Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(56)

The words You okay? and a couple different variations of the same question came from all four people.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

"She's awake and says she's fine," Burnett said into his cell phone, which he held to his ear. "Yeah, I'll have her call you as soon as she's able."

Kylie recalled hearing Burnett talking to Holiday. "I'm sorry," she said. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to apologize. What happened wasn't her fault. Though she still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, beyond her getting caught in a vision about Jane Doe's death. Still, she supposed it was a good idea to apologize for causing a scene in the middle of the night.

She looked at Burnett. "How did ... Why are you...?" Embarrassment fluttered in her stomach. "Was I screaming so loud it woke the whole camp or something?"

"No. You hardly screamed at all this time," Della said. "I woke up when you were walking around the kitchen, muttering and, well, screaming just a bit. When I went to see if you were okay, you were, like, totally out of it. I mean, the lights were on but nobody was home kind of thing. You weren't here."

"Yeah," Miranda said, moving in. "And I woke up when Lucas was trying to bust down our door saying he had to check on you." Miranda looked at Lucas. "How did you know she was having another one of her dreams?"

Lucas didn't answer, and Kylie recalled that she'd been dreamscaping with him when the vision had started. Had he seen it, too? He must have if he ran here.

"I ... uh..."

Kylie figured he didn't tell them they were dreamscaping because he knew she probably wouldn't want him to share that with everyone.

"It wasn't a dream," Kylie answered, hoping to shift the question from Lucas. "It was a vision."

"That's what Holiday says, too," Burnett said, sitting in a chair beside the bed. When Kylie glanced at him, he added, "I was walking the camp when I heard the commotion and I came running."

Kylie nodded and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost three in the morning. "You guys should all be in bed asleep. You should go."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Burnett asked.

"I'm fine," Kylie said, and she was fine. At least she thought she was, but she needed to figure out what the vision meant without an audience.

"Holiday wants you to call her," Burnett said.

"I will," Kylie said, and the words scratched her raw throat.

Burnett nodded and waved for Lucas to follow him out. But Lucas stayed sitting on the corner of her bed. "I want to talk with her just a second," he said.

Burnett looked at Kylie, and when she nodded, he started out. "Keep it short."

"Do you need us?" Miranda asked, and stifled a yawn.

"No, you two go to bed. I'm okay. Thanks." Kylie watched both Miranda and Della walk out, and then she looked at Lucas. He was frowning, his brow crinkled and his blue eyes filled with all sorts of concern.

He leaned in a bit and spoke low. "Are you sure you're okay? That was freaky."

"You saw it, too?" she asked.

"I saw you being pulled away by two guys. But then all of a sudden it wasn't you. It was some other woman. And then it was like you disappeared in a cloud. I woke up, scared shitless, and I ran over here to make sure you were okay. When I got on your front porch, I heard you walking around and I guess I lost it." Fear flashed across his face. "Does this ghost vision stuff happen all the time?"

She wondered if he knew she was equally frightened of him turning into a wolf. "No. Not all the time."

"What is it? Why does it happen?"

Kylie hesitated. "It's the spirits' way of showing me what happened to them."

"The spirits who are haunting you?" He looked mortified and even glanced around as if thinking they were there.

"Yeah. But you can relax. She's not here now." She settled back against the pillows. And then, "It's not as bad as it seems." She recalled how helpless she'd felt in the vision. She recalled the horrifying sensation of being smothered to death, and her heart hurt for the ghost. Okay, maybe it was as bad as it seemed, but if it helped the spirit pass on, then Kylie would do it.

Kylie's phone rang. It startled her until she remembered she was supposed to call Holiday. "I should ... It's probably Holiday," she said.

He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Call me if you need me."

She watched Lucas go and reached for the phone. She didn't check the caller ID. She just assumed it was Holiday. Who else would be calling her at three in the morning? But she assumed wrong.

"Are you okay?" Derek's voice filled the line, and the image of him shirtless in his bed, with the covers pulled to his waist, filled her head.

Her cheeks flushed. "I'm fine. How did you ... know?"

"You came to me," he said. "In a dream."

"I did?" she asked, and bit down on her lip and stared at her lap. Had she returned to Derek and not known it? She saw Socks crawl out from under the bed and leap up to be with her. No doubt he'd been scared of Lucas.

"You were here for only a second and then you left."

She felt a little better. "Oh yeah. I realized what was happening. I didn't mean to disturb you."