Incubus

2

Chapter 2 - Sleep Paralysis

Celia woke up to complete darkness. But the darkness wasn't the first thing she noticed-- With trepidation, she realized couldn't move. Panic hit her like a train, instincts jumping to use as they yelled at her to move, and somehow escape this paralysis. But no matter how much she tried to fight the invisible force holding her down, she remained paralyzed.

Suddenly, something touched her cheek. Her heart stopped right then. It was a faint, feather-like touch, but in the absolute stillness of her body it resonated through her. Her heart pounded in her chest, blood roaring in her ears as the organ threatened to break through her ribcage. The touch felt like the course pad of a finger, as it trailed down the side of her face slowly to her neck.

She tried to scream, but not even her jaws would work. Her breathing grew rapid when she felt something sharper-- the the tip of a claw. It wasn't painful, as the sharp point delicately traced down from her jaw to her neck.

Though she couldn't see, Celia sensed that something-- or rather, someone-- was inching closer to her, hovering above her. Then she felt it- cool breath brushing against her ear. She waited in apprehension, seeing nothing but darkness and feeling nothing but the claw trailing down from her neck to her collarbone, and the breath grazing the shell of her ear.

Then she heard it, a single word in the absolute silence-- "Soon," whispered the husky voice into her ear.

Abruptly, her body was free from the chains of paralysis. She shot up in bed gasping, immediately scrambling out of bed to turn on a light. But in her haste, the bed sheets tangled around her legs and soon she felt herself falling. She landed painfully on the floor, but recovered quickly, clambering to her feet before stumbling blindly to where she knew her light switch was.

Light flooded Celia's room, almost blinding her. She blinked several times before her eyes darted frantically around the room. Everything was still in place, except for the candles from the ritual which had already burned out. Her eyes then fell on the spellbook that had fallen off of her bed.

As she gazed at the book, still open to the page that the ritual instructions were on, a possibility flashed through her mind, an unwanted and dreadful thought.

No, she shook her head to herself, denial clouding her judgement. That was only a dream... a nightmare... The ritual didn't work... Demons aren't real...

Still she trembled in unease, her arms wrapped protectively around herself as she walked over to the window, pulling the curtains to the side. Celia could see the first hints of dawn in the indigo sky. With a sigh, she let the curtains fall back.

She had to get ready for work.

Standing in front of the mirror, her tired brown eyes stared back at her. Soon... What does that mean?