The Lucid Dreamer (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi) (The Unmaker Series Book 1)

by Casey Herzog

  I didn’t want to interrupt his thoughts, but this was certainly a lot to process. He was the only one that knew what Damien had said. The very fact he said anything was a surprise. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he had awoken, but I wasn’t even sure if that was true. Julian was my sole confidant for now.

  “I’m glad you felt you could trust me, but I’m not sure I really know what to say. I wasn’t there, so I can’t tell you what it might have been or how to interpret it. I’m a little perplexed that you don’t want to tell anybody about this. I don’t know about you, but it seems like a pretty big deal.”

  Julian was the only one I had confided about my father’s absence. Without him around, I might’ve been more inclined to turn to the dark side even more easily than I had. I was a little mad at Julian for not being there. Julian was apologetic, but it was only words.

  “I didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up over what could possibly be nothing. I thought that I would discreetly look into these things myself and see if I could make any sense out of it.”

  Julian was wearing a white jacket down to his knees.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered you felt inclined to tell me anything. I wasn’t sure if we were talking after everything that happened. I wasn’t there when you needed me and I can only be thankful that others were able to pick up my slack. Your father being alive must be a great relief, but I’m sure it also is a double-edged sword. You had some time to think about it and I’m gathering words have been shared,” Julian said with his mind occupied on the books on the table.

  I had cheated the fever of the darkness trying to seep into my soul, but it wasn’t by my own hand. I needed the help of my father, Damien, and especially William to draw me back out into the light.

  I didn’t want to put them through unnecessary hell unless absolutely necessary. I needed to confirm my suspicions, but at least for now, I had a partner in crime.

  “I’m in no place to tell you what to do, Gillian. I’m just suggesting that it might be best to speak to somebody. I’m sure your father would love to hear about Damien’s remarkable recovery even if it was only temporary. Temporary or not, it shows there’s still something running around inside his head.

  “I’m surprised he even mentioned the flower, but as you have already said, it may not have anything to do with what we have been looking into on his behalf,” Julian said, trying to play devil’s advocate.

  I had ruled the world with an iron fist for a brief period of time, and I was still trying to come to terms with losing such immense power. I hadn’t told anybody about the sleepless nights, the cold sweats, or the need to walk around the house in the middle of the night. I felt like I was having withdrawal symptoms, but I managed to find a book in my father’s study about meditation that was helping.

  “I’ve been dabbling with some spells as of late, and I think one might come in handy for our purposes. It’s a location beacon; I just have to make sure how to say it without causing any undue side effects. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is magic can be quite unpredictable if you allow it to be.” Even though I said it, I believed that to be a vast understatement. The shattered windows of my soul had been repaired, but there were still cracks remaining left to be sealed.

  “I can help you with that. This library is a fountain of information ready for somebody to tap into. Jasper and my father knew that better than anyone. I only wish Jasper could give us a helping hand. I didn’t know him well, but what I have seen is a deep understanding of everything concerning magic. He walked over to the dark side, not of his own volition, but he has been unable to find his way back.”

  I had tried in vain to locate him, and when I came close, it was like he vanished before I had a chance to find him and bring him home. I was hoping I could find the boy I was looking for, but Jasper had become something of an elusive whisper of what he once was.

  “I know your intention is to bring Jasper back and rehabilitate him. I’m just not sure if your father and the others can work their magic on him.

  “These archives have a lot to say, but the problem is finding the right book. This locator spell you have mentioned is something we can use, but I would have to know more about it before I could even consider working alongside you on this ill advised project.”

  I didn’t want to say it, but I think we both knew the main reason for this exercise was to determine if taking the trek into the mountains was a good idea.

  “With the two of us, I’m sure we can find something that could lead us to the answer to his unfortunate predicament.”

  “I have the book of spells, but what I don’t have is a vessel, which I think you can help with.”

  I wasn’t sure what he was referring to until he was staring below my neck. I thought he was getting fresh, but then I realized he was looking at the crystal pendant my mother had given me. It had sat in my jewelry box in my bedroom for quite some time, and for whatever reason, I had put it on this morning, not even aware that I was doing it.

  “I’ll let you to use the crystal, but only on the condition you don’t destroy it. My mother gave me this before she died. I have cherished it for quite some time, but I have also hidden from it. After what happened, I found myself drawn to her memories; I learned to see things through her eyes.”

  I had been down and so lost that I couldn’t see what was considered right or wrong. Reality was out of reach. My body had healed, but my mind was still suffering the side effects of going out of my comfort zone.

  I handed him the crystal and we went over to a table with inscriptions carved into the wood. The ceremony of writing on this table was something passed down from one generation to the next. It was known as a place to share secrets in magic. Many spells of different kinds were scratched into the wood, including underneath and on the legs. It had a time stamp of several hundred years in the making. The generational gap was closing quickly, and there seemed to be a meaning for every one of these incantations.

  Julian started to mutter something in Gaelic with his eyes rolling into the back of his head until only the whites remained. I was worried for his safety, but I didn’t dare touch him while he was in what was considered a deep trance. I had no idea what touching him during this crucial time would do, and I wasn’t ready to hurt another person I cared for. I felt this compulsion to do something, but I made myself refrain.

  He had the crystal in his hand and it was swaying on its own without any manual stimulation. It swung quickly in a wide arc; I was getting dizzy looking at it. I tried to look away, but I just couldn’t bring myself to turn my head in any direction other than where the crystal was spinning.

  Julian began to shake and there was a droplet of blood coming from his left nostril. I didn’t want him hurt, but this was a course we had chosen together. The only way to learn how to help Damien was to seek out the answers inside the library.

  Volumes of text, dusty and moldy, were waiting to be discovered all over again. My father had said after the Elders were gone that he was tempted to open up the library to the public like it had been in previous times.

  Julian’s mouth was moving and the whispers in Gaelic were in a different tone. His voice had changed, and whatever source he had tapped into was wreaking havoc with his mind. It had taken him over and was using him as the vessel, much the same way he was using the crystal.

  I watched it change colors several times --- this was the first time I’d ever witnessed anything supernatural about the crystal. It seemed like a smaller version of the amulet my father had confirmed to be under lock and key, consisting of several layers of magic each more daunting than the last.

  Julian had stepped forward, his chin touching his chest. He let go of the crystal and it hung in the air over the table, glowing a magnificent red crimson color. It suddenly took off, barely missing my ear with such a force and speed it was hard to keep track of it. Julian was in no shape to go on this scavenger hunt; I was going to have to take the j
ourney on my own. It wouldn’t have been the first time I went out on a limb, alone. Chasing this mystery was better when I was with someone. Unfortunately, Julian was indisposed, which once again made this responsibility fall on my shoulders.

  I looked behind and over my shoulder to see the crystal waiting for me to follow it in its wake. I heard what sounded like a crack of thunder. I turned back to see the table was breaking apart. It had splintered, leaving one jagged crack down the middle. There had to be some kind of significance behind it, but I had no time to delve into the mystery.

  I felt like I had done William a disservice by not telling him anything I had discovered. We were forbidden to see each other until the wedding day. He was sequestered into a monastery for quiet contemplation. I didn’t know why I wasn’t made to do the same, but apparently, this was only for the groom. He told me there was nothing to worry about, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when he was walking through the double oak doors. I hadn’t heard from him in almost a month.

  I still remembered the sound of those doors slamming together, leaving me to wonder if I was ever going to see William again. I tried to keep myself occupied with the school and the children. For the most part, it worked amazingly well and also gave me time to reconnect with my father.

  I was waiting for the day when William and I would be reunited and finally able to start our lives together. I wanted a big family with several kids, and I could just see my father’s face when he learned I was going to give him a grandchild. He never could get it out of his head that I was no longer his little girl. He said I would understand when I was old enough to have a child of my own. I was hoping I would not make the same mistakes as my parents did, but every parent had their own trials.

  I thought the love I shared with William was here to stay, but I was worried he was going to be a fading memory. The only way to know for sure if what I had was true was to see his face again.

  I heard a loud-pitched squeal, and I had to hold my hands over my ears with my legs almost buckling underneath the strain of the pain assaulting me. I found the source to be from the crystal. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that it was tiring of my walk down memory lane.

  Julian crumpled to the floor, and fortunately, he did not hit his head on the way down. Once I started to follow the crystal down the aisles of books, the piercing wail subsided slightly. It was still there as a painful reminder not to ignore something more powerful than I was. I had no idea the crystal had that kind of pull on me. It did somehow make me put it on this morning, which should have been a sign, but I really didn’t pay attention to it.

  I went up a twisting metal staircase following the floating crystal. I went down into what was considered the occult section: black books embossed with a gold leaf. It felt like the volumes were reaching out like the gnarled fingers of an old man’s hand about to touch me inappropriately.

  One book in the very back corner began to shake and then shot off like a cannon towards me. I saw it coming, but there was no way to avoid the impact.

  Chapter Four

  I thought for sure the book was going to slam into me and send me spiraling over the railing and down onto the floor below. I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth, but after several seconds there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about. I was still hesitant to open my eyes even a crack, but there it was floating within an inch of my nose. It didn’t come any closer, but it seemed to be waiting for me to take possession.

  I put out my shaky hands and it dropped into my grasp with a heavy weight. I made an involuntary gasp at how hard it was to hold onto. It was heavier than normal, and I could swear there were weights between the pages, but that couldn’t be possible. I struggled to keep ahold of it as I brought it over to a nearby table where the crystal was lying inert and seemingly mocking my existence.

  I looked at the cover of the book. They say never to judge a book by its cover, but this one really did have some intricate drawings of a grotesque battle with the blood of the innocence seeping into the ground. It was beautiful in its own way, but also slightly alarming to think our history was predicated on the lives of others.

  I almost tripped over my own shoes and stumbled into the chair with my hands on the volume, feeling a heat emanating from within. It was luring me in, and I could sense something evil pulling at the glimmer of darkness left behind. My ordeal had scarred me, and there were still moments in the middle of the night I felt like I was drowning under the weight of my sin. I had killed somebody with my own hands, convincing myself that it wasn’t really me.

  “I don’t know what happened, but I see things worked out the way they were supposed to. It took me a moment to find you, but I only had to use a spell to locate the energy of your magic. This section of the library has been off limits for years because of the woman who found more than she bargained for,” Julian said, while keeping his distance from the books.

  The older generation didn’t want to talk about the woman responsible for making magic something to be feared.

  “There don’t appear to be any legible markings on the front of the book.” We both looked at the display of the dying grasping the ankle of some mythical creature. There were flames coming out of its mouth, and the wings were blood red with razor tipped edges. He cut down the enemy without breaking a sweat.

  “I’ve heard the ramblings of an old man, and the story he told was one hard to believe. The mythical creature has the moniker of ‘flame.’ That might be a little bit on the nose, but the old man stated, with his eyes wildly dancing in his head, that this creature could not be stopped. They sent everything they could against it and somehow it was able to survive every attack. The one thing left unsaid was what ultimately happened to it. If it didn’t die, and our kind was still standing then something must have been done to keep it from wreaking any more havoc.” It was interesting that Julian would mention any of this.

  “We’ve all heard the story, and each one is even more exaggerated than the last. My father and mother told the same story, but with a princess who was able to send the flame to a faraway land. Nobody really knows what the truth is, and if they do, then it got lost in the shuffle of all the other stories.” I was reluctant to turn the pages, but it didn’t look like I was going to have to make the decision on my own.

  The pages started to flip on their own until finally coming to rest on a particular chapter that depicted the flower on the page. Whoever had captured its likeness had done an amazing job of bringing it to life on the page. There were actual seeds in yellow within the petals, which supposedly held the power to bring someone back from the brink of death. It was a very strong fragrance; one that got even stronger when pounded into a powder.

  “I’ve been looking for something about the flower for most of the week. I should’ve brought you along and we would’ve been able to find it together more quickly.”

  Julian had walked away from the school without giving any real explanation except to say he was tired of it all. He needed to take a sabbatical.

  I felt like everything I did was making bigger waves. There were still things I hadn’t said to my father. We were getting there in baby steps, but I had to be very careful not to risk any lasting animosity between the two of us.

  I still had a lot of fight left in me. Everybody was worried about me and I had gone deeper into the darkest arts than anybody had ever been before.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Julian. Bad things seem to follow me around like a dark cloud over my head. My father would say I was destined to give people hope. He has always claimed my life was mapped out, and I’ve been trying not to see it from his point of view, but it’s very hard when things like this continue to happen to me.”

  Julian was reading over my shoulder and I felt like he was invading my personal space. We did share a kiss one time, but it was like kissing my brother, even though I had no comparison.

  I didn’t have any siblings, and I grew up quickly when my mother died. I tried
to look for my father to hold my hand, but he was elsewhere doing God knows what.

  “Even though you’re sitting here in front of me, you seem like you’re miles away. There’s a storm raging inside you. This is why I’ve heard your name in certain circles saying things I don’t really want to repeat.”

  I understood why people were afraid of me; I gave them every reason to feel that way. The errant glances and scared expressions gave me a reason to make up for my past transgressions.

  I had no idea how desperate I had become to find something to get Damien back. I was trying hard to understand what was said in this text. There was nothing concrete and there were a multitude of different opinions. A message sent out from an old world sorcerer claimed the flower was cursed and that someone would have to be a damn fool to consider using something so potent.

  “I’ve been lying to myself for the last five months. I’ve tried to believe you came out of it unscathed, but we both know it’s not true. You’ve been marked with evil, and there’s no denying it recognizes something inside you. You may not like it, but you have been introduced to something beyond all of our understanding. I think you can fight it. It all comes down to having a good support system.”

  I didn’t know I was that transparent, but if anybody could see that I was fighting the influence of the evil then it would be Julian, my best friend.

  “I’ve been trying not to give it a voice, and I would rather not talk about it. Let’s concentrate on helping Damien. I will not stop believing he can come out of this and be the little boy with a chip on his shoulder all over again.” I read more about the flower. There was one passage written in my father’s hand. The date seemed impossible and would mean he had been alive for almost 300 years. It had to be a long lost relative, an ancestor with the same name and basic penmanship of my father.