Jeremy couldn't focus on the conversation. Julie walked beside him, talking about the library's silence and how badly she was at pretending to concentrate, but his thoughts were somewhere else.
Something was wrong.
It wasn't about the words — they made sense. The smile? Practically identical. But her energy... it was different. Dimmed, as if something inside her had collapsed. As if someone had touched her too deeply.
He blinked. For a moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw... a shadow. A movement. Like something shifted right behind her back. A blink, but enough.
— Julie — he said quietly, stopping. — Are you sure everything's okay?
— Of course — she replied too quickly.
Too easily.
His hand twitched. For a moment, he wanted to press his fingers to her forehead. To check. To penetrate through her, like in dreams. To read echoes, traces of presence… But he didn't do it.
Not yet.
Instead, he looked into her eyes.
And that's when he felt it — it wasn't just worry. In her aura, there was a sign. A mark of demonic interference. Familiar, yet subtle. Rosalie.
He clenched his fists, but showed nothing.
Not yet.
— You know you can always tell me if something's bothering you — he said calmly, low, almost a whisper.
Julie smiled. Gently. But her gaze flicked sideways for a moment.
That was enough for Jeremy to make his decision.
He wouldn't let it go. Tonight, he would enter her dream. Without asking. Without permission. If Rosalie left a shadow in her — he would find it.
And pull it out.
Even if it cost him his own soul.
*
The night was heavy. The air soaked with electric tension, as if the world forgot it was supposed to rest.
Jeremy sat on the floor in his room. Bare walls reflected the light of the candle he'd lit just to feel more human.
But he wasn't human.
He closed his eyes. He began whispering words he never spoke out loud. Words he knew... but didn't remember where from. Their sound tore the space between worlds. For a second, he felt the warmth of a mother. And the cold of a father.
Then only her presence.
Julie.
He locked into focus. His body trembled as if pulling veins through fire. But when he opened his eyes — there was no room. No candle.
There was fog.
And a forest. Bathed in blue moonlight, unnaturally calm. Silent.
Julie's dreams smelled of lavender. And smoke. And something else — something alien. Jeremy moved forward. He didn't have to look for her — he felt her.
She lay on the ground. As if asleep inside the dream. In a white dress, the same she wore when he first saw her at school. Next to her — a shadow. A shape. A woman's silhouette.
Rosalie.
But not physical. Her echo. Her trace.
Jeremy knelt by Julie, gently touching her shoulder.
— Julie... — he whispered. — It's only a dream. But you are inside me. And I'm here to get you out of it.
The shadow moved violently.
Black feathers began falling from the sky. The trees groaned. The air thickened. Jeremy looked Rosalie in the face — though it was not a face. Only a shadow of emotions. Jealousy. Possession. Madness.
— He's mine — said the shadow.
Jeremy stood. His eyes glowed red.
— You weren't invited — Rosalie said. — But it doesn't matter. Because it's already too late here.
And then Julie moved.
With a groan.
With a scream.
With eyes wide open — she looked right at him.
— Jeremy...?
And he only managed to whisper:
— I'm holding you. And no one will hurt you.
Then the dream started to fall apart.
*
The fog trembled. The space around them shrank, as if the breath of the world was violently stopped.
Julie still lay leaning on Jeremy's shoulder. Her hands clenched uncertainly on his jacket, as if only now realizing she was not alone. Horror was in her eyes — but also a question. How did he get here? Was it really him?
Jeremy didn't take his eyes off the figure beginning to take shape.
Rosalie.
This time she was clear. Dressed in black, weightless dress, whose fabric seemed to ripple in the air, though there was no wind. Her eyes shone red, but did not resemble demons he knew. They shone... with pain.
— What did you do to her? — Jeremy asked quietly. He didn't have to raise his voice. In this place, everything resonated like a scream.
Rosalie smiled, tilting her head.
— I led her where she would have ended up anyway. It's just... an acceleration of the process.
— What process?
— Awakening.
Julie shuddered. Her skin broke out in goosebumps.
— What are you talking about?! — Jeremy raised his voice. — She's just a girl. Don't touch her.
— There is no such thing as "just" in your world, Jeremy — Rosalie said, approaching slowly. Her feet didn't touch the ground. — Julie is someone. Someone more important than you realize. And it just so happens she's important to me, too.
Julie trembled. Jeremy stood and placed himself in front of her, like a shield.
— If you try again... — he hissed.
— What? Ruin the whole dream? Throw me out of a dream that belongs neither to you nor to her? You have no power here. — Rosalie smiled wider. — But she... she's starting to have it.
The ground beneath their feet shook. The roots of the trees began to writhe and climb the trunks like snakes.
Julie raised her gaze.
— Why me?
— Because you are a connection — Rosalie said softly, almost tenderly. — A key. Not by chance do you dream like he does. Your dreams belong to both worlds, Julie.
Jeremy glanced back at the girl. Her face was pale, but not from fear. From concentration.
— She means nothing to you — he said firmly. — Leave her alone.
Rosalie looked him straight in the eyes.
— That's exactly why you won't get her.
And then she disappeared.
Not dissipated. Not scattered like fog.
She just... went out. Like a light.
Jeremy dropped to his knee. Julie grabbed his arm. Their breaths were ragged, as if they had run a marathon.
— What was that...? — she asked quietly.
Jeremy didn't answer right away. He stared at the space where Rosalie had stood moments before.
— That was a war, Julie. And it's only just begun.