The Devil & Me

Chapter Three: Fever Dreams

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I walked home through the dark, and came home when Grace and Luce were already soundly asleep. I stepped out of my shoes and fell into bed without bothering to change. I felt hot all over, sweaty too, with what might've been a fever.

And they say fever dreams are some of the strangest.

It felt like I hadn't fallen asleep at all. I was looking up at my ceiling, looking across at the wall. But then, the room turned red, a dark, murky red. And the sound of sleeping breaths around me faded away. Even the bed beneath me changed. It grew larger, and softer, with a tall post of curtains around it. I couldn't see what was on the other side, but I knew someone was there.

The curtains fluttered open. There was the Devil. The Ambrose Devil, looking like his namesake, with hair licked up with sweat, and sparkling eyes. Even under the red haze, they were bright like hellfire. And as he crawled into bed beside me, they grew brighter.

"What the hell?" I moved closer to the post. My stomach tightened, as he stopped at my feet. His head cocked with my question.

"Didn't you ask me to come here?" he asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"You called me to serve you."

A cord tingled in the bottom of my stomach and pulled me into the obvious. My mother told me to stay away from boys, so I did. But that didn't mean I didn't look, didn't think, didn't dream and wonder what it would be like to⁠⁠—

But not with Cassius Ambrose, dear God. Not anymore.

Still, I was dreaming. Lucid dreaming and he was here. And he was at my feet, serving me. It was a nice change of reality. I could make him the one who begged. I bet, in my dream, he'd even like that.

"Please," he said, kissing the spot where my leg met the top of my foot. He kissed the other. "Please?" He kissed my left knee cap. "I'm begging now." He kissed the center of my right thigh. "Just a taste." He kissed the inner corner of my left thigh⁠⁠—

"Wait." I pushed my hand into his head to move him away. His eyes were budding with expectations. It almost looked like he wanted to cry. "What are these?" In the center of his head were two stubs reaching out of the hair. They looked like the base of a young goat's horns, only black. "Are these growths?"

He sat up and let out a sigh. It dragged with pain as he twisted his head so his cheek was against my palm.

"Oh, Camille."

I shot up, drenched in sweat, and blinded by the morning light. My entire body was stiff. I could hardly move, I felt so weak. A shadow loomed over me, and I gathered my strength to scream until I saw the pink draping over my cheek.

"You're super sick," Luce said. Grace's head poked over my bunk, just beside hers. "You have a bad fever. I got medication from the nurse, but if you want to go there⁠⁠—"

"No," I croaked. "I don't want to move."

"I thought so. I left some water down here, but I have to go to class. I left the nurse's number on the wall beside you."

"But I have work."

"Call in and cancel. You can't go tonight."

Cancel? I need every dollar. Luce pressed her hand to my head, before climbing down and leaving for classes.

As soon as she was gone, my head dropped into my pillow, and I fell into what became a heavy, dreamless sleep.

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