Emerald Mountains (The Dream Traveler Series Book 2)

by Nicole Knight

  I approached the large house. It was easy to find the address online. You can find just about anything on the internet if you look hard enough.

  It was a dark grey stone house. It had three levels and several balconies. There were trees planted throughout the yard, although they were missing their leaves. A tall black iron fence surrounded the entire property.

  I didn’t anticipate that.

  I looked through the gate for any cameras or guards. I saw neither, and no lights were on inside of the house.

  Is it possible that I could get this lucky?

  Sure I had a fence to climb over, but I could find a way over, I was sure of it. Suddenly I heard the iron gate begin to move and saw a car exiting the garage.

  I quickly ducked behind the bush next to the gate entrance and waited for the car to go by. It was Kennan’s yellow Camaro. I looked at my watch; he was thirty minutes late for school. I guess he really didn’t care.

  The sight of his car sent me into a little panic. I hadn’t seen Kennan since he visited my castle in Morthsoul. He had been arrogant and confident. He was the same boy who walked the halls of Arlington Prep before he broke up with Lacey. He demanded that I take back what I said at school, and he also demanded that I marry him in the Morthlands, or it would mean a new war for my Kingdom.

  Axel had been standing beside me in the throne room, shaking his head slightly. His right hand rested on his sword hilt like he wished to slice Kennan’s head off right then and there. I told him to send more guards in, but he needed to leave. He argued at first while Kennan stood there, grinning ear to ear. His guards looked uneasy. They were trying to decide if we were a threat to their boss.

  When more guards entered, and Axel reluctantly left, I got down to business.

  “How dare you come into my Kingdom and threaten me!” I shouted at him.

  Everything I had just worked so hard to achieve was starting to crumble underneath me. I hadn’t even been the Queen for a full day.

  “How dare you tell me you won’t go out with me,” he countered.

  “I am not bonding to you, Kennan. Not in this world, and not on Earth. So you can leave now. I am done speaking with you. Please leave the Morthlands at once and do not ever come back. You are not welcome here,” I demanded.

  “Ah, I will take that as a maybe. You have a lot to lose here, Violet. I would hate to see your pride get in the way of all you accomplished,” he said.

  “How did you even get here? How are you part of this world too? I thought my great grandmother and I were the only ones,” I asked.

  If he was still standing in front of me, I was going to do my best to get information out of him.

  “You see, I am the Prince in line for the throne of Tate. My family was here long before Victoria Lane ever was. My family originated from here. We originally found the emerald that transported Victoria here. My grandfather sold your great grandfather that necklace on accident. She was never supposed to have come here,” he explained.

  “So, you have more of these emeralds?” I asked curiously.

  “Yes, which you will never see unless you give me what I ask,” he answered.

  “Over my cold dead body,” I retorted.

  “That can be arranged,” he counted with another grin.

  My guards immediately stood in front of me and blocked me from his line of sight. He was escorted out of the castle, laughing.

  That brought me back to why I was here, to get those emeralds. I watched Kennan’s bright yellow car drive down the road. When it was out of sight, I snuck onto the property through the now closing automatic gate.

  Now that I was in, I needed to get inside the house and quickly. I couldn’t risk being seen standing in the middle of their yard. I quickly ran to the back of the house, where an awning sat directly below a second-story window. From where I stood on the ground, I could see the window slightly cracked open. Who was crazy enough to leave a window open in thirty-degree weather?

  I took a few steps back and got a running start. At the last possible second, I jumped up, grabbing the edge of the awning. I slowly pulled myself up onto the canopy. I was careful to stay low in case someone was inside the room. I lay there for a moment listening for any sounds. When I was sure no one was in the room, I peeked inside.

  I was right; the room was empty. I slid my fingers into the slight opening at the bottom of the window and lifted up. I quickly climbed inside. I closed the window most of the way shut, leaving the window how it looked before I entered.

  Now that I was inside, I needed to get the emeralds and get out as quickly as possible. I took in my surroundings. I was in what seemed like a teenage girl’s room. Except the room wasn’t filled with pinks and purples, it was red and black. I walked up the dresser and saw pictures of Samantha and her friends.

  Samantha is Kennan’s older sister. If I had to spend the day with Lacey or Samantha, I would choose Lacey any day. Samantha is vicious. I was glad I had never done anything to get in her way. She doesn’t even know I exist, and I want to keep it that way.

  I started opening drawers and moving things around to look for any emeralds she might have stashed. While she had lots of pretty jewels, including fancy-looking diamonds, I didn’t see any emeralds. I needed to move onto the next room.

  I made my way down the hall, silently listening at the door of each room before entering it. I made my way to the last room in the hallway. I was starting to give up hope that they stashed any emeralds here at all. When I opened up the door, I discovered an office. This seemed like as good of a place as any to keep precious gems. So I started looking through drawers. I even went as far as to look behind picture frames.

  Behind the big portrait behind the desk, I found what I was looking for. It was a safe with a keypad. On three buttons, the numbers were rubbed off with use. So I knew the numbers in the code, now I just needed to figure out their order. The numbers were two, three, and eight. What significance were those numbers?

  I pulled out my phone and pulled up the keypad. What could I spell with the letters assigned to each number on the keypad? I was about to give up when it hit me. Tate could be the answer. The eight could represent the two T’s; the two would represent the A, and the three would stand for the E. It was so logical, only the family would know what Tate is. It was sort of smart.

  Pun intended.

  I entered the code, hoping I was right. The safe let out one little beep, and then the lock released. I took only five seconds to silently celebrate, throwing a fist up in the air. I swung the safe door open and saw a pouch of loose emeralds. I reached my hand in, and I grabbed a small handful. I had a feeling I was going to need more than two.

  I closed the pouch and set it exactly where I found it. I stuffed the emeralds in my skirt pocket and closed the safe and moved the painting back into place.

  Now I just needed to get back out the way I came, and I could go back to school without anyone knowing I was here.

  When I turned around, I immediately knew that plan was a bust.

  CHAPTER SIX

  An ancient-looking man stood at the entrance to the doorway watching me. I didn’t know what to say, so I stood there eye’s wide thinking about my next move.

  “Victoria,” he asked, “is that you?”

  He thought I was Victoria?

  Maybe this guy had something wrong with his mind like my grandmother does. I knew I looked sort of like Victoria, so this was the only conclusion I could come to. If that was the case, this man met my great grandmother.

  Could I pretend to be her to help me get out of the house without being caught by anyone else? I hope that Victoria and this man had a good relationship.

  “Yes, it’s me,” I answered, pretending to be my great grandmother.

  “Oh, it’s been so long. Do you remember me, Thomas Smart?” the man asked.

  “Of course I remember you,” I lied.

  “How do you like your necklace?” he asked me.

  “What do you
mean?” I asked back.

  “That necklace you’re wearing,” he said, raising a finger to point at my emerald necklace.

  “Oh, this,” I said, raising my hand to touch the emerald around my neck.

  “I love it,” I answered.

  “I knew you would,” Thomas told me.

  “I knew your husband was looking for something lovely to buy for your anniversary, so I sold him that necklace. I was hoping that even though you were with him in Arlington, you could be with me in Tate. I knew that I was very much younger than you, but as a boy, I had hoped,” he said.

  Wow! So this is how the necklace made its way to Victoria. It wasn’t an accident at all. Thomas was in love with Victoria and wanted to be with her. Though it did not bring her to Tate, it brought her to Morthsoul. The prophecy must have done that.

  How many men were in love with my Great Grandmother? My Great Grandpa in Arlington, Wisdom, and now Thomas Smart. I’ve seen portraits and photos of her, and she was beautiful. I have been compared to her multiple times since I arrived in the Morthlands, but it doesn’t add up. She got all of this attention, and I got Axel and then Kennan, this is some crap.

  Were we cursed to be in love triangles?

  Thomas wanted to be with Victoria in Tate. Did he have the same ulterior motives as Kennan? I am going to have to keep an eye out on this family. I wish I had thought to bring a hidden camera or recorder. I needed to know what was going on behind these walls.

  Thomas was still staring at me. He swayed a little on his feet. His legs look so frail; I’m not sure how they hold him up.

  “You are in love with me?” I asked him, still pretending to be Victoria.

  “Unbelievably so,” he answered quickly.

  “I am so sorry, Thomas, I did not know,” I told him.

  “It’s okay, Vic, I didn’t make my feelings known,” he said.

  Vic? Victoria also went by Vic? Interesting.

  “It’s so amazing that you’re actually here. Let me go get my son to introduce you,” he said.

  “No, Thomas, that isn’t necessary,” I told him quickly.

  “Oh, but it is, they think in my old age that I just make stuff up. I know how they look at me, I’m not senile yet. It will only take a moment. Just stay right here,” he told me.

  He took off down the hall as fast as he could, which still wasn’t very fast. My heart was working double time. I needed to get out and quickly.

  I waited until Thomas was out of sight and ran back to Samantha’s room. I pushed open the window and crawled out onto the awning as silently as I could. I closed the window behind me, and then I heard another voice.

  “No, Anthony, I expect to have a new shipment of silver and diamonds coming in soon. No, I don’t have an exact date,” he said and paused.

  It was quiet; when I couldn’t hear a response, I assumed he was on the phone.

  “No, I can’t tell you where these mines are. My son is working to secure the rights, and then everything will be all set,” he told Anthony.

  “Hey Alexander, can I borrow you for a moment?” I heard Thomas ask his son from the door below the awning.

  “Anthony, I’ve got to go. I’ll give you a call back later. Yup, I will. You bet. Good-bye,” Alexander, Kennan’s father, said.

  I heard Alexander’s retreating footsteps, and the sliding glass door close behind him. I scooted closer to the edge and peeked underneath of me. There was no one near the door, so I slid down.

  Once my feet were on the ground, I took off towards the back of the property. There were trees in the back that I could use to get over the gate. I scaled a tree and landed on the other side. Now I just had to walk back to the bus stop and wait.

  That was too close for comfort but worth the risk. Not only did I have a handful of emeralds in my pocket, but I confirmed some of my suspicions.

  ☼

  An hour later, I was back on the school campus trying to sneak in. I heard voices behind me in the hallway, so I turned my head to see who it was. My mistake was I didn’t stop walking while I was watching my back. Next thing I know, I slam into Samantha Smart and fall flat on my ass.

  “Well, well looks like I ran into the Queen,” she said to me as she faked a bow.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, looking around to make sure no one else heard.

  “Oh, don’t play coy,” she demanded.

  “Kennan has told me all about you, in this world and mine,” she said.

  “I specifically came here to hunt you down,” she said.

  “Has he? Why me?” I asked, pressing her to find out exactly what she knows.

  I needed to play coy as long as possible, while I am still connecting some dots. I need her to unknowingly point me in the right direction.

  “You just acquired a kingdom you know nothing about. I hope you enjoy it while it lasts. It won’t be yours once you bond with my brother. Your husband and his sister will make all of your decisions for you. You’ll be like a cute little puppet,” she said quietly.

  “Except your brother failed to mention I won’t be bonding to him. You will have to take the Kingdom from my cold dead body,” I said with so much venom I was hoping it would kill her.

  “That can be arranged,” she said as she began to walk away.

  “Don’t mind me; I’m just on my way to speak to the Dean about the large donation we are giving to the library. I’ll make sure I tell him you said hello,” she called as she walked further away.

  And now I had two Smart’s gunning for my Kingdom. We are in a whole hell of a lot of trouble.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Five MOnths Later

  Violet

  “Violet Brown,” the Dean said.

  I lifted my head, and I could hear my Mother and Grandmother cheering in the crowd. It put a smile on my face. While my family in the crowd is not large, they sure are loud.

  Today is my graduation and the start of the rest of my life.

  I took a deep breath as I walked across the stage and took it all in. I have spent my time divided between the Morthlands in my sleep and Arlington in my waking hours, but that ends today. I still have a long list of problems to figure out, but not this one.

  I stopped in front of the Dean and shook his hand, he smiled at me and handed me my one-way ticket out of here. I even smiled back, because I’d never have to deal with him again.

  I turned to face the crowd and spotted my mom standing in the bleachers squealing and waving her hands around. Grandmother sat beside her with a glowing smile on her face.

  I made my way to the stairs on the other side of the stage and walked down, doing my best not to trip and fall. When I made it safely back to my seat, it took another deep breath and let it out. One puzzle piece had finally found its place, and I was slowly figuring out the rest.

  Last week I decided to tell my mother I got a job offer straight out of school. They would pay for my education online. My mom was caught off guard by that, and when the shock wore off, she was excited for me. When I told her it was across state lines, she went back to being shocked.

  It took some time for her to come around, but I convinced her that the only thing I had going for me here in Arlington was her and Grandmother. She understood that and agreed not to give me too much grief for my decision.

  However, I lied. There is no job offer. I am going to copy the Smart family and bring some wealth from the Morthlands with me and use that to pay what expenses I have here. I will get the smallest and cheapest apartment I can here and take my time to focus on my struggles in the Morthlands.

  For too long, my time had been divided, and it has been a hindrance. I feel I start making progress in my tasks in Morthsoul, and then something throws a monkey wrench in it.

  Kennan and Samantha sabotage me at any chance they get. Lacey tries to jump on that bandwagon, but someone always knocks her back down. Now I will spend most of my time for the foreseeable future focusing on my tasks in Morthlands, away from all prying e
yes, my family included.

  I looked around me one last time as we exited the football field in a long line. Some of the people ahead and behind me showed me that people are capable of change if given a chance. I went from being an outcast to having people show me that they care.

  If I was told six months ago that I would end up caring about anyone besides Mads, I would have laughed.

  Now I can see a blonde head of hair belonging to a lovely girl who goes out of her way to make sure Lacey stays away. There is also a red-headed boy who always made sure Kennan kept a ten-foot distance from me in the halls.

  This was bittersweet, and I wasn’t prepared to feel sad as I walked off the field, but here I am, all in my feelings.

  I found my mother and grandmother after everyone exited from the field. We went out to eat for some delicious BBQ and then some ice-cream to celebrate.

  I later met up with Mads, and we worked out while reminiscing on the worst years of our lives. This too felt bittersweet, as she would be going to college on the other side of the country, and despite our issues, I will truly miss her.

  I signed the lease to my new apartment virtually yesterday and would be picking up my key tomorrow. This time tomorrow, everything will be different, and I can’t wait.

  I had been invited to numerous graduation parties. Even Kennan sent me one to his; I ripped it up and threw it in the trash.

  While I skipped his party, I did attend two parties. One was Mads’ and the other was for the pretty blonde, Lilith, who got Lacey to leave me alone.

  She was actually a sweet person. She would be going to a school nearby, and she said she wanted to hang out, even after summer was over.

  Her house was large like mine, but kept up with, unlike mine.

  I was having a good time in her backyard lounging by the pool when I heard footsteps to my right. I looked up, and Kennan was standing there looking down at me. He was shirtless standing there in his trunks, flip flops, and sunglasses. I watched as he lifted his sunglasses off his eyes and stared down at me in my bikini.