Dreamwalker (Persephone's League of Immortals)

by Andrea Heltsley

  Then I managed to have a moment of clarity. Jared moved close to me and leaned down. His lips met mine and suddenly I was aware of every molecule in my body. He didn’t taste of tang this time. He tasted of lemons and alcohol. I struggled to keep myself in check. The man of my dreams was real and was kissing me with want and desire.

  Still kissing, I moved closer and placed my hands around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. With every second that passed, I wanted him more desperately. It felt like fireworks erupting inside me, with all the awe of Fourth of July. Finally he broke off the kiss breathlessly and gestured to the door. I let out a whispery yes, nodding enthusiastically and he led me out of the bar.

  I had a moment of pause as I thought of Autumn, but the bar was now so packed that it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Knowing that August was with her was enough for me and I returned my thoughts and wants to Jared.

  The cool air sent a shiver down my spine and Jared leaned me against the building and kissed me with more passion. I made a sound of desire and he pressed up against me with his own need. I thought I managed to let out a strangled gasp of pleasure as we melted into the brick behind us. That’s when things got really hazy.

  I felt every ounce of him as we tangled into a mess of arms, legs and lips. He nipped at me and ran his hands across my goose pimpled skin so softly I had to steady my breathing.

  He clasped his hands in mine and held them above my head, against the cool brick. Then he returned to kissing me and pleasure rolled through me at the taste of him. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the moment.

  I took his hand and guided him in the direction of my apartment. He didn’t even ask where we were going, just followed in silence. Ten minutes later I unlocked the door and led him to the bedroom.

  After a few minutes of desperate need, my eyes fluttered open and I saw something magical. I was lying on the ground next to Jared, my legs folded up, boots resting flat on the ground. I turned my head to the side and looked into his eyes as he smiled.

  All around us, the tall green grass was mixed with red tulips tinged with silver and the field was whispering in the wind. A large white moon hung in the deep purple sky. I turned to peer into those smoky eyes that had me at hello.

  “What is this place? It’s truly amazing. I have never seen anything like it.”

  He smiled and just answered with a simple reply, “our wonderland.”

  Then I gasped as Jared entwined his hand with mine and a shooting star came into view. The star seemed so close it appeared three-dimensional and was emitting a shower of stardust in its wake. Shimmering embers and sparkling bits surrounded us as I stared in awe.

  Jared leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Together we become one and as one we shall conquer all.”

  Then he gave me the softest kiss on the forehead and brushed my hair from my face. Our eyes met again and I was desperate for him. All my questions seemed to dissolve away and I tilted my face up and finally my lips met his. I felt myself melt as I absorbed every inch of electricity he emitted when we touched.

  The kiss became deeper, more passionate and I let out a breathy moan of pleasure when his hands reached my body. This time he didn’t disappear. My chest rose and fell with anticipation and I slid my hands over his warm, lean and well defined frame to remove his shirt. Jared kissed me again and then turned to nibble my earlobe and trailed my neck.

  He stopped and pulled away. I began to panic that he might leave again. Before I had the chance to object, he smiled at me with a gleam in his eyes. He pulled me up and embraced me in his arms. It seemed like time just stood still as we rested there in each other’s arms soaking up the intensity of our bond.

  Then he kissed me again and I nipped at him playfully. He only became more desperate for me and without a second thought; he took my dress off to reveal my red lingerie. I was so sexually charged that I felt lit up like a Christmas tree. I stopped to catch my breath and instantly Jared was pulling me down to the grassy ground.

  He looked into my eyes and I licked my lips in anticipation. He closed the small distance and kissed me passionately as he removed the remainder of my clothes. I was vulnerable and laced with desire for him.

  When his bare flesh touched mine, I let out a small gasp. Encouraged, he trailed kisses down my neck, across my collarbone and his lips settled between the mounds over my beating heart. I threw my head back in shock as he cupped both sides and took them into his mouth.

  My breathing grew ragged as he pressed up against me. I raked my nails across his back as he moved to my navel with soft, teasing kisses.

  Finally when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, he lazily moved back to bring my lips to his. I felt his desire through the passion of our kiss. Then my heart raced as we joined I moaned at the sudden thrust and pleasure rushed through me.

  We didn’t slow until we both peaked and I had let out a breathy mewl. Spent and breathing heavy, I closed my eyes in satisfaction.

  He reluctantly pulled himself away from me and rolled over to the grassy ground. Afterwards, I moved to lay on his chest as our hearts slowed to a rhythmical beat.

  He brushed back my hair and plucked a tulip within reach from the field, sticking it behind my ear. Then he ran his fingers down my back before resting them there. Satisfied and glowing under the moonlight, I shut my eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

  When I awoke, I realized where I was. I was in my own apartment, curled up under my soft down comforter. I rolled over expecting to see Jared, but instead there was a single red tulip. It was beautiful.

  This tulip wasn’t as beautiful as the ones I remembered from my dream night, but it does happen to tell me I didn’t imagine the night. I grasped the flower and slid my hands across the petals in appreciation.

  I sat up suddenly wide awake. Looking around my room, I saw my clothes tossed aside but nothing else was out of order. I was growing more confused by the second and my head was pounding. The liquor was paying me back from last night, great.

  Groaning, I wrapped my black silk robe around me and went to the kitchen for something to dull the jackhammer in my head. I downed some aspirin, but I felt so sluggish all I could do was drop my robe to the ground and crawl back up in the comfort of my bed.

  This time when I opened my eyes, I was leaning against a giant oak tree with brown and gold shimmering leaves. The ground was covered with small white mushrooms and green tendrils of ivy. The sun was bright yellow with a twinge of pink, casting the earth a soft orange tone. Curious, I followed the dirt path to a creek.

  A small white bridge was articulately built across it. Decorative grass mounds rested next to each side of the bridge entrance. The water was blue green and shallow. Sandbars were cropped up in the low spots and the sides were lined with white sand. I walked down to the sandy edge and noticed a few colorful seashells that washed up.

  Realizing that I was barefoot, I dipped my toes in the water. The water was warm and felt like heaven. I sat on the shore and rested my feet in the water, taking in the beautiful scenery. My feet kneaded the wet sand just below the water’s surface and I sighed as I enjoyed the beauty all around me.

  Chapter 4: The Reality of Dreaming

  Knocking on my door woke me up. I was disappointed to be back in my room and skulked out of bed, quickly wrapping my robe around myself to answer the door.

  I swung the door open to find Autumn standing on the other side. Her eyes were wide and she was still wearing last nights’ clothes. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her face only showed some remnant of makeup.

  “Let me guess, the walk of shame isn’t so shameful this morning,” I said with a knowing smirk.

  “I had to come over here right away and tell you. I feel like if I don’t tell someone right this minute I will burst!” Autumn said as she brushed past me and into my apartment.

  “If August is anything like his reputation, then you must have had some night,” I implied as I joined her
on the couch.

  “Nells, it was heaven! Oh scratch that, it was too naughty to be heaven. We had the most amazing sex over and over and…” Autumn gushed.

  “Yeah, ok I get it! The sex was phenomenal and you did it all night long,” I said cutting her ranting short.

  Autumn just sat there in stunned silence for a moment as she sifted for a response to the uncharacteristic shun.

  I hastily backtracked once I realized that I snapped at her. “Oh Autumn, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you short. I am just a little disoriented this morning and I have a killer hangover,” I offered apologetically.

  Autumns guarded expressing dropped to a look of concern. “Do you want me to make you some coffee? Sounds like you had a wild night as well. Is everything alright?”

  “Mmm, coffee sounds delicious right now. I feel like I am losing my mind these days and all I want to do is sleep. Maybe I am getting sick, I can’t explain it. I am lethargic, and disoriented and having crazy dreams.”

  Autumn jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen momentarily. I heard some rustling in the cabinets, then the clink of porcelain. Soon Autumn was once again by my side with two mugs of coffee.

  “Cream and three sugars, just like you like,” she said handing me the steaming mug and sipping on her own.

  Then we sat there for a few moments that seemed to stretch into minutes before she met my eyes. I was startled by the solemn look in her serious blue eyes.

  “Nells, what happened last night?” Autumn asked with deep concern.

  “Hmm, I am not so sure anymore. He was there at the bar, my dream guy. We had a lot to drink. I remember leaving with him and thinking how amazing his lips felt against mine. Then things got hazy.”

  I caught my breath and continued. “I know we had amazing sex that was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Then things don’t add up.”

  “We were in a field, and the scenery was the stuff in books. At first I thought maybe I just went home and dreamt of him in vivid detail. Then I woke up and found this tulip by my pillow,” I said as I handed the tulip to Autumn.

  Something like awe crossed over Autumn’s face as she took the tulip in her hand. She ran her fingers across it and smiled. Her big blue eyes looked up and searched mine. Then she spoke.

  “Wow. This flower definitely is proof you went home with someone last night. Did he tell you his name or anything? I didn’t even see you after I met up with Augustine,” she started.

  “I was so enthralled by August that I lost you in the massive amounts of people that turned out for the opening. I looked for you, but it was nearly impossible to see or hear anything. Now I am kicking myself for not paying more attention.”

  “He said his name was Jared. We had several shots at the bar and even danced for a while. He was just as attractive in real life as I dreamed he was. I still can’t believe he is real. I wish I could explain it. He is irresistible and I get goose bumps at the mere thought of him.”

  Still eyeing the tulip, Autumn wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Gosh Nells, this is totally weird! No wonder you are snippy this morning. It is as if the man of your dreams waltzes into your life and then just as suddenly leaves again. That isn’t even to mention the fairytale stuff. I wouldn’t even believe he was even real if it weren’t for this tulip. What are you going to do now?”

  “Hmm, for now I am going to drink this coffee and hope this headache subsides before I shatter into a million pieces. Then I might surf the net for some answers. The problem is I don’t know anything other than his name is Jared and he is super-hot. I was so smitten that I didn’t even bother to get to know him. The perils of drinking with sex on the brain…” I said trailing off.

  “Not to rain on your parade, but that coin is serious. I know I dropped the issue, but if you are really involved now it would be prudent to start your search there. I can bring you home a few books on the magic involved if you want.”

  I was about to slough off her offer like I usually would, but then stopped and reconsidered. I had to agree that this was definitely outside of my realm of expertise and so far Autumn had been slowly fitting pieces together that I didn’t even expect. It did give credence to her theories though and I didn’t want to encourage her further.

  She saw the hesitation in my thoughts and understood the inner war I was currently engaged in. “It’s ok; I will look myself and let you know about the coin at least. You won’t have to do anything.”

  I had been so engrossed in the tulip that I had almost forgotten about the coin. A new uneasiness settled over me now. “Yeah, a few books on the subject would be helpful. I am going to try to get rid of this awful headache, and then I will see what I can find online first.”

  This seemed to appease Autumn and she gracefully changed the subject. “Ok so next Tuesday is Samhain and I have a million things to do this afternoon at the store. I still have to go up and shower first. I may have the hot sex glow, but I don’t think my customers will appreciate the alcohol smell I am emitting,” Autumn said.

  “It is Samhain already? The crazies of our fine city unite and pay your rent for the next six months. In other words, it is also known as All Souls day and marks the dark half of the year. I bet you can’t wait for next Wednesday to roll around,” I retorted with an amused expression.

  “I wish! Wednesday is when they all come back for more to clean up all the messes they accrued the night before. It is like Black Friday for the Green Vixen.”

  “I am tired and hung over but in a few weeks it will get back to normal and I will be able to focus on hopefully more hot sex with Augustine,” Autumn replied with slightly rosy cheeks and an infatuated sigh.

  “Geez, he must be good in bed, you are practically swooning over him. It’s about time you two finally hooked up. This Autumn is much more interesting,” I said with a sly grin.

  “I don’t know Nells; incredibly sexy mystery guy from a fairytale dream world tops my hot sex any day. I am curious enough for the both of us. I will ask around some of my regulars and see if I can’t scare up some juicy info myself today. Thanks for the coffee, but I got to jet,” Autumn said as she put down her drained mug and blew me an air kiss.

  Once Autumn closed the door behind her, I let out an exasperated sigh. A week ago, everything seemed normal. Now, I felt like a million caged butterflies struggling to be freed. My sanity was teetering on a tight rope and the chances of falling off were high. With a chased gulp, I swallowed the last of my coffee and headed to my desk to power up my laptop.

  I tried a sex offender search first, just to be safe. Luckily no one nearby named Jared came up. I let out a small sigh of relief before using a search engine to find him.

  First, I tried typing Jared + St. Louis into the search engine. The over 1.2 million results looked discouraging. The first few results brought up a jeweler, football star, actor, a social networking page, and a photographer. None of these were the Jared I was looking for.

  Continuing to the next page, I got a chocolate lab and the Subway spokesperson. This was quickly turning into a bad idea. Closing my eyes I tried to remember the night and anything that could help me find him.

  A sudden fatigue washed over me and it was all I could do to make it to the couch and slide my fuzzy blanket over myself before drifting off to sleep. I opened my eyes to see myself in a place as far from my own imagination as I could be.

  My eyes widened with panic. I was in a cold white room. It was bright with natural light from above but frigid to the point of refrigeration. There were handprints in blood on the wall that smeared down to a body. The alarm in my head was buzzing loudly and my heart skipped a beat.

  I tried to steady myself and walked slowly towards the body crumpled face down on the floor. Moving closer and trying to look past the bloody exterior, I noticed it was a woman.

  Sheer terror enveloped me as I recognized the blond hair even through the blood stained locks. Quicker now and shaking, I bent down and gently rolled over the woman.
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br />   Tears began to fill my eyes and rolled without reserve as I stared down at Autumn. My best friend, crumpled on the floor, bloody and battered. With a last shred of hope, I bent down to check her pulse. The absence of a heart beat told me she was dead and grief filled my entire being.

  Trying to push aside the shock of Autumn, I refocused on my surroundings. I had to get out of here. If a person could kill someone as sweet as Autumn then my chances of survival were slim. Taking another deep breath to steady myself, I began to look for a way out.

  Running my hands along the wall, I vaguely noticed the blood stains I was leaving behind. Terror crackled through me as I found a panel on the wall that opened to some sort of keypad. I did not have a clue what the code to get out was.

  Defeated, I slumped back down to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably. As I wiped my tears away, the result was smears of blood and tears suddenly startled me. That was when I took in my own image and real horror set in. I was covered in blood and it didn’t appear to be my own.