Taming the Demon - Book 1 (Completed)

Chapter 26 - Jane

I hold on to Kadis like he’s a lifeline. I tell myself that the dream Kadis is only a dream, he’s not the real Kadis. I go through my memories of Kadis to remind myself how sweet he is. How I have never felt scared around him, that he makes me feel safe and wanted. The thought becomes a mantra in my mind.

Kadis makes me feel safe.

Kadis makes me feel wanted.

Kadis makes me feel safe.

Kadis makes me feel wanted.

I don’t know how long I sat there on his lap. It must have been a long time, because I feel Kadis’ breathing soften and slow. He must have fallen asleep. I shift a bit and his arms tighten slightly when I move, holding me even closer. I sit there until the fear leaves me. Well, almost leaves me. I don’t know what it was about that dream, maybe it was the fact it felt so real. I felt the heat of spells, I felt the bruises when I fell…. I felt it when Kadis hit me.

No! You are not thinking like that!

It was not Kadis, it was a dream. Maybe he is right. Maybe if I tell him about the dream, it’ll help my mind realize that’s all it is. A dream.

I lean back and gaze at Kadis as he sleeps. His arms tighten around me again as I move. He really does look like a model or something. His jet black hair is tousled, like he was running his hands through it. He is extremely muscled, but is surprisingly gentle. Though he towers over me in height, he doesn’t hover and intimidate me. His broad shoulders and height only make me feel safe. The memory of the dream Kadis’ cruel smirk threatens to overlap my Kadis’ features. This time I let it surface. My Kadis’ face, while still angular, is softer. His lips are perfectly shaped and very kissable looking, not twisted and hard. I force myself to go over his entire face in order to replace the horrible, perverted version that the dream made me see. I go over each twisted memory and erase it with this memory. Sighing, I lay my head on his chest again. I think I’m ready to talk about it now.

Raising my head again, I drop a quick kiss on Kadis’ lips to wake him up. He lets me go and cups my face in his hands. He holds my face gently, searching my eyes. I’m not sure if he found what he was looking for, but he gives me a smile and a peck on the lips. Dropping his arms around me again, he pulls me against him.

“I think I’m ready to show you that picture now. If you still want to hear about my dream, I’m ready to talk about that too.”

I feel the breath catch in his chest. 

“Are you sure?”

I think about it for a second and make up my mind. 

“Yeah, I am. You’re right. Talking about it will help and I’d rather get it over with before it fades. Hopefully, if I have another nightmare like this one, it won't affect me as much.”

I lean back into him, resting my head on his chest. He holds me as I tell him everything about my dream. The funny thing is I remember everything. It hasn’t faded or gotten murky at all. I’ve never had a dream stay so vivid after waking up. For the most part, Kadis stays silent, only interrupting to ask clarification on something. I try to separate myself from the feelings I had in the dream, but when I get to the last part, the part that had Kadis in it, I falter.

Tears fall onto his shirt as I struggle to get it out. I know I have to tell him or it will haunt me forever. Kadis holds me close and murmurs encouragement into my ear. When I finally get my feelings under control, I bury my head into the nape of his neck.

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want Jane.”

“I have to.”

Steeling myself, I haltingly tell him of running through the forest from some unknown danger. I’m the green girl. I focus on the details like the sound of crashing behind me. The glimpse of trees flashing by as I run. I tell him about getting hit from behind and pinned. Then about how I almost got free. By the time I get to the part about getting thrown down by my hair, I am reciting the memory like I’m reading a boring essay. Stiff and clinical. I shut off the hurt and pain. It didn’t happen to me, it is just a story. A story that my brain made up. His arms tighten around me when I describe how he laughed at my terror. I can hear his teeth grind together as I tell about how he tore my clothes and pinned me down. How he forced himself on me. 

Silence grows between us when I finish. I can hear his heart beating and he takes deep breaths, digesting what I told him. He still holds me, but his body is stiff and tense. Eventually I feel him relax, and his embrace is once again gentle. He places a kiss on the top of my head.

“Are you okay? Do you need more time?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m glad I told you.” Looking up at him, I try to gage his expression. I fail. “What about you? Are you okay?”

A slow smile touches the corners of his mouth.

“Sweet Jane. Always concerned for everyone else. Yes, I’m okay. I am glad you trusted me enough to tell me about it. No wonder you were screaming when you saw me. I don’t blame you. It sounds like it was an intense dream.” He gives me another lingering kiss on my forehead. “You also mentioned a picture. Are you ready to show me that, or do you want to take a break?”

I forgot about the picture! I pry myself out of his arms and jump up. Running to the table I pull The Divine Wars book out. I turn to go back to the couch, but find Kadis standing right behind me. Is that a look of excitement on his face? I fan the pages like I did last time and stop when I see the picture of the woman stabbing the man.

“This is the picture that I was talking about. The funny thing is..” I trail off as I realize how crazy my next words are going to sound. Kadis furrows his eyebrows and frowns at me.

“Yes?”

Dammit. Well here it goes, crazy sounding or not.

“Well…. You see… um… I had this dream before. But I didn’t remember most of it.”

“Okay? What about this picture though?”

“Don’t you see, this is the same scene as the woman with the flaming sword in the first battle. The one that stabbed the man through the chest.”

Looking back at the picture, Kadis examines it closely.

“Do you think this is why I dreamed about the Divine War? What is that anyways? I never heard of any war called that." Pointing to the words at the bottom of the page, "The picture is titled Daemon vs. Demon. But which one is which you figure?”

Pulling the book out of his grasp I examine it again. I’m positive that it’s the same two people that I dreamt about. I look at it again.

“But I dreamed about this exact scene before I saw the picture. How is that possible?”

I look up at Kadis when he doesn’t answer me. He’s staring at me with a strange expression. His mouth is moving like he’s trying to say something, but nothing is coming out. His eyes dart between me and the book I’m holding.

“What’s wrong?!” Dropping the book, I grab his arms and turn him to look at me. “Kadis!”

“Y-you can read the book?!”

I look down at the table.

What is he talking about?

I look again. All the weird writing has been replaced by english. Or has it? I concentrate on the words ‘The Book Of Fae’. It shimmers a bit as my eyes start to water. I can make out the faint outline of the strange symbols underneath the english version. My head starts to ache with the effort and I stop trying. I look at the books again. They are all in english.

“What is going on? How am I able to read them now?”

Kadis is looking at me in wonder.

“I don’t know, but I think you need to tell me everything that happened again. From when you got home to when you fell asleep.”