by D. H. Quinn
“Any news on Aleksander?”
“By Jack’s side, where he is most comfortable,” Kade says snarkily.
John immediately turns around. “That’s no longer true Kade, you’d know that if you were around more,” he adds somewhat haughtily, resentment evident in his tone. Kade rolls his eyes at John.
“Anyways,” John continues, “Aleksander has been spending much time with us,” he must be referring to the club in the red building. “He’s changed a lot Kade, I promise you,” John turns his head back towards the street.
“He said he was going to try to get information on my brother,” I say in defense of Aleksander even though I feel a bit foolish.
“Hopefully,” Kade shrugs and I know he doesn’t believe it.
“Anything from Arden?” I ask a few minutes later.
Kade shakes his head no. “Shouldn’t he be here though?”
“No, he’s wanting to go against everything I want to achieve so I set him free of his loyalty.” I hear the coldness in my voice. It sounds like I do not care about him at all. I always had a way of doing this, shutting down emotionally when I felt rejected or hurt. Kade answers with a simple oh.
I take a moment to create a device then, one that they could contact me on if need be. Kade and John request one as well but Ed refuses and he looks somewhat appalled that they are accepting these. His refusal does not hurt me as I understand dream walkers need to distance themselves from humans in general.
We arrive at a one-story building that looks rather small from the front. It is made of blue brick with two large windows on the front. I cannot see through them as they are painted black on the inside. We enter the building and I see a small bar with a bartender and two patrons. This can’t be all the dream walkers I need to meet, can it?
“Back here,” Kade walks behind the bar and opens a back-room door. Even with the light pouring in from the bar, the still pitch blackness reminds me of the void I was trapped in. Something grabs my hand and I almost scream but Kade speaks, reassuring me with his grip. “Keep up.” A tug on my hand pulls me forward. We walk in blackness for a long silent minute.
“I’ve been through one of these before,” I whisper, thinking of the first time I entered the city when Garrett and Arden had led me to the carnival to meet Jack. “What is it?” An unsettled feeling overcomes me.
“A frozen void, kind of, like a piece of it left behind once it has wrecked havoc. It happens seldomly. It’s a good way to keep something secret and to go somewhere different than the city.”
I tense. “Is it safe then to travel through it?” I don’t want to be in another void ever. What if this thing decided to wake up and take us in.
“Has been for a while.” This isn’t a reassuring answer but I have to trust Kade now. I stay quiet and I allow him to lead me through the darkened space, trying to keep my mind calm.
Kade stops pulling me forward in the darkness and I hear a shuffling noise then a loud squeak. Another door opens and I follow Kade into a sunny bright area. We walk into a small opening surrounded by a tall dark green forest. Forests seem to be a reoccurring landscape in the dream world and I wonder momentarily if that is because it is frightening to be lost in one or because they can be so breathtakingly beautiful and unreal looking.
“It’s us,” Kade bellows loudly. Ed and John step through the door behind us and close it.
I glance around and notice movements in the trees. If Kade hadn’t called out to them then their movements would have frightened me. The dream walkers exit the forest.
“They were blending into the trees,” I say with a surprised tone and cringe at saying something so stupid. This is the dream world, nothing should surprise me anymore.
“That would be my doing,” a woman steps forward out of the group. I recognize her as the pink woman I had been admiring in the bubble at the big red building. “Jada,” she introduces herself, sticking her petite manicured hand out.
I shake it and smile. “Kamari.” Her face looks somehow different though but maybe the lights and the bubble in the club distorted it.
“We know who you are,” she smiles warmly, her beauty is unreal and somewhat unnerving. “It’s nice to officially meet you. I hear we have some common enemies.”
“If you are speaking of Jack, then yes, yes we do.”
“Good. Can we have some privacy?” she looks at the men that brought me here and then at her own group that had gathered behind her. They disperse rapidly, taking it as a command. My group seems to be reluctant.
“Jada, I thought you took my word.” Kade steps forward, crossing his arms.
“I talked to the others and they would be more comfortable this way.” She shrugs slightly as if to say she has no other choice. Fear starts to dwell in me. What was she going to do to me?
Kade pulls Jada aside and speaks in a hushed tone. “What’s going on?” I ask John and Ed who shrug in response. They know but they will not tell me. Kade and Jada come back over. Kade looks defeated. They all stay silent. “What?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Jada wants to test you.”
“And?” There is more to this.
“And it might be painful, dangerous even.”
“What do I have to do?”
Jada speaks up, “nothing, I will do it.”
“And without this test you and your group will not join us?” I ask for confirmation and Jada does indeed confirm this. “Give me a minute,” I tell Jada and the others as I pull Kade aside. “Do we need them, I mean I can create more warriors if need be.”
“We do, even with your warriors, the people of the city wouldn’t accept anyone not familiar to them after everything is over. Jada and her group are powerful, well established, and well liked. We cannot achieve our goals without them.”
“What is it though Kade that makes you so afraid? I have been through many dangerous situations since I have been awake here.” Kade shakes his head. “Do you not trust her?”
“No, of course I do, it’s just what she does, she will explain that to you once she begins.”
“Fine, I will do what needs to be done,” I say confidently but inside I am extremely uncertain. If I had Arden or Aleksander around, I would feel much more comfortable. Arden knew when something wasn’t worth the risk and Aleksander would have protected me. I have been pushing both of them away.
Kade walks away from me and Jada approaches. The men head back through the door that we came from. “We will be back in 30 minutes,” Kade tells Jada with a stern look. Jada nods with a small smile playing on her lips.
“Come, sit, down,” Jada instructs as she walks to the middle of the clearing and sits crisscross on the lush green grass. Her long, slender fitting green dress flows beneath her, blending into the grass.
I choose to sit across from her, our knees almost touching. “I have heard you have done this before?” she asks, her eyebrow raises inquisitively. Her arms are lifted up, her fingers eagerly twitch.
“I am not sure what this is exactly, so I can’t say that I have or haven’t.”
Jada rests her arms down, placing her palms on her upper thighs. “I suppose I should start at the beginning when Jacqueline and I were young and growing up together. We were the best of friends and completely in-sync. We did everything together, often taking our dreams together,” a shadow of a smile appears on her face as she recalls her youth, “she got chosen for the council and I did not and that’s where the split began.”
Jada sighs and continues, “she always claimed I was jealous of her but I believe it was the other way around. She didn’t like having power and responsibility, she envied my freedom but eventually the power grew on her and corrupted her and it was all she wanted. You see me and Jacqueline we also have similar powers. She can touch others and find their fears in the land and bring it to them. I was told you had been touched by her?”
I think back to the time in her office where she brought me to the Mares and nearly fed me to them. “Yes, how d
id you know that?”
“Aleksander," she says with a knowing smile.
“Oh.”
“Jacqueline found out that Aleksander and I were becoming close and she didn’t like that much, she has been on a rampage lately. Anyways, that is why we left the red building, we no longer think we are safe.”
I can’t focus on anything else until I ask the question that burns in my mind. “You and Aleksander have become close how?”
Jada laughs and the sound is surprisingly pleasant even though I am feeling somewhat mocked. Truth was I could not compare to her whatsoever. “Friends, we are good friends now Kamari, don’t worry, his heart shaped eyes have only been directed at you, he doesn’t stop talking about you.” It is clear the last part annoys her somewhat.
I resist the urge to question further on the topic, to allow my curious side to divulge in all the information she could give me on Aleksander and what he thinks of me. I wouldn’t appear to be overly infatuated in front of this regal woman, I don’t think I could handle the embarrassment. I do feel my face flush a bit though.
“How did you and Jack stop being friends?” I ask to change the subject.
“Well, she developed her power for fear and I developed mine to see the motivation and desires of others. I started seeing that side of her, the truth being opposite of what she told me. I didn’t tell her this though, hoping I could somehow change her back, she was my best friend after all and I never pictured her out of my life.” Immense sadness flashes in her eyes.
“I saw that she wanted to overthrow the council and I should have warned them, that is my one regret through this all. I should have warned them,” she shakes her head, “but I protected her because I did not want her to be in danger. I didn’t think she would really do it. Once she did though she removed herself from my life. When I tried to help the rebellion, that was the final straw for our friendship.”
“Do you want to save her still?”
Jada contemplates my question although she already knows the answer in her heart. “My friend I knew is gone,” she says solemnly.
“What if I could change her back?”
Jada shakes her head, “even if you did, she wouldn’t forget and she was always the vengeful type.”
“If I changed her completely?”
“Then she wouldn’t be herself.”
“What do you suggest then, once we capture her?”
“Find a way to stop her permanently,” I get the meaning in her eyes. She wants her dead.
We stay silent. After a few seconds, Jada raises her hands once again. “So, when I touch you, I will see everything I need.” Her hands come closer to my face, her fingers twitching once again.
I pull my head away, “wait, tell me what concerns Kade had.”
“Whenever these powers are used, especially on humans and not dream walkers, they are endangering your energy levels, it can touch something spiritual and that can affect you, the amount it affects you is random, you may be drained or you may be perfectly fine.”
I bite my lip contemplatively. I think of how much Kade had insisted on getting Jada’s help and I realize it may not be just for what he told me but also for her relationship with Jack. Jack didn’t attempt to destroy her after Jada’s betrayal, in fact she kind of left her alone and allowed her to prosper.
“Fine,” I lean forward. The dream world has taught me that I am strong and resilient, I have overcome so much. Jada places her palms on my cheeks and then rests her fingertips on my temples. A slight chill runs down my spine and then I am gone from my dream body. Nothing surrounds me momentarily, just light gray walls and a matching gray floor. I am in my own mind strangely.
A burning sensation occurs where my hand should be but since I do not have a body it feels unidentifiable. Then needles prick me all over my body and I attempt to scream. The feeling becomes more and more intense. A crushing sensation erupts on where my head is supposed to be. Stop I try to scream, please stop, but I have no mouth or lungs to portray this. The pain continues on for an agonizing 20 minutes or so until I am brought to.
Jada looks down at me, her perfect brows scrunching together and then a friendly smile forming on her lips. I lay with my back against the grass. I attempt to sit up but feel dizzy so I stay put. “At least Mahrts will be less attracted to you,” Jada says as if this is reassuring.
“Are you alright?” I am surprised to hear Aleksander’s voice. Jada moves out of sight and Aleksander’s face appears before me. I reach my hand up and touch his cheek. He leans into my touch. “Jada what the hell?” He glares at her.
“Watch your tone boy,” she says back with power and irritation. “I called you, didn’t I?”
“Kamari, what are you doing?” Aleksander directs his attention back to me. His eyes examine mine closely. I drop my hand from his face.
“What needs to be done.” I say. He helps me to a seated position. Everything becomes slightly clearer.
“God, Kamari do you even understand what risk you took?” Aleksander asks me. I shake my head, feeling somewhat nauseous and not really having the energy to argue back.
“If she does that right to you then you could end up like me, the chance of it happening increases each time. It’s what Jack did to keep me here.”
“I thought you chose to stay here for your sister?”
“I did but the process of this, my god, when it happens, when your body and spirit separate it is immensely painful.”
Kade stands by Jada, “you knew that?” I ask both of them.
Kade looks worried, “I am sorry Kamari, you made it through though.” Kade’s tone is apologetic.
“I knew you were powerful enough to handle it,” Jada tells me. The thought that I would have never woken open, never seen my family in real life, the immense pain that they would have went through enrages me, especially the thought of my brother and my dog.
“Aleksander you can’t leave me anymore, you can’t leave me with them,” I say fearfully and I sound dramatic but I can’t help it. I am overwhelmed and out of control.
“We want to help.”
“You want to help yourself!” I say angrily. “I thought it would just drain me, I didn’t know it could potentially keep me from the real-world forever.”
“Your real-world,” Kade mumbles, “but this is ours and you started all this mess and you will help us finish it. His voice rises with every word spoken.
“Calm down,” Aleksander snaps at Kade. “Where’s Arden?” He asks me gently.
“He’s gone. You haven’t seen him with Jack?” I ask then, feeling worried. I thought for sure he would go back to working for her.
“No, I haven’t.” Aleksander shakes his head.
“Any news on my brother?”
“I think I have an idea of where he is but she’s being secretive, I need more time,” he says and I know he has to leave again. “I’ll call Arden.”
“I don’t think he will want to come back.”
“He will.” Aleksander sounds gruff, desperate.
“I took away his loyalty to me.”
“He will still come, if you just ask him,” Aleksander says with a hopeful smile. Aleksander presses a button on his phone and hands it to me. I think he wants this even more than I do. Maybe he would feel more secure leaving me if Arden was here.
“Hello,” Arden says, his voice sure and unwavering.
“Arden,” I say with reluctance. Silence is my response. “Are you there?”
“Yes,” Arden replies to my relief. He was just waiting and listening to what I had to say.
“I am sorry I hurt you,” A sad smile forms on my lips. He stays silent. “We disagree on a lot but I do value your opinion. I like you by my side.”
“I liked being near you too, Kamari, you showed me what humans are capable of and what they could really be like but that doesn’t change anything.”
“I want you to come back with me,” I say outright, hoping he hears the desperation and apology
in my tone.
“Why? So, you can completely ignore everything I say? You still don’t think your warriors are wrong, you still want to fight Jack so what would be my purpose?”
“To help me, to help protect me.”
Arden laughs, “you don’t need anyone to protect you, you make your own decisions. Just make a warrior your moral conscious, you clearly don’t need or want me.”
“I do want and need you.”
“I don’t believe that.” I have nothing to argue. I still disagree with him on the big decisions that we need to make. We are both silent momentarily.
“Aleksander said you didn’t return to Jack, are you alright?”
“I am fine, I no longer need to work for her, I am no longer afraid.”
“Do you like it this way, not being afraid?”
“Yes, I finally feel free. Thank you for that.”
“Good, would you like cotton candy hair back as well, was that helpful” I say with a giggle. Arden laughs as well.
Once our fit of laughter is finished Arden says, “be safe Kamari.”
“You too.”
Arden hangs up first and I hand the phone back to Aleksander. Aleksander looks concerned and confused. “He’s not coming back.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
I reach out and grab Aleksander’s arm. “Don’t, just leave him be.”
“But, you’re,” Aleksander begins but I interrupt.
“I will handle myself and I will call you if those two try to get me into something,” I say with a pointed look at Kade and Jada. Kade looks sheepish, Jada looks defiant.
“You have nothing else to worry about from us from here on out,” Jada stands tall and makes her words sound sincere and promising. Although I believe her words, in my mind, a nonexistent but hangs at the end of them. But we can’t promise what will happen to you once we have to fight.
“Give us a minute,” Aleksander says to Kade and Jada who step out of hearing distance. Aleksander helps me to my feet. He still holds my hands and I let him. We also stand extremely close. “Promise you will call in dangerous situations before big decisions and I will come to you.” I nod in agreement. “Good,” he says and that should bring him relief but I see the tenseness in his jaw.
