Divine Contract

He's Back

Falling.  Always falling.

    She had turned somehow, reaching out above her as she spiraled downward.  Fire.  She could smell the fire and see him.  Catapulting downward, reaching out to her, his skin an ashen black, his eyes set ablaze.  A crown of fire was perched there, upon his head.  She could clearly see it now.  See him.  She called out to him, a name she didn’t recognize and just as the Earth reached up to meet her—

    “Lillian.”

    Her eyes snapped open as she sat upright in the bed, panting from the nightmare she’d had.  She smelled it.  The fire.  His fire.  Glancing nervously about the room she thought she saw him there in the corner.  Even hidden in the shadows, she could see the flames in his eyes.

    Her pulse quickened, the lump in her throat keeping her mute.

     He took a step forward, features nearly visible in the moonlight.

    It’s a dream, she thought.  Another nightmare.  It has to be a nightmare.  He’s not real.  The man with the black eyes isn’t real.

    His lips parted and she stiffened, awaiting that voice.  That deep, beckoning voice—

    “Lillian!”  Lady Catherine’s voice came out as a screech as the lights to her bedroom flicked on.  “Goodness gracious, girl!”  Her voice was scolding as she rushed into the room, pushing the girl’s bedroom window shut.  “I was wondering why it was so cold.  I thought the heater was broken.”

    Lillian blinked, eyes still glued to the now empty corner where the man had just been standing.

    Was it her imagination?

    “Lillian?  What is that?” Lady Catherine asked, finally catching Catherine’s’ eyes.  She followed the older woman’s gaze to find what looked like ashes upon her pillow.  Quickly brushing it off,  Catherine tried to think up a good excuse and found herself floundering.  “That’s not makeup is it?  Must we have another discussion about vanity before you go tomorrow?”

    For a moment, she hesitated.  She’d always sworn that she would tell Lady Catherine if the man with the flame crown ever came back but she was leaving for school tomorrow.  Lillian was certain that if she confided in the older woman now, she’d made a big to-do about it and try to keep her in the church.  “No Mum,” Lillian said, quickly swatting the ashes from her pillow in the hopes of hiding the evidence.  “I was just playing around.”

    The woman frowned before pointing at the window.  “Keep it closed,” she said before quickly leaving the room, shutting off the lights as she went.

    “Yes, Mum,” Lillian whispered, glancing about the room again.  Nervously, she laid back down, hiding beneath the covers.  It’s not real, she told herself, even as she could smell the fire upon her pillow.  He’s not real.