Page 21 of Visions in Blood
Once the door shut, Devon checked Cressa’s forehead, which was the same cool temperature as before.He sat in front of the fire and poured a cup of coffee.If there had been a telepathic residue, that might explain why Lyra sensed Cressa’s dreams.Telepathy could be powerful, and if he considered what he’d experienced in the shared dreams, it would explain the connection between telepathic abilities and dreamwalking.It wasn’t the first time Madame Saldano had mentioned telepathic tendrils after one of Lyra’s episodes.But Lyra had never mentioned being able to discern another’s dreams.Was it because Cressa was a dreamwalker?Telepathy alone couldn’t explain why the dreams were so realistic.
Maybe the necklace had somehow amplified the properties of a dreamwalker.He was so far out of his depths that all of this was sheer speculation.They needed to learn as much as they could about dreamwalkers as quickly as possible.
He glanced at the dresser as he considered the necklace, then jumped up.After scanning the dresser and the carpet, he opened the jewelry box in case Lucas had put it away.
The necklace was gone.
He rubbed his eyes and cursed his luck.
Lyra and her sticky fingers.
ChapterNine
A croak,followed by a long, low groan reverberated in my head.It took a full minute before I realized the repeating sound was coming from me.My head felt like a battering ram was tearing at its walls, but I couldn’t tell if someone was hammering to get in or I was trying to get out.I managed to pry an eye open for a quick peek.
The room was dark except for the glow of firelight.Where was I?
If I kept it to small increments, I could turn my head without increasing the pounding ache.This was my room.I hadn’t recognized it at first because the fireplace had never been used, and now I wondered why not.It was pretty.
Good grief, I must be losing it.Whatever happened before waking up was a blur, and if I judged the size of my headache, my first thought would have been an all-night bender.Something told me I wouldn’t be that lucky.
“Cressa.”
The sound of my name was somewhere between a question and relief.That worried me.Had I fallen through a window again?
“Cressa.Are you awake?”
Devon’s concerned tone sent warm shivers through my body.The tingles hit all the right spots, washing all my fears away.How did I let a vamp of all people worm his way past my defenses?It had to be those damn dreams.
A piercing stab breached the walls, shooting past the punishing ache.An involuntary cry erupted before I grabbed my head and curled into a fetal position.
Devon was at my side in a flash, caressing my arm.“I have a potion that will help with the headache.From what I’ve been told, it acts quickly.”
A potion.From the local witch store?I laughed, but it turned into a grimace.
“Can you sit up?”
I tried, but my limbs felt so heavy I couldn’t raise an arm more than an inch.If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I’d run a marathon overnight—and that worried me.No way in hell would I have done that.Before I knew it, Devon was behind me, gently lifting me to lean against him.I squinted past the increased pain and stared at the shot glass of pinkish liquid he held in front of me.
“Are you sure?”My raspy voice was unrecognizable to my own ears, but he seemed to understand.
“I trust the healer on this.I’ve seen it used before.”
At this point, death seemed better than the repeating drum solo.I sipped it at first, waiting for a nasty kick, but it carried a sweet aftertaste, and I swallowed the rest of it down.If nothing else, the coolness quenched the dryness in my throat.
Devon carefully stacked pillows behind me, and before he laid me on them, the pounding receded to a tapping.I didn’t know what the pink stuff was, and I noticed the vial on the nightstand next to a purplish mixture, but someone should be marketing it.Not only had the ache lessened, but my memory was returning, and my arms felt lighter.
“What happened?What time is it?”I pulled the covers tighter, more for comfort than warmth.I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I’d place all my chips on a dream being involved.
“It’s almost noon.”
I glanced at the windows.Thick drapes I’d never considered closing before had been pulled together so completely not a drop of light leaked past them.Of course, this was a vamp house.
“I had a dream.”I vaguely remembered the grotto and Devon waiting for me, looking devastatingly scrumptious.
“It might have been more of a nightmare.Do you remember any of it?”
“Don’t you?”
