The sky was raining blood.

My eyes flung open, not of their own accord, but by Ally's doing.

Her presence whispered in my ear causing goose bumps to rise all across my flesh, from head to toe.

Christian had pulled the huge hotel curtains back earlier to let in moonlight and through them I could see fat, red drops sliding across the glass like tears.

My body moved without permission.

I climbed out of bed, my feet padding silently along the plush carpet.

Struggling, I sent the signal from my brain to my feet to stop but nothing happened.

I was no longer in control here, Ally was and everything about that terrified me to my core.

I reached the attached balcony, swinging the doors open to get a better look at the rain.

That can't be right, I thought.

This must be a vision.

Below, a resort style pool collected drops of rain water. The water was beginning to change colors, a soft pink stream visible against the blue.

The separate towers of the Cesar's Palace glimmered white and gold under the light of the stars.

I stuck my arm out over the balcony, palm up.

A drop plopped onto it.

It was thick and viscous, like the blood when a bloody nose starts to clot.

A few passersby below appeared to take no note of the sky crying blood.

I could feel Ally's presence within me yet it wasn't until I peered over the railing that I saw her ghostly form.

She rose out of the pool like an apparition straight out of my worst nightmares.

Her blonde hair was colored strawberry blonde from the water. Her dress was coated in blood and her prepubescent face was crying tears of red.

She'd remained frozen this way.

They all had.

Grams, Dad and Ally all looked the same as the day they'd died.

Their ghosts had never aged.

Ally ascended like an angel of war now, up and up until she was floating in midair before me.

"Ally," I whispered. "It's raining blood."

"That's because we're all so sad."

"Why? Why are you sad?"

Ally's eyes scanned me, the look in them heartbroken.

"Because you're in danger, Aimee."

"I know," I said as I nodded my head. "Some bad people are after me but it's going to be ok."

"No," She mused. "It won't be. You're in danger and you need to go back home."

"I know." I repeated, more gently. "I just need to find my family and then I'll go back to Oregon. I promise."

"You're not safe here!"

I jumped back, her sudden wail piercing my ear drums.

"You're not safe here." Ally's eyes cast past me and into the room.

I followed her gaze, only seeing the lavish hotel room. Part of the comforter had come lose while I slept and brushed the floor and the white curtains billowed in the breeze.

"What do you mean?"

Ally opened her mouth but no sound came out. She gagged, blood spewing from her mouth and onto her cotton dress.

"Ally? What's wrong?"

"You," She gasped. "Need to go back to Damian."

"You don't understand. Mom and Taylor are being tortured."

"Go home." Ally said, her eyes growing dark. "Or we'll make you."

I frowned, growing annoyed with her.

"You can't—"

I meant to turn my back on her and tell her that she couldn't make me do anything but my feet became glued to the floor.

I swayed in place, trying to break free, but it was all to no avail.

Ally tipped her chin down, peering up at me through her eyelashes which were also coated in red.

The entire thing reminded me of a horror movie. A nightmare where I wanted to pinch myself into waking up.

Before I knew it, my legs were carrying me forward.

"Ally, wait! What are you doing?"

My hands gripped the wet railing of the balcony.

One leg swung over.

"Ally, stop!" I cried.

The next leg swung over.

I found myself sitting on the ledge, an impossibly long fall staring me in the face.

A gulp traveled down my throat, lodging itself like a bone and my fingers tightened around the railing but my strength was nothing compared to Ally's.

One by one, my fingers uncurled. Panic began to seep into every fiber of my being. Fear froze me solid, my mouth an 'o' of surprise.

Ally's eyes cast into the room, gaze inquisitive.

She seemed to be waiting for something.

"Please, Ally. What are you doing? This isn't you."

"I'm giving you a merciful death." She cooed. "Something those who wish to harm you won't."

The last finger parted ways with the wet wood beneath it.

My heart pounded in my chest.

I'd always been afraid of heights and surely a heart attack would kill me before the fall did.

My mouth hung open in a silent cry.

"Aimee?" A groggy voice called from the room.

I'm here! Outside! Help me!

No words came out.

My throat made no noise.

"Go home." Ally repeated.

Then I flung myself off the railing.

I felt the cool air sweep past my face as I tipped forward and fell while a silent scream constricted my throat.

Then a different sensation, that of a pair of strong hands, wrapping tight around my mid-section.

The sound of wings.

"What the hell, Aimee!?"

The whoosh of the wind as I was deposited back onto the balcony then the sigh of Christian's wings as they shrunk back into his body.

The cool, wet surface of the tiny balcony.

My hand smacked the water, creating a small splash where the water was clear and not red.

Christian shook me.

It was then that I remember he was there.

When I look at him, I found that his eyes were two exclamation points of alarm.

"What the hell?" He repeated. "What the hell was that?"

"I—"

I glanced around me, disoriented.

I thought it had all been a dream.

But here I was, clothes soaked, hair clinging to the nape of my neck.

Had Ally really thrown me over a balcony ten stories high?

My hand flew to my heart which was threatening to rip out of my rib cage.

"I didn't—"

"That was so stupid!"

Christian was angry, that much was clear but beneath their blue surface, there was also a hint of worry in his eyes.

He gathered me into his arms, went inside and kicked the doors shut with the heel of his foot.

"What were you thinking?"

How could I explain it?

Sure, Christian was a vampire but I could bet my life he wouldn't understand what had just happened.

Hell, I didn't even understand it myself.

"I was dreaming, I think."

Christian's lips pressed into a thin line.

He crouched down to set me on the floor, stood and went into the bathroom.

He came back with a set of white towels and slung one over my shoulders; the other he used to wrap my hair in.

I watched the vein in his throat while he did all this.

His arms encircled my head for a moment while he gathered my hair in a towel and piled it atop my head.

"What were you thinking? Are you—were you—"

I'd never heard him at a loss for words.

Ever.

Granted, I hadn't known him for very long, but still.

"This was not part of the deal. I'm here to protect you from others trying to kill you not from you trying to do it to yourself! Do you even know how stupid that was?"

My face pulled into a grimace.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"Oh, so you jumped off a balcony just for fun, then? Is all this not enough excitement for you Aimee, huh?"

Christian stood and paced the room.

He gripped the bridge of his nose, the muscles in his arms clenching.

I sat on the floor, still trying to recover from the entire ordeal.

What the hell was he mad about?

"You're crazy." He finally muttered. "That's what it is. You're just crazy."

I bristled up at this.

He had no right to belittle me like that.

He didn't even know the half of it.

I'd just had a ghost compel me into jumping off a freaking building!

"No. Crazy is everything that's happened to me in the past week. Do you think I wanted any of this?"

I stopped and tore the towel off of my hair, throwing it on the ground like a child.

My clothes were still glued to my body and cold but at the moment that wasn't nearly as important as telling Christian off.

I jabbed my finger at him.

"You came in and disrupted my entire world, remember? You did that. I was fine until you showed up and now my family is missing."

Christian's whole expression changed. I wasn't sure what part of what I said caused it but it didn't matter.

I was done listening to his bs.

I would find my family on my own.

"Aimee, I'm sorry."

"And exactly what are you sorry for, Christian? Huh?"

"For everything that's happened to you."

"Well, I don't need your pity. And I certainly do not need your judgment. If you can't handle helping me, news flash Count Dracula, you don't have to. You can leave at any time. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Well just a moment ago it really looked like you wanted to. Look, I won't be a burden to anyone. If this is too much for you, just tell me where to find Brandon and I'll do it on my own."

"You'd be dead before you even met Brandon."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I don't know, Aimee, maybe the fact that you jumped out of a building. If you don't want to share the reason with me, fine, but you're clearly not okay to make any judgment calls on your own."

"It's not your job to protect me."

"Damn it," He sighed. "Except it is my job, Aimee. We've been over this. As the commander of King Henric's army, I knew if I wanted it done correctly, I couldn't send anyone else. It had to be me. It's my duty to protect you."

"You're a-a commander?"

"Well, don't look so surprised."

"I mean, it's just—"

He lifted an eyebrow in question.

"You don't look like a commander."

"What do I look like then?"

Uh, maybe a male model.

Christian's mouth quirked up at the corner.

"Like a pain in the ass, if you ask me."

He rolled his eyes, grabbed the towel back off the floor and handed it to me.

"King Henric also warned me that if anything happened to you, I'd not only lose my post but also my head. You'd understand why I'd prefer to keep my head, wouldn't you?"

I turned what he said over in my head, taking a good minute to process it all.

Maybe Christian was right.

He was just a guy trying to do his job and all he'd done so far was help me.

Maybe I was being a little unreasonable...maybe.

"Talk about no pressure, huh?" I joked, letting my shoulders relax and the fight escape from me.

He gave a slight chuckle.

"It fucking sucks" He billowed out another sigh and sat on the edge of the bed, his back to me. "But I signed up for this. It's my job and I'm damn good at it."

I rubbed my arms to try to get some warmth back into them.

"Now, knowing this, will you finally stop fighting me?"

"I guess. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"That makes two of us." He twisted around to face me. "What do you say we call a truce? I help you find your family and you help me keep my head?"

Well, it is a pretty head.

And an annoying one.

"Fine. It's a deal."

"It's a deal." He agreed. "Now let's get some rest. That's enough excitement for one night."