Dream Weaver (Dream Weaver #1) Read Online Free

only paladin was dead, taken out by a fiery dragon, and there would be none to replace him.
                  Terror’s eyes flashed bright with ire, or obsession, fed on the misery he provoked as much as the violence itself. He laughed at the horror in my eyes, the seizures of fright and hatred that jolted my body like violent currents.
                  His fists crashed mercilessly into my face with a sickening crunch. His knuckles crushed my ribs and collarbones as he slammed me against the cold hard wall. The growl of a predator rumbled through his chest.
                  Shock migrated through my veins like a glacier. Resisting its pull, I let loose a final desperate salvo. I ripped at his arms and hands with my nails, felt his skin tear under the rake of my claws. Tears of anguish spilled down my face and seeped between his hot, sweaty hand and my panic-chilled cheeks. He crushed me to the wall, his body pressed hard against mine, as he absorbed my tremors—fuel for his fury.
                  My body wilted, a limp rag doll in his arms as I started to drift, my consciousness suffocated under the press of his hand.
                  It’s okay. Let the darkness come.
                  He released my mouth and spun me around to face him. It wouldn’t do to lose his conscious prey—yet. I sucked in air through my mouth and nose, ravenous for the gift of life—betrayed by an innate and inane instinct to survive. Unfortunately, oxygen brought cohesion back to my brain. Now my mind was conscious of the coming onslaught.
                  A resonant thud vibrated through my brain as he slammed me against the wall and darkness hovered over me again. The warm ooze of blood trickled down the back of my neck and between my shoulder blades. Its warmth chilled by my now-cold sweat. My consciousness drifted longingly toward the darkness, seeking its nebulous safety. Yes, darkness was coming. My welcomed friend.
                  My vision faded into shades of black. The haze of memories bled together. The crunch of his knuckles, thick saltiness as blood seeped down my throat, sonorous thunder echoed and rippled like rings in disturbed waters. The vibrations coursed through me, body and soul, launched by his final assault.
                  My mind groped for the darkness, prayed for its sanctuary. My body slid haltingly down the cold wall, my head dragged across the joints in the cinderblock like a washboard, as I crumpled to the floor. I heard him grunt with exertion as he backhanded me one last time. Shocks of pain radiated through my skull. Darkness hovered. Tiny stars burst before my eyes.
                  And then, the lights went out. Darkness vanquished me.
                  Yes, safety.
     
    *              *              *
     
                  My eclipse slowly receded, but several moments passed before I remembered where I was and why my body felt like a tank rolled over it. My mind slogged through the darkness, tried to grasp some shard of light and reality. Only once I found it, I wished for the darkness again. Numbing cold on my bare skin overwhelmed the immense pain over my entire body.
                  “No…” The wail burst unbidden from my throat. Reality beat itself against my brain, an unrelenting ocean, as comprehension of what he did to me emerged like a developing photograph in the darkroom. Even in the privacy of my own head, I couldn’t think the word. The word that made women cringe. A trespass nearly as brutal as death, yet an eternal torment left for the lifetime of the living. An unspeakable offense, yet now the word would be wrenched from my lips, a confession my heart preferred to keep in silence.
                  God! Why? Haven’t I been through enough already?
                  With aching hands, I re-covered my