Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series) (12 page)

After a shower, I dressed for a hike in the woods and pulled out my maps. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. It was a little further away than last week, but there was a hike I'd wanted to do for a long time. I had not felt like I was in shape to do it in the past. I made sure I had the maps I wanted and prepared my backpack.

At
seven-forty-five
, there was a knock at my door. I popped down and Karen was there in a bathrobe, holding my note. She still looked three fourths asleep.

"I won't be ready by eight," she said.

"I'll wait. I have water and lunch for us."

"I'll hurry."

It took her about forty minutes to get ready. I let her back in the apartment and she was looking much perkier. "Where are we going?"

"Are you up for a serious hike?" I told her where I wanted to go.

"Yes!" she said.

We had a great day together and arrived back at the apartment at four.

* * *

Andrea arrived carrying flowers. "Those are beautiful," I said. "Thank you." I invited her in. She hung up her coat and helped me arrange the flowers. Petra and Karen both arrived shortly after.

"I'm empty handed this week," Karen said. "I was going to get flowers but someone lured me away instead." I laughed.

Petra had a bottle of an Italian red wine. She opened it.

Skype began to ring shortly after everyone arrived. We carried Erika into the kitchen.

"Ha!" she said. "I have wine this week."

When dinner was nearly ready, I said, "Dinner this week is informal. We need to have all that lovely red sauce while we're watching the movie."

"What movie?" Karen asked.

"Dracula!" said Erika, ominously. "Gary
Oldman
and Winona Ryder version. And if anyone even thinks about getting serious, we're going to heckle you instead of the movie."

"Who are you tonight, Erika?" I asked her.

She produced a stake and hammer. "Van
Hesling
," she said. "Vampire Hunter. Who do you want to be...
"
Erika began playing a game of
eenie-meenie-minie-moh
. "Andrea?"

She smiled. "
Renfield
."

"Ooh," Erika said. "Excellent choice. He's fun to play. Now you pick someone."

"Petra?"

"Winona Ryder's character?" she said hesitantly.

"Ah, the female lead," said Erika. "Mina Hawker."

Petra looked at me, but I looked pointedly at Karen. "Karen," she said. "Who do you want to be?"

"
I don't want to be the vampire," she said. "
Is there another vampire hunter
?"

"Keanu Reeves was Jonathan Hawker. He's sort of a pansy at the beginning but kicks butt later," Erika said. "
Although he gets really lucky. And later
marries Winona Ryder AKA Your Boss."

"Ooh, I get to marry Petra. I can handle that," she said, laughing.

I smiled wickedly. "That makes me the count." I looked pointedly at Karen. "I was hoping you'd want to be one of the female characters."

"Why?"

"Because the only other female characters are either more vampires or Lucy
Westenra
," Erika said, laughing, "who Dracula bites early in the movie."

We carried the food out to the living room and got everything ready. Erika and I hit play at the same time, and we all settled in to watch.

Parts of the movie we heckled. And parts of the movie we acted out. I pulled out a cheap set of plastic fangs from my pocket and slipped them in my mouth when no one was looking. Erika was expecting it, but my three guests were surprised and laughed. Later I got off the sofa and began stalking towards Mina, played by Petra.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I can't see," Erika said. "But I bet she's stalking you. Mina, she WILL bite you if she catches you."

"You wouldn't," she said to me.

"Oh yes, she would," Erika said. "I'd run!"

Giggling, Petra leapt from her chair, and I gave chase. She ran around the apartment, giggling and neatly avoiding me until I got her cornered. Andrea and Karen were giggling as well.

"Oh no, Mina!" Andrea said. "You're in trouble now. Don't leave too nasty a mark,
Vlad
!"

Petra tried to dash past me, but I caught her. She offered only token resistance, and allowed me to push her against the wall. She got quiet as I pressed my body against hers, pinning her to the wall. I stood on
tip toes
to reach her neck with my mouth, then popped the plastic fangs out into my hand and gave her neck a quick kiss.

"
Aww
," said Karen as Petra and I returned to our seats, giggling. "I thought you'd really bite her."

I laughed. "I thought about it, but I decided that might be carrying things a tiny bit too far."

We watched the rest of the movie, all equally irreverent, although there wasn't any more chasing around the apartment. The movie ended and Erika said, "I'll email you tomorrow, Felicia. I'm thinking tear jerker."

"Anything but
Ol
' Yeller," I said.

She laughed and signed off.

Karen got out of her chair and began checking out my movie collection. "If you don't like
Ol
' Yeller, why do you have it?" she asked, waving it at me.

"I do like it," I said. "But I'm not sure I'm ready to sob in front of the three of you yet."

"Oh," said Andrea. "I'd be right next to you, sobbing away."

"Not me," said Petra. "I don't sob. I might shed a dainty ladylike tear, but never sob."

We carried everything into the kitchen. Petra went to the sink and started rinsing everything. "I'll help Felicia clean up," she said.

I walked Andrea and Karen to the door.

"Same time next week?" Andrea said.

"Absolutely," I said. "Erika will pick the movie, and if she said tear jerker, you can expect to cry. We don't heckle tear
jerkers
and we don't heckle anyone who cries."

"So it will be a diffe
rent mood,
"
Andrea
said.
I nodded. "I'd still like to come," she
added
.

"Good."

"I'll be here, too," Karen said.

By the time I got back to the kitchen, Petra had the
dishwasher loaded and started and the cooking
dishes nearly washed. I put the remaining leftovers in the
refrigerator
and started drying pots and pans.

We finished and I walked her to the door. "Thank you," I told her.

"It was just a few dishes," she said.

"Well, that too. But I was thanking you for letting me chase you around the apartment."

She laughed. "I'm forty years old," she said. "I haven't acted this young in a long time. I very much enjoy being reminded that we all have a childlike side and we should let it express itself from time to time.
"

"If I get off work at a decent time on Tuesday, I want to cook. Would you like to come over? I don't promise it won't be an utter flop."

She winked. "I know the number of the Chinese restaurant down the street, and they deliver. In case it's an utter flop
. I would love to come."

* * *

Dream Petra
was laughing a
s I chased her around the room. She was dressed in an ornate, nineteenth-century gown just like Mina Hawker's in the movie last night.
She let me catch her, earning me a knee-shaking kiss.

I pulled away and asked her, "Where are we?"

She looked into my eyes then looked away. She raised a glowing hand, then the light left her hand and floated to the ceiling before splitting into several pieces, each of them just as bright as the first, and they spread apart, lighting the entire room.

"Wow!" I said. "That was beautiful. Will you teach me to do that?"

She nodded.

I looked around. We were in a round, stone room. I'd never seen the walls before. The ceiling above us rose to a peak at the center, suggested the roof of a building. The floor and walls were stone. There was no window or door. It was a big, round, empty room.

I roamed the exterior of the room, running my hand along the wall.

I turned back to her. "There are no doors or windows." I watched as she walked to a section of wall. She gestured, and a narrow opening appeared in the rock. She looked out and then gestured to me.

We were high in the air, several stories high at least. I looked out over a beautiful, multi-colored forest. But there was a cold draft coming in the win
dow. I wrapped my arms around myself
and stepped away.

"It's beautiful," I said. "But cold."

She nodded then ran her hand in front of the opening, and it disappeared. The draft disappeared immediately. She stepped up to me and ran her hand over my arm, which now was full of goose bumps.

"You've been keeping it warm so I don't get cold."

She nodded.
She held up one finger for a moment,
then
disappeared.

"Hey!" I said. "Come back!"

She was gone for a minute. When she returned, she was holding a thick blanket. She wrapped it around me, snuggling me in tightly, then went back to where she'd made the window and opened the rock again.

"Thank you," I told her.
We looked out the window together, my head on her shoulder.

"It's beautiful," I said again.

It was early morning, and we appeared to be facing south. I couldn't see the sun, but the light had that early morning look to it.
The trees were huge. I saw a brightly colored bird fly past.

I turned to
Dream Petra
. "Where are we?"

She kissed me quickly then said, "Welcome to
Siriena
."

I woke.

Monday night
Dream Petra
was dressed in rough leather clothing. She looked a lot like Kate Beckinsale from
Van Helsing
. On a rack in the corner of the room was a similar outfit in my size. As soon as I opened my eyes, she kissed me very quickly, pulled me to my feet, and pointed it out to me. She pulled me over and started to help me get dressed. There were even shoes.

None of it fit quite right. She tugged a few things around, then her hands glowed, and the clothing adjusted more to my size.

"I guess in dream land, you can do anything."

She frowned and shook her finger at me.

"Oh, right," I said. "
Siriena
."

She smiled and clapped her hands.

"Why don't you ever talk to me?" I asked her.

In response, she kissed me again,
then
she took my arm and pulled me to the wall. She gestured, and an open doorway appeared. She pulled me through. We were in a curved corridor at the top of a set of stairs leading. We turned around and she gestured. The opening disappeared.

"If I wake up while we're out here," I asked. "Will I be okay?"

She nodded before taking my arm and pulling me down the stairs. We descended until we came to the bottom. In front of us was a
stone wall
. She gestured again, and an opening appeared for us to step through to the outside. It was chilly but not cold. We stepped through and she turned and closed the doorway.

We were standing in the courtyard of a large castle. There were four other towers as well as a large building connecting two of the other towers. We stepped away from the tower, and Petra turned around. She touched me,
then
pointed to the tower we'd just left. Then she held her hand to her own chest before pointing to another tower.

"My tower?" I asked. "And yours?"

She nodded. Then she took my hand and pulled me towards her tower. She gestured as we drew near. An opening appeared. We stepped through. I looked over my shoulder as the opening disappeared. She pulled me up the stairs to the top of the tower.

There was a room at the top. It was identical to mine, but furnished. We stepped in.
Dream Petra
did the thing she did with her glowing hands, and the room was lit.

The room looked remarkably like
Real
Petra's bedroom. I smiled. I roamed around the room for a moment then turned back to her. She was standing next to the bed and made a "come here" gesture.

I walked towards her as if I were stalking her. She giggled. As I got closer, she gestured, and all my clothes disappeared! I looked down and laughed. "That's a good trick," I said.