It was colder outside than I had anticipated. A jacket dropped around my shoulders.
"Want some company?" Kaden asked softly.
"Free country." I mumbled at him, and set off at a brisk pace. Kaden easily kept up with his long legs. I grumbled to myself about blasted tall people and their long strides.
"You saw him again in your dreams, didn't you?" Kaden spoke the question rather than asked it. I suppressed a shiver.
"Wanna talk about it?" Kaden asked. I grimaced. His constant chatter was going to get on my nerves.
"Fine, fine." He replied, "You don't have to talk." He walked for a few steps in silence and then started whistling
"I swear to God if you don't stop making noise with your mouth, I'm going to sew you r lips shut, tie all your limbs together and leave you in the middle of the road." I turned on him with a snarl. Kaden's grin died on his face as he looked over my shoulder to something behind me. I stiffened. A low chuckle rang out and my whole body seized like I had been shot.
"I should have known it was you-brother." The king sneered. Kaden pushed me behind him.
"So it wasn't enough for you to turn me in all those centuries ago? You are STILL working against me! But why are you protecting this girl? You should know by now that her death might very well be the thing that would keep me from returning." The king gestured at me as he glared at Kaden. Kaden jerked and threw a look over his shoulder at me.
"Ah, but you never were one to kill, were you? You have such a....fondness...for these creatures." The king sneered. "Perhaps I can help you with the task..." The king lifted a hand and clenched his fist. I immediately fell to the ground, holding my head while screaming silently.
"You can't kill her either, brother. Unless you want to lose your foothold in this world." Kaden snarled.
"I don't have to kill her physical body. As long as her heart still beats and she is capable of dreams, I can still use her to keep me fed enough to cross over. She doesn't need her higher brain function to dream." The King answered with a sickening grin. I reached a hand out, pushing aside Kaden's pants leg to grip his bare ankle. As soon as I touched his skin, I let the pain in my head speak for me. Kaden twitched and then I could feel him straining against the pain in my head. It was enough for me to think again. I struggled upwards, reaching for Kaden's hand before releasing his ankle. He anticipated my move and slid his arm behind him to help me up.
"Oh ho! What's this? Fighting back are we? Let me remedy that foolish thought." The King chuckled and the paid doubled down in my head. I fought to think around the pain. Kaden's palm became slick with sweat, and I knew he was struggling too.
"What...did you mean.. my death could have kept you from returning?" I hissed through gritted teeth. The King's mouth dropped open and the pain slacked off some.
"You mean, you didn't tell her?" He asked Kaden incredulously. We gained another inch on the pain in my head.
"Tell. me. what." I demanded. The King began chuckling his low, evil laugh.
"My dear, you're the one who let me out. You supplied me with the energy I needed to make my escape by feeding me with your nightmares and fear. YOU'RE the reason I was able to return at all!" He laughed coldly. It was my turn to have my jaw drop.
"Say what?" I screamed, then turned on Kaden. "You knew this?" I demanded.
"I suspected it, then Brie and I sort of found the link. Those damn creatures were guarding the connections in you mind." Kaden spoke with his jaw clenched. Something snapped in my head.
"And you never told me?" I shrieked. Kaden flinched and I yanked my hand from him. The king looked delighted with this new development. I glared at him.
"You won't be getting ANYTHING else from me." I growled at him.
"Oh darling, it's much too late for that." He laughed cruelly. Despite the pain in my head, I screamed and lunged right at him. I was so determined to hurt him somehow. I kick, a punch, biting, I didn't care. The king needed to feel my pain. He was chuckling at my advance and as I ran towards him, he merely caught my arm, and the street disappeared.
I was trapped in one of my nightmares again. The one where I was moving in slow motion while everything around me went at normal speed. As I swung at the king, he easily deflected, taunting me while he did so.
"Why do you think you recognize this place?" He teased. I looked around to see I was in the dead place again. I swung again, and again moved too slowly and weakly to do any damage. In a flash, my back was up against a chain link fence. I tried to push off to gain momentum.
"Why do you think you've had all those horrible nightmares?" The king jeered. A nightmare creature developed beside me and grabbed me by the arm, biting into the flesh like it was nothing. I screamed again as blood poured down my arm.
"I'm going to KILL YOU!" I howled at them both.
"Dear, how do you plan to do that? I am only getting stronger. As a matter of fact, what do you think is happening now?" The king mocked, getting in my face as the fencing snaked around me. He ran a finger down the side of my face, and then stuck it in his mouth. "Your fear is delicious and strong. It is even now feeding me..." He whispered. The fence started crushing me as the creature lunged for my face. I could feel it as the bones in my skull shattered.