I woke up partially disorientated but lucid enough to remember that I had to urge the policeman to search through the farms which lay to the west of our small town. I just hoped that the guy was still around. He seemed to be open to anything as long as it granted the possibility of finding Kayla.
Kayla. Her appearance in her dream freaked me out a bit. The jerk had hit her repeatedly by the look of the bruises which had begun to appear. I would never be able to understand what drove a man to hit a woman – let alone one as sweet and caring as Kay. Another thought crossed my mind as I walked toward the lounge – how sure could Morpheus and I be that what Kayla had said in her dream was the truth? On the other hand, Morpheus was the god of dreams and should be able to tell the difference between what is dream and what is reality, right?
“Any news?” I asked my friends who looked drained and withdrawn.
Violet shook her head making her purple ha
My serious tone seemed to put Morpheus on guard and I could almost see his mind working as he tried to find the words to put me at ease. Clearly he knew what was coming but hadn’t expected it. Or perhaps Miss Clark hadn’t told him that she had told me about the betrothal and so this reaction was for a completely separate offence he had committed. “Talk about what, my love?” he asked, his hand reaching for mine as we sat facing each other on the park bench. I didn’t really know where to start and so I let the first thing that came to my mind blurt out. “How the hell are we meant to be betrothed?” The projectile word-vomit seemed to strike him hard and Morpheus physically recoiled as if I had slapped him. He let go of my hand as if it had burned him and he moved back slightly, edging away from me. “Who told you?” his voice was gentle and yet I could sense the fury which hid behind his words.
I plopped myself down on the back porch, nibbling some toast as I watched a bird bathing in the bird bath. Something Morpheus had said came back to me and struck me as being a bit strange. He had said that he could only wait for me until my birthday because his power was fading... which may seem innocent enough but when I actually sat down to think about it I began to ask questions. What is the tie between me and his strength? If I marry him will he miraculously become strong again? I had a few too many unanswered questions and I wanted answers. Somehow I had the feeling that I wouldn’t get those answers easily from Morpheus – after all I had to twist his arm to get him to tell me about the betrothal. The bird I was watching hopped onto the edge of the bird bath, flapping its wings to dry its feathers before it took off into the nearest tree. I envied its freedom, although the life of a bird seemed lonely and without much purpose other than to be the next link on the food ch
The Dreamlands were well passed my imagination. Whenever I had thought of it I thought of rolling hills with a castle slap-bang in the middle of it. Instead, I stood on a cliff looking over an ocean which faded into walls of dark mist. Sinister clouds hung above us, blocking out the sun and plunging the whole realm into near-darkness. I could see ethereal lanterns casting light onto the paths which trailed from the shore to another hedge of mist, although this one had a hole in it that looked suspiciously like a doorway.“Warrick is late again!” Ally Clark mumbled as she walked toward a bench which stood facing the sea, playing with the tiny dagger pendant which hung from her necklace.I walked around a little, inspecting the leafless trees and plants which were mostly just a bunch of thorns. The land of my dreams was rather bare and depressing.“Is it always this dark?” I asked Ally, sitting next to her to watch the waves.“
I guess I could praise myself for not overreacting when my best friend’s doctor father told me that my Greek god maybe-boyfriend, and the guy I’m apparently meant to be marrying, had just woken up from a coma, which his brother had unintentionally put him in while he was trying to weaken him so that he could kill him to gain control of an alternate realm called the Dreamlands. Yup, I think I reacted really well.I think I managed to thank Doc for calling, but I’m not completely sure as I was functioning on autopilot. My mind swam with questions that would probably never be answered. How is this even possible? Why now? What did it all mean? I contemplated calling Ally and asking for her thoughts on the matter but I had plagued the woman enough for one day and Morpheus would still be awake tomorrow. Instead, I grabbed my journal and wrote in big, elaborate writing “Morpheus woke up today”. I had the feeling I may want to remember the date for years
His lips were soft on mine, gentle pressure which seemed to warm me to the tips of my toes. I felt my arms wrap around his neck as my eyes closed in bliss and he pulled me close to him. Morpheus. The thought pierced my mind like an arrow, striking my consciousness. It wasn’t Morpheus who I was kissing. No, it was Ricky and I shouldn’t be enjoying his kiss as much as I was. I slowly pulled back, reluctant to end the kiss although I knew that I had to. I felt as if I was cheating on Morpheus, even if we weren’t really together and our relationship was sort of up in the air due to his being awake. I had planned on visiting him in hospital earlier in the day, but when Ricky arrived the plan flew out the window – along with my brain apparently. I registered the confusion displayed on Ricky’s face as I broke contact with him. “I’m sorry, Cal. I shouldn’t have... I don’t know why I did that.” he said, slightly dazed. He seemed even more awkwa
The neurology ward was a welcomed sight, even though my stomach was tied in anxious knots about meeting “John Doe”. I entertained the thought that the man who had woken up may not even be Morpheus, even though there was so much proof which said otherwise. I twisted the silver bracelet on my wrist as I walked toward the nurses’ station, a nervous gesture which I didn’t even realise I was doing.“Good morning Callie, I didn’t realise you were coming in today.” the greying nurse behind the desk smiled at me.I smiled back at her, or at least I tried to, as I put on the apron which signified me as being a volunteer.“Yeah, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.” I admitted.I listen to the woman babble on about the new interns who were going to be coming in and how she hoped that there were some cute male interns who she could try set her daughter up with. Apparently, trying to intervene in your child&rsquo
I barely saw Morpheus over the next few weeks, having been bombarded with schoolwork and working at the restaurant, but when I did see him I didn’t get to talk to him much. The second time I worked in the ward after he woke up, I realized that he was being watched by the staff, as if he were some sort of terrorist or international criminal on the run. I half expected him to be handcuffed to the bed when I returned, but instead I found him channel surfing and complaining about how pointless and repetitive television had become. I smiled at him as I entered but didn’t dare speak to him for more than a few minutes since a security guard had been posted by the entrance to the ward. The nurses tried to tell me that it was a new hospital procedure, but since none of the other wards were being watched like a hawk, I was forced to wonder what the guard’s true purpose was.We discovered that Morpheus had become just another dreamer without any control or abilit
“Welcome to the Darklands, my dear.” The voice echoed in the large room coldly, as if its owner was devoid of all emotion. The room was dark, lit with only a single candle which sputtered on a desk as if it was about to die. The desk itself stood in - what I could only presume - the centre of the room and looked as if it belonged to an elite royal family in its antique finery. I found my eyes darting around the room, searching for the source of the cold voice which had greeted me. “I trust that Dareios has behaved himself? He didn’t try to kill you this time, did he?” I saw the shadow of a figure move slightly on the opposite end of the room and it occurred to me that Icelus may look so hideous that he preferred to stick to the shadows. He was probably gruesomely disfigured, or had horns, rotting teeth, burn scars or something equally atrocious. “No. Not this time.” I he
“Remind me why I let you drive?” Nik asked me with a queasy look on his face as he climbed out of the car and shut the door firmly behind him.“I’m not that bad!” I retorted, locking the car and heading toward the restaurant’s front doors.My brother snorted in disbelief and shook his head in wonder, still looking slightly green. The restaurant was rather full, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. Most of the patrons were teenage girls who had heard that a plethora of hot guys could be found inside the Aphrodite’s Haven. As we walked in the girls at the nearest table turned our way and chatted excitedly in hushed voices. I wasn’t deaf and knew immediately that they were drooling over my poor brother, even in his green state of affairs.“Am I glad to see you guys here!” Ricky muttered to us as we headed to the bar which he manned. “This place is a nightmare!”
A noise across the hall drew our attention to the two figures who stumbled in, one aiding the other to walk across the marble flooring. I clutched Morpheus’ hand and drew him closer to me, realising who the intruders were. Lyssia glared at me but fact that she was clinging to her brother for support seemed to sap all of the threat from her gaze. Warrick didn’t even meet my gaze – in fact he almost appeared worried. Perhaps he was more scared of Hypnos than I had thought.The sound of the giant oak doors opening reverberated through the empty hallway, instantly directing our attention to Hypnos who motioned for Morpheus. I glanced briefly at Morpheus before we stepped passed his father into the darkened room.“Lyssia and Warrick, you will join us.” Hypnos ordered, a frozen edge to his voice.The siblings did as they were told, ashen faced and slightly trembling. Immediately I became suspicious.The room had been lit with thous
In all the movies I’ve ever seen about war, the actors and actresses always look so dangerously glamorous, dressed in their metal armour which glints in the sunlight as they ride on white horses and cut off the enemies’ heads with a quick flick of the wrist. I suppose that was the reason why I was so taken aback when we gathered together at the base of the Citadel’s steps and was forced to really experience it all. I had never realised that fear had a scent until that moment. Even though I knew I couldn’t die, I was terrified for the novices which had been yanked from the inner sanctuary and were now being controlled by Zara – mindless clones that had no control of their own bodies. Those who had worked their way out of the novice ranks and were trusted enough to control their own minds wore their facial expressions like masks, barely covering the bubbling mixture of exhilaration and fear which simmered just below the surface of their composure.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked trying to look as innocently bewildered as I could possibly manage, hoping to lull my captor into a false sense of security before I attacked.I had been trained to fight nightmares, after all. I guess my only downfall would be that my captor knew all the moves I could possibly throw at him. Warrick smiled sweetly at me as he tied the knots around my wrists.“Do you really need to ask? I’m the only surviving son of Icelus and therefore heir to the entire of the Dreamlands. The only thing standing between me and my destiny is Morpheus.”The voice of reason was small behind the madness of greed and I struggled to gather my thoughts. My gaze wandered over to where Ricky sat beside me, his eyes staring ahead blankly as if he were in a daze. There was no way on this earth we could work together to escape... he was just too far gone. I was all on my own there.“Don’t even think about it
Daniel Peterson smiled at me over the glass of brandy he swished around, letting the amber liquid slide up the sides of the glass until it nearly spilled over.“How are you?” he asked, a casual air about him.I smiled stiffly, trying to swallow my nerves as he watched my every move as if I were on display at some famous museum.“I’m well, thank you.” I relied as civilly as I could muster, my gaze unconsciously darting to where my friends stood on the opposite side of the room.Wasn’t this man meant to be in prison? I mean, a few months behind bars isn’t nearly enough for what he had done to Kayla. I knew Ricky had said that he got a light sentence but that was just ridiculous!“Ah, I see Kayla and Robert are here. And Violet and her punk boyfriend played really well tonight. Please commend them for me.”As if I would. I nodded and began to tear myself away from him, hoping to put as much
“So, there’s this competition happening at some club tomorrow night where bands get to battle it out for the ultimate prize and Josh and I were thinking of signing the band up.” Vi announced, lying on my bed and throwing my stress ball at the ceiling.I dipped the brush into my favourite blue nail polish and slowly stroke the thick liquid onto my fingernail.“Sounds like a good plan.”“One problem – there’s already a band with our name signed up and we can’t duplicate names.”I looked at my friend who was about to put a hole in my ceiling with that blasted stress ball, confusion written all over my face.“Are you seriously telling me that another band has called themselves ‘Bleeding Roadkill’?” I said, my voice severely tainted with astonishment – hell, it was bad enough that they called themselves that horrid name.“Yeah! Can you believe it?&rdqu
“Do you have to hang around like this?” I glared at Warrick as he sat at the table closest to the bar, sipping his refill coffee and reading the paper as I worked my shift at the restaurant.He glanced at me quickly, setting the cup down on the table.“Morpheus said guard you, so here I am. If you have a problem with it, take it up with him.” he muttered over the top of the paper.Arrogant ass.“Oh I will.” I muttered under my breath, wiping a spot from the counter furiously.I had been treated like a prisoner for three days and already I was sick of it. It even made me think of regretting my killing the beast nightmare... but then I remember what he was about to do and suddenly it seemed worth it. Even if I was chained to Warrick’s side for the rest of my life it would be worth it.“Woah there kiddo, what did the counter ever do to you?” my brother asked, snatching the cloth from my gras
It hurt.“Oh gods, this is it. This is how I die.” I thought to myself as my body fell to the ground.I couldn’t feel anything apart from the pain which sliced through me with the strength of all of the weapons housed in the Citadel. Lyssia’s laughter rung in my ears as she stood over my body, her head thrown back in mirth. The crowd seemed to have taken a few steps backward, although they clearly couldn’t pull themselves away from the spectacle the nightmare had brought with her.“I guessss Morpheusss’ love wasssn’t undying.” she hissed, turning her back and walking away from me, leaving me to death as she tracked down her next victim – the second man in chains.His wife started sobbing again, clutching his hand with all her might as if it would save him. He turned deathly pale once again, his eyes darting to where I lay. I guess I must have been quite a sight, covered in blood and dying, becaus
I turned and smiled at Zara, trying as hard as I could not to portray that I was not quite myself. My hands shook slightly but she didn’t seem to notice as she came to my side.“Morpheus came home.” she grinned, her dark eyes sparkling.“I worry about that, Zara. He’s still vulnerable.” I admitted, forcing my face to express my fear.She laughed at me and took my slightly trembling hand in hers, looping it through the crook in her arm and urging me silently to walk with her.“How is Cassia?” I asked, knowing full well that what the child had done could have resulted in her execution by Icelus.Zara’s entire body tensed and she looked away.“She is well.”I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the woman was lying. Something terrible had happened - I was sure of it. I felt the blood drain from my face and I stopped in my tracks, forcing Zara to halt as well.&ldqu