By James Bow

<<- Back to Chapter Nine

The Dream King's Daughter - Chapter Ten: Her Terrible Sleeping Beauty

Aurora lay a long moment in blind silence, not even sure if she had a body. 

Gradually, she became aware of her heart racing. She lay a moment longer, breathing slowly while the beats slowed down. She sat up. "Where am I?"

She reached out and found walls on either side of her. Keeping a hand on one wall, she walked forward for several minutes, aware only of the echo of her feet and the smoothness of the walls. A spark of light appeared ahead and gradually turned into a square. Aurora dropped caution and rushed towards it.

Stepping out into the light, she stopped and looked down at herself. Her clothes had changed. In place of her jeans and T-shirt, she wore a long, black cloak over a shimmering black, sleeveless, ankle-length dress. The black shoes on her feet had heels. 

She stood in the doorway of a gigantic ballroom. It was bigger than a football field. Translucent columns held up a vaulted ceiling of stars. A black and white marble floor stretched in all directions.

Aurora stepped into the ballroom. Her footfalls echoed. She walked and walked. She seemed to walk miles before reaching the middle of the gigantic room. She stopped there and turned in a slow circle. Nobody else was here.

Then a piano started playing. Aurora whirled around but saw nothing. The music continued, tinny, like the sound of an old upright that her ballet teacher had used during dance class, rattling off a rapid waltz.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

As Aurora turned, her feet took up the rhythm. She stopped them and stood still, but it was hard to resist the urge to tap.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

More instruments joined the waltz: a pipe organ and drums that resonated in the chest. An unseen woman belted out lyrics. Aurora almost recognized the song.

All around her, figures rose up through the floor like ghosts, their limbs jerking robot-like in time with the music. In moments the hall was filled with dancers. They all wore fancy dress; modern, Victorian and Renaissance. Their faces were as blank as mannequins.

Something tapped her shoulder. Aurora turned. The nearest figure bowed low and extended his hand to her.

"I don't--" Aurora began, but the man took her hand, put his other hand on her side, and turned her into the dance. To her surprise, she followed his steps with ease, heels, dress and all.

All the other dancers paired off and began to circle in time with the music, tracing intricate patterns across the floor.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

Aurora's mannequin partner turned her. She twirled, and found another hand reaching for her. In time with the music, she took it, twirled again, and found herself in the arms of Salvadore, who wore an evening suit with a plum-coloured brocade vest.

He leered at her. "You dance divinely, my dear."

"Trust me, it's not by choice," Aurora growled. The waltz rhythm brought out her words staccato-style.

"It's not by my choice either, I fear," said Salvadore. "But since I'm trapped in this dance, I might as well enjoy the company."

He twirled her. Aurora spun on the balls of her feet but couldn't let go of the tips of his fingers before she came twisting back. He caught her in a graceful dip. 

One-two-three, one-two-three...

He pulled her up. Aurora felt breathless. "If you're trapped here, who's trapping you? Who are all these..." She tipped her head at the mannequins, "...things?"

"You've trapped me here, darling girl," said Salvadore. "You and your father. This--"

He grunted in frustration as the music twirled her away again. Aurora found herself reaching for another hand, twirling into another man's arms. She blinked up at his face.

"This is your dream," said Polk, looking unnaturally grand in his tuxedo and bow-tie. "Yours and the Dream King's. The others can't be more than ghosts to you, here. Salvadore and me... we're the only ones strong enough to break through and talk to you."

He pulled her into a dip. Aurora arched her back, then came up suddenly, her hands clasping the back of his neck.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

"I had help."

She tilted her head to get a good look at him. "And how did you get that black eye?"

He grinned ruefully. "Again... I had help."

They switched partners again. Aurora blinked at the new face. "Mom! You have special powers too?"

"Of course!" Her mother wore a low-cut, ankle-length red dress. "I'm a certified psychologist."

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"Aurora," said her mother, as they each did a back-to-back turn. "You've got to get away from here, before the Dream King finds you."

"Is he here?" Aurora looked around. They switched partners again.

"He's over there." Salvadore nodded to the table at the head of the room. Aurora hadn't noticed it before, but a shadowy figure loomed there. "He's coming for you," Salvadore said.

"Good," said Aurora. "Let's finish this."

She tried to twirl out of Salvadore's hold, but the beat and his sudden tug pulled her back.

"Listen to me, you foolish girl!" he hissed. "I may like to cause a little chaos, spread a little fear, but there are limits. I pretended to help the Dream King so I could hamper his search. You have to stay away from him!"

"But why? Why?"

They swapped partners again, and Aurora found herself staring into her mother's face.

"Everybody has been telling you to stay away from him! Even Salvadore, the Nightmare King. Maybe you should listen?"

"But Mom! He's my father. He won't stop coming for me, and I can't stop him. I'm not going to live the rest of my life on the run. This has to end, one way or another, now."

"I would rather die than have anything happen to you. But it's not just you."

"What are you talking about?" Aurora's voice rose. "Why did you run away from him? What happened?"

Her mother started to say something, but the music switched partners again, and Aurora was face to face with Polk. Beyond him, she could see that the Dream King had moved away from the table at the end of the room and was standing at the edge of the dance floor.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"I told you the Dream King killed my parents," said Polk. "I don't think he meant to, but he did, the moment you were born."

"How?"

"I don't know. I was there, but I was too young, and it was all so confused, I don't really remember. But it was bad." He looked over Aurora's shoulder and his face tightened. She looked back to see the dark figure moving through the dancing crowd towards her.

"Aurora, please, please get out of here!"

"Not until somebody tells me what happened!"

They switched partners again, and now she was with her mother.

"I was almost out of it from the labour," said her mom. "Then dreams started breaking into the real world. Monsters. Stuff out of nightmares. At first I thought it was the drugs they'd used on me, but it wasn't."

Aurora frowned. "Why would nightmares break out into the real world?"

Dawn shook her head. "I don't know. Nobody knows. Matron once said, maybe they were afraid of what awaited them in the dreamworld."

"He did that?" Aurora looked back through the crowd. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. But it got a lot worse until his people came and separated us. They told me to hide myself and you. And I did. I was terrified. I ran from my practice in Toronto to a school counsellor's job in Winnipeg. But it wasn't far enough."

She looked over Aurora's shoulder, and her breath caught. "Aurora, he's right behind you. Run!"

"I can't!"

They switched partners again. The Dream King reached for Aurora. Aurora reached out to take his hand. Before she could, Dawn cut in. Aurora tried to grab her, but Polk snatched her up and danced away. Aurora strained to look over her shoulder.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"Hi," squeaked Aurora's mother. "Fancy meeting you here!"

The Dream King smiled. "Dawn?"

"How long has it been?"

"Sixteen years," the Dream King rumbled. "In your time."

"That long?"

"You're distracting me."

"Glad I can still do that."

One-two-three, one-two-three...

His expression softened. As they twirled past Aurora, he played with a strand of Dawn's hair. "Dawn, the Dreamwalker with the golden hair."

"It's going silver, silly."

"Gold, silver, it's still precious." His face darkened. "Why did you leave me?"

"Don't you remember?"

Shadows clouded his eyes. "I can only remember reaching out to hold our child. Then I blacked out. After I woke up, nobody would let me see you or her."

"I'm sorry. I-I missed you."

Aurora struggled to pull her hands from Polk's grip. "Polk! Let me go!" But the music bound her to him.

"We've got to get away," said Polk. "Just listen to me, please. We can dance to the side of the--"

He let out a yowl when she head-butted his nose.

"I've spent sixteen years searching for you," the Dream King said to Dawn. "I almost found you three years ago, but you disappeared on me again. Let me see our daughter."

Tears ran down her cheeks. "I can't."

"Dawn," the Dream King rumbled. "Don't try to stop me."

"Please," Dawn began. "Don't--"

"Enough!" He flung his arms wide. There was a rush of air. The walls and ceiling disappeared. The music stopped. The dancers vanished. Across a marble checkerboard stretched out beneath a dome of stars, five people stood: the Dream King and Aurora facing each other, with Polk, Dawn and Salvadore between them.

A long moment of silence. Everyone looked from one to the other. The Dream King held out his hands. "Now. Aurora, come to me."

Aurora brushed down her dress. She took a step, then choked as Salvadore's arm went around her neck. Dawn, Polk and the Dream King started forward, then froze. Salvadore held an obsidian blade to Aurora's throat.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Salvadore said, smiling as Aurora gagged. "It's the only way out. Aurora should have died sixteen years ago, and would have, if Matron hadn't gotten in the way."

He grunted as Aurora jabbed his stomach with her elbow. She twisted out of his arms and kicked him hard in the gut, doubling him over. Then she drew a line in the air in front of her with her finger. There was a rush of wind. From beyond one side of the checkerboard, a church steeple rose into view, cutting through the ballroom like a knife through butter. 

Salvadore's mouth opened as the stonework as it whipped towards him. The steeple caught him, and carried him to the other side, where he vanished.

Polk winced. "Ow."

Dawn stared at her daughter, her hand over her mouth.

Aurora turned. She looked across the dance floor, past Polk and Dawn. The Dream King met her eyes. "Aurora."

"Dad...?"

"You came."

"I had no choice." Aurora took a shaky breath. "I realized I was my father's daughter."

"Why didn't you come when I told you?"

"I didn't... want... to believe. But I believe it now."

He opened his arms. "Come here, Aurora."

"Stop!" Polk planted himself between them. "Just... stop for a minute. Think about what you're doing! Think about what's happening! Didn't either of you watch Salvadore when Aurora hit him? He smiled! Aurora hit him with a church and he looked relieved! Who'd rather be hit by a church than spend another minute here?"

Aurora frowned. The Dream King fumed. "Stand aside. No one takes my daughter away from me."

Dawn caught the Dream King's arm. "Please. Let's just talk about this. I don't know what happened when Aurora was born." She glanced at the ballroom around her, looking overwhelmed. "I don't even know how, given the world you live in, you could possibly have been interested in me."

The Dream King smiled at her. "I fell in love with you, Dawn."

"How?" said Dawn, her voice small. "Why?"

"You called her a Dreamwalker," said Polk. "Why?"

"She's a human who can lend her power to others so they can control their dreams," said the Dream King. He touched her hair. "Most humans shield themselves from the dream world. They wake up. They say, 'it's only a dream'. Very few ride the currents and take control."

Dawn frowned. "But that doesn't make sense. I'm just a psychologist -- a hypnotherapist."

"You are more than that," said the Dream King. "You entranced me as soon as I saw you guide the dreams of that little girl. In another time and place, you'd be a priestess."

"Or a witch," Polk muttered. "A human who can help others control their dreams, and the Dream King. What would the children be like?"

Aurora looked at him sharply.

"Enough," the Dream King snapped, "Aurora, I'm sorry. I wish I had been there to see you grow up. Would you come to me, now?" He hesitated, then added, "Please?"

Aurora stepped back. She looked from Dawn, to Polk, to the Dream King, and back. The moment stretched. Then she strode forward. The Dream King stepped forward to meet her. Polk stepped in front of Aurora; Dawn in front of the Dream King. Aurora pushed Polk aside, while the Dream King picked up Dawn and planted her behind him. Then father and daughter met in the middle of the dance floor and embraced.

"I missed you," she whispered into his shoulder. It was a stupid thing to say, but it felt true. She missed something she had never had.

"Stop!" Polk shouted. "You're going to destroy the world!"

Aurora turned on him, letting out a laugh of shock and disbelief.

Polk drove on. "Nobody knows what really happened sixteen years ago," he said. "But I think I can guess, now. Salvadore said the Dream King exploded. We ride around in dreams, we have access to forces humans can only dream about. But Dawn controls those forces; that's what humans do! Something happened when you held Aurora." He waved his arms, desperate. "Like something being put together! Like something reaching critical mass!"

The Dream King's gaze clouded. "I did nothing wrong!"

"Maybe you didn't intend to," said Polk, "but you said Dawn can enter people's dreams and tame them. What if that ability passed to her daughter? When Aurora was placed in the arms of the one being who had the greatest access to the Dreamworld, you had the tool to control the Dreamworld lying in your arms."

The Dream King shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You can do everything in your dreams. Put that power over the Dreamworld together, and you have a god," said Polk, "and only a god could use that power the right way. If anybody else gets that kind of power, it would turn them into a -- a monster."

The Dream King started towards Polk. Aurora held him back.

"You are not a god," Polk went on. "But you drained Aurora! You took her power into you without even thinking. And all of a sudden, you had the powers of a god. You couldn't control yourself."

The Dream King pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shut up."

"You killed a lot of people," Polk went on. "No wonder you didn't remember what happened!"

"Shut up!" The Dream King's voice shook. "How dare you suggest I'd harm my daughter?" He coughed, then took a wheezing breath. "After all I sacrificed in finding Aurora, how can you think that I would ever consider draining her life from her--"

"You're draining her right now!" Polk shouted. "I can see it in the air between you two! Look!"

Dawn and the Dream King looked. The Dream King shook his head blearily. Dawn gasped. A column of haze rippled out from the Dream King, surrounding Aurora. Aurora tried to swipe the cloud away, but it clung to her.

Polk made a sound like he'd been punched. "No... You're not drawing power from her, she's--"

The palms of Aurora's hands glowed. She stared at them.

The Dream King fell to his knees.

Aurora staggered as the glow spread over her whole body. "What's happening?"

Polk and Dawn ran to her. Dawn arrived first, catching Aurora as she fell. Then she cried out and dropped her daughter, staring at her singed hands. Polk skidded to a halt and stared at Aurora's prone form, open-mouthed.

"Polk? Mom?" Aurora gasped. "I feel... strange..."

"Aurora!" Polk shouted into her ear. "Come on! We've got to get you out of here!"

The Dream King fell forward and lay still.

Aurora sat up and pushed Polk away. "But... I can... see." She fumbled around blindly. Her irises had disappeared into black pools. "Mom, the whole world is dreaming inside my head. I can see... everything."

She shuddered.

"And they're afraid."

Dawn knelt close. "Aurora, don't go there. You'll be swamped!"

"She's right," said Polk. "Aurora, stop! You can't control the power!" He grabbed her shoulders. His palms smoked.

Aurora's voice dropped an octave. "I don't want to stop. Go away!"

She tossed him off the dance floor into space.

Dawn ran to the edge of the dance floor and found Polk clinging for dear life, his legs dangling over cloud. She grabbed his arm. Her feet skidded on the marble tiles as she struggled to pull him up onto the dance floor. He looked across the remains of the ballroom at Aurora.

Aurora stood up with the grace of a dancer. The air twisted around her and gave her wings of shadow. Night ran through her veins. Night coloured her lips. Night blotted out her blonde hair.

"I am so big," she whispered, though her voice echoed across the world. "I am so very big and everyone else is so small, so afraid of the nightmares. They are surrounded by monsters, real and dream. Why doesn't anybody do anything about it?"

She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the whites of her eyes were black.

"I'm going to do something about it."

"No!" Polk yelled.

Aurora threw back her head and arms. Her spine arched. Her mouth gaped open, and she breathed out a cloud of crows.

They spewed into the sky, spiralling up and out in every direction, line after line of them, a black hurricane gushing from the mouth of the glowing girl. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Millions. Eight billion.

Polk and Dawn cowered as the sky went black.

In her home, Britney walks up the stairs to her bedroom when she stops in her tracks. Her eyes go wide. "No!" she yells. "No! Poor Mr. Scaly! No!" She screams. Her parents can't calm her down.

Everywhere, people scream as something wakes in their heads and eats their nightmares.

In a dank apartment, a man named Salvadore wakes up screaming. He doesn't stop. His neighbours call the police, and he is taken to a psychiatric hospital, where all the inmates are screaming. There, he refuses to rest or even close his eyes. Don't let me sleep, he begs them. Keep me away from her! 

Eventually, they sedate him. He never wakes up again.

Children stare in shock as their dream monsters meet terrible fates. Then they look at the being that rescued them, and scream.

And all around the world, dictators die in their sleep.

#

Aurora felt as though she were being swept along a river of herself, drowning in her power, in her anger, in her sense of other people's fears.

I can use this, she thought. I can use this. Use it!

Power coursed through her and lanced to all parts of the world. Monsters, dream and human, collapsed and died. Aurora felt the world's fear turn. She heard the screams intensify. In her mind's eye, she saw Britney look up, cowering, beside the remains of Mr. Scaly. 

They were still afraid. But now they were afraid of her.

Good. They should be. I can use this.

Then a small part of her mind spoke up: Wait. This isn't me. I don't want to be feared!

She tried to turn against the power, but it was like swimming up a waterfall. It swamped her, smothered her.

What are you doing? asked the voice of her power, her voice. How can you turn this away? It's yours: take it! Be who you were born to be! Let the world cower at your feet!

No, she thought. This isn't me.

Then what are you? A waitress? A fugitive? A little girl swept from one hidey-hole to another by her terrified mother? Some small thing?

No, she thought. That isn't me, either.

She redoubled her efforts to break free, but it was no use. She was a cork in the torrent. As she swept downstream, she scrambled for a rope, an anchor, anything.

Her mind reached out. Polk!

#

Polk and Dawn scrabbled for purchase against the edge of the dance floor. Beyond and below, the clouds loomed.

Then a flutter of wings brushed near them, and talons settled beside them, transforming into sensible shoes. Matron knelt and gripped Polk's wrist. "Hold on!" She helped Dawn haul him to his feet.

"Matron!" Polk cried over the deafening scream of crows. "Thank God you're here."

Matron shook her head. She rubbed her shoulder. "I'm too late." She looked grimly at Aurora's slumped form and the hurricane of darkness gushing out of her. "I'm way too late."

"What's happening?" Dawn shouted.

"The world is meeting its Dream Queen. They're screaming in terror."

"We have to do something!" Dawn yelled. "Wake her up, somehow--" She started forward, but Matron pulled her back.

"You touch her, now, you'll be incinerated. How do you stop the wrath of a god?"

Aurora's voice echoed in their heads. Polk!

Matron flinched and covered her ears.

Polk, help me!

Matron looked up. "I don't believe it. There's still a part of her alive in there. I didn't think anything could hold out against that power."

Polk! Aurora's voice wavered. Polk, please? Can you hear me?

Matron pulled Polk forward. "Answer her! She can hear you. She can hear everything."

Polk called into the air. "Aurora?"

I need... an anchor. Something. The power is blowing me all over the place. I can't hold on!

Polk frowned. "I-I don't understand!"

Break the connection!

"What?"

Wake me up!

"How?" Dawn pinched her wrists red. "We can't even wake ourselves up."

"I know a way," said Matron. She looked Polk in the eye. "Polk, I can wake you up. When I do, you find Aurora and wake her up. She'll be close. Will you do it?"

"Why can't you wake her up?" he asked.

"It's not that easy," Matron shouted over the uproar of the crows. "We're stuck in the Dream King's dream. I can't get out. And even if I could, it wouldn't matter."

"Why not?"

"She asked for you!" Matron yelled. "Will you help her?"

"Of course I will!" shouted Polk.

"You're sure now?" Matron gripped his arm, hard. "Are you really sure? You want to be her Prince Charming? Because it won't be pleasant, and it comes with a cost."

"I'm sure!" Polk yelled. "I love her! I'll do anything for her! Anything!"

Matron sniffed. "Good boy."

Then she threw him into space.

#

Polk fell, screaming. 

He could feel the air escaping his lungs, but all he heard was the rush of wind in his ears.

They say you're dead before you hit the ground, don't they? A part of him hoped so. But they also said that if you died in your dreams, you died in real life. He didn't want to die. His mind and heart raced.

I've been a bird twice. I could fly. Fly! He threw out his arms.

No. Matron's voice whispered in his ears. No feathers appeared.

"Matron? What the hell are you doing?"

He burst out of a cloud. The patchwork quilt of Saskatchewan spread out before him. Crap! This is going to hurt!

Maybe I don't need feathers. Aurora hadn't. She'd thrown herself off a building and stopped before hitting the ground. If she could do it, I can do it. I could float. Float!

Do you want to help her, or not? said Matron.

"Matron?!" Polk sobbed as the wind whipped past him. "For the love of--"

I'm sorry, son.

The detail of the ground grew alarmingly distinct.

There must be a way out of this! There must!

He thought about slowing down time, but what good would that do? It would only prolong the agony.

Wake up! Wake up!! Wake up!!!

His eyes tracked down to the rapidly rising ground, and he closed them. Then he opened them and looked again. He was directly over a farmer's field. There were hay bales everywhere, and he was falling straight for the largest.

His heart lifted. Maybe I'm going to make it! Maybe...

Then he looked closer at the hay bale, and the colour drained from his cheeks.

Poking out from the hay bales were pitchforks.

#

Polk woke screaming.

He lay a moment, gasping, then patted his chest and arms, checking for holes, before slumping on the gravel, breathing heavily. His mind cartwheeled with relief. It had all been a dream. It had all been just a--

Wait a minute.

As Polk realized that the fact it was all a dream shouldn't be a relief, another part of his mind asked: what am I doing on a roof?

He sat up, then stood up, staggering. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, and a headache that pressed up against an eye, he looked around. He stood on the roof of the 5 Pin Bowlerama. He jumped to see Aurora lying on the gravel next to him, her eyes closed. Her body jerked as if in seizure.

Around him, Saskatoon roared. 

Sirens bellowed across the city. Screams echoed off the buildings. In the street below, fire-fighters at the scene of an accident were spraying the fire-hose at unseen monsters. Above him, a plane passed so low, he ducked and gagged in the exhaust of its engines. 

He shook his head to clear it. "Wake her up. Right. Let's get on it."

He crouched by Aurora's side, his knees hitting the gravel harder than he'd intended. "Aurora?" He leaned close to her ear. "Aurora? Aurora! Wake up!"

Aurora didn't stir.

"Aurora, can you hear me?" He shook her shoulder.

Polk crouches beside Aurora as her body gushes dreams. It's like standing next to a broken oil well. Dreams tear the skin from his cheeks.

Polk fell back, staring at his throbbing fingers. What am I going to do now?

Find a way. Right now, I'm the only one who can. Do it!

He stumbled forward, then stopped when he brushed something that clinked on the gravel. He picked up the tarnished bronze knife Matron had given him, long ago. He ran his fingers over the ancient runes, and touched the blade, pulling his hand away as it pricked him.

The easy way.

He hefted the knife and looked at Aurora.

Not easy at all. 

He dropped the knife.

The sky darkened. Polk looked up. There were no clouds, but the bright blue dome was deepening to midnight. At the edge of hearing, he could make out a deep rumble on the horizon, getting closer.

He felt something dripping down his cheeks and he touched his face. His fingers came away wet with blood.

"Aurora?" He leaned close. "Aurora, what do I do? How can I be Prince Charming if I don't know what to do?"

Then the words echoed back at him. Prince Charming?

He leaned over Aurora again and flexed his fingers. He grabbed her by the shoulders.

Dreams blast his chest and face, blowing him back, but he holds on. He looks down at Aurora and can just see her face, framed by dark, as though they were at either end of the inside of a tornado.

He leans forward, but her dark eyes open. He freezes, trapped by her terrible, sleeping beauty.

And then Aurora smiles. The weight behind her eyes is of someone who has swum miles across the ocean to the shore and needs just one pull to be free of the waves.

"You came," says her voice in Polk's head.

Polk smiles. He leans forward, fighting the force of her dreams, and plants his lips firmly on hers.

The sound of rushing dreams cut off like a door closed on wind. Aurora's arms went around him, and she held him close.

Above them, the spiralling dreams faded, disappeared. The sky brightened. Polk and Aurora held the kiss as they felt the power ebb around them. When Polk finally let go, Aurora looked up at him dreamily. Polk smiled. "Hey, Aurora. Wakey, wakey."

Then he fell back and lay still.

Aurora's eyes snapped open.

#

Aurora sat up, and the world reeled.

Warm and steady arms gripped her shoulders as she almost fell back onto the gravel. "Aurora?" Her mother's voice. "Are you all right?"

Aurora moaned and waved off the helping hands. She kept her eyes closed and kept her hand on her mouth to keep from being sick. Then, when she was ready, she reached out. Her mother grabbed her arms and helped her to her feet.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Dawn asked.

Aurora leaned on her, blinked once, looked around, then closed her eyes again. "Ooo! My head hurts," she mumbled. She grimaced at the pasty-dry taste in her mouth. "Where are we?"

"We're back in Saskatoon," said Dawn. "On top of the bowling alley near my store. Everything's... okay."

Something about the way she'd said 'okay' made Aurora look up.

Across the street, the pavement was drenched with water. The firefighters and the bystanders milled about, stunned; the bent, burnt and smoking cars forgotten. The people who had been in those cars now sat on the curb of the street, hugging their knees.

"What--" Aurora heard the sirens echoing across the city. She turned. Columns of smoke rose into the sky. "I did this."

Dawn gripped her shoulder. "Don't think about it. It's over now."

"But I... I did all this!" Aurora swayed. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I'm a monster!"

Dawn grabbed her by the arms and looked into her face. "Listen to me! You are not a monster. You came back. You stopped yourself, that's all that matters."

Aurora looked away. "But-- If it hadn't been for Polk..." She looked up. "Where is Polk?" She pulled herself from her mother's grip and turned.

Polk lay on his back by the parapet, arms spreadeagled. Matron knelt over him, her cheeks wet. Blood made two short red lines from his ears into his hair and dripped in small puddles on the roof.

Forward to Chapter Eleven -->