Day Dreamer Read Online Free PDF Page B

nightmares would not follow him all the way to hell.

Three
    C eline had only attended mass once or twice in her life, so she felt like an imposter as she took refuge in the deep shadows outside St. Louis Cathedral, praying to God to help her escape the city. She drew the edges of her cloak together and tried to catch her breath. Her hair was tangled and damp beneath her hood, her shoes were soaked through, and her skirt was splattered with mud. The only thing she carried with her were the coins hidden in her bodice. There had been no time to take anything more. She had paused to linger near the church for a few seconds, long enough to get her bearings and ease the stitch in her side.
    As she leaned against the corner of the building, a carriage pulled up directly in front of it. She stepped back, careful to stay in the shadows, where she watched a coachman climb down off the box. He stood in the street arguing with the unseen occupant, and then finally, after a brief discussion, he shook his head, spat and climbed back up onto the driver’s seat. The carriage door opened with such force that it banged against the vehicle’s side.
    Celine watched a woman in a dark-hooded cloak step out of the carriage. A gold clasp at her throat glittered in the lamplight. She held her hem out of the mud and quickly made her way toward the door of the church. Too late, Celine realized the woman would have to pass within inches of her hiding place.
    She sucked in her breath and waited, hoping to blend into the shadows. The heels of the woman’s shoes rang out against the wet banquette. The image wavered as the cloaked figure ran through the curtain of rain. Celine was tempted to close her eyes and hold her breath as the woman passed by.
    Just when she thought she would escape unnoticed, Celine was startled half out of her wits as the woman grabbed her wrist. Celine fought the urge to cry out, struggling to break free as the other woman flung open the door to the vestibule and jerked her inside.
    A tall taper had been lit near the collection box for the poor. The flame nearly went out when the door swung shut behind them. The scent of lingering incense stung her eyes as Celine whipped around to protest. She found herself face-to-face with a young woman very near her own age. The girl was her exact opposite, as different from Celine as the moon from the midnight sky, with round blue eyes, fair skin and curly blond hair.
    The girl shoved back the hood of her cloak and carefully eyed Celine up and down. Then she broke into a wide smile. When twin dimples appeared in the girl’s cheeks, Celine thought she was surely gazing at an angel.
    “I can’t believe it. God finally answered one of my prayers, and just in the nick of time, too. I was beginning to give up.” The beautiful stranger unfastened the gold clasp at the throat of her cloak.
    She whipped off the expensive cloak and held it out to Celine. “Here, take it and be quick. And I’ll need yours.”
    “What are you talking about?” Celine felt as if she had just walked into the pages of a book.
    “I don’t have all night.” The girl glanced at the door and then shook the cloak at Celine. “Take it and give me yours.”
    “But—”
    “Look, I know there’s some reason you were hiding out there all alone at this time of night, and my guess is that you are on the run. Am I right?”
    The hushed whisper was resoundingly loud in the deserted vestibule. Celine glanced around, refusing to answer.
    “Please, I’m begging you. You have to help me,” the girl whispered. The cloak hung forgotten in her hand. “I’m trying to get away, too.”
    “I’m in no position to help anyone,” Celine said, intrigued by the girl’s quick assessment of her situation. “And you’re right: I am in a hurry to get away from here.”
    “Good. Give me your cloak.”
    Celine glanced into the dark recesses of the church. Votive candles shimmered at the side altars like golden tongues flickering