Don't Let Go (Third Book to the Other Side)

Chapter Ten

I woke up panting, chased from sleep by that phantom of a dream. It haunted me every night, every moment I tried to forget the waking world. It never left me alone, its only goal to force me away from sleeping every night, and there was only so much I could do to fight against it.

I hated closing my eyes, because whenever I did, I saw Thomas's bloody body, his face frozen in a gory moment of horror. I'd never be able to forget the blood that dripped from his mouth, and the pure blackness that haunted his eyes. I heard his distorted whispers, and though I couldn't always make out what they were saying, I knew enough to know of the threats that they hid. I felt the cold that seeped into my bones like poison, and I could still never shake its hold on me. It's funny, really. How I spent so much time trying to get rid of the dreams I once had, but now I would do anything to get them back. How I'd rather dream of being chased by a legion of shadows again rather than Thomas's last moments forever frozen in my mind.

Thankfully, Eliza was still asleep next to me. I watched her for a moment, unable to cry when her aura of calm and peace was pressed up against me. So as not to disturb her, I kissed her forehead lightly, and slipped out of bed. She didn't wake up.

I pulled a robe around my arms, stepped into the empty hallway, and just wandered. Searching, but not looking. Chasing, but not running.

I just need to make these dreams stop. Maybe Peggy has something for that. I'll ask her in the morning.

I knew there was only one cure for these dreams, and I knew I'd never see him again. Well, I suppose I could just never sleep again, but that's an impossible suggestion.

I need to get over him.

I wandered through the castle, retracing my old routes that I had walked alongside Thomas. But what had once been light and full of hope were know dark and destroyed by the emptiness that hollowed everything without his presence. Somehow, I ended up in the library, as though my feet brought me here without my mind agreeing.

The night was cold. I wasn't expecting anything different, as a chill had settled down on all of Perriterra, but it still stung all the same to step onto that balcony and be hit by the breeze. My fingers danced along the steel bars keeping me in, and for a moment, I wondered what would happen if they disappeared.

My fingers curled into the bars, holding me tightly, and I forced myself to look at the wall, tears streaming down my face. I didn't need this. Not right now.

I moved away from the railing and to one of the many rows of bookshelves. I searched the covers until I found a title that looked familiar to me, and retired to the couch. Sighing, I opened the cover of Alice in Wonderland and skimmed the pages, reading, but not really absorbing. And then, as I was trying my best to lose myself, I heard it.

The singing.

The instant I realized what it was, the book tumbled out of my hands, and I was on my feet. A disbelieving breath escaped my mouth as I sat there, listening. Whoever was singing was too far away for me to make out the words, but the melody that touched the air reached out to me. And the voice.

Oh, stars.

"Hello?" I called out, starting towards the door, where the singing seemed to be coming from. "Who's there?"

It couldn't be real. It was impossible.

But still, my steps broke into strides, and I flung the door open, almost ripping it off of its hinges. My breathing caught in my throat when I saw what was waiting for me outside.

Gone was the castle, instead replaced by an elaborate staircase leading to a pathway that stretched through a waiting forest. I picked my way down the first step and turned back. Behind me was a building that looked like a domed citadel, but it was labeled as a library. I reached for the door and opened it, but it was the same library that existed inside the castle.