Reflections of Light

Shrouded

Tap, tap, tap, tap. There was something tapping against the window glass, ever so faintly. The sound seemed to disturb Luci in her sleep, making her wrinkle her nose in annoyance and turn her head away from the sound as she slept.

There was a click, and the window flew open; a chill breeze rushing into the room, blowing the curtains like pale ghosts and reaching for them with icy fingers. Luci slept on, serenely undisturbed; a princess under a spell. Creeping over the window sill, a dark figure entered the room.

With a single derisive glance at the mother with her young son curled up lovingly against her, the shrouded figure glided across the floor and around the bed to the crib where the baby girl lay. Reaching into the cot, they picked up the child; holding her close in a parody of a loving parental embrace. On silent feet and with a last smug look at the sleeping mother, they carried the baby to the window, and on a gust of wind they were gone.

Luci awoke suddenly; eyes snapping open, she looked around in confusion, cradling her son in her arms as she sat up. Looking around for the source of her unease, she registered nothing out of the ordinary; puzzling for a second over the open window as she remembered it having been closed, but quickly shrugged it off as her mistake.

Whispering sweet nothings to the stirring baby at her breast, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and carried him to the window to look out curiously into the night before pulling it closed. The darkness outside her window was still, with no hint of any kind of movement; no hint of anything, really, just a hungry black void that swallowed up all it touched. Luci shivered unconsciously, and pulled the curtains closed.

"Let's get you to bed now." Smiling comfortingly at her son, she turned back into the warm safety of the rooms light, she hummed a lullaby as she crossed the floor towards the crib, placing her baby boy down softly on the mattress.

Then, her heart stopped. Her head spun, her lungs turned to ice; loosing her strength, she dropped to the floor with a strangled sob. And then, she screamed; a primal, heart-rending, soul shattering scream.

Her baby was gone.

Someone had taken her.

And she knew who.

Yes, I know the song is a bit on the nose, but I really like the band and found their cover felt appropriate here. This chapter NEEDED music.

Sorry it's shorter than usual, but I just wrote what I found most effective and it turned out like that. Would kill it if I wrote more just for the sake of the word count. Really proud of this chapter.

Anyway, let me know what you think!