The Dream Deceiver

by Chantae Oliver

“Wait!” Kalen called out behind her.

  Rhiannon jumped at the sound of his voice. She was so caught up in her flurry that she hadn’t noticed his presence.

  “What?” she seethed; her nerves pricked by his sudden interruption.

  Kalen searched her face, his eyes filled with worry and love as he dared to step closer to her and reach out for her hand.

  “Where are you going?” he asked carefully as he grasped her hand tightly, desperately.

  “I have to see for myself that she’s alive,” Rhiannon insisted.

  She felt her nerves being calmed at the feeling of his hands around hers, so warm and protective.

  The pain in her heart climbed up her throat and pricked at the corners of her eyes. The salty tears fell angrily down her face, and each trail of hot wetness seemed to burn marks of guilt on her. Blaming her. Marking her a murderer.

  The apparent anguish in her spilled over, and Kalen watched as she became consumed in guilt. Her urgency began to wear off and left behind confusion and loss and hopelessness.

  Kalen pulled her hands, and like a yo-yo, her body was drawn towards him, but he felt her heart being pulled away.

  Unwilling to lose her so soon after she’d become his, Kalen held her tight as if wrapping his muscular frame around her could somehow protect her from whatever truth awaits.

  “Please, don’t go there. Whatever happened, it won’t be safe. She knows that you know what she did. So, if she is alive, and you go there, you’ll be in her hands. We know what she’s capable of,” Kalen said.

  “And if she’s dead…” Rhiannon said, voice cracking.

  “Then the only people who know why are in this house right now,” Kalen replied honestly and matter-of-factly.

  Rhiannon pulled away and looked up at him, surprised.

  “What are you trying to say?” she asked.

  “He’s saying what we are all thinking,” Lilyette answered before Kalen could.

  Rhiannon turned to see that Lilyette and Aoki were both halfway down the stairs, watching her and Kalen intently.

  “I pray, truly, that she isn’t dead. For no other reason, but your sake. But whatever the case may be – A. you didn’t intend for it to happen. And B. it happened inside of a dream. The only evidence is upstairs, and Aoki’s friends said all we have to do is give them the word and it’ll be destroyed,” Lilyette continued.

  Rhiannon’s mouth dropped open as she struggled with the right response. A part of her wanted to be morally appalled at what Lilyette was suggesting, but her self-preservation needs were shouting for her to shut her high and mighty ass up.

  “If we destroy that, then we won’t have any evidence for what happened to my parents. All of this, it would have been for nothing,” Rhiannon finally said.

  Lilyette walked the rest of the way down the stairs and walked right up to Rhiannon. She placed her hands on her shoulders and looked her square in her eyes.

  “It’s something. You know the truth now, and you know that your mom might be alive. If she is, but you go get yourself arrested, how will you ever find her? Where is the justice in that? I know you are having an inner battle with yourself right now, but I need you to think clearly and not do anything rash. If you go there now, and there is something wrong, do you think you’ll be able to calmly handle it? Act like you don’t have any idea how it happened? You’re the most honest person I know. Hell, the act of you just showing up at their house at this hour would seem strange,” Lilyette declared.

  “I…could just say I’m there to see Oberon or something…and just check that she’s okay,” Rhiannon replied unsurely.

  “And if she’s not okay?” Lilyette queried.

  “Dammit. I know, okay! I know I shouldn’t go there. And I know that it’d be risky going there. But by not going there, it’s like admitting to myself…” Rhiannon exploded, then trailed off like a busted balloon.

  “What?” Lilyette asked voice softened with concern.

  “I’d have to admit…that it wasn’t an accident. I felt the power building up, and all of my hatred and anger for what she did and what Oberon did to you, and all the years I could have had my parent’s with me, the dance I should have done with my father but did with Oberon instead, all of that pure loathing…I unleashed it. I felt my control over it. I felt for a split second that I could aim up to the sky and not hit her at all, but I didn’t. I wanted to hit her. I wanted to kill her.”

  Lilyette felt pained all over as she listened to Rhiannon’s admission. She glanced past her to Kalen, whose aura was riddled with pain as well. She felt Aoki close behind her. The four of them stood suspended in the moment, a dark gray cloud of emotion lingering over them, threatening to suffocate them all.

  The stillness of the moment was shattered by the trilling of Rhiannon’s phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen and turned ashen as all the color drained from her face.

  As if in slow motion she slid her finger on the screen and put the phone to her ear.

  “Oberon…” she choked out.

  Kalen, Aoki, and Lilyette all felt as though the air had been completely sucked out of the room as they waited for news.

  Tears fell wildly down Rhiannon’s cheek as she listened to what was being said on the other line. She nodded erratically as if he could hear her agreeing, and began pacing the floor.

  “Okay, I’ll be right there,” Rhiannon said before hanging up the phone.

  Using the sleeve of her hoodie, she wiped the tears from her face and put her phone back into her pocket. She stopped pacing the floor and turned to face everyone who had clumped together wordlessly during her phone call.

  “She’s alive, but barely,” Rhiannon began shakily, “the ambulance came and is taking her to the ER. Oberon called to ask me to meet him there because he’s scared that he’s about to lose his mom and he doesn’t want to be alone.”

  Her whole body trembled visibly as she pulled the keys out of her purse.

  “You can’t…” Lilyette started to say but stopped. She felt defeated. She knew just looking at Rhiannon that there was no stopping her at that moment. She was going to go.

  “At least let me drive you?” Lilyette said instead.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea after what Oberon did to you…” Rhiannon replied weakly.

  “I’ll drive you,” Kalen insisted.

  Rhiannon scrambled her brain for an excuse to tell him no but came up short when she met his eyes and saw his determination.

  The fight in her was gone, so instead, she tossed him the keys and told him the name of the hospital.

  The car was silent for a while as Rhiannon stared blankly out the window. She appeared emotionless, but inwardly was having a battle within herself.

  You are a horrible human being. You judge Oberon for what he did to Lilyette, but you are just as bad – if not worse.

  But I didn’t mean to really hurt her, it was just a dream…

  You know you don’t believe that. You’ve had all the training; you know what can happen in dreams. The decision may have occurred in a split second – but it’s a decision that you made. You wanted to hurt her. You tried to kill her. You are evil.

  I am evil…

  You deserve to be punished!

  I deserve to be punished…

  Lilyette? Kalen? Aoki? They all know what you’re capable of now, and they’re afraid of you. Didn’t you see how they backed away from you? How they cowered in fear? They don’t love you anymore. You aren’t lovable.

  I’m not loved…I don’t deserve love…they’re scared of me…

  The best thing you can do from now on is keep away from them. The only person who might understand your darkness – this evilness inside of you – is Oberon.

  Oberon…

  You’ll never be happy again because you are a terrible person. You are a murderer. You’ll probably kill again.

  I’ll kill again…

  You’ll kill again.

  I’ll
kill again…

  Will you kill Kalen?

  I’ll kill again…

  Will you kill Aoki?

  I’ll kill again…

  Will you kill Lilyette?

  “No!” Rhiannon exclaimed out loud, pain etched deep into her face.

  Kalen felt himself swerve a bit at the sudden outburst, then straightened out the car, his breath quickened.

  “What? Are you okay?” he asked, stealing glances in Rhiannon’s direction to check on her.

  “We need to break up,” Rhiannon replied monotonously, staring once again blankly out the window.

  “What are you talking about? Why?” Kalen questioned.

  He waited for her to offer up any explanation, and after a few painfully silent minutes passed, he couldn’t take it any longer and pulled the car violently over to the shoulder and put it in park. Rhiannon remained unmoved and unaffected as he unbuckled himself and turned to look directly at her.

  “Rhiannon? Please, tell me, why are you saying this?” Kalen pleaded.

  Rhiannon sighed as if she were exhausted and as if the answer were obvious. She turned to him slowly and looked back at him with pity in her eyes.

  “I love you,” she said factually as if that answered everything in the world.

  It answered nothing for Kalen.

  “What?” he exclaimed, “so why would you want to break up? You aren’t making sense!”

  Rhiannon let out another heavy sigh.

  “I love you, but I hate me. I don’t deserve you, and you deserve a lot better than me,” Rhiannon said bluntly.

  Kalen felt a plethora of emotions at once – love, anger, sadness, confusion, regret – and as he struggled with them, he felt his face flush and eyes sting.

  “You…hate…yourself? But, Rhiannon…why? Where is this coming from? I know that what happened is hard to grasp, but this, it just seems like an overreaction,” he regretted his choice of words as soon as they left his mouth.

  Kalen’s eyes widened, further deepening his sense of regret, as he watched an uneasy and almost creepy smile play on Rhiannon’s lips.

  “An overreaction?” Rhiannon laughed.

  “That didn’t come out right,” Kalen stuttered.

  “No, you’re right. I overreact. I definitely overreacted when I tried to kill Lady Villagomez. And I’m sure I’m overreacting now, as I feel that same power building up in me as we speak,” her voice dripped with venom as she lifted her eyes to meet his. He looked in her eyes and thought that this must be what it looks like to look into the eyes of a hurricane.

  The hair on both of their arms stood straight up as electrical currents stung the air.

  “Rhiannon,” Kalen muttered, eyes darting around in fear.

  Rhiannon lifted her right hand and showed the small bolts of lightning crackling between her fingertips. She played with them as though she were twiddling a pen, and gave Kalen a wicked half-smile.

  “Just, take me to the hospital, please Kalen? I need to be with Oberon,” Rhiannon said, voice attempting to sound demanding, but real and evident pain slipping through the cracks of her false bravado.

  “Be with…Oberon…” Kalen repeated, slowly, as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Rhiannon cleared her throat, grateful that he seemed to focus only on that and didn’t catch her mask slipping.

  “Exactly, that’s who needs me most right now,” Rhiannon emphasized.

  “I need you,” Kalen whispered as he angrily wiped his face, not wanting her to see any tears.

  “Drive the car, or I will get out and walk,” Rhiannon demanded, this time with more bass.

  As if on auto-pilot, Kalen put his seatbelt back on and put the car back into drive. He mindlessly followed the GPS instructions, lost in thought, until they arrived at the hospital. He blinked rapidly as he parked the car, coming out of his trance, barely realizing he’d been driving up until that point.

  Not hesitating, Rhiannon unbuckled herself and collected her things to go.

  “I’ll wait for you here,” Kalen said managing to make it sound both like a statement and a request.

  “Don’t bother. I’m going to stay here with him for as long as he needs,” Rhiannon replied coldly, eyes wavering for a moment as she watched the pained expression on his face deepen.

  “This is not who you are, you need to come back with me…let Lilyette and my mom talk to you…help you…” Kalen begged.

  “I don’t need any help,” Rhiannon stated, “You go back to them and tell them that they were right. They need to destroy everything that was recorded. If Lady Villagomez does survive this, we don’t need any evidence hanging around to support her claims. In fact, even if she doesn’t survive it, it’s for the best.”

  “This isn’t just about Lady Villagomez, this is our proof of what Arion did to my father and what they tried to do to me,” Kalen explained.

  “I know, so maybe they can just get rid of the part with me at the end. Either way, something needs to be done. For now, I’ll stay here. It’s like I’m seeing clearer now. All of this has just led me back to the place where I belong. To the people, I’m supposed to be with. And at least now I know about my mom. The closer I get to that family, the closer I can get to finding her – hopefully alive,” Rhiannon admitted, letting a small bit of hope bleed through her voice.

  “You’re giving me whiplash,” Kalen said bitterly.

  “Just go, it’s over between us,” Rhiannon said harshly, then momentarily regretted her tone, so she took his hand into hers and pleaded with her eyes, “I’m so sorry, and I hope that one day you’ll understand that you are better off without me. Just please, go. I won’t change my mind.”

  Rhiannon got out the car hastily, and closed the door, not wanting to look back at him. She placed her hand on her chest as if she could feel the pain inside of her emanating outwards like radiation. Her feet, laden with regret, refused to move her forward.

  Maybe this is a mistake…I love him…

  He doesn’t love you, not really. He’s afraid of you, you are a murderer, you are an immoral person. You deserve this pain you’re feeling right now.

  I deserve this…

  He may seem hurt now, but really, he is relieved. You did him a favor. Now, walk away.

  But…I love him…

  If you love him, you should leave him. You don’t deserve him.

  I don’t deserve him…

  Rhiannon clutched her things tightly and willed her feet to move. Every step she took further away from Kalen, she felt as though an invisible tether between them was being pulled and would soon be broken.

  Chapter 32

  Kalen remained parked and faced forward through the window, not wanting to watch Rhiannon walk away from him. His breathing was frantic as he tried to think of anything he could do at that moment to make her stay. When no good ideas would form, he felt his desperation boil over as his knuckles went white from his grip on the steering wheel and he let go and began slamming his fist angrily on the dash.

  The outburst was surprisingly helpful as he felt himself calm down for a moment and decided to call Lilyette to see if she could offer any advice.

  “Hello,” Lilyette said, answering the phone right away.

  “It’s Kalen…,” he said, letting his voice drift.

  “What’s wrong?” Lilyette asked, noting the difference in his tone.

  “Rhiannon…I don’t know what’s going on with her, but it’s like she woke up a different person. How can someone change so quickly?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She broke up with me, and it’s the way it happened…the way she seemed…she said that she loves me but hates herself…I could see that she meant it.”

  “What???”

  “I know, and you know her eyes…her eyes are usually so bright and shine like a galaxy…they looked dull…like a black hole. She’s going to be with Oberon, and I don’t know to what extent, but she walked out of here like a prisoner walking to
her execution and I want to stop her…I just don’t know how!”

  “Rhiannon…I should have come with you guys…after everything happened with her parents…It’s not my place to say too much, but she struggled. But this? This sounds next level. And so instant…what hospital are you at? I’m coming.”

  “I’ll text it to you. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to check the info in the book we found about wings and see if there’s anything about this in her section. Either way, I’m getting my friend and taking her out of there. If she’s drowning, I’m going in after her. You stay there. Just don’t go in after her until I get there. I may not have seen her at this level, but I’ve seen her hit some dark points, maybe I’ll be able to get through to her.”

  “Thanks, Lilyette. I’ll be here, let me know when you get here.”

  “I will. Bye, and don’t worry. We will find a way to get through to her.”

  They both hung up the phone, and Kalen found himself feeling much calmer.

  Even if after all this she doesn’t want to be with me, I’ll be fine…as long as she’s okay.

  Chapter 33

  “They say it’s a brain hemorrhage,” Oberon said as Rhiannon sat down next to him in the waiting room.

  “Will she be okay?” Rhiannon asked.

  “They haven’t said. My father called 911 pretty quickly, so they are hopeful. He said she suddenly started having a seizure in her sleep, and that is something that has never happened before. I’m so scared,” Oberon explained worriedly.

  Rhiannon felt the guilt build up inside of her like bile and swallowed hard to keep from throwing up.

  “I’m so sorry Oberon, more than you could ever know,” Rhiannon said softly.

  “I just wish I would’ve told her that I loved her more. What if they can’t help her? What if the last time I saw my mother, I chose to just walk right by her as if she weren’t there,” Oberon replied desperately, placing his head in his hands.

  “I’m sure she knows you love her,” Rhiannon replied.

  “Sometimes, I wonder…I try so hard to fight this darkness within me and be better. But I never seem to do well enough. I’m just not good enough…” Oberon muttered.