Soul Fire Page 5

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  That night I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know if it was the fire or the man who’d saved my house from burning down. I eventually decided I was being kept awake by my very active thoughts about leaving school and my plans for the future. When I finally did fall asleep and slip into a dream world, I didn’t even notice.

  I was standing by a river, in a spot that looked very familiar. The water wasn’t moving; instead, it was still and glassy.

  “Are you familiar with the theory of alternate realities, Rose?”

  My stalker stepped up next to me to look into the water as well.

  “Only what I’ve read in science fiction,” I replied carefully, studying his reflection. He was older than I’d first thought, about the same age as my mother. He had short black hair and eyes like coal. Scars marked his hands and arms; this man had led a difficult life. “Why?”

  “What you’re looking into is a portal,” he told me. “You could cross into it right now if you wished.”

  “Where would it take me?”

  He smiled.

  “Home.”

  My alarm went off in my ear, almost scaring me out of bed. I sat up, pushing the blankets away before I could hit snooze.

  “Well, that was creepy,” I murmured to my alarm clock, and then promptly forgot all about it.