Kay Hooper - Blood Dreams

Dani would never have believed it could be that simple, but she closed her eyes, very conscious of him and of the connection between them that their night together had quite definitely intensified, and did exactly what he suggested.

She thought of Hollis and where monsters might hide.

Unlike all her past experiences, this time the transition was effortless and almost instant. She wasn't sitting across from Marc in his living room, she was standing beside him on Main Street in Venture. A very recognizable Main Street, with noise and people and cars, and only one slight peculiarity.

" I meant to ask years ago," Marc said. "Why is there always so much purple?" He was studying a purple fire hydrant plunked down improbably in the middle of the sidewalk near them and not far from where three purple cars were parked.

" I like purple." She'd never really thought about it but supposed that was as good a reason as any other. It was, after all, her dream world.

Marc shrugged philosophically. "Works for me. Why are we in downtown, though? Oh, wait-you did this before, years ago. Picked a recognizable landmark to start off from. Said it anchored you."

"Yeah. And now that it has… I need to know where Hollis is. I need to know where monsters hide." It wasn't like she was making a wish of a magic lamp but rather telling her own mind, her dream self, how her energy needed to be directed.

And, either because of the need driving her or simply because so much else had changed, the familiar scenery around them shifted in a rush of color and sound, and they found themselves in another not-so-familiar but recognizable spot on the very edge of Prophet County.

"Shit," Marc said. "This is no warehouse. It was an asylum, back in the days when they were called that. And didn't somebody try to run a hotel from here when we were kids?"

"I think so. Didn't last long, though. Marc, the basement of that building has to be huge."

"Searching it won't be a cinch and won't be quick," he agreed. "We'd better get back and get started."

She hesitated for just a moment. "I want to run in there and start looking for Hollis. Stupid, since it's my dream. She'd be there, the way I want her to be. Unhurt. Not being held by a monster."

Marc's fingers tightened around hers. "We need to get back, Dani. We need to gather up the others and figure out how to cover the ground we have to cover. And if I remember right, dream-walking always takes more real time than you expect, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"Then we should go."

"You're right. Of course, you're right. I can't stop time, can I? Maybe here, but not for real."

"We'll beat time," he assured her.

Dani wondered if he was right, but there wasn't really time-ironically-to ponder it.

"Okay," she said. "Back home…" And didn't realize until much later that by "home" she meant Marc's.

Hollis thought she might have fooled him the first time he checked on her, but when he came back again, he stuck a pin in her arm.

There was no warning and no way for her to feign unconsciousness when the jabbing pain caused her to flinch and catch her breath.

"Ah. So you are awake. I thought you might have been playing possum, Audrey. So naughty. I'll have to punish you for that."

Audrey? So the name on the bracelet did mean something. Christ, the last time an evil serial killer was convinced I was another woman, it was Audra. What is it with me and variations of that name?

Since he knew she was awake, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the brightness of lights that hadn't bothered her when Becky had leaned over her.

She wondered if that meant something.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said softly, his mouth almost caressing the words.

She didn't have a clue who he was, just what he was, and it wasn't the first time she found herself wondering how it was that monsters could look so goddamn normal .

Like the "regular guy" neighbor next door.

Something evil dressed in human clothing.

He was not a tall man or an especially short man. Average height, average build, bland coloring. But his small, neutral eyes were… curiously shiny, almost metallic, and he didn't seem to blink very often.

Other than that, he just looked… normal.

Don't get distracted by what he looks like, dammit. If you want to survive this, work to make it happen. You have before, you can again. You've got fucking nine lives, just like a cat.

Quentin said so.

Of course, he also said you'd used up at least seven of them, and that was a few months back…

"Hi." She didn't try to fake a smile at her captor but did go for a quizzical expression. "So I'm… Audrey? Cool. Hey, have you ever considered that there really is a hell?"

Jordan offered Dani and Marc a sick smile when they met up outside the sheriff's department, and his first words were, "Christ, I don't know how I could have lost her."

Marc shook his head. "Don't blame yourself. If Dani's right, this bastard's been a step ahead of us all the way."

Dani was looking at Bishop, understanding now that the haunted expression with which she was so familiar through her repeated vision dreams came not from a threat to his wife but from the certain knowledge that his maneuvering, his determination to hunt this particular killer, had placed one of his team directly in harm's way.

"Will it be worth it?" she asked him, not sure if it was curiosity or something else that drove her to. "If Hollis pays with her life, will it be worth it?"

"I don't know." He drew a breath, and his wide shoulders shifted as though under a heavy burden. "If we find this monster, catch it… cage it… kill it… How many other lives might be saved? I don't know. This time, I don't know."

Gabriel said, "We can discuss ethics later. Right now I say we move. Dani, you're sure about this old mental hospital?"

"I'm sure." She looked again at Bishop. "Your guardian. Has she-"

"Reported in ten minutes ago." His voice was steady, like his gaze. "It's not looking good for Paris, Dani, but not from any outside threat. Brain activity has dropped to minimal levels, and some of her other vital functions have been deteriorating. Her doctors say you might want to be there."

The pull to be with her sister, her twin, was inexpressibly strong, but Dani wavered for only an instant.

"And you can do what you have to, Dani. When the time comes. You'll know. You'll make the right choice."

"I have to do this," she said, as much to herself as to anyone else. "I have to. Paris knows that."

Marc took her hand, saying only, "Let's go."

It was 12:35.

Hollis coughed and tried desperately to draw air into her bruised throat.

"Watch that mouth," her captor said sternly. "One more thing I have to punish you for, Audrey."

Okay, bad idea. Very bad idea. Note to self: Maniacal serial killer does not like smart-ass questions.

Oh, Jesus, I'm scared…

BETWEEN THE TIME Marc had called from his house and their arrival at the sheriff's department, someone had managed to produce original blueprints for the old mental hospital, blueprints they unrolled on the hood of Marc's cruiser when they parked all the vehicles at the base of the long driveway.

It was 1:15.

"I gather we think this guy's expecting us," Jordan commented as they studied the plans.

Dani was frowning down at them, wishing she could remember more details from the vision dream when she wasn't actually in the middle of it. Wasn't there supposed to be a storm?

That thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard distant thunder, right on cue.