The night was cool and
thick as it sheathed me in total darkness. The satin shorts and camisole that I’d gone to bed in were
now damp from the moisture hanging heavily in the air. Holding my hands in front of my body, I blindly
wandered around in blackness as I tried to find some kind of clue that would give me a better picture.
My bare feet told me that I was standing on soft ground, the tall grass tickling my calves as I moved. It
was possible that I was in a large pasture, though the clean, crisp scent of the air let me know that no
large animals were near.
Thunder cracked in the
distance and the ominous, coal-black clouds had even chased the moon and stars into hiding, not even
the faintest glow giving away their location. It took a moment, but my mind was finally beginning to
recognize this place. This was a dream world, one that I’d seen before. With every passing night, with
every passing dream, I was able to travel further and further into this illusion as I tried to discover its
meaning. I’d had recurring dreams before, but there was something different, disturbing about this one
that seemed to speak to me. There was something that I was supposed to learn here and I needed to
find it.
The wind began to pick up
and I looked to the north, the same direction that I looked to every night. Lightning cascaded across the
sky, illuminating the massive, empty pasture in which I stood. The momentary flash brought something
to my attention that I’d never seen in the dream before. Two figures stood off in the distance, several
yards between them, facing off. Even with great distance between us, I could feel the tension rolling off
of them. That must be the dark, heavy feeling in the air that I’d felt: anger, hatred.
Thunder rolled again as the
lightning danced across the sky. Using the display to light my path, I ran toward the figures ahead of me.
As I approached, a bolt of raw, electric energy reached down from the sky and ignited the immediate
area in flames. The swift turn of events stopped me short, nearly throwing me to the ground. The flames
spread into a perfect circle as it surrounded both figures, blocking any further approach by me. Sharp
chills cut through me from head to toe as I realized that one of them was fully controlling the blaze.
Now that I was closer, I
could tell that the figures were women. One woman, maybe an inch or two over five feet tall, stood
around fifty feet away, and to my right. Her long, jet-black hair reached just below her hips and whipped
around in the increasing wind. As I studied her, I began to see a deep-red, transparent cloud, like an
aura surrounding her. She was strong, very strong, and I could feel her overwhelming power from
here
Looking to my left, her
opponent was roughly the same height; only her hair was frosty white and hung to her knees. This
woman was much different. She was surrounded by an aura cloud as well, though hers was dark blue.
Something about her called to me and it took everything I had not to trudge barefooted through the
flames to reach her
Rain began to fall and
quickly soaked everything around us, though it was still unable to extinguish the fire. Movement
brought me to attention as the white haired woman lifted her arms. The earth began to quake beneath
me as it broke free all around her. She looked like a dancer as she maneuvered her body, forcing the
element into submission under her power. The packed earth sailed through the air towards the dark
haired woman, but she was quick to react.
In a flash, she completely
disappeared from my sight, managing to dodge the attack. My eyes moved quickly as I focused to find
her. My body locked up as my vision was suddenly clouded with the mysterious dark haired woman as
she appeared before me, seemingly out of nowhere. Her dark, emerald green eyes and dilated coal-
black pupils stared into mine, glinting in the firelight. Her raven hair seemed alive as it brushed my skin
and sent tingles running through my body. Her flawless, olive-toned skin nearly glowed as she stood
there, concern in her expression. “Kailah.” As her soft, sweet voice spoke my name, I inhaled sharply.
Though her mouth barely moved as she spoke my name, her perfect, white teeth showed just enough
for me to make out four tiny, yet still elongated, razor sharp fangs. My heart fluttered rapidly as I
wondered if this woman was the creature that she appeared to be, and if so, how did she know me and
what did she want with me?
“Y-yes?” I stammered.
“This is not a dream,
Kailah. It’s a warning.” She leaned in closer. “Run,” she whispered.
“Wait, what?” I asked,
chills once again stabbing me like thousands of needles running from the roots of my hair to the bare,
wet soles of my feet.
“Run!
As soon as I turned to run,
the dark thunder cracked overhead and the lightning began touching the ground all around me, trying
to hold me where I stood. I heard a loud growl sound out from behind me, but decided not to look back.
The earth began to shake again and my bare feet slid on the wet grass, the soft ground cushioning me as
I fell hard on my right hip.
“Hello Kailah.” The new
voice sent a shiver down my spine as I looked into the icy blue eyes of the white-haired woman.
Though her hair would
have suggested otherwise, she looked no older than me: around twenty. Her skin was also olive toned
and absolutely flawless, just like the other woman. Though, normally, one would look to the light as
salvation and the darkness as hell, I didn’t think that was the case in this situation. Her crystalline blue
eyes had death in them and I found myself backing away from her, toward the raven-haired beauty.
She laughed and the sound
enveloped me like frigid water.
“Kailah, you would choose
the Vampire over your own grandmother?”
Before I could digest the
words that she had unleashed on me, her attention shifted and the blue aura cloud surrounding her
exploded into a barrier. Instinctively, my eyes closed and I threw my hand out as a large throwing knife
bounced off the cloudy shield and headed for me.
“It is you!” she said with
wonder.
My eyes snapped open and
surrounding my hand was the same blue energy that surrounded the white-haired woman, only mine
had a throwing knife buried in it. I couldn’t stop the scream that bubbled up out of my throat as the
energy dissipated and the knife fell in my lap. What the hell was going on?
Her attention shifted again
and with soft, graceful movements, a lightning bolt responded as it split from the sky and reached for
her outstretched hand. She caught the energy easily before throwing it at her opponent. Another loud
growl sounded out only a moment before something slammed hard into the barrier. That something, I
realized, was the woman she had referred to as the Vampire.
Dark red energy swelled
around the supposed Vampire as she pushed against the barrier of the opposing woman. “Kailah! She
can find you in your dreams! Go, now!” As soon as the order left the raven-haired beauty’s lips, energy
exploded from her body as the white-haired woman was thrown several feet away. “This dream is a
figment of your own mind but, make no mistake, this is a premonition. You are the key to ending this
war and if she finds you, it will doom all humans to a fate worse than death. Leave this realm now and
prepare your mind. Your life is about to change.”
Candy Crum lives in
Indiana and is the Author of “The Eternal Series” and other short stories. She published her first novel,
The Eternal Gift, in May of 2011 and has been publishing ever since. Candy is an avid lover of the
paranormal genre, stemming from years of reading the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice when she
was a teenager. Later, she developed a deep love of the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead and
the House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, furthering her love of the genre and pushing
her to really push to finish and publish her novel. Since then, Candy has released three other books
in The Eternal Series and will release another later in 2014. Now, Candy is trying her hand at more
contemporary pieces of work, like that of Lean on Me and other books she will release in 2014. Some
of Candy’s interests include the usual reading and writing, music (of most types), movies (action and
comedy or any combination of the two), cartoons (she loves to say that her children watch cartoons
because she does), and drawing. She loves talking with her fans and loves reading the reviews that
her fans are kind enough to leave for her. Always feel free to find Candy on Facebook and send her a
message.
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