Raelynn

It was a strangely quiet night, with an almost unnerving stillness. I had always been a light sleeper, the type of person who wakes up at the first hint of a floorboard creak or a breeze tapping on the windows.

However, it was not the customary creaks and groans of the ancient Nightshade mansion that awoke me tonight. It was something else…a sound that didn’t belong.

I had trouble identifying it at first since my head was still clouded from sleep. But the noise became clearer and louder as I lay there straining to listen.

The quiet night was broken by the low rumble of a car's engine. My...