The boy awoke, casting Sebastian out and mooring him to the darkness. He floated near the bedroom’s vaulted ceiling, his astral image bobbing on the air currents.
Below him, the boy blinked and rubbed his eyes. “Are you the Tooth Fairy?”
Sebastian forced a smile. No point scaring the kid. “No. Go back to sleep.”
“The Sandman?”
It was hard to breathe out here. Sebastian forced himself to remain calm. “Close your eyes, kid.” Until the boy slept again, he was anchored here — a diver without any oxygen.
“Are you here to rob us?”
Blocks away, an ambulance wailed, sirens trailing out of town. Was he dead already? Had someone found his body? “Listen, kid, it’s just a bad dream.”
The boy laid back on his pillow. “How am I dreaming if I’m still awake?”
Sebastian sighed, conscious of the precious air he was wasting. “You’re not really awake. You’re just dreaming you’re awake. Now give me a break here, okay?”
The boy closed his eyes and yawned.
Sebastian waited, every second another fire catching in his lungs. When the boy was asleep, Sebastian dived back inside and raced the ambulance home.
I’ve re-read this three times now and it gets better each time.