Blood Awakening (Blood Burden Series Prelude)

  *****

  A dreamy haze overtook Nicole as she slept. She knew she was dreaming but at the same time, everything seemed so real. She turned her head from side to side, taking in the miles of deserted beach that surrounded her. The sands were pristine white, with only small ripples breaking the smooth surface where emerald waves lapped the shores. She looked down at the sand around her feet, eyeing the shimmering crystals that powdered her toes and reveled in the feel of the granules beneath her.

  The shriek of a seagull echoed in the air as it flew overhead, drawing Nicole’s eyes to a cliff that created a wall behind her. Bright green grass dotted with large, violet flowers flowed over the natural wall, but the real beauty was a stone castle that loomed above her. Two large towers, each featuring arched windows and beautiful rose and emerald stained glass, seemed to touch the blue sky on either end. A large balcony hugged the edge of the cliff in the center of the gray stone wall.

  Nicole’s breath caught in her throat when she saw a beautiful woman staring down at her from her stone pedestal. Her fair skin seemed translucent, like porcelain, and long, brown curls cascaded around her shoulders. The woman wore a deep purple dress with a silk shawl draped around her arms. The ends of the shawl danced in the breeze around her. She smiled softly at Nicole, then turned her head, staring back at the castle.

  When she looked at Nicole again, her face was full of fear. The woman leaned forward, over the edge of the balcony, as if she were about to jump, but was yanked back rudely by a man with a sword sheathed at his side. The woman’s eyes found Nicole’s again. In her mind, she heard “They are coming for you!”

  Nicole started backing away from the cliff, not knowing where to run, but only that she needed to get out of there. The knot in her stomach and the tightness in her chest told her this place wasn’t safe. She turned to run but collided with a solid mass. The mysterious man from the restaurant stood in front of her, surrounded by blackness with eyes that were dark, bottomless orbs. He reached for her as she backed away, shaking her head. “No! Don’t touch me!” she shouted, falling onto her back in the sand. Her eye found the woman’s panic filled face watching the scene below.

  “Wake up!” The voice echoed in her head as she felt fingers wrap around her arm. She jerked wildly, trying to escape the grasp.

  “Nicole, wake up!”

  Nicole’s eyes shot open as she pressed her body up against the headboard of her bed. She looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was.

  “Honey, are you okay?” asked Kat. Her eyes were wide and searching as she released her grip on Nicole’s thrashing arm.

  Nicole nodded her head as she realized it was all just a dream. She was still in her bed at the hotel, not on some faraway beach trying to escape an unknown attacker. “Sorry. I was having a nightmare, I guess,” she said as she straightened her rumpled covers.

  “I would say so.” Kat smiled gently at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, it was just a crazy dream, that’s all.” She slid back down onto her pillow, pulling the covers back up around her. “Thanks anyway.”

  Nicole lay there awake, listening to Kat’s breathing as she settled back into the slow, deep rhythm of sleep. She kept seeing the woman’s frightened face in her mind. She wondered what would scare her so badly that she would be willing to jump to her death to escape. What fate could be worse than death?