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 ofsomniahad 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 wantsmore.
“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 “Thesomnia,” 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.”