Dragonfly Maid

dead brown leaves, searching for movement. I heard the sound again. Not rustling. It was the buzz of dragonfly wings.
I breathed easier and my tension uncoiled.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, my voice jagged with nerves.
My dragonfly landed on my shoulder and stared her question at me.
“I have my reasons,” I answered.
Though I could always count on her to find me during the day, this was the first time she’d joined me for a night stroll.
She continued to stare.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Even as I said it, I knew she wouldn’t believe me. She always knew the truth.
She stomped her needle-like legs.
“Fine. I wanted to see this place again. Something happened today…”
Her stomping stopped. She turned back to the castle.
“How did you already know? Did you see it? Were you here?”
She sat, frozen, staring at the castle.
“Then don’t tell me. But I’m going to have a look.”
When I took a step into the grove, she leapt from my shoulder and flew at the tip of my nose.
“Stop that!” I swatted her away, but she came back at me again.
I tried to shake her off, but she wouldn’t leave me alone. Finally, she did, and so suddenly that I wasn’t sure where she’d gone. I searched the darkness, but it was impossible to see something as small as her beyond a few feet.
“Where are you?” I listened for her buzzing, but the breeze was picking up, making the branches sway and pushing the fog bank farther into the trees.
Then there was something else. Not my dragonfly’s buzz, but… was it laughter? A deep, rumbling laughter.
“Who’s there?” My voice cracked.
There was no answer. Then something moved among the trees. Perhaps the wind, perhaps something else.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even move. I could only stare at what looked like something moving in the mist. A black form creeping through the darkness. A man? No, it was too large. A beast? I hardly knew, but I stared when I knew I should run.
Then, through the thickening fog two sparks of light appeared. Two wide, feral, and flickering red eyes.

CHAPTER TEN
“Wake up.”
The words and the hand on my shoulder roused me from sleep, but just barely. “I’m fine, Marlie. Go back to bed.” I groped for my blanket. “It’s too early.”
“It’s not early, and I’m not Marlie.”
The voice, clearer to me now, did not belong to Marlie. It wasn’t even female.
My eyes shot open. The nighttime sky stared back. Beneath me wasn’t my lumpy mattress, but cold, hard earth. Panic surged then crystallized into one horrifying question:
“Did it happen again?” My voice faltered, my tongue scratchy and dry.
The stranger peered over me, his features lost in the darkness. I blinked and squinted until the contours registered. The curve of a cheek. The hard line of a jaw. When he pushed back a shock of disheveled dark hair that had fallen over his right eye, a fresh wave of fear engulfed me. I tried to sit up, but my limbs wouldn’t cooperate.
“Did what happen again?” His voice was sharp, demanding. “Do you need help?”
“No.” I tried again to right myself, but a wild new thought took hold: why was he here? Why was I here?
I had been on the path with my dragonfly and then… The image returned in a flash. That man or creature I’d seen in the fog. Where was he? I scanned the shadows. No sign of him. Even the fog had disappeared.
“Here.” Mr. Wyck reached out to help me up.
I would have recoiled if I wasn’t lying flat on my back. Instead, I stared at his hand. Those four bare fingers and a thumb hovered over me. I glanced down at my own hands. My gloves were on. At least there was that.
“I can manage.” I had no idea if that was true, but I would never admit it to him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You need help.”
He grabbed me by the elbow with one hand, took my wrist with the other, and pulled me to a sitting position.
I shook off his touch as soon as I had my balance, but it was too late. I’d felt the brush of his bare fingers across the skin of my wrist just above my glove. “Why did you do that?” I grabbed my knees, clenched my teeth, and braced for a vision.
But nothing happened. No images. No sensations. Nothing.
He frowned. “You don’t look so good.”
Of course I didn’t. Something was wrong. Where was the vision?
I stared at my gloved palms, fresh dirt streaked over the old. What had happened? And how was I supposed to make sense of anything with him hovering over me? “You don’t have to stay. I’m fine.”
I could tell by the twist of his lip and the way he crossed his arms that he knew I was lying. My gaze skimmed the contours of his shoulders and the tug of his wool jacket’s sleeves across his arms. He was stronger than he appeared at first glance. Certainly strong enough to overwhelm me, if he chose. My fear ratcheted up another notch.
“I hardly think you’re fine,” he said.
I didn’t care what he thought. I only wanted to get away. I searched the darkness, but I didn’t see anyone or anything that could help. Where were the guards? Where was my dragonfly?
I scrambled to my feet in what was possibly the clumsiest manner possible. But at least I was up, and I managed to evade the helping hand he thrust at me again.
“See, I can manage.” I brushed the dust and twigs from my skirt and my gloves. My wits were returning and convincing me more than ever that there was no good reason for him to be here. Had he done something to me? Had he attacked me? I only knew I had to get away. Setting aside my fear as best I could, I said, “I appreciate your trouble, Mr. Wyck, but I assure you I’m feeling much better. I can manage from here.”
“Right.” He smirked.
This should have been easy. Walk out