by Sela Croft
Then I heard Draven scream in agony. Terror gripped me.
I woke up drenched in sweat and stared into the darkness of my room, wondering where I was. It was with some comfort that I realized I was in my dorm. There were no frightening creatures, and no watery world or castles.
Severely shaken, I took long, deep breaths to calm myself. My pulse began to slow as my sense of my surroundings returned. Yet the dream lingered. Draven had spoken to me, just not in the way I’d anticipated.
Wherever Draven was, he was in a bad way. All doubt was swept away; there was no question that I must get to him. The pendulum had swung, compelling me to come to my love’s aid above all else. He needed me, and I would not let him down.
A week went by with no nightmares to disturb my sleep, yet no appearance of Draven either. I was committed to my task of reuniting with him, so spent hours in the library researching.
The library stocked a few ancient-looking volumes that assisted me greatly. Delving into the mystery proved fruitful, as there was much to know. I spent my days digging through old texts and compiling notes, leaving no time to attend class.
I took breaks to eat and sleep, but little else. The cafeteria was off-limits for me, as friends might ask questions. Or worse, a professor might corner me and press the issue of my attendance. That was bound to happen eventually.
Yet I couldn’t worry about such things.
One day when I went out for a snack, Lana spotted me. She was on her way to class. “I hardly see you,” she said. “You’re gone before I get up, and you’re back after I’m asleep.”
“I’m not trying to avoid you; I’m just…busy.”
Lana sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry that I got your mom involved…really. But she does have a point. If you keep this up…”
“Yes, I’m aware of the consequences. And my mother would have gotten involved anyway, so I don’t blame you.” I glanced at the snack machines, anxious to eat and return to my task.
Lana gave me a concerned look. “Come to class. You’ll feel better.”
“I won’t feel better.” I started walking toward the vending machines. “I have to eat and get back to what I was doing. I promise…I’ll tell you all about it when I’m finished.”
“You’d better.” Lana headed toward class. “You can’t string me along like this. Your future hangs in the balance. I want to know what you’re up to.”
The library was my solace. It was quiet, and no one seemed to bother me there. I could hide out at a back desk, behind rows of bookshelves, and read to my heart’s content. There were plentiful tales of vampires and supernatural creatures.
I skimmed, reading the most interesting parts, and making notes as I went. It was difficult to gain a clear picture. One reference would cite the vulnerabilities of vampires, while another would counter and claim others. I was amassing much information, but unsure how much of it was true.
Many of the stories were fictional. Yet I supposed that fiction was sometimes based on fact, like movies based on a true story. Myths appeared more reliable, as the tales had been retold through the centuries. It gave credibility to the stories.
The more I discovered, the less I knew for certain.
I tried to quell my desperation, but the more days that went by without supernatural creatures and the more nights without dreams, the more worried I became. Without any connection to the other realm, I hardly had a prayer of getting into it.
My aim was to follow Draven wherever he’d been taken. Yet he hadn’t appeared as a shadow in my dreams for weeks, and the supernatural creatures had vanished from my life. It was horribly frustrating.
Then one day I had a breakthrough.
I was reading a passage about prophecies when I remembered something. As a very young girl, I’d been prone to vivid dreams. Vampires and supernatural creatures hadn’t appeared in them. The nightly occurrences had been more flights of fancy.
I’d had dreams of living in a castle, of meeting a prince, and of running through fields of flowers. My childhood had been idyllic and my musings during the day were of fairy-tale endings. Since I’d read so many books, my imagination had been further embellished.
At the age of ten, I’d had a reoccurring dream. I’d imagined that a prophecy had been whispered to me. A woman had appeared to tell me what was to come. Night after night, the dream had swept me into its magic. The lovely woman might have been my fairy godmother, as at that age I still believed in such things.
In a wide-lined notebook, in my childish scrawl, I’d written the prophecy. I’d heard it repeatedly and recited it often, so I’d memorized it. When I’d shared the message with my mother, she’d ripped the page from my notebook, torn it up, and told me to forget about such foolishness.
I searched the recesses of my mind, attempting to recall the prophecy. Yet when my mother had shredded my scribbled notes, it had been as though the message had been blotted from my mind.
I hadn’t thought about the prophecy much since then. Once in a while, I’d reflect on it, yet I hardly remembered the content. But thinking about it stirred renewed excitement. What if it had truly meant something?
I couldn’t recall more than a few words. The message had been something about a god of wealth beneath the ocean. He was my soul mate and I was his. I would see him as my other half, as he would see me as his.
There had been a warning issued with the prophecy, but I don’t think that part had been for me. The last words came to mind: that is your blessing and gift from Fate. It was the sort of future I would have envisioned, since I’d been a creative child.
Even if the prophecy had a shred of truth, it did little good if I was unable to recall it. And I could hardly ask my mother, considering her reaction at the time. I closed my notebook then leaned back and gazed at the library ceiling. I didn’t seem to be making much progress toward my goal.
What had been told to me in a dream that many years ago couldn’t possibly be the key. I had to keep digging; there had to be more. Yet the prophecy nagged at me. As a girl, I’d thought it was real, but as I’d matured, the message had faded into my past.
After a break, I returned to my pursuit of knowledge. If one route hit a dead end, I’d try another. Eventually, I might discover the right path…and have hope of locating Draven’s realm.
One afternoon, I returned to the dorm for a rest. Lana was in class, and later she was going to a party. I had the room to myself. When I stretched out on the bed, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a young man in a uniform.
“Are you Mirela Godwin?”
“Yes, I am.”
The man handed me an envelope then put a clipboard in front of my face. “You’ll need to sign for the delivery.”
“Who is it from?”
The young man shrugged. “It doesn’t say. But whoever it is sent it to you by personal messenger.”
I accepted the envelope, then signed the sheet. After closing the door, I sat at my desk to examine the letter. There was no return address, or any indication of who had sent it. It was a plain manila envelope and my name and address were typed on a label.
I slid my letter opener across the top and lifted out one sheet of paper. It was parchment, an elaborate gold-embossed letterhead. The letter was written in bold script and struck me as masculine. Slowly, I read the communication.
The letter was from my father, so I was more than a little surprised. I hadn’t met my father, or if I had, I’d been too young to remember. I’d seen a few pictures, but no more. I didn’t know where he lived or what he did, and my mother hadn’t told me—if she’d even known.
After so long, I doubted she knew much about his life. My father had provided support through an attorney but hadn’t visited. I’d wondered if he remembered that I existed. If it hadn’t been for the money, I’d have been sure he’d forgotten about me.
I skimmed the letter, in awe that my father had thought to send it. Whatever he had to say must be important. My eyes drifted to t
he bottom of the letter, where he’d signed it: Your Father.
No name, no other identification. It could well be a prank, yet almost no one knew of my father. He still seemed a bit larger than life to me. But I supposed that his secretive existence had given him that mystique.
If I’d had any doubt about the identity of the sender, I didn’t once I began reading. After the first few sentences, I groaned. Apparently, when I’d spoken to my mother, I hadn’t been very convincing. My father, who hadn’t seen fit to communicate with me before, had been compelled to write about my current situation.
My father had begun the letter by getting straight the point: Your mother is upset.
He reminded me of the lengths my mother would go to ensure my protection. He went so far as to imply that the world would reap the devastation of her wrath if the situation was not made right. He ended with a mention that if I continued to conduct myself as I had been, my mother would believe that he’d conspired with me.
It seemed unlikely that he would care what my mother believed—yet he seemed to. And he was even concerned about the repercussions of her anger. I resented being told what to do with my life by a man who hadn’t seen fit to play a role in my upbringing.
For some minutes, I stared at his signature. Annoyance rose within me, and I vowed that if he’d expected a response that he wouldn’t receive one—not from me. With satisfaction, I slowly tore the note in half. Then I proceeded to tear it into tiny pieces which I dumped in the garbage.
I consoled myself with the fact that my father had no sense of what was at stake. Still, I would not be bullied into making a concession. Destiny was a singular path and I intended to follow it. If compromise was required, I’d have to consider that later—once I’d succeeded in my mission.
Chapter 15 – Mirela
In the following days, I sensed that I was being watched. Although I didn’t see anyone, I couldn’t shake the feeling. With pressure from all sides, there was no telling what might happen next. As I walked through campus, my skin tingled.
If I was being stalked, it could be a real person. The supernaturals weren’t the only ones with questionable intent. Yet I hadn’t rejected any date offers recently or done anything to make me a target of male attention. Since I’d been buried in the library, there were a limited number of people I’d come into contact with.
I supposed it might be a secret admirer, but I was certain that theory was my imagination running wild. It was more likely the university truant officers hunting for me. Or one of my professors following me, curious about how I was spending my time.
There was my mother, as well. I hadn’t spoken to her since she’d been angry that day. Preferring to avoid confrontation, I’d immersed myself in my tasks, hoping to delay having to deal with my mother’s ire. Or maybe I’d become paranoid.
I envisioned that my mother had hired a private investigator to keep an eye on me. But he wouldn’t have needed to follow me for long to figure out that I was an errant student. With all the university expenses, I doubted that my mother could afford to retain a professional.
Yet my father could. If my mother leaned on him, then my father might cough up more money. He’d seemed terribly willing to placate her. But despite the real-world possibilities, I figured that the threat was more likely from supernatural quarters.
I’d begun to have a breakthrough in my research, so wanted to review things with Lana. She’d agreed to meet for an early dinner. I chose a busy hamburger place, where I assumed no one would listen in. The restaurant was within walking distance.
Block after block, I sensed watching eyes, as though my movements were being monitored. I needed to resolve my major issues soon, or I really would go crazy. My mother could come and pick me up when I wasn’t able to take any more.
I wasn’t to that point quite yet, so was looking forward to talking with Lana. When I entered the crowded place, she already had a table and waved me over. The smell of burgers on the grill made my stomach rumble. My eating habits were erratic, and I was reminded that I needed food.
Lana wore a denim jacket and coppery earrings that accented her hazel eyes. She’d let her pixie cut grow out and cut off the purple tips. Her hair was styled in a classy short look that made her appear sophisticated. She looked so different, and it occurred to me how much of my days I’d spent in the library. I hadn’t even been aware of the recent changes in my friend.
We ordered burgers, fries, and Cokes. Lana brought me up to date on important matters, and I learned that Skye had found another woman. That didn’t seem to bother my socialite friend, as she already had her eye on a really hot senior. I didn’t ask about age difference, doubting that it mattered in college. And I was guessing that the new guy wouldn’t last either. Lana seemed to enjoy the dating process, a challenge I avoided.
The food arrived, so we ate for a bit. I had a lot to tell her but didn’t want to do so on an empty stomach. Halfway through my burger, I dabbed my lips and looked across the table.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” Lana said. “You’ve spent so many days in that library that you must have learned something.”
“I think it’s been in front of my face all along. But I failed to see it.” Lana listened while I discoursed about ancient history, myths, and tales of other lands. It was quite the overview, but I only touched on the highlights. I didn’t have to relay all that I’d learned, only enough to make my point.
“So, what does all of this add up to?” Lana said, with a puzzled look. “You mentioned a breakthrough, but I don’t see any.”
“Atlantis has been talked about for centuries.” Excitement surged inside me. “And there are other lost continents.”
Lana held up a hand. “Wait…” She put her palm out. “One of my classes is world literature. Plato’s story was fiction. As I recall, Atlantis fell out of favor with the deities and submerged into the Atlantic Ocean.”
“True, but—”
“The message there is clear: don’t anger the deities.”
“No,” I said, “you’re missing the point.”
“Go ahead…enlighten me.”
“Fiction can be inspired by reality, you know.” I took a breath. “The Atlantis story has led to scientific speculation.”
Lana sipped her drink without interjecting.
“My point is that lost continents exist. There’s Zealandia, a continent that submerged millions of years ago,” I said. “And there’s a lost island off the coast of Cornwall in England. Plus, there’s an entire drowned continent in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”
“Wow, you have been studying.”
“Well, think about it.” I leaned forward. “I watched those creatures pull Draven under the water. Where else could he be?”
Lana shook her head. “Okay, I’ll accept the lost continents theory. But no one lives there. It’s under the water, which is sort of obvious.”
I let out a long breath. “Yes, I’m aware of that. And I don’t have all the answers. But if Draven exists in some other realm, a lost continent or something, then all I have to do is get there.”
“I’m not liking this idea.”
“I swear that there is a way to reach Draven.” I straightened my shoulders. “I just haven’t found it yet.”
“I see a lot of problems with this approach.”
“It’s all I’ve got,” I said. “I told you about my nightmares. And Draven hasn’t appeared since then.” I paused. “I fear that something awful has happened to him. He’s in trouble.”
Lana stared at me. “Mirela…you are in trouble.”
Later, I strolled through the quad just before dusk. The trees cast spooky shadows and the Gothic buildings looked ominous. A presence watched me, and my skin crawled.
Lana had believed me; she just hadn’t liked the implications. She’d cautioned me about the dangers of the ocean and made a last attempt to persuade me to return to university life. Yet that wasn’t possible for me.
Too much had happened
. I knew too much. Not only was I unable to turn away from that knowledge, I sensed that others found my prying intrusive. It was possible that I’d hit on a truth that mankind wasn’t supposed to have access to.
If there was an inhabited land under the ocean, I supposed those who lived there intended to remain anonymous. It wouldn’t do to have humans believe in such a place, as that might encourage actions to locate it. That didn’t strike me as a good thing.
But I didn’t have any bad purpose. My reason for wanting to know more was to save the one I loved. There was danger involved with my quest, but I had little choice.
Dark forces might be watching me. If so, possibly they’d understand my motives and aid my cause. I hoped they would. There was a chance that I’d find support for my purpose to cross into the other realm.
Even as I thought about it, I was filled with doubt. The creatures I’d seen so far had been frightening, not the sort to give aid to a wayward college girl. Lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t been alert to my environment.
A horrendous creature was nearly upon me before I saw him. I shrieked then jumped back. The figure was in rags, and its eyes were like vacant orbs. Stunned, I froze. Then the creature raised its hands, palms out.
Sparks of electricity seared my body, then the creature issued a warning through rotting teeth. “No more.” The sound was more of a hiss than a voice, but I understood the message.
Having delivered the warning, the creature vanished, and I sank onto the nearest bench to regain my composure. I hadn’t seen supernatural creatures for weeks. Yet delving into information about their realm must have posed a threat, so had forced an appearance.
My persistence had been an annoyance. But at least I wasn’t being ignored.
A familiar sensation filled my veins. Instead of trembling, I was stronger. It was a power flow that filled me with confidence. The creature had a connection to the supernatural, and being close to him had ignited the same within me.
I waved at the clouds above, making them part. And I thought of Draven, bringing forth a filmy image of him. A nagging sense of the prophecy I’d put aside, so long ago, seemed more real than the university that surrounded me.