Genie and the Sandman

by Julie Parker

  I shrugged my shoulders when the man glared at me. “What can I say? He doesn’t like it when weirdoes grab me.”

  “What’s your problem?” Logan took up a threatening stance before the man, who was slowly climbing to his feet.

  “I’m sorry, my lord. But not more than an hour ago you left here determined to end this troublesome wench once and for all. Now, here you are returned, without your cloak and ready to do battle with me—your most trusted servant—for a girl who will surely be the end of us all.”

  Logan and I looked at each other in shock. It seemed this monstrosity was Logan’s home.

  And I was his mortal enemy.

  Chapter Fourteen

  His most trusted servant looked to be about seventy years old. For a geezer he’d had a strong grip. He was dressed all stuffy-like in a butler suit that looked like a throwback to the fifties, or earlier. His starched white collar was high around his neck. The light from an overhead chandelier cast a shine on his bald head. He splayed out his hands beseechingly at Logan. “What has she done to you, my lord?”

  “Impudent swine!” snapped Logan, stepping into his role of lord easily. “How dare you question me?”

  “But…but….”

  “Enough. Leave us at once. I will deal with the wench alone.”

  “Your guests, my lord?”

  “Can wait.”

  The doorman looked back and forth from Logan to me, unsure of what to do. Fear of his lord’s wrath won out. He reluctantly backed towards the exit, opened the door, and paused. When his mouth opened to voice his dismay, Logan pointed a finger at him and said, “Go.” The doorman bowed his head and shut the door.

  I poked Logan in the chest with my finger. “Wench?”

  He smiled at me like a rogue. “It worked, didn’t it?”

  But for how long?

  A moment later there was a timid knock at the door. Logan opened it, and I saw the doorman standing there. Before Logan could yell at him again, the man passed some clothes into his hands and then practically ran back down the hall.

  “What’d you get?” I couldn’t help but notice there were no nice warm dry clothes for me to change into.

  Logan laid his bundle over the wide plush back of the chair by the fire. He held up a black jacket with long tails, a pair of black pants, and a crisp white shirt. He’d even been provided with black socks and black leather shoes. He dropped his blanket and peeled off his wet T-shirt, which had molded to his chest like a second skin. Swiftly I turned around to let him get changed. I could hear every piece of his wet clothing as it landed on the floor.

  “Put your stuff by the fire to dry,” I said in a tight voice. I should totally not be thinking about his muscles.

  Endless minutes later, once he was finally dressed, Logan began to stalk around the room. “We can’t stay in here, but I’m also not thrilled about heading back out into the rain.”

  Wow. He looked amazing in that gothic-style suit. It fit him to a T, but it should, considering it belonged to him…well, the other him. My eyes watched him move about while I tried to even out my heavy breathing. He went behind a huge wooden desk and started rifling through the drawers and papers.

  “Me neither. What are you looking for?”

  “I’m trying to get an idea of who I am in this world. He kept calling me ‘lord,’ so I must be a big shot or something.”

  “You got me, but if this house is any indication of you and your family’s status, I would definitely think so.” I tore my gaze away from him and took a seat in a wide cushy chair by the fire. The heat of the flames felt good against my chilled skin.

  “While I’m doing this, maybe you can try and figure out what your gift is.”

  All I really wanted to do was sleep, and maybe have something to eat. “Since you’re lord here, why don’t you just go out there and send all your guests home? Tell them you’re sick or something. They’re bound to have seen you come in soaked to the skin, so they’d buy it. Then send Baldy to the kitchen for food.” Sounded good to me.

  “I suppose. I can’t see anything here that tells me much. It just looks like a lot of accounting stuff. Hey, maybe they’ll have steak and potatoes.”

  “Maybe.”

  “After we get some sleep we can try to figure this all out. If your gift can’t get us home, we can always head back to the tunnels.”

  “Yeah, our other selves should have found another world to conquer by now. Hey, what did we look like anyway? Were we old?”

  “Nah, we looked the same age as us, just dressed funny.” Logan came over and flopped down in a chair near mine. He reached out his hand and I clasped it.

  “Too bad we can’t compare notes with ourselves. It’d sure save us all a lot of time.”

  He leaned back his head and shut his eyes. “I’ll go out and talk to the guests in a minute. I just want to relax for a sec.”

  “I could fall asleep right here. Couldn’t you?” I didn’t think I’d ever been in a more comfortable chair.

  “What?” Logan said dreamily.

  “Sleep, Logan. I said sleep. Couldn’t you just?”

  When he failed to respond to me, I closed my eyes. A few moments later they flashed wide open again when I heard a loud laugh. The light suddenly grew dim and at the same time, the noise outside the room—I guess from the guests—grew loud. Very loud, in fact. It sounded as if there was a big mob right outside the door.

  “What’s going on?” Logan sprung to his feet.

  I got to my feet as well. “I dunno.”

  “Get back. I’m gonna open the door and peek out.”

  I followed him over to the door and stepped around to the opposite side so when he opened it I would be hidden. He didn’t appear to appreciate my close proximity, but that was too bad. He looked at me, and when I gave a nod he opened it. The sound of the mob suddenly died off.

  “What’s happening out there?” I whispered.

  That’s when a tiny little man ran into the room and squeaked, “Quick. Shut the door, my lord.”

  It was the doorman, although he suddenly stood no more than two feet tall. Panting heavily, he helped Logan close the door and then he leaned against it. “That was close,” he said.

  Logan stared at the little man, and I knew he was battling between questioning him and breaking into laughter.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The sight of that bald, little, pompous, suit-wearing snot, huffing and puffing against the door, was downright hilarious. I laughed even harder when he drilled me with an indignant glare.

  “Pardon me, Tiny,” I sputtered, then laughed some more.

  Just as Logan opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door.

  “Don’t open it,” hissed Tiny.

  “Open up,” came a voice from the other side. Strangely, the voice sounded exactly like mine.

  Logan opened the door, and sure enough, I walked in. Well, a different me, but we looked identical, except she was wearing a super tight one-piece jumpsuit, like something they wore on Star Trek.

  “I’m here to help you get home,” said Space-me. Her hair was immaculate, and straight. She had makeup on, but just the right amount, and her voice was sweet, almost melodic.

  “I saw you in the tunnel,” Logan said.

  “Don’t trust her,” Tiny wailed. “She’ll take you away from us, my lord. You’re needed here.”

  Space-me regarded Tiny with disgust. “Quiet, troll. They need to return to their own world.”

  I was worried. I shouldn’t be seeing myself. Especially not this perfectly put-together beautiful version of myself, which Logan seemed to be mesmerized by. But what if Space-me spoke the truth? Perhaps she could get us home. It’d be worth the price of any consequences…I hoped.

  “What should we do?” I asked Logan. He was still staring at the other me, and I didn’t much care for the dumb look on his face. Sure, she looked great, but I had just walked through a rainstorm. Why she wasn’t all wet made we wonder. Perhaps she’d arri
ved by a different route. “Logan!”

  He snapped out of his trance and finally turned to me. “What?”

  “What should we do?”

  “Ah, leave, I guess?”

  Give me a break. She didn’t look that good. “Hey,” I said to Space-me. “Where’s your Logan?” Perhaps he was wearing a sexy, skin-tight space suit as well.

  “He’s waiting for us in the tunnel,” Space-me said. “We need to leave…now.”

  Bossy little thing.

  Although my blanket was still wet, it was the only covering I had. I plucked it off the floor near the fire where I’d laid it, along with Logan’s, so they could dry. I flung it around my shoulders and handed Logan his. Space-me gave me a funny look. “You won’t be needing those,” she informed me.

  Instead of leading us out of the room, she suddenly waved her arms into the air. From out of nowhere music began to play. Then Space-me began to dance. Logan and I just watched open-mouthed. Her moves were actually pretty decent. Tiny dashed into the middle of the floor and began to dance as well. The two of them sashayed around the room as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

  This was all too much. Either we had slipped into Crazy-Ville, or I was having some freaked-out dream. That was it…I was dreaming. I pinched my arm and as I yelped in pain, I suddenly sat bolt upright in the big easy chair by the fire. Logan was sitting ramrod straight as well. We looked at each other in amazement. “I just had the weirdest dream,” Logan and I both said at the exact same time.

  “Did it involve a bimbo me and a dancing troll?” I asked. Logan stared at me for a few seconds, and then nodded his head.

  “How did we manage to have the same dream?” He got up to stand before the fire. I got up as well.

  “I dunno. Our hands were joined when we drifted off; maybe that linked us, or something.”

  “Well, that was weird.”

  I couldn’t agree more. “Do you think we could do that again? It could be this world…maybe everybody has the same dreams.”

  He went over to the door and opened it a crack. “It’s pretty quiet out there, so I guess the doorman told the guests I’d be delayed.”

  “Yes, giving you time to deal with the wench,” I reminded him.

  Ignoring my sarcasm, he came back over to the fire. “Then we should have some time to try this again.” He reached out and took my hand.

  “Okay, only I don’t know if I can go to sleep, Logan. I’m not all that tired anymore.” His eyes abruptly closed and he slumped to the floor. “Logan?” I knelt beside him, and when I saw the steady rhythm of his breathing I realized he was asleep. Just like that.

  There was a thick rug before the fire. Logan appeared quite comfortable on it, so I curled up beside him and took his limp hand in mine again. I closed my eyes and concentrated on sleeping. After about a minute I opened my eyes. It was going to be impossible to make myself sleep on demand.

  Gradually the room began to change. It got all cloudy but then cleared. I got to my feet and looked down at Logan, except he wasn’t on the floor anymore. I turned around and searched my surroundings with a glance. I noticed everything was different. There was a bed across the room, and two long windows with the curtains drawn. Someone lay on the bed, and as I approached cautiously I saw it was Logan. He was awake and staring at the ceiling.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him

  Sitting up, his eyes swept around the room and then met mine. “I don’t think we’re at the creepy house anymore.”

  “Then where are we?”

  “I know this room. It’s mine. From my old house in Toronto.” He got up and walked over to the window. I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt and boxers, showing off his long athletic legs. Drawing the curtain aside, he peered outside. “I dream about it sometimes.”

  “Okay, that’s weird. If people dream the same stuff in the world we’re in, then we should be dreaming about that world, not about our world.”

  “Maybe we don’t share dreams with others. Maybe just you and me share dreams somehow.” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “Then why is it your dream again? That last one was definitely not mine, and this one isn’t either.”

  After some thought, he replied. “I think I know, Payton.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.” There was that sarcasm again.

  “This must be your gift in this world. You can go into peoples’ dreams.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  What Logan said made sense. I paced around the room to ponder. “Hey, you know, now that I think about it, I was holding your hand both times when you fell asleep. And it was kinda weird that last time, ‘cause when I mentioned sleep, you just fell to the floor. Almost as though, at my suggestion, you went to sleep.”

  “So maybe you touch people and make them doze off, like the Sandman?”

  “Very funny, but yeah. Plus, it seemed as long as I was touching you I could enter your dream. Last time, I figured out it was a dream cause it was so bizarre. I was able to bring myself out of it with a pinch.”

  “You brought me out of it too.”

  “I don’t want to have to keep pinching myself to wake up. It hurts.” A slight bruise had already begun to form on my arm.

  “If I wake up, then you should wake up too.” Logan pinched his own arm, but nothing happened.

  “Great. Since I put you under, I probably have to be the one to wake you up.”

  “Then tell me to wake up,” he suggested.

  It couldn’t hurt. “All right. Wake up, Logan.”

  Moments later, we both opened our eyes and sat up. We were still at the creepy house, on the rug before the fire.

  “Cool,” said Logan.

  That wasn’t the word I’d use to describe it.

  The idea of getting into someone else’s head made me feel antsy. Not to mention the room was beginning to get overly warm. It made me claustrophobic. I needed a change of scenery, or something else to think about. I got up and went over to peer out the door into the hallway. I couldn’t hear anything. “Maybe Baldy sent everyone packing,” I said to Logan, who’d come over to join me.

  “Only one way to find out.” He walked back to the fire and grabbed our blankets. When he handed me mine, I wrapped it around my shoulders and my body to hide my shorts and T-shirt. Logan slung his over his arm, then stepped out into the hall and gestured for me to join him. On cautious feet we slunk back the way we’d come, keeping our eyes and ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Part of me wanted to continue down the hall in the opposite direction and see where the long corridor led. Another part of me wanted to keep on walking, right to the front door, and get out of there. Getting into people’s dreams wasn’t about to help us get home. We might as well leave.

  Logan stopped and peered around the corner of the hall toward the front door. “Want to make a dash for it?”

  “I guess.” I was hungry and feeling sleepy again, and the thought of going back into that cold wind and rain made me pull my still damp blanket around me tightly.

  Logan squeezed my hand. “Ready then, on three? One…two—”

  “My lord.” The voice came from behind us. Logan and I both turned around to face Baldy. “I was beginning to worry. You are ready now?” He hurried toward us and then walked on ahead when Logan nodded in answer to his question. Logan dropped his blanket in the hall and we both followed him, passing the front door forlornly.

  “My guests?” Logan fathomed a guess as to where we were headed.

  “Await you in the drawing room.” Over his shoulder he suddenly grilled me with an evil glare. “Best hold the girl, my lord. She’d bound to cause a stir amongst the gentle ladies.”

  Cause a stir? Little ’ole me? What was I in this world…besides a Sandman, that is?

  We stopped before the heavy wooden door. Baldy checked to make sure Logan had a hand on my arm, appearing to hold me, for the gentle ladies’ sakes. He gave Logan a look of approval. “They’ll be right glad you caught h
er, my lord. It will put many minds at ease.”

  Logan nodded grimly, and I could tell by the look in his eye he was getting annoyed. By the way Baldy was acting, you’d think I was evil incarnate. Maybe I was a politician?

  When the door swung open and we headed inside, a collective gasp sounded around the room. A couple of ladies gave little screams of dismay, and one of them even dropped to the floor in a swoon.

  A bold fellow stepped forward and frowned at Logan. “My lord. What is the meaning of this?”

  Logan pulled himself up to his full height and looked down at the man. I noticed Logan’s fist was clenched.

  “Better back away fella,” I warned.

  The wise man stepped back.

  “My word, you’ve caught her,” said another guy. He appeared gleeful, but not willing to come any closer to us.

  Logan appeared at a loss, so I took the initiative. “What are my crimes?” I demanded.

  Everyone gasped again, and another lady dropped to the floor. Her husband, or boyfriend, bent over her and tapped her cheeks. “Don’t go to sleep. Please Virginia, awake, I beg of you.”

  An old spinster-looking lady wearing a tight green taffeta gown wiggled up toward Logan and me. She waved her finger in the air. “You just keep outta these ladies’ heads, do you hear me, girl?”

  What the heck did that mean? Was the other Payton from this place making these people fall asleep and crashing their dreams? I seemed to have no control over doing it. Making Logan fall asleep and joining him in dreamland hadn’t been my intention at all. Maybe the other Payton couldn’t control it either.

  I broke free of Logan’s loose hold and stepped forward. Despite the old woman’s brave words, she stepped back. I tried to look as non-threatening as possible. “I don’t mean anyone harm.”

  There were more than a few snorts.

  “No, really.”

  “Can we not just listen to what the girl has to say?” Logan suggested.

  The stuffy man who’d stepped up earlier came forward again, while the others backed closer to the walls. “My lord, you well know she is the end of us. Best do away with her now before it is too late.”