Ridge

Cleo’s blood pulses from her body against my tongue, and it’s a strange sensation. This place is real, but not real, and her blood is an illusion. I know that. But I can taste it, coppery and bitter. I can feel it slippery on my tongue, leaking down my chin as her heartbeats slow. Underneath that, I sense the life leaving her. And it’s all as real as if we were back in the real world.

In my peripheral vision, the unfamiliar house fades away, replaced by the dark cave where we were waiting when Sable and Cleo disappeared. Then, with a strange rush, something shatters and power floods...