Emerald Dreams (The Dream Traveler Series)

by Nicole Knight

  “Look everyone, she’s risen from the dead,” Lacey called out to the class.

  I felt rage building in my chest, and I needed a way to let it out. So, for the first time ever, I spoke back.

  “You may want me dead, but I will never die as quickly as that bleach blonde mop you have on your head. Have you heard of conditioner?”

  Her mouth popped open, and she stared wide-eyed. I sent her a smile and slid into my seat.

  That felt great! Why haven't I done that sooner?

  I closed my eyes and just imagined shaving her head. That’s weird, I know, but it brought me a little bit of comfort.

  Everyone was looking around and whispering surprised at my outburst. I could hear Lacey breathing near me.

  I still felt the rage though and thought my outburst wasn't enough. At the very least, I wanted to mess up her hair. I know I shouldn’t do it, but I couldn’t help myself.

  I wonder if my magic works here? There is no time like the present to test it out.

  I forced the window open with my control over the air and caused a breeze to come flowing through the classroom. I just aimed for her head and she was the only one who got a surprise blast.

  The ends of her hair whipped up and over the front of her head, getting in her face. That is when I could see her extensions. She let out a frustrated scream.

  Just then, the teacher walked into class. The room went silent.

  I actually got magic to work in this world. I would have to keep practicing it, of course. This is awesome. In no time, I would put Lacey in her place. I was starting to look forward to coming to school now; I couldn’t wait to cause her a little bit of havoc.

  I wouldn’t mind getting even.

  Lacey didn’t make a comment the rest of the day.

  I could get used to this.

  Mom picked me up at the end of the day, and for once, I didn’t have anything to complain about.

  Temporarily everything was right with my world.

  When I got home, the rest of my day took a tragic turn.

  Grandmother was having a bad day with her memory. I asked her if I could borrow her Mother’s diary, and she didn’t even remember that she had it. She said she didn’t want me to read it, even if I could find it.

  Sometimes when Grandmother lost her clarity, she became a little crabby. Mom said that was just because she was confused and scared, that was the way she tried to combat those feelings. It made me feel even worse for her.

  I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Mom. She had already raised me as a single mother and then now has to watch the woman who raised her slowly forget everything about herself.

  It was such a sad thing to witness. I hoped I didn’t have to deal with the same thing many years down the road.

  Tonight’s dinner was about to be depressing, especially because it meant Grandmother wouldn’t be cooking.

  Chapter Twelve

  Violet

  After an awkward dinner and hours spent on homework, I put on clothing that I could move in.

  I wore a tight fitted grey V-neck and a pair of yoga pants Mom had gotten me for Christmas. I made sure I had the necklace on, and I climbed into bed and waited for sleep to claim me.

  I woke up in Morthshadow, ready to learn as much as I could. When I opened my eyes, both Axel and Wisdom were hunched over me, fear and worry etched all over their faces.

  “Oh, thank the goddess!” Axel exclaimed.

  He let out a sigh of relief, and Wisdom put his hand on my head.

  “She’s already starting to warm up,” he said, relief evident on his voice as well.

  “What are you guys talking about? What is going on?” I asked, confused.

  My head was hurting, and I felt like I was freezing.

  “You, I came back in the room hours ago, your body was still here like I expected it to be, but you were cold and turning blue. Your heart was barely beating. We didn’t know what was happening to you in your other world. We thought you might be dying there. I was so worried. Thank the goddess.”

  Axel bent over and brought me into a hug. I could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He sighed in relief again. I could smell his cotton, rain and driftwood sent, and it sent a tingling sensation up my body.

  “No, I was never in any danger. Actually, I was able to use magic there!” I announced.

  A smile took over my face again, remembering what it felt like to finally get some revenge on Lacey.

  “That’s amazing, I think. I didn’t know that was possible,” Axel said.

  Shock was apparent all over his face. Wisdom’s face looked grim, though.

  “You must not do that. It was sucking the life out of you in this world. You need to avoid using magic in your world, do you understand? Life or death situations should be the only exception. You might not be able to get back if your body dies in this world,” Wisdom commanded.

  His voice sounded so deep and full of worry. It was a warning I planned on taking seriously.

  The idea of dying scared me endlessly. Yet, I faced death in this world trying to fight a Tyrant. Why didn’t that scare me the same way?

  Dying in this world and being unable to return was a scary thought. I had no idea when I opened that window with my magic that it could kill me here. How did Wisdom know anything about this, though? Was this something that Victoria had tried before? Did she have the same scary result?

  “Okay, I will only use it in emergencies,” I promised.

  “Why did you use it anyway?” Wisdom asked.

  “A girl started rumors about me that I had killed myself. I wanted to get back at her, so I used the wind to mess up her hair,” I confessed.

  I expected one of them to tell me that this was foolish and wasting their time. I prepared myself for the lecture.

  Wisdom was the first one to crack a joke, “A typical woman.”

  “I never said I was perfect,” I said.

  I smiled, knowing that things were no longer as intense as they were a moment ago.

  “Obviously,” Wisdom chimed in.

  Ouch.

  “Let’s get to work,” he said.

  Wisdom was in a hurry today.

  “This is not designed to be easy, you are going to get frustrated. I am going to push your limits physically and mentally. If you do what I say, you may have what it takes to return the crown to its proper bloodline. You will be a woman warrior when we are done,” Axel told me as he helped me get out of bed.

  “I understand,” I answered in reply.

  I wasn’t looking forward to any grueling warrior training. Hell, I hated even participating in gym class.

  Wisdom cleared his throat to get my attention, “Great. See this candle here? Light it with your magic.”

  “I have to figure this out on my own, don’t I?” I asked.

  “Yes, you do. I see why Axel says you are intelligent,” he was mocking me.

  I tried not to let it get to me. I’m just glad he isn’t so serious-looking anymore.

  When he is serious, he is kind of intimidating.

  I sat down and stared at the candle. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; I was going to do this. I mentally thought about the candle, where it was in the room, and what it looked like. Then I thought about myself reaching out and lighting the candle. I reached out and pinched its wick between my fingers. I thought about lighting the candle, and a spark surged between my fingers. The wick lit, and I had started a fire.

  “I did that first try; no one helped me, right?” I asked in disbelief.

  That was directed towards Wisdom since he was the only one who could help me with magic.

  Why had that come so easy?

  Axel wore a massive smile on his face, “That was all you, Princess!”

  Could he tell when someone else was using their magic? Was that part of his magic blocking ability?

  Wisdom spoke, “Don’t get too excited; this is still elementary magic.”

  Did he have to burs
t my bubble? The fact that I got anything at all on the first try itself was a miracle. It’s not like I grew up here. I knew nothing about magic before yesterday.

  “Then what is next, oh great teacher?” I asked.

  He actually smiled at my smart-ass comment.

  “I’m not going to push your magic much today, considering how we found you not too long ago. Magic can drain a person pretty easily. I can’t afford to do that to you yet. Axel is going to take you back down to the ground floor and teach you some very easy basic self-defense,” Wisdom declared. He eyed Axel as he emphasized the very “easy” part.

  “But I was on a roll!” I cried out!

  I was outraged. It was such a tease letting me learn one thing before cutting me off.

  “Please don’t argue with me, Princess, I know what is best for your training and health,” Wisdom said.

  I could tell he would not budge, no matter how much I begged and pleaded.

  Who died and told him he could be my father?

  I was not happy. I stalked over to the hole in the deck and kicked the vine ladder down. I started my descent.

  Axel dropped some gear over the side of the porch, and it made it to the ground much faster than I did.

  When I got to the ground, Axel climbed down the ladder.

  “I know you are not happy right now, but this is just as important as the magic training. It won’t kill you if you use it in your world,” he said.

  A look crossed his face; it turned kind of dark like he was watching a disturbing scene in a movie.

  “Was it that bad?” I asked him.

  I knew what he was thinking about.

  “Yes, Lady Violet, I was for sure you were dead. You have no idea how scared I was when I saw your skin all blue,” he sounded so sincere.

  “So, I looked like a larger version of a smurf?” I asked.

  “A smurf?” he asked in return.

  Crap, I forgot there are so many things from my world that he has no clue about. How would I explain computers, TV, IPods, and cereal? How long would it take for us to bridge this large cultural gap?

  Not long, I hoped. I don’t know if I have the patience to continuously explain the things I loved so much.

  “I’m sorry I forgot you don’t know what those are,” I told him.

  “I feel like I need to watch you when you sleep just to make sure you keep breathing,” he said, continuing our very serious conversation.

  His voice sounded desperate. I didn’t like hearing or watching this. He was struggling to come to terms that there are things that one can’t be protected from.

  This was life, I assume, no matter what world you are living in.

  “It’s okay; I promise I won’t scare you like that again,” I said. Axel wrapped me in a quick, tight hug. Then he released me just as fast as the embrace had happened.

  “Thank you. Now let’s start. I want you to try to hit me as hard as you can,” he said.

  He took a deep breath. Like he needed it to clear the traces of our lingering conversation from his mind.

  Well, that escalated quickly. First, he is hugging me, and less than five seconds later, he is asking me to punch him.

  This boy must be crazy. Were all the boys here this crazy?

  “No, I can’t hurt you,” I told him.

  “Pretend I’m not me, I’m a knight guarding the castle,” he replied.

  “I’ll try,” I said as I formed a fist and tried to hit him in the stomach.

  He had caught my hand in his a second before it made contact with his stomach.

  “Come on, is that all you have? At least make it look like you were trying. This time pretend I’m that lady who was messing with you in your world,” he teased.

  He probably shouldn’t have brought her up for his own good. That was enough to get my blood boiling and my imagination going.

  “Now, there is some inspiration,” I teased back.

  He had an excellent idea, though.

  I made another fist, and this time hit him as hard as I could. I hit his hand again. This time though, there was enough force from the punch that it made a sound. Axel smiled a little at seeing my effort.

  “Better, I see we found your ideal target. Don’t aim for the stomach, though; you need a place that will actually disable a person. That’s the reason for getting in a fight, to disable the other person. If the target is down, it is harder for them to harm you. It will be here, here, and here if you’re a guy.”

  He pointed to my eyes, my throat, and then to the area below my belly button.

  “You want me to punch you in the throat or down there?” I felt myself blush a little.

  “Yes, don’t be so shy about it,” he said.

  “Well, that last part isn’t going to harm a girl,” I retorted quickly.

  “Okay, then practice the other two,” he told me.

  I tried to do what he asked, I was still asking questions when I suddenly threw a punch as hard as I could towards his throat.

  “That was much better,” he said as his hand smacked mine to deflect the punch.

  I smiled. I didn’t actually have to hit him.

  Who punches their hopefully soon to be boyfriend in the throat if he isn’t hurting her? Even if it is practice?

  “Don’t look where you are going to hit me, it’s a dead giveaway. That’s the only reason I knew you were going to hit me that time,” he critiqued.

  “The makes sense, I guess. Okay, what other skills can I master, oh wise teacher?” I asked sarcastically. Meanwhile, I was plotting.

  He didn’t even see it coming, I lifted my leg so fast and my foot connected with his groin.

  “Since I mastered this, can we move on?” I said, to be a smart ass and rub it in just a little bit more.

  I felt so proud at that moment.

  He fell to the ground holding his groin.

  “In a minute,” he croaked out.

  I didn’t feel bad. A few days ago, he had been a real jerk.

  When he finally got up, he gave me a small smile and congratulated me.

  “At least we know you can take down a man,” he said, breathing through the pain.

  I grinned, feeling proud of my small victory.

  “Next, I’m going to teach you how to flip someone over your shoulder,” he informed me.

  It didn’t take me long to pick up what Axel was showing me. In no time, I was flipping him over my shoulder and watching him hit the ground. At first, I didn’t want to learn any of this stuff. Now that I am actually learning quickly, I know learning the rest won’t be that bad.

  Maybe with a bunch of training, I really could take down a king? Maybe being taking out this king wasn’t entirely out of my reach?

  Wisdom busted my bubble by calling from above. “That’s all fine, but what good is temporarily disabling someone if she can’t outrun them?”

  I gave him a look that suggested he was the devil for even mentioning that I’d need to run.

  This man wants me to hate him, does he?

  “So, we need to make her workout is what you are saying?” Axel called back to Wisdom.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying; start with running,” Wisdom shouted back.

  Screw his help; I wanted to light him on fire. I don’t do running.

  Axel looked over at me.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “We are running now?” I asked.

  I tried to keep the whine out of my voice, but I was only partly successful.

  “Yes, get going, Princess,” he teased.

  I hate him now too. Wasn’t I the one who was supposed to give orders and not the other way around? Isn’t that what a Princess does?

  Axel took off in front of me, and I tried to match his pace. I started breathing heavily only a few minutes into the run. I could tell I couldn’t keep this up for long.

  They were right; I did need to work out, desperately. It would be a very slow progression too. I liked learning things I coul
d pick up fast, not slow. So the idea that I needed to work on this, of all things, bothered me even more.

  We only ran a short distance, maybe a quarter of a mile before I bent over panting. My hands were on my thighs to help keep me stable. I started getting tunnel vision. To keep from injuring myself, I got down on my knees and laid down.

  It felt like the insides of my stomach were doing flips. I wasn’t sure if last night’s fruit was going to make a reappearance. I focused on my screaming lungs; I filled them with as much oxygen as they could hold before releasing it.

  “You okay back there?” Axel called.

  Obviously, I’m not okay if I’m lying on the ground panting. He was teasing me again. Mentally testing me as well. I still hated him right now.

  “Fine and dandy,” I barely called back between pants.

  I closed my eyes; everything was starting to spin. This wasn’t good, not at all. I felt my stomach acids moving; it was an unsettling feeling. I tried to hold down the vomit.

  “I think we might have pushed you a little hard on your first day, huh?”

  His voice sounded much closer. I opened my eyes, and his knees were just a few inches from my face. He was kneeling over me.

  “I almost died this morning, and now I’m trying to sprint a marathon. Yeah, I’d say I pushed myself too much,” I retorted a little sarcastically.

  I should never have even tried. I wanted to hit him for making me run, but it was no one else’s fault but my own. I wanted to be good at everything. I should have just taken it easy, but I have so much to prove. I was too eager to be the best right from the beginning. I should have worried more about my own well-being.

  “Well, we can’t waste the rest of the day of training. I’ll get you inside, and we will see if we can’t get Wisdom to figure out something else for you to do,” he told me.

  I felt a little grateful for his sympathy.

  Axel turned me over. That action alone made me want to hurl, but I commanded my stomach to hold it in. He slid one arm underneath my thighs and the other underneath my back. I was cradled in his arms in no time.

  He jogged back to the treehouse.

  Didn’t he know I was about to hurl, and he was splashing around my insides even more?