Mercy Loomis

Sophia of Athens is contentedly obsessed with her dreams of the daimon Empusa, though she knows Empusa is killing her slowly. But as the army of Xerxes advances on Athens, Sophia is in greater danger than she realizes.

Published in the Vamps anthology from Torquere Press in 2009.

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This story can also be purchased singly as an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, Diesel, Sony, and Goodreads.

This is the sequel to "Empusa," although it was written to be enjoyable as a stand-alone story as well. I had planned all along to write an encounter between Empusa and Sophia, although I wasn't sure what form it would take.

Read an excerpt below, and click to the next page to take a behind-the-scenes look at "The Power That Dreams Have."

I held out my hands in the darkness, unable to see. I was groggy, disoriented, but I knew she had to be here.

I had been…somewhere, just a moment before. I was sure of it. But when the darkness descended upon me I knew to wait. To surrender.

Soft, cool hands caressed my hips from behind, the thumbs digging into the muscle. I was naked. I hadn’t been, but it no longer surprised me.

Sophia.

The purr of her voice sounded through my mind, possessive, anticipatory. Her hands claimed me, sliding over my stomach, one traveling up to cup my breast, the other dipping lower, reaching between my legs, pulling me back against the contours of her body.

I moaned and went limp, but she easily supported me. Shaking with need and desire, my heart thundering in my ears, I felt her lips against my throat. The teasing prick of sharp teeth. I closed my useless eyes and gave her exactly what she wanted.

Everything.