*
In the chill hour before dawn, Sylviana woke from a horrible dream.
Some hideous, ill-defined beast had sprung upon Kalus from a shadow, and
with teeth and claws and sheer weight pinned him to the ground, slashing
and rending, tearing him apart.
She sat bolt upright in the silent gloom. The room was empty, and the
dream had been too real. Forgetting all else she threw on a robe, left
the building and ran toward the place where she knew he lay sleeping.
She no longer cared for games, or being right. She only wanted to be
with him. To hold him and.....
There were sounds ahead of her in the darkness. Two voices. She
slowed, and then moved off the path, taking cover behind a small tree.
What she heard in its near seclusion seemed less real than the
nightmare, and yet far more terrible.
'I should go now,' said Kataya, rising and slipping the silk dress
across her arms and shoulders, then lowering it softly into place.
'Yes. I do not think Sylviana would understand. But we understand,
don't we? You know what this night was for us?'
'Yes. Just hold me, kiss me once, and then I'll go.'
'Goodbye, my beautiful Kataya.'
'My beautiful Kalus.' And with a tear that no longer wounded her,
she was gone.
Sylviana slithered to the ground with her back against the tree, her
sorrow as bitter and unquenchable as any she had ever known.
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