by Amber Flora
Maybe I shouldn’t have started demanding things, but I was tired of all the games. Ben decided it was his turn to talk.
“With all due respect, Miss Lane, you have no idea how things are handled around here. In fact, until a few days ago you knew nothing about this world or its history. I hardly think you are in the position to advise.”
Who hell did this guy think he was? If they were trying to send me into a fit of rage they were on the right track. I stood up for emphasis.
“With all due respect, Ben, you all came looking for me, not the other way around. If you didn’t want me sticking my nose in the council's business perhaps you shouldn’t have been stalking me for the past few years, and while we're all laying it out all on the table, you all have been at pretty much a standstill since the Credo attacked, could it be possible that you may need a different strategy and just maybe someone with a new perspective could be the key to fixing this whole mess?”
My hand was starting to shake. I was afraid if I didn’t get myself under control I was going to find myself in Cardician again.
“Please calm down, my child. No one is attacking you here. We are simply doing our best to determine the best course of action. We will agree to start the search with your father. I will allow Dakota and Mac to assist you however you need. Gloria can start searching through the Archives to see if she can find any records of dreamwalkers with special abilities.”
Bonnie pushed out of her chair with force.
“Roger, you can’t be serious! We cannot afford to take these risks. We have no idea who her father could be, for all we know he was a spy for Ser’ie. You are practically inviting the wolf to supper.”
My inner self laughed thinking about how much she sounded like her son.
“Bonnie, I hear your concerns. I suggest we take a vote to be fair, of course.”
Oh, brother, I was in trouble. Five council members meant three strangers had to vote in my favor. I was pretty sure I had Roger’s vote and certain I didn’t have Bonnie’s. Ben’s outright dislike for me had me thinking not to put all to my eggs in his basket. Gloria and Rebecca hadn’t said anything, so I had no idea where their heads were.
“All those who approve?” Roger asked, raising his hand.
Gloria’s shot up shortly after. With her being the bookkeeper/historian, she was probably thrilled about the prospect of sorting through old archives looking for historical treasures. I looked around the table. No one else was raising his or her hand. At least I gave it my all. I was about ready to verbally admit defeat and then I was shocked to see Ben slowly raise his hand and look at Bonnie apologetically. Holy shit! Did I just get three votes?
“It’s settled then. We will proceed with Ashtyn’s plan, at least most of it. I would prefer to save dream hunting for last.”
Bonnie stormed out of the room and Cody chased after her. I felt a tinge of guilt for pitting mother against son.
“Don’t worry about her. She knows deep down you're right, we all do.”
Ben had quietly walked up beside me. He was a tall man with blonde hair that hung down to his shoulders. Maybe he did that to help cover up the scar on his left cheek. It was noticeable, but he still had a boyish charm about him with a prominent dimple on his right cheek and sparkling green eyes.
“And you do?” I asked, looking at him.
“I thought if anyone would take her side it would be you.”
Ben directed me out into the hallway away from the other council members.
“Why because of my comments? I just wanted to get a feel for you. The passion in your words told me all I needed to know. Cody’s father was my mentor. I spent a great deal of time with him and Deandra. I share the same beliefs as Dakota: I am convinced you are the Phoenix from your mother's premonitions.”
That caught me off guard. Maybe the brute wasn’t as bad a guy as I originally thought.
Ben leaned into me, causing my back to hit the wall behind me, placing his hand softly on my face.
“You look so much like your mother and those eyes, they are truly magical.”
“You knew my mother?”
It seemed as though everyone knew her except me. I wish I had just one memory of her, a picture of her in my mind that I could hold onto.
“She was the High Priestess, of course I knew her.”
“Were you two close?”
I heard someone clear their throat and Ben put some space between us, dropping his hand.
“Ashtyn, we need to be getting back now.”
Holy macaroni, it was Cody.
“Thanks for the vote. I’ll try not to let you down,” I said to Ben, stepping around him.
“I have all the faith you won't. If you need an extra hand don't hesitate to call upon on me. I am at your disposal.”
I smiled and found it odd that it was a genuine smile; I really did like Ben, he seemed sincere in his words.
“What did he say to you?” He asked as he grabbed my hand leading me back to our entry point.
“Oh you know the typical go and save the world yadda yadda.”
He rolled his eyes.
“How is your mother?” I asked when we stopped to make room for a few passers-by.
“I can’t say. She won’t talk to me. Kat is with her; she's good at calming her down.”
“With her healer magic?”
I was curious. It was strange to know she could heal someone with just a touch.
“No, her words. Katrina is a very wise and compassionate woman, two qualities my mother holds in high regard.”
I snickered.
“Well then I don't understand why we aren’t best friends.”
Cody turned to look at me.
“Very soon I suspect you will be just that.”
Chapter 10
“B9.”
Drat, he did it again.
“Sunk,” I scoffed.
“Ashtyn, you are quite possibly the worst strategist in history.”
I stuck my tongue out in defiance.
“It’s just Battleship, I don’t think it requires a great deal of strategy.”
Cody started taking out his pegs and rearranging his ships.
“Says the girl who hasn’t won a single game.”
Alright, so he had me there, but it was a child’s game and he took it way too seriously. It had been almost two days since we arrived home after our little trip to dream realm and Mac still hadn’t returned. I was worried; Cody was not. He kept reminding me that time flowed differently in each realm and a day to us could have been hours to him. It didn’t ease my racing mind. That’s when we turned to board games, and after getting my butt kicked in chess, backgammon and Battleship I had come to the conclusion that games were not my strong suit.
“I give up. Can we watch a movie instead?”
I was ready to surrender and admit my defeat.
“Sure, if you say it.”
I narrowed my eyes on him.
“You can’t be serious.”
He leaned back and wrapped his hands behind his head.
“Oh, but I am.” An amused smile rested on his face. Oh, he was such a jerk.
“Oh, Cody, master of board games, lord of entertainment, I bow to you.”
I stood doing a courtesy while politely flipping him off with both middle fingers. We laughed. I had enjoyed our alone time. He told me stories about the Dreamwalkers and my mother. I loved the story about the time she caught him sneaking snacks from the temple. He thought he was going to lose a hand, instead she forced him to spend an entire day in the kitchen helping prepare the food for all the priests and priestesses. He said it was the hardest day's work he ever had.
I don’t know how long I had been out, but I abruptly awoke to the slam of a door. When my eyes blinked open I noticed I was laying on an uncomfortably hard pillow. I looked down and noticed a pair of black Oxfords directly below me. I came to realization that I was not lying on a pillow but rather Cody’s legs. Cocking my head to side my ga
ze ran up the length of a broad figure standing by the door. Shit! Mac was standing there arms crossed, foot patting and an annoyed look on his face. I sprang away from Cody, averting my gaze as though I hadn’t just had my head buried in his lap.
“Where the hell have you been? We’ve been worried sick, and wipe that disapproving look off your face.”
Mac looked to Cody and back to me before his eyes went bright and his mischievous look reclaimed his face.
“Lass, oh how I have missed your sharp tongue.” He picked me up in a bear hug.
“Then you should learn to check in,” I squeak out as he crushed my lungs.
“Sorry, mum, if I knew you would be this cheesed off I would have attached a GPS tracker to my arse. How did it go with the council?”
Cody slapped Mac on the back to put me down.
“She was amazing, the determination she showed; there was no way they were going to tell her no. I thought Roger was going to hand over the key to kingdom.”
Mac gave me a noogie.
“That’s my girl. Was there ever any doubt?”
I swatted his hand away.
“Stop it. What about you? Did you have any luck with the wizards?”
Mac rubbed the top of his head, which told me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Well now it depends on how you look at it. Your mystery woman closed up shop. I’m afraid there was no trace of her. I did, however, ask around and got a name, Veronica Frost She’s pretty well known around Cardician. They say she's the most powerful clairvoyant there is. She use to be on the Wizard committee awhile back, then she just up and quit, deciding instead to open a school. I think she's hiding a pretty big secret that she didn’t want the committee getting wind of.”
I thought about the older woman who I happened upon by chance. Who was she?
“Like me.”
I just couldn’t piece together the puzzle.
“Aye, that’s my assumption. I’m going back tomorrow and see if I can’t find where she resides.” I began to pace anxiously. How do find a wizard who doesn’t want to be found?
“She could be anywhere by now, she could have skipped to another realm for all we know. I’m going with you.”
Cody offered his two cents.
“I doubt she took the risk of going anywhere and alerting the wrong kind of people. It would be too suspicious, a former member of the committee disappearing. It’s too dangerous and not worth the reward.”
He was so damn bossy. Do this, don’t do that. Sure, it’s OK to unleash me on the council, but the second we get home he’s back to treating me like a child.
“Whatever, I’m going to bed. Do us both a favor and take the night off from hijacking my dreams. I need a break. That goes for you too, Fintan”
Mac gave an accusing glance to Cody.
“Who the feck told her my first name?”
I stormed off to my room not waiting for Cody to reply.
That night I dreamt I was sitting in a little cafe in Paris watching passers-by. I thought maybe I was imagining Ben walking up to my table but then I realized I’m a dreamwalker so technically everything I imagine is real.
“May I sit with you?” He said, letting his long blonde hair blow in the breeze.
I sighed. “Would it matter if I said no?”
“It would, instead of standing here all night watching over you I could sit and relax a bit.”
I waved my hand to indicate he could take a seat.
“Why are you here, Ben?”
He motioned for the waiter to bring him the same thing I was having and leaned back in his chair.
“Besides the fact that they have great coffee? Well, apparently you decided to give your guards the night off so they called in a favor.”
The word he was looking for was “babysitter.” That's all they were doing, making sure I didn't stick my finger in an electrical outlet or choke on a lego.
“I’m sure they were more than happy to have a restful night's sleep. As for you, you can go back to whatever dream you were having as well. No one has come after me in days, I don’t need you hovering over me.”
The waiter brought Ben his drink and he took a sip, setting it back down.
“We don't sleep, we are dreamwalkers. Most of our lives are spent in dreams. If we’re in the human realm too long we will flash home for a bit, but we don’t actually sleep. I am just speculating, but I assume once you start spending more time in your own realm you will sleep less and less as well.”
That’s impossible. They don’t sleep, but they have to, how could anyone survive without sleep?
“No, that can’t be true, Cody and Mac, they have beds.”
Ben quirked a brow.
“Have you seen these beds?”
Wait a minute, Mac said the bed was brought in the day I moved into the apartment. Come to think of it I have never even seen Cody’s room.
“What do they do when I go to sleep, how come they never told me this?”
Ben took another drink of his coffee.
“I assume one watches over you in dream realm while the other watches you in human realm. That’s what I would do if I were in command of this little operation.”
That made me feel horrible. They spend all of their time protecting me.
“Ben, is it possible to give them a break? Could I stay with you for a couple days just so they could have some personal time? They have been working non-stop since this whole thing began.”
Ben smiled out of the right side of his mouth, exposing his adorable dimple.
“I doubt they would let me take you five feet from them. Even though they asked me to come here tonight I still sense Mac lurking in the shadows. But if that is your wish you are welcome in my home anytime.”
Seriously? They called in the cavalry and they were still stalking me. This has got to stop. I’m not their pet.
“I would very much like that. Should we go now?”
Ben closed in until his face was inches from mine.
“I will send for you in the morning. For now let's take a stroll along the bridge.”
We walked along the streets of Paris talking about fairly normal things. I was tired of all the immortal talk. I needed a break, too. I thought escaping into my dreams would provide me with the serenity I had been deprived while I was awake, but even here in the deepest parts of mind I could not escape my reality. My life, the life I once thought dull and mundane, was no more and secretly I wept for its absence.
Cody was a ball of rage. I had seen him perturbed before, but this was a whole new side of him. If he weren’t careful he was going burst a blood vessel.
“What do mean you are staying with Ben for a couple days? Over my dead body.”
I snorted while packing a bag.
“Your mother is right, you are dramatic. Look, I think we all just need a break from each other. It will do all of us some good. It doesn’t mean we will stop working; think of it as a business trip.”
Mac leaned against the wall of my room but surprisingly didn’t interfere.
“You can’t stay in dream realm, Ashtyn. It’s too dangerous.”
I stopped packing and turned to look at him.
“I won’t be, apparently you guys aren’t the only non-humans to keep a summer home in the city. He said he has other guards there too, so I will always be looked after. I’m going to be with a member of the council; it doesn’t get much safer than that.”
Cody hit his fist against the wall and stormed out of the room.
“You are being shockingly quiet. You don’t want to yell at me too?” I asked, turning my attention to Mac.
“I know you well enough to know I’m not going to change your mind. I do though have a wee little favor to ask of ya.”
I arched a brow in interest.
“Don’t put a great deal of trust in Ben. Chameleons can take on many colors. If at any time you change your mind, call me. I’ll be there before you can hang up the phone.”
>
Was I naive? Could Ben not be one of the good guys? Surely Mac would never let me stay with someone who was dangerous.
“Do you think he would hurt me?”
He lifted himself away from the wall and strode over to me.
“Depends on how you look at it. Physically no, but there are different kinds of hurt, Macree. Keeps your wits about ya is all I’m saying.”
He then leaned in and kissed me tenderly on the forehead. He started to walk off and I grabbed his hand in mine.
“I like your name, Fintan, it’s nice. Don’t be ashamed of who you are. We all want a fresh start sometimes, but without roots a tree cannot grow.”
He put my hand to his mouth gently rubbing his lips across it.
“Lass, ya are stronger and wiser than I think even you know.”
If I thought Mac’s place was out of a movie Ben’s was straight off the cover of a home and garden magazine. It was about two hours out of the city on what looked to be a few acres of land. We drove down a long driveway that led to a huge house, mansion actually. In front of it had a big stone fountain in the shape of a beautiful woman that slightly resembled the statue I saw in the ruins of Avonya. On either side were hedges acting as a fence headed toward the back of the property. The house spanned about the size of a football field with its brick exterior and multiple stories. It had a balcony on the top level that stretched out to the driveway, almost like if you stood at the tip of it you could touch the lovely statue’s hand. The car Ben had sent for me stopped beside the fountain and an older gentleman opened my door and directed me inside. The foyer had staircases on either side leading up to the top floors, a large crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling. Impressionism and abstract paintings hung on the walls, giving the place a museum-like feel.
“This way, madam,” the elderly man said, leading me across the beige porcelain floor, stopping in front of a mahogany door and knocking.
“I asked not to be disturbed,” I heard Ben say on the other side.
“Miss Lane has arrived sir.”
I heard furniture moving about and then the door opened.
“Ashtyn, I’m so glad you could make it. I trust the drive here was acceptable?”