From night to dawn E-Book

Louisa Rose

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 272

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Nightmares. Secrets from the past. And enemies who don't seem to be human. 17-year-old Aurora Dimou has been living peacefully in Greece when she is suddenly haunted by warnings prophesying the supposed end of the world. The only person who might have answers to these never-ending mysteries is her grandmother in Luxembourg. Together they try to find out who wants to bring about the end of the world and why Aurora was chosen to prevent it. But in the meantime, more secrets emerge that make her doubt who she can really trust. Will Aurora be able to stop the inevitable end, or will the shadowy ghosts of her thoughts drive her to her doom?

Leseprobe

Chapter 1

"Not again." Aurora thought to herself as she stood on the lifeless cliff, not a soul for miles around. Behind her was a dense forest of fir trees, too thick to walk through. An owl flew over the deep abyss that lay directly in front of her. Nothing but emptiness right in front of her feet. She was aware that she was in a dream, but these kinds of dreams had become more and more frequent lately and therefore more and more annoying.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and a woman appeared in front of her out of the mist that was moving through the heights. She looked at Aurora, who stood stunned in front of her. The woman didn't look like a human, she radiated something much more powerful. She was wearing a white dress with golden elements and a tiara on her head. The woman also wore matching armor over her dress. Her eyes, like the mist around her, were icy gray, yet they radiated a deep wisdom. The owl flew over them once more and then landed on the mysterious woman's shoulder.

"I was expecting you," the mist woman said in a perfect voice. Aurora just stared at her, puzzled. "You-you were expecting me?" she asked the woman. "Who are you?" she added.

"Who I am doesn't matter now. I am here to give you a warning," replied the woman from the clouds. "Be on your guard, my brave one. Hard times will come and you must begin to distinguish between what is easy and what is right."

"What do you mean?" asked Aurora, but the woman just smirked. "A clever mind like yours will find out what it's all about. That's all I can and must tell you. Farewell, my dear. I'm counting on you," said the woman from the mist and as quickly as she appeared, she was gone again. "What the..." Aurora managed to say in her dream before she woke up. She lay in her bed, drenched in sweat and confused by yet another strange dream.

The surroundings around her were peaceful. The window was open and the night breeze gently brought her back to reality. Aurora grabbed a pen and her notebook from the bedside drawer and wrote down the exact words she had heard in the dream. Ever since these strange dreams began, she started writing down the conversations from them. It was always the same types of warnings that the figures communicated."The end of the world is coming"or "You must prepare for what is to come", things like that. Aurora didn't take the whole thing lightly; after all, she knew that all dreams had a meaning. That's why she wrote it all down. But what was she going to do?

She was only seventeen years old, lived on an island in Greece called Zakynthos and had never really left home. How could she possibly do anything?

Aurora took a deep breath, put the notebook down and tried to sleep again, even if she hadn't had a dreamless night for weeks, she had to recharge her energy somehow.

Fortunately, she was able to sleep on without being haunted by another dream.

The next morning, the sun tickled her awake. It was Friday, which meant that the weekend would soon be upon us. She blinked, glanced at heralarm clock and realized it was already eight o'clock. She got up and put on one of her summer dresses. Then she brushed her teeth and combed her dark brown hair.

She applied some mascara and then went back to her room. Aurora took her cell phone, set her favorite playlist and texted her two best friends, Elenor and Freya:At 12:00 at the old fountain, picnic on the beach?

She then went down to the kitchen, where she found her parents. "Good morning, darling," her father greeted her. "Good morning," Aurora replied and poured some of the orange juice into her glass.

"Did you sleep well?" her mother asked. Aurora avoided eye contact and only replied: "There have been worse nights." Her mother and father exchanged a look.

"It's history today," said her mother. "I know. I'm going to the market first, it's Wednesday," said Aurora, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "And I'll probably go on a picnic with Elle and Freya in the afternoon," she added. "Right, but the chapters first, okay?" her mother asked. "Sure!" shouted Aurora as she walked out the door with her bag over her shoulder.

Aurora had never gone to public school. Her parents taught her. Nevertheless, she never had any problems when talking to other children. Aurora knew everything there was to know and even more in the areas she was particularly interested in. As she got a little older, she began to teach herself the subject matter. If she needed help, she could always ask her parents. This principle had worked well over the last few years.

But Aurora wanted to go out into the world more and more, she wanted to experience adventures, fall in love and start living her life at. She knew every corner of the island, because as a child she spent every spare minute out and about with Elenor and Freya and they explored everything there was to explore.

When she arrived at the marketplace, she bought some vegetables that they didn't have growing in their garden. Aurora lived in a village on the island, which fortunately didn't have many tourists visiting. It was also rather small, which meant that everyone here actually knew each other. Among others, her uncle Elias lives here, who used to take her on boat trips before he was no longer physically able to do so. Her grandmother also lived on the island for a while. She moved here from Luxembourg especially to help with Aurora's upbringing. Aurora learned half the things she knows from her grandmother Antoinette.

However, when Aurora got older, her grandmother moved back to Luxembourg, but stayed in constant contact with Aurora. After Aurora had bought the vegetables, she made her way back.

The sun was already shining, making the sea sparkle with thousands of shades of blue. A gentle breeze enveloped the already warm June air in the scent of poppies in bloom.

She knew it was going to be an eventful day.

Chapter 2

When she got home, she put the shopping away, made herself an iced tea and went to her room. The books were already on her table, but before she dove in, she checked her cell phone and saw that both of her friends had said yes to her request for the picnic. Aurora did a quick happy dance in her head, put her phone away and turned her attention to the books. She always looked forward to learning new things, but the history chapters her mother had picked out for her today were anything but exciting, and more importantly, what would she ever need this information for?

It was about the story of Spanish pirates. A man called Andrés de la Fuente conquered entire areas on the east coast of America. Aurora read on bored, sipping her iced tea from time to time, until she came to a passage that caught her full attention."The Spanish navigator Andrés returned to Spain after his colonization period in America and founded a family that emigrated to Luxembourg years later. He wanted to join the founding families with his name in order to share his wealth. However, they rejected him and Andrés and his family were expelled from the country. Why and where he ended up afterwards is still not known today. The history of the de la Fuentes and the founding history of this small European country are recorded in a museum in Luxembourg. It was opened at the end of the 19th century and still stands in the center of the city today," described the text in her book. That's why her mother had given her this chapter. The history of this family led all the way to her home country.

Aurora made a mental note to visit this museum at some point if she ever made it to Luxembourg.

For the next few hours, she continued to read through the selected chapters and made notes on them. Aurora liked reading about the history of the world and its people. It gave her the feeling of finding herself in that time and seeing the present world from a completely different perspective.

When it was just before half past eleven, she finished the chapters and notes. She put the books away, got up and went to the kitchen to prepare the picnic. Elenor and Freya confirmed that they would bring the dishes. Aurora made sandwiches, a fruit salad and packed some snacks. She also prepared the grapefruit spritzer they liked so much. She put all the food in a basket and then went to say goodbye to her parents.

Aurora went outside, grabbed her bike and rode to the fountain. It wasn't far away, but it was still a little difficult to ride over hill and dale with a large basket without falling. After a few minutes, however, she arrived at the fountain unscathed and waited for her friends.

While she waited, she thought about the dreams of the past. She didn't want to, but it was as if these memories kept creeping back into her consciousness and clouding her thoughts. Suddenly she found herself in a memory that made the blood freeze in her veins.

Aurora was in a kind of cave, only it was infinitely large and she herself was standing in a place far removed from what was happening below her. Fires burning below her and the sound of people screaming. Aurora didn't need to look down to know that these people were in theflames, enduring endless torment.This can only be hell.Aurora thought to herself as she dared to look down into the depths, only to realize that her suspicions were confirmed. Hellfire, hot and agonizing.

Suddenly a voice sounded behind her, telling her, "You have to wake up, child. Wake up!" Aurora didn't understand. She looked around but couldn't recognize anyone. She was also too afraid to say anything, especially as she might end up in the abyss below. But she pulled herself together and stuttered: "Who are you?"

No answer. She looked around again. Aurora just wished to get out of here. She asked again, this time with more confidence, "Who are you?"

A whisper sounded. Gentle and yet full of terror. "Wake up, child. You have to wake up." "I don't understand!" she replied in panic. "Fate is in your hands. WAKE UP!" the voice shouted before Aurora was suddenly pulled from her memories. Sweat ran down her forehead and she tried to focus on the reality in front of her. Aurora blinked twice and saw two girls standing in front of her. She blinked again.

Elenor and Freya, who looked at her worriedly. "It happened again, didn't it?" asked Freya, placing her hands on Aurora's shoulders. Aurora replied with a put-upon smile and said, "I'm fine." Elenor and Freya exchanged a look. "Listen, we're not buying that act anymore," Elenor said.

She had always been the one to share her thoughts and concerns uninhibitedly, while Freya tended to be the rutter of the three friends. Aurora wanted to answer, but Elenor beat her to it.

"We are your best friends. And we can see that something is bothering you, so please tell us. It's not normal that you're always lost in your thoughts and we have to shake you awake so that we can bring you back out of your trance. What are you thinking about? What thoughts are doing this to you?" she asked gently.

Aurora knew that her friends were always there for her and that she could tell them anything without being judged by them, but she was afraid.

Aurora had never been a normal girl. Her grandmother had always told her that, and the older she got, the more it proved true. Once, when she was by a stream and saw the reflective surface, she could have sworn she saw a female figure behind her. But when she turned around, there was no one there. Or once, when she was sitting alone in the living room reading, a candle suddenly lit itself. Or another time, when she was still small and walking in the meadow, she saw a trail of flowers forming behind her.

These were small things, not enough to declare her crazy, but still she could never explain how they could have happened. Knowing that her grandmother always had a solution for everything, Aurora told her about what had happened, but her grandmother didn't even blink. She told Aurora, "It's not a bad thing. One day you'll understand." That day had obviously not yet come, but Aurora came to terms with it.

But ever since she had these strange dreams, she was no longer so sure whether Aurora could be a danger. She had nointention of hurting anyone, nor of harming the world itself. So why, then, did the memories of these dreams have such power over her that she almost seemed to be drowning in events that never really happened? She didn't know the exact meaning behind the dreams, and until she found out, she wanted to keep it to herself.

"I'm fine, really," Aurora replied softly. The two looked at her sadly. They knew Aurora was struggling with something, but she couldn't pass that burden on to them. When the time was right, she would let her friends in on it. Even though she secretly hoped that the time would never be right.

Chapter 3

The three friends cycled into the forest to their favorite spot. The landscape was already a little dry, but various flowers were blooming here, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance. They parked their bikes, squatted down on the meadow and spread out their picnic blanket.

Aurora felt guilty after talking to her friends, but she pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the picnic. As long as she wasn't sure what was behind these strange dreams, she couldn't tell them.

The friends ate the treats and happily sipped their grapefruit spritzer. The afternoon sun shone between the branches and the sound of the waves could be heard from afar. It was a moment full of peace. And Aurora enjoyed every second of it. "The food is really delicious," Elenor said, smacking her lips. Aurora laughed. "I'm glad you like it," Aurora replied, smiling to herself.

"We do that far too rarely," she added, smiling at the two of them. Freya's eyes widened. "Why don't we have a sleepover party again?" she asked excitedly. Aurora and Elenor agreed enthusiastically. "It might be a bit spontaneous, but how about tonight? At my place?" asked Aurora. "Sure!" shouted Elenor and Freya at the same time and the three of them laughed.

They stayed in the forest for the afternoon and enjoyed the sun. It was already evening and the sun was already leaning towards the west.

"I think I'll go for a little walk. I need some exercise," said Freya and stood up. "I'll come with you," said Elenor. "I'll stay here and enjoy the sun a little longer," explained Aurora and stayed lying down. "Okay, we'll be back soon," Elenor replied and the two of them ran off.

Aurora stayed lying down for a while and soaked up the evening sun. It was already very warm for a normal day in May, but a cool breeze in between served as a light refreshment. The birds were chirping, the sea was rushing and the bees were buzzing. Another one of those perfect moments. She took a deep breath, exhaled again and then stood up. She now felt like going for a walk to digest the picnic and stretch her legs.

She put the blanket and the rest of the snacks back in the basket and locked it so that no animals would help themselves to the food and then went in a different direction than her friends had gone. Aurora walked towards the sea. It was only a few hundred meters until she would arrive at the cliff, because that was one of her favorite spots. Especially at sunset, this place glowed with magic. And as it would soon be that time, Aurora had a good chance of experiencing this magic.

She arrived a good fifteen minutes later. It was just before sunset and Aurora sat down on the grass to look out over the already shimmering sea. The sun would set right before her eyes and disappear behind the sea.

The breeze now became a wind and made the branches crackle behind her. In the distance, surfers could be seen using the wind to glide across the water.

Aurora took a deep breath. Suddenly a dream memory came back into her mind. She didn't do it on purpose, it was as if these memories were waiting for Aurora to have a moment of peace so that she could be haunted by memories again. It came so suddenly that Aurora felt as if she was falling right into that memory and suddenly she found herself in a workshop.

A fire was burning in a bowl around her, thousands of tools were lying around and a large anvil was standing right next to her. Apart from the crackling fire, nothing could be heard. Aurora looked around but couldn't see anyone and what was even worse; no exit. No windows, no doors. She was probably underground.

She looked at the tools and tried to find one that might give her a chance of getting out of here. But unfortunately she couldn't find one. "Okay, don't go crazy. It's just a dream, you're not really here," she said to herself, but unfortunately that didn't really help. So far, she hadn't managed to free herself from these memories. She took a deep breath and suddenly a deep voice behind her said: "You don't have to be afraid. I won't hurt you."

Aurora turned around. A tall man, strong and muscular, stood in front of her with an apron over his chest. Only his stature was a little ... unusual. He looked at her in frustration and then turned to his work on the worktop. He was hammering away at something. Aurora believed him, but it wouldn't do her much good. She still couldn't get out of here. She thought. "Ha-don't you have something to tell me?" she asked the man hesitantly. So far, she had always gotten a message from some figure, only it didn't look like the man was in a hurry to deliver a message.

At first the man looked at her in confusion, but then it looked as if he remembered something important. "Ah, you're right. I am to tell you that you must prepare for battle, child. Hard times will come, and you must be ready when they do," he explained, looking at her and then refocusing on his work. Aurora was confused. She wanted to open her mouth to ask something, but she was pulled back out of the memory before she could ask anything.

Aurora blinked. She was sitting on the grass again, near the cliff. No one around her. She was alone. The sun had already set, but it couldn't have been long ago because it was still light. Aurora had made it out of the daydream alone. But her joy was short-lived, because she immediately remembered her best friends. They probably had no idea where she was and were probably starting to worry.

Aurora stood up and walked back the way she had come as quickly as possible. She had left her cell phones by the picnic basket, as there were hardly any people around and she wouldn't steal any. She ran as fast as she could until she noticed something next to her. Many flowers were already blooming and all the herbs and plants too. Except for one.

She hadn't noticed it earlier, but now that some of the flowers were already closed, she had a better view of the plants in between. Her curiosity got the better of her and she stopped to take a quick look at this plant. From the plant lore her mother had given her earlier, she recognized the plant; it was wormwood. Only it didn't look like it should. The herb was spoiled, not dried out, but bad, sick.

All the other plants around it were intact and healthy. Aurora didn't understand. But she was pressed for time and had to get back before the others became seriously worried about her. Aurora poked out the herb and carefully placed it in her bag. She had to check something as soon as she got home.

She walked on, hoping that she would get there while it was still light. A few minutes later, she arrived at the picnic area and found her two worried friends. "Aurora! You're fine!" Freya said and hugged her. "Let us know next time you go off on your own again," Elenor said, looking at her with both anger and relief. Aurora understood that the others were glad to see her, since they didn't know where she was, but why were they making such a fuss? "I was only gone for a few minutes," Aurora said, confused.

"A few minutes?" Freya asked, startled. "Aurora, we arrived here an hour ago and you weren't here," explained Elenor, looking at Freya worriedly. She was gone for more than an hour? "Sure," Aurora said thoughtfully. "Yes, I was just walking towards the sea for a little longer. I'm fine, but I'll let you know next time," she replied, hoping that the two of them didn't notice that Aurora was worried about herself. Because she could have sworn she had only been gone for a little over half an hour.

The two of them looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure?" Freya asked, frowning. "Yeah, sure, let's go back," Aurora replied, forcing herself to smile. "We still have a slumber party to celebrate," she continued, trying to forget the previous events.

Chapter 4

On the way home, Aurora failed in her attempt to forget these things. Strange dreams, memories of them that kept pulling her out of reality, strange herbs and now even a change in her sense of time? She knew it was all connected to something bigger, but what was it?

And above all, it was becoming difficult to keep these incidents secret from her friends. They suspected something and that wasn't good.

The three of them didn't say a word the whole way. They parted at the fountain and agreed that Elenor and Freya would come to Aurora in half an hour.

As soon as Aurora got home, she put her bike away, unpacked the leftovers from the picnic in the kitchen, told her parents about her friends' spontaneous visit and then disappeared into her room. The whole thing was slowly driving her crazy and she needed confirmation that it wasn't her imagination.

Aurora opened her herb cabinet, which she had set up for tinctures and other things, and picked out the wormwood herb from her drawer. "Oh man," she said quietly to herself as she compared the herb from the forest with the one in her collection. Both were tainted. But the rest of her herb collection was still usable, as they should be.

What was it all about? What was so special about this herb? Aurora hid the herbs in the drawer and tried to hide her worries inside.

She was looking forward to the sleepover party, especially since the likelihood of them sleeping soon was rather slim. And all Aurora wanted to avoid now was being alone and sleeping. Dreams and flashbacks were the last thing she needed right now.

Aurora fetched the air mattresses from the cellar, inflated them, laid them out in her room and then went to the kitchen to prepare snacks and drinks once again.

Shortly afterwards, Elenor and Freya arrived, everyone threw on their pyjamas and squatted down on the sofa to suddenly look at Princess.

"You know, the movie just never gets old," said Elenor and laughed. The other two joined her. "I'm going to the kitchen to refill the chips, I'll be right back," explained Aurora. As she was in the kitchen cutting up some more fruit, Freya joined her. "Do you need help?" she asked. Aurora shook her head. "I'll be done in a minute," she replied and turned her attention back to the fruit.

Freya nodded and was about to leave when she turned and looked at Aurora with concern. Like Aurora, Freya had always had a feeling for when other people weren't feeling well. That made it all the more difficult to keep something secret from her.

"I know you're not feeling well. Something's bothering you," Freya said, looking at Aurora sympathetically. Aurora was about to make another excuse, but Freya beat her to it. "You don't have to tell me what it is. But I'm always here for you and you can tell me anything. We'll find a solution," she added, hugged Aurora and ran out. Aurora remained standing in the kitchen, puzzled. She didn't deserve such good friends.

The three of them laughed for the rest of the evening, watched the second part after suddenly watching Princess and stuffed themselves with snacks and fresh fruit.

Afterwards, they danced and sang along to ABBA songs for an hour until they fell tired into their beds.

Aurora was dog-tired and it was already past one o'clock in the morning, but she still wanted to avoid sleep as long as possible.

"Hey, how about a game?" Aurora asked the group. "It's twenty past one. I know we're young and should be enjoying our youth, but I'm about to fall asleep from tiredness. And you should sleep too," said Elenor and yawned. "Oh come on, we can still sleep when we're dead. Why don't we stay awake all night and watch the sunrise?" asked Aurora with euphoria.

Elenor and Freya stared at her. "Okay, okay, so no sunset viewing. But how about a pillow fight, telling horror stories or painting fingernails?" she suggested.

"Are you all right?" asked Elenor, frowning. "Sure, I just want to get things moving, that's all. We're young, life is still ahead of us," explained Aurora.

She earned a second round of stares. The two of them knew something was up, had been all day. "Aurora, you're the one who would rather read books on a Friday night than go out partying. The one who would rather go out into nature than meet up with the other village kids. Since when are you the one who wants to start being productive at half past one in the morning?" Elenor asked suspiciously.

Aurora gave up. "You're right. Something has been bothering me for weeks, but I didn't want to tell you about it until I knew what was really behind it," Aurora explained. "And I still don't know until you ask," she added. Aurora took a deep breath and the eyes of her worried friends were glued to her.

"I've been haunted by nightmares for a few weeks now. It's always unusual places and creatures that warn me about something. And it sounds serious." She sighed. "But I don't know what to do. These dreams keep creeping back into my consciousness and sometimes I fall back into these memories so strongly that I'm almost in a trance. And it scares me," she added and her friends' concern turned to compassion.

They said nothing, just exchanged a look and hugged their friend. It was unexpected, but Aurora had underestimated how much she had needed it. "We understand," Elenor replied. "It's going to be okay," Freya said and Aurora let herself fall into her friends' arms.

After a while of hugging and silence, Elenor and Freya fell asleep.

Aurora pretended to go to sleep too, but the fear of new, traumatic dreams prevented her from doing so. She looked up from her bed into the night sky, where thousands of stars could be seen. Aurora used the old trick of trying to name all the stars she knew and was indeed drawn to sleep.

Chapter 5

When she fell asleep this time, she was once again shown a dream, but now she was on an ordinary beach. Which surprised her, because before that she had always been stranded in the most unusual places that she had never been to before or that didn't even seem real. The sun glistened on the water and she looked out into the eternal expanse of the ocean. The beach reminded her of home. It was definitely not a beach she knew, because behind her were no houses that formed a city, but simply beautiful hills covered in forests. It seemed like a peaceful place.

On the horizon, she spotted dolphins swimming in a race and crabs were walking alongside her. This place made her forget all her worries and come to rest.

But before she knew it, the inner peace was gone, because the sun suddenly looked extraordinarily huge and she felt it getting warmer and warmer around her and noticed the sweat running down her forehead. Just as she felt the urge to leave and flee into the woods, into the shadows, she suddenly felt an enormous power behind her. It felt as if the energy of an atomic explosion was spreading behind her and literally pushing her away, as if she had no right to be there.

Then she recognized a gigantic creature appearing out of nowhere. Aurora ran faster. It was as if the creature was made of liquid gold and had just been poured out of the sunlight.

The creature was a whirlwind of gold, light and sand and before she knew it, an ordinary man in a golden robe stood before her.

Contrary to her expectations, she was not afraid of him, because he stood before her with such calm and composure that it was immediately transferred to Aurora. But the man's face looked anything but unconcerned.

Before she could even open her mouth to ask him a hundred or so questions, he said in a low voice: "Wake up, Aurora. You are our only hope. YOU must appease them or the world will fall into chaos." Aurora didn't understand. "What do you mean?" Aurora asked hesitantly. "My sister has fallen to vengeance, you, a sister of the moon, can stop her." She still had no idea what the man was talking about. "I'm sorry, I'd like to help you, but I think you're talking to the wrong person." Now the man's worried face turned into a rather desperate one.

"I can tell you no more, the gods forbid me to communicate with mortals, but let me tell you this: if the sky turns the color of blood, the protector of the hunt has given her warning." It seemed as if the sun was growing bigger and stronger again, only now it was trying to engulf the man. "Remember my words Aurora, you must stop her!"

And with those words, the man disappeared in a swirl of sunlight.

~

When Aurora woke up the next morning, she was surprised that she had slept through the night, despite another nightmare. Still, it was early in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. She was the first one awake and therefore had unnoticed time to write down the man's words. Today was the first time a specific warning had been mentioned.

Slowly, these dreams seemed to be getting too much for her. Strange things were happening around her that she couldn't find an answer to. Telling her friends last night had definitely helped, but it still hadn't changed the fact. They too were just two girls who couldn't do anything about what was bothering Aurora.

That was why she wanted to make a decision. Aurora stood up quietly and hurriedly put on a dress before quickly scribbling a note on a piece of paper and then sticking it on Elenor's cell phone.

She slowly crept out of the house, hoping to see the sunrise from the beach. Even though the sea was almost on her doorstep, it took a moment to get to the beach through the alleyways below.