The Dream

Chapter 2

I walked Holly home to make sure she got there safely. Once she was inside, I walked the other way, heading back toward Uncle Tristan’s apartment. When I got there, I sat on the apartment’s steps, staring into space. The trees swayed as if dancing in the wind.

I stared up at my favorite oak tree that sat across the street. Two branches stuck out on either side of the trunk, curled up like a smile. I found it humorous how it seemed the tree could smile but I couldn’t.

“Looks like a storm is coming,” a voice from behind me said.

I turned around to see Lillianna standing in the doorway behind me. “Princess Lillianna,” I said, getting up and bowing. She rolled her eyes at my formal greeting. I straightened up from my bow and followed her inside.

“Uncle Tristan,” I said, once we were in the kitchen, “We have a problem.” He eyed me suspiciously and said, “What?”

“Hunters.”

Lillianna’s gripped the edge of the kitchen counter and warily looked at me, probably checking if I was serious. “They’re back?” Tristan asked, his voice all business. I merely nodded and waited for a reaction.

He cursed under his breath and asked, “How do you know this?”

“I found Holly covered in blood. She had killed one. But there are more and they’re here,” I replied. The unspoken sentence hung in the air. And they’re after Lillianna. We all new that they wanted our Princess dead.

And we all feared her death. We had lost many body guards the last time the Hunters had been here. And that was seventeen years ago.

My parents had died the last time the Hunters were here. And ever since, we’ve had to be careful. More and more mortals were dying every year, anyway. With both the Hunters and the immortals back, our kind would soon be extinct.

           “Oh, goodness,” Aunt Lillianna said, sitting on a kitchen stool. “We’ll need more body guards,” Tristan said. He was already starting to ramble to himself, trying to think of something. Everyone was panicking already.

“Call your sister. Tell her to come home, now. It’s still bright so she’ll be safe from immortals but tell her to be careful of Hunters and…” Tristan said, walking away and continuing to ramble. I picked up the house phone and dialed Elise’s number.

“Hello?”

“Come home. Now.”

“What? Why? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“They’re back.” Silence on the other end.

“Holly killed one but there are more. Get home fast and be careful,” I said.

“I’m on my way.”

“Be careful,” I repeated before hanging up.

I walked up to my room and sat down on my bed. This was definitely bad. But I would take care of Lillianna and the rest of the family. Not that I knew how I would do that but I would.

Glancing out of my window, I saw Elise was walking up the steps. I sat back on my bed and heard the front door close and open. When I was sure Elise was in the house, safely, I decided I could relax for a little while.

 I heard the sound of talking downstairs, which was probably Tristan making plans, but decided to ignore them and have time for my own thoughts to collect. I don’t know how long I sat on my bed, staring at the navy blue ceiling but I soon fell asleep.

In my dream, I was in a courtyard with a fountain in the middle of it. I spun around, taking in my surroundings and when I turned back, I found I wasn’t alone.

A girl stood before me, a soft smile on her face. She had long black hair the color of raven’s wings and eyes the color of storm clouds. Eyes like mine.

She was beautiful in a different way—strong and elegant. She wore a long sleeved black dress that reached her shins.

“Who are you?” The words came out of my mouth as soon as I thought them. “I am Willow,” she replied, voice like silk. “I’m Lucas,” I said. I bit my tongue, not knowing why I couldn’t control my words.

Willow laughed and moved toward me. Her black dress swayed around her slender legs. The sun was shining right on her, its rays—wait. Sunshine?

“How can you stand the sun?” I asked, giving up on trying to control my mouth. “This is our dream. Anything can happen,” she said.

“Our dream?”

“Yes, our dream.”

“But you’re not real.”

She shrugged, smile still on her face. “But how? Are you real?” I asked. Willow stepped closer until she stood right in front of me.

“You ask too many questions, Lucas,” she replied softly. Her form started to disappear and I said, “Wait, where are you going?” “Bye, Lucas,” she said after kissing me on the cheek.

 

I woke up sweating, my hair sticking to the back of my neck, and looked over at my clock. It read three twenty-two a.m.

That was so weird, I thought. I listened to the sounds of thunder and rain, wondering what that dream had meant. Lillianna was right about a storm coming. I sighed and lay back down, taking off my t-shirt and threw it off of my bed, still sweating.

 

“Lucas!” I reluctantly opened my eyes to Elise standing over me. “Why are you in my room?” I asked sleepily. “I can’t even sleep in late because your thoughts are so annoying!” she hissed.

“Someone’s crabby today,” I said, sitting up. I meant to mention that Elise can read minds. Yep, she’s a psychic vampire. Cliché, right?

“Don’t you always just block out my thoughts?” I asked. I was getting annoyed that she was still in my room. She looked frustrated when she said, “I don’t know why but my thought block thing-ma-gig isn’t working lately.”

I raised my eyebrows and she shrugged. Elise just stood there for a moment and I stared at her, waiting for her to leave. “You can leave now,” I said impatiently.

She could already read my thoughts, which was an invasion of privacy. Did she have to barge into my room too? “I hope you know I can still read you thoughts,” she said and then mumbled a rude name that was directed at me. I rolled my eyes and waited for her to leave.

The fact that Elise could read my mind wasn’t going to go over well. I wondered if she had seen my dream when she was unwillingly in my head. Sighing, I got up and sat down at my computer desk.

 I logged on to my e-mail and saw that I had ten new messages.

All from Brenna.