Dreamwalker

by J. A. Culican

  I tried again and thought of how I was able to get Beru to see me. If I could do this, I could get Gavin out of here. I brought my hands up to my chest and visualized Gavin and I leaving together.

  “Aria,” Gavin yelled as he wheeled his way over to me. “What are you doing here?”

  I sent a silent prayer to whatever god had helped me pull this off.

  “I’m dreamwalking.”

  “So, you are one.” Gavin sighed as his eyebrows hung low. He was anything but happy for me.

  “Yes. But that doesn’t matter. I need to get you out of here tonight.” I glanced outside of his tent. If Gavin could see me, then the ur’gel would be able to as well.

  “What about Beru?”

  “That’s not going to happen now.” I paced the tent as I tried to figure out a way to get us both out of here and realized Sade would be almost ready to pull me back to my body. I couldn’t leave Gavin alone in the woods, or worse yet, on our way out of the woods. I needed to act fast.

  “They won’t stop. I’ve heard things about Beru,” Gavin cautioned me.

  “So have I. That plan is dead. We need to move. I need to take you with me back by dreamwalking,” I replied confidently as I tried to look like I knew what I was talking about.

  “Have you done that before?” Gavin’s eyes widened.

  “I will tonight.” I grabbed his hands and knelt in front of his chair. “I need your energy.”

  I motioned for him to close his eyes and I held onto his hands with a tight grip. I harnessed his energy with mine and visualized us being back in Western March at Svan’s house with Sade, safe.

  “What’s going on in here?” s voice called from behind me. He startled me, and my grip on Gavin broke.

  I flipped around to see Xagu standing there with four other ur’gel, all holding swords aimed at me. I froze, thinking of any potential wounds I could bring back to my own body if they were to attack.

  “I’m dreamwalking. I needed to practice if I’m to bring Beru to you. He’s not the believing kind,” I managed to say, hoping he would believe me.

  Xagu, stood at the door and watched us, his body not giving any hints about his thoughts away. Then he raised his hand, and his men lowered their weapons. He turned to them and nodded for them to leave.

  “Surround this tent.” Xagu stood with his feet apart and his hand close to his sword.

  I glanced over at Gavin, who was going along with our story. He was relaxed and calm.

  “Gavin is to stay here.”

  “He’s the best one for me to practice on. I have more invested in moving him by dreamwalking than Beru.” I stood my ground as I hoped Xagu bought my story.

  “You’ll only use it on Beru.” Xagu didn’t move from where he stood.

  “I need an emotional connection. I have that with Gavin,” I said a little more forcefully than I had been with Xagu before. I worried my time would be limited as Sade got ready to pull me back to my reality.

  Xagu narrowed his eyes and remained quiet, then finally said. “Fine.”

  I nodded to Gavin and got back into the same position. “Focus on traveling with me.” I smiled nervously, like I didn’t have a lot riding on this.

  I held onto his hands and settled into a deep meditation. I harnessed all the energy from the room I could. My hands produced a considerable amount of heat, so much heat that Gavin yelped and pulled back from me.

  “What was that?” He shook his hands fast and hard.

  “I don’t know. There is no manual with this stuff.” I stood and shook my arms and jumped up and down to regain control. My thoughts focused on Sade and the possibility of my time ending before I could take Gavin. I wouldn’t get this chance again.

  “Did you make it to the dreamwalker?” Xagu sat down next to the fire.

  “Yes, he’s going to help me.”

  “The dreamwalker is going to help you release Beru?” Xagu questioned me.

  “Yes.” My focus was on Gavin and not the uncertainness in his voice.

  “You told him about Beru?” Xagu asked me again.

  “Yes.” I shook my head at him and narrowed my eyes, trying to get a read off his body language.

  Xagu stood and walked back to the door. His feet were shoulder width apart, and his sword lay in front of him.

  The odd expression on his face worried me. What had I said that would set him off?

  “Continue.” Xagu nodded at us.

  I turned to Gavin, who appeared unsettled and not as interested in the experiment as he had just been. I grabbed his hands, and he flinched.

  “I need you to trust me,” I warned as I stared in his eyes.

  Gavin agreed, and his hand went limp in mine. “Focus on me. Think about the days we played in the barn, bounced in the hay.”

  “When I could walk?” Gavin snorted.

  I needed to make him angry so I could use that energy. I pulled his arms forward, toward me, and settled in again. It was even harder to make this work with another set of eyes as they watched us. Wanting us to fail.

  Nothing happened. I let go of Gavin’s hands and sat back on the ground.

  “I need a minute.” Perhaps I had done too much too fast.

  “Have you been to see Beru?” Xagu’s questions continued.

  “Yes, once more,” I lied to Xagu again. I kept my head turned away from him so he could not see the deceit on my face.

  “You did not tell me,” Xagu replied angrily. “I had asked that you send word.”

  “I didn’t make contact with him. He’s unaware I had been there.”

  That part was true. There had been times when I was there and he didn’t know.

  “You have one more try with this.” Xagu waved toward Gavin.

  I nodded back that I understood. I would only have one more chance I thought as I stood and wrung my hands out. I pushed the worry and fear out of my mind and put all my focus on Gavin and me.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Ready as I can be.” Gavin glanced over toward Xagu.

  “You should leave if this doesn’t work,” Gavin leaned in and whispered.

  “We’ll be fine. We both have to be in tune. Can you do that for me?” I asked as my body began to tire.

  Gavin nodded, and we got back into position together. I let every thought drift away, and I fixated on Gavin and I being in Western March. Walking around the markets, the amazing food, meeting Svan, and what he would think when he knew Sade had stuck with me. How well he would get along with Astor, and how much more he would pick on me.

  Energy zapped in the air all around us and Gavin and I disappeared in plain sight, but only for a short time. I gave it every ounce I had in me.

  I heard Sade as she called out to me. My time was limited, and I started to panic. I opened my eyes as Gavin pulled away. He looked past me frightened. I turned back, and Xagu leapt toward me. I fell back on the floor as Xagu fell on top of me.

  I opened my eyes. I was back in Western March, in my bed. I turned around to see if Gavin was with me. But all I saw was Xagu standing there, his eyes burrowed deep into me.

  “What’s he doing here?” Sade had Xagu cornered in the bedroom with her bow.

  “It worked.” Xagu examined his surroundings, undeterred by Sade.

  I could barely lift my head off the bed as they argued.

  “Here, have some of that tea.” Sade brought over a cup as her eyes stayed on Xagu.

  I took a drink from the mug and almost instantly gained my strength back.

  Xagu passed Sade and left the room.

  “Where are you going?” Sade called out to him, unable to leave me. “Are you ok to move?”

  “Yes, just take my arm.” I lifted it up, and she slid it around her neck.

  As we entered the hallway, we could see the front door had been opened. We shared a look as we hobbled along.

  It didn’t take long for things to heat up as the D’ahvol realized that an ur’gel was amongst them. They surrounded us, and
I soon realized they considered Sade and I a target as well.

  As Xagu reached for his sword, I put my hand on his to lower his weapon as we were outnumbered. I scanned the crowd for Iri, Svan, or Astor.

  Xagu pulled me back toward a building as more D’ahvol joined the group.

  “You’ve done it now,” I directed my comment to Xagu. He was a natural-born fighter, but this was a death wish.

  “Can you get us back to camp?” Xagu kept his eyes on the crowd, waiting for something to breakout.

  “No, Sade called me back. If you hadn't jumped me, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

  “You lied to me,” Xagu stated.

  I cocked my head to the side. “How long did you know?”

  “When I walked into the tent. A dreamwalker would not have helped you free Beru.” Xagu stated.

  I shook my head, angry with myself. There was nothing left to do but deal with the current situation at hand.

  “I don’t have any weapons on me,” I added.

  “My bow is in the house.” Sade stepped beside us.

  Xagu turned his head and frowned at me, then he reached under his cloak and pulled out a knife and handed it to me. “This is the best I’ve got.”

  “Thank you.” We watched an angry crowd form, and I passed the knife to Sade. “How long do you think we can hold them off?”

  “Not long,” Xagu stated. I guessed he wasn’t one for motivational speeches before battle.

  “Iri will come. There’s no way this won’t be gossiped about. Most of the city is already here.” I searched the crowd.

  “Over there.” Xagu nodded to a booth made from straw. “That’s our best position.”

  Sade nodded in agreement.

  Xagu passed us as he made a run for the booth, not giving us much of a say in the plan. We followed behind him as arrows flew over our heads, taunting us as we ran.

  “They’re a pretty bad shot.” I knelt on the ground.

  “If they wanted to hit us, they would,” Xagu stated, his gaze trained on our audience.

  “They are clever in battle,” Sade added.

  I sat back against the building, tired from dreamwalking, and prepared myself to fight for my life if it came to that.

  Xagu entered the house behind us.

  “We need Iri. He could call this crowd off.”

  Xagu exited the house with weapons. He handed Sade a bow with some arrows.

  Sade readied the bow. “He’s not coming. We’re on our own.”

  Sade offered me the knife I had handed to her. I had practiced sword fighting many times, but not up-close combat.

  “You’ll have one shot. Make it count. Eyes or throat are easiest. The heart is much harder to get to, but if you can do it, they’ll go down quick.” Sade grabbed the knife and motioned several ways to use it most efficiently.

  “We want the big one,” someone from the crowd shouted.

  Sade stuck her head out and saw one of the men as he stood between the crowd and our booth.

  “The big one.” The man raised his sword over his head.

  “They are calling a one on one.” Sade sat back down and nodded toward Xagu. “They want you.”

  Xagu did not hesitate. He stood and assessed the group. He fought almost daily, but the odds weren’t in his favor this time.

  “They will want to keep fighting you one on one until.” Sade tested the bow.

  “I’m not afraid to die,” Xagu replied in a steady voice.

  Xagu put his hands up over his head and walked out into the crowd to meet his challenger. The group behind him cheered louder and hit their spears and shields together. The sound echoed through the city’s core.

  “They’ll kill him.” I crossed my arms, unsure of my feelings.

  “I’m more concerned if they will stop with him.” Sade stood to watch as the bow swung by her side in her hand.

  “What should we do?”

  Sade had been here many times before. She knew their customs and rules.

  “Wait it out. If there’s a chance to run, I want you to take it. Get to Svan’s house,” Sade stated as her eyes were entranced on Xagu.

  Xagu’s challenger walked almost all the way around him. The crowd roared for the fight to begin, but both competitors needed to be ready, and a touch of their spears would signal the battle to begin.

  Sade and I held our breath as their spears touched.

  The challenger stood half the size of Xagu and was quicker on his feet. He danced around Xagu as he tried to pierce him with his spear, missing each time.

  “He’ll tire out quickly if he lunges at every opportunity.” Sade watched the challenger bounce around as he mocked Xagu.

  The challenger seemed more interested to please the crowd. The next time he bounced around, Xagu lifted his spear and spun through the challenger’s torso. He fell to the ground.

  The crowd booed, shocked, unfamiliar with how sturdy and fearless ur’gel were. Another man took his place as the next challenger.

  “This could go on forever,” Sade stated.

  The next challenger wasn’t as much into theatrics as the first. The challenger and Xagu walked around each other to try to determine each other’s weakness. When they were both ready, they touched spears.

  The challenger stayed close to Xagu’s body, so Xagu’s ability to move his spear became limited. He was also quicker than Xagu and able to cut him several places with quick, short jabs, only enough to annoy him.

  Xagu had enough and picked the challenger up by the scruff of his neck and drove the spear through his body. The crowd booed again and yelled for Xagu to die.

  Another challenger stepped up, this time female. She made her way to Xagu without any hesitation. They walked around each other, and she spat in his face. When he turned to wipe his eyes, she tried to plunge her spear into his side but failed.

  Angered, Xagu stepped back, lifted his arm and pierced his spear through her torso. The angry crowd moved closer to Xagu, and he retreated to our hay booth.

  “You’re winning them over,” Sade said sarcastically.

  “Would you rather I die?” Xagu narrowed his eyes at Sade and threw down the new spear he had been handed.

  “We can’t fight amongst ourselves. We need to keep fighting them off until Iri arrives. We may have a chance.” I hoped we could at least work together until then and then get Xagu home.

  “He's not due back until the morning.” Sade kept an eye on the crowd.

  “Try your best to conserve energy,” I said to Xagu as he patrolled the booth and waited until he was called out again.

  The crowd faced away from us and huddled.

  “Seems like they are regrouping.” Sade craned her neck to see past a sign.

  “They have never seen an ur’gel fight.” Xagu pounded his chest, readying himself to go into battle again.

  “No, but I get the feeling anything goes here.” Sade turned back to us.

  “Watch your back,” I chimed in.

  A horn sounded off, and the crowd parted as the next challenger entered the open space to fight Xagu. He was much taller than the rest, closer in stature to Xagu. He brought a different form of weapon. Two metal balls with spikes connected by a long chain.

  “How’s he going to fight with those?”

  “I’ve seen that before. If he’s good, you’re in trouble Xagu,” Sade replied. “Keep as far away from him as you can.”

  “He’ll try for my spear with those.” Xagu shuddered. It was the first sign of fear he had shown.

  “You have more years of experience,” I praised Xagu. He needed to keep arrogant. Sometimes that was all you had in situations like these.

  Xagu nodded and puffed out his chest as another horn sounded off. He gave us a quick nod and headed back out to fight the next challenger in what would be a long line.

  They met in the center and walked around each other, assessing strengths, with the challenger having an advantage in having seen Xagu fight already.
/>   The new challenger lifted his chain and moved his arm in circles. The two metal balls took to the air to show the damage they could do.

  “That’s not good.” I shuddered. It would be easy to grab Xagu’s spear in one swing, and he’d be weaponless. “He gave me his knife. His spear is all that he has.”

  “Shit.” Sade’s neck flushed.

  Sade and I were unable to help in any way. Doing anything would have enraged the crowd and caused more harm to all of us.

  The challenger swung his weapon closer to Xagu.

  Xagu stood back each time as it nearly reached him.

  The challenger swung them lower as he tried to wrap them around Xagu’s legs but missed by inches.

  Xagu rushed toward him, and the challenger almost lost his balance, causing him to lose the momentum with his weapon. Xagu raised his arm and tried to spear the challenger to the ground but missed. His spear stuck into a piece of wood, and he tried to pull it free.

  The challenger seized this opportunity and swung the metal balls into Xagu.

  Xagu fell to the ground from the force of metal as it slammed into him. His leather vest ripped as the metal balls tore into his skin. He reached back and pulled the metal ball with its spikes out of his side. He was badly injured.

  He held on to the chain with one hand and was able to free his spear with the other hand. As he pulled the challenger toward himself, he sliced his spear into the challenger’s heart.

  Xagu roared back at the crowd. It was clear the D'ahvol people had underestimated him.

  A horn sounded, and Xagu walked back toward us. As he did, someone from the crowd threw a flaming ball of some contraption toward his back, landing about a foot from where he stood.

  Xagu’s head swung back, and he let out a deep rumbling growl.

  The crowd stood back, uncertain of the monster’s abilities.

  “We don’t have much time,” Sade yelled from over the stacks of hay.

  Xagu retreated into our sanctuary as we assessed his wounds. It took a few minutes as he was covered in blood and badly injured.

  “Can you heal me, Aria?” Xagu lay down on the ground.

  I had no medicine, and my healing skills were shoddy at best. I placed my hand over the worst wound.