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Chapter 22
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The 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.
“
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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
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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
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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
