Lillian shot up, sweat pouring down her face and her breath ragged. He was going to die!

She closed her eyes and shuddered, the image of a beast ripping her love straight through the heart still fresh in her mind.

She laid her hand on her chest as the room around her came into focus. The head master's servants' corridor gleamed spick and span, just as she'd left it before she had fallen asleep; nothing was out of place. A gentle breeze played with the gray curtains hanging over her little window, and the sound of the city below floated on its currents, carrying the sound of happy voices.

The whole thing had been just a dream.

No.

It wasn't. She didn't know how, but she had seen the future. She was certain of it. A warning from God maybe?

Lillian closed her eyes. She needed to go to him and as soon as possible, but she dare not. That would be breaking the rules. She had already broken them once before, and Teekal had banished her to the Imperial City for it. Who knew what she'd do to her if she broke them again—there were far worse things than banishment, especially for someone with her great aunt's powers. If she wanted to, she could erase him completely from her mind.

That would be a fate worse than death.

The image of his limbs collapsing to the ground as the monster tore him to shreds replayed itself in her thoughts.

She threw back the sheets and jumped to her feet. So what. She'd rather forget him than let him die.

Tearing off her nightgown, Lillian hastily donned her traveling cloths.

Grabbing the gem she'd been storing her meager energy in for years, she placed it around her neck. Brockovich was over two weeks away by foot, and the teleportation stones were permanently locked. There was only one way she'd get there in time and doing that was far worse than breaking the rules.

She willed herself invisible and left her room. Yes, it was forbidden, and for good reason, but she would do it anyway, she decided as she entered the private elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor.

"Wait for me Harold, I'm coming," she whispered as the city lights streaked by.