Page 3 of Precipitous Nightmare's Valentine Dream

“I’ve got it under control,” said Melanie, and Luminous knew she was using this job to distract herself from the unrelenting memories that surfaced every February 14th.

“You won’t have to distract yourself much longer,” muttered Luminous as she twirled on the broad surface of a leaf. “You’ll be totally in love with the man of your dreams by Valentine’s Day and I will be on my way to Dream Crafter Academy.”

For that was her true motive here. Luminous had dreams of her own.

A Dream who could nudge sleep fantasies and daydreams into a real-world Dream Come True got promoted from Dream Delivery to Dream Crafting. This was her chance. Possibly her only chance. She had 14 days to make this happen.

Luminous took a deep breath, hoping her subtle dream hints and gentle nudging had done their magic.

The door to the salon opened, setting off the gentle chime that heralded every new arrival, and Gary Donovan walked in. Melanie looked up to see the literal man of her dreams strolling into her brother’s flagship salon.

Oh yes, thought Luminous, this is gonna be fucking amazing.

Chapter 3

Dream Scenarios, Made to Deliver

Luminous Dream

Some nights, the job was simple.

Drop off a pleasant dream of floating down a lazy river. Slip the scent of pine and snow into a dreamer’s mind to evoke memories of a stroll through the woods.

Summer rain. Marriage proposals. Snuggly kittens. Birthday presents. Victory on battlefields and football fields. Kisses in blooming gardens, dark nightclubs, and quiet cemeteries. Picnics in the park and romantic candlelit dinners. So many lovely things Luminous Dream got to deliver.

Tonight, though, she had a mission.

Grinning into the star-filled night, Luminous thought back to earlier at the salon.

After a few awkward moments, Melanie and Gary had hit things off marvelously. He’d apologized for his youthful stupidity. She’d warily accepted an invitation to dinner. They’d spent hours reminiscing and catching up, the remains of their meal going cold on the restaurant table as the sun dipped lower and finally set over the city.

Once Melanie returned home, Luminous left her with a dream of sailing away into a gorgeous purple-streaked sunset with Gary. Then she headed directly to Gary’s mind to turn his own late-night thoughts to a much more lascivious scenario featuring an extremely large bed and a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs.

As she left the man’s house, skipping her way through the burgeoning night, Luminous sang to herself.

“Sweet dreams are made of cheese…”

Inside darkened homes set behind neatly manicured lawns, dreamers bathed in fountains of fondue and nibbled on feasts of brie and gruyere. Luminous whistled the next few bars of the song, completely satisfied with herself. Overall, the night had been a rousing success.

So when she slipped back into Melanie’s dream intending to sprinkle some hints of romantic kisses and soft caresses into the narrative, she wasn’t expecting to find… abject terror?

WHAT?!?

Luminous flipped between the nebulous Dream Realm and the True Night, instantly shifting into reality to challenge whatever had disrupted her perfectly planned dream scenario.

Tugging a toothpick umbrella from her belt where she’d stuffed it during an earlier trip to the room of a napping tourist on a cruise ship somewhere near Bermuda, Luminous issued a challenge to the creature currently crouched over Melanie, pinning her to the bed.

“Away foul creature!”

The thing’s head turned, slowly rotating in an unnaturally extended twist to face her. Its visage shimmered with dark horror, a vast void that sucked in all hope, all pleasure. Eyes glowing a deep, deadly crimson pulsed in time with the heartbeat of the universe.

The mouth opened slowly, its unhurried elongation as creepy as the head turn had been, stretching further than a jaw should stretch to reveal row after row of needle-sharp teeth.

The creature hadn’t left its place upon Melanie’s chest. It bore down with limbs that seemed both heavy and whip-thin, wrapping its hands twice around the woman’s wrists with multi-jointed fingers like strange bone shackles to prevent any escape as the mortal whimpered in disturbed sleep. Melanie’s open eyes stared unseeing, but there was no comprehension there. Only a horror-filled gaze locked onto the face of the creature paralyzing her in her bed.

Luminous drew in a breath to still her trembling before addressing the creature once more. She knew exactly what this monster was, though she’d never seen one in person before. Their paths rarely crossed and their realms had been at war for what seemed like forever.

“Back to the Nightmare Realms with you!” She brandished her weapon at him, fully aware that he could snap her up in those powerful jaws without a thought. Could she trust a creature of that enemy domain to obey the rules of engagement in the Real? She supposed she’d find out soon enough if the monster had any sense of honor. “This is my assignment.”

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