Wicked Dreams (The Dream Chronicles Book 2)

by J. Clarice

  They quickly positioned against each other with their weapons hot. Soon after, the surrounding trees stilled.

  Everyone held their breaths while hastily swinging their gaze with alert ears.

  “What the-”

  Jasper didn’t finish his sentence when a figure appeared out of thin air.

  Himself.

  Before the others could turn their attention, they found themselves in a similar predicament.

  Scarlett’s eyes went round as she stared at her replica. The only distinction was the empty holes in place of eyes. Glancing around, Scarlett saw everyone facing themselves.

  Their clones, each with blackened eyes.

  “Jenna, any guesses with what we’re dealing with now?”

  “The worst this Realm has to offer.” Her voice shook. “I only heard stories, but I think they’re Sleeks. The ones able to pick at everyone’s worst fear, themselves.”

  Scarlett opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself. Her eyes zeroed onto her doppelgänger’s black eyes.

  A wicked smile that stretched too wide overtook her face. “I am you, and you are me.”

  Its words, like silk, wrapped around her mind. Despite the false comfort, it calmed and dulled the alarms that blared.

  “No, we aren’t.”

  Scarlett questioned herself as the words left her mouth.

  “Poor pathetic Scarlett. I was you before I realized I should’ve given in to my true calling.” She appeared closer. “Risking your life for these people, carrying all that pain when you could easily flip the switch. Let the darkness consume you.”

  “No,” she weakly said while lowering her ignited hands.

  “You’ve already killed the ones closest to you – your father and your mother. You did that. Those people dead from the battles? That was you too. All because you exist.”

  Scarlett gripped her head while shaking. “That isn’t true.”

  “You’re going to fail, and everyone around you will die anyway. Why don’t you end your suffering while you can?”

  The figure cocked its head as it neared. A crack sounded from its jerked movements.

  Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut and saw it.

  Monstrous black vines wrapped around her mind and pulsed as they pried and poked. They searched for a strong foothold and they weren’t going to find any.

  ‘Not this time fuckers.’

  Scarlett lit her palms and opened her heated eyes.

  

  Cain struggled to calm his racing heart.

  “You’re fucking weak, you know that?” His copy quirked a brow. “Your mother died because of you. You hide from your father and even Raxon, cowering like the little bitch you are.”

  The sneer had Cain clenching his jaw to block him out. The thing only neared. Its eyes on the prize – the troubled soul.

  Cain grunted as he struggled to lift a hand.

  ‘Almost…Release!’

  The Sleek roared as it caught the shot Cain managed to shoot. The image of himself shifted.

  He understood why they were called Sleeks.

  The smooth surface of the man-shaped figure wrapped tightly around abnormal muscles. Its face was clear of any feature while eyes, different sizes, and colors, decorated its chest. They sent chills through Cain.

  He couldn’t find a mouth and realized it only spoke in his mind.

  The screech filled his head, and he ground his teeth.

  Hands appeared on the Sleek’s face. Multiple on top of each other pressed against the skin with no give.

  Sleeks didn’t eat flesh.

  They ate souls.

  

  A commotion erupted behind Jude.

  She didn’t feel anyone else around her as she stared into the soulless eyes. Her limbs were frozen.

  “You know what I’m going to say without me even saying anything.” Its voice rattled her and sent a clawing fear. “Not so cool and composed now.”

  “Go away,” Jude weakly said.

  “You’re here to kill everyone. You could give two fucks if they die all except for one.”

  The trail of its voice sent a flame in Jude’s veins. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” her copy taunted. “Don’t say out loud the fact that the only thing stopping you from completing your mission is a boy? You are pathetic and weak. Can’t even push past a few mere feelings to finish a task.”

  Her mirror got closer, and Jude couldn’t move a limb. It had a grip on her mind. So easily penetrated, she homed the perfect soul.

  “Did you think you had a chance at love? You’re simply a martyr.”

  Jude hadn’t realized how close her clone was until it whispered in her ear. “You’re meant to die alone.”

  She stared into its empty eye sockets as its words struck home. Jude’s insides became leaden as the Sleek slowly sucked the life from her body. All noise was canceled, and the only thing that ran through her mind was guilt, shame, and fear.

  Paralyzing fear. She didn’t want to go yet. A single stream of wetness escaped the edge of her eyes as she saw what awaited her.

  Suffering – precisely what she deserved.

  A sharp cry rattled her thoughts, and a flash of white blinded her eyes. The Sleek’s hold slowly leached from her mind. Like an earthquake in her head, the Nightmare’s vines peeled off as she collapsed to the ground.

  Grunts called her attention, and she lifted her head to Jasper putting himself in front of her. Her image wavered, and the Sleek’s form was shown through.

  White flew from Jasper’s palms as he wielded his sword. It curled and slashed at the Sleek’s eyes. Its screeches filled Jude’s head, and her stomach knotted.

  “Jasper,” she grunted as she regained her movements.

  The Sleek stilled as Jasper raised his sword for another swipe. He connected with its chest, and it staggered back with a shudder before collapsing to the floor.

  Jasper rushed to Jude and placed his hands on the sides of her face. “Hey, hey, are you okay?”

  She leaned against the warmth of his touch and opened her eyes. Jude looked at Jasper before stilling when they landed on the figure behind him.

  The Sleek, wearing her appearance, approached Jasper. While every fiber of Jude’s being screamed for her to warn him, the tiny part the Sleek reminded her of stopped her from doing so. Instead, she returned her tearing eyes to Jasper.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  Jasper’s expression filled with confusion before realization settled as he felt the Sleek’s presence. He cried out as his eyes clenched shut. The Sleek turned Jasper and wrapped him in its arms, doing what it did best – taking his soul.

  

  Jayden paused the pursuit of her Nightmare at the sound of her brother’s yell. She turned to find him lifted from the ground in the arms of a Sleek. Its face nearly on his.

  “Jasp,” she whispered, and the Sleek she fought silently slinked away.

  Jasper’s end of the bond slowly tugged on Jayden’s heart and her face dropped in horror.

  She broke into a sprint.

  

  They saw Jasper at the same time she did. Her arrows hit the Sleek’s arms but couldn’t get it where it mattered most – its chest and head. Jasper blocked it at the perfect angle.

  Jude stayed on the floor while the rest tried to reach him. Shock infusing her body as she knew they were all too late.

  The Sleek separated from Jasper with a hum and held onto his still figure. It retracted its grasp from his mind, and time slowed as his body crumbled to the ground. The thunk of his sword followed closely behind.

  Jayden reached him first.

  She struggled to breathe as she took in her brother’s clouded eyes. She grasped his pale face as an ache began to settle in her bones.

  “No.” she lightly tapped his cheeks while wetness stained hers. “Wake up, Jasp!”

  She refused to feel the emptiness following the pull from her heart. A hint of him stayed in he
r chest, but she could feel it slipping from her grasp.

  “Jasp, please.” Her call was met with silence. Like a knife to her heart, the last bit of him snapped from their bond. A burn ignited from her chest that left her yelling out in agony as it shredded her insides.

  She fell on her back and reached out to grip her brother’s limp hand. Her sight blackened around the edges as she struggled to stay afloat.

  The coldness from his body leached into Jayden, and she willingly let herself sink.

  ‘I love you, Jasper.’

  “You let him die! You fucking watched him die!” Jayden snarled as Trevor firmly held her back. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

  Jude kneeled on the ground with bloody tears streaming down her face. She was right.

  ‘I let him die.’

  

  Before

  “He’s fucking gone.” Cain ran his hands through his hair as he walked back to the group.

  They all knew who he was talking about.

  Raxon hadn’t been seen since the Sleeks attack. What it meant; they weren’t ready to find out. He’d most likely used Nate’s head as a distraction for the Sleeks

  Scarlett sat crisscross beside an unconscious Jayden. She held her friend’s hand as she let the numbness cloud her heart.

  It hurt to feel. A simple swallow felt like shards dragging down her throat.

  No one could fill the hole his death left them with.

  With a blank expression, Scarlett was torn between staying by her friend’s side and confronting the one who allowed it to happen.

  She sat in the center of their clearing, as still as a statue. Scarlett couldn’t look at Jude without sickness rolling through her, followed by a surge of anger.

  A twitch in her hand caught her attention. Jayden lightly moved her fingers before her eyes burst open. Scarlett saw the rage that filled them and hurriedly scooted back.

  A flare of fiery purple ignited from her palms while a strangled cry left her lips. Jayden rose from the ground and strode toward her target.

  Jude knew she was coming. She wanted it.

  Trevor took a step, but Scarlett gave him a shake of her head. It needed to happen.

  “You killed him!” Jayden painfully roared. Her face twisted as she sent a whip with all the force she could muster.

  It caught Jude across her back, and she arched as she fell forward onto her hands. A stifled cry filled the air as her body shook from the shock of the strike. Jayden approached her and grabbed her cloak to lift her face.

  Without mercy, Jayden punched her fist into Jude’s face as nothing, but rage consumed her.

  “You– let– him– die,” she snarled in between punches. Her eyes swam with tears, and the dull ache in her chest only refueled her.

  “Jayden,” softly called Scarlett as she watched her friend unhinge. Jayden swung around with blurred and crazed eyes.

  “He… he died f-for her.”

  The crack in Jayden’s voice wrenched Scarlett’s heart. Her own eyes glistened as she saw the light leaving her friend’s soul.

  “They were partners, Jay.”

  Jayden had a feeling there’d been such a thing between the two. But hearing the words chilled her in ways she didn’t like. The fire reignited as something else became apparent. “And yet, she just watched…”

  Scarlett knew Jayden better than she knew herself at times. She gave Trevor a tip of her head.

  Before Jayden could continue, his power surrounded her and put out her energy. Trevor’s arms quickly wrapped around Jayden’s torso and yanked her away from a barely conscious Jude.

  “Let me the fuck go!” Jayden struggled in Trevor’s grasp, but her strength was no match for his.

  “You let him die! You fucking watched him die!” Jayden snarled as Trevor firmly held her back. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

  Jude kneeled on the ground with bloody tears streaming down her face. She was right.

  ‘I let him die.’

  

  ‘I let him die.’

  The words echoed in Jude’s mind like a booming church bell.

  “I did let him die.” Her heart seared as she spoke the words. Her insides burned and revolted at her actions. But now, nothing was holding her back.

  She had a duty to finish.

  “I’m sorry,” Jude whispered. Her sight was smeared with red, and she kept her gaze on the ground. She heard Jayden break down into tears but didn’t move from her position.

  She knew what his death meant. She had the chance to help him, but she didn’t. All because of one fucking thing.

  Her sorry wasn’t for the others. It was for her dead partner.

  The one that made her laugh when she didn’t want to.

  The one that made her feel weirdly safe when she knew she could take care of herself.

  The one that laid unmoving a few short feet away, covered with dirt and rocks.

  The one that she saw get murdered… by herself.

  She did it.

  

  Scarlett shot a blast of her power to the back of Jude’s head. It connected with a shock that left her beaten body slumping forward.

  “I’m not taking any chances on losing any more of you.”

  Jayden collapsed in Trevor’s grip and barely grasped his forearms.

  “We leave her behind and continue for as far as we can before it gets dark.”

  No one opposed Scarlett’s command. They hesitated to move, but with a final glance at Jasper’s buried body, they lifted one foot in front of the other.

  Scarlett positioned herself at Jayden’s side and could only watch as she parted from her brother’s grave. The tears left her eyes, but no sound escaped her lips.

  They had a journey to continue.

  And continue they did.

  Three people are gone.

  Two of them were better off dead.

  Only one left a noticeable absence.

  The grey space above darkened as Cain led the group to a halt at a small clearing.

  “We’ll stop here and continue when it’s light,” he said. A stream of his power flowed until it created a circle wide enough to fit them all.

  No one had the heart to object, nor did they want to encounter the mountain’s inhabitants while it was dark. Trevor mixed his power with Cain’s, and soon everyone followed suit.

  White, dark blue, purple, grey, and black co-mingled to brighten their area. They all found a respective space but neither laid down to rest. With straightened backs, they sat alert, not willing to risk anything more. Guards had been let down, and they heavily paid the price.

  While the others sat near each other, Jayden secluded herself.

  “She’ll have to find her way through it,” Trevor solemnly told Scarlett.

  She knew the grief of loss all too well. Going through it alone wasn’t something she came to like.

  “Before you say anything else, Jayden is not you.” His words made Scarlett want to scowl. To hell with the difference in their ways. “She knows we’re here for her. But the loss of a twin is not something anyone else can help with.”

  “You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.”

  Trevor shook his head. “The twin’s bond is something none have come close to understanding, but seeing as it’s tighter than a partner’s bond, I’d say she must be going through the worst she’s ever experienced.”

  All the times Jayden had been there for her flashed through Scarlett’s mind. She shook her head, set on a decision.

  “Your input is appreciated, Trevor, but I’m going,” Scarlett excused herself from the conversation and headed toward the grieving twin.

  She slowed her pace as she neared. “Hey…”

  No response.

  “I thought I’d –”

  “Well, you thought fucking wrong,” Jayden coarsely snapped.

  Scarlett’s eyes widened. “Wh– I–”

  “I told you I didn’t trust her.” Jayden rose fro
m the ground and pinned Scarlett with a scorching glare. “But of course, you didn’t take into account my words. You just said she’s our best bet at getting through the fucking Nether Realms and that Queen Esma wouldn’t send her right hand for just anything. Well, what other reasoning do you need, Scarlett? We would’ve found the Realm without her. It wasn’t that fucking hard to spot. What other reason would that Queen send her for? Jasper’s fucking dead.”

  Scarlett couldn’t move as Jayden’s words hit her like shards of hot glass. She was speaking nothing but the truth. The others stood from their spots and neared.

  “I’ve realized… Jasper’s gone, not just because of Jude,” her voice broke as she struggled to continue. “He is dead because of you.”

  The fight left Jayden’s eyes as she came to a realization. “I wish it’d been you instead.”

  “That’s enough,” Cain ordered as he placed himself in front of Scarlett.

  But the damage had been done.

  Scarlett stepped back as Jayden’s last words sliced a wound so deep. She knew it wouldn’t fully heal because she wished the same thing.

  “Scarlett,” Trevor lightly called as he reached for her.

  She backed away from him and kept her distance from the others. “Don’t.”

  Shame flooded Scarlett as she struggled to look anyone in the eye. “It is my fault. None of you would be here if it weren’t for me. Jasper would be alive. I – I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

  “Some of that is complete bullshit,” Jenna burst as she turned a quick glared at Jayden. “Maybe Jasper would still be alive, but you need to realize they all knew what they signed up for. I still have yet even to figure out why we’re doing this. But despite the risks, I’m here because I chose to be. I’m sure everyone had the chance to leave a long time ago.”

  Trevor nodded while Cain kept his sight on Scarlett. Regardless of her sister’s words, Scarlett couldn’t shy away from Jayden’s truth.

  It was still on her.

  Scarlett opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t. She saw their faces morph to confusion when she stilled.

  Her eyes glazed and darkened around the edges until they were nothing but black pits.

  “Scarlett?” Trevor hesitantly asked.

  Scarlett’s mouth snapped shut before she sharply turned on her feet. She faced the darkness beyond the barrier. Her limbs snapped as she sprinted into the wall of their powers and met it with an explosion that blinded the rest.