, and tears sprung to my eyes. My fingers curled around the seatbelt latch, and I pushed. I fell, and my left shoulder collided with the crushed door. Glass scrapped my skin.

  “Hey.” A man was in front of me. He hadn’t been there before, and he was already fading into the darkness.

  “Stay with me,” he said. He reached in and grabbed my jacket. When he yanked my body out, my shoulder wiggled unnaturally.

  I lifted my hand to help him, but then I saw my skin. I had turned back into a human.

  A sharp pain shot through me, and I sucked in a breath.

  Before I could comprehend it, I was opening my eyes to a flashlight. The man had been replaced by someone else, and this one wore a uniform. Purple lights flickered behind him. Jessica’s purple rain drifted through my vision until he shook the flashlight at me.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  I tried to look past him, but the purple lights were gone. They were never purple at all. They were red and blue – police lights.

  “Er—Er—Ar—Aec—Eri—c.” Every sound I made hurt.

  “Eric?” he guessed, and I sensed another person. I was being tied down. “Is your name Eric?”

  I opened my mouth to speak but spit blood out instead. He wiped it away, but I tasted it. “We—Well—Welborn.”

  “Eric?” he repeated, and the gurney was lifted. My stomach felt as if it had been left on the ground. “Eric Welborn?”

  I couldn’t nod. My head was restrained. But it didn’t matter anymore.

  The man’s eyes widened, and he looked at the men carrying me up the hill. With every step they took, the lights became brighter, and consciousness became harder to stand. “Be careful,” he said. “That’s James Welborn’s kid.”

  Eric

  The lights were as dim as my thoughts, and I had to concentrate every time I opened my eyes only for them to shut again. I drifted in and out so many times that I wasn’t sure whether I was awake or asleep.

  “Keep resting, honey.”

  The words were soft-spoken and unfamiliar. My own family didn’t talk to me that way, but I felt like my mother would have if she were alive.

  I shifted, wanting to see the woman, but she was gone − replaced with a man I had seen every day of my life.

  “How are you feeling?” my dad asked, leaning on his elbows.

  I made a feeble attempt to speak, but all that came out was a cough. Pain wrung my chest, and my brow crumbled as he handed me a practical Sippy Cup.

  “Take it easy,” he said. “You broke a few ribs.” He stared at the wall behind me. “You almost punctured a lung, Eric.”

  My human name explained my location. I was in a hospital − a human hospital. I swallowed the water to drown my panic. “How long have I been here?”

  “A day.”

  The only time I had left was melting away, and I wasn’t even allowed to live it. I scanned my body, but it didn’t look as bad as I felt. My arms weren’t broken, but one had a large gash running down the side. I couldn’t see my legs, but I didn’t think I wanted to.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  My father straightened. I turned my neck without any pain and stared at him. He wasn’t responding until I repeated myself.

  “You don’t remember?” he managed.

  I searched for any recollection. I had a feeling of spinning. That was it.

  “Nothing,” I said, lowering my voice. “Why am I here?” I couldn’t fathom why they would bring me to a human hospital when the shelter could heal me in minutes.

  My father cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back. “You were angry,” he spoke slowly. “And you crashed your car.”

  “What?”

  “You got in a car accident,” he continued, ignoring my reaction. “It was just you. No one else was involved, but another driver found you and pulled you out.”

  I expected my memory to return, but nothing came. I was teetering on the edge of nothingness. “I—” I couldn’t complete the sentence.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.

  I opened my mouth as if it was the easiest question in the world, but it wasn’t.

  I knew the Marking of Change was close. Jessica didn’t have her memory, but her subconscious was aware of the Dark, and I could barely stand it. Pierce was her guard, and Camille was too busy training to be around me. I went to training. I had driven by Jessica’s house.

  “I sensed the Light,” I spoke before the memory even came and stopped myself before I continued. I didn’t know what to say. I had argued with Pierce, and my father appeared. I didn’t agree. I drove away.

 

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