8 Chapter Eight: Dream

Jade had gotten her father's journals with no problem. In fact, he was thrilled she was taking an interest. With her arms loaded with old, leather-bound books, Jade locked herself in her room, taking a journal of her own and began to read.

She read long into the night, looking at the clock occasionally and knowing she'd seriously regret this late-night research in the morning. She ignored her rational thought, focusing on the cramped words in front of her. Her father's hand writing was neat, easy to read, but very small and cramped. He also had a few pages dedicated to Incubi, obviously this would've one day been hers, had the Demons not joined the population.

Thinking of Demons, her mind began to wander. She could practically feel Derik's touch, his hands on her skin, his lips against hers. The familiar warmth ran through her as she remembered what happened, and she Knew, if her father had been any later, something big would've happened between them.

Jade shook her head, bringing herself back to her time. She skimmed the page again, her eyes picking up anything related to Incubi. A huge yawn interrupted her, causing her eyes to water. She looked up at her clock and groaned. Four twenty. She had about an hour and forty minutes until she had to be up for school.

'I'm going to die tomorrow.'

Reluctantly closing the journal, she collected her papers and set them next to her alarm clock. She'd grab them and put them in her bag before school.

With another groan, she collapsed in bed, closing her eyes and falling asleep nearly instantly.

Even in her dreams, Derik was present. He seemed to follow Jade everywhere, she couldn't stop thinking about him. More than that, she didn't Want to stop thinking about him.

Her dream was sensual, she could feel his touch, his kiss. It was passionate, hungry, different than before. It scared her a bit, but she didn't want to admit that, he didn't scare her, so why would he in her dream? She was unnaturally attracted to him, but definitely not afraid.

Dream Derik was getting rougher, kissing her so hard it felt as if her lips would bruise. She couldn't say or do anything, she was frozen, helpless. Tears began to run down her face as his hands traveled her body, they didn't send warmth, but a freezing cold, sending terror through her.

'This isn't Derik. I wish he was here though...'

She whined, the only noise she was able to make. She could swear she felt a warmth in her mind, something trying to battle the fear overtaking her. Something oddly Derik.

Suddenly, Jade could move again. Her eyes snapped open and what she saw nearly made her scream. She would've too if she could. There was a man pinning her to her bed, kissing her roughly, like her dream, touching her and sending the cold fear, bordering on pain. Prying her eyes away from the man, she looked for something to use to get him away. A breeze blew into her room, and the curtains fluttered. After a quick search around her room, she found nothing. The man was breathing deeply. She looked back to him, and his eyes were open, blood red, staring at her. He knew she was awake, but it didn't stop him. He continued to breathe deeply, each exhale making her eyes feel heavy. She closed her eyes, repulsed. She didn't ever want anything like this. He was truly dangerous.

The man was ripped off of her, marks left on her skin as he tried to cling to her. A pressure she hadn't noticed before, was released from her body, and she sat up quickly, the act making her dizzy.

At the foot of her bed, the man was facing another guy, smaller, but a dark aura surrounded him. The way he held himself reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite place it. Staring intently at the man, the new guy spoke to her.

"Jade, call for your father."

Relief flowed through her as Derik's voice filled her ears, chasing away the rest of the fear. Jade nodded, then finding her voice, yelled.

"Dad!" Her voice was shrill, exposing her fear, but she knew it would help her dad react to her yell. As an afterthought, she yelled again. "Demon!"

She smiled apologetically to Derik, but he smiled at her reassuringly. A thunk from down the hall told them her father was up, and in a rush to get to her. The man shifted, obviously looking for an opening to escape. Jade's door opened, her father entering, his gun drawn. It was his hunting gun, filled with obsidian laced bullets, toxic to Demons.

Her father looked around, quickly taking in the scene.

"You bastard, what are you doing attacking my daughter." Her father growled, raising his gun to shoot.

The Demon, who Jade had begun to believe was the Incubus, quickly turned to face her father. His eyes turned to slits, realizing he was trapped, Jade's father blocking the door, Derik blocking the window.

The Incubus glanced around the room, then lunged towards Jade. She yelped, holding her arms to shield herself, but Derik was already there, his arms around Jade, prepared to take the blow. It never came through. The Incubus turned and went for the window and escaped, but not before Jade's father shot a few times, the silencer on the gun working effectively, so not to alarm the people in other houses.

Jade clung to Derik, shaking now that her adrenaline was leaving her body. She'd been terrified but felt much safer now that her father was in the room, and she was safe in Derik's arms.

Her light flicked on as her father cleared his throat, not yet relaxed.

"Who the hell are you." He said, aiming the question at Derik.

Derik took his time answering, moving slightly away from Jade so he could check her over for injuries. He studied her quickly, but she could see in his eyes that he was drinking her in. It was only a moment, but his eyes hovered on her chest, before he gently pulled her shirt down, making her aware that she had been exposed. She wasn't embarrassed as she thought she'd be, she honestly felt somewhat proud, to have caught Derik's attention.

Finally, after a minute or two, when her father was about to speak, Derik answered.

"I am Derik Heath, a classmate of your daughter's," Derik replied calmly, no hint of anger, fear, or sarcasm in his voice.

"What are you doing in My daughter's room." He asked, still not lowering his gun.

"Protecting her from that Incubus. I do not mean her any harm, Mr. Parke." Derik replied, looking at Smith Parke. Mr. Parke's eyes flashed with anger as he saw Derik's black eyes.

The two stared at one another, one with pure aggression, the other with calm protectiveness.

"Dad...Can we talk? Over breakfast?" Jade asked, feeling the tension thick in the air.