Page 15 of Lunar Diamonds
“What’s… What’s… What’s happening?” I barely got the words out, the cold getting worse with each passing second.
My veins and bones filled with ice. Was this magic? Or a dream? I wasn’t sure, too wrapped in confusion to know how to react.
I tried standing, losing my footing from the painful flares. I yelled, grabbing my coat stand for support as I went down, taking it with me. It hit me on the head, then smacked the floor with a loud thud.
Ouch.
Tendrils of the blue mist licked at me from the edge of the circle, swaying like blades of grass in a breeze.
I managed to slide back, pressing my spine against my front door. “What are you?”
The circle swirled, a streak of inky black joining the blue. It swam around like an eel made of shadow.
“What are you?”
Nothing answered.
The temperature kept plunging toward frostbite. Any minute now, there’d be icicles on my ceiling.
Screw this. I reached for the door handle, not about to face down whatever nightmare the circle might be. In fact, there were people trained to deal with this crap.
I pulled out my phone, my trembling fingers too cold to do anything.
Oh. Crap.
“Help,” I whispered at it. “Help me…” I blew on my hands for warmth.
The circle changed, lifting into the shape of a cone, quickly changing and twisting into a floating orb of blue mist, the black eel swimming inside it as if it were an aquarium.
This had to be a nightmare. I’d passed out and summoned up some horror show.
But why did this cold feel so real?
The orb glimmered, bobbing in the air. “Moon is here. Moon is mine. Star cannot be followed. His light does not shine. Sun too bright, too bright, too bright.”
A voice like gravel sent shivers of terror racing up and down my spine. A man’s voice? I wasn’t sure. “Who are you?” I pressed myself harder into the door, tugging on the doorhandle with frozen fingers.
“Moon… Moon I shall be so soon.”
Yeah, not confusing babble at all. But I played along with the dream. “Who are you?”
“Moon. True. Moon of new. Moon.”
I managed to get a grip on the doorhandle, pulling it down so the lock popped open.
“Moon. Mine. Moon. Mine.” The orb expanded, inching closer.
The blue arsehole would not be touching me. One way or another, I was getting myself out of here, leg pain be damned.
Using the handle for support, I got myself onto my knees while screaming the flat down. I paused to gather myself, the agony in my scar bringing black dots to life in my vision.
“Moon. Moon. Moon.”
The orb’s light painted the beige door blue. Icy breath tickled the back of my neck. I glanced over my shoulder to find the orb deadly close. Tendrils reached for me, squirming to touch me.
“Go away!” I cried, yanking the door open. “Get?—”
A hand closed around my throat, someone outside my door. They crushed my windpipe, lifting me off the ground.
