I snorted with amusement. “Not everything. There are cruelty and dangers here, just like any other place.”
He turned toward me; the weight of his royal gaze was heavy. “I have no doubt, but I aim to see the beauty in all things. I am trying, Cassandra.”
“I know you are. Thank you.”
Ellyllon sighed. “There is another matter we must discuss. The Dream Weavers are still disappearing at an alarming rate. I worry the Shadow Demon will set its sights on you, and I want you to be safe. I came here to offer the ring of protection you rejected before.”
He summoned the ring into his hand and held it up for me to see.
I glanced at it briefly while we stopped at a traffic light. “What’s the catch?”
“No strings this time. I do not approve of your relationship with Mr. Godwin, but it’s more important to me that you survive.”
We neared the waterfront, and I pulled into a parking spot near the Kona Kai Marina. It was the closet marina to the open ocean, only minutes from downtown San Diego. Halle and I loved coming out to watch the boats moving in and out of the slips and spent a few days each summer at the beach resort as part of our bonding ritual. The view from this spot was remarkable. The moon had begun to rise, and its light sparkled on the dark waves.
“You probably won’t understand this,” I started, “but Michael is the love of my life. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Michael helped me come out of my shell and find love and happiness. Asking me to leave him is asking for me to lose that and live a miserable excuse of a life.”
Ellyllon gazed at me thoughtfully. “Then, I am happy for you.” He placed the ring in the palm of my hand.
“Thank you,” I said, and stared at the beautiful ring cradled in my palm.
My father smiled. “This is not a long-term solution. Its power is limited. The ring can return you to the Mortal Realm under any circumstances, but it can only be used once—then its power is spent. Do you understand?”
“I think so.”
“Also, due to the nature of its magic, the ring can only serve the person wearing it. If the time comes, don’t waste your time trying to save the dreamer—it won’t work. I know that seems cruel, but it’s the only way.”
Tears fell down my cheeks as I nodded and turned to look at him, but before I could respond, he disappeared.
His voice whispered in my ears. “Don’t forget, it can only save one.”
I drove to Michael’s apartment in a daze, thinking about what my father said. “It can only save one.”
The thought sent a shiver down my spine, and I hoped beyond hope it would never come to that point. The silver ring glittered on my finger in the moonlight, and I smiled absentmindedly while I pulled into a parking spot.
I was excited to tell him about what happened and skipped over to the front door, then knocked loudly. Michael answered a few moments later and greeted me with a kiss. “Hello, Butterfly Girl.”
“Hey!”
He stepped back to let me inside, and I realized that his entire living room was full of cardboard boxes.
“Whoa! What’s going on here?”
Michael grinned. “Adam is moving out. He got a job out in Santa Clara, and his girlfriend is going with him.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Good for him.”
Adam walked out of his bedroom with a pair of headphones on. He clumsily sorted his things into various boxes, so he didn’t notice us at first. When he saw me, he removed his earbuds and nodded. “Hey, Cassandra.”
“Hey! Michael was just telling me you got a job in Santa Clara. Congratulations.”
“I’m pretty excited. The moving truck gets here tomorrow, so I’ve got a lot to do before then.”
I grinned at him, looking out over the sea of boxes. “Yeah, I can see that. Good luck!”
Michael smiled at me as he gestured toward the kitchen. I followed him and gave Adam a goodbye wave. Once we were alone, Michael kissed me again and wrapped his arms around my waist.
I met his affection eagerly and smiled against his lips. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he responded with a laugh.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
I bit into my smile to keep my emotions from getting the best of me and spoiling the surprise. “I saw my father again this evening.”
His eyebrows creased. “Oh no…tell me it wasn’t another ambush.”
“No, actually. He came to apologize.”
“What? That doesn’t sound like the Lord of Night I heard of.”
I smiled weakly. “Ellyllon gave me this.”
As I held out my hand, Michael noticed the silver ring twinkling on my finger. “Is that the ring of protection he offered you before?”
“Yes, but this time there are no strings attached—he promised.”
Michael hugged me hard and ran his fingers through my hair. “Oh, Cass. That’s great news.”
“You don’t have to worry about me going to the Realm of Dreams anymore.”
Michael pressed his forehead against mine and said, “I’d support you no matter what. I just didn’t want your life to be in danger.”
“Well, now it isn’t. I have a way out in case something happens.”
“Good.”
I kissed him long and hard, wrapping my arms around his neck and knotting my fingers in his hair. We were breathless when he pulled away. I looked up at him and said, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
T hree weeks later, it was another perfect night at Michael’s house. With Adam moved out, we had the entire place to ourselves and quickly fell into a natural, comfortable routine. Samantha didn’t mind my shift in schedule, probably enjoying her time alone with Rob.
Peaches curled up beside me on the couch and purred when he put his head on my lap. I smiled, glancing at the cat, and scratched behind his ear. He’d grown to appreciate me over the last few weeks, and I enjoyed snuggling with him on cold evenings. My late-night reading balanced on my knee, and I had a blanket wrapped around me for warmth. I left my loose waves down, and I had my glasses on for a change.
I couldn’t sleep.
It was part of the curse of being the collector of dreams—sleep did not come as easily as I granted it to others. Truthfully, I enjoyed the quiet and peacefulness of evenings like this. Life was perfect with Michael and me together. Loving him came so easily, and I felt like I’d finally found my partner.
I reached over and grabbed a cracker from my plate of snacks before going back to my reading. Jane Eyre was classic. Halle always made fun of me for my old-fashioned taste in reading, but it soothed me in a way I can’t explain. As I prepared to get lost in the world of Regency England, I heard footsteps down the hall.
Michael walked out of his bedroom blearily, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and kissed me on the forehead. “Babe, why are you still up?”
He looked positively sinful, shirtless, and with his pajama pants hanging low across his hips. I wanted to curl up next to him in bed, but I knew he was exhausted and needed the rest. Michael had been working late hours since one of the polar bears was sick. I glanced at him in the dim light of the townhouse, and said, “I couldn’t sleep.”
Michael nodded and stifled a yawn. “Don’t stay up too late, okay? The bed is cold without you.”
“I’ll come in soon.”
“Okay.”
He bent and kissed me gently on the lips. When he pulled away, Michael patted his leg and beckoned the cat. “Come on, Peaches!”
The cat climbed off my lap and followed him to his bedroom. I smiled, watching them leave, and rested my arm on the arm of the couch.
A half-hour later, I felt the strange tugging inside my chest, the one that compelled me to bring out my flute and play.
Here we go again.
It was frustrating to have my quiet time interrupted by the call of magic but knew there would be no getting out of it.
I guess Michael will have to wait
.
I sighed, closed my book and set it on the coffee table. My flute was tucked in my purse, so I pulled it out and brought the mouthpiece to my lips. As my fingers carefully arranged themselves across the keys along the top, I blew into the head joint. The song filled the living room with its sweet melody, and Luna shimmered into existence.
Instead of flying off the way she usually did, the Luna moth just flapped its wings and hovered in the air. My eyes narrowed with confusion as I looked at her.
That’s weird.
The Luna moth slowly drifted through the wall into another room of the townhouse. Following her trail, I passed through walls, watching her until she settled on Michael’s sleeping body.
Oh no.
Peaches yowled on the bed beside him, visibly distraught. His animal instincts told him something was wrong with his master. I gazed at Michael, the man I loved, sleeping so peacefully with his chestnut brown hair deliciously undone. His face was so serene, and his chest gently rose and fell with the rhythm of his breathing. As Luna settled on him, his body sparkled with the power of dreams.
Why him? I wondered bitterly.
I was conflicted, unsure of what I was supposed to do here. The gift had brought me here because his dream was the one with the potential to come true, but I didn’t want any part of it. It felt like an invasion of privacy. Michael wasn’t a stranger–he was my boyfriend. The thought of betraying his trust disturbed me, but I couldn’t help wondering what he dreamt about.
Slowly, I took the flute from my lips and sat on the bed beside him. I hated it, hated being in this situation. I knew that I had to follow anywhere the moth took me. Whatever secrets were locked inside Michael's mind, I had to be there to unravel them. It was my duty, and it was my calling.
I brushed the hair across his forehead and closed my eyes, Luna pulling me into his subconscious mind. When I settled from vertigo, we were standing in his clinic at the zoo.
The room was twice the size of the entire third grade space at school. Along the walls, there were cabinets filled with medications, gauze and wraps, syringes, and packets of what looked like saline and other surgical supplies. Desks with small stools were lined up underneath, each with a sleek laptop opened to various programs. Across the enormous room were cages to house the animals as they waited to be examined and doors that led to what appeared to be operating rooms. In the center of the space was a large scale and an examination table that looked like it could hold the weight of oversized beasts.
Right now, there were no live animals, just a plush elephant that must have been left there as a joke. I turned in a circle and saw Michael standing across from me. He wore surgical scrubs and his favorite white tennis sneakers.
“Cass, what are you doing here?” he asked me, his face etched with confusion. “How’d you get in?”
I let out a sad laugh. “You’re the dreamer. This is all in your subconscious.”
Michael frowned. “So, I’m asleep? This isn’t real, and you’re in my dream?”
“Yes, and believe me, I wouldn’t have come here if there was another way. I have to find out what’s troubling you. Otherwise, your mind will not find peace.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that. You’re in my head, and my dreams are the only time I’m alone and quiet.”
I smiled apologetically. “I know, and I’m sorry. Show me what you were dreaming about before I arrived.”
“It’s not a big deal. I was dreaming about work. Instead of a patient, well…” he trailed off and pointed to the stuffed animal on the table.
I saw him surrounded by a handful of other students and a professor as he lifted a scalpel and made a cut in the animal’s fabric. Inside, instead of stuffing, there were toy organs.
“Very good,” said the professor. “Now you’re ready to practice on a live one.”
Instantly, the stuffed animal was replaced by Stanley, King of the Murder Kitties, one of Michael’s favorite animals. The massive beast’s chest rose and fell unsteadily as a nurse placed a breathing mask over his muzzle. Michael stroked Stanley’s fur gently and spoke to him in a calm, soothing voice, telling the animal that it wouldn’t hurt, and he’d make it all better. His eyes were apprehensive as he scrubbed up and donned his surgical gown and gloves. He continued to murmur under his breath as if his furry friend could hear his voice through the anesthesia, and he could relieve his anxiety. Michael’s hands were unsteady as he lowered the scalpel to the lion’s abdomen and made the first cut.
“Michael, what is this?” I asked, confused.
He gazed at me wide-eyed, still trying to comprehend what was happening. “I’m supposed to help operate on Stanley next week. Cass, I’m pretty sure I didn’t summon you.”
As we stared at each other, another voice echoed from the shadows. “He wasn’t the one who brought you here. It was me.”
The Boogeyman
Chapter Fifteen
I turned with a feeling of dread and cast my eyes to where the sound had come from. Michael did the same, and we edged closer to one another for support. He reached down and took my hand tightly in his, angling his body slightly to block mine from whatever was coming.
Thick, shadowy fog rolled across the ground, coming from a darkened corner of the examination room and inching toward us. As my eyes fixed on the inky tendrils of what appeared to be a cloak, the illusion faded, and we were no longer standing in the zoo’s veterinary clinic. All that remained was a hollow cave made of a brittle white substance, and two brilliant orbs shining in the distance. The entrance was a gaping maw with huge, jagged bones that looked like a mouth ready to clamp down on us.
That’s when I realized we were in a skull.
My stomach heaved as the darkness moved toward us, the heavy stench of death and decay clogging my nostrils. As it got closer, the tenebrous shadows took shape and coalesced into the form of a frail, gelatinous figure. Dark robes swirled around its hunched body, and it reeked of rotten meat.
The Shadow Demon.
I gulped, swallowing the lump rising in my throat as I scrutinized it. My worst fear had finally come to light; it found me. Worse, it lured me into Michael’s consciousness, knowing I would come. Knowing I couldn’t refuse the call of my magic flute.
The more I looked at it, the more horrifying it became. The bulging face consisted of a giant mouth with rows of razor-sharp teeth that flashed in its terrible smile. There were no eyes where they should have been; instead, hundreds of glinting eyes scattered across its body, glistening like onyx crystals in the dark. Rather than legs, it had a series of tentacles that slithered across the floor, oozing from beneath those tattered robes.
A giant, slimy, writhing ball of filth. Why would I have expected anything different?
“You’re the one who's been following me,” I accused, my breath ragged. “You’re the one who's been after me all these years—I have the marks on my arm to prove it.”
“You’re very perceptive,” the demon purred with its hideous smile. The words were accompanied by the wet, smacking sound of its lips and tongue.
I glanced at Michael uncertainly, and steeled myself, asking, “Who are you? What are you?”
The shadow chuckled in a low, raspy voice. “I am the darkness, the hunger, the empty void. You have entered my realm time and time again and stole my food. I am restless from your constant interference and urgently need to feed.”
“You would have eaten their minds,” I snarled.
“It is the way of nature,” the demon responded. “The strong prey upon the weak. Even I must eat, Dream Weaver.”
I grabbed the pouch along my waist and shifted my weight as I prepared to run.
“I know who you are, Cassandra Williams; daughter of the Lord of Night and one of the elusive seven.”
It shouldn’t have been able to tell me apart from the other Dream Weavers. Yes, my heritage marked me as different, but how did this creature know me? Why was I the focus of this vile being’s attention?
“What do you want?” I demanded.
Michael glanced around our surroundings, and edged closer to me, squeezing my hand to get my attention. He whispered in my ear, “Are we…are we inside my head?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat again. “I have no idea. It looks that way.”
The Shadow Demon’s smile gleamed in the darkness, impossibly wide and flashing like a Cheshire cat. “Such a pretty child,” the demon mused. “It’s a pity you must die. This mind will be the last place you ever see. The other Dream Weavers merely whetted my appetite.”
“You’re a monster,” I spat. “We haven’t done anything to you.”
“You have deprived me of a meal for long enough, and now you come here taunting me with fairy magic. It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted such a decadent meal. I’ll make sure to savor it as long as possible, eating your boyfriend first, of course. You’ll hear him scream his final breaths and live with those horror-stricken cries for what remains of your precious life. Once I’ve drained him of his power, I’ll feast on you, my dear.” It smacked its wet lips together. “Yes, you will be delicious.”
Michael growled and took another step in front of me. His free hand clenched into a fist, and he vibrated with rage. “I would like to see you try.”
“As you wish.”
It launched itself at us, opening its mouth wide as the shadow tentacles spun like a cyclone and propelled him forward. Michael and I threw ourselves out of the way, but the ground beneath us changed, breaking our grasping hands apart. I crashed on my hands and knees, clinging to the ever-shifting surface.
The creature roared as we escaped its grasp and whirled angrily toward us. “You can’t get away from me. I own the Realm of Dreams.”
Michael skidded along the floor and looked over at me frantically. “Cassandra, get out of here! Leave the dream and you’ll be safe.”
I wished I could explain to him that it wasn’t that simple. Without the Dust, I was unable to return. The realm chose when a Dream Weaver was allowed to enter, and it decided when I could leave.
Chasing Starlight: Cassandra's Story (The Daughters of Night Chronicles) Page 17