The Dream Awakened

by Leann M Rettell

  The connection to Emma and Jadon, to becoming a parent and experiencing human children up close with all the joys, frustrations, and fears, opened his heart and mind. Part of him knew the loss that would rip through him if something happened to Debbie, but losing children? Pain like he’d never known coursed through him, a mere echo of what Aelia suffered alone for more than a year, not to mention the torture she’d later endured at the hands of Vincenzo and those under his control.

  Malcolm fought and strained to return his mind to the present, to tease out his own emotions about what she’d been through, to separate hers from his: the phantom pains of knives across her wrists and, he shuddered, across her own throat; the sensation of falling, not unlike regeneration, but a thousand times worse; the crushing pain of the train and the bullet searing through her skull. None of that, none of it, compared to the gaping hole in her heart where Felix, Emma, and Jadon had resided. Hatred of the creators mingled there, too.

  That was a feeling he’d also matched, from time to time, just like every dream thief, only Aelia’s was worse. Malcolm stood from the side of the bed and swayed, but he forced himself to the little kitchenette and retrieved the simple syrup Aelia had refused. He downed a whole bottle, trying to clear his mind as a very real pain pulsated in his skull. He grabbed paper towels, clamped his fingers around his nose, and took more syrup back to Aelia. He handed her a bottle, slumping into the chair beside her, and let his head roll back.

  The singularity inside him settled back into a placid lake, leaving no trace of the connection between them, as her memories merged inside him, rearranging in his now human-esque brain. He doubted his brain would recover as fast as it had when he’d been a full dream thief.

  “I need to sleep soon.” He switched out the bloody paper towels for clean ones, kept his nose pinched, and placed an ice pack he was glad he thought to grab behind his neck.

  “I’m sorry,” Aelia said, eyes closed, tears sliding down her cheeks to land on the blood-stained pillow.

  Malcolm watched as the missing fingers on her hands began to extend, but Aelia didn’t notice. The healing came slow and tedious, nothing like the instantaneous way it’d been before, but this was the first sign of healing she’d displayed since showing up here. “I know.”

  “No,” she shook her head, staring at the ceiling now, the eye patch still covering the missing eye. “I didn’t really know what I was going to do after Caelieus showed up. I was so bitter, but I couldn’t let any of you know. Then you missed part of that target. I ordered Lother to…” Her mouth turned into a thin line, and her shoulders shook as she tried to hold in the sob. “Oh gods, I ordered him as Librarian to kill those men.”

  Malcolm let the groans of misery leave her. She needed to speak out loud these confessions just as much as she needed him to see what happened to her. “I didn’t care. What if they had families too? What if I caused the same suffering in someone else? What have I done?”

  She’d jumped ahead, but she had to tell him this next part in her own way. He held onto consciousness, hoping his weakened body would hold off until she finished.

  “I finally felt in control, powerful, and then Obadiah came. The power drained from me. I could no longer command any of you. The creators took that away from me, too. I ran, bitter that I could finally leave. I went alone to where they died.”

  Aelia’s pain rose in his mind as he pictured the winding country road, Felix’s face as she’d regenerated, and the girls’ screams.

  “Vincenzo followed me. He and a couple of his cousins grabbed me, yanked me into a van. I wasn’t human anymore, but I wasn’t quite full dream thief either. The super speed, strength, and healing came and went. I was as weak as a human, and it only got worse.”

  An overwhelming unease overcame Malcolm. He did not want to hear what happened next. He couldn’t endure it. He wished for all the world for his hearing to fail, but it wouldn’t. Aelia wasn’t healing, and telling this horrific tale would leech the festering wound. Only after she’d confessed this story would she be able to move on.

  “They took me to some abandoned factory. Vincenzo handed me over, and they held me down, stripped off my clothes.” Aelia shuddered as if remembering their hands on her. “They were not pleased when they discovered what lay beneath, or rather, what didn’t lay beneath. They called in Vincenzo, who confirmed I was a black witch. They beat me until I passed out. Somehow, they knew. They hurt me bad enough to where I reached the edge of regeneration, but never tipped over it.” She rolled over on her side, tucking her head into the pillow.

  “All I remember is pain for a long time, but one day, Vincenzo showed up. He pulled up a computer and asked for me to show him our database. I refused. I don’t know what all he found out while they’d tortured me.” Another shudder ran through her. “Let’s just say he wasn’t happy. He confirmed what the others must’ve told him. He wanted to see for himself how fast I healed. It wasn’t like before, but way faster than a human. He tested a theory and…” she raised her hand and waved where her pinkie finger would’ve been.

  Malcolm adjusted the ice pack, feeling a chill running down his spine that had nothing to do with the ice.

  “Only thing I can figure is, at first, he just went through the latest cases and killed them, but he came across a file. It pertained to one of his business associates. I was able to guess that Felix’s family is the head of one of the largest criminal groups in the world. That’s why Felix had washed his hands of them. They started using our database to try to reverse what we’d fixed.”

  Malcolm watched Aelia’s lost digits extend and regrow as she spoke word after word. “They kept many of my body parts. We have to stop them.”

  Malcolm wiped off his face and moved over to settle on the bed beside her. He lifted the eye patch from her face and stared into two, whole and beautiful, if mournful, blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We will.”

  39

  Malcolm’s brain sank into a cold, bleak nothingness as it healed from the connection with Aelia. He opened his eyes and took several seconds to recognize the stark cold bedroom in Cos. He rolled to his side, sat up, and caught sight of a sleeping Aelia. The blood had stopped trickling from her nose, the color returned to her cheeks, and the gaunt, haunted look eased.

  He reached down, squeezing her hands, rejoicing at seeing every finger intact. Noise from outside the bedroom caught his attention. He took his time standing. A rumble began deep in his stomach while his bladder constricted. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten or used the bathroom, perhaps while still at one of the layover airports.

  He eased his way out of the bedroom, blinking at the artificial light of the main office area of Cos. Obadiah leaned against a side table, holding a steaming mug of coffee with a wide smile on his face. Debbie’s laugh rang out, making Malcolm happy to see the two connecting. Obadiah glanced in his direction, and the smile faded. He sat down the coffee and crossed the room in three long strides. “Are you okay? You’ve been asleep for close to two days now.”

  Malcolm raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t realized it’d been so long. His stomach growled in displeasure. “I’m okay. In bad need of a bathroom and some food, but I’m good.”

  “What happened?” Obadiah squeezed his shoulder. Malcolm couldn’t help but note how Debbie wouldn’t meet his eyes and instead made her way to refill her coffee. He couldn’t fathom what that was about.

  “We talked and then I connected with her mind.”

  “You stole her memories?”

  Malcolm recalled the dazed expression on the doctor’s face back in Florida, and when he’d connected with Dharma Knight while she’d been awake, he’d also stolen those memories, but that was not what it had been like with Aelia. “No, it was like I was a witness.” The word settled into him like a puzzle piece snapping into place. The rightness of it wrapped around him. That was what he could do now that the others couldn’t. He could share memories, without taking them, but he cou
ld do that too if needed. The knowledge appeared to him, out of the blue.

  “Is she guilty?”

  “Of some things, but what’s been going on with the targets now? No, not in the slightest. Listen,” he watched Debbie’s still-turned back, “I’m going up to Aelia’s apartment.” Debbie’s back stiffened. “Going to use the bathroom, eat, take a shower, and then we’ll talk.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. We’ve got things to fill you in on as well, but it can wait.” Obadiah patted him on the back.

  “Debbie, would you like to join me?” Malcolm reached toward her, but the pain in his bladder kept getting more and more insistent. If he didn’t go soon, he’d go right there in his pants.

  “I’ll be up in a minute.”

  He’d never heard her sound colder, but he ran to get to the elevator. “Okay, see you in a bit.” He shuffled back and forth, waiting for the slowest elevator in the world to arrive.

  A glorious thirty minutes later, Malcolm felt like a whole new man. Showered, fed, watered, and unwatered, as it were, he could now face Obadiah’s extensive questions and figure out what was wrong with Debbie, again. He fought down a surprising wave of annoyance. Were all human women’s moods so fickle? He headed to the elevator to return to the sublevels to find Debbie standing outside the apartment, hand raised, curled in a fist, preparing to knock.

  “Oh, hi.” Malcolm scooted out of the way, allowing her to come inside.

  “Hi.” Debbie remained in the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her. “Obadiah said I should join you.”

  Malcolm’s shoulders tensed. “Meaning you didn’t want to join me, and you’re here because of his suggestion?” The Librarian held no sway over a human. Malcolm recalled the ease in which the two of them talked when he’d woken. Surely nothing would have happened between them.

  “I don’t want to fight.”

  “Then why are you being…” he held his tongue, unsure of what he wanted to say.

  “A bitch?” Debbie suggested, crossing her arms, eyebrows creasing together.

  “That isn’t what I was going to say. I thought you didn’t want to fight?”

  “It’s what you were thinking.”

  He gestured toward the inside of the apartment. “Come in. Let’s start over. Okay?”

  She sighed and stepped inside. He closed the door behind her and followed her into the living room. Debbie hugged herself, letting her eyes roam over the white plush couch and sofa, white side chairs, white sheepskin fur rug, and glass end-tables. The walls were white but had several light pink and white paintings on them. The curtains, too, were a white, sheer material. “Does the woman not believe in color?”

  Malcolm chuckled, happy to have a small sense of Debbie’s sense of humor returning. “Apparently not.” He crossed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her neck, and kissed the top of her head. “Tell me what’s wrong? I feel like all we’ve been doing is fighting.” Malcolm knew he didn’t understand human women, but what in the world had he missed?

  Debbie’s shoulders tensed underneath him. “Seeing you the last two days sleeping together. It’s been taking over my head. Is the connection the two of you have more than that? Do I have something to worry about?”

  Malcolm understood then. Guilt rushed at him. Something very akin to sexual pleasure had risen in him during the connection with Aelia, but he loved Aelia as a sister. “Aelia’s my friend. I’ve known her.”

  “Eons.”

  Malcolm nodded against the top of Debbie’s head. “Exactly. We’ve lived together, never romantically, for centuries. After delving into her mind, my body gave out. I collapsed and slept. It wasn’t a conscious choice and didn’t mean anything. You have my heart. I don’t want to fight or for you to feel jealous. I know dragging you into my world has been hard, but it’s you I love.”

  “I love you too. I should’ve known better.” She spun around and embraced him. “I’m going to work on not getting so emotional.” She looked up at him with her warm brown eyes shining. “I thought we’d just be normal.” She squeezed him hard, let go, stepped back, and took his hand. “But what fun would that be, boss man?” She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  “We’re good?”

  “Absolutely. Let’s get back downstairs. You need to fill Obadiah in on everything.”

  Still holding his hand, she led him out of the apartment, but as they waited for the elevator, he couldn’t help but reflect on her words. Normal…That’s what Aelia had. She’d been changed like him, and it’d been taken away. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, tell Debbie that. He wouldn’t let her know she could lose him.

  40

  The elevator door opened, and Obadiah stood on the other side. “I’ve heard from Makir. She thinks she has found Professor Fischer.”

  “That’s amazing news. Is he alive?”

  Obadiah motioned for them to follow him and rushed back to the main computer room of Cos. Makir’s face showed on the large projection screen. “Makir, what’s going on?”

  “Halek tracked Tremblay down. Here, I’ll let him explain.”

  The screen changed from the background of Makir’s hotel room to Halek’s face. His blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, his blue eyes shined, and he wore a crooked smile. “Gab, my brother. That Tremblay is a shady bastard. Wallace had a slip up, though. He called using a traceable phone. I was able to track the call on Tremblay’s burner phone, long enough to triangulate the signal to the industrial section of Sanibel. After that, I cross-referenced the owners of each of the properties with known subsidiaries of Schneider Incorporated. Turns out—”

  Malcolm held up a hand. “Okay. Okay. Great job Sherlock, but can you just get to the point?”

  Halek, looking like Christmas had been canceled, rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ve narrowed it down to three buildings. According to public records, they have anywhere from three to five stories each, but I suspect they have many sublevels based on geological reports and a contract agreement made back in the 1920s.”

  Malcolm marveled at the depths Halek resorted to when researching a problem. “So you’re telling me you’ve narrowed it down to three buildings, unknown size and location of each.”

  “Pretty much. I’m still running diagnostics and have a few more things to check out. I have access to satellite footage as well as street cams. Not that satellites are all that helpful. It’s so not like it is in the movies. But drones, now that’s some helpful tech. I’m working on weaseling my way into some local drones, and I’m running facial recognition software in the background of some street cams, setting them to ping if anything shows up.”

  “We’re running out of time.” They couldn’t lose another innocent to this bastard. Felix’s brother’s net stretched far. They needed to expose them.

  Makir’s head appeared over Halek’s shoulder. “Listen, I think you have to get back here. Ever since you left, my singularity has been irritable. You need to get back.”

  At her words, his own alarm heaved in response. “You’re right.”

  “Good, I’ve already booked your flight. I’m emailing it to you now.”

  Debbie shared a look with him. “Good thing I just stayed packed.”

  Malcolm checked the reservations on his phone. “We don’t have much time.”

  Debbie touched his shoulder. “You finish up here. I’ll head to the hotel, grab our stuff, and meet you at the airport.” Without another word, Debbie disappeared down the corridor to the elevator.

  Halek asked, “You added her to the security system?”

  Obadiah nodded. “At least to get out. I figured if Malcolm trusts her, I do too.” Obadiah smiled at the gratefulness he saw on Malcolm’s face. “By the way, brother, Halek and Nimue know about your changes.”

  Malcolm blinked and stared at the screen. Makir dipped her chin down, and he understood her meaning. The others weren’t happy but didn’t hate him either.

  Malcolm blew off a breath. “I’ve got to fil
l you all in on Aelia.”

  “Is she guilty?” Halek asked.

  “Not about this.” Malcolm launched into a summary of his trip into Aelia’s memories. They, like him, were shocked that she too had been turned semi-human yet chose to keep it a secret for almost two years. Their faces crumpled at his description of her depression, suicide attempts, and cutting.

  For long moments, no one said anything. Obadiah squeezed his shoulder. “This means you could lose it, too.”

  Malcolm nodded, hanging his head. “I’m not telling Debbie this part. At least not right now. If it happens, then we’ll deal with it. Aelia had two years, I’m not going to deny Debbie any happiness by worrying about the future.”

  “It also means that it may happen to any of us,” Makir said with a far-off look in her eye. The idea passed between the others, and Malcolm didn’t miss the flashes of longing.

  “Hey, everyone,” Aelia said from behind. Malcolm and Obadiah turned, staring at the restored woman, hair still tousled from her long rest. Her gaze flicked to Obadiah and back to Malcolm. “Did you?”

  “Yes, he told us. Oh, my sister.” Obadiah walked toward her, arms open, and she stepped into his embrace, face blank as if her body could express no more emotion.

  “I violated everything sacred to us. I’m so, so sorry.”

  The two men she ordered killed would never be brought back, but Malcolm felt she’d been more than punished. Not only with what she’d endured, but she’d live forever with the knowledge of her actions. He had little doubt she’d watch over their families and intervene whenever she could. Obadiah had already set up a hefty fake life insurance policy for Tobias Miller. It would more than take care of his family for a few generations. The Suns had enough already, but Malcolm decided one day the dream thieves will do something to honor him, too.

  “We know.” Obadiah kissed the top of her head. “There will have to be a formal debriefing with all of us, and there is still Lother and Caelieus to contend with, but for now, be at peace. We’re doing our best to undo what has been done.”