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Chapter 39
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2024-10-29 19:42:56My eyes fluttered open groggily as the sun spilt into the room, illuminating the dark blue walls and cream coloured bedding. My eyes flew open with a start as I realised that this was not my bedroom and that the back which faced me did not belong to my giant teddy bear which frequently shares my bed with me. It took me a few moments to realise that I was lying on my brother’s bed and that the back actually belonged to Nik.
The previous night had been an utter blast complete with lots of delicious food, plenty of dancing and crazy uncles singing drunkenly to some Greek band from the eighties. We had got home late but Nik and I were far from tired so we decided to catch up on everything he’s missed out. I guess I was more tired than I thought because the last thing I remember was jumping onto Nik’s bed and telling him to tell me about the girls in Greece. When I was younger, Nik would have carried me back to my bedroom and tucked me into my own bed. In fact, e
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In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 40
“Good evening, my sweet.”As usual, the sound of Dareios’ voice sent chills down my spine and every cell in my body wanted to flee. However, I didn’t give in to that impulse – not this time at least. This time I had actually wanted to find Dareios, I had sought him out in the manner which Zara had taught me just a few weeks back, and I had found the nightmare with greater ease than I thought possible. Personally, I think he had been waiting for me.He was leaning his back against a giant oak tree, its leaves turning from deep shades of green to the wonderful shades of reds, oranges and browns of autumn before my eyes. It once more drew me back to the realisation that I was in some corner of the Dreamlands, although I didn’t know which corner exactly. It looked a bit too cheery to be the Darklands though. “Where are we?” I heard myself ask.Dareios pushed himself away
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 41
My eyes flew open and I sat up gasping for air – like in a movie when the actress or actor has a bad dream. Only mine wasn’t a bad dream. Mine was reality. I looked over to where my digital clock stood, displaying “3:08 AM” tauntingly.“Great.” I moaned softly, pulling my pillow over my head.There was no way on earth I’d manage to get to sleep now! I lay in bed for a few minutes before giving up, sliding myself out of bed in one slow and languid move. I slipped on my fluffy bunny slippers (no kidding, I really have a pair) and opened my bedroom door as silently as I could. Every small whisper of a sound was loud in the silence of the early morning, and each step I took sounded as if I was stomping.As I passed my father’s study I noticed that the door was closed and that a thin sliver of light escaped from under it. My mind automatically went into overdrive. Was there someone in Baba’s study? What if they&rs
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 42
“Stop hitting me like a girl and put your back into it, child!” Zara ordered, flinging her duelling mask across the arena in frustration and revealing those green eyes which seemed to pierce into the inner core of my being.She had lost her stiff and respectful demeanour soon after she began training me, and quite frankly I was relieved. It was bad enough that the rest of the Guardians bowed to me whenever I walked into the same room as them! “I’m trying, Zara.” I whined, my arms aching from the immense weight of the sword I gripped as if my life depended on it.“Trying isn’t good enough, Callista, and you know it!” Warrick barked from where he was watching at the edge of the arena. “You have just a few days to get ready for the ball and we don’t have time to waste on your weaknesses.” I restrained the urge to throw my sword at him... barely.
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“Bounce, bounce, bounce! Wakey, wakey sleepy head! Santa’s come and Mama refuses to let me open my presents until you’re awake and downstairs, so get up kiddo.” Nik ordered as he bounced repeatedly on my bed. I yawned and rolled over, turning my back to him in the hope that he’d just take the hint and vanish. I wasn’t in luck. “Come on...” he moaned as he threw my duvet off of me and tugged on my arm. I groaned, sounding very much like a zombie from one of those black and white horror movies. “Merry Christmas to you too, pest.” I managed to yawn out, slowly obeying Nik and dragging myself from the warmth of my bed. Nik clearly thought I was taking too long because he tossed me over his shoulder and carried me down to the living room where our Christmas tree had been set up, setting me down in my usual chair and thrusting a cup of luke-warm coffee into my hands. Our Christmas tree had been the same tree ever since I was a child. It had
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 44
“So? What do you think?”I twirled slowly as Morpheus, Ally, Warrick and Zara looked on as we all stood in the garden at the Guardian’s Citadel. “I love it!” squealed Ally, coming over to touch the soft fabric of the lilac ball gown. “You look beautiful.” Morpheus said solemnly, more nervous about the night than I was. Warrick and Zara merely looked at the dress sceptically, trying to figure out where I had hidden the Rose. The sword had been strapped to my inner thigh strategically so that I could move unrestricted by the blade. I had practiced moving about for about twenty minutes before I was one-hundred percent certain that the sword was undetectable and that I could get to it quickly.“Are you sure you’re ready?” Zara asked, handing me the diamante covered lilac mask which had been made to match the dress. I
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Usually you hear of people crying themselves to sleep... in my case I cried myself awake, finding my pillow damp and my eyes puffy. I didn’t know what to do, almost zombified in my devastation. How could a father slaughter his own son? I knew Icelus was evil but even I didn’t expect that from him. Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling as the sun slowly began to leak into my bedroom, I realised just how vital it was to stop Icelus. Sighing, I reached over and grabbed my cellphone from where it sat on the nightstand. Three text messages blinked on the screen – one from Ally and two from Morpheus. I skimmed through them all, already knowing what they’d contain. They were worried that I hadn’t contacted them after the ball... they didn’t even know that Dareios was no longer alive. “Oh, Dareios...” I whispered into the silent room. My head filled with images of Icelus’ face as he hacked off his son’s head, of Lyssia smiling as Dareios’ head fell to the ground an
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 46
My eyes fluttered open to find Ally and Morpheus looking at me strangely, their eyes seeming to be fixated on my hair.“What?” I asked, pushing myself up in the chair I had fallen asleep in.“Your hair was mist!” Ally burst out, sounding vaguely hysterical.I laughed at her, certain that she was playing some sort of crazy practical joke on me and I refused to fall for it. Although it was a rather strange time to be playing a joke on someone...“My love, she’s telling you the truth. Your hair began to float like tendrils of mist, and when Ally went to smooth it down it bit her.”Morpheus sounded as puzzled as I felt. How was that even possible, and yet Ally’s hand was covered with a bloodstained bandage. I reached up and ran my hands through my hair. It certainly wasn’t mist that ran through my fingers.“How is that even possible?” I asked them.Ally shrugged her dainty
In The Arms of Morpheus SLUMBER: Chapter 47
“Morpheus?” I cried out after him, stupidly thinking that he would hear me and come back.He didn’t... but then deep down I truly didn’t believe that he would.Warrick grinned as he stared at the place where Morpheus had once stood, the black mist dispersing. He rubbed his hands together, muttering something in Danish to himself as his thoughts clearly ran away with him.“Fabulous!” Ally giggled, clapping her hands and jumping up and down like a preppy cheerleader.Their overjoyed reactions made me feel as if I was being even more selfish than usual. I just couldn’t summon up the emotion to feel glad that he had gone back to his real home. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks... Icelus wanted to kill Morpheus. And Morpheus wasn’t as strong as he should be. The amulet merely granted him his godly powers to use in the mortal realm, but he had been weakened by Icelus’ initial attack.“Guys, Mo
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In The Arms of Morpheus Epilogue
“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!”
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 55
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 The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 54
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.
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“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
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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
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 51
“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
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 50
“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
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 49
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
In The Arms of Morpheus Chapter 48
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
