22
Music dragged me from the blackness of my dream. I woke to find myself still surrounded by darkness.
For one terrible moment, I thought the nightmare had learned another new trick, a way to keep me pinned in its grasp by not letting me know if I was awake.
Then I saw the glimmers of light fighting through the fabric of my tent and remembered where I was. I lay on top of my blankets for a few minutes, listening.
Someone plucked at an instrument. A few voices sang along, though not all of them very well. Chatter weaved in and out of the music. Laughter, too. The steady thumping of feet striking the ground kept time with the tune.
Dancing.
Old stories of ghosts reveling in the woods, luring in living men and making them dance until they died, shot a shiver through my shoulders.
“You
