pte

used when trying to get me to go into his tower of doom. The first of those dreams left me shaking as well. It

quick like

o my chest so that I was practically sitting on my pillow. The sheets were white and s

he bed, toes brushing the floor. 'There weren't any flowers, just asphalt.' Remembering the feeling of the rough surf

g that I could have stepped on. I lifted my foot to my knee and looked at the sole. On the bottom of my foot I had a crescent shaped scar. The scar had been with me

itual scar marking me as an alien princess in a far off galaxy. Regardless of which version, there was always someone there who cared enough to patch me up and worry over my pain. As an adul

t. 'In my first dream of

tucked away in a safe hotel room, I expected to have nightmares of the evening. Instead, I dreamed of a field of poppies and a tower. Stepping into the tow

, but I managed to fight his suggestions off, causing him to throw temper tant

cent moon. 'Or like the edge of a broken glass bottle, ' I told myself automatically looking for the mundane. Th

t time. Why would my

and took them and myself to the shower. By the time I was clean, the sweat from the dream washed down the drain, my foot no longer hurt. I was surprised as I expected the water to m

normal white and no longer hurt at all. I frowned and pulled on thick socks to wear around the apartment like slippers. The socks covered the s

it no longer was burned just made my scowl deepen. 'I know I di

hing else, ' I

ffee pot. My small kitchen was more or less open to both the living room and my small dining area. This gave me a good view of my three

tra clothes I made in preparation for a potential website business. This semester I was taking the required marketing and business classes and I thought of the w

th the going unnoticed part. As for the paying rent, I repaired or created garments for an assortment of folks from drag queens to cosplay and historic reenactors.

during one of my flea market trips I found what looked like an old hotel luggage rack. It was mostly a flat cart on wheels with a rack for garment bags arch

noticed the squeak, t

the headquarters for my fledgling sewing empire. When I arrived, it was little more than a space to put my sewing machine an

l book case containing various boxes I picked up at flea markets and thrift stores. Each one was unique and something I liked the look of. They contained a variety of odds

ic clients tended to favor lounging on it while the rest perched uneasily on the edge as though afraid it might protest, despite being a very solid piece of furnitu

us materials I kept on hand. I also didn't feel bad about putting a strip of masking tape on the front of each drawer so I could use a sharpie to label it. Sometimes I picked up fabric merely because I liked it and it would stay in its assigned spa

so spiffy storage, I can close the

clothes went here. I unzipped the garment bag and let it slide to the floor as I lifted the hangars. The rack was almost completely filled. I managed

r closest friends are arrested as serial killer

he books the Matheson spirits sent with me, along with anything else that would mark me as Brownie instead of Bonnie, was already stashed in a storage unit, I thought I could get another one for m

having seco

r even the money, as I still had some of the Ma

' I thought as I

g me as an asset to be used as situations demanded it, Swift tended to give me lectures when we were in the field. He just didn't seem to be able to stop hi

es for a reason, '

a neighboring country. Swift was dressed as an academic doing research in a local archives and I was his hapless assistant. During the three days it took to establish our cover, I carried bo

in of books shielded the map from casual observation, a notebook and a list of long dead landholders was stationed at the ready for concealment purposes. Al

amiliar to him,

reason why he woul

s the area, he will have an advantage. He will know who does not belong and he will know what resources are available to him. While this familiarity prot

m?" I asked. Swift's explanation made sense but I still wasn't sure

thing will be familiar to him. People rarely choose places to run, or really anything for that matter that is completely random. If it looks random, look harder. There is p

along odds were pretty good everyone expected him to die. I was never brought in to question the living, there was no point to it. I was only good with the dead. After

old he was found

m that way. I even suspected that was the plan all along and not just an accident

nd his actions in life, my conscience settled quickly. The memories of him gave me nightmares for months. The things he did were inhuman. It was almost a r

er

. I didn't want people to die so that I could question them to become a habit. By that point everyone knew the dead couldn't lie to me. They could be vague or confused, but they couldn't lie. It was a rather stron

se. 'So if they want to question people, they have to do so while they are alive. I am no longer an op

o figure out where I would run. He could find out what books I checked out from the library fairly easily, but the topics ranged far and wide. While I did check out the history o

ayenfield leaving Swift and the questioning of the unsavory dead behind. I had no destination in mind at the time. When I chose this place, I trusted in the fact that there were

despite that and now know I'm doing fashion.

ld investigate every unit in the place to make certain none had any conne

it defeat. If I chose the storage area it would have a reason. 'So h

fixed my first cup I thought about subverting my subconscious. I only had a link to one stor

avoid choosi

k it wouldn't

choose something familiar to me?' I blinked in surprise as a thought surfaced in the sluggishness of my brain. 'Let

actly who