Delilah Hensley, a psychologist and gifted Dreamwalker, teams up with Detective Rylan Graves to stop a serial killer who weaponizes dreams.
Their psychic connection blurs the line between love and danger as they navigate the surreal landscapes of the killer’s mind.
In a world where dreams can kill, Delilah and Rylan must decipher twisted clues to unmask the Dreamwreaker before it’s too late.
Delilah stiffened, bracing herself, but no invasion of her mind followed. Instead, images and sensations flooded her awareness—darkness, fear, a malignant presence lurking unseen, death’s chill breath stirring the endless void.
She recoiled with a gasp. The elves keened mournfully.
Delilah steadied herself. “Something evil comes. Something that hunts your kind.” She rose. “Take me to it.”
The elves hesitated, then drifted toward the door. It swung open soundlessly at their approach. Beyond lay a gray abyss.
She steeled her resolve and stepped through with the elves flanking her. The door slammed shut, sealing them in stygian darkness. She fought back a swell of primal fear.
“Guide me true,” she whispered.
Delicate hands grasped hers, and the elves led her into the void.
Delilah walked cautiously, guided by the elves’ gentle hands, the oppressive darkness weighing upon her like a smothering veil. Strange sounds echoed from unseen sources—skittering, slithering, the occasional inhuman shriek. She strained her senses but could perceive nothing beyond her small circle of companions.
“What lurks here?” she murmured.
The elves trembled, pressing close. Then ahead, two baleful yellow eyes appeared, scorching the darkness. Delilah froze. A deep rumble reverberated through the void.
“Turn back, mortal,” a voice rasped, resonant with menace. “You trespass where you are not wanted.”
Delilah stood her ground. “I don’t fear you, creature. Why do you hunt these elves?”
The eyes narrowed. “Their light offends me. Their realm is mine now.”
Delilah caught a glimpse of scales and talons as a massive shape stirred in the shadows. The elves whimpered as she stepped forward defiantly. “I won’t let you harm them or the young woman whose mind you haunt.”
The creature laughed, a harsh grating sound. “Your concern is misplaced. You should worry about yourself.”
Delilah felt her courage faltering, but the elves clung to her, trusting, innocent. She had to protect them and her young patient. “If you want them, you’ll have to go through me,” she declared, hoping her bravado masked her fear.
“You can’t stop me. They are her protectors, but they have failed, and now it is time for me to claim them and the young woman’s soul.”
Instantly, Delilah knew… The dream that had been haunting Mary was a premonition…of her death. This was the Dark Soul Reaper she faced, and Mary’s time on Earth would soon come to an end. There was no way Delilah could help her, no way to stop the shadow of death from claiming a soul. Some things were just meant to be… All she could do was to try to stop the nightmarish dreams so that Mary could at least have peace during her last days…or months…
“You will stop invading Mary’s mind, and she will live out her last days in peace!” Delilah imagined a barrier between the elves and the creature and saw the shimmering wall spring to life.
Instantly, the elves joined hands and made a circle. They spun slowly, and in the center lay a sleeping Mary, looking quite peaceful and innocent.
“You can no longer haunt Mary and can only lay claim to her soul if it is permitted and when the time has come. If you want to harass anyone, you can attack me.”
The Dark Soul Reaper hissed. “As you wish.” It lunged, jaws gaping.
Delilah screamed as a searing pain lanced through her. Then darkness almost claimed her, but she willed her eyes to open just in time.
“You can wake up now, Mary,” Delilah murmured, still shaky from the disturbing Dreamscape.
It was hard for her to imagine that the young woman didn’t have much time left. Even harder when she thought of the darkness waiting to claim the girl. No angel of light was going to fetch Mary, but she could do nothing to change that. The only thing she could do to help was to eliminate the nightmares that the Dark Soul Reaper sent into the young woman’s mind at night.
She sometimes cursed the extra ability of Dreamsight to see what was to come. It could be very dark at times, as it was with Mary.
Mary opened her eyes and looked groggy. “Wow, how long did I sleep?”
