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In the dream, or somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she knew she was someone else

The woman in the room

She had known the woman in the dreainning of the scene froy or entity of the ht…she saw it all from the woman’s eyes

Felt the spasm of fear as she heard the sound

Near Within the house A creaking of old floorboards

The wo why an ordinary sound should elicit such an instinctive sense of fear

So often, the house was filled with people Not that night And at first, she had been glad that it would be so e to the second-floor landing of the staircase, and looking down Her breath caught as her eyes focused on the figure at the foot of the stairs

He had entered the house He had the right, in his ownShe did not Strange, he had stood there, looking up at her, dozens of tiht played through the white fabric of her nightgown He had instilled within her an intoxicating sense of anticipation, pleasure…excites that aa sense of power that was all but an aphrodisiac

But tonight…

He did not s moments Maybe an eternity

Then…

She sahat he carried What was in his hands And the way that he held it…she knehat he intended to do with it

A scream rose to her throat; she held it back, for there would be no one to hear Then words, disjointed, tumbled from her lips, for she still couldn’t believe what appeared to be his intent

"You…you loved me," she murmured "You must still…love me Somewhat You can’t mean to…to…you can’t!"

The last hispered It was a plea It was a tone that called forth all that had come between them…before All that had been shared

His eyes remained upon hers He didn’t reply

He started up the stairs

And she ran

First, back to the roo doords, her own revenge But even as she atteainst it As he burst in, she saw the rabbed hold of it firainst the side of the head He cried out, staggering back

She took flight, forcing her way past hi in a diaphanous cloud behind her

Blackness, a cloud of shadows, arose around the vision

Darcy’s visions were often so crystal clear in drea awakened her And sometimes, the fact that she awakened ended the dream Perhaps, some instinct inside caused her to awaken so that she wouldn’t witness too much Maybe innate fear kicked in But she didn’t want any natural defenseit Losing touch of the vision Awakening

No! She knew that she had to see the end She cried out silently in fierce frustration, knowing she was close…so close…to knowing the end

Knowing that she felt…what the wo of the drea over her She leapt to her feet, crying out, racing to the door She thought that it was opened It was not She sla the door, shaking off the aftereffects

"Darcy?" She heard his voice, startled, deeply concerned