The fact that it was only a dream didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy myself.
After all, the wedding gown I wore was stunning Vera Wang. The full-length shard—an expensive mirror especially meant for vampires—I stood before reflected me from head to designer stiletto.
“You look gorgeous,” a familiar voice said. I looked to my left to see George. “I didn’t think white was for you, but color me wrong.”
“It’s off-white. Just like my virtue. And I’m wearing a black bra just to keep everything balanced.”
He grinned. “Are you ready for your big day?”
I nodded, finding it hard to not smile. “I’ve been ready for a long time.”
“Come on, you’ve kept him waiting for a very long time.” George held his arm out for me and I took it. He led me out to a hallway where there was a railing that looked over into the church itself.
At the front of the church stood Thierry, wearing a tuxedo, and he looked mouth-
wateringly delicious.
“Shouldn’t I be down there? I’m going to miss it.”
George shook his head. “Trust me, it’s way safer up here.”
Someone was making her way down the aisle—a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a beautiful white gown that matched the one I wore. She glanced over her shoulder and I realized it was… me.
An odd sensation of dread filled me.
The other me looked up at where I stood on the balcony. Her eyes were pitch black. Her neck was bare—she wasn’t wearing the gold chain.
Then the nightwalker dropped her bouquet and grabbed hold of Thierry so she could sink her fangs deeply into his throat. He didn’t even try to fight her. I screamed but no sound came out.
The masked Red Devil now stood beside me.
“Why didn’t you try to stop this?” His angry voice was low and raspy. He shook his head with disappointment.
A glance downstairs showed the nightwalker-me letting Thierry drop heavily to the ground, where his body immediately disintegrated.
Another groom stepped into his place—it was Gideon. The nightwalker hooked her arm through his and she and Gideon began to recite their vows. I stared down with horror as Gideon kissed nightwalker-me after we were proclaimed husband and wife. He glanced at the balcony and winked at me, smiling wide enough so I could see his brand-new set of fangs.
“Thank you for everything, Sarah,” he said. “I’m sorry about the mess we made. It couldn’t be helped. But we’re together now. Forever.”
“I love you, Gideon,” the nightwalker said.
He kissed his bride and I realized he was now kissing me and I wasn’t doing anything to stop him—in fact, I had my arms around him and was pulling him closer to me.
Next to where I now stood at the altar with Gideon, the Red Devil was gone as well, the red mask the only sign that he had ever existed. It lay next to the dead bodies of all of my friends.
I began to scream.
T here was something cold and wet on my head. I slowly opened my eyes to a blast of pain and realized that George held a cool cloth against my forehead. He looked worried.
“The Darkness totally knocked you out,” he informed me, as if I didn’t already know that tidbit of information.
I blinked painfully and noticed I was sprawled out on the sofa. “Where did he go?”
“After he put out your lights he let us back in. He seemed majorly freaked about the whole situation. Him and Mommy Dearest left. Are you okay?”
I guessed the demon had gone back where he came from. His message, cryptic though it was, had been successfully delivered. I wondered if I should tell George, but decided to say nothing for now. I didn’t know what it meant. Besides, saying anything would mean a bigger explanation about Gideon was required, and I wasn’t prepared to go there.
George was still dabbing the cold cloth against my forehead, and I pushed his hand away.
“I had a disturbing dream that you gave me away at my wedding, but my nightwalker killed Thierry and instead married Gi—” I bit my tongue. “Married somebody. I couldn’t see his face.”
“What was I wearing?” he asked very seriously.
I tried to focus on his face. “For a dream, you looked great. Fabulous suit. I’m thinking
Armani. Dream George has good taste.”
He nodded. “Nice.”
I tried to shake off my episode of Touched by a Demon and the subsequent nightmare it launched me into. “I have a lot of dreams about Thierry dying. However, I’m not usually the one to kill him. I hope it wasn’t a prophetic glimpse of the future.”
He stood up and tossed the soggy cloth on an old newspaper on the coffee table. “Since it was a dream about you two getting married, it was obviously just a figment of your imagination. You two are history, after all. Right?”
Right. He didn’t know about me and Thierry and I’d prefer to keep it that way. For his own good.
“By the way,” he continued, “I can’t believe you’re back with Quinn and you never told me a thing. Amy sent me the photographic evidence of your tongue-twister match at the café yesterday. How could you keep this sort of juice from me?”
“Sorry.” I shrugged. “It’s pretty new news. And you’ve been busy.”
“I forgive you. Barely.” His bottom lip actually wobbled. “But only because you’re currently nursing a concussion.”
I studied him for a long moment, trying to ignore the pulsing throb of my rattled brain.
“Are you actually upset about this or are you just having an emotional day?”
He sniffed. “I’m fine. Just fine.”
“You’re acting kind of funny.”
“Funny strange or funny ha-ha?”
“Strange.” I touched his arm. “I’m sorry I’ve been obsessed with my own issues, but if there’s something wrong you can tell me. We’re friends.”
He glanced at me, then moved away from the couch to stand in front of the window. “It’s nothing you have to worry your pretty little brunette head about.”
I propped myself up on the couch with my elbows. A small wave of dizziness came over me but passed quickly. “I think I know what it is.”