Between Two Realms: Awaken Read online

  “The tattoo on your back, it’s of this place, isn’t it? Why would you want to protect me when I am the reason all of this happened, the reason your father died and the city is in ruins, if my mother hadn’t gotten pregnant she would not have fled. Perhaps your father would have survived.”

  He was dumbfounded. This girl, barely a woman, was just told she was not from the human world; given the history of a foreign civilization and she was blaming herself? She is her mother’s daughter, he thought.

  “Ashtyn, do you know why your mother named you that?”

  She shook her head, feeling the guilt of her mother's choices.

  “No, I don’t anything about her except that she died giving birth to me.”

  Cody stepped closer and cupped the side of her face in his hand, running his thumb across her cheekbone down to her lips.

  “She knew you would be our salvation, from the ashes a phoenix will rise and restore Avonya to all its glory. Little Phoenix, you are not the cause of my father’s death or this broken city. You were protected because you were meant to save us.”

  He leaned into her soft lips. He wanted to taste them, to know if they truly were as sweet as he imagined, and he had imaged them; a dozen times he had thought about her embrace, her pleading him to hold her. He wanted to bury his hands in her soft curls, tilt her head back and claim those delicate luscious lips.

  “There ya be, you horse.”

  He regrettably leaned away from her, cursing under his breathe. Ashtyn placed herself closer to Cody’s side, peering up at him with concern.

  “Mac, how nice of you to show up unannounced.”

  He strode over nonchalantly as if taking a Sunday stroll.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss the sign that said only people named Cody allowed in the city? When you’re done making a show of yourself can I have a wee little moment of your time, lad?”

  Ashtyn looked between the two men.

  “Excuse me, very confused lady standing right here!”

  Mac grabbed her hand, kissing it softly.

  “And what a beautiful lady ya are, Lass. Don’t you fret, we’ll have plenty of time for a proper introduction,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  “Oh goodie, I was just thinking I didn’t have enough womanizers in my life.”

  Mac stepped back, looking insulted.

  “Womanizer? Is it my fault women are drawn to my Irish charm?”

  Cody couldn’t listen to any more of this banter.

  “Ashtyn, this is my morally loose friend Mac, he also works for the council as a guard.”

  Mac bowed, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

  “Aye, and I updated them on your current situation. They want to have a word with ya.”

  Cody looked back at Ashtyn. He knew he would eventually have to answer for his crimes. He did after all go against his orders and reveal himself to her. But what did they expect him to do? None of them had ever been in this sort of situation, and if they had he doubted they would have handled it any better.

  “I literally just told her about her heritage, I can’t abandon her now. There is so much left to discuss. You can tell them I’ll return when I can.”

  Mac stretched, crooking his neck from side to side.

  “Oh no, I won’t. I did my part and bought you some time. This is an awful lot for her to take in right now anyway, Cody. Give her time to wrap her mind around it all. I’ll look after the lass, but ye best be gettin your arse to the sanctuary, if not for the council, for Katrina; she won't shut up about the guilt she feels for letting you leave before you were completely healed. I don’t think the priests will get a minute’s rest until she sees for herself you’re all right.”

  He knew Mac was right; the longer he delayed the inevitably worse it would get. If he didn’t return to face the council soon, they would most likely send Ben after him— or worse, his mother.

  I don’t know what upset me more: that this Irish charmer popped in out of nowhere demanding that the man I needed answers from leave, or that this mystery woman was so concerned over Cody’s wellbeing. Not that I should care, I didn’t even know the man. He could be married with kids for all I knew, but if he was married, why did he touch me so tenderly? Was he about to kiss me before we were rudely interrupted?

  “Shouldn’t I have a say on who is going to babysit me? I technically haven’t even agreed to a guard anyway.”

  Mac wagged his finger in my direction.

  “Oh that part is non-negotiable, lass. You will be havin’ a guard. You don’t have to talk to me if ya don’t want to. In fact, I prefer my women a little more meek.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “What I choose to do with my life is always negotiable and it doesn’t surprise me you want a submissive woman, one with her own brain wouldn’t put up with your mouth.”

  Mac slapped his knee with his hand.

  “This girl’s the daughter of a Priestess? She’s got the tongue of a demon. Are ya sure you got the right girl, lad?”

  Since we were in dream realm, if I imagined my bat, would it magically appear in my hands? I sighed. Nope, didn’t work. Cody put his hands on my shoulder, looking conflicted.

  “I know you’ve been hit with a lot and I don’t blame you for being upset, but Mac is right, you can’t be left alone. Let him stay with you while I am away. I promise will return promptly. I know he’s a pain in the ass, but he is one of the few people that I can count on.”

  How had my life changed so drastically? One minute I was this lonely boring nobody, and the next I had guards and an unsettling knowledge that I wasn’t actually human. Suddenly Lori’s life was looking more like “Little House on the Prairie” compared with mine.

  Great, so Cody can count on Mac, but could I count on either of them? I don’t even know who this Credo is or why they think I’m hiding information on the whereabouts of their leader in my dreams. This is ludicrous! I suddenly began to miss my quiet cubicle and mundane life.

  “I appreciate your concern for my welfare, but you are right, this is a lot to take in and right now I just want to be back in my own home; how do I do that jumping thing? I don’t care who comes with me, but please take me home.”

  Mac looked back to Cody.

  “It’s called flashing, and you have the ability to do it yourself. Just picture the cottage in your mind, focus on a spot like the kitchen, feel the energy of the place and let your mind drift there. It’s all about the details, the more details you can picture, the easier it is to flash to a specific destination.”

  I wondered if I had ever flashed before and not known it, like the times my uncle would find me sleepwalking by the pond late at night. I felt like I was doing it right now. This entire experience seemed like one very odd, very realistic dream.

  “Watch over her with your life, Mac! I will be back as soon as I can.”

  Cody gave Mac the I-know-you look.

  “Don’t you be telling me how to do my job; get your arse out of here. The quicker you leave, the sooner you can get back and take this ego crusher off my hands.”

  Oh, I really didn’t like this guy. Cody flashed right in front of my eyes, leaving me alone with the Irish womanizer.

  “Let’s see this lovely home of yours, lass.”

  I closed my eyes, thinking about my little cottage— the light-blue cabinets in the kitchen, my painting of a lake covered in fog hanging above my sink, the gray and beige tile flooring. Cody and Mac made flashing look so easy. I saw no hint of concentration, no sign of discomfort on their faces. I, on the other hand, scrunched my face and furrowed my brows. I drew every possible memory of my home into my mind, letting the memories flow over. My head began to throb and sweat beaded down my forehead. Opening my eyes, I found myself standing in my kitchen. I clapped my hands together in excitement at my accomplishment. Holy macaroni, I did it. I had moved from one realm to another with just my mind for a compass. I was the shit.

  “I’m impressed, lass, but I have a quest
ion for ya.” I snorted in derision.

  “Let me guess: where's the closest bar?”

  Mac looked around, taking in his surroundings

  “No, but I’d be curious to see your bedroom. Actually, I was wondering why your eyes are brown.”

  Well, that was an unexpected question.

  “Were my mother’s not brown? Maybe I got them from my mysterious father.”

  He walked over to the countertop, picking up a bag of pretzels.

  “No, I knew your mum; she had brown eyes, too. What I do not understand is that I just saw ya in dream realm and your eyes were not brown, they were teal. They changed colors when we switched realms.”

  I snatched the pretzel bag from his hands, placing them back on the counter.

  “What does that mean? Can your eyes work as a mood ring in the dream realm? Maybe teal is for, ‘Oh shit my life just got turned upside down.’”

  Mac frowned rubbing his stomach to indicate he was hungry.

  “A lady shouldn’t curse. This isn’t a fairy tale; we can’t just change appearances all willy nilly. I have never known another dreamwalker to look different from one realm to the next.”

  It came as no surprise to hear that I was different; I've always been different. I guess some part of me wished the dream realm was where I could actually fit in and feel normal for once; that I wasn’t the odd ball everyone whispered about.

  “Are there other realms besides the human and dream realm?”

  Mac looked as though he was about to answer and then abruptly switched gears.

  “If you feed me I’ll tell ya whatever you want to know. Now be a dear and put something on the cooker.”

  I wanted to grab that man by his ear and drag him out of my house. If he wanted to watch over me then he could do it from the porch. I’ve always been a loner and treasured my personal space, now this guy was barking orders like I was his little slave wife. I stepped closer to him, poking my finger into his chest for emphasis.

  “Let’s get one thing straight, Mr. Clean, I am not your puppet. If you want something, ask nicely. I need some time to adjust to this newfound knowledge of my life and your arrogant demeanor is not giving me warm fuzzies.”

  Mac threw his hands up in surrender.

  “My apologies, lass, this is me being nice, but given your circumstances I suppose I could be a wee more understanding. If it pleases the lady, might I have something to eat?”

  I nodded somewhat, accepting his half-ass apology. I doubted the guy had ever apologized to anyone. I would let it slide this time, but if he wanted my cooperation, he was going to have to learn how to play nice.

  “Who is Mr. Clean?”

  I laughed, giving Mac a hard stare before turning to find something to feed the Irish wolf.

  It was strange to me that he and Cody were friends, they seemed nothing alike. Mac was shorter, standing about 5 feet, 9 inches, and he had a broad chest and shoulders. It was obvious he worked out, but his muscles were not as defined as his friend’s. He shaved his head but his face displayed a five o’ clock shadow. His right ear was pierced with a small gold stud. I wondered if dreamwalkers could go bald. He was an attractive man when he wasn’t talking, with his bright blue eyes that sparkled when he was being obnoxious, and there was an air about him that oozed confidence and sexuality, but his face held a secret story, one of pain and confliction. It suddenly dawned on me that his cranky attitude was probably a defense mechanism and that made me feel a little guilty for my behavior toward him.

  “Do you like chicken?”

  It had been a long time since I cooked for anyone other than myself. What did Dreamwalkers eat? I hoped they weren’t vegetarians.

  “Aye, chicken is good. Do you have a breast? It’s my favorite part.”

  He grinned, walking over to the sink. He looked at the painting of a lake hanging above it.

  I take it back, this man was just plain annoying. I pulled the chicken out of the freezer and set it down to defrost while I started chopping peppers.

  “Now will you answer my questions?” I asked, grabbing a skillet from under the pantry.

  Mac tapped his finger on the side of chin, contemplating where to start.

  “There are other realms. Shadow realm is where the vamps like to hang out; they can’t be in human realm during the daytime on account they’ll catch fire and all. There is also the magic realm, that’s where the wizards live. They can live in the human realm just fine, but it’s forbidden to practice magic outside of their own realm. We can travel to any realm we wish, but living outside of our realm drains our energy and accelerates the aging process. The races don’t really like to mingle outside their own realm; it can be dangerous when ya lose the home advantage.”

  How could humans not be aware of all that was going on around them? All these different races living amongst us with no knowledge of their existence? A realization struck me that humans were obviously the bottom of the food chain. How difficult would it be for a realm to decide we just weren’t worth the trouble and wipe us from the Earth.

  I missed a pepper, cutting my finger with the knife.

  “Ouch,” I hissed, grabbing a kitchen towel and wrapping it around my cut.

  Mac walked over to me, taking my hand and checking the extent of the damage.

  “I’m fine, just a little cut. So you are saying there are vampires and wizards too?”

  He ran my finger under cold water in the faucet. After the blood stopped, he pulled it back and put it to his lips, sucking it dry with his mouth. I shivered at the unexpected intimacy. He let go of my hand and sat down at the table like what he did was just a normal reaction between two strangers.

  “Aye, they are vile creatures. Vamps can control your mind, so ya don’t want to spend much time in their company, especially if you are trying to hide something. Wizards will use all kinds of potions or spell on ya to get what they want. I once had a girl’s wizard father turn me into a toad for two days! Let me just say that’s the last time I went trolling in a wizard pub.”

  I laughed, imagining him as a toad. It seemed to me that her father hit the nail on the head.

  “So why would the Credo want to destroy their own people? Wouldn’t the dreamwalkers want to stick together?”

  He leaned back in his chair, propping his large boots on my dining table.

  “Most of us do, but where there are people, there is chaos. Ser'ie thought the council had gone soft. He didn’t like the rules about being punished for committing a crime against the other realm dwellers. He believed that dreamwalkers were the superior race, and it was our right to take what we wanted and harm whoever got in our way. He wanted to rule not just our realm but all of them.”

  I thought about this war between realms, all the while the simplistic humans were none the wiser.

  “So he wanted to eradicate the other races, even the humans? Why would he think dreamwalkers’ lives are worth more than another’s?”

  I pushed Mac’s legs, indicating he remove them from the table.

  “Especially the humans, he perceives them to be the weakest of all. Vamps are not born; they have to be created, so he doesn’t consider that to be worthy blood, no pun intended. Wizards, while they are born with some degree of magic, they mostly rely on charms and potions to use their abilities.”

  I frowned, thinking about Ser’ie on his high horse looking down on others for their differences. “Dreamwalkers don’t seem so powerful, all they can do is spy on people’s dreams. They can’t even touch a human outside of human realm.”

  He laughed. I could tell he enjoyed being the man with the answers.

  “It is said dreamwalkers were here first, that we created the human realm, so we could be mortal. After centuries of life the dreamwalkers grew weary. They had lived in each other’s dreams for so long they experienced nothing new, it was the same landscape, the same people. Some of them wanted to grow old and die, so they created the human world and humans to live among them. When we are in
the human realm we can age and we can die. Centuries is a long time for anyone. Some want to live that long and they have the option to do so, but some know their time is up and want to move on. The human realm grew larger, and the more it grew, the more spread out the dreamwalkers got. When you have plenty of dreamers to choose from it can be difficult to locate a fellow dreamwalker. That is why Deandra built Avonya; she wanted our kind to be together, she knew we were far stronger united than we were separated.”

  I placed the chicken on a plate and sat it in front of him with a tinge of pain at the mention of my mother's name.

  “Why can’t you just rebuild? Don’t you just imagine the city and up pops the buildings?”

  He took a bite of chicken, licking his lips in approval.

  “Don’t be daft, lass. We can walk within dreams, but we can’t manipulate them. Your mother built an alliance with the other races. She convinced some wizards to help us erect Avonya, keeping their identity a secret so no one could retaliate against them. Magic that powerful puts a big red target on your back. After your mother disappeared, the alliances crumbled.”

  I handed him a napkin and sat down across from him at the table.

  “Is that how she trapped Ser’ie in a dream? With the help of a wizard?”

  Mac wiped his mouth on the napkin, placing it in his lap. At least he had table manners.

  “We speculate, but no one rightly knows. Deandra didn’t tell anyone where she trapped Ser’ie. Cody’s father was her guard and she wouldn’t even tell him for fear others would hunt him down.”

  Like they did my mother, I thought.

  “Cody seems to think I’ll be savior, that I am somehow destined to right the wrong. That’s a lot of pressure given I don’t even know how to use my gifts properly. He is a forgiving man to put so much faith in the girl who cost him his father.”

  He pushed his plate away indicating he was finished eating.