My mother was only a few feet away, her reddish-brown hair blowing about her in all directions like moonbeams. Her brown eyes were on mine, hazy as if she didn't really recognize me. But a soft smile was drawn across her face and her arms were open wide, palms facing me, as if she were waiting for me to run into her arms.

And I was running. I kept my eyes locked on hers for fear of her vanishing, sprinting as quickly as I could towards her. But the faster I ran, the farther she seemed to get. Her beckoning gaze made my heart race and I could feel the sweat forming on my forehead.

"Mom!" I cried out.

She made some inaudible response, her pink lips moving into words I couldn't understand. Then she smiled again and stretched her arms even farther apart.

I felt as if I were on a treadmill. I ran and ran, but she only floated farther and farther into the dark background.

A sudden chill sprang through the air and my mother waved one of her hands before vanishing completely into the inky shadows.

I felt panicked. "Mom, wait! Mom!"

A hot breath sent prickles up the back of my neck, my body instantly recoiling as I turned.

The breath smelled of smoke.

I felt my own eyes widen in terror as the terrible creature stood there, right behind me. It's pitch cloak brushing the ground, indescribable face peering down at my own. The towering form started to pull back its hideous garment, rattling in breaths every few seconds.

"Death tolls for you within the mountain. Seek it. Achieve peace. Few days left. Mother dies." It's voice was horrifying. The deep tone vibrated throughout my body, turning my insides to ice. I couldn't even lift my hands to my ears.

I was immobile.

"Death tolls for you within the mountain. Seek it. Achieve.." It began again, then drew back its cloak completely, the edges fluttering in some unforgiving breeze.

I heard someone scream.

The Seeker laughed.

I bolted upright in my bed, drenched in a cold sweat. I was breathing hard, my chest rising and falling as my heart threatened to burst from its organic prison. I gripped the edge of my blankets, blinking several times as I waited for my breathing to slow.

Moonlight poured into the smallish room from the single window between the two separate beds that sat adjacent to one another. There was a single dresser on the left side of the room and a mirror on the right. Other than that, there was nothing but the cold stone floor.

I glanced over at the other bed, expecting to see Rowan there asleep. But the bed was empty and even looked as though it hadn't been slept in for quite some time. There wasn't a single fold in the sheets.

"Rowan?" I called out meekly. My voice sounded hoarse.

There came no response.

Somewhat stiffly, I pushed back the blankets and got to my feet. The stone floor was pleasantly cool and I walked over to the window after a moment of stretching.

There was just no way I was going back to sleep again. Not after that.

I could see the almost full moon high in the sky, surrounded by billions upon billions of winking stars. There was no trace of alternate light yet, so I guessed that it must still be a few hours until dawn.

Looking down, the lake shone almost magically in the moonlight, a brilliant silver hue that gave me an impulse to go swimming. The water was so still that it looked as if you could walk on the surface. Beyond the body of water lay a thickness of forest far in the distance, the fields of flowers still swaying before it.

I was just about to turn from the window when I noticed an unusual dark spot on one of the large, smooth rocks that sat by the edge of the lake. I started for a second, my mind automatically trailing back to my nightmare. But that wasn't it. The shape was much smaller than that of The Seeker, and indeed, much less threatening.

I squinted.

Rowan! I was surprised I hadn't thought of it before.

I watched his unmoving form for a few moments, sitting silently as though he were part of that which he sat upon.

There was no way I was getting back to sleep.

I turned from the window, located my shoes and slowly opened the room door. I had slept in the rest of my clothes, being too tired at the time to strip them off.

I crept down the corridor until I found my way back into the main hall, the way lit by torches. I approached the huge doors to the entrance but stopped short once I heard voices outside.

The dwarves. I gave my head a shake. Of course they were still there. But I didn't want them to know I was leaving the castle. They'd want to know why and give me a whole bunch of trouble. Besides, what if I said something wrong that tipped them off to my true race?

Glancing around furtively, I saw another, rather large window nearby that had one shutter ajar. Approaching it, I realized that I could fit through it just fine. There were a few rocks below that led to the soft grass.

Carefully opening the shutters, I slipped through and onto the rocks. I could hear the gruff voices of Gerbern and Aldo around the corner.

"They won't find out he's here. They ain't looking for him," came Gerbern's voice.

"How do ya know?" Aldo asked. "It's not like there ain't a reason to seek him out. I don't want some war, ya know? I've had enough of dragons and elves and the like to last me a lifetime."

"Ain't that the truth." Gerbern made a spitting noise.

I decided to keep moving lest they figure out I was only a few feet away. I slid down the rest of the rocks as quietly as I could and then softly landed on the dewy grass, making my way through the field of flowers towards the lake.

I walked as quickly as I could without making noise, but soon felt the tension of possibly being caught leave my mind as the torchlight weakened and the darkness of the night encompassed me.

I spotted the rock that Rowan sat on and made my towards him. He was sitting with his back facing me, head tilted back presumably because he was looking at the sky. One of his legs hung loosely over the edge of the smooth stone top, the other pulled up to his chest. Both of his arms were spread out behind him, supporting him like two diagonal pillars with his palms flat. A slight summer breeze caused the loose parts of his overcoat to flutter.

Before I figured out what exactly to say, his cold voice broke the silence like a hammer on glass. "Exploring the grounds, are we?"

I hesitated, then walked up to the side of the rock and pulled myself up on top of it. I scooted over beside him, though careful to keep my distance, and clasped my hands as I let both of my legs drape over the side of the stone.

"Couldn't sleep," I said.

"Ah," he replied.

He was indeed looking at the sky. His chestnut eyes almost glowed in the flowing shadows and where the moonbeams hit his pale skin he sort of looked ill. His dark hair rustled slightly as a breeze passed. He sat still for a few moments longer and then turned his head towards me, his face stony.

I glanced back at him and smiled weakly. He didn't return the gesture and I looked away, peering out over the silvery lake.

"You couldn't sleep either?" I asked.

"I don't sleep," he said.

"You don't?" I looked at him, amazed.

He shook his head and turned his gaze to the horizon. "No."

"Why not? Is it because you're a vampire?"

"Not exactly. It is true that vampires don't need sleep, but most choose to do so anyway. It makes many of them feel ... human." He shrugged.

My mind flashed back to when I had entered the room Gerbern gave us. Rowan had gone straight to the bed, pulled the covers around himself and turned away from me. I had assumed that he was as tired as I had been and therefore left him alone.

"Wait, so how long have you been out here?" I stared at him, anticipating the answer.

"Ever since you fell asleep," he responded.

"How come?"

"Solitude."

I fell silent for a moment and somewhere far off in the distance, a wolf howled. I looked back up at the moon.

"So why is it you choose not to sleep then?"

"Sleep is for those who can dream."

I turned slowly to look at him again. His eyes were still on the horizon, but he didn't seem to be looking. His face was contorted with the process of thought.

"Vampires can't dream?" I asked slowly.

He didn't answer right away. "Most can."

I said nothing. Instead, I looked down at my hands, clasping and unclasping them. It was Rowan who changed the subject.

"I have ... noticed that you have taken quite a liking to Alice."

The statement caught me off guard. "Uh, yeah. I mean, she's great. Really nice and everything," I mumbled my words.

Rowan's eyes came back into focus and he looked at me again. "I saw you two embrace when I walked into your home."

"Oh, that." I could feel my face flush. "We were-"

"It's not a good idea," Rowan said flatly.

I blinked. "Oh. Were you and her ...? I'm sorry if-"

"No." He looked at me, his expression darkening. "It's just not a good idea."

I looked back at him. "Wait, that's it? You just don't think it's a good idea?" I felt a different heat in my cheeks. "Look, it's not like we're anything right now. But what if I did want to be with her, or anyone else? You can't tell me who I can and can't be with or care for."

Rowan stared back at me, his usually calm face full of disapproval and even impatience. "You are so ignorant. You do realize," he said, "where you are? You aren't a regular teenager at home in Chicago. You are at Mount Brynmor, home to all remaining dwarves. You are a dragon who was sought out by The Seeker."

I winced at the name.

"You," he continued, "are in no position to be with anyone, lest they fall into unparalleled danger. You've already witnessed what can happen with that incident with your mother."

I said nothing.

"Alice is a wonderful girl and capable of taking care of herself. But she doesn't need any extra danger in her life. And she certainly doesn't need it from someone who is too inexperienced to help her out of it if need be," he finished.

I looked at him coldly. "If you're suggesting I'd let something happen to her-"

"You would," he cut me off, matching the iciness of my gaze. "Something would go wrong. You would get too close to her and something would go wrong. And then you wouldn't be able to save her when it really mattered, no matter how much you think you could. You don't know until it happens, and then suddenly it's right there, staring you in the face and holding you both helpless."

A short silence fell between us.

"I'm much older than I look, you know that?"

"Yes."

"When I was actually the age I look, medicine wasn't the same as it is now. There weren't nearly as many cures and answers to things as there used to be," he said, turning his head and regaining that glassy look in his eyes. "I had a wife. She was the most incredible girl I've ever met, even two hundred seventy-two years later."

He paused and I watched him silently. His voice had changed there for a moment; more gentle than I'd ever heard before. The world around us was hushed, as if it too were listening to Rowan.

"She fell ill," he began again, "and there weren't any doctors around that knew what sort of sickness she had or how to cure it. I searched endlessly for someone, anyone that would be able to do something. I had money, that was no object. My father had been a rather wealthy merchant. Finally, I was met by a man who claimed he could help her." Here he paused again, and his brows furrowed, nails digging into the rock. "He was a vampire. I didn't realize, obviously, at the time. He ... changed her."

I remained silent, though I felt a strange twinge inside of my chest at these last words.

"She lived, but not really. The illness vanished, because it could no longer harm her. But she became consumed with bloodlust. She began hunting animals, until those became too bland and she moved on to human targets, usually travelers on the road at night. I was horrified, as you might imagine. This doctor had turned my love into ... this." He gestured at himself with one hand ambiguously. "But with less control, of course. I thought the only solution would be to become one myself. That way, she would have help and I could try and contain her."

The wolf howled again and the lake shimmered.

"I located the doctor. He turned me into what I am now after I asked him to. I hated him, loathed him, wanted to kill him for what he'd done to us. But I didn't have time for him. I went back to my wife. Strangely, the transformation didn't affect me so powerfully as it did her. I tried for weeks to help her and she did her best to appease me, but she'd gotten too far along already with human blood. She ended up wandering into a nearby town and attacking some of the people there one night. Someone caught on."

The twinge in my chest was now a full on knot. I couldn't tear my eyes from Rowan's face. His chestnut gaze was visibly dimmer.

"They came to our home not long after. Hundreds of them. It must have been almost all of the town. We tried to explain ourselves and tell them that we weren't what they thought we were. That we had never heard of such an attack. They didn't believe us. They forcibly took my wife and brought her into town. I followed as quickly as I could, shouting at them the whole time, telling them that they'd made a terrible mistake. I would have saved her right there but to do so would have been to reveal myself, and I couldn't risk that. Then they would certainly think we were both guilty." Rowan stopped and gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and flaring his nostrils. His voice was wavering now. "I should have saved her then. I should have. I could have. Right then."

"What happened?" I whispered, scared to talk any louder.

The vampire opened his eyes and I nearly started. The ferocity behind them was immense, so full of loathing and pain that I had to look away. The knot in my chest was tightening.

"They took her to town square and tied her to a stake. And before I could react quickly enough, they had already poured gasoline all over her dress. That beautiful, white dress. The one she got married in." Rowan glared up at the moon. "Then they lit her on fire. And I watched her burn to death as she screamed for me, for her love." He fell silent and said no more.

I wrung my hands over and over, knowing there was nothing to say, nothing I could say. An uncomfortable air hung around us now, as if almost thick enough to be visible.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed.

Rowan dipped his dark head. "That's why I ended up in Chicago. I've been hunting the man who turned my wife into a vampire ever since her death. He's to blame. He ran after that incident, presumably because he knew I'd come after him. I'd tracked him to Chicago and had been snooping around there until ... all of this happened."

I nodded soberly.

"And that is why it is not a good idea to be with anyone. Not when you are who you are. Would you risk something like that happening to a girl like Alice?" he finally looked at me.

"Well, no. But-"

"Then do as I say," his gaze bore into my skull, "and keep all those you love and will love safe by keeping them distant."

"Rowan ..."

But he got to his feet, hopped down off of the stone and strode away without another word, slipping across the grounds like a shadow back towards the castle. I watched him go for a few minutes until he disappeared in the veil of darkness.

I looked back up at the sky, trying to absorb everything I had just heard. I took a deep breath of night air and opened my eyes wide suddenly as it hit me.

I understood why Rowan didn't sleep.