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passing time and certainly didn’t experience the dream world of which his memories were so vague.
    So , no, he couldn’t be dreaming . But surely this couldn’t be real? His usual instinct would be to get back to Serenity, but he felt certain if he returned home he would find their bed—and their house—empty.
    Sebastian lifted his face to the sky, hoping at least to gauge the time of night by the position of the moon. With a gasp of shock, he stumbled back. Not a single star w inked back at him. Instead, thick, bulbous cloud s filled the sky, swirling and churning above his head. They hung low, like a gathering storm, but the air wasn’t filled with the sort of charged energy he’d expect . He was looking at something different .
    “Where am I?” He spoke out loud, but his voice seemed to be sucked into the ether. Nobody answered him.
    Fa rther down the street, another street lamp stuttered.
    Sebastian stared. Just as the light darkened, another black shape swooped around the head of the lamp like a giant bird o r a bat.
    He broke into a jog, a frow n knitting his dark eyebrows together. As he approached th e darkened lamp, he squinted. So mething was wrapped around the top, blocking the light with it s body . The shape stretche d out what appeared to be a wing, again giving him the impression of a bat, but the mov ement was too fluid, a s though made from smoke.
    The thing let out a screech and darted at Sebastian’s face in a flurry of flapping air and wings. Right before it collided with him, he caught a glimpse of glaring, blood red eyes. With a yell, he lifted his arms in defense and ducked, the creature having caught him off guard.
    The burst of movement confused him and , despite his speed and strength, he couldn’t get a grip on the thing. Sharp claws scratched his face, wings b atting his arms and shoulders. J ust as suddenly, it was gone again, leaving Sebastian standing alone on the street.
    He spun around, tryi ng to figure out where the creature had gone.
    “What the hell...”
    Sebastian didn’t know which way to head. For the first time, after living in the city for several centuries, he felt lost. Though this placed looked like Los Angeles on the outside, he had a hunch that he was somewhere else entirely. He thought the walls of the buildings were no more solid than any of those in the film studios that filled the city. It was all just a facade, hiding something else.
    Obscuring the truth of where he really was.
     
    The road passed by as the wheels of her Land Rover ate away the miles. Old songs on the classics radio station made up her soundtrack for the journey, but Serenity barely heard them. Lost in thought, she kept only the minimal amount of attention on the road ahead . Elizabeth’s trip was to the Lake Casitas Recreation Area . The drive would only take a little over an hour, a location nearby purposefully chosen by the camp organizers in case of this exact thing happen ing and one of the children needed to be picked up. The girls were staying in a cabin and then going to the nearby water park the next day. It saddened Serenity to think Elizabeth would be missing out.
    She figured she’d be back long before dark—or at least she hoped she would. She’d not thought to leave a note for Sebastian to let him know where she’d gone. Cleaning up the mess of broken porcelain and splattered liquid had taken up most of her attention before she’d emptied the remainder of the coffee left in the percolator into a travel mug, snatched up her keys and purse and headed out the door.
    Aft er so many months at peace, the old churning in the pit of her stomach was back again. Elizabeth’s bad dreams might only be nightmares, but something told her they might be more. On top of that, sh e couldn’t shake the sensation that someone else had been in the room with her wh en she’d been making breakfast. T he strange way the cup had been knocked off the counter without her being near wouldn’t