"Mia!" She ran, hurling herself across High Street, which was a maze of corridors in her mind. "Where are you?"
She ran, breath heaving, fear rising as she pounded on locked doors and raced toward the sound of the baby's cries.
She fell, scoring her hands on the sand of the beach and feeling her fingers dig into thick carpet. She was weeping, calling for her baby as she pushed herself to her feet, swayed, then raced on. In the dream she flew down the main staircase and out into the black night, then plunged into the sea. The surf knocked her back, knocked her down, but in a blind fury to find and protect her child, she fought her way up again, pushed her way through the waves.
Even as the water closed over her head, her eyes were open, and the baby's screams pounded in her ears.
There was a great weight on her chest, and the sharp taste of vomit in her throat. She gagged, heaved again.
"She's breathing. It's okay, Lulu, take it easy. "
Her eyes burned, refused to focus. Through the haze over them she made out Zack's face. Water dripped from his hair and onto her cheeks.
"What the hell is this?" she demanded, and her voice came out in a croak that hurt her throat.
"Oh, God, Lulu. " Nell knelt on the sand beside her, grabbed her hand and pressed it to her own cheek.
"Thank God. "
"She's still in shock. " Ripley nudged her brother aside and spread a blanket over Lulu.
"Shock, my ass. " Lulu managed to sit up, coughed violently enough that she considered passing out. But she bore down and stared at the faces surrounding her. Nell was weeping openly, and Mac, soaking wet, crouched beside her. Ripley sat on the sand now, and with her brother's help, arranged the blanket over Lulu's shoulders.
"Where's Mia?" she demanded.
"She's at home, she's with Sam," Nell told her. "She's safe. "
"Okay. " Lulu began to draw slow and careful breaths. "What the hell am I doing out here, soaking wet, in the middle of the night?"
"Good question. " Zack considered a moment, then decided flat truth was best. "Nell woke up and knew you were in trouble. "
"So did I," Ripley added. "I'd barely fallen asleep when I heard you shouting in my head, for Mia. Then the vision hit like a freight train. " She glanced at Nell then. "I saw you walking out of your house, saw the fog closing in. "
"And the black dog," Nell murmured, and waited for Ripley to nod. "Stalking you. I was afraid we wouldn't get to you in time. "
Lulu held up a hand a moment, trying to clear her head. "I walked into the water? For Christ's sake. "
"It lured you there," Mac replied. "Do you know how?"
"I had a dream, that's all. A nightmare. Walked in my sleep. "
"Let's get her home, and warm," Nell said, but Ripley shook her head.
"Not yet. You damn near drowned in your sleep. " Her tone turned sharp and angry. "So don't pull the stubborn crap on me. If Nell and I hadn't linked in, we'd have found you dead in the morning, washed up in the fucking tide. "
Because Ripley's voice broke, she clenched her teeth and spoke through them. "My brother and my man pulled you out, and Zack pumped the life back into you. Don't you dare brush this off. "
"Stop it now. Stop that crying. " Shaken, Lulu gave Ripley's arm a little shake. "I just had a bad spell, that's all. Nothing more than that to it. "
"It lured you here," Mac repeated.
"That's just bull. " But she started to shiver again, from a cold inside her bones. "Why would this thing want to hurt me? I've got no power. "
"It hurts you," Mac said, "it hurts Mia. You're a part of her, Lu, so you're part of this. What would've happened to the island - to the children the sisters left behind - if they hadn't had the nurse to tend them?
And we should've taken that into account before. It was stupid not to. Careless. "
"We won't be careless anymore. " Nell wrapped her arm around Lulu's shoulders. "She's cold. We need to get her home. "
She let herself be carried, let herself be pampered, even tucked into bed. She felt her age, and then
some, but she wasn't done yet.
"I don't want Mia to know about this. "
"What?" Ripley jammed her fists onto her hips. "A near-death experience rattle your brain?"
"Think about what your man said back on the beach. Hurt me, hurt her. If she's worried about me, she's distracted. " With her glasses back in place, she turned to Mac and saw him clearly. "She needs all her strength, all her wits to finish this. Have I got that right?"
"She needs to be strong, but - "
"Then why muck her up?" There was nothing - nothing - more vital than Mia's well-being. "How do we know this didn't happen tonight just to make her upset and worried about me so she's vulnerable?
What's done's done, and telling her doesn't change it. "
"She could help protect you," Nell put in.
"I can take care of myself. " The minute the statement was out, she caught Zack's lifted eyebrows. And huffed out a breath. "Been doing it for longer than any of you've been alive. Added to that, I've got me a big strong sheriff, a smart scientist, and a couple of witches looking out for me. "
r /> "She may be right about this. " Ripley thought of how pale, how fragile Mia had been when she'd come back from the flight. "Let's at least agree to keep it to ourselves until telling Mia has a purpose. Nell and I can put protection around the house. "
"You go right ahead," Lulu invited.
"I can set up a sensor," Mac put in. "So if there's any energy change, you'd be alerted. "
"Sounds like a plan. " Lulu firmed her jaw. "Mia's the target. Nothing and no one's going to use me to hurt her. That's a promise. "