Blood Dreams

* * * *

It was the nightmare brought to life, Dani thought.

The vision.

The smell of blood turned her stomach, the thick, acrid smoke burned her eyes, and what had been for so long a wispy, dreamlike memory was now jarring, throat-clogging reality. For just an instant she was paralyzed.

It was all coming true.

Despite everything she had done, everything she had tried to do, despite all the warnings, once again it was all-

Oh, shit. Not again.

'Dani?' Roxanne appeared, seemingly out of the smoke at her side, gun drawn, vivid green eyes sharp even squinted against the stench. 'Where is it?'

Huh. This is new. But I guess…

'Dani, you're all we've got. You're all they've got. Do you understand that? Which way?'

Wish I could see something in all this smoke. Something to tell me where this building is.

It seemed easier this time for her to concentrate on the stench of blood she knew none of the others could smell. A blood trail that was all they had to guide them.

Well, that and this vision. Why do I keep going through the motions? There must be a reason.

She nearly gagged, then pointed. 'That way. Toward the back. But…'

'But what?'

'Down. Lower. There's a basement level.' Stairs. She remembered stairs. Going down them. Down into corridors everywhere, and-No, wait. That wasn't this vision. That had been during the dream-walking.

Hadn't it?

Hallways in every direction, brightly lit, featureless but almost humming with energy.

Energy?

'It isn't on the blueprints.'

'I know.' She dragged her mind back, wasting an instant to wonder how she could do that and yet couldn't seem to deviate from the vision-dream script.

I told you all this before, dammit. No, wait-I told Hollis all this before. So where is she? And why is somebody else speaking her lines?

'Bad place to get trapped in a burning building,' Roxanne noted. 'The roof could fall in on us. Easily.'

Exactly her lines.

Bishop appeared out of the smoke as suddenly as Roxanne had, weapon in hand, his face stone, eyes haunted. 'We have to hurry.'

'Yeah,' Roxanne replied, 'we get that. Burning building. Maniacal killer. Good seriously outnumbered by evil. Bad situation.' Her words and tone were flippant, but her gaze on his face was anything but, intent and measuring.

It was always Hollis before. Why isn't it now?

'You forgot potential victim in maniacal killer's hands,' he said, not even trying to match her tone.

'Never. Dani, did you see the basement, or are you feeling it?'

Oh, right-I have Paris's abilities.

'Stairs. I saw them.' The weight on her shoulders felt like the world, too heavy to cast aside, so maybe that was what was pressing her down. Or… 'And what I feel now… He's lower. He's underneath us.'

'Then we look for stairs.'

Dani coughed. She was trying to think, trying to remember. But dreams recalled were such dim, insubstantial things, even vision dreams sometimes, and there was no way for her to be sure she was remembering clearly.

Dammit, why do I keep going through the motions? Why don't I just lead the way to the damn stairs?

And where the hell is Hollis?

Why is that different this time?

Is it me?

What in God's name did I do?

She was overwhelmingly conscious of precious time passing and looked at her wrist, at the absurdly childish Mickey Mouse watch with its bright red band and cartoon face that told her it was 4:17 P.M. on Monday… October 13.

What? Oh, my God. That's tomorrow.

Why, dammit?

What the hell happened to change the date?

'Dani?'

She shook off the momentary confusion. 'The stairs aren't where you'd expect them to be,' she said, coughing again. 'They're in a small room or office, something like that. Not a hallway. Hallways-'

'What?'

The instant of certainty was fleeting but absolute and gave the term deja vu. a whole new meaning for Dani.

Jesus, it's like I'm stuck in a loop-

'The basement is divided,' she heard herself say. 'By a solid wall. Two big rooms. And accessed from this main level by two different stairways, one at each side of the building, in the back.'

Two traps. Not one.

No… two parts to one trap.

'What kind of crazy-ass design is that?' Roxanne demanded.

'If we get out of this alive, you can ask the architect.' The smell of blood was almost overpowering, but Dani's headache was-She didn't have a headache this time around.

Okay, I'm definitely stronger now, hut-

A trap with two parts…

Tomorrow! How can it be so soon?

What happened to change the date? Is it because we found-or will find-the warehouse quicker this time? Because Paris was able to transfer her abilities to me?

No, wait…

Bishop said potential victim.

God. Oh, God.

Where's Hollis?

Marc appeared out of the smoke as abruptly as the other two had and took her hand in his free one. In his other hand was a big revolver.

Right gun this time. Deja vu.

'Where to now?' he asked. 'I can't see shit for all this smoke.'

Roxanne replied to his question. 'Dani is guiding us.'

He looked down at her, his expression calm but his eyes holding something as intimate as a caress.

Wow. Never knew a man could make love with just his eyes before. How about that?

Marc said, 'I always knew the beautiful assistant was the real wizard. Like the man behind the curtain. Where to, Dani?'

The same-yet not. Why does it keep changing?

It was Bishop who said, 'You don't know which side they're in.'