Page 19 of Vampire so Virtuous

She noticed more with each passing second: a bar, light fixtures, a red exit sign above a door.

A way out?

At the thought, her body moved through the room, as if flying. It was pretty cool, in a weird, lucid-dreaming kind of way. She tried to see if she could control it as she spun-flew in mid-air around a bank of swivelingspotlights suspended from the ceiling. Dust and cobwebs clung to each light, and ‘Rig 3’ was written on the truss in faded yellow marker.

That was disconcerting. Far too much detail for a dream.

She flew over hundreds of people, unnoticed. No one pointed or shouted, though she was certain she’d met enough eyes to be seen.

Did that prove it wasn’t a dream, that it wasn’t real?

How could it be, anyway?

But it was all so vivid, like she was really there. She could focus on whatever she wished—the clothing of the dancers, the drinks in their hands. A couple, arguing in a corner. The barman, holding out a card machine with the green glow of its screen.

Had Zara spiked her drink? Was this some kind of prank? Why hadn’t Eve warned her?

It had been mere seconds since she’darrived, if that were the right word. Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it was over, and she was falling.

No, it wasn’t over, and the floor was coming up fast.

Instinctively, Cally covered her head, bracing for an impact she couldn’t avoid. But no impact came. She should’ve crashed into the churn of dancers, but instead, she blurred through them—flesh and fabric. Then was she inside the floor? Artificial grays and blacks of vinyl, concrete, and some kind of foam.

The music had faded to a dull thump, and she feared she’d be trapped, stuck in the floor of a nightclub in an impossible dream.

Until she emerged, wide-eyed, into a new space. The floor of the club was now the ceiling of the area she was in. Once again, she was mid-air. And still falling.

“Stop!” she screamed, but no sound came.

It was a room of some design—dark wood furniture and pictures on the walls, lavishly appointed—but she didn’t have time to take it all in before the floor came up again, and once more she was drifting through building materials, seeing them like a cross-section displayed in a museum exhibit.

A new space, and this time it wasn’t a room but a long corridor stretching on and on, as was the way of dreams. Strangely, it felt more familiar. Tunnels in dreams she could accept, even if this was a first. Yet it wasn’t nebulous, but a real hallway with walls of brutalist concrete. Several pipes ran along its length: one yellow, one red, one dull gray. She flew along, faster than she could run, unable to control her movement.

Ahead, a large double door loomed, ornately designed and carved. A heavy chain lay across it, holding it closed. But as Cally approached, shesensedsomething from within, like apresenceemanating from the room. The greatest threat lay behind the door.

She was still being drawn toward it, and fought to stop herself. She tried to fly back, to control her movement in this dream, but nothing worked. With each passing second, she drew closer. The presence emanating from behind the door grew darker, more oppressive, until she was certain that the last thing she wanted was to see what lay within.

She was thirty feet away, unable to stop herself. Twenty, and she couldn’t even look away. Ten, and the chain holding the door shut shattered, bursting into pieces. It was as if they were pushed from inside, as though something had been caged and was desperate to escape. As Cally watched in horror, helplessly pulled toward them, the doors opened right before her.

And there was nothing but darkness.

*

“Cally! Cally, wake up! Fuck,fuck. Cally!”

She came to gradually, amidst the flickering orange glow of too many cheap candles. She was lying on the floor of Zara’s apartment, and embarrassingly, they were all crowding around her, their faces filled with alarm. Except Zara, who looked insufferably smug.

Eve was closest to her, kneeling beside her, her worry pulling at Cally’s heart.

Damn, it had felt so real.

She ran her fingers through the soft pile of the carpet, reassuring herself she was back in the real world. Her heart was still racing.

“I’m here. I’m sorry.” She tried to sit up, but Eve leaned over her for a fierce hug, effectively pinning her down.

“Damn it, Cally, you scared the hell out of me!” she said in her ear. “We couldn’t wake you!”

“I’m all right. Let me up, Eve.”