Dreamwalker (12 page)

Once I opened my eyes, I scanned my surroundings. I was less surprised each time and was quicker to maneuver my dreams. It was different from the visions. The dreams were so much more eclectic and over the top. The visions were slivers of reality I was chosen to watch, like a rerun on television.

This dream was no exception. I was at a train station. It was bustling with women in petticoats and men in suits hurrying to catch their trains. The black wrought iron signs were intricate and beautiful. Nothing of that quality and detail was made in our current times. I was sitting alone on a black metal bench and observed my own dressing.

My black petticoat was covering an unusually sleek emerald green dress for the times. Knowing I was out of my element just made me pull my coat closed tighter. If anyone was paying attention, they would have noticed how out of place I was, but everyone was bustling about in a hurry. I was looking all around for the one I was waiting for. Jared.

After a few minutes of sitting there uncomfortably, I spotted his short blond hair in the sea of men wearing top hats. The fire ignited inside me and I stood there anxiously waiting for him to notice me. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until he saw me. He flashed me that crooked smile and I let out a sigh of relief.

When he reached me, I was thrilled when he wrapped me up in his arms and gave me a kiss with more heat than I had ever experienced. When we finally parted, I couldn’t help the blush rising to my cheeks when I looked into his sexy, steely eyes.

“
It is such a relief to see you. So much has happened since I saw you last. I haven’t told anyone about our dreams, but Autumn seems to know anyway.”

A grim look crossed his face and he put his arm around me. “We can’t talk here, but I know a place just up the block we can talk safely.”

We walked in silence, since I was too afraid to say anything and extremely relieved to see him. His hand was warm and firm with mine entwined in it. My butterflies were swirling and I let all thoughts of Boone drift away like distant memories from another time.

I was engrossed in the picturesque surroundings when we came to a halt and Jared opened a white picket fence. The enclosed property was a small and cozy cottage. Small tendrils of ivy climbed the sides of it and the door was a curved wooden door with character. We made our way up the cobblestone path and enter as if it was ours.

I stopped long enough to teeter in my stilettos on the creamy swirled welcome mat before Jared had me in his arms.

“
Here, let me help you to the couch. I am sure you have tons of questions and I am not sure just how long we have together.”

I looked up into his stormy eyes and compelled myself to focus on all the unresolved questions brewing.

“
I am at a safe house I guess. Why can’t I tell anyone we share these dreams? I am not sure who I am supposed to trust. And where are you? Oh, and what about your partner, Boone, should I trust him?”

At the mention of Boone, I got a startled reaction. “Boone is with you? Good. He should be the only person you can trust. I don’t know who leaked information to Wren and her fellow loony tunes.

They are extremely careful around me. I can’t even get into their dreams and they have blocked me from having visions. It is like Fort Knox wherever they have me.”

At this, it is my turned to startle. “You have visions too? This is normal? I just started having them earlier today. It scared the crap out of me, just before I met Wren. She sure is a peach.”

“
Wren is tough as nails and not likely to give up her cause. She believes she can become immortal through divine servitude at any cost. That is what makes her different from us.”

Jared continued. “Our group doesn’t believe in slavery of any kind and take offense to the mere idea. This world is tricky and dangerous. I am sorry you got caught up in it,” he said with genuine remorse.

I shifted on the couch, trying to get comfortable and digest the string of explanations I was getting. “What about Autumn? She was in on this the whole time?”

“
Ah, so she told you. Yes, she went missing twelve years ago. Autumn was one of our youngest recruits and a very talented witch. If it helps, she truly does think of you as her best friend. None of this changes that.”

“
Right before I fell asleep, Autumn told me to tell you she said hi and to trust her. Should I? I am scared and monumentally confused. You seem to be the only one I feel I can trust and you are practically a stranger. I can’t explain why, my soul just seems to recognize you in a way that puts me at perfect ease,” I admitted candidly.

“
I would say yes, you can trust her, but right now, no. I am not sure who I can and can’t trust, and Boone should really be the only one. Make sure he knows what is going on and that you two get out of that safe house. It could be compromised and I can’t risk losing either of you.”

“
Ok, but how do I get him alone? There are half a dozen people here and they don’t want to let me out of their sights. I don’t even know if Boone hasn’t already told them what is going on.”

This earned me a wry smile. “Boone won’t share. He is a vault of secrets and isn’t likely to share anytime soon with anyone. I bet he hasn’t even told you anything. I know Boone, and like I said, you can trust him.”

“
Ok, but how do I get him alone without raising suspicion? It will be impossible, especially without Autumn knowing. I can’t keep secrets from her; she knows all my ticks and tells. I need suggestions,” I said with mild aggravation.

“
Ok, Boone feeds off of energy. He is an empath. You don’t have to say anything. Just pretend you saw monsters in your dream and he will sense the truth. It will be enough truth that the others will buy it. That should get him to look for an opportunity to be alone with you,” Jared replied.

“
So what does that make me?” I asked inquisitively.

“
You and I are both dream walkers, and clairvoyants more precisely. We can enter dreams, have visions and even see the future after extensive training.”

It made so much sense. I wanted to ask more questions but he just looked so damn sexy, I couldn’t refrain myself much longer. It was a dream after all.

With most of that settled I let the questions fade and leaned in for a sweet gentle kiss. Before long, the kisses turned needy and passionate. The quaint cottage melted away except for the flickering of cream candles in my peripheral.

Somehow, the questions grew fuzzy and all I wanted was to be closer to him. I was desperate to have him. When he broke away from me, he was giving me his trademark grin as he pulled off his coat and then slid my petticoat to the floor.

I was about to pull off his shirt when he took my hand and led me further to the bathroom. I let out a gasp in appreciation at the detail of this particular dream.

The room was lit with tall creamy molten candles. A claw foot bath tub was full of shimmering bubbles and tiny yellow flower blossoms. I bit my bottom lip as I let the soft emerald silk slip to the floor. I grew aroused and I just let him see me standing there naked and vulnerable, a pool of silk around my heels.

I stepped forward, and began to unbutton his shirt. He tossed it aside and pulled me in for a needy kiss. Wasting no time, I undid his pants and dropped them to the floor, impatient. I wanted him, I needed him and I had to have him.

Once he steadied, I pulled myself away. His eyes were smoldering. Rough, and with more intensity, he guided me down to the tile. I let out a cry of surprise as the cold tile met my naked body.

I didn’t have time to acclimate before he was on top of me. He kissed me with desire and then trailed his kisses down my neck and to my collarbone.

I only got to see a fragment of the look of admiration on his face before our time was up. My eyes grew wide as Jared and the cottage swirled around me like a windstorm, and then settled as dust around me.

I sighed in frustration and disappointment when I saw Autumn peering over me. She was waving her hand in front of my face and calling “You Hoo, Nells are you there?”

“
Ugh, I’m not in right now, but leave a message and I will get back to you,” I said placing a pillow over my face in exasperation.

The dream came rushing back and flooded my thoughts. The silk pooled on the floor, the cold tile beneath my naked body and the fire that lit as our bodies touched before the dream shifted away.

Then a damper part of the dream surfaced. Tell them all I dreamt of monsters, Boone would know the truth. Now I just had to make that happen before Autumn dissected everything and guessed what I was up to.

I took the pillow off my face and Autumn was sitting there, with an annoyed look on her face.

“
I am so thirsty. Darn cotton mouth. Tastes like I swallowed the newspaper whole. Can you guide me to the kitchen a.s.a.p.?” I asked pleading with her.

The annoyance broke and a flash of compassion sliced through her cool facade before it was quickly back intact and she was guiding me to the kitchen.

What I found when we reached the kitchen was unexpected and stopped me dead in my tracks for a moment. A tall blond with plump and pouty magenta lips was sitting on the counter talking to Boone. I couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of jealousy at her easy nature with Boone.

Her full blue eyes were played down by a set of black plastic frames. The grey dress looked designer as did the strappy wedges on her perfectly polished feet. She looked as if she could be on display in a window in New York. Even her accessories were expertly placed and looked like expensive trendy pieces.

When she saw us enter the room, her eyes lit up. “You must be Noel. I have heard so much about you; it’s great to finally meet you in the flesh. I’m Madison,” she said enthusiastically as she reached her cool manicured hand out to shake mine.

Caught slightly off guard by her candidness, I offered pleasant introductions and shifted my gaze to Boones. I had to look at him in a whole new light now.

His gift was empathy. I never would have guessed in a million years. I just assumed he was the dark brooding type, more like a vampire. A stab of jealousy came to the forefront of my mind and I wondered if he could sense it.

Then, it was Madison who spoke up again. “I see you have learned of Boone’s powers. It’s a little weird to be around him at first, but eventually you just get used to it.”

This earned me a stern look from Autumn because she knew she didn’t tell me. All I could do to diffuse the situation was to give Autumn the not now look.

I turned to Madison curiously. “Yeah, how did you know, are you a mind reader or something?”

She gave a little laugh before answering, “Or something that can mind read…”

Her answer sent a chill up my spine and I knew I had to seize the feeling to pull off the lie I was about to tell.

I turned to Boone before adding a stricken tone to my voice. “I just had an awful dream. I dreamt I was surrounded by monsters. Everywhere I turned I saw monsters.”

This earned an amused snort from Madison. Autumn, who was taking a sip of soda, let out a spray of the brown syrupy liquid in surprise. Boone just looked into my eyes more intently.

I quickly hurried on. “I don’t think I could have escaped if it weren’t for the wakeup call I received from Autumn. Boone, do you think it is a sign?” I asked, putting on a show for the others.

It was Boone’s turn to answer and I was not sure how he would respond so I stood there on edge, waiting for his response. Instead, he pulled me in for a hug and I was once again engrossed in all things Boone. It was like a switch he turned on and off. His lips brushed my ear and all he said was, “don’t be afraid. You can trust me.”

At the mention of trust, I eased up and genuinely look relieved. This made Autumn let up on the scrutiny as well and she got me a bottle of water from the fridge. I twisted the cap off and tasted the cool liquid in relief. I may have used it as an excuse to get in here, but I was genuinely thirsty.

Boone turned away from me and addressed Autumn and Madison. “I think it is about time to relieve Clark from guard duty. Do you mind if I take Noel, and try to explain some of this? I am sure the brisk fall air would do her some good right now.”

I just nodded in agreement, afraid to spoil his plans. Autumn looked hesitant but nodded in approval. Madison furrowed her brow as if trying to figure it out but then she finally nodded as well. Boone wasted no time gathering some gear and heading into the front for our shoes and coats.

Just as we got our shoes on, Autumn appeared to have changed her mind. “Umm, if you don’t mind, I would like to tag along. Madison is ok here with the guys.”

Boone tried to dissuade her, but it was clear she was coming regardless. I tried to look as if I didn’t care either way as I finished sliding on my crusty flats and the soft wrap around my shoulders. In a reassuring move, I felt my bra discretely for the coin. I sighed in relief at its presence, even if it earned me a sideways look from Boone.

Once we stepped out onto the porch, I was momentarily jolted as the cool air entered my bloodstream. I was awake now with a new alertness that was not there just moments before.