Page 46 of Lost in the Dark

She trembles involuntarily, a sign of how scared she is, and then mumbles, “What’s happening?”

“Come with me,” I whisper. “I can give you peace. I can keep Evan out of your mind.”

As much as I love her nightmares, I can do more with her if I release her from them. We can enjoy pleasurable dreams together, and she can join me in my work, helping me create fear in others. She has so much trauma in her past that I know she’ll be good at it. I can use her knowledge to inflict more terror on the dreaming world.

“Take my hand. I have a whole new life to show you. All you have to do is say yes.”Of course, it will only be her subconscious that joins me. Her physical body will stay here, sleeping, helping to feed me and my court. There’s nothing I can do about that.

She nods and sleepily entwines her fingers with mine.

With her assent, I do something I’ve never done before, something completely unprecedented: I bring a human to my kingdom. We emerge in my throne room, a cavernous space filled with torches and my massive chair.

“Welcome to the Nightmare Court,” I say with a gallant bow. “I rule this place and I can guarantee your dreams are safe here.”

“Ironic,” she says, but manages a small smile..

She turns in a circle, taking in the space. It’s made of stone, polished marble and granite, with torches along the walls to provide light. My huge silver throne takes up one part of the room, and a long red carpet leads to it, with chairs on either side. I rarely take an audience here, but it’s useful to have seating on the occasions when I do.

The rest of the décor is perhaps unsettling. Demonic skulls line the walls, the furniture is made of bones and horns, and demon hides decorate the walls like tapestries. It smells, of course, of fear—the salty-sweaty tang of terror. It is, after all, where nightmares reside.

“This is…something,” Libra says, and I laugh.

This room is at the heart of my palace, but like any royal residence, this place is large. I have ballrooms and a Great Hall, banquet rooms and bedrooms and more.

Music streams in from off to the right, a cacophonous noise of crashing cymbals and abused string instruments.

“What’s that sound?” she asks.

I shake my head. “It could be any number of things. Let’s find out.”

I lead Libra around the corner to the Great Hall, where we are greeted by a sight that is typical here, but surely something she has never seen before. The twin Nightmare Lords have organized some sort of chaotic ball. Macabre’s skirts swirl around her as she spins and spins, while Mayhem claps and taps his foot, keeping erratic time. Lesser demons dance among them, legs blurring as they try to keep pace.

Macabre cackles, clearly delighted, though she has no lips on her skeletal face with which to smile.

“What is this?” Libra asks.

“It appears to be a twist on the allemande,” I say. “Would you like to join?”

She chuckles. “I don’t know the steps.”

I watch pandemonium going on around us. “Do you really think it matters?”

“You have a point,” she says. “But all these creatures are a little scary.”

“Ah, they’re my nightmare demons. Don’t mind them. This is just an example of the twins having a bit of fun,” I say. “But have no worries. No one here will bother you. You’re under my protection.” We wander through more halls, where various demons go about their business. I want her to see my realm and be comfortable here. Against all odds, I want her tonotbe afraid, even though demons aren’t generally the most attractive bunch.

“What exactly is the Nightmare Realm?” she asks.

I pause for a moment, thinking about how to explain it. “I suppose you could call it a kingdom, and I am its king. This is the source of all human nightmares; my demons and I infiltrate human dreams and bring forth fear, which sustains us. But when we aren’t working, we are here, in the palace, living our lives. As you can see, the twins in particular like to create havoc and have fun.”

“I see,” she says, though I’m not sure she really does. My world may bear some similarities to hers, but the differences are vast. There’s a pensive look on her face.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask.

“When we met before, I said I wanted to know all about you.”

I nod. “I remember.”

“Well, I don’t actually know much about you at all. Please tell me about yourself.”

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