Dreamwalker

by J. A. Culican

  “I only have my energy,” I stressed as I got to work. The palm of my hands generated enough heat to begin healing. I used Mother Ofburg’s voice in my head to guide me.

  Xagu flinched as his wound burned. It was working.

  “Hold still.” I still had much to learn and could burn his good skin.

  The horn sounded off into the distance, and Sade joined us from her watch post.

  “Work faster,” Sade demanded as a second horn sounded. “The next challenger is up. You’re not going to like this one.”

  I only had time to heal the worst wound. We stood Xagu up and tried to cover his other wounds with fabric to hide them from the next fighter.

  “Save that energy for the next round.” Xagu patted me on the head as he proudly went back to the makeshift fighting ring.

  The next challenger was loaded with weapons. Sword, spear, knife, and other metal objects. He didn’t wait for the walk around. He ran toward Xagu to fight. He threw three triangular metal objects with spikes all around them, and they barely missed Xagu.

  The challenger swung his sword, and Xagu jumped back as the tip grazed his skin. He smiled at the challenger and brought his spear up, ready to make his kill.

  As his spear was up in the air, another D'ahvol appeared behind Xagu and dug a knife deep into his side.

  Sade and I gasped as Xagu fell to the ground. His head tilted toward us and he smiled as he fell into his death.

  I tried to run out to him, but Sade held me back.

  “Let him go. There’s nothing we can do now.” Sade hung onto me.

  Now my worst fear was realized, there would be no one to protect Gavin once the ur’gel learned of their leader's death at my hands.

  The D’ahvol carried Xagu’s body off in celebration, and Sade and I slipped out from our barrier and found our way back to Svan’s as discreetly as we could.

  “I need to get to Gavin.”

  “No way.” Sade held her hands up to me. “You just got back from dreamwalking, and you’re exhausted.”

  Sade couldn’t stop me. Gavin was in trouble, and I had to bring him through to us tonight. I paced the room as I tried to figure out a plan for it to work this time.

  “Word will get back of his death. Then there will nothing stopping the ur’gel from disposing of Gavin.” I wanted her more than ever to be on my side right now.

  “I won’t support this,” Sade stated firmly. “You’re no good to anyone dead.”

  As much as I hated she wasn’t on board with my plan, she was right. Dreamwalking without having a rest would be very dangerous for both Gavin and me, but I didn’t see any other way around it. By morning, the ur’gel would have heard about Xagu’s death.

  “Wait till morning. You’ll still have time before then.”

  I sat on the bed with my head down. The urge to vomit taunted me, something I was used to when I experienced anxiety. I pushed it deep down inside, but the exhaustion made it difficult to do.

  I sprang up from the bed and covered my mouth with my hand, barely making it to vomit into a bucket by the window.

  “I’m going to get Svan.” Sade turned to run to the door.

  “No.” I lifted my hand to stop her, and the door slammed shut right in front of her.

  “Did you just do that?” Sade stepped back from the door and me as she backed into the corner of the room.

  “I don’t know.” I wiped the vomit off my mouth. Every time I had dreamwalked, my healing and magic abilities had been easier to channel, but my body took longer to recover.

  “I think we should tell Svan.” Sade knelt beside me and pulled my hair back from my face. “He needs to know.”

  “Tomorrow. I promise.”

  Sade took me by the arm and pulled me to my feet. She guided me to the bed, and I plopped down hard. I rolled over on my side and stared out of the window as I waited for Sade to leave me.

  “I just need some rest. We’ll talk to Svan in the morning. I promise.” I didn’t bother to face her.

  “No dreamwalking till then.” Sade lay down on the other side of me.

  I lay on the bed and watched as Sade fell asleep. My eyelids burned, but I fought off sleep, until I was sure Sade would not wake up.

  I ran through the forest as fast as I could to get to Gavin. I didn’t care if anyone saw me.

  “It was right here,” I said aloud as I came to a clearing where the camp had been. I craned my neck to the left and then to the right. I panicked, knowing they must have found out about Xagu. They had already left for the Western March.

  I closed my eyes and held my hands out as I tried to connect with Gavin’s energy. There was little time. I inhaled a large breath and concentrated on feeling his energy.

  At first there was nothing. Then I sensed someone’s energy in the tips of my fingers. I brought my hands to my chest, over my heart. I pulled as much of the energy in as I could. It was Gavin. As I opened my eyes, I was in their new camp.

  The ur’gel were unorganized without Xagu. Tents lined too close to each other, no dining hall set up, handmade chairs flipped over and utter chaos. I walked through the camp, unsure if I was visible or not. None of the ur’gel seemed to notice me. It appeared that several of the ur’gel had been fighting over who would be their next leader.

  I kept my distance and walked behind each tent to look for Gavin, unsure of how long this cloak of invisibility would last. The first tent I reached had been filled with used boxes and barrels. I jogged over to the second tent, and it had one bed with nothing else in it. I went on, not finding Gavin in any of the tents that had been set up yet. He was here. I could still feel his energy connected to me.

  I went to the back of one of the tents so I wouldn’t be disturbed. I sat down on the grass and closed my eyes and searched for the right direction to Gavin. It was too dangerous to keep opening tent doors.

  I shivered as fear passed through me. Something pushed me to the ground and was beating me. Unable to catch my breath, I rolled to my side to protect myself. It didn’t stop. My body jumped as they kicked each rib. My eyes flew open, and I scrambled to my feet as I realized this was Gavin’s energy, not mine. I ran through the camp as his energy drew me nearer.

  I ran through the core of the camp and came to two female ur’gel who sat in front of a tent. They unpacked several large barrels of food. I stopped when they mentioned Xagu.

  “He shouldn’t have gone after the girl.” The older ur’gel leaned over one of the barrels and pulled out corn.

  “Blame Beru. I’m tired of doing all this for him.” The younger ur’gel rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t let anyone hear you say that.” The older ur’gel wagged her finger at the young girl.

  “At least let us get rid of the cripple.” The younger ur’gel sighed.

  “The elders will sooner or later.” The older ur’gel looked toward a part of the camp that was darkened.

  “Sooner the better.” The younger ur’gel brought her finger to her throat and swiped it across with a laugh.

  I made my way to the spot the older ur’gel had nodded to. It was dark, but I could see the outline of boxes, chairs, and other odds and ends of the camp.

  “Gavin?” I called out foolishly and shook my head as he wouldn’t be able to hear me.

  I moved around the boxes but stopped cold as I heard something behind me. I turned to investigate as the noise got louder. It sounded like something repetitively hitting wood.

  I walked over and hoped it was Gavin but also wondered why they would have left him out here all alone. If they hadn’t known about Xagu’s death, then they should have been treating Gavin as he had asked them to.

  As I neared a wagon, I walked around and saw the wheel on Gavin’s chair. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Gavin’s skin had turned a light shade of blue. He’d been draped in some thin fabric with no other clothes. I searched for something to cover him amongst the boxes but found nothing.

  “I’m here, little brother,”
I touched his hand.

  He flinched as he awoke from his slumber.

  I stood in front of him and expected that he’d see me since he felt my touch.

  Gavin shivered, then cowered as the voice of an ur’gel got closer.

  I walked around him to see how the ur’gel had tied him down. There was a piece of rope gathered around one of the wheels of his chair. It had been loosened as if he had tried to get away.

  I brought my hands in front of me and cupped them together. As the heat between them formed, I separated my hands by a few inches and shifted my hands back and forth, trying to build a larger force of energy. I closed my eyes and concentrated on building the energy.

  “Aria.” Gavin beamed as his torso leaned toward me and his arms reached up.

  I grabbed him, and we held on to one another, neither of us knowing what the other had been through.

  “Are you all right?” I pulled back from him as I looked him over as well as I could with the little light.

  “Did he go with you? He just disappeared.” Gavin babbled on as I thought of the right words to tell him of Xagu’s destiny.

  “Yes. I’m not sure how, but he came back with me to Western March.” I knelt down so we were face to face.

  “That’s where they are going.” Gavin leaned forward.

  “Do they know what happened?” I questioned him harshly. I regretted my tone, but I needed to know everything Gavin knew.

  “They know you’re a dreamwalker and that he disappeared with you.” A ray of light shadowed his face and showed off a large bruise on his cheek.

  I grabbed his face in between my hands. “They hurt you.”

  “We need to leave. Please, take me with you.” Gavin sobbed into my shirt to muffle the noise.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said, not knowing if it would be.

  “You can’t leave me again. I won’t be here the next time you come back.”

  “What did they do to you?”

  Gavin pulled the fabric that covered him off his waist.

  I gasped at the sight of the dirty work from the ur’gel. They had seared his flesh.

  “Can you heal me?”

  “I’m weak.” I had little of my energy left. I could either heal his wounds or try to take him back with me. “Once we are safe and I can rest, then I can heal you.” I took his hands in mine. “Remember how we tried last time?”

  Gavin nodded and replaced the fabric over his cold body. “I’m ready.”

  As I was about to begin, I heard footsteps off in the distance as they got closer to us. I put my finger to my lips as I hid behind the carriage.

  “Who’s talking over here?” An ur’gel strode toward Gavin.

  “It’s just me,” Gavin replied.

  His voice trembled, and I knew that this was the ur’gel who had hurt him.

  The ur’gel picked up a stick and cracked it against the wheel of Gavin’s chair.

  Gavin jumped but remained staring straight ahead.

  The ur’gel leaned behind him and whispered in his ear, “Your time is coming.”

  Gavin didn’t respond. He sat still as he glared straight ahead. The ur’gel walked around his chair, then bent over and pulled hard on the rope and moved Gavin’s chair a few feet from the force.

  “You stay put.” The ur’gel walked away.

  I waited a few minutes to make sure that he had left, then raced toward Gavin.

  “You okay?” I crouched down to his height to check for any new wounds.

  Gavin bent over and fell into my arms, and I rocked him back and forth.

  “Xagu is dead,” I replied, feeling relief to say it out loud.

  “He can’t be,” Gavin’s voice rose.

  “He’s dead.” I nodded my head as Gavin pulled back from me. I didn’t need to tell him what that meant for him. He already knew.

  “How?”

  “The D'ahvol challenged him. He didn’t have a chance.” The memory of his last smile as he passed over was vivid.

  “This will mean war. There are things I overheard.” He shook his head as if they were too evil to say out loud.

  “We can talk about this later. Let’s just get out of here.” I took his shaky hands in mine.

  “Take all of my energy.” Gavin leaned forward, his eyes already depleted with little spirit left.

  “I’ll take what I need. We can heal later.” I pushed his shoulders back straight.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. I pushed the ur’gel and D'ahvol out of my mind and only focused on Gavin and me. I forced myself to only think of us in Western March, laughing, eating, and standing.

  I could feel more energy than I had ever before until I touched Gavin. Every ounce seemed to drain from my body. I let go of his hands, frustrated at how little I knew about my own talent and mad at everyone who hadn’t told me I was a dreamwalker.

  “Behind you.” Gavin shook me.

  I turned around to see someone as they moved from the shadows of the trees. It wasn’t the ur’gel. As the creature came closer to us, the moon hit its cold dark face. Dressed in black, its breath was cold as ice as it hit the warm air.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Gavin said quietly.

  “It’s a dark sorcerer,” I managed to whisper. I took my place in front of Gavin, even more aware he couldn’t move.

  The sorcerer approached at a slow, wobbly pace. A cool mist flowed from its mouth and nose. A hissing sound came from its mouth.

  “I keep the boy.” The sorcerer walked closer to us.

  “He’s coming with me.” I put my hand on Gavin’s shoulder.

  “The boy is stuck in place,” the sorcerer barked back. “Until Beru is set free.” Its head tilted back as it laughed.

  “No. I’m taking him tonight,” I screamed back at it, not knowing how it would retaliate.

  “If you want your brother back safe and sound, then free Beru. The boy won’t have much longer.” The sorcerer flew off the ground and headed toward us. It disappeared into thin air, inches from hitting us.

  I shook my head as I glanced down to Gavin, who promptly said, “Free Beru.”

  I shot up in bed as I gasped for air. I searched the room as I hoped I had been able to pull Gavin back with me, but it wasn’t so. I filled my lungs with air and lay back on my pillow. Not a moment later, I heaved all over the floor.

  “Are you okay?” Sade sat up in bed as she rubbed her eyes.

  “No.” My hands trembled as I waited to vomit again at any second.

  “Please tell me you didn’t dreamwalk.” Sade jumped off the side of her bed and made her way around the bed to me.

  My eyes averted to the floor instead of confirming her suspicion.

  “Aria.” Sade sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to step in my puke, and pushed all the hair off my face.

  “I need to talk to Svan.” I tried to get out of bed, but Sade pushed me back down and pulled the blanket back on top of me.

  “I’ll get him,” Sade stated as she stood and left the room.

  I rolled on my back, worried about the ur’gel coming to Western March and what they would do when they found out that Xagu had been murdered. I closed my eyes as they filled with tears. My heart pounded from leaving Gavin. I let out a sob, and my body shook as I held another one in. I couldn’t shake being terrified my brother could be dead next time I saw him. I needed to get back to him.

  “Aria.” Svan hurried into the room. “What have you done?”

  My emotions overcame me, and I sobbed into my blanket. I wished, for once, I had done something right.

  Svan sat on the chair beside the bed, visibly tired.

  Sade stood at the door as she shifted her weight from one foot to the next.

  “Tell me what you did.” Svan’s lips stiffened into a firm line.

  “She’s never been like this before.” Sade’s eyebrows tilted down.

  “Dreamwalking can do this. Especially when done frequently, which I expect is the case
here. It’s hard on the body.” Svan waved his hand toward me but averted his gaze.

  I lay on the pillow and closed my eyes.

  “Let’s keep her quiet for a bit.” Svan lifted himself up from the chair. “I’m going back to bed. Wake me if she gets worse.”

  Sade took his place on the chair. “Will she be all right?”

  “With rest.” Svan placed his hand on mine and squeezed it. “And no more dreamwalking.”

  Svan’s servant entered and placed a bowl with a cloth on a table by the bed. She placed the cold cloth over my eyes.

  I rested for a moment. As I heard footsteps go toward the door, I lifted my hand and took the cloth off my burning eyelids. I needed to tell him the ur’gel were coming. I tried to sit up, but someone pushed one of my shoulders down.

  It wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep again.

  I awoke much later in the day. The sun shined through the window, and wind blew the curtains open. I turned my head. Sade had been sitting on the chair as she watched me. As soon as she noticed I had woken, she got up and sat on the side of the bed.

  “How are you feeling?” Sade placed the back of her wrist on my forehead. “Cooler.”

  “Better.” I sat up without feeling the least bit queasy.

  “You really screwed up with Svan. I tried my best to fix it, but I’m not sure he’ll mentor you anymore.”

  “Thank you for trying to fix it.”

  “I tried, but . . . No. I’m with Svan on this. You’re not ready to be a dreamwalker. This was really immature.”

  Her words stung. I had wanted nothing more than to be like Sade.

  Sade stood. “I’ll get Svan. I’m under strict orders to let him know when you wake up.”

  I nodded as she left the room. It wasn’t long before I relived the events in my dreamwalk. The horror that would ascend on Western March all because of me.

  “She lives to tell a tale.” Svan clapped his hands together as he entered the room.

  “I have something to say.” I patted the bed next to me.

  Svan stood by the door and ignored my invite.

  “The ur’gel are coming. They’re looking for Xagu,” I said quickly while I had the nerve to confess.