Infernal Father of Mine by John Corwin

furrowed his brow. "It was still daytime or
early evening when they banished us here. Most people in Atlanta
are still awake. I wonder what will happen when everyone goes to
sleep."
    "Oh crap," I said. "This place is going to be
nightmare central."
    "I don't know if the physical representations
of the dreams can kill us and I don't want to find out." David's
flippant attitude was gone, replaced with a far more concerned
façade.
    "Glad to see you're taking the situation
seriously for once." I bit the inside of my lower lip.
    He crossed his arms. "The minders showed up
just before the nightmare."
    "They're probably attracted to dreams like
flies."
    "If we sense them gathering, we'll need to be
careful." David ran a hand through his hair. "It might mean another
dream is forming."
    "How are we—" I cursed and jumped back as a man
on a skateboard whizzed out of the fog. The skateboard wheel hit a
rock and threw him off. He yelped and vanished just before hitting
the ground.
    "I hate those kinds of dreams," David said,
looking at the spot from which man and skateboard had
disappeared.
    My heart still raced. I didn't like surprises
like that. "I'm going to drop dead of a heart attack if this keeps
up."
    David tilted his head again. "I detect one
minder, but not as many as the last nightmare."
    Using my own probes, I confirmed his
assessment. "Quick dreams are probably appetizers," I said.
"Nightmare brides and trains, on the other hand, seem like the main
courses."
    His lips pressed together. "I
agree."
    "We need to get to the Grotto, fast." I tried
not to think about Mom and Ivy and the danger they might be in.
"Have you sensed those men who were coming to get us at the
church?"
    He shook his head. "No. Unless they have a way
to track us, I doubt they're anywhere nearby."
    Something brushed against my senses, raising
the hairs on my neck. Closing my eyes, I let my incubus probes
wander the fog around me. More and more alien presences swept past,
as if rushing toward a specific goal. I felt my face contort with
each close call.
    "Something is about to happen," David
said.
    "We should get a move on." I started walking.
"I don't want to get sucked into another nightmare."
    "Agreed."
    A cluster of minders floated past us, their
trailing tentacles entwining with others. The brain-like shape of
their bodies glommed onto one another, almost as if they weren't
entirely corporeal. Each passing sent vibrations into my incubus
senses even though I had them turned on low. I was afraid to
completely turn off my demonic awareness for fear I wouldn't be
able to reactivate it.
    "I think I'm gonna be sick," I said as
uneasiness morphed into nausea.
    "Close off your senses," David said. "Don't
keep them bared like that."
    I'd feel blind without them to guide me, but it
was better than barfing. Hopefully, I'd be able to turn them back
on later. With great reluctance, I flicked them off. The
yuck-factor all but vanished from my guts. We walked forward a few
more steps and entered clear air. I jerked to a halt. A shimmering
starlit tapestry painted the night horizon. The Atlanta skyline
sparkled in the distance. Hope surged in my chest but died within
seconds as my eyes found a swarming mass of minders sweeping up and
down the streets like ghastly flocks of birds. The creatures glided
down the roads toward the center of town. Even as they did, a wave
of their comrades rushed past them in the opposite
direction.
    "They're coming right at us," I said in alarm.
And they were—a wall of cloudy gray forms with wildly waving
tentacles beneath. I stop, dropped, and rolled just as the minders
swooped past. Numbing cold traced along my skin as their
translucent tentacles brushed me.
    Elyssa straddles me, fangs bared,
and presses a cold blade against my throat. I feel warm liquid
running down my neck. She leans close.
    "You're a monster. You almost
fooled me."
    "Elyssa, I love you," I say in a
wheezing voice.
    She leans down and whispers in my
ear. "I am your