Sandman (Forbidden Love Series II Book 5)

by Danielle James

  For centuries, Baku had wandered the dream realm contemplating what actions might give him the power he needed to cross the divide. His home was one devoid of color, filled with grey fog and dreary weather. Lesser demons scampered about, looking for someone to scare. One day, it occurred to him. On accident, he crossed paths with a dream god. They exchanged words which became heated, and then a fight ensued. Baku was the victor of that dispute, and he’d absorbed the dream god’s magic as he lay dying. The surge of power was like a bolt of lightning to his soul. For a few short moments, Baku was able to see beyond his prison of dreams.

  Since then, he had been searching out and slowly devouring the magic of any dream god he came across. It was tricky business, though, getting close enough without raising suspicions. Dream gods didn’t usually visit the realm, but only gave the humans the ability to dream. Baku soon learned that if he caused enough havoc in one’s dreams, the god would follow to investigate. It was only a matter of time before the entity would let his guard down, and Baku could make his move.

  He had been banking power for years, resisting the temptation to use it. He needed a great deal of power to cross the realms—and once he was on the other side, he had no intention of coming back. He would be free to unleash his wondrous creations, his nightmares, onto the world. No one and nothing would be able to stop him.

  His fangs dripped with saliva just at the thought of how powerful he would become. Fear fed his magic, and the more fear he could create, the more powerful he would become. The human world would cower at the mere mention of his name.

  The demigod would be easy. As Baku watched, he realized the man was half-vampire. Those people were slaves to their desires, and more human than most thought. Their need for blood and human contact was laughable, and it was their biggest weakness. It also meant that he was able to dream too. The dream demon couldn’t wait to find out what scared him the most and take his power.

  Baku laughed, and the sound was deafening, sending lesser demons running for cover. He ran through his darkened realm on his cloven feet in search of another human’s dreams to destroy. He would take the demigod, he would; but for now, it was time to lure in another.

  ***

  Somnus made his rounds faster than usual, telling himself he had wasted precious time with the pretty brunette when he should have been working. While that was somewhat true, what he wasn’t willing to admit was that he wanted to get back to her as soon as possible. His fascination with her had only grown since he realized she could see him. Come to think of it, she never did tell him how the hell that was possible. He shook his head as he left his last charge’s room for the night.

  She was a mystery, to be sure, but he intended to figure her out. Although, if he was completely honest with himself, she had captured his interest long before that. He always spent extra time near her. He enjoyed watching her sleep. That, he didn’t understand. Yes, she was pretty, but he had seen pretty women before, and yet he never felt the need to watch any of them sleep beyond making sure they dreamed. It was as if outside forces drew him to her, forcing him to entertain this strange obsession he had with her.

  Just as he was preparing to ghost to her, a message tone rang from his pocket. Somnus pulled the phone out and read the message. Mandatory meeting at HQ. “Damn it,” he cursed, not wanting to go to headquarters and not wanting to delay those answers he sought from Rachel any longer. But what choice did he have? None. Because when the heavens called, he answered. Somnus grumbled under his breath and ghosted there instead.

  Normally, Somnus would have simply materialized in Dreams Office. For whatever reason, he was procrastinating. A sense of foreboding had settled over him and he just knew the purpose of meeting wouldn’t be to deliver good news. He wondered if he had done something wrong. He took form just outside the gates, allowing time to appreciate the beauty surrounding him.

  Most humans thought the heavens were a cloudy place, with pearly gates and children playing. On that, they were right. Sort of. The golden gates that guarded the entry to Heaven were surrounded by thick, fluffy, white clouds. They were so tall that the tops of the gates could not be seen through the cloud cover. Somnus had never ventured that high, and so he did not know just how far up they reached. All he knew was that when he stood in front of them, the pearly gates opened.

  He pushed his feet forward toward the entrance. “Peter,” he acknowledged the Saint guarding the gates.

  “Somnus!” Peter replied cheerfully. “Haven’t seen you around here in a bit. How are you?”

  Somnus smiled at the old man. No one knew exactly how old Peter was, only that he’d earned his position and he was good at it. He was a jolly old soul; that is, unless you didn’t belong there—then Peter could be the meanest son of a bitch that ever walked. “I’ver got a meeting at HQ,” he told him.

  Peter nodded and pressed the button that opened the gates. “Good luck in there,” he said with a knowing look.

  “Somehow, I think I might need it today,” Somnus told him, walking past the line of human souls waiting to get in and straight into Heaven. He breathed a sigh of awe, as was always the case when he entered this way. The red cobblestone path that led across the meadow was a stark contrast to the green of the grass. Flowers of every kind grew in scattered patches, decorating the landscape in a rainbow of bright colors. Off in the distance, Somnus could hear the waterfall that supplied the crisp clean water throughout. He walked the path toward the large glass building situated in the center of the realm.

  The building served as headquarters for all of Heaven’s “employees”—those who worked for the side of good. Angels of all breeds, gods and goddesses, and demigods such as himself, all met here at one time or another. Even Heaven had a governing body. It was far more complicated than any human government could ever be.

  He walked past several small homes on his way. These little cottages served as the angels’ homes, if they chose it. There was no time to admire them, though, because he was going to be late. He pushed his feet harder toward HQ. As he approached, the bridge that spanned the river separating the building from the rest of Heaven was lowered for him. He walked across slowly, taking the time to look down into the crystal-clear water below and at the school of coy fish that swam happily under his feet.

  As soon as he was in front of the heavy wooden doors they opened for him, and Somnus stepped inside. Immediately, the scenery changed from the great outdoors to something that was more like a high-rise office complex. HQ was a contradiction to everything outside. White tiles covered the floors and shone brightly as if they had just been waxed. The walls were a pristine white, decorated with assorted art.

  His feet knew the way to Dream Office and took Somnus there. He smiled at those he passed and occasionally threw a wave as he walked down the corridors to his destination. He stopped in front of the door, stained a deep cherry with a gleaming brass knob. It was the picture on the door that got him every time. It depicted a cartoon sandman: a short pudgy old man wearing a golden cloak surrounded by golden glitter graced the door right at Somnus’ eye level. His eyes rolled of their own accord. Dream gods did not look like that. With a resigned sigh, he pushed the door open.

  "Glad ye could join us," Angus, the head dream god, announced as Somnus entered. He looked like anything but an angel with his fiery red hair and matching beard. The man was built like a mac truck and the kilt… well... that was something Somnus never would understand. "As I was just explaining,” he continued, “Trebus has gone missing. That is four this quarter."

  Taking in the room, Somnus realized most of the dream gods were present. "Maybe he quit," he suggested as the door closed quietly behind him. It wasn't unheard of for that to happen. Sometimes people wanted to have a family, or just got tired of it. No one was forced to do any job from the heavens.

  Angus shook his head. "He’s missing," he replied. "As are the others. Something is going on and we all need to be on our toes. From this point forward, we all need to c
heck in every day. If for any reason you cannot complete your nightly duties, I need to know about it."

  "What about the nightmares?" Shando, the one female dream goddess asked. "I am finding many of my charges are not sleeping well lately because of nightmares. Trebus told me that he was seeing the same issue and he was going to investigate. Now he is gone. Maybe the two are connected?"

  Angus nodded. "Aye. Could be. I have heard reports of nightmares and night terrors as well. Everyone keep a sharp eye and stay out of the dream realm. Drop your magic and after ye verify yer charge is dreaming, get the hell out of there. There’s gonna be no sticking around for funsies until we figure out what in the blazes is going on."

  Somnus nodded his head in agreement. He wasn't one for sticking around anyway. However, the thought of leaving Rachel to deal with her strange nightmares alone left a bad taste in his mouth. For whatever reason, he felt compelled to help her, to figure her out. She could see him, and that was an enigma in itself. No one should be able to see him in ghost form. He needed to get back to her. He had questions to ask and she needed to answer them.

  While Somnus was working that out in his head, Angus had called an end to the meeting. Just as he turned to leave, Angus dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder. "What's on yer mind?" he asked in his heavy accent.

  "Nothing," Somnus lied.

  "Now boy, don't be jesting with me, I can see it plain as day in yer eyes. There's something bothering ye. With all the disappearances, now is not the time to be keepin' secrets."

  A heavy sigh escaped Somnus' lungs. He debated internally for a moment before answering his superior. "There is a woman," he started.

  A rich, bellowing laugh erupted from Angus' mouth. "Ain't it always about a woman!"

  "It's not like that," Somnus said with a small smile and a shake of his head. "She saw me."

  Angus sobered immediately and stared at Somnus hard. "Seen ye where, exactly?"

  "In her dream," Somnus answered, "And in her room."

  "What!" Angus exclaimed.

  "I know," he agreed. "She was having trouble sleeping, so I slipped into her dream just to make sure she was doing well there, and it turned into a nightmare. It was strange, though. I watched her, and it was like she expected the demon thing that showed up. Then, in her dream, she took my hand and told me to run. After she woke, I was ghosting, and she demanded to know who I was and what I was doing in her room."

  Angus scratched the back of his head, tousling his red hair. "Well, don't that just beat all," he said, more to himself than to Somnus.

  "I was going to go back and talk to her, figure out how she could see me," Somnus glanced in the direction of the door subconsciously, getting more impatient to do just that.

  "You do that," Angus agreed with a nod. "But for now, ye need to stay out of that dream realm. Somethin' ain't right there and until we figure it out, it's best not to leave anything to chance. Dreams can't hurt the humans."

  Somnus nodded in agreement. "I'll report back to you tomorrow," he promised as he flashed himself back to Rachel's house.

  Chapter Three

  Rachel stared blankly at her laptop screen. She had searched several key terms: ‘sandman’, ‘dream’, ‘ghosts’, ‘dreams’, but all she seemed to get were Metallica videos and Wikipedia entries that may or may not be trusted. There were legends of the god of dreams in virtually every mythological tale, but no details to be found. Which left her with the lingering question, who was that man who was in her room?

  He hadn’t frightened her like he should have. In fact, Rachel had the feeling that he was just as uncomfortable with the situation as she was, if not more. When he left, she’d known the second he was truly gone. She could feel the loss of him as well as she’d felt his presence. Since she knew there would be no more sleeping tonight, Rachel flipped on her light and got out her laptop. The plan was to do some research before he came back; and she knew, without a doubt, that he would return.

  Ever since Rachel was a child, she had been able to “see” what others could not. She could see ghosts, fae, and all sorts of paranormals that didn’t want to be seen. It was as if there was no magic she couldn’t see through. Even spells that were meant to hide someone or something from sight were ineffective against her. She didn’t know how or why this gift was given to her, only that it… just… had been.

  But her late-night visitor was no ghost. He said he was a dream god, or demigod. She knew that meant he was only half-deity. What was the other half? Was he the one responsible for the bullshit she had been seeing at night? She tossed that idea out almost as quickly as it had formed. He looked surprised to see the monster, and he’d seemed to genuinely care about what was going on.

  Speaking of him, he had told her he would return. Had he meant it? More questions than answers banged around in her head as she opened one more browser window. This time, she searched for demigods and dreams. After wading through the hits about Percy Jackson and video games, there was one site that held some promise. Rachel read quickly, looking for information that would help her solve this mystery. According to the article, demigods were often assigned duties on earth that helped humans. Dreaming was one of those chores listed, along with luck, love, and safety… Who knew that being related to God came with so much responsibility? She ran her hand through her hair for the hundredth time since waking up. She needed more coffee. She stood and went to her small kitchen and refilled her mug.

  The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon now, and she could see the orange rays filling the sky from her open window. The mug warmed her palms as she stared out at the scenery. A feeling of calm crept over her as she took in the breathtaking view of the mountains. Sleep or not, she was happy to have left the big city in Louisville and moved to West Virginia. The quiet had grown on her, and the sounds of nature outside were much preferred to the bustle of city life.

  The noise wasn’t the only thing she had left behind in Louisville.

  Her ex-husband was still there.

  Trent was supposed to have been the one. The love of her life. Except, he wasn’t. Rachel thought he was, but when she accidentally came across a message from another woman, all her delusions were shattered as reality came crashing down on her. The first really was an accident. He was in the shower and the message tone went off on his phone. Rachel picked it up and glanced at the preview just to make sure it wasn’t something from work or urgent in some fashion. When the words flashed across the screen without her having unlocked it, Rachel’s heart plummeted to the floor. “Thanks for last night XOXO” from someone named Maria. Rachel had paced their shared apartment, debating whether the feeling of betrayal she was having was merited or not. Eventually, the urge to open his phone was overwhelming, and Rachel succumbed to it.

  Nothing could have prepared her for the slew of naked selfies and erotic texts she found. Her husband, the love of her life, was a cheating man-whore. There was no denying it. The proof was right in front of her. Having trusted him, Rachel had never before felt the need to go through his phone, and a part of her heart was sorry she had now.

  Unfettered rage filled her heart, and Rachel wanted to hurt him. Not in the metaphorical sense, either. She wanted to physically cause him harm. Memories of her teenage years that she’d put behind her crept into her mind, and she had to force herself to calm down. Breathing in and out, the way her therapist had taught her to, she reigned in her anger and instead took the high road.

  Instead of screaming at him, or ripping his balls off and feeding them to him, Rachel left the phone on the table. A particularly slutty image of his girlfriend filled the screen. Just as the bathroom door was opening, Rachel was closing the front door and leaving. She had quietly packed her things and left.

  Of course, Trent had tried to blame his infidelity on her. She wasn’t thin enough, wasn’t as sexually active as she should have been, she didn’t make enough time for him. The list went on and on, but her divorce lawyer didn’t think Rachel had been to blam
e and neither did the judge.

  Instead of making things ugly, Rachel took half of the man-whore’s savings, which were substantial, another fact he had tried to hide from her, and left the state before the ink dried on the divorce documents. She never looked back. She didn’t bother trying to transfer her job, which was with the government’s cyber unit, but turned in her notice and quit.

  She had taken enough of Trent’s money to start over, and that was exactly what she did. Now, she was a freelance programmer, working for no one but herself. She made her own hours and only took jobs she wanted. It didn’t hurt that she was paid well. It only took a couple of months for word to spread that she was the best. Computer locked up? Call Rachel. Virus? Rachel. Need an entire operating system installed for your large corporation? Yep, call Rachel. She was making a good life for herself all on her own.

  A smile lit her lips and she wondered if Trent could say the same thing. Last she heard, he had been fined by the bar association and fired from the law firm he worked at. She wasn’t a vengeful person as a rule, but if he were sitting at his parents’ house, broke and working for McDonalds, that would suit her just fine.

  “What are you smiling about?” a rich, sultry voice asked, causing Rachel to nearly jump out of her skin.

  She spun around, only to see the strange man had kept his word and come back.

  “What are you doing in here?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. She wasn’t really angry he had apparently let himself in, but hey, he didn’t need to know that. She thought herself to be a good judge of character with a dose of trepidation, thanks to her ex. This man had light around his whole body. It wasn’t something she would have seen outside in the sun, but it was there. She decided it must have something to do with his being a demigod. Whatever it was, it made Rachel feel safe around him. Deep down in her soul, she knew he was good, if not a bit rude for barging in on her home.