The Witching Hour

Chapter 28 - Clue

Ivy's shoes left deep imprints in the dirt as she sprinted across the forest. Shadows hung heavily on the branches, suffocation in the air. With one hand, she gathered her skirts to speed up. Her dark curls flew around her face as the wind whipped against it. Thunder clapped in the distance, covering the loud howls her ears faintly caught.

She burst into a clearing, sun streaming down on it while everywhere else remained drenched in shadows. Up ahead, a figure waited with its back to her. Ivy moved closer, her fingers releasing the tight hold on her skirt's fabric.

Skirt? What am I doing wearing a skirt? Ivy thought to herself. I never wear skirts...

Those thoughts went to the wayside as the figure fell to its knees, groaning in agony. It clenched its head, a wave of pain rolling over its shoulders.

"Hunter?" Ivy's voice trembled as she took a step forward. The figure twitched, and Ivy knew it was her boyfriend. "Hunter, I'm here."

She ran toward him, about to drape her arms around his shoulders when a voice called out and halted her in her tracks.

"Ivy, babe, I'm right here." Hunter stood a few yards away, dressed immaculately in a simple olive top and bottoms, in complete contrast to her white blouse and skirt.

Ivy shook her head not wanting to believe the apparition behind her. Mammon must have gotten in her head, plaguing her with visions.

"No, you're right..."

Ivy looked back at the figure who she tried to console and found a wolf had replaced him. The gray fur gleamed in the sunlight. It didn't belong to the world of the light. It was more suited for the shadowy world of the forest. She jumped back, anticipating a growl. Instead, the wolf met her gaze, his head cocking to the side when recognition passed between them.

"What the..." Ivy's mouth fell agape, her hand floating to cover it in shock. Could this be one of those drunken dreams that she would forget come morning? None of it made sense nor was she sure she wanted it to. The hidden meaning could be worse than she already imagined.

"Ivy."

A new, feminine voice cut through the moment and beckoned Ivy's attention. Ivy did an about-face to see Cassandra Laurent staring back at her.

"Cassie!" Ivy shrieked, running toward her best friend. With each step, this dreamscape faded away, leaving them in a white room.

The two embraced tightly, Ivy squeezing her friend as tightly as she could. She feared that if she broke the hug, Cassie would disappear just as quickly as the dream had.

"This is still a dream, right?" Ivy's eyebrow went up, shifting on her back leg when Cassie pulled away.

Ivy took in Cassie's appearance. Cassie had done her best to cover whatever she looked like in the real world, but her eyes said it all. The exhaustion along with the fear couldn't get past Ivy. Ivy wanted to take hold of Cassie and transport her back to her apartment, using the dream as a portal. She wasn't even sure if she could, but she would try her damnedest.

"Yes, and what a dream you were having." Cassie winked and shot her teasing smile.

The seriousness returned just as quickly as the playfulness had come out. Cassie's eyes darted around the room, a light sheet of sweat covering her forehead. The image Cassie projected falter for a second, allowing Ivy a look into what she was going through. Purple bruises circled her wrists while open cuts dotted across her arms. In the middle of her forearm, an IV jutted out pumping an unknown substance into her veins. A thin, hollow body with dull blond hair stood there in the place of the Cassie Ivy knew.