Dreams are the greatest power of mankind. In our waking hours, we dream of more, imagining our futures as they teeter on hopes, hard work, and a little luck. But when we sleep, our subconscious mind takes over, and it is a beast that cannot always b...
"I just got off work at the metropolitan library, and Sven was hopping and whining at the door. Said you threw something at him, and his tail has been between his legs ever since." Ray's words dug into me as I remembered Sven grabbing my wrist in the alleyway, and I felt a million times more horrible as he crawled out from behind Ray, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed.
"Heidi," Sven said quietly as he knelt right in my face where I was half lying on Kearo behind me. With his ghastly pale hand, he took mine, and change clinked as he deposited the contents of my wallet back into my hand. "Gifts not given freely nor fought for fairly have no value to a dragon," Sven whispered as he held my hand in his.
"Man, at least she threw something at you," Lexington's scratchy tone had me turning to the trees lining the border to the park, and he fell out of one with a familiar face held up on his shoulder. Faella was dressed like Lexington had plucked her right out of bed, in pajama pants, bunny slippers, and with her curly hair all over the place. "She has been ignoring me since I got here. Had to find Faella on my own." Lexington nuzzled Faella's face, and to my surprise, she pushed it away and hopped out of his arms with a tired groan.
"My name is still Faith, Lexington, and don't listen to too much he says, Heidi." Faith yawned as she ruined her slippers sliding closer across the asphalt. "I punched him in the throat when he appeared in my room in the middle of the night. Thought he was some cosplaying stalker from my fan club. Tried to mace him too, but he jumped out of my sixth floor balcony. Don't know anyone in my fan club who can survive that kind of fall, so I gave him a second glance."
"Your fan club?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'm Faith Reed, the award winning young adult author of Witch's Truce." Faith sighed like the words meant so much less to her than to those who'd bestowed the title. "It's a book about humanity on the brink and vampires agreeing to a truce with the witches to save their food source. Lexington is my main guy, forced to ally with a witch named Faella, who erodes his prickliness until he falls for her." Faith patted Lex's chest to move him a foot when he'd slid into her breathing space again, and he growled in frustration as she kept him at arm's length.
My laugh pushed the lingering tears from my eyes, and I wound my fingers in Kearo's as he helped me to my feet. This felt so much like a dream that I was afraid it would float away if I didn't hold him close. Kearo didn't seem to mind as he bumped his shoulder on mine with a mischievous smile that was much more like him, or the him that I'd imagined. I was more than happy to learn who Kearo really was, even if he was different.
Sven retreated to practically wrap himself around Ray with a welcoming snarl, and I was unsure if Sven was happy to see Ray or hungry because someone had dropped a hundred and fifty pounds of man meat in his line of sight. Lex tugged on Faith until she gave in with a roll of her eyes and giggled as he pulled her back into his arms.
"We're all together again," I whispered to the dark, but I knew every one of them heard me.
"And we are just the beginning," Kearo said, angling his body so we faced each other. "Dreams are awakening in a world that has long since lost them, and I can't tell you if that will bring peace or chaos. This was your dream, Heidi, that humanity live side by side with their dreams, and no matter what fate befalls this new world, you are the hope left at the end of things."
Ray took a step forward to offer me a hand. "Sven and I have no intention of staying in this city, and Lexington and Faith have agreed to come with us. Your jerk boyfriend won't come unless you do."
"Where would be going?" I asked, knowing full well the trap I'd stepped into as soon as the words left my mouth
"We're going to save the world!" Faith said with a giggle.
It sounded just as stupid as it had the first time.
And I was still going with them.
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Word Count: 1518
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