Night Lights by Helen Harper

Author:Helen Harper [Harper, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BA
Published: 2017-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Empty threats are for dreamers. And I fancy myself a realist.

Natalya Vorobyova

I drift through several more dreams, taking care this time not to Travel too quickly and stimulate another bout of nausea. There’s no further sign of Lilith and not a glimmer of Dante. I have to hope I’ve done enough to keep him away; I don’t want him around for any of this.

There’s a depressing similarity about dreams when you experience a lot of them. We like to think that we’re individuals but, with seven billion of us on the planet and shared cultures and experiences, we’re more alike than we think. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve apparated into someone’s head and found myself falling from a great height or being chased by some menacing creature or person. Unfortunately those kinds of dreams are particularly dangerous for me. The dreamers won’t get hurt, no matter what kind of landing they make or if the shadowy shape in their nightmares grabs them and garrottes them before munching on their entrails. I’m not so lucky. So, when I find myself trapped in a room that appears to be surrounded by lethal-looking spikes, all pointed inwards, I almost disapparate immediately. I catch myself in the nick of time because Frederik Jepsen’s personal assistant is standing next to me. Jackpot.

Initially, she seems confused. She’s turning round in a slow circle and examining the area with a puzzled look on her face. There’s an unpleasant metallic tinge in the air and a rise of indistinct whispers from the gloom beyond the spikes. I cock my head for a moment, trying to make out the words. Just when I think my ears are beginning to attune to the noise and separate the syllables, there’s a deep rumble. Jepsen’s PA squeaks in alarm. There’s a shudder and the ground starts to tremble. Her squeak changes to a high-pitched scream and the spikes move inwards, albeit ridiculously slowly.

I watch the woman; I’m interested in her reaction. She gives up on screaming and darts forward, as if she thinks that she can slide through one of the gaps between the spikes. She’s pushed back almost immediately. She whirls round again, desperately seeking escape. I can taste her rising terror on my tongue.

Nibbling on my bottom lip, I consider my choices. I could help her out; after all, if she ends up impaled on a spike then I’ve learned nothing beyond the fact that she feels trapped. I could simply disapparate and leave her to it but the end result would be the same. If I weave her to safety, however, I might upset the balance of all her dreams and I’ll still learn nothing.

I ball my hands into fists and wait until the last possible moment. When the spikes are bare inches away from us, I finally act. ‘Hey,’ I say softly, transposing myself into her consciousness.

She spins towards me. ‘Help! You have to help! We have to get out of here!’

I nod calmly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.