"Cassandra…" Cassandra stirred in her sleep, hearing this voice echo through her mind. "See me Cassandra…" her eyes opened and focused on the man standing at the foot of her bed. His green eyes seemed bottomless and she felt herself start to get pulled in. he held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to lift her to her knees, pulling her so she was in front of him. His face was darkly sensual as if carved from stone, his skin luminously pale, almost translucent.

She reached up to touch his face but he caught her hand, turned it over and laying a feather-light kiss on the fluttering pulse in her wrist. His hand released her and went to the back of her neck, cradling it, lacing his fingers in her hair. He started to bring her closer and her eyes closed, but instead of bringing her in for a kiss he turned her head to the side, craning her neck so it was exposed to him. His lips pressed against her throat and she wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

"Save me Cassandra…" sharp pain speared through her body but gave away to pleasure. She buried her hands in his thick, curly black hair as his mouth moved at her throat.

"Cassie!" Cassandra woke with a start, looking at her friend Jessica who was shaking her. "You were screaming!"

"Screaming?" Cassandra asked dazedly.

"Yeah, screaming. You woke me up."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh hun don't be!" I was just so worried about you. You've been having these nightmares every night since we came to New Orleans."

"Jess there's something I have to tell you about me."

"Sweetheart, you're bleeding." Cassandra put her hand to her neck and came away with crymson fingers.

"What time is it?" she asked and looked at her alarm clock.

"It's two in the morning." Jess said and Cassandra groaned.

"Two in the morning and I'm wide awake." She said and got out of bed, grabbing her jeans and pulling them on over her underwear.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jess asked from her bed and she looked at her as she strapped on her sneakers.

"For a walk."

"At this hour?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think…"

"I'll be fine. You know where I'm going."

"The greenhouse?"

"The greenhouse." She said, pulling a brush through her hair and tying a black silken scarf around her neck to hide the wound there. "You go back to bed. I'll be back before we're due at work." She tugged her T-shirt straight and left her room, leaving the house that she and Jessica shared. She made her way through the near empty streets and to the chapel with a greenhouse on the roof. She blessed herself with holy water before making her way to the roof. She wandered among the planets, touching the green leaves, almost feeling the vibrations of their life. Most people didn't like coming up here, after three women had been found dead. Two of which had been beheaded; the third had had a pole sticking out of her chest. But she liked it up here, she shouldn't though, it's where the nightmares started.

She was walking past at night when something caught her eye. She looked up at the chapel roof and saw a man standing on the ledge, staring down at the people, his eyes roaming over each one. He looked at her and held her gaze and it was then that she knew that he knew she could see him. The man wasn't alive, she could tell that by the wire wrapped around his throat and the deathly pallor of his skin. Then again, just because he wasn't alive didn't mean she couldn't see him.

That's what she did, she saw ghosts. She didn't like them knowing about it though, they tended to haunt her and try to get her to send messages to their loved ones, not caring that it would make her look like a total loon if she did. But the way he was looking at her calmed her and unsettled her at the same time. His gaze was hungry and wanting, but made her think of warm things. There was also such a stark loneliness and sadness in his eyes that she knew that he had died in an act of betrayal, probably by someone he cared about. She went into the chapel and onto the roof and there he was. His back was to the open night, staring at the greenhouse doors as if waiting for her. She had gone up to tell him that she couldn't help him and to not even bother trying to get her to, but his eyes had frozen the words in her throat. There was a slight dizzying sensation and she shook her head to clear it.

He stepped off the ledge and onto the roof, walking towards her with such animalistic grace, his long black coat billowing out like a cape as he walked as if it had substance. He stopped very close to her and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as if taking in her scent. His eyes opened and looked deeply into hers.

"Cassandra." He said, his voice deep, and reached up, touching her face. She jerked away ghosts couldn't touch people. "I need your help."

"I—I—I can't help you." she stammered and he smiled, showing sharp teeth.

"Oh but you can. I know you can, because you can see me. No one else can see me, not the priest," he spat out the word as if it disgusted him. "Nor the people who come up here to tend the plants. But you can." He pulled her tight against his body and she gasped as the hard muscle pushed against her frame. With his arms around her waist, he pulled her into a dip and kissed her passionately. It took her a little bit to respond but when she did, his intensity increased, his lips moving against hers roughly. He pulled his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck, pleasure/pain lancing through her body.

It wasn't until she woke up slumped against the greenhouse doorway with the priest shaking her shoulder did she know that it had all been a dream. The ghost was standing over the priests back, looking down at him with disgust and then at her with hunger and satisfaction gleaming in his eyes, which had gone completely red, his skin flush with color. The priest looked over his shoulder, following her eyes but of course he didn't see him.

That was six months ago and here she was again, and there he was, standing on the ledge with his back to the night sky as if waiting for her.