A bright full moon glimmered down, bathing the hills and campsite in a silvery ethereal glow. Elias lay sound asleep, his back to the glowing embers, Seth paced to and fro, keeping watch, but Gloria tossed restlessly as a nightmare took hold.

  She choked against Seth’s grip around her throat and stared up at gleaming black eyes that grinned back at her. She scrambled to find the oily talisman that slipped from her fingers and bounced further and further away with each drop. She drowned in the murky waters as the ghastly wraith sang her name and climbed her body with long cracked fingernails.

  Then, Gloria tumbled into the dark. Down, down, down, she fell as the terrifying shadowy figures clawed at her body, hissing haunting whispers in her ears. Until, finally, she landed at the bottom of the ocean and stared up at a distant flickering light. She watched the dancing sun for a moment, then let out a warbled sob and curled into herself.

  “Well now,” said a curt feminine voice, that echoed through the water. “This is quite the nightmare. Seems that you’ve been through quite a lot lately.”

  An eerie feeling settled in Gloria’s stomach. She stopped crying and slowly sat up. Something wasn’t right; something was watching her. Gloria shuddered and climbed to her feet, her crimson curls floating in the water around her. No. Someone is watching me.

  She spun around and tried to peer through the dark water. “Hello?”

  In the corner of her eye, Gloria saw a golden glow appear. She whipped back to look, but no one was there, just a warm, soothing light that seemed to hum softly. The melody floated through the water and drifted into Gloria’s ears. Her eyes grew heavy, and the humming dulled her mind.

  This feels…familiar…. Her knees wobbled and Gloria sighed—all she wanted to do now was sleep and forget about the strange light. Her gaze dropped to the sand under her feet. It looked so soft—the perfect place to lay her head.

  The light tsked. “Utterly pathetic…I expected better.”

  The biting words stung Gloria, snapping her back to the strange humming light before her. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands and sluggishly pushed back against the overbearing warmth.

  “Who are you?” she demanded, gritting her teeth and forcing her eyes to stay open.

  The light went quiet and floated in the water as though it was shocked.

  “Well?” Gloria cried.

  The light didn’t respond. Instead, the humming swelled, and the warmth enveloped her like a suffocating embrace.

  Gloria wobbled on her feet, but she dug her nails in deeper and growled. “Answer me!”

  The humming stopped, and the warmth vanished, leaving Gloria shivering in the cold water. The golden light stared at her for a long time, then it pulsed when it finally spoke, its voice a mix of interest and disdain.

  “So they were right—it is you.” Gloria sensed the light look her up and down. “My, you’ve certainly grown.”

  Gloria shook and clenched her fists. “Who are you?” she demanded again.

  The light groaned in exasperation. “I forget how impatient humans get when faced with something beyond them. Even being half of one is enough to pick up such a hideous trait.”

  Gloria bristled at the comment. “If you’re not going to tell me who you are,” she snapped. “Then you need to leave!”

  “Leave?” The light chuckled, now amused. “You want me out? Make me leave, then.”

  Cold fear ran through Gloria. “This isn’t just a dream anymore, is it?”

  “Stop stalling,” the light chastised sharply. “Banish me from your dream.”

  Gloria gulped and stared down at her trembling hands. Banish? How?

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  “You don’t know how?” Gloria winced like a scolded child. “You wander through others' dreams, but cannot protect your own?” The light shimmered faintly like a shaking head. “How you managed to figure out dreamwalking at all is a miracle to me.”

  Gloria swallowed. Whoever this was knew more about her than she was comfortable with. “What do you want with me?”

  The light went quiet again and stared at Gloria for a long time before letting out an exasperated sigh. “No. No, I won’t do it. I won’t let them bully me into this.”

  Gloria blinked. “Bully you? What do you mean? Who are you?”

  But the light didn’t answer, instead it began to hum again, its tune even more soothing than before and the warmth now was slow and gentle. This time, Gloria couldn’t resist its comforting aura. Her eyes drifted shut and her body dropped to the soft sand.

  The light laughed dryly. “They’ll need to find someone else to play in their silly little plot.”

  As darkness enveloped her, Gloria heard the strange voice mutter to itself “She was the center of the Ripple? Unbelievable.”

  “Gloria!” A hand shook her shoulder.

  Gloria’s eyes snapped open. She gasped and bolted upright, her heart pounding in her chest as she frantically looked around her. Seth was kneeling by her side, his hand on her shoulder, brows knitted together in worry.

  “Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep.”

  Gloria raised a shaking hand to her forehead as fragments of her dream returned to her mind. Who is she? What was that? What’s a Ripple?

  “Do you need anything?” Seth asked. “Water? Food? A…a hug?”

  “I’m fine,” Gloria muttered turning away and brushing off his hand.

  “Are you sure?” He tried to reach for her. “That dream sounded really—"

  “I said I’m fine!”

  Seth’s hand halted just a hair’s breadth from her. His eyes shook with pain, and he slowly dropped his hand. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking at the ground. He pursed his lips and started to rise, muttering to himself.

  Guilt pierced Gloria and panicked thoughts ran through her mind. Whatever happened to giving him a chance? Come on, you’re better than this.

  “Wait!” She snatched his hand and held it tight.

  Seth froze. His eyes trailed down to their hands, but Gloria’s eyes were only on him. “I’m sorry…” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you…there’s just…”

  Seth’s hand closed around hers and he slowly came down to her level. “A lot on your mind?”

  Gloria nodded. “It’s overwhelming.” She let go of Seth’s hand and held her head as horrible memories surfaced. “I hate this.” Her breathing hitched as fear rose.

  She shook her head as tears misted in her eyes. “I can’t sleep…” A broken quiet sob left her. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Seth watched her quietly--worry written all over his face. He looked down, then gingerly took her hand again and cradled it in his. Gloria trembled and her eyes snapped up to his. “You know you can trust me, right?” he whispered.

  Gloria stared at him, wide-eyed.

  “With anything.”

  Shame burned in her chest and the ugly voice reared her head. Oh? It chuckled venomously. Why don’t we test that? After all, best to tell him before you leave and can’t turn back.

  “I mean it,” Seth said holding her gaze. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Gloria’s lip trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut and looked away. “No…you don’t understand…”

  Tender shaking fingers brushed her cheek as Seth tried to turn her face back to him. “Try me. I may understand more than you think…”

  Dark eyes flashed into Gloria’s mind and the ghost of his possessed fingers slid down her cheek. The Lady chuckled in her ear.

  It’s wasn’t him…

  But she tensed and pulled her hand from his. “Please don’t…” she whispered.

  Seth’s hand hung in the air for a moment, she could feel the warmth radiating from his fingertips. His lips thinned and he slowly pulled his hand away. “Okay…”

  Gloria held herself and tried to look anyway but at him. There was a long silence as Seth struggled to find something to say.

  “She’s gone now, Gloria,” he finally said. “She can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Gloria nodded but still couldn’t look at him. “I know…” She squeezed herself. “Thank you for waking me.” She slid into her bedroll and turned over. “Goodnight, Seth.”

  She stared at the moonlit road, waiting for his next move. There was a soft sigh behind her, then Seth rose and returned to his pacing.

  Gloria burrowed deeper into her bedroll until just her eyes peeked out.

  You know, the ugly voice said with a cool air. The longer you wait, the more painful this will be.

  I know… Gloria blinked back a few stray tears. I don’t need you to remind me. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would block out the hideous voice.