Beautiful Dreamer

Chapter 17

Dedicated to Nicole because she's brilliant and also the gif on the last chapter omfg.

Chapter Seventeen

I stared at my mother and she stared back, our anxious gazes tethered by an invisible line of sight. My heartbeat was suddenly very loud, pulsing through my body and echoing in my ears. I was surprised that she couldn't hear it, because the sound was deafening.

“I went back to the place where I had seen that first man,” she continued, “some highway strand outside of town. They knew I was coming. They always know.”

“And they attacked you,” I finished, pulling my legs to my chest. My mom's shoulders were slumped, her head bowed into the palm of her hand.

“Not at first.” Her voice was soft. “At first, they greeted me—as if I was actually welcome amongst their kind. They pretended that they didn't know that I knew what they were planning. It wasn't much of a meeting really, in the woods off the side of the road, so one of them, a woman, suggested we talk over dinner. Which was actually ridiculous, because these are demons for God's sake, and they'd just invited me to dinner. Demons invited me to dinner. Does that sound crazy to you, too?”

I didn't blink. “No.”

Mom sighed. “Well, they did. And we went to some Italian place in Butler, three of the...creatures and I.” With a shake of her head, her lips curl into a disbelieving smile. “We just sat there, like business partners having a meeting. Except that they didn't order anything, and I don't think the waitress could see them either, because when I asked them if they wanted to order anything, she just stared at me. Christ, I probably seemed out of my mind.”

That's how I've been feeling lately, I thought silently. I didn't say it though, and let my mother continue.

“Long story short, after skirting around the topic for all of dinner, I finally told them that they weren't allowed to touch you, that I wouldn't condone it. They just laughed. And then they left. They left money on the table and left. I chased after them, of course, because I wasn't about to let them get away with doing this to you. I threatened them. They weren't happy about that. I was stupid; I should have realized when I'd gone to far. But I was so naively confident that I just kept pushing until finally, they snapped. And that's when they attacked me. I wasn't hurt badly; the injuries were mild enough that I could make my way back to my car. That was my warning, though. I'm not meant to interfere.”

A surge of anger jolted through me at the thought of these creatures, these men (and apparently women) in glossy back, beating my mother on the side of the street for having the audacity to try to protect me. But running parallel with the fury was a surprising rush of affection for the woman before me, because I now had confirmation that she really did care about me. The demons and attacks and inevitable doom were still present, but so was the fact that my mother was willing to risk her life to keep me safe.

I didn't want her to do that.

Shifting abruptly, I reached into the pocket of my pajama pants and pulled out the crumpled business card from Laury.

Laury Lincoln, it read. Psychic Medium. No Appointments Necessary, Always On Call.

Following these words was a phone number in sharp blue type. Always On Call. I hoped that always was a solemn promise. I squeezed the card in my hand, then held it out to my mother.

“Aubrey took me to see this girl last night,” I said. “She's, um, a medium. She knows about demons and incubi and stuff, and she—well, she's been...in touch with Rosemary. I'm supposed to call her if I ever need help. I think she might know how to get rid of these things.”