Strays

Chapter 38

My eyelids slid back down and then I was dreaming that they set the house on fire.

Sharp claws pinned me down on my bed, their bodies so much thicker and stronger than mine. Fear arced through me as I tried to fight them off. I tried to remember everything that Sebastien had taught me, but it was like all of his words had faded to a dull whisper and my body had forgotten the right way to move. To defend, to protect, to fight.

The strike of a match gleamed in the darkness. One of them tossed the match onto the floor and the hood of the creature pinning me down slid from its head. Instead of a maggot-ridden skull, I found myself staring at Niall, his face contorted with rage and his lips pulled back into a snarl. "You deserve to die, you filthy traitor," he spat as the fire rose around us. I tried to wrestle him off, to get away, to escape. My heartbeat raced and adrenaline crashed through me in a panic – but he refused to let go.

And then, all at once, he was gone. Dissipating into the billowing smoke. I was left alone in the burning room, locked to the bed by invisible restraints as the flames licked quickly along the duvet, latching onto my skin and searing me alive with a violence that tore a scream from my throat.

The flames grew hotter and more painful, melting my skin and swallowing me whole. The stench of burning flesh tainted the air, dried blood clogging my throat and strangling my screams of pain.

I woke, screaming, my voice hoarse and raw.

I couldn't move; something heavy pinned me to a tiled floor, my face mashed against the side of a bathtub. I tried to breathe but it was like my lungs had been reduced to ash: there was just... nothing. Nothing to pull the air in, nothing to push it out. I could barely manage a gasp before another agonized scream escaped me and the fire grew stronger.

Sharp pain sliced through my back.

"She's awake!" someone yelled. Something jagged dug into my spine and pure and utter agony ripped through me.

The screech that exploded from my mouth was borderline inhuman.

I tried to retreat from the pain – to move, to escape, to black out, to something – but I was too weak to do little more than hold my eyes open. I clawed uselessly at the floor, barely able to muster up the energy to curl my fingers without my whole body shaking with another ripple of agonizing fire.

I screamed again and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Wake up!" another voice, this one deep and rough, cut in. "Come on, J. Open your eyes!"

I tried to lift my eyelids, struggling against the heavy, heavy weight of darkness trying to pull me under, but I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I was so tired, so weak. So sick of fighting...

That sharp, searing knife plunged in once again.

Another screech tore through me, forcing air from my lungs in one long, agonizing cry. It tapered into a sob as I gasped for breath, struggling to withstand the absolute agony that ripped through me in long, endless pulses.

"Bullet's out," a calm, female voice announced. "I'll set up an IV."

"There's no time," the rough voice retorted. "Can you smell that?"

I sagged against the floor as an icy sensation began to spread through my body. It was almost a relief after the terrible blaze that ripped me apart earlier. The darkness crept through me, tugging at the edges of my brain, but suddenly it didn't seem so scary anymore. It seemed almost welcoming. All I wanted to do was sleep...

"Juliet!" the rough voice shouted. "Come on, J, open your eyes!"

His voice sounded so far away. I tried to frown but it was like I'd forgotten how to move my face. Why can't you just let me sleep? I wanted to ask. Why can't you just leave me alone? But then, when had he ever taken what I wanted into consideration?