Skeleton Keys (on hold)

Chapter Nine

I stood, surrounded by white. The contrast from the alleyway hurt and I raised a hand to shield my eyes. I glanced around, trying to make sense of where I was now, but the empty space didn’t give any clues.

“Apollo!” I didn’t expect an answer. This space was so different from where I’d seen him before. But I hoped I wasn’t alone. My hands grasped the Key around my neck, clutching it until my knuckles paled. I closed my eyes and forced a deep breath into my lungs. I was still dreaming, I had to be. I looked up and chose a direction at random. I walked, looking for anything in the negative space. 

After a few minutes my eyes caught the edge of a wall, and around that corner, the edge of a golden frame. I hurried, excited to find something that wasn’t white. Turning the corner, I caught sight of a man I’d never seen before, standing in front of a large painting. I stopped, unsure of what to do next. 

He was tall and thin. The white suit he wore contrasted vividly against his black silk shirt and tie, and made his skin seem paler than it actually was. He was staring at the picture, his head tilted to the side. 

“Imagine my surprise,” he said, his voice thick like honey and vaguely familiar, “to find that a Seer has reappeared in the Brooks family.” He turned to me then, holding out a hand that was gloved in tight, black leather. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mary.” 

As soon as he spoke my name, I remembered. It was his voice that had called to me the morning before. I inched closer, glancing down at his hand briefly before shaking it. “Um, I’m sorry but who are you?” 

“I’m called Hypnos, though many humans now refer to me as ‘The Sandman’.” He smiled at me, which combined with his dark hair and the goatee on his face, made him resemble an old-fashioned movie villain. “My child, you are a very gifted soul. It’s no wonder Edward spoke so highly of you.”

Hearing my grandfather’s name startled me. “You knew my grandfather?” 

Hypnos nodded, and turned back to the picture. “We worked together some.” 

“Wait, are you a Reaper, too?” 

“No,” Hypnos said. “But, your grandfather worked very closely with my brother, Thanatos. We’d see each other from time to time.” 

The golden frame appeared much larger up close, towering over us like a two story building. In the frame was a painting of me as a teenager, picking daisies at the lake house. Grandpa stood behind me on the porch.

“I’m still dreaming, right?” I asked, suddenly unsure. Standing next to Hypnos and looking at a painting on the wall, it was as if we were actually in an art gallery, not in some dream. It felt real.  

“Yes,” Hypnos said, “but not in the way most humans do. When you accepted your Key, it awakened an ability that has lain dormant in your family for generations.” He turned his back to the picture and faced the wall behind us. Waving a hand, another frame materialized, shimmering into place. This one, though, held a portrait of woman I didn’t recognize. 

“Veronica Brooks, your many times great-grandmother,” he said, as if it would mean something to me. “She was the last Reaper in your family to hold the Seer’s power, but it was weak in her.” 

“What does that mean?” I asked. 

“It means she could see things others could not.” Hypnos waved his hand again, this time at the space behind us. Between the two frames, two black, velvet armchairs appeared, and he took a seat. “Like her, you are a lucid dreamer, but there’s more to it than that.” 

He motioned for me to sit. I took the seat reluctantly.

“Like what, exactly?” I asked, feeling more than a little skeptical. 

Hypnos smiled at me, but it wasn’t a happy one. “Take just now, for instance. I pulled you from one of Apollo’s memories.” 

Each answer he gave bred more questions. He knew Apollo too? What did he mean, one of Apollo’s memories? “You mean the alleyway? That actually happened?” 

He nodded. “Long before your time, but yes, it did.” 

I thought back to the dream I’d had the night before. “And the house? The one with all the dark hallways?” 

“You were still adjusting to your ability then. The house is real, another memory of Apollo’s, but your mind twisted the reality of it.” 

I sat there, looking at the portrait of my ancestor. “Why Apollo?” I asked, turning back to the strange man in the white suit. “Why do I keep stepping into his memories?” 

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Your ability to see into other minds- to see their memories, their dreams- will seek out those closest to you. Or,” he paused, “as in this case, it seeks out memories connected with the strongest of emotions, no matter who they belong to.” 

I thought of the few dreams I’d seen Apollo, but the last one stuck out in my mind. “Why was he crying?” 

“I’m not going to lie to you, Apollo’s past is darker than most. But I’m not the one to ask such things. I’m sure there are a number of things that he would want to keep to himself.” 

Thinking about it for a moment, I realized I wouldn’t want anyone strolling through my memories, either. At least, not without me. “Is there a way to control it? To decide where I go?”

Hypnos brightened, straightening in his chair. “Yes, in time and with training, you should be able to control it. But I’m afraid it won’t be easy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing worth it ever is.” 

“So wise for one so young.” Hypnos said with a little laugh. He stood, and walked over to the first frame I’d found him by.  “There’s no time like the present to start.”

“Wait, how do I know this is even real? This could just be the weirdest dream I’ve ever had, and I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and not remember any of it.” 

“You’ll remember, as you will remember all of your dreams from now on. As for knowing whether or not this is real,” he paused, then shrugged. “In time, maybe you will come to realize what I’ve told you is the truth, or perhaps I will think of another way to prove to you that this is real. One that will not endanger you.”

“Why would I be in danger?” I stood to face him squarely but a wave of dizziness washed over me. I caught myself on the back of the armchair, willing my mind to stop spinning. “What was that?” 

The sensation raced through me again, like a tide trying to pull me out to sea. I looked up to find myself standing further away from Hypnos than I had been. I tried to walk back towards him, but it was impossible.

“Someone in the waking world is trying to get your attention,” he called to me. “Don’t fight it, you don’t have the strength yet to ignore being woken. Go, and I will see you another night.” 

I felt pulled in two directions. I wanted to stay, to learn more about this supposed power of mine. But at the same time, I was relieved to escape the plain white space. 

When the wave washed through me again, I closed my eyes let myself be pulled by the tide.