Southern Dreams

by Amy Boyles

  “Why?” I urged him. “What happened?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Yes, I do! I’m telling you whatever made that mark in the grass back there was big, bad and is waiting in the forest to get me. I know it is. We could’ve stayed to make sure.”

  “Let someone else have a dream that comes to life,” he growled. “I don’t want you harmed.”

  “Then what was your dream?”

  Frustration flashed in his eyes. Axel was rarely ever mum on a discussion like this. Whatever it was, the nightmare must’ve been awful.

  He pointed to the step. “Let’s sit and I’ll tell you.”

  We sat on the porch and stared out onto the street. The action reminded me more of a couple of teenagers than a young couple who were about to be married.

  “You were in it,” Axel said quietly.

  I nudged his shoulder. “That’s a start. What else.”

  “I’d turned into the werewolf.” He gazed at the night sky full of blinking stars. “At first I wasn’t worried because I knew we’d be able to communicate. That I wouldn’t lose control because of you.”

  He threaded his fingers through mine and brought the back of my hand to his lips. Axel grazed his mouth over my flesh. My skin prickled.

  “And?” I prodded.

  His hand dropped, and he stroked the inside of my arm. “And then everything changed. Our link broke. I don’t know how and I don’t know why but it vanished. You stood in front of me, saying things, calling to me, but I was gone. In my place was the wolf.

  “You quickly realized what had happened. You called on chains to hold me, something to keep me from you, but it was no good. Nothing could contain me. I was working on pure instinct, and my instinct was to attack.”

  I sucked air. “Me? Is that what you’re saying?”

  He looked at me then, his eyes brimming with sadness. “Yes. You.”

  “And did you?”

  Axel shook his head. “It was only a dream. Only a figment. There wasn’t anything real about it.”

  My hackles rose. “You did, didn’t you? But you won’t tell me.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” His body stiffened with agitation. “Let’s just drop it, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay. There are some really creepy nightmares happening here. Just because you don’t want to face what yours was, doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear it.”

  He shook his head.

  “But I don’t have to hear it, do I?” I placed each of my palms on his cheeks and forced Axel to look at me. “You attacked me in that nightmare. Did I die? Did I?”

  He took my wrists and pulled my hands from his face. “I don’t know.”

  He was lying. I knew it. I could tell by the shimmer in his eyes. Axel didn’t want to hurt me. I understood that. But not admitting it didn’t make the reality any easier.

  “This is why we need to go to Misery. First thing in the morning. How many times have you dreamed this?”

  “Twice,” he admitted. “Both times the same thing happens.”

  I pushed up to my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “We’ll end this before it begins. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

  “If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’d rather say good night out here.”

  We kissed and he left, rumbling down the road in his Land Rover. My chest felt like a giant boulder sat atop it. The weight of Axel’s dream pinned me. I couldn’t brush it from my mind.

  But I had to. I couldn’t focus on it. Besides, there wasn’t supposed to be a full moon for at least another week or so, which meant there was time.

  At least for that. In terms of the crazy monster that lived in the forest behind my house—well, as long as I didn’t go back there, I didn’t see a reason to be too worried about it, I supposed.

  But I still wanted to confront Misery.

  All these thoughts whirled through my mind as I opened the door to Betty’s cottage. Warmth from the heart fire greeted me.

  “Hello?” I called.

  Betty and Cordelia rushed in from the kitchen. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. It’s just Pepper,” Betty said, sounding disappointed.

  “You were expecting a knight in shining armor?”

  Betty fisted her hands to her plump hips. “No. Amelia. She hasn’t come home, and she’s missed curfew.”

  I dropped my purse on the floor. “Maybe she’s revolting against the idea of curfews. Have you ever thought about that?”

  “It’s not possible,” Betty said stiffly. “No one would dare revolt against me. They understand the consequences.”

  I rolled my eyes. “As if that’s true.”

  But really it probably was. If it came right down to it, there was no way I would revolt against Betty. Absolutely not.

  “We’ve tried calling her,” Cordelia explained. “But she hasn’t answered.”

  That stopped me. It wasn’t like Amelia not to answer the phone, and to be honest, it wasn’t like her to miss curfew, either. Something was going on—but what?

  It hit me. “She’s at work today, isn’t she?”

  Cordelia nodded. “Yes, of course.”

  My hands flew to my face. “Don’t y’all see?”

  “See what?” Betty said.

  “What if she’s stuck in the Vault?”

  They looked at me in confusion.

  “The arrow,” I shouted. “The one that was after her in the dream!”

  “Well, Jiminy Cricket,” Betty said. “I forgot all about that.”

  “Me too.” Cordelia grabbed her jacket. “How could I have forgotten?”

  “You’ve had your own stuff going on,” I said. “I say we get over to the Vault and see if she’s still there. And if she’s trapped.”

  Cordelia wrapped a scarf around her neck. “But will we be able to get in? What about the lions out front?”

  Betty lit her pipe and inhaled deeply. With a determined look on her face she said, “Girls, leave that to me.”

  Betty magicked us to the Vault within seconds. Luckily she also dropped us in the right spot—just inside the entrance.

  Betty glanced around. “Anybody see Erasmus here?”

  I peered around the cavernous interior. For the building outside being constructed in a classic Greek style, the inside was shiny and new but still dark with torches lining the walls.

  “I don’t see Erasmus,” I answered.

  He was the keeper of the vault. A tall man with dark, smooth skin and dreadlocks, Erasmus was a bit imposing, but he was also kind.

  Most of all, he took his job quite seriously and was usually on watch, but tonight he was nowhere to be seen.

  “Let’s find Amelia,” I said.

  Betty placed her hands on the Vault doors.

  “Are you going to be able to get us in?” Cordelia said. “I thought you had to own an object in the Vault to be allowed entrance?”

  Betty scowled. “And what makes you think I don’t own every object inside?”

  “Because that would be silly,” I answered.

  Her scowl deepened. “Just because you think it’s silly doesn’t make it impossible.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s impossible,” Cordelia murmured.

  Betty paused to glare at us. “For your information, I’m so important to this town I have access to every piece of it.”

  “The good pieces or the bad pieces?” I asked.

  “All of them, even the ornery pieces like yourselves.”

  I gestured to the doors. “Can we just get Amelia and get out of here?”

  Betty threaded her fingers together and cracked her knuckles. “As y’all wish.”

  Cordelia chuckled.

  “What is it?”

  As Betty placed her hands on the doors, Cordelia spoke. “Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a Southern genie and instead of saying ‘as you wish,’ he said, ‘as y’all wish’? I thought that would be hysterical.”

  Betty and I shot her confused looks. Cordelia waved us awa
y. “Never mind. I thought it would be funny, but that’s just me. Forget I said anything.”

  “We will,” Betty replied.

  “Let’s just go,” I said. “We need to find her.”

  The doors opened with a swoosh, and we stood inside the secret Vault.

  Well, it wasn’t exactly a secret. Folks knew about it. But it did hold thousands of dangerous objects. Some deadly enough that they could kill you with one touch.

  At least that’s what Amelia had told me before.

  Anyway, in front of us lay twisting and winding paths. Arms and legs of tunnels that veered off in every direction.

  “How the heck are we going to find her in here?” I said, bewildered. “This place is a maze.”

  “Leave that to me.” Betty opened her palm. Inside, an orb glowed. “Girls, make yourselves seeker orbs.”

  I started to ask a question, but Betty cut me off. “They do exactly as they sound—they seek objects or people out. We want these to find Amelia. Think about your cousin, what she looks like and who she is, then create the orb.”

  Sounded easy enough. I closed my eyes, cupped my hands in front of me and focused on my cousin. A moment later I felt warmth fill my palms.

  “You got it, Pepper,” Betty said proudly. “You can open your eyes.”

  The orb sat like a glowing ember in the cups of my hands. Cordelia had one, too.

  “Now, girls, we’re going to release our orbs at the same time and tell them to go find your cousin. On the count of three—one, two, three!”

  I threw mine up as did Betty and Cordelia. “Go,” Betty commanded. “In different directions and find Amelia. Go!”

  The lights circled each other for a moment before zipping down the tunnels.

  “How long do you think it’ll take them to find her?” I said.

  Betty hiked a shoulder to her ear. “No telling.” She puffed her pipe and blew a smoke ring to the ceiling. “Could be a few seconds. Could be a few minutes. This place is so full of objects there’s no telling.”

  “Let’s hope it’s quick,” Cordelia said. “I’m worried about her.”

  I tapped my toe impatiently. I scoured the paths, trying to catch a glimpse of a returning orb. Of course, I didn’t know how we would be alerted if one of them had found Amelia. But you know, it was Betty’s world; I just lived in it.

  A second later one of the orbs darted out of a tunnel and stopped in front of us. It blinked on and off as if it was excited.

  I gave Betty an anxious look. “Has it found her?”

  “I believe so. Come on, kids, let’s follow it.”

  The orb bobbed up and down as it made its way through the cavernous hole. We passed all sorts of objects lining shelves—scrolls, shoes, glasses, even candlesticks.

  What could a pair of shoes do? I wasn’t sure I wanted an answer to that question, though, now did I?

  We followed the trail until whimpering sounded in the tunnel. I shot Betty and Cordelia a concerned look.

  “Amelia,” I shouted.

  “Amelia!” Betty yelled. “Where the heck are you, kid?”

  “Here,” came her voice. It was faint, but it was Amelia.

  “Let’s go!” I kicked my legs into a run. I was moving fast, breathing hard, when suddenly Betty zoomed past me.

  Her feet peddled the air in double time.

  “How the heck?” I said to Cordelia.

  Cordelia rolled her eyes. “You know Betty has to be first in everything.”

  I rushed down the tunnel, barely keeping up with my grandmother who looked like she’d taken a serious dose of steroids.

  Amelia shouted. “Hurry!”

  I pushed on even though my side killed me. I hadn’t run in forever. Perhaps I needed to pick it up again.

  A corner appeared up ahead, and I rounded it, slamming right into Betty’s back.

  “Sorry,” I murmured.

  “Don’t move a muscle.”

  Cordelia, Betty and I stood on one end of the corridor. On the other cowered Amelia.

  Between us hovered the arrow Amelia had dreamed of—an arrow that pointed straight at Amelia’s heart.

  Chapter 13

  Amelia whimpered. Her eyes filled with fear as the arrow shone in the torchlight.

  “Don’t move,” she whispered.

  “What are we going to do?” I said quietly to Betty.

  “We need a distraction,” Betty said. “Otherwise the thing will hurt her.”

  “It’s not moving now,” I said.

  “It’s a predator,” Betty said in a low voice I could barely hear. “One wrong move and it’ll attack. It’s just waiting for the moment to do it.”

  “She can’t stay like that forever,” I said. “She’ll get tired. Have to move.”

  It was true. Amelia hunched over, trying to make herself as small as possible. But she couldn’t keep that pose indefinitely. Her legs would cramp; her back would ache.

  Heck, my back ached just watching.

  “But if we create a distraction,” Cordelia said, “what will stop it from hurting us?”

  Betty frowned. “That arrow can pierce through anything. Anything man-made, that is.” She inhaled a small suction of air. “What if we created a portal, one that sends it back to its container here in the Vault?”

  I frowned. That seemed awfully far-fetched. “How do we do that? Do you even know where it goes?”

  She smiled. “I don’t, but the arrow will and if we make the portal in sync with the arrow, it should work. But there are risks.”

  I nodded to Amelia. “We’re already dealing with risks. That thing could hurt her at any point.”

  Cordelia shot me dark look. “Point?”

  I grimaced at the sharp tip of the arrow. “No pun intended.”

  Betty laid her hand flat. “Put yours on top of mine. This will take some power.”

  Amelia’s eyes filled with tears. “Hang on,” I whispered. “Hang on, Amelia.”

  I placed my palm on the back of Betty’s hand. Cordelia gloved mine.

  “Hold tight,” Betty said.

  Power surged from me into my hand. It was as if Betty was sucking out every inch of power I possessed.

  A whirlwind of electricity formed above us. It crackled and spat. The wind tugged at my hair.

  Betty whistled. “Hey, arrow! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

  The arrow spun around, its razor-sharp end pointed straight at us.

  It quivered as if ready to pounce. Betty pulled her hand away. The tornado of power rotated, shooting small charges of electricity from its center.

  She flailed her arms. “Come and get me!”

  In a flash, the arrow darted toward us. It became a blur.

  “Duck!”

  I hit the floor right before the arrow disappeared into the miniature tornado. Betty clapped her hands, and what looked to be a glass box appeared with the arrow inside.

  She scratched her chin. “Well, that worked out better than I thought.”

  Amelia collapsed to the floor. “Can’t move.”

  Cordelia and I rushed over. We hooked our arms underneath her and lifted. Amelia rose on shaking legs.

  “Are you okay?” I said.

  She nodded. “Barely.”

  “What happened?” Cordelia asked.

  Amelia gestured that we could release her. “I was cataloging objects and I rounded a corner and there was the arrow. It was hovering right in front of me. I have no idea how it got out.”

  She raked trembling fingers through her hair. “I used all the magic I could, fighting it off. I even managed to teleport myself to another spot, but it didn’t work. The magic in the Vault kept me from teleporting out of here, so I was stuck. The arrow kept following me until I found myself here—at a dead end.”

  She wiped moisture from under her eyes. “By that time I was spent. I didn’t have any magic left, and I was all alone.”

  Amelia sniffled. “I’m just so relieved y’all found me. The
arrow had been hovering there for I don’t know how long. At least five minutes. If I moved, I was dead. I kept praying that someone would find me.”

  I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We did. Come on. Let’s get you home.”

  Betty showed Amelia the arrow in the glass. The arrow butted its point against the surface in an attempt to break free.

  “Where’s this thing go?” my grandmother asked.

  “At the bottom of the ocean?” Amelia suggested. “In another room. But for now, leave it here. I’ll tell Erasmus about it in the morning.”

  “Hey,” I said, “what sort of glass is that? I thought the arrow could pierce anything.”

  “It’s not glass,” Amelia explained. “It was constructed by witches and forged from a combination of metals deep inside the earth. It also has magical shields around it to stop the arrow. And I’ll be happy to never see it again.”

  “Amen,” Cordelia said.

  “I second that,” I said. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

  When we reached the house, I waited until we were all inside before I brought up the gigantic elephant in the room.

  “So,” I said casually as Betty unwound her scarf and pegged it on the coatrack. “What do you think about Misery’s curse now? Think it’s some sort of coincidence or what?”

  Betty rolled her eyes. “Okay, you’ve got me. It’s not a coincidence. It’s got to be that witch’s handiwork.”

  I nearly cheered. “So we’re going there first thing in the morning, right?”

  Betty glared at me. “Yes. We are.”

  I clapped my hands. “Good. Y’all get a good night’s sleep because we’re going to need it.”

  I went to my bedroom, and first thing I did was shuck off my shoes. Mattie stretched from her perch in the window seat.

  “Everything okay, sugar?”

  I shrugged. “Not really. Going to Misery’s tomorrow to hopefully stop this nightmare craziness.”

  My gaze landed on the dream catcher above my bed. I touched the delicately woven threads.

  “At least I have this. Maybe it’ll help.”

  I put on my pajamas and slid under the covers. “Sweet dreams, Mattie.”

  “Sweet dreams, Pepper.”

  Chapter 14

  I didn’t sleep well at all. I tossed and turned, nightmares invading my dreams.