Chapter 3

Sophia followed little Alethia into the smoky crowd of the dream club. On some level, she could feel that she was still somewhere in Deirdre's mind, but the details had started getting sharper. Sophia could smell the whiskey of one club goer's drink, the leather of another's jacket.

She wove in and out of the crowd, trying to keep up with Alethia, but it was no use. By the time Sophia reached the bar, her guide evaporated into the dreamscape.

"What about that guy?" Came a bored voice over Sophia's shoulder.

It was just loud enough to make Sophia spin around to face the woman. She looked to be in her mid-30s, with a striking white bob cut standing at a cocktail table not far away. But what struck Sophia more than the woman's looks was who she was standing with.

Deirdre, adult Deirdre, was dressed similarly to their trip to Midian, except instead of being green, her low cut spaghetti strap top shimmered somewhere between royal blue and purple. It looked like the Slayer had been poured into her leather pants.

Deirdre's face scrunched up as she looked straight at Sophia. "No, too skater boy."

Sophia had to remind herself that she was in Deirdre's dream, and that the Slayer probably couldn't actually see her. The white haired woman sighed.

"Sweety, we've been here over an hour and at least half a dozen eligible men have eyed you. This was your idea. So, what's the problem?"

"First off, I'm pretty sure they are eyeing you, Amanda." Deirdre humphed. "And, I don't know, maybe I just haven't seen anyone I feel comfortable going home with yet. It's not like I've ever done this before."

"Or," Amanda replied with a pointed smirk, "Maybe you do have someone you'd like to go home with, and he's just not here."

Deirdre rolled her eyes. "I knew I should never have told you about him."

"What's the problem?" Amanda asked. She ran an idle fingertip around the rim of her martini glass. "If you want the boy, which clearly you do, you should go after him."

Deirdre picked up a shot glass full of green liquid and tossed it back. She shook her head wildly and made a face. Dee gagged a little and Sophia wondered what kind of liquor would be strong enough to buzz a Slayer.

"The problem." Dee countered. "Is that I'm in love with my best friend, who is too damn noble to consider someone a decade his junior as a romantic prospect. He treats me like a little sister, everywhere but in battle."

Amanda smirked at Dee again. Deirdre shook her head. "Don't even think about it. No. This is better. I pick out a random guy to hook up with, rid myself of my pesky virginity, and move on with my life. No muss, no fuss, no emotions involved. Eighteen is too old to live without passion, and I could die tomorrow."

"Exactly my point." Amanda replied between shots. "What better reason could there be to take a chance? Tell Captain Abs that you love him! He might surprise you. If all else fails, there's always absinthe."

Before Dee could argue, Sophia heard a short snippet of music. Deirdre pulled a cell phone out of her tiny purse and flipped it open. "This is Pierson...Derek? Wait, slow down. What happened to Nick?"

Sophia watched the emotions change on Deirdre's face from confusion to horror. Dee hugged her ribs in agitation. "That's not possible, I just saw you guys an hour ago. He was fine…Okay, I can be there in twenty minutes."

Amanda put a hand on Deirdre's shoulder. "Go. And remember what I said. It's never too soon to tell someone you love them. No matter how long you live."

The smoke of the dream billowed around Amanda and Deirdre, cutting off Deirdre's response. Sophia felt a little hand tug on her pant leg. She whirled around to find Alethia giggling behind her.

The little girl slapped Sophia's thigh. "You're It!"

Alethia turned and ran through the mist of the dream club. Sophia pushed past the disintegrating spectres of club patrons. In the distance, Sophia could see Alethia run to the door of the club. Her little hands threw the door open. Sophia could see a golden light erupt from behind the door before it closed behind Alethia.

Sophia finally reached the heavy steel door. She grabbed the handle and yanked, but it didn't budge. In sheer frustration, Sophia slapped the center of the door with the flat of her palm.

"Come on, Alethia!" She growled. "I don't like this game. How can I catch you if I can't reach you?!"

Sophia's handprint on the door began to glow. The gold light radiated outward from it, morphing the material of the door from cold steel to warm wood. Ornate carvings grew out of riveted planes until the door transformed into something more from a medieval castle than an industrial nightclub. Sophia tried the cast iron handle. This time, the door creaked open on ancient hinges.

The scene on the other side of the door had changed too. Instead of the forests of Wolf Lake, Sophia walked into a beautiful room. It was some sort of huge entry way built out of marble, with sculpted pillars of polished wood.

Deirdre ran out from behind Sophia to the far end of the hall. There, Dee met with a blonde woman in her early forties wearing a dress suit, and a tall older man with salt and pepper hair.

"Derek!" Deirdre called out. "Rachel, what's going on?"

The gray haired man, Derek, turned toward the Slayer, temporarily jarred from the string of foreign curses he was attempting. His accent was odd, Sophia thought. Dutch? Maybe Belgian? "Deirdre? What are you wearing?" he muttered.

Dee looked down at her tight leather pants and high heels awkwardly. "Nevermind that. What's wrong? I thought you two and Nick were headed back to the States tonight."

Derek's face darkened. "Nick has locked himself up in one of the tower rooms. He won't listen to reason. If we don't do something, he'll be dead by daybreak."

Sophia's stomach sank. Whoever this Nick was, he was a dear friend, judging from the faces of the people around her.

Deirdre turned to the blonde woman, Rachel. It was obvious she had been crying. Dee put a hand on her shoulder. "Rachel, isn't there something you can do for him medically? There has to be a cure."

Derek cut Rachel off, "There is, that's why I called you. We need your help, Deirdre. Nick needs your help."

A matronly woman in her sixties peeked her head through a door to Sophia's right. "Derek, Mr. Stanton requests that you rejoin the meeting at once. The situation with Mr. Boyle needs to be resolved."

Derek gave Dee a pained look before following the lady through the door to an immense library. Rachel glared at his back, then sighed with sorrow. Deirdre slid a hand down her arm, pulling her attention back.

"Rachel, please. You know I would do anything to help Nick! Tell me what happened. Otherwise, how can I help?"

Rachel took a deep breath and pulled Deirdre into a side parlor. Sophia followed. It was slowly dawning on her that they must be in a mansion. "We were hunting down the Key of Uruz."

"Yeah, I know." Deirdre replied. "I called the location into Nick. Doc said you caught the guy who was passing that Lust Curse around."

Rachel nodded, tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. "When we caught Rothschild, he threw the Key at Nick. It was a reflex… Nick didn't mean to catch it."

Sophia was lost. Something about a curse and a key? Deirdre seemed to know exactly what Rachel meant. Dee's eyes went wide. "He caught it? He touched it?"

Rachel pulled Dee in for a hug. "Oh, honey. The curse…he…it's already started."

"Started?" Dee said, her eyes going wide. "He's not…"

"No! No. No." Rachel replied quickly. "He hasn't hurt anyone. As soon as the symptoms started, he locked himself in one of the tower rooms. He refuses to come out, or to let anyone go in. He's decided to let the curse run its course. Derek has been trying to reason with him. We both have. But the council is trying to decide whether to authorize his decision. Derek is in with them now."

Dee shook her head. "No. No, Rachel! I read the legend of the Key, if he doesn't get relief, the curse will burn him alive from the inside out! We can't just let him die! Derek said there's some sort of cure?"

"There is, but sweetheart, it's such a lot to ask. If you-" Rachel's reply was interrupted by a stodgy man in a butler's uniform. "Dr. Corrigan, your presence is requested in the library."

Sophia watched Dee follow her friend and the butler through another ornately carved wooden door. It closed and the entryway was enveloped in mist.

This time Alethia's giggle sounded at the top of the stairs to Sophia's left. "You're still It, silly. Come on!"

Sophia chased Alethia up endless sets of stairs, into a hallway that seemed eerily familiar. It took Sophia a moment to recognize it from the first time she had walked into one of Deirdre's dreams. That one had been a nightmare where the walls and furniture crumbled around them. This time the furnishings were well kept, and Sophia felt more sorrow and apprehension than fear.

She knew the door that Alethia would choose before the creepy little girl ducked through it. Instead of a red glow emanating from around the oak door, the glow was gold. Sophia positioned herself so as not to fall if the door opened to a drop-off. She'd learned her lesson the last time. But it just opened to another of the mansion's gorgeous rooms.

This one was built out of stones and marble pillars with intricate tapestries hanging from the wall. The ceiling soared into a towered point above Sophia. A fire crackled from a rough hewn fireplace, around which two high back chairs were placed. Sophia could just see a man's foot peeking around one of the chair legs.

Sophia heard the man's gravelly, slightly drunk voice croak out, "Who's there? I told Derek I didn't want to be disturbed! I've said my goodbyes. Now let me die in peace!"

"So this is how you've chosen to die?" came Deirdre's voice from behind Sophia.

The Slayer pushed past Sophia, not noticing her. Sophia had to remind herself again that no one could see her. Deirdre walked around the front of the chair and Sophia followed her. In it sat a man, bare chested, covered in what Sophia could only describe as the worst sunburn ever.

"A bit ugly, don't you think?" Deirdre continued. Sophia could tell she was putting on a brave face. Sophia could almost feel Deirdre's heartache as her voice broke. "Oh, Nick."

Sophia's heart skipped a beat. Her head swiveled back to the man in the chair. Nick... Nick Boyle. What had Amanda at the club called him? Captain Abs? Also known as, the love of Deirdre Pierson's life.

Sophia had to admit that her friend had taste. Underneath the burn marks, Nick sported a mouthwatering physique. He was a little old for Sophia's taste, but she could see the appeal. Deirdre was right though, the affliction was ugly, and he looked to be in horrible pain.

"Deirdre? What are you doing here?" Nick asked, confused. His eyes were bloodshot. "And what are you wearing?"

Dee ignored the second question for the first. "I'm here to help you."

Nick laughed bitterly. "Come to shove a stake through my heart, and put me out of my misery? Do I really rate a visit from the Slayer?"

Deirdre's expression turned serious. "I didn't come here as the Slayer. I came as your friend." Dee made a show of undoing the waist buttons on her jacket and slipping it from her shoulders to reveal the low-cut top beneath. "And I have no intention of letting you die."

"Then what could you…?" Nick gave Deirdre another confused look. Then realization dawned on his face. "But you're not… I mean you couldn't be. No. No, this isn't going to happen."

Sophia was completely lost again. What wasn't going to happen? She watched Nick propel himself out of the chair with a painful grunt. He started moving away from Deirdre like the very act caused him pain. Dee followed him.

"Nick, please." Dee pleaded. "Let me help you. I don't want to lose any more of the people I care about."

Nick's back hit the bookcase behind him. Sophia flinched at the look of pain on his face. "No." he said, "No, I can't hurt you like that. Your first time should be with someone you love."

She smiled gently. "And so it will be. You're my friend, and I love you. And I can't exactly say that I find you unattractive either."

That's when it clicked in Sophia's brain. They were talking about sex. Deirdre was trying to convince Nick to have sex with her. But why, in his condition? Sophia searched her brain. Rachel and Deirdre had been talking about a Key that carried a lust curse. Dee said that Nick would burn up from the inside out if he didn't get relief. Sexual relief. That was it, Nick needed to have sex, or he was going to die. The implications of that washed over Sophia.

She ran back to the door behind her and yanked on the handle, but it was locked. Sophia yelled into the dark corners of the room. "Okay Alethia! I'm ready to leave this dream now! I really don't want to watch a porno starring my best friend! Dee, why can't you just wake the hell up?"

The little girl didn't appear, and Sophia stomach roiled as Nick and Deirdre continued to argue.

Nick shook his head furiously, growling. "You're too young."

"I'm eighteen." Dee replied evenly. "I'm of consenting age in both the US and UK. And given my Calling, I'm closer to the end of my lifespan than you are. Besides, you yourself have had liaisons with hundred year old demons and spirits. I fail to see how this is any worse. I'm old enough to know what I want. And tonight, I want you."

The demon comment raised one of Sophia's eyebrows. Such interesting company Deirdre kept.

Dee reached out a hand and her fingers brushed Nick's chest, then up his neck to caress his face. As Sophia watched, the burned flesh lost its angry red flare, fading back to Nick's regular pale skin tone. Apparently sexual healing was an actual thing for these two. Sophia felt as sick as Nick looked.

"Come on, Nick. Cut me some slack. I don't have a whole lot of experience seducing men. That was pretty much part of the job description."

Deirdre's words made another piece click into place for Sophia. Virginity. Nick didn't just need sex, he needed sex with a virgin, and apparently Deirdre fit the bill. Sophia couldn't fathom why he was fighting it so hard, if Dee was willing.

"No." Nick shut his eyes tight and backed himself as far into the bookcase as he could, clamping his hands on the wood shelf behind him, so he'd be less inclined to grab her.

"Wow!" Dee laughed. But it was her mirthless tone that made Nick open his eyes back up. Bitter, hurt, and surprised. Those emotions all showed in the wide-eyed frown that she sent his way. "You would actually rather die than shag me."

Sophia flinched again. That kind of rejection could not feel good. The expression on Nick's face wavered from pain to guilt. Dee backed away from Nick, tears stinging at the edges of her eyes.

"Well, cheers mate. Guess I should thank you. That explains a lot about my lack of pull with guys. I had no idea I was that repugnant."

Dee turned to pick up the jacket she had laid over one of the other high-backed chairs near the fireplace. She was halfway through buttoning it back up when Nick spun Dee around and kissed her hard. Nick backed her up against one of the room's stone support pillars. Dee moaned into the kiss, allowing him to pin her arms at her sides. His tongue pressed against the seam of her lips, seeking entry. She complied.

Sophia tried to shield her eyes with her hands, trying to give them privacy. At some point, she had decided that this situation, that she found herself observing, was too vivid to be a dream. It must be one of Deirdre's memories. Eavesdropping on dreams was bad enough. Sophia felt like being a voyeur to the loss of Deirdre's virginity was just a bit beyond the pale. She wished again that she could snap herself out of it, but the noises just went on. Sophia couldn't help but look.

Nick and Deirdre were kissing passionately. Sophia saw Nick pull away looking awed. The only thing different from one moment to the next were the daggers of light that Sophia could see in Dee's eyes. She wondered if Nick knew that Deirdre was wolven.

Nick rolled his hips against Dee's. He murmured hoarsely. "Is this what you want? To be hurt? To be ravished? Because, if it is, I'll do it, but it will cost me what's left of my soul."

Sophia stifled a laugh. Damn Nick was an intense guy. The males in Wolf Lake would be presenting their bellies like pups for a chance to go one-on-one with Dee. It was almost comical.

Deirdre kissed Nick chastely. "I trust you, Nick. You're my friend, and I will always trust you. Do you trust me?"

Nick kissed her back. "Any man would be honored…I am honored... to be allowed to make love to you. And I do trust you. But I am scared to death of hurting you."

Sophia barely blinked and Dee had turned the tables. Sophia remembered once throwing Luke onto the hood of his car, and the look of surprise on his face. Nick wore that same look of surprise when his back hit the pillar. Deirdre pinned his arms above his head, and growled. "I'm not a china doll, Nick. I don't break that easy."

Now it was Deirdre's turn to kiss Nick with fury. She tangled her fingers in his short honey brown hair, and leaned into him. He gave in, wrapping his arms tightly around her, pulling her even tighter against him. Dee ran her hands up and down his bare back. Sophia stared at her toes.

Nick pressed Dee up against the pillar again, pulling her legs up to wrap around his waist. She moaned. Sophia took an interest in a nearby tapestry.

"Nick?" Sophia heard Deirdre croak. She turned to see that Deirdre was now back on her own feet, and she looked worried.

Nick stroked Deirdre's face and she leaned in to his touch. "Sweetheart, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right."

Dee gave him a confused, slightly dazed look. "Huh?"

Sophia watched Nick lead Deirdre into the bedroom of the suite. Mist rose up around them, and blocked out Sophia's view. Sophia heard the door click open behind her. She walked through it only to find herself in the forest clearing that where she and Ruby had started. Alethia had resumed her place at the head of the circle.

Sophia was done playing games. "What was the point of showing me all that?"

"You asked why she wouldn't wake up." Alethia said toying with the hem of her blue shirt.

"Who, Deirdre?" Sophia squinted, confused. "How does what happened with Nick make Dee not want to wake up?"

"Exactly." Alethia nodded, "Now you're asking the right questions."

Before Sophia could question Alethia further, another door appeared and opened to Sophia's right. Ruby stumbled through it. Sophia could see the remnants of tears on Ruby's cheeks. The tiny version of Deirdre appeared next to Alethia.

"Why did you show me that?" Ruby stuttered to Little Deirdre.

"You asked what reason you could give to make Deirdre want to wake up." Little Dee swayed in her white dress.

"What does what happened with Tyler have to do with Deirdre wanting to wake up?" Ruby asked.

"Now you're both asking the right questions." Little Deirdre nodded.

Sophia and Ruby were plunged into darkness. Sophia's eyes fluttered awake and she could feel a body rustling next to her. Ruby sat up straight and turned to Sophia. They exchanged a look.

"Was that…" Ruby stuttered. "Was that real? The forest? The dreams?"

"I think so." Sophia replied. She felt a twinge in her shoulder and sat up to adjust it. "What did Mini Dee show you about Tyler?"

Ruby didn't get the chance to answer, because a blood curdling scream sounded out from the hallway.