Free In the Blood by Nancy A. Collins

long, mournful note.
    "Will-yummmm ? "
    No. It couldn't be. He leaned his forehead against the windowsill, trying to find some comfort in the peeling paint pressing against his skin. He was awake. He knew it.
    "William? Why won't you look at me, baby? Aren't you glad to see me, honey?"
    Palmer bit his lip as the familiar burning tore at his chest. His scar throbbed and pulsed as if he'd been branded with a red-hot coat hanger. He wouldn't look at her.
    She wasn't real. She was a dream. He was awake. He opened his eyes, scanning the world outside the window for proof.
    New Orleans was on fire.
    The city was wrapped in sheets of flame, yet no one seemed to notice. Burning children ran up and down the streets, smoke and laughter billowing from their lobster-red mouths. Women dressed in crackling aprons swept their stoops clean of ash. Business executives dressed in smoldering Brooks Brothers suits paused to check the melted slag strapped to their wrists before hurrying on their way, smoking attache cases clenched in their roasted hands. On the balcony opposite Palmer's

    Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) window two lovers embraced, oblivious to the blisters rising on their naked flesh, while the wrought iron bower softened and dripped like licorice left in the sun.
    The pain spasmed through his chest, forcing an involuntary cry from his lips. There was no use in denying her. She was going to have her way, no matter how hard he tried to stop her. Groaning, Palmer turned to face Loli.

    The smell of the marui roused Sonja from her brooding. She'd scented it before, but had been uncertain then as to its intentions. The reek of ectoplasm was strong. Then she heard Palmer's stifled cry.
    She kicked the door open, growling at the sight of the ill-formed creature crouched atop the sleeping man, its claws buried in his chest. The marui screeched in alarm and spread its membranous wings. Sonja's fingers closed on its slippery flanks and the creature's high-pitched squealing became ultrasonic.
    "Holy shit!"
    Palmer was awake, staring in confusion at the combatants wrestling beside his bed.
    "Don't just sit there gawking! Help me!"
    "How?"
    "Grab its neck!"
    Palmer took one look at the marui's barbed teeth and shook his head. "Like hell I will!"
    "Just do it, damn you!"
    Palmer grimaced as his hands closed on the marui's telescoped neck. Its flesh was chill and rubbery, as if the wildly struggling beast was composed of phlegm. With its biting end under control, Sonja was able to pin the creature to the floor.
    "What in the name of hell is this thing?"
    "This, Mr. Palmer, is your nightmare."
    The beast, weakened by the scuffle, no longer tried to escape. It lay crumpled like a damaged kite, mewling to itself. Palmer stared at the marui's twisted, almost human musculature and tattered, batlike wings. The nightmare creature's neck looked like a loop of umbilical cord, its bald, old man's head dominated by large, foxlike ears and bristling barbed teeth. Just looking at the thing made his scar tighten.
    "They're called marui, "she explained, resting her foot on the brute's neck. "They're also called night-elves, maere, and le rudge-pula, depending on the part of the world you happen to be in. They batten onto sleepers, manipulating dreams in order to feed on the fear and anxiety born of nightmares. Judging by its size, this one's been feasting on you for some time. They only take on corporeal form while they feed."
    "You mean this thing's a nightmare?"
    "Bad dreams exist for their own reasons; marui simply benefit from the negative energy released by nightmares. But they're not what you'd call smart." She applied pressure on the marui's neck, smiling as it wailed in distress. "My guess is that Pangloss sicced this little darling on you, hoping to make Renfield's job easier when the time came. Isn't that so, Rover?" She applied more pressure to the marui's throat. The creature