" He was no hero. These were just things he did, sweeping up small crimes while he chased nightmares through the night.

Back when he'd attempted to sleep, he'd been tortured by them. Eventually, those nightmares had seeped into the daylight, following him from the dark until they filled every corner of every room. Shades and specters. The ghosts of those he'd killed, of those who'd endeavored to kill him. Of the souls he'd failed to save and the monsters who'd escaped justice.

For decades they'd haunted him, tormented him endlessly each time he dared close his eyes. Until he'd done something about it.

He became the thing from which nightmares ran. "

― Kerrigan Byrne , A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels, #7; Goode Girls, #1)