Those Who Live in the Shadows

Chapter 8

I let Camelia sleep, after I had showed her what I looked like in a dream, and went on her roof in shadow form. I laid down in human form and looked at the sky, the last colors of the sun disappearing at the horizon. I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air inside me. What a day it had been. Surely less boring than the ones I had spent alone. I decided to feed later on, since I had a lot of time in front of me. A whole night, to be exact. Nightmares couldn't sleep, or should I say: Nightmares didn't need to sleep like humans. So I had to entertain myself as I could to pass time.

It had been a long time since I had felt so impatient to see the sun reappear. I had this feeling... I didn't want to leave Camelia alone. As if there was something bad lurking in the shadows. I closed my eyes. Yes, I did feel the presence of another Nightmare. It was very faint, and it was possible that it wasn't anyone dangerous, but...

I had to be sure. I got up and glanced at the neighborhood. I was searching for the distinct ink black shadows of a Nightmare. But it found me first. Someone jumped on my back from behind and I fell, the Nightmare on my back. I grunted. I couldn't get up.

"Well, if it isn't a surprise," whispered the shadowy figure. Ally. I should have expected it, but I had been so busy with Camelia... "She can't know about her," I thought. It would be a disaster. She would use Camelia to take revenge on me. If I survived the night.

"Nice to see you too," I sarcastically answered, while trying to push her away from me.

"Oh, that won't work dear," Ally continued. I felt something hard sink in my right scapula. I growled. One of her shadows had deeply injured me. It was really painful. I shifted to shadow form and tried to escape her grip, but she held me tight with the help of her knife-shaped shadows. Three more knives stabbed me in the back. I screamed of pain. I went back to human form and tried to move, but I couldn't. Her shadows were pinning me to the roof, and I couldn't heal. I wanted to use my shadows to push her away, but I didn't have any strength, and I felt dizzy. My vision was becoming blurry.

"Something wrong, Desire?" Ally asked softly, faking concern. "You don't like being on the losing side, for once?" Another knife went through me. I screamed. Tears were coming to my eyes. So painful...

I wanted to react, to attack her, to do anything! But I couldn't move. Almost couldn't breathe. My energy was slowly leaving me.

"That's right," murmured the other Nightmare. "You are suffering, just like he did when you killed him."

I wanted to respond, but only let out a faint growl.

"Have a nice death," wished Ally. She took back her bloodied shadows and disappeared in the darkness, leaving me mortally wounded, ready to bleed to death. I used the last of my energy to try to heal a little my wounds, with more or less success.

I coughed up blood, almost collapsing. I had to go feed. But I felt so tired... Maybe if I just closed my eyes for a second... A little second of rest wouldn't hurt... My eyelids were slowly closing, my body becoming colder as the time went by.

Then I heard a familiar voice. I opened up my eyes. Who... was it? Had...Ally come... back...?

"Desire?" said the voice. "Is it you?"

Me? I managed to turn in the direction of the voice. It was coming from an open window below me. I could only see a blurry figure coming out of it, probably human. I...had to...get there ... if...only...I could... get some...energy...

I went into shadow form, which permitted me to go through things, and slowly floated centimeter by centimeter to the edge of the roof. When I got above of the figure, I let gravity take over and went through the roof. I stopped my fall when I was beside the figure and transformed back into my human form, the only thing I could do without affecting my state.

I collapsed on the floor.

"What was that?" said the figure.

The pain was becoming unbearable. Ally had not hesitated and knew exactly how to fatally injure me.

I...couldn't do anything right now. No more strength. I had all used it to get beside the human, which was becoming blurrier by the second. I coughed up more blood. I heard the human moving and talking, but I could not grasp anything he was doing.

Until he took my hand. I instinctively absorbed the human's feelings and I felt energy come back into me. I used the energy brought by the human to accelerate my regeneration process, healing completely my wounds. I sighed of relief as the pain went away.

I opened my eyes. My vision became clearer and I saw the human who was beside me. It was Camelia, lying on the floor, knocked out by the amount of energy I had taken away from her. I slowly got on my knees, still shaking from Ally's attack. There was blood everywhere on me, but I had survived. I had to thank Camelia for what she had done. If she hadn't heard us fight... If she hadn't called for me... If I hadn't regained my energy...

I would be dead.

I took Camelia in my arms, and softly put her on her bed. My blood tainted her pajamas, but she would be the only one noticing it. I will let her sleep, till she woke up the next morning.

"Have a night without dreams," I wished to Camelia. I would guard her all night long; to be sure she hadn't any consequence from me taking that much feelings and energy away from her. As I made that reflection, I understood.

I knew why Camelia could sense me.