"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!"

She could hear Masvita's voice, hissing and spitting with each word,"She's turned you, Kristia. She's turned you against me."

The walls of the house seemed to move, sucking in and out in a pattern. . The Spiraling Dragon. The heat inside could be felt by those in the next town over - fierce and burning, but yet there were no flames. The castle was breathing. It was alive and angry. It was moaning and creaking, protesting Masvita's spells and enchants that she was speaking against the house.

"You've gone crazy, Masvita. This house has made you like this... You must leave here. Takhisis hasn't taken hold of me, but this place has corrupted you. We're not against you."

"You are! You all are."

She couldn't see Masvita, but she knew that she was someone in the great hall of the living building. Kristia pounded her arms against the walls, cursing the Dragon as she fumbled in her steps. She wanted to find Masvita, her old friend. To take her out of this wrretched place.

"Leave me here! I will conquer the Dragon and then you! You're all with her.. with that Dark Goddess... you've come to kill me. You.. Joe.. even Kadensti. You've all been manipulated by her."

Kristia could hardly breathe, the heat was overwhelming and cutting off all oxygen. She was having trouble struggling to stay awake, let alone fighting off the advances of the Dragon. That house had been out to get Masvita from the very first day she'd occupied it. They should have left long ago but now it was too late. The dark soul of the Dragon had weaved into Masvita's mind over the years and drove her mad. The only thing left to do was leave.. but Kristia was determined to leave with Masvita. She wasn't going to allow her friend to die in this place.

"Massy.. " Kristia yelled out, placing one hand on the wall. She was trying to feel Masvita's soul, to pinpoint her location but her hand was met with great pain. She screamed out, wretching her hand back. The skin on her palm was bright red, suffering from third degree burns. "Goddamnit." It felt like her skin was melting off, but the only thing Kristia could do was press the injured hand against her chest to slow the blood flow. Rounding the corner of the stone wall, Kristia came into the main room of the Dragon.

There was the Lady Masvita. Her frail body was erect, arms raised out above her head, her head tilted back and she was screaming at the ceilings. "Curse you!" Her white hair strung down like noddles, damp and seperated into chunks from the sweat of the house and her own madness. Kristia squinted through the haze of heat, barely making out the outline of the woman. "Masvita.. Massy... you're going to die here..."

"Are you threatning me, Kristia? To the hounds of hell with you... you.. spineless traitor."

"You're wrong.. no one is against you... Masvita... "

The heat got stronger and Kristia could see no more. Everything grew dark, but she could still hear Massy's screams.. that shrill cry of misguided anger and hatred. Then there was complete silence.

Is Masvita dead..? Did I die? No. It's a dream.. It's all a dream.

----- -------- --------

Kristia awoke in a pool of sweat. Pulling her arms to her chest, she sat upwards on her bed, feeling her heart pound beneath her breast. Sucking in a deep breath, she ran one hand across her face and glanced besides her. Joe wasn't there.. big surprise. That estranged husband of hers was always off doing something. She didn't move but instead stayed crouched on her bed, feet tucked beneath the black satin sheets, drawing her knees to meet her chest.

While it had only been a dream, Kristia couldn't seem to shake off the nervous feeling inching it's way down her spine. A decade ago, when all this had gone down, Kristia had nightmares all the time. She often wondered if her and Masvita had gotten to a final battle that the dreams and hallucinations would cease. Either she would be dead or Masvita would. That constant wondering and questioning would no longer exist because there would be a body. But that simply wasn't how it turned out.

She'd lost her business partner, friend, and ultimately her nemesis beneath that living house. Kristia never went back to find her body for whatever reason. As crazy as the sorceress had become, Masvita was powerful and Kristia didn't want to risk getting into another brawl while she was still weak and recovering from their very last encounter. She had almost expected to see Masvita, bruised and broken from the bricks of the fallen Spiraling Dragon, a few days later but it never happened. It haunted her for years.

Now she was left, curled up in the darkness, trying to decide where this sudden cluster of nightmares came from. What had changed? Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she released a exhausted sigh. Then, like a lightbulb being turned on, her eyes popped wide open. "Jodiah."

It wasn't really the Death Knight's fault directly but the result of feeding from him. While the mortal's blood energized and gave her senses a much needed fine tune-up, it also clawed at something deep in her belly. Pain and anger; feelings that she had stuffed away would be brought back to the surface She was beginning to act more on wants and desire then rational thoughts. This had to be addressed immediatly. The control-obsessed Dhampire couldn't even fathom the idea of regressing down to nothing short of an animal with raw emotions The thought digusted her.

She remained seated upwards, tilting her head back against the headboard of the bed. Green eyes darted around to each corners of the bedroom, drifting over the shadows caused by the moon wrapping around the pieces of furniture.

"Joseph.. Where are you? I need you."

She could have bitten her tongue off right then and there. What the hell was that? There was no question of the intimate feelings between her and Joe. They loved one another but they were not the sort of couple to sit in eachother's arm, gazing twitterpattedly, whispering sweet nothings. They both seemed to understand eachother without needing to speak such things. Those words - that kind of open confession - was taboo.

With a grunt, she pulled the sheets up and slipped back down on her pillow, rolling and twisting to her side. Squeezing her eyes closed, she did her best to sleep. She'd handle this all in the morning, and she knew just the person who could help.

The hedonistic Halcyon.