Lost

Nadia (Ch. 14)

I'm shaken wake by the sound of screaming. Sitting up I look around to see which direction the yelling is coming from, but all I see are tall, lush trees, colorful birds, and a boy resting against a tree. As I look at him, trying to figure out if I know him, a scream rips through the air jolting him awake. He stands up, turns in the direction of the scream and looks back at me. I run past him, following the sounds that woke us. With the feel of the grass beneath my feet, the wind whipping my hair, and the chirping of birds drive me to push forward. It's almost as if I'm flying through the forest. It's freeing. I feel free.

Behind me, I hear someone calling out. Looking back, I see the boy from earlier chasing after me, screaming, "Dia, no."

I don't know who Dia is, so I keep running. With each scream, I run faster. Feeling that I'm getting closer, I suddenly stop. What used to be a meadow in front of me is now nothing. Everything that was green and full of life, has been scorched black. All that is left is dead, dry ground. At the sound of another scream, I jump. Looking across from the meadow, I see a village being destroyed. Women and children are running, as men with long blonde-white hair burn down their homes, slaughter the women, and steal the young girls. Stepping forward to help them, I'm stopped. Glancing behind me, I see the boy from earlier, holding me back against his chest with unshed tears in his eyes and a murderous look on his face.

Looking back at all the devastation, I struggle to get free. I must help them. They need me, it's my fault all of this is happening. Why won't he just let me go! Huffing and puffing, I can't get free. The more I squirm around, the tighter his hold becomes.

In my struggle to get free, I see that most of the women have been killed. I'm so overwhelmed with sorrow, that all I can do is turn into his arms and seek his comfort while I cry my eyes out. The sounds around us seem to be dying down. Snuggling closer to him, I look over my shoulder and see all the smoke from the burning houses rise to the sky. Turning back to look at the boy, he says, "It's going to be okay Nadia. I'll always protect you."

Resting my forehead on his chest, I breath in deeply. Everything seems to have settled down. The birds aren't chirping, and the forest seems silent.

Deadly silent.

Suddenly there's an ear-splitting scream, so piercing that it almost resembles my own.

Jolted awake, I'm still screaming. I try grasping for air. With my heart racing so fast, I can hear my blood pumping through my veins. Breathing in deeply, I try to calm my racing heart. Stella shoots up from her bed, "What's wrong," searching our cave. Looking at me, the alertness in her eyes dim. "You're save. No one can get up here, I made sure of that," moving closer to me, she gathers me in her arms. Holding me she caresses my head, as I lean into her. A sob slips out, "Shhh, it was just a dream. You're safe."

A gust of wind blows past our cave entrance, staring out at the night, I can still hear his voice calling to me. Yelling at me, "Come back Nadia."

Clinging to her, I steady my racing heart. "It felt so real. Like I lived through it. They burned my village to the ground."

"Who?"

"Bolverk."

"He'll pay for what he did to both of us," leaning back from me, she checks to see if I'm steady. Nodding my head, she releases me, and I sit next to her. Staring out the cave entrance, she says, "Do you want to talk about it."

I can feel her watching me. She won't push me if I don't want to, but I can't leave this as is. So, I tell her about my dream and how it made me feel. I tell her about Azul and how he said he was my brother and that I needed to trust the men that would soon find me. That everything will eventually be explained.

"It felt so real, Stella. How can that be?"

"I don't think it was a dream,"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you were reliving a memory, but in the middle of it a dream walker visited you."

"What's a dream walker?"

"Very few people have this ability. All I know is that only goddess with this power could pass it on to her children. But there are rumors that you father, Marcel could dream walk. No one knows if it's true or not."

"Maybe I should ask him," I turn to my left to grab my bag, but Stella stops me.

"I don't think that's a good idea,"

"Why?"

"Well for one he's trying to find out who he can trust to come get us and second if this dream walker said he's your brother, then he must be," giving her a confused look, she sighs, "Dream walkers can only enter the dreams of people they are connected to, either by blood or by bond."

"Oh," my shoulders slump. How could I forget that I had a brother or that Tobias's father destroyed my home.

"Yep."

"Do you think there is a way to figure out what powers I have and who I could've gotten them from," before she can answer me, I continue, "Because Azul is definitely not Marcel's son. He smelled like a shifter. So, he must have gotten the dream walk treat from our mother."

"There's a way, but it will take some time for me to do it."

"Then let's get started," she explains what I need to do and what she'll be doing to bring forth my abilities. Laying down, I relax my body and clear my mind of all the white noise. Stella runs her hands from my head to feet, chanting over me. Her hands glow a soft yellow as she holds her hands over me. My body emanates a white glow, but unlike when I was defending myself from Tobias, it's calm and relaxed. Stella's face pitches, and a light sheen of sweat starts to form on her forehead.

Sighing, she hands stop glowing and fall to her side. Sliding back from me, she helps me sit up. "So, what did you find out?"

Scrunching up her face, "You've been blocked," before I can ask what she means, she puts her hand up to stop me. "Let me finish before you start asking questions. Even though you're blocked I can see the abilities you have as of now. You can read & see auras, dream walk, you're faster & stronger than me, and you can give and take life. I'm sure there is more you can do but I can't get a read on what that is," frustration mares her face.

"You're forgetting I can astral projection," running my fingers through my hair.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just that in you, they might as well be the same thing," shaking her head, "Let me explain. Both sides of you are dominate, instead of one side overpowering the other, they've learned to co-exist."

"I know all that. What I don't know is how two separate abilities can blend together. I'm so confused."

Reading the confusion on my face, Stella tries to better explain, "Some of your abilities have fused together. Balance—since Marcel could astral project and your mother could dream walk, they fused together so you can do either or but it's the same thing in the end. The same goes for you being able to make life grow, where there was death. It's called creation, you get that from your mother, but destruction is what you get from your vampire side."

"Every time I take a life, a new one is given. I can feel it, whether is human or not."

"Exactly, and the same should happen if you create life. Something will die in its place."

"But I saved your fated's life. He was at deaths door," standing up, I start pacing the small cave.

"That's correct, but you've learned to control it and once the block is completely dissolved, you'll be able to control all your powers perfectly. But there's one thing I was able to gather from the block on you,"

"What?"

"You can't drink human blood from the vein. I don't know what it'll do to you, but whatever it is," looking up at me from where she's sitting, "It's not good Nadia. Like at all, but your vampire side will need human blood soon. So, I don't know what you're going to do."

Pulling my hair, "AGH!"

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," sitting back down next to her. We lean on each other, sighing. So, much for finding out more about myself. All I can do now is trust Marcel and this guy who says he is my brother. Sleep evades me for the rest of the night. Stella is passed out next to me, according to her, doing what she did takes a lot of energy and since doing so wreaked the spell she placed around us. One of us needed to stay awake in case of unwanted visitors.

Looking out the cave, I use my ability to sense auras to check outside. Flipping my phone in my hands, I feel a tug deep in my chest. I know he's close by. Opening up to the pull, I feel his concern and need for me. Sending back feelings of safety and unease toward him, I cut off the connection as best I could. Even though I know he is my mate. I still can't trust him; I barely know if I can trust Stella, but everything she's showed me and told me that I can.

Sighing, I send another text to Marcel. Hopefully he'll be able to tell me who this Azul guy is and if what he says is true. Stella wakes just before the sun rises. Together we both go in search of food and take care of our daily needs. By mid-morning I receive a text from Marcel.

"Stella, he answered back."

"What did he say? Can we trust the local pack here?"

"Basically, we can trust the Alpha and his family. He's not so sure about the pack members, though. He also confirmed that Azul is my brother and that he is the Alpha of the Brazil pack."

"Did he say anything else? Mention any royal ties?"

"No, he said no one's heard from anyone from the royal shifter pack. As far as the shifter community knowing what happened, he's trying to keep a tight lid on it because it will cause chaos."

Sighing, "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Every Alpha will try to take over and be King or Queen. Ugh! I wish I knew where any of my brothers were."

Hugging her, "Should we present ourselves to the alpha and our mates or would you prefer to stay hidden, and we'll figure out a new plan of action?"

Squeezing me back, she releases me. "No, we can get ourselves caught. That way, they can feel like they finally found you."

"What will you do?"

"I'll watch from a distance. Make sure you're alright. I know Marcel said we can trust them, and I know my mate is there, but I just can't let them know yet."

"Are you sure? What if they can't tell your royalty?"

"It only took you seconds to guess I was stronger than the average shifter. On top of that my scent will inform them that I am of the royal line or at the very least a descendant."

"Fine," I huff, "How do you want to do this?"

The rest of the day we plan on how the shifters will find me. Stella is going to keep my stuff with her for safe keeping and will find me if we get split up. I activate one of the other burner phones for her and store my number and Marcel's number into it. Letting her know to only call him in an emergency. We decided it was best that he not know we changed his plan around. When he told us that they would be expecting both of us.

As soon as night fall hits, I text Marcel letting him know I'm ready. Ready for what exactly I don't know. I'm scared to meet my mate, scared they will send me to Tobias or his father. I'm scared of what this means for myself.

And for Stella.