Blood beaded on the wound like a seam. The cut was shallow and caustic. I squirmed. “Get away from me!” I screeched. Hastily, I tried to staunch the blood flow.
He whipped me around by my arm; I slammed into the ground. “Go on, Genevieve. Go to Dunver. Of course, you’ll have to face Armadillo first. I’m sure that your true feelings will show. A touch of the arrow can do that,” He snickered.
Back aching, I rolled over and sprang up. “You’re a creep!” I gripped the wall for support. My foot ached from the fall. As quickly as I could, I ran up the stairs.
After I slammed the door shut, Dill raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you okay?”
“H-Hans is…he’s not right. He’s like Sleep…” I thought of how Armadillo had taken care of me, how he’d put up with me, how handsome he was. I smiled up at him.
“He’s like sleep? Do you mean the Sleepwalker? What were you saying? Jenny, stop staring like an idiot and answer me!” He ordered, lowering his eyebrows.
I cupped his chin, rubbing my fingers along the stubble of his face. “Oh, Dill, you’re so…” Undoing the first button of his shirt, I searched for the right word. “Sexy.”
“Jenny, what…what happened to your neck?” The confusion across his face was adorable; my skin prickled where he touched me. “Jenny, what happened?”
“That? It’s nothing. Dill…” I leaned against his chest. “Ugh, I love your name.”
He pushed back. “Alright, there’s something wrong with you.” He inhaled deeply. “You…are you wearing a perfume? You smell different… nice in fact, really nice.”
“Then give into it.” I grabbed a fist full of his hair, pulling him close. How had I felt so unsure earlier? I moved in gently and locked eyes with him. “Perfect,” I sighed.
Armadillo retreated. “There’s something wrong with you,” He repeated. “Go to sleep. Maybe when you wake up, you’ll be normal again.” He shook his head.
“I’m not tired. It’s not even the afternoon. Come on, Dill. Stop being such a stiff.” I tugged on his shirt collar, desperate for another glance at his bare and sculpted chest
“Jenny, I said no. Damn it, go to bed.” He lifted me by my underarms like a child. Shushing my protests, he laid me on the bed. “Go to sleep, have a nightmare, be…normal again!” He buttoned his shirt up and peered back to me. “I said go to sleep, Jenny.”
I sat up on the bed. I whined, “And I told you that I wasn’t tired, Dill!” After a moment of silence, I huffed, “You wanted to kiss me earlier; why won’t you now?”
He pointed a finger at me sternly. “Look, Jenny, I don’t know what Hans said or did to you, but it’s put you in some loving trance. I’ve known enough girls to know that sexy is not the word of choice for my description. Now please, go to sleep.”
Crossing my arms, I protested, “But-”
Armadillo pushed me back onto the bed and tucked me into the sheets and quilts. “Jenny, I don’t give a damn. How are you going to find your mother acting like this?”
My mother? “Dill, you’re no fun. Maybe, my dreams will be more fun.” I rolled over and closed my eyes tightly. “Good night!” I huffed, pulling the quilt over my head. Maybe it was the fluctuation in adrenaline throughout the day, but I fell asleep easily.
A familiar tune like a warm breeze rustled through my ears. The voice singing was mocking, far from the sweet strong voice I remembered. I sat up, rubbing my head.
YOU ARE READING
Sleepwalker
FantasyBook one. I'd spent my entire life without a mother. But, when professors come to my father's inn, a cloaked figure known only as Sleepwalker begins to torment me with thoughts of her. When these dreams become too malicious, my father sends me off t...
