Cissy lay curled beneath the thick covers of her bed, nothing but the pale point of her nose poking out from under the protective blankets. Outside, a raging storm battered the house with roaring thunder and rain that beat the windowpanes like fists. The twisted tree outside her room thrashed in apparent agony, its long branches leaning into the house with a horrible groan.
She tensed and drew her knees tightly to her chin as a flash of lightening cast a sudden light through the window, throwing strange, shadowy shapes on the walls. She whimpered, but tossed the covers from her face almost defiantly, freezing in sudden terror when another flash illuminated a dark shape in the doorway.
"Cissy," the shape breathed into the shallow night.
It was Bella, clad in a nightgown that hung loosely from her shoulders and fanned behind her into the dark of the hallway. She looked thin and ghostly, crossing noiselessly to the side of the bed as though gliding.
Cissy did not inquire as to her presence – instead she allowed Bella to take her by the hand and pull her back in the direction of her own room. Her voice came to Cissy as though from far away. "Don't be scared. When you love the darkness, nothing can touch you."