by Hanna Peach
Mason glared at him before turning to Alyx. “His promises are worthless to me. I want you to promise.”
Israel, who was standing on her other side, snorted. She shot him a stern look.
She glanced briefly at Jordan. On the surface, he appeared not to have been phased by Mason’s comment, but she knew by the slight tightness of his jaw that he hated not being trusted and he hated not being liked. Jordan Bonaven, savior of all and loved by all…
Alyx turned back to Mason. “I trust Jordan. If he says that what we propose to do will bring no danger to the Saint’s Revenge, then it won’t. I promise you’ll all be safe.”
Mason leveled his stare at her before turning to Israel. “And you’re really going along with this, Scrap? Do you know what you’re getting yourself into with this magic business?”
“I gotta do this, Mase.”
Finally Mason nodded. “Alright then.”
So the four of them went to Adere’s cell.
Alyx stepped into Adere’s cell behind Jordan. Israel behind her. Mason stayed outside the bars. Adere was sitting against the wall of her cage. Whatever was left of this girl watched them out of vacant eyes.
“I’ll put her to sleep first so she’ll already be in a DreamScape when we go in,” Jordan said.
Alyx could feel the wave of DreamWalker that Jordan aimed at Adere. Adere’s eyelids fluttered, then fell shut.
Mason locked the door behind them. Then he walked farther up the tunnel keeping watch, just in case any of his men decided to wander down this way. Alyx unfolded the blanket in her arms and flicked it out on the ground for them to lie on.
Jordan spoke to Israel as he lay Adere’s motionless body on the edge of the blanket. “You have to remember exactly what you said to her and say exactly what you said to her.”
“You said that already,” Israel said.
“Even if she doesn’t respond at first, just keep going.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“You need to keep her in the memory.”
“Yeah, blondie, I got it already. I’m not an idiot.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Jordan mumbled.
Alyx turned to see Israel bristle. She placed a hand on his arm before he could retort. “Boys, please.”
Thankfully Israel closed his mouth, but it didn’t stop him from glaring at Jordan. A look that Jordan just brushed away with that carefully practiced ease of his. Damn him. Damn them both.
At least being angry at them both was better that the alternative…being this close to them both had kick-started a tormented whirlwind of emotions: ache, love, guilt.
Alyx swallowed and rubbed at the spot between her brows. Was getting them to work together a good idea? The air between them was so thick, she could almost feel it pressing at her skin.
“Remember why we’re here, guys,” she said. “This is bigger than us.”
“I know that,” said Jordan.
“I know that too,” snapped Israel.
Lord, give me strength. “Let’s just get this over with,” she said.
Jordan took the middle of the blanket and laid himself down. He smiled at Alyx as she lay down next to him.
“Finding every way possible to come between us, aren’t you,” she heard Israel mutter.
“I’m not doing anything she doesn’t want me to.”
Something snapped in her. “That’s enough,” her voice echoed out. “Both of you. Enough. Yes, this situation isn’t ideal.”
“Understatement of the−” Alyx’s finger shot up towards Israel, and she gave him a glare so furious, it shut him up.
She continued, “Fine, this situation, this thing with the three of us, is totally f’ed up, okay? Certifiably, bona fide, legit f’ed up. But we don’t have the luxury of bickering right now. We have five days, five days, to find and kill Samyara.” She paused to take a deep breath and scanned the faces of both Israel and Jordan, both looking a little remorseful. “We all need to put our feelings aside for the next several days. Otherwise there is no happily ever after for any of us. So stop it right now, both of you, or so help me God, Hell will be the least of your worries. You got it?”
The two boys nodded. Begrudgingly, but at least they agreed. Perhaps it would be pushing it if she asked them both to shake on it, so she left it.
“Okay,” her voice softened. “So I’m going in the middle. Move up, Jordan.”
He didn’t protest. They shuffled around until the three of them were lying down, Israel between Adere and Alyx and Jordan on Alyx’s other side. Alyx closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and tried to stop the bad feeling blooming in her chest as Jordan’s DreamWeaver pulsed out to encompass her.
* * *
In the dream state, Alyx looked over the familiar DreamPlain landscape, black and stark. She realized both Israel and Jordan had pushed their fingers into hers. Their touch began a tug between both sides of her heart and a wave of aching billowed inside her chest.
She glanced at each of them in turn out of the corners of her eyes. They couldn’t be more different. Golden haired, dark haired. Light skin, brown skin. Day and night. Ice and fire. One like the sun, a steady light that could shine across the horizon of her life. The other like stars, illuminating her when she fell into darkness. How do I choose between day and night?
Enough. I can’t think about this now. Alyx pushed aside all her feelings and her confused thoughts. She let out a steadying breath. “Do you have a read on her?” she asked Jordan.
He nodded and began to pull them towards a DreamScape, a ball of light. Alyx frowned as they neared. The ball looked sickly, pale, and there seemed to be gray wisps of smoke that licked across the surface.
“That doesn’t look right,” she said.
“It isn’t,” Jordan replied. “The demon has left some residual magic around her. I expected this.”
“Will we alert the demon when we go into the DreamScape?”
“Not if I can keep the barrier up around it. It’ll act like a ward, hiding our presence.”
“We better hope you’re as good as you say you are,” Israel said.
“I’m better. You better hope you can play your part with Adere.”
“To perfection. I’ll play it to perfection.”
They slammed into the light, the brightness blotting out the dark.
Chapter 7
Israel found himself standing on uneven ground covered sparsely with grass. Alyx was at his right. Beside her was Jordan. Israel flinched as Jordan reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He quashed the instinctive lick of anger in his belly and the desire to rip Jordan’s friggin’ arm off and beat his face with it. Keep calm, Israel. You won’t win her back by acting like a thug. No matter how fun it would be.
Still, the daydream made him feel somewhat better.
He forced himself to look away. Around him the leaves in the trees stood silent, as silent as they could only be in a DreamScape. To his left, a worn path snaked from the distance past them through leafless trees. This place looked familiar. He spotted a tall black iron lamp along the path, then another and another. He felt a small twinge in his chest. It was familiar. They were in Remembrance Park of Saint Joseph, or at least, Adere’s memory of this somber place. And there was Adere, sitting on a bench alone. Sitting where they had their first kiss.
“There she is,” Israel said quietly, and the other two turned to look. “What now?”
“This bit you have to do yourself,” said Jordan. “You said that you were in the apartment that you shared together when you fought and she turned. Hold that memory in your mind and let it change the space around you.”
Israel took a deep breath. Could he do this? Could he face who he used to be? He hadn’t thought about it until he saw Adere sitting, broken, on that bench. He had been so focused on getting what they needed from Adere. Guilt rumbled away deep in his stomach.
He felt Alyx’s hand touch lightly on his forearm. “We’ll be right here.”
Resolve swelled in him from her touch. Yes, he could. He could do this.
He gave her a small wink and injected as much bravado as he could into his voice. “I got this.”
He made his walk towards his past alone.
As he neared, he could see her painfully thin figure shrouded in a bland gray smock, making a sad picture as if he were looking through a window into what was happening to her on the inside. His heart twanged again with remorse. Oh Adere. If only I could have prevented all of this from happening to you.
Every step seemed to increase the weight pushing down on his shoulders.
She glanced up as he stopped a few meters from her, and her deadened eyes barely sparked with recognition. “Israel? What are you doing here?”
Israel didn’t answer. He let the memory of their old studio apartment swell in his mind and in his body. The bed they shared draped by an old purple and white cover, her small ratty teddy bear propped amongst the pillows, where he would hold her awkwardly and woodenly when she cried herself to sleep and wouldn’t tell him why. The painting of the beach on the wall, the sunny bright place that they had always said they would go to one day but never did. The rug on the living room floor where he would drink too much cheap wine and laugh at nothing and make her dance with him until he passed out with his head in her lap. All these things burst from his body and his mind and his heart to wash over the grass and up the bench and around them in color like a wind blowing through a pile of autumn leaves. The pieces of their past flew around and settled into the places where they once were.
The bench Adere sat on changed from the wooden bench to the rickety couch made of arthritic iron where they’d held each other and fought over and made up on. Propped up behind her were padded yellow cushions that had soaked into them their old passion’s sweat and wine and a heartbreak full of tears. He and Adere threw loving words and verbal spears at each other all over this apartment, and all those scars and marks were still here, pitted and etched into the peeling walls and rippled vinyl flooring. Adere’s pale gray dress changed to the pale yellow sundress that she was wearing on the day she turned.
Israel was aware of Alyx and Jordan peering in from the window. But they faded into the back of his mind. Even Adere’s eyes seemed to pass over them as she glanced around, the confusion clear on her face, her hands pulling at her frock. Here, in this studio apartment, in their old studio apartment, it was just about the two of them.
“What’s happening?” Adere’s voice, like her hands, shook.
Israel let the flashes of his supressed memory of this day come back to him in a wave of images and sound bites. Time to begin.
“You’re crazy. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice echoed the memory in his head.
“Don’t lie to me, don’t fucking lie to me,” she had said. “He says you’re screwing other women behind my back.”
Adere flinched and leaned herself back into their couch as if she were trying to disappear into it. “W-what?”
Israel kept going. “He? Who the hell is ‘he’?” He knew now that the “he” had been the demon speaking to her inside her head.
“See…you didn’t even try to deny it.”
Adere’s eyes opened wide. Her fingers curling into her dress so fiercely he thought she might rip it. “See…” She paused, frowned.
Yes, Israel urged in his head. Keep going.
She was silent, her mouth open. He could see the resistance clearly on her face. He tried again. “He? Who the hell is ‘he’?”
“See…” her voice was hesitant and confused, “you didn’t even try to deny it…”
“There is nothing to deny. Jesus, why are we going over this again?”
“He said you don’t love me. You never loved me.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m not going to stand here and listen to your accusations anymore. I’m out of here.”
Adere scrambled up from the couch. “You bastard,” she screeched at him. “You don’t even care.”
Adere snatched the painting off the wall and threw it at him. This time he ducked because he knew it was coming. She ran into the kitchen and disappeared behind the counter. She reappeared and Israel knew that the plates were coming next.
She threw plates in between her words. “Screw you. I don’t need you.” Israel ducked and the plates smashed against the wall behind him, showering the room with white ceramic rain.
“Fine. I’ll leave. We’ll see how long you last on your own.” He turned to walk out on her.
“No,” Adere shrieked, and she dropped the plate in her hand with a smash. She threw herself at him and clutched at his legs, sobbing uncontrollably.
He had to keep going. Israel’s heart ached, but he had to keep going.
Adere was shaking her head, crying. “No, please, you can’t leave me alone,” she repeated over and over again.
“What the hell do you want from me, Adere?” he said, trying to sound as cold as he had in his memory.
“Just love me. Tell me you love me.” Her thin arms latching around his waist like vines.
At the time, all he felt was the crushing pressure of everything that he knew he should be for her but wasn’t, the realization that he hadn’t been able to give her what she wanted, the feeling of failure that bubbled underneath. It was easier to be angry and to blame her.
Like now, with Alyx. This thought struck him so hard that he swayed under Adere’s weight. For a second he forgot why he was here and what he was meant to do.
He remembered himself. Next line, next line. He looked down at Adere, her blond hair sticking to the black tracks that her mascara was making down her cheeks. He wanted to wipe her hair from her face, just a tiny act of affection, but he didn’t. It was time to deliver his final lines.
He leaned down to her so that his nose was close to hers. “How could I ever love someone so pathetic? I don’t want to be with you anymore, Adere. It’s over.” Israel frowned. What was that low rumble?
“No,” she started crying, pawing at him as he pushed her hands off him as softly as he could.
“Get off me,” he said. At the time his voice had been cold. Frustration had caused his hands to push her back just a little too hard from him. But now he was careful as he peeled her fingers from his body. He walked towards the door. Once he walked through that door, she would “turn”. He paused and turned slightly to look back. Adere was puddled on the rug. Her mouth was curled with pain, her eyes were pleading with him, begging with him to stay. He couldn’t. He didn’t save her then. He could save her now and keep her from turning but…then they wouldn’t get this information from her.
I’m sorry, Adere.
He stepped out the door before he changed his mind. The rumbling grew louder. Adere let out a piercing wail. Israel stumbled on his next step as the ground shook. This wasn’t in the script, this wasn’t in the memory.
What was happening?
An unnatural wind whipped up violently. The bed, the couch, the walls, the floor, the ceiling all turned to pieces of color whipping around as if caught in a vortex, leaving Israel standing on dry, barren ground. With his arm shielding his face from the dust, his eyes searched around him to find Alyx.
Through the whirl he could see Jordan holding his body like a shield in front of Alyx. Despite the stab of jealousy, Israel was thankful that Jordan’s first thought was to shield her. Israel caught her eye. She pushed Jordan away from her and they broke apart.
The tornado of spinning pieces tightened into a smaller and smaller circle. Israel realized it was closing down around Adere. Forgetting his instinct to run the other way, he lunged for her instead, hoping to push her out of the way.
But the pieces sucked together to form a solid wall around Adere, a stone wall that appeared before Israel could reach her. He bounced off the wall and hit the ground with a thud. Above him he could see the stone room that had closed itself around Adere.
“She’s completely freaking out,” Jordan cried from behind hi
m. “It’s going to tear this DreamScape apart.”
The ground started to break apart. Israel skittered backwards across the dirt as the stone room began to grow out of the earth into a tower, taller and taller into the sky, taking Adere with it. Just as quickly as it started growing, the tower stilled and the noise of breaking ground and stone on stone stopped.
Israel lifted his eyes to the soaring tower. What in the world?
He pushed himself up to his feet and ran over to where Alyx was kneeling beside Jordan. Jordan had sunk to his knees, his hands like claws in the dirt, the strain evident in the veins and muscles that showed along his forearms.
“Jordan, what’s happening?” Alyx pleaded.
“Trying to keep it…together,” he replied. Finally, his forearms relaxed a little and he sat back on his heels. “I think we’re okay now.”
“What happened to Adere?” Israel asked.
Jordan didn’t respond.
“I thought you were the dream expert?”
Jordan stared back at him, his eyes slightly narrowing. Then a look of realization came across his face. “Fairy tales.”
Was this a-hole calling him a fairy? “What did you just call me?”
“Adere’s terrified. I think she’s reverting back into her childhood. So she’s locked herself in a tower like Rapunzel. From the fairy tale.”
Oh. Right. Fairy tales. Makes sense.
Israel raised his eyes to the top of the tower again. It must have been about ten stories tall. “Except she’s not going to let down her hair for me, is she?”
The look on Jordan’s face said, doubt it.
“I need to stay here,” said Jordan, his voice strained. “Stay focused on keeping this ’Scape together. You need to get to Adere.”
“I could fly you up,” Alyx said to Israel. “If you think you’ll be okay here, Jordan?”
“I’m sure blondie can take care of himself,” Israel said quickly. He wasn’t going to pass up the chance to have Alyx in his arms again, even if it only lasted for the flight up that tower.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then the ground started trembling again.
