Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 18

My dream-self sprinted stunned of the kitchen and toward the sound of the crying. Aubrey and the mystery cat jerked their heads up, surprised at my sudden movement. On the other(a) side of the living room, the little girl sat on the floor beside an end table with sharp corners, a abject hand pressed to her forehead. Tears streamed d declare her checks as she wailed.In a flash, my dream-self was on her knees and had wrapped the little girl up in a cruddy embrace. I could feel what the other Georgina felt, and I nearly wept as well over the feel of that soft, warm body in my ordnance. My dream-self rocked the girl, murmuring soothing, nonsensical lyric as she brushed her lips against the silken hair. Eventually, the girls sobs stopped, and she rested her head against my dream-selfs chest, content to simply be loved and rocked.I opened my eye and stared at solidifications plain gabardine ceiling. He lay beside me, curled up near my body and still smelling like the massage oil. E ven awake, the dreams images were still strong and so real. I knew exactly how my daughters hair had felt, the way she smelled, the rhythm of her heart. My ingest heart pined so oftentimes for her that I could almost ignore the fact that last nights vigour was in a flash gone.This was turning into a real problem.I sat up, gently pushing Seth off of me. only when as I tried to figure out what to do close to this latest dream, a strange thought kept pressing into the back of my head.Erik. I couldnt stop thinking about Erik. It was nothing in particular, either. No specific problem. But, when invariably I tried to think about something else my job, the energy loss, Seth it was Eriks face that appeared in my head. I didnt understand it, but it worried me.Seths arms reached for me as I slipped out of bed, but I skillfully avoided them. Grabbing my cell phone out of my purse, I headed off toward the living room. No one answered when I dialed Ar slewa, Ltd. It was almost tenusual ly he was open by then. I called information in search of Eriks home number, but it appeared to be unlisted.A whizz of dread was building in me. Desperate, I dialed Dantes store.Dante, I think somethings happened to Erik, but I dont have his home number and Whoa, whoa, succubus. Slow down. Start from the beginning.Backing up, I explained how Id dreamed again and woken up obsessed with Erik.Maybe its nothing, but after(prenominal) the drowning thingI dont know. Do you have his home number?Yeah, Dante said after several moments. I do. IllIll check on him for you and give you a call back.Thanks, Dante. I mean it.I dis connected as a sleepy Seth stepped out of the bedroom. Whos Dante? Was that a collect call to the Inferno?They wont accept the charges, I murmured, still troubled. Seths face turned dependable.Whats wrong?I hesitated, not because I was algophobic to reveal him about Dante but because I didnt know if I wanted him caught up in all of this.It involves immortal intrigue , I warned. And the higher workings of the universe.I live for those things, he said wryly, settling into an armchair. Tell me.So, I did. He knew about my first energy loss but not the rest. I didnt tell him about the content of the dreams, merely that they drained me of energy. I also explained about the self-fulfilling prophecies and how Id woken up damp one morning and thinking about Erik today. When I finished, I stared at the cell phone accusingly.Damn it. Why isnt he calling?Why do you ever tell me this at the last minute? asked Seth. Its been expectant you trouble for a while. I thought it had been a one-time thing.I didnt want to bother you. And I know how funny you are about immortal stuff.Things that see you that may be harming you dont bother me. I mean, well, they do, but thats not the point. This all goes back to commun The phone rang.Dante? I asked eagerly. I hadnt even bothered to check the number.But it was him. His voice sounded grim.You need to come over here . To Eriks.The store?No, his house. Its close to my place here.Whats going on?Just come over.Dante rattled off an address and directions. With brisk shape-shifting, I was dressed and ready to bolt out the door in an instant. Seth told me to wait, and in less than a minute not as dependable as me, though still good he was ready too.Id never thought much about Erik having a home of his own. To me, he just always sort of existed in his store. The address was about a mile from Dantes, in an old, yet well-maintained neighborhood. Eriks house was one of the small bungalow types so common in Seattle neighborhoods, and the front yard was filled with roses gone dormant for the winter. As we walked up the steps, I entertained a brief vision of Erik out there be the flowers in the summer.Dante opened the door before I could knock. I wondered if hed sensed me or had simply seen us through the window. He displayed no particular reaction to Seths presence and ushered us in toward the houses one bedroom.The houses interior looked like it hadnt been updated in a while. In fact, a lot of the furniture reminded me of mid-twentieth-century styles. A plaid lounge with rough fabric. A worn velvet armchair in seventies gold. A TV that dubiously looked capable of color.None of that triggered any sort of reaction in me, though. What startled me was one framed picture sitting on a bookshelf. It showed a much younger Erik maybe in his forties with fewer wrinkles in his dark skin and no gray in his black hair. He had his arm around a thirty-something brunette with big gray eyeball and a smile as large as his. Dante nudged me when I stopped, an odd look on his face.Come on.Erik lay in bed. To my relief, he was alive. I didnt suck up until that moment just how worried Id been. My subconscious had chargeed the worst, even though Id refused to let it surface.But alive or not, he really didnt look so great. He was sweating and shaking, eyes wide and face pallid. His breathing was shallow. When he maxim me, he flinched, and for half a second, I saw terror in his eyes. Then, the fear faded, and he attempted a weak smile.Miss Kincaid. Forgive me for not being able to receive you properly.Jesus, I gasped, sitting on the beds edge. What happened? Are you hunky-dory?I will be.I studied him, trying to piece together what had take backn place. Were you attacked?His gaze flicked over to Dante. Dante shrugged.In a manner of speaking, Erik said at last. But not in the way youre thinking.Dante leaned against the wall, appearing a little less grave than he had earlier. Dont waste her time with riddles, old man. Spill it.Eriks eyes narrowed, a bit of fire flaring in their depths. Then, he turned back to me. I was attackedmentally, not physically. A woman came to me tonightwraithlike, inhumanwreathed in energy. The kind of beauteous, enthralling energy I see you glow with sometimes. It was a sweet way to describe my post-sex glamour.Was she bat-winged and flame-eyed? I asked, recalling Dantes long-ago joke about the mythical description of succubi.Not a succubus, Im afraid. That might be easier. No, thisI believewas Nyx.Diddid you say Nyx? Of course that was what hed said, but Id been waiting for him to launch into a discussion of Oneroi, not their mother. Nyx made no sense. It was one thing for dream spirits to appear in your bedroom and in your dreams. It was an entirely different matter for a ugly primordial entity of chaos who had been puppetal in creating the world as we know it to appear in your bedroom. It was like saying God had stopped by for waffles on the way to work. Maybe Erik was still delirious.Nyx, he confirmed, no doubt guessing my thoughts. Chaos herself. Or, more accurately, Night herself.From the corner, Dante laughed softly. Were all fucked now.Shes the mother of the Oneroi, Erik reminded me. And, although dreams arent her sole domain, she too is connected to them.Then I tried to grasp the implications. Are you saying shes been responsible for whats been happening to me?It almost makes sense, said Dante.Erik apparently agreed. Shes linked to time and all the unnumberable potential fates that exist for the universe. Fate and time are forever moving closer to chaos to entropy and thats what she feeds off of. Shes trying to create more of it in the world, to bring us that much nearer to ultimate disintegration. But shes a long way from bringing anything like that about, so she settles for small acts of chaos.I wasnt following. My dreams and energy loss are acts of chaos?No. Erik glanced at Dante again. We believe youre her instrument. Since shes connected to time as well as space, she has the ability to see pieces of the futurity. And there is no greater way to cause chaos in this world than by revealing the future to mortals. Such visions prove consuming, and if crafted in a certain way, they can drive a person to madness. That person will obsess on it, struggling to either stop it or bring it abou t in a way its not actually meant to unfold. Both acts are futile. The future plays out as it is meant to. In trying to alter it, we only make it happen that much more quickly.Like the Oedipus story, noted Seth. His fathers attempts to change the prophecys outcome are what actually made it happen.Erik nodded. Exactly.I understood now too. Just like the cop who saw his partner getting shot. And the man who saw his family benefiting by him swimming the Sound.Its how Nyx operates. Everything she shows them is truejust not true in the way they expect. The ensuing madness and remnant brought about by showing mortals their futures futures that they end up bringing about feeds her.But where do I fit in? I demanded. She isnt showing me my future or making me do crazy things.Thats where the theory ends, succubus, Dante said. Youre part of it, absolutely. And she needs you to do all thisbut we dont know the mechanics of it.This is insane, I said blankly. Im the instrument of an all-powerfu l primordial deitys wave of chaos and destruction.Thats kind of extreme, said Dante jovially. Its not like you work for Google or anything.Seth gently touched my shoulder. Can I ask a question here? Im confused bylike, how is it possible that youre just now realizing that thisNyxis out there? I mean, if shes as powerful as you claimI dont know. Why didnt you think of her right away? Why hasnt this happened before?Because shes locked up, I said. Or well, shes supposed to be. Heaven and Hell have their own agendas for the world they dont want her running loose and messing it all up. If this is her, I have no idea how she got loose. Shes supposed to be guarded by angels, and if there was ever a group that could I let out a gasp that turned into a groan.The others stared at me. Whats wrong? asked Seth.Thats wherefore theyre here, I said. Im such an idiot. Theres a monstrous regiment of angels in town. I knew they were looking for something, but I didnt know what. That would also expl ain Vincents interest in local news he was looking for Nyx-patterns that would provide them with a trail. Hed even started to pursue my knowledge of the cop story, but Seths shooting and his outing as a nephilim had distracted us all.Yeah, well, theyre doing a bang-up job, said Dante.I rose from Eriks bedside. I have to tell them what we know. Maybe theyll understand what shes doing to me.Be careful, Erik warned. Shes suspicious nowI think thats why she came after me. I was looking into this, and she didnt want me to succeed.Something else suddenly occurred to me. Erikdid she show you a vision?He nodded.What was it? It must have been horrible, whatever it was. Hed clearly been in wallop when Dante had found him.Erik looked at me, and for an instant, I saw a flash of the terror hed shown when I first walked into the room. Then, it was gone.It doesnt matter, Miss Kincaid. She wanted to scare me, to stop me from helping youbut it didnt work. The future will unfold as its meant to. Se eing my doubtful look, he smiled again and pointed toward the door. Stop worrying about me. I will be fine. Go get a line your angel friends before anything worse happens.I gave him a quick hug before stepping into the other room with Seth and Dante. Once again, I paused to teaching the picture of Erik and the woman. Just as Id always imagined Erik living in his store, Id also never pictured him having any sort of personal life. Obviously, that was a foolish thought on my part. Who was this woman? Wife? Lover? Just a friend?Beside me, Dante held out his hand to Seth and introduced himself. The two men sized each other up.Ive heard so much about you, said Dante cheerfully.I never heard of you until this morning, remarked Seth.My eyes were still on the picture. Near the edge of the frame, I spy a crease in the scenegraph. I dont know what made me do it, but I picked the frame up and pulled the picture out. The right-hand third of the photo had been folded, obscuring another person who had been with Erik and the woman. Dante.I looked up in surprise. Dante took the picture and frame from me and reassembled them. Theres no time for this, succubus.But We have more important things to deal with than your own curiosity right now.I cast an uneasy look at Eriks closed bedroom door. Dante was right. Do you think you could maybeDante sighed, anticipating my question. Yes, succubus. Ill check in on him today.For a moment, I thought I saw something in his facesomething that wasnt just him grudgingly humoring me. Like that maybe maybe he cared about Erik too. It was weird, but then, theyd all looked pretty happy in the photograph. The worst enemies were often those who had been friends. This Erik-Dante puzzle just got weirder and weirder.I started to turn away, then Dante called, Oh, hey. I can credibly make your charm, now that we know what this is.Hope surged up in me at the thought of finally having safe dreams again. Really?If you still want me to, he added warily .I presumed he was subtly referencing my skepticism which hadnt entirely abated. Still, now that I had a name for my predator, I was more restless than ever to take whatever rampart I could get. Definitely. If you think itll work.In theory, at least. Nyx isnt exactly a run-of-the-mill spirit. Ill see what I can do.I drove Seth back to his condo, anxious to let him off, so I could do some searching. I have to go find the angels, I told him. Ill catch up to you later.Sono movie tonight?I what? Oh, damn it. Id forgotten about the plans wed made. Hed gotten tickets for an indie movie that was showing one night only here. Im sorryI really amWell, said Seth wryly, considering life and death are literally on the line, I think I can forgive it this time.You know what you should do? You should take Maddie. You still owe her a date.He smiled. I have the best girlfriend in the world, always trying to push me into the arms of another woman.Im serious Shes feeling unwanted. She thinks you d ont like her.I like her a lot. The whole thing is just weird, thats all. I think Im going to see if Terry can go to the movie. Dont give me that look, he warned. Ill still take her somewhere. Just not to this.We kissed good-bye, and Seth promised to check on me later. Once he was gone, I set out to find my guardian angels.