I woke up feeling sore and I had mixed feelings about my most recent dream. I now knew that Laylan had snuck out more than one night and met a man, but not just any man, a man that seemed somewhat familiar to me. I kept wondering how he was so familiar. They had made love! What had happened between them? How many more times did they meet?Question after question ran in my mind as I sat in my bed thinking.I lifted the covers and felt the stiffness in my arms. There were bruises, massive bruises that looked like huge handprints. I knew inside why they were there but I didn't want to admit it. I had encountered a demon, a very powerful demon. I lifted up on my feet and walked to the shower, glimpsing in the mirror as I did. I half expected to see that demon again but instead, I saw a flash of white, then red within a second it was back to my normal. I squinted my eyes at my reflection, trying to figure out what I had just seen.After my shower, I got on with the housework and sat down t
Around her neck hung a silver, full moon pendant in honor of the Moon Goddess, in all of her grace and beauty, reigning over the seas. Around her revealed right ankle was a gold pendant of the Sun God, his majestic presence reigning over the forests and lands. Her long, straight, pure white hair hung to the small of her back and tucked behind her pointed ears, opening her perfect face. Her high cheekbones accented her large, bright eyes, her left eye of dark emerald green and her right eye of deep, royal blue. A slender nose ran down to lush red lips. In her Cion-made clothing with her perfectly tan complexion and tone muscle structure, she stood tall upon the cliff's edge. Her top was light tan and wrapped around her bust while her skirt was fixed high on her right hip. A beautiful, white unicorn strolled up next to her, standing majestically to her left; his bright green eyes were piercing against his brilliant white fur. His name was Artimous; he was the leader of all uni
“Abby,” a soft, familiar voice sounded in my ears. I fought opening my eyes, desperate to see the face of the stranger in my dream. But to no avail could I hold onto the dream in my mind, it disappeared into the darkness.“Abby, Baby, it's time to wake up.” Reluctantly, I began to open my eyes. My dream had passed and the hope of finally seeing my stranger's face today was now gone.For as long as I can remember, I have had the same dream, it almost haunts me. It's always the same. Laylan with her long, pure white hair hanging to the small of her back, tucked behind her pointed ears, opening her perfect face and her high cheekbones that accented her large bright eyes, her left eye of dark, emerald green and her right of deep, royal blue. She's always standing on the cliff-side peering out on a land I had never seen. Artimous; a beautiful, white unicorn; and Greagan; the leader of the elves; would always join her looking exactly the same ev
Laylan sat on a log near the shore of Beskal looking out at the sun. She was thinking about things that had happened since arriving to Cion. She had met all of the elves in Beskal. Had seen the unicorns run in a herd across the Scarside Plains. She had been hiking deep into Crystalwick Forest with Lucassius. Ah, Luke. He was sweet and very wise. He had helped Laylan in understanding the magick of Cion and the creatures that lived there. He had even taken her out swimming to meet the mermaids. Laylan had caught herself looking at him, taking in his perfect profile. His blond hair that always laid just right over his shoulders. They had locked eyes a few times but then in an instant, it was over. She was going to start training with him soon, learning to fight. She didn't understand why she would need to fight, Cion was peaceful, but she figured there must be a reason. “Are you well, M'lady?” Lucassius asked as he approached her. “Yes, Luke, I am right
I walked into the house, it had been a long day at work and I hadn't had a chance to talk to Abby all day. My day started late after being awakened by Abby's tossing and turning throughout the night. I could only assume after hearing her talk in her sleep that Laylan had made her return. In my disappointment that my brilliant scheme to help her out with the normal intrusion of Laylan in her dreams not working, I drug myself to work. Being a Thursday meant that it was going to be a pretty uneventful day which left plenty of time for me to think of other ideas. I had hoped for an improvement but instead of being four or five months between her dreams, as it usually was, we had actually shortened it to a little over two months.At lunch, I had sat down with Mitchell and tried to confide in him about any ideas that he may have for me to approach this problem. He seemed to understand what I was saying a lot better than I thought he would have. He mentioned Veda having an alter ego
The sun broke in through the linen over Laylan's door. A quiet, soft breeze moved through her room to her bed. A soft, masculine voice traveled with the breeze to Laylan's ears, “Wake up, it is time.” Laylan opened her eyes and felt his presence in the room. “Good morning, my lord,” she tenderly replied as she crossed her room to her staff. It was sparring day with Lucassius. She had been training hard, and she was determined to beat a much older and experienced opponent. Lucassius had survived many years in the Mortal World before coming to Cion. His training and skills were far beyond her own experience. She reached out and grabbed her staff from its corner spot in her room. She examined it quickly; its braided threads of different colors wrapped the top, with a small, vibrant red ribbon chain with a brilliant, blue feather, given to her by a Ribon. The Ribons were beautiful birds of vibrant reds, blues and greens. Their songs were of even tones and lovely tunes to
“Where are we going, Josh?” Abby asked. I had blindfolded her before we left the house. I had some surprises in store for her. “Josh?” she said, a bit more assertively this time.“You'll see. If I tell you now, then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?” I answered her. My own excitement was getting to me. I had been doing a lot of prepping for this trip and now I could barely keep myself still. I kept catching myself pressing a little harder on the accelerator.As I drove my mind wandered to her dreams and how they were beginning to turn into full short stories. I kept wondering why they were doing so. Was it her imagination doing this? Or something else? I had been contemplating it for a while now. I knew she had just had another dream the night before because she was writing this morning when I came down for breakfast. Her hair was even down and still a mess. She hadn't even cooked breakfast like she normally does.We finall
I stayed afloat looking at him as he gazed dreamily into my eyes. He seemed off in his own little world.“Well, are we going? Or are we gonna float here all day?” I spouted off playfully. At that, Josh seemed to snap back to reality.“Oh, yeah, well, let's go,” he turned and began swimming toward the island. The raft tied securely at his ankle, dragging it behind him. I swam and caught up to him. We continued swimming side by side toward our romantic getaway.I could feel the cool water flowing down my body and legs as I moved. As I swam, images began to circle in front of my eyes. I could see women in beautiful, clear, blue water. Their vibrant golden blond, earthy brown, fierce red and midnight black hair shined in the bright sun. These women, though looking human, jumped and skimmed the surface of the water. As they did, I could see the true difference between them and me. Their scaly tail fins shimmered orange, blue, green and pink in
I woke up feeling sore and I had mixed feelings about my most recent dream. I now knew that Laylan had snuck out more than one night and met a man, but not just any man, a man that seemed somewhat familiar to me. I kept wondering how he was so familiar. They had made love! What had happened between them? How many more times did they meet?Question after question ran in my mind as I sat in my bed thinking.I lifted the covers and felt the stiffness in my arms. There were bruises, massive bruises that looked like huge handprints. I knew inside why they were there but I didn't want to admit it. I had encountered a demon, a very powerful demon. I lifted up on my feet and walked to the shower, glimpsing in the mirror as I did. I half expected to see that demon again but instead, I saw a flash of white, then red within a second it was back to my normal. I squinted my eyes at my reflection, trying to figure out what I had just seen.After my shower, I got on with the housework and sat down t
Laylan walked hastily toward her destination. She was to see the man that she had met sometime ago. Zelimir was on her mind, and she had to see him again. She had been dreaming of him and needed to see him. She needed to talk to him. She wanted to know how he had felt about her. She wanted to know if he felt for her what she felt for him.As she neared the waterfall that would lead her to this man that she had fallen in love with, she felt a strange flutter in her heart at the thought of seeing him again. A smile crossed her face as she began to hear the water flowing and her steps quickened. Within minutes, she had crossed over into the Mortal World and was one step closer to him.She wasn’t sure where she would find him, but she had hoped he would be in the same cottage that he had been when they first met. Laylan bounced as she continued on, the anticipation building with every step. Soon she could see the cottage and the light of a candle shining in a window. She eased up close to
It was a long day at work, a typical Monday; it seemed to drag on as the time passed slowly. Mitchell and I sat down together at lunch and spent the entire hour talking about our wives. Their crazy dreams and alter egos had us both believing that in some way they might actually be intertwined somehow. It had only been three days since we all had dinner at mine and Abby's house, but Veda had already had another dream. Mitchell wanted to confide in someone that wouldn't think that his wife was crazy so that only left me. Who else could he talk to, about her dreams, that wouldn't think that she was crazy? If I thought Veda was crazy, I would have to think the same about my Abby. Especially, since my own wife had dreams of another woman.Finally, the clock read six o'clock and it was time to go home. I clocked out and walked out to my truck, waving at Mitchell as he did the same. “See you tomorrow, Mitch.”“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Josh.” I drove home in a hurry trying to just get to my re
I shot up in my bed; my sheets were soaked from sweat. I had let out a scream but no one was home to hear it. It was a dark shadowy day outside so my room was dim and I sat there wracking my mind, just trying to remember my dream. I couldn't really remember it; all I could recall was that it was frightening and more of a nightmare than a dream. I slowly moved to the side of the bed and decided to just go take a shower. I walked across the bedroom in all of my nudity to the bathroom. As I looked up into the mirror, I could see that my dark curly hair was now nothing but wet, matted frizz. I reached to grab a ponytail holder and looked back at my reflection. But it was no longer just me.There in the mirror, standing behind my own reflection was a tall, massive red beast with black tribal tattoos on his face and hideous yellow eyes. I could see a smile curling up revealing its sharp fangs and I found myself unable to do anything, even scream. Suddenly, it reached out, spun me around and
I looked around, trying to place where I was. It was dark, so eerily dark but I could make out the shadows of the furniture. I was walking down the hallway as if I knew exactly where I was going. At the end of the hallway, I turned to my left and strolled into a bedroom that I had never been before. My eyes were beginning to adjust as I walked perfectly around the end of the bed and stopped about three foot from the side of it. I could make out a figure lying on the bed. The covers were kicked off and I realized that it was a man lying on his stomach. His satin black pants caught the light coming into the window and shined. I took a step toward the bed trying to see if his face was familiar to me but his face was turned away. Suddenly, eight deep gashes appeared on his back, starting at his shoulders and moving down to the small of his back. I couldn't see what was causing it or how it was happening. Instinctively, I threw my hands up and heard a whisper coming from my own mouth. I h
I stood in the kitchen cooking dinner. It was Friday and the day that Mitchell and Veda were coming for dinner, so I had been up planning all day. My morning began with starting the roast. Then I sat down at my desk and wrote about Laylan's ride with Artimous to the Mortal World and her meeting with Daemon. I wrote it all word for word. Then I'd cleaned the house, dusting, vacuuming, and laundry. After I was finally satisfied with my house's cleanliness, which took most of the day, I began preparations for the rest of dinner. About six-thirty, I heard the garage door open as an announcement that Josh and the others were here.“Perfect timing,” I whispered to myself as I pulled the roast out of the oven. I could hear voices and conversations nearing the door. As the door opened, Josh walked in turned toward Mitchell.“Yeah, and then he grabbed the nail gun all kinds of pissed off and started working again. But he wasn't paying any attention to what he
“Faster, Artimous,” Laylan yelled to her best friend or at least favorite unicorn. She was riding across the Scarside Plains outside of Beskal.In response, Artimous pushed harder and rode into Crystalwick Forest with such speed that the trees bowed from the force of the air around him. He galloped on; his mane fluttered back into Laylan's angelic face. Her own white hair was floating back. In her ears she could hear only his hooves hitting the ground and the twigs giving way to his body.They ran deep into the woods and came to the waterfall. Without warning, Artimous leapt into it and emerged into more vast forest that Laylan recognized, and she could sense the difference.Artimous slowed his pace and Laylan sat up. She looked around and saw that the trees around them, no longer radiated of Cion's glow. The trees were dark, angry, and full of pain.“Where are we, Artimous?” She gasped, though she knew the answer. She no lon
I woke in wonder. Who was this Zelimir? What did he mean by brother of light? What were they planning when Laylan looked through the window? And what was Ketheras? I asked myself question after question.I laid in bed pondering everything that I had seen in my dream. The man, Zelimir, who led her to the cabin. The red-headed woman, Grezelda, who spoke of faye and spells. Of Ketheras, whoever that is. It was dark magick that she spoke of, but is there really magick?After a while of reflecting, I finally hoisted myself up to start on my tasks for the day.I finished my tasks within a few hours, then sat down to write of my dream. The dream of Laylan racing and meeting a brother of light, whatever that was. He was very good-looking, and he seemed to have a good heart. There was something about him that was familiar though. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew there was something. As the day went on, I decided to watch some movies
Laylan snuck out, late at night, to explore on her own. The big, full moon peered down at her as she walked swiftly toward Crystalwick Forest. She didn’t know where she was going, she just needed to go. She trusted her urges when they were this strong. It was almost as if she was compelled to walk, compelled to go somewhere.Before long, she was standing at a waterfall, she knew deep inside, there was something on the other side, though she wasn’t sure what. With a deep sigh, she stepped into the waterfall. Her eyes were closed tight as she felt the shift in the air around her, and other than the lack of magick flowing around her, she could hear the difference as well.The forest that she had left had been noisy, especially near the waterfall, full of the sounds of Cion. But this place was strange to her ears, it was noisy but the sounds of the forest were more tame. There were little chirps of insects all around her. What sounded like a ‘who, w