Fortunately, Rhiannon’s stop was still two away. Feeling re-energized, Rhiannon pulled out her phone and decided to give Kalen a quick call to update him and Aoki on everything that had happened since she’d been back.
“Hello?” Kalen asked as he answered the phone before the first ring was complete.
“Hey, it’s me!”
“I know, ha, what’s up? How’s everything been going since you got back? I – we’ve been worried about you.”
“It’s gone surprisingly great! Lady Villagomez was a lot kinder to me than I expected and she agreed to investigate what happened – she swears that she was given fabricated information about you and was told that you were the killer. She was apologetic! And I told her that I wanted to choose who and when I get married, and she thinks it’s a great idea and even helped me out by giving me this huge file with information on the inheritance my parents left me!” Rhiannon explained.
“Wow! That’s amazing! So, what does this mean for you? Where are you going to live?”
“My parents left me a house! I’ve already contacted everyone I needed to get things like electricity and Wi-Fi set up, and I’m heading to my dorm now to pack up mine and Lilyette’s stuff. We don’t have too much since the dorms are small so it shouldn’t take long, I’m going to head to the house tomorrow. I’m pretty nervous though, it’s my childhood home…” Rhiannon said, letting her voice trail off.
“Do you want any help? I can come by the house tomorrow; help you clean up and unpack?” Kalen asked as he crossed his fingers hoping she’d agree.
“Actually, that’d be great. If Lilyette were awake I know I’d have her with me to do all this…but yes, thank you for the offer, I’d really appreciate it.” Rhiannon answered.
“Great! I’ll be there!” Kalen exclaimed.
“Thanks! I’ll text you the address, and I’ll let you know when I’m heading over there so we can get there around the same time.”
“Works for me.”
“Alright, I’m on the bus, and my stop is coming up, I’ll talk to you later?”
“Okay, thanks for calling me and updating me. Bye, Rhiannon.”
“Bye Kalen…” Rhiannon responded as she ended the call and shoved her phone back in her pocket and readied herself to get off the bus.
Rhiannon thanked the bus driver on her way out and happily, made her way to her dorm room, feeling rested and excited that she’d be soon seeing Kalen.
I can’t wait to see Lilyette and catch her up on everything! She’s going to be so excited! Rhiannon thought as she decided to travel into Lilyette’s dreams that night to let her know what was going on.
When she finally reached the dorm, Rhiannon looked around and saw that the mess they’d left when they’d ran off with Kalen was still there. As she started to clean up, she looked over some of the files they’d gone through and wondered what she should do with them.
I can’t let Oberon or Lady Villagomez ever know that we have these. I’ll have to hide them at my house, she thought as she tucked them away into her laptop bag.
Rhiannon went out to the common area and into the storage closet to get some cardboard boxes, then returned to her packing. She turned on some music and danced around her room and sang loudly as she packed, feeling ready for the changes that were taking place in her life.
As the music rang throughout the room, Rhiannon didn’t hear her phone buzzing as she focused on packing Lilyette’s things with care. Nor did she hear when it stopped and started humming again, or when this was repeated numerous times after that. It wasn’t until a few hours had passed and Rhiannon decided to take a break and order some food that she saw the missed calls on her phone.
31 missed calls? All from Oberon? Did something happen? She thought concerned as she opened her voicemail to have a listen.
Beep – Hey, just calling to check on you, my mom said you didn’t use one of our drivers. You okay?
Beep – Hey, it’s me again…where are you? Just wondering…
Beep – If you could just call me back or text me? I want to make sure you’re okay…
Beep – I’m sorry that I keep calling…I’m getting anxious, Rhiannon, please call me back…Just let me know you’re okay…I should have never left you alone…you know how my dad is though…please call me back…
Rhiannon stopped listening and quickly called Oberon’s cell phone feeling terrible that she’d left him worrying for so long.
“Rhiannon!” Oberon answered in a panicked tone.
“Hey Obie, I’m so sorry I missed all your calls! I had the music up in my room as I packed and I didn’t hear my phone ringing at all.”
“You’re at your dorm? You’re okay?” he replied quickly.
“Yes, I’m fine, I promise,” she answered.
“Thank God. Can you try and keep your phone near you when we aren’t together? I just keep imagining you disappearing again…it terrifies me…I can’t lose you. You’re my best friend.” Oberon replied with a crackle in his voice.
“I’ll try, you know I don’t like to be on my phone too much, so I don’t check it too often. You don’t have to worry so much, though. I can handle myself, okay?” Rhiannon replied, feeling exasperated.
“Okay…well…how’s everything going?” Oberon asked to change the subject.
“Really well, packing has gone pretty smoothly since there really isn’t too much to pack,” she answered.
“I wish I could come to help you, my dad has me shadowing him all day tomorrow to have me make up for being late today,” Oberon said glumly.
“That’s okay, I got this!” Rhiannon replied happily.
Oberon chuckled and replied,
“Okay, okay, Ms. Independent, I get it.”
“That’s right! I am woman, hear me roar!” she joked back with him.
“Alright, well if you need anything, just give me a call, okay?”
“I will, thanks. Bye!”
“Bye!”
Rhiannon hung up and sighed deeply.
He’s so protective, which is good, but it’s starting to feel excessive, Rhiannon thought.
Shrugging it off, she opened the internet browser on her phone and searched for the number to the local pizza shop to put in an order. After her dinner was settled, she laid down on her bed, picked up and book, and started reading as she waited for her food.
Not too long afterward, she heard a knock at her door and opened it to find her pizza was delivered. As she ate, Rhiannon felt lonely as she pictured Lilyette sitting next to her, dining, and chatting away.
I miss Lily… she thought sadly.
Lilyette’s presence always livened up every meal, and Rhiannon felt her absence more deeply as she sat eating quietly in their mostly packed up dorm room. Feeling full, she put the pizza away and decided it was as good as time as any to lay down and sleep so she could go and talk to her best friend.
Rhiannon laid down and decided to skip having melatonin or a sleeping pill so she could test out what had happened at Kalen’s house. She’d been able to fall asleep and enter the dream realm almost automatically by sheer will, and she wanted to see if those results could be duplicated or if they were, in fact, a result of the melatonin she had taken that night.
She started to think of Lilyette and reached out to her consciousness as she closed her eyes, and this time, she traveled even faster. Practically instantaneously, she found herself back in the familiar kaleidoscope tunnel that led her to Lilyette’s dream. Rhiannon could feel that with each travel, her powers were developing and becoming more pronounced.
Excited to see her friend, she sped down the tunnel and into Lilyette’s dream to see her bouncing happily on her cloud as if it were a trampoline. When Lilyette saw Rhiannon enter, she stopped jumping and hopped down to hug Rhiannon.
“I’m happy to see you too,” Rhiannon said as they hugged.
“I did it! I got them out of my consciousness completely!” Lilyette exclaimed as she pulled away.
“Seriously? How’d you manage it?”
“It feels like the longer I’m stuck here, the more I’m able to practice controlling my subconscious, and I was able to construct a new blockade that keeps out any unwanted visitors. You just came through, so it seems to be working. I allowed for an opening to be created when my loved ones come through.” Lilyette answered.
“What about your dad?” Rhiannon asked, remembering that Mrs. Song had mentioned his attempts to see Lilyette.
“He hasn’t been by again, I feel traces of him as if he’d tried before I gained control, so maybe he’ll be back again.”
“I’ll let them know! They’ll be so happy to come to see you!” Rhiannon replied happily as the pair made their way to the cloud to lie down and chat.
“Speaking of gaining control,” Rhiannon began, “I have a lot to tell you! For starters, I completely forgot to mention, the craziest thing happened to me!”
“What?”
“I got wings!” Rhiannon exclaimed giddily.
“What?! No way, where are they? Show me!” Lilyette replied, looking around Rhiannon’s back.
“I don’t know how to control them yet, I can feel the power in them lurking beneath my skin, but I haven’t figured out how to make them appear at will,” Rhiannon answered.
“What was happening when they first showed up?” Lilyette questioned.
“I was in Oberon’s dream, and it felt like I was blinking in and out of the dream realm and physical world then they just exploded from me.”
“Well, maybe you’ll have a better chance of making them appear in the dream realm? Why don’t you try now?” Lilyette asked eagerly, wanting to see the wings for herself.
“Okay, it couldn’t hurt to try,” Rhiannon shrugged and stood up on the cloud and tried to focus all her attention and energy at the rippling of power that lies in her back.
She felt electrical vines crawling through her veins and congregating in her back as she clenched her fists and shut her eyes, trying her best to reveal them. Just when she felt as though she’d pass out from exertion, she felt pain ripping through her skin as the wings shot out of her and she felt herself floating upwards.
Lilyette looked up at Rhiannon and was taken aback by the beauty she was witnessing. Uncurling from Rhiannon’s spine were golden wisps of electrical sparks and opalescent fuchsia wings that were reminiscent of Rhiannon’s eyes. Lilyette scooted backward on her cloud to get a better look at what was happening.
“Is this…real? Or part of the dream?” Lilyette muttered aloud.
Rhiannon’s feet left the ground, and she looked down at Lilyette and replied,
“It’s real! I was in Kalen’s room the first time they came out. I think you’re right about it being easier to control them in here though. It’s like all I have to do is think about them and what I want to do – and it happens!”
Rhiannon’s excitement was palpable as she let the freedom of flight take over, and she fluttered around the sky.
Wanting to join her, Lilyette stood up on her cloud and willed it to rise towards Rhiannon. When she finally reached her, Rhiannon landed on the cloud and smiled brightly at Lilyette.
“You look so beautiful! Your whole body is shining like a diamond,” Lilyette said in awe as she reached out towards Rhiannon.
Holding out her hand Rhiannon exclaimed,
“Wait! When Kalen touched me, he got shocked, then it was like my power entered him and he got wings too. I don’t mind if you do, I just want you to be prepared for the possible pain,” Rhiannon warned.
“If that’s what it takes, I’m willing,” Lilyette replied as she stepped closer to Rhiannon.
“Okay, it seemed to work best when he touched my wings,” Rhiannon answered as she turned around and exposed her wings to Lilyette.
Lilyette gasped as she took in the full view of the wings up close.
“Breathtaking,” she whispered as she gently reached forward and caressed the wings before her.
A low vibration began in her fingertips and traveled through her, as it did, she watched as a translucency came over her and began to cover her body. There was no pain, just a constant vibration.
“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Lilyette said, “It just feels like I’m a phone on vibration mode.”
Fascinated, she continued to touch Rhiannon’s wings until she felt the vibrating congregate in her back then shoot out of her. Lilyette felt herself get pulled backward rapidly and out of her control.
Rhiannon turned around to see Lilyette flying away from her at breakneck speed with wings of fire attached now to her back.
Gasping, Rhiannon began to fly towards her and reached for her hands,
“Lilyette! Grab my hand!”
Lilyette reached towards Rhiannon, with panic on her face, but the wings were taking her away too fast. Rhiannon didn’t stop trying to reach her, but as she sped up and got closer, she watched in horror as Lilyette’s wings wrapped around her body surrounding her in the fire then she completely disappeared leaving behind a cloud of smoke.
“No!” Rhiannon screamed as she was forced awake back into her dorm.
Rhiannon’s heart raced with fear as she leaped out of bed and grabbed her phone to call Mrs. Song and make sure Lilyette was okay.
Each time the phone rang, Rhiannon bit harder on her lips trying to hold back the sobs that were building up inside of her.
Please, God…Please say I didn’t just kill my best friend…she thought frantically.
“Rhiannon! Oh God! Rhiannon,” Mrs. Song answered, clearly crying.
Rhiannon let the tears slip from her eyes as the worst-case scenario seemed to be true.
“She’s awake! Lilyette is awake,” Mrs. Song exclaimed.
Rhiannon held the phone to her ear in disbelief as she replied,
“Awake…Lilyette…is awake?”
“Yes! It’s a miracle! The nurses seemed so surprised! I need to get back in there, but when she saw my phone was ringing, she somehow knew it’d be you and told me to answer,” Mrs. Song answered.
“Thank God! I was so scared…I’m going to try and get there as soon as I can,” Rhiannon replied, feeling like she could breathe again.
After they hung up, Rhiannon sat down on her bed and felt as her tears of fear transitioned into tears of happiness.
“She’s awake!” Rhiannon yelled out loud to the empty room.
Falling to her knees in front of her bed Rhiannon began to pray,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, she whispered repeatedly, caught up in the profound relief she felt in her heart.
Rhiannon didn’t realize how petrified she was to lose Lilyette until she watched her disappear right in front of her eyes.
I don’t know what I would have done…to watch another person I love die right before my eyes…unable to help them…Oh God, thank you for letting Lilyette wake up, Rhiannon prayed earnestly as she allowed her emotions to fully spillover.
Chapter 7
Lilyette looked around her groggily and watched as the world came into focus. After her mom stepped out to answer the call from Rhiannon, she grumbled to the nurse that she was thirsty and waited for her to leave as well.
Once she was alone in the hospital room, she used all the strength inside of her to sit up and felt the uncomfortable tugging at her arms from the different IVs pulling on her skin. She could still feel the stinging she detected when asleep and was worried that she was continually being poisoned.
I need to get these out of my arms, she thought weakly.
Reaching for the various lines going into her, Lilyette pulled them out one by one as she clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the searing pain as each one was ripped from her skin. Alarms begin to sound in her room, so she sped up her process, knowing that it was only a matter of seconds before someone came running through the door to find out what was going on.
When she finally pulled the last needle out, she let out a high-pitched scream. She watched in horror as steam
began to rise from her skin, and the holes in her arm began to spit out a liquid that was bubbling and boiling out of her. Her body felt as though it were on fire, but strangely enough, it didn’t hurt her. As the steam and boiling intensified, she felt as though she were getting stronger.
The door to her room swung open, and her mom came running in, causing Lilyette to look away from her arms and into her mom’s eyes who froze in place and looked at Lilyette as though she saw a ghost.
“Mom…mom what’s wrong?” Lilyette asked nervously.
“Your…your wounds…they’re…gone,” her mom answered in awe.
Lilyette looked back down at her arms and saw that the smoke and bubbling were gone along with the various holes. Her mouth dropped open as she moved her arms around and saw no signs of bruising or bleeding, and felt energetic where she’d previously been barely able to sit up in bed.
“Mom, can we go home?” Lilyette asked her mom, who still stood frozen.
As if shocked back to reality, her mom ran to her and held her in her arms and said,
“Yes baby, we can go home, I don’t know how this is possible… I was so scared when I saw how bad the wound was on your head… God is so good baby! Once the doctors clear you, we can go.”
Pulling away and looking her mom in the eyes, Lilyette replied,
“No. I want to go now. I don’t feel safe here.”
Her mom studied her eyes and saw in them an unexpected determination. Just as she was about to answer, the door opened again, this time a nurse entering.
“Why are her IVs disconnected?” She gasped as she walked towards Lilyette and grabbed the IVs to prepare them again.
Standing up in her way, Lilyette’s mom put her hand out and said, “Let me stop you right there, you’re not putting these in my daughter. As you can see, she’s feeling a lot better so we will be leaving. Now.”
“You can’t do that! She needs more screening! She was in a coma, are you crazy?” the nurse replied exasperated.
The Dream Deceiver Page 5