The Severaine

Chapter Fourteen The Summoner-3

“Daniel, don't!” Eiji cried as he extended his hands forwards. Acha reached out, grabbing his hands with her own bare ones.

“I'm sorry, Daniel,” she whispered. As the knife fell, she moved her hand to his face. She felt everything, his pain, his confusion, his fears. They all raced through her as if they were her own, filling her with such strong emotions she was unsure if she could contain them. Her chest hurt, her head span. Eiji reached out grabbing him as his legs finally gave beneath him. Acha sank to her knees, her head spinning from the images she had seen. Tears, left unshed by Daniel, streaked her face.

“Are y' all right?” Eiji brought his attention to her once he had covered Daniel in a blanket from his pack.

“It's not me I'm worried about,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I saw it, what he saw, all those times we thought it was just fatigue. I think Elder Robert was right, he's living between worlds, ours and Darrienia. Almost like he is dreaming, whilst awake.” She wiped her eyes as she felt Eiji's comforting touch upon her shoulder. “Eryx drugged him.”

“T'show us he was borderin' on insanity?”

“To show us how much pain he hides, and how little resolve he has to live. But what can we do?”

“What can we do but help him? If we find a reason for his consciousness bein' fractured between the worlds maybe we could help him further. But for now, we should make camp. Let him sleep off whatever Eryx gave him.”

* * *

“Daniel?” Zo glanced around, taking in her new surroundings in confusion. Just a moment before she had been sitting in the gardens of Crystenia, petting the black and white cat whilst Seiken prepared for their next lesson. It seemed this cat had grown quite fond of her. Whenever she was alone she would find him next to her, rubbing around her legs in an attempt to petition her affection. It was something she gladly obliged. She found the creature's soft purrs comforting.

She had been working so hard, training diligently, but she was still no further in unlocking her so-called potential than she had been when she had first awoken.

Then, in the blink of an eye, things around her seemed to change. At first she could not explain it; it was like seeing two things at the same time. One image overlaid the other, until all sight of the garden faded, leaving her sitting on the ground near a body of water. One it seemed Daniel stood by.

“Huh.” He turned hearing her voice. “Funny, I was just thinking about you. It's nice to see you, even if you're just a dream,” he whispered glancing around. “Hey, where did the dragons go? Oh, that's right, that was a dream too.” Daniel could not explain why, this time, realising he was asleep hadn't filled him with panic, he was strangely calm. In fact he felt almost at peace.

“Dragons, you're visiting Nemean?” She looked to him in surprise, did this mean the path to Kalia had been opened?

“I don't know. I think I was dreaming. Returning an egg to an invisible, unmapped island. It sure sounds like a dream to me. I just can't tell the difference anymore.” He gave a sigh allowing himself to approach the figure who may or may not, turn into Marise and once more attempt to kill him. He just didn't care. He sat down close to her.

“You're dreaming now.” She glanced around cautiously. It was an action she had seen Seiken perform countless times. Only now, since their encounter with the Epiale had she understood why. “I have to leave.” She rose to her feet cautiously; she knew she could not afford to linger here.

“You'd abandon me in my dreams as well?” Daniel's voice didn't quite rise to outrage, but the serenity was quickly beginning to fade. How could she do this to him, how could she leave him twice? He stood once more, he couldn't let her leave, not again. She pulled him in a gentle embrace, an embrace which was only seconds long but more than she knew she had time for.

“Daniel, I'm so sorry about what happened, I am, but if I stay, I'll put us both in danger.”

“Are you a dream?” he asked suddenly, knowing that like last time, this encounter was somehow different to those he was used to, those when Marise would be reborn of Zo's flesh. “Zo, what's happening to me? I feel as if I am losing my mind, as if I am a plaything for the Maniae. I try to be strong, but keeping everything so close just makes things worse. I really try, but I can't do it without you.” He reached out to grab her hand, stopping her from leaving, and she didn't resist.

“Daniel, I'm always with you, you just don't realise it.” She paused as she glanced around. Something was out of place, and although she couldn't tell what, she could feel an unmistakable pressure bearing down on her. “Daniel, there's something I need to tell you, I'm not—” She gave a gasp, seeing the dark shroud ooze under the transparent boundary of this dreamscape. It sniffed the air with an almost bestial snout that appeared as the black formless blob pulsated, taking on various shapes under its skin, almost as if attempting to decide which of its endless repertoire of guises was best to confront them in.

Zo knew at once this was another of the creatures Seiken had spoken of. It was larger than the one that had become a weapon for Daniel to wield against her, but she knew without a doubt this was one of the Epiales. Her eyes fixed on the fiery balls that seemed to move at the top of the shapeless form. A calmness began to wash over her, her tense muscles relaxing as she watched the hypnotic movement of the burning embers. Her head moved slowly as she followed their captivating dance through the shadow's form. Her awareness was faltering, so much so, she failed to notice the four legs which pushed themselves from the creature. She felt a lightness in her body as her awareness faded into nothingness. She could only see the dance of the flames. The creature moved closer, satisfied it had caught her within its thrall.

Daniel's hand grabbed her arm, willing her away from the advancing shape, yet she remained still, almost as if in some strange trance. He pulled her again, a little harder, enough to pull her off balance. Her steps faltered for a second, her hand raised to her head where the calmness she felt dissolved into raw panic. She glanced around desperately, aware now of her surroundings, aware of the danger.

She looked to Daniel, moving her hand to grasp his before forcing him through the shimmering boundary of the dreamscape. They began to run across the open plain towards the mountain nearby. Hearing a dull thud, she turned in alarm but aside from the creature, who had just exited the dream boundary, there was nothing in the vicinity.

As they reached the mountain, she found herself offering a prayer that it would be unable to pursue them up its slopes, its form was surely too large. She pushed Daniel ahead of her, spurring him on as he gasped desperately for breath. She allowed herself a glance behind them, alarmed to see the creature pursued. The black mass had altered, producing more, longer, legs to support its central mass. Despite its size it pursued them with ease, traversing the almost vertical cliff face easier than they themselves did. The higher they got, the more Zo regretted her decision. They were quickly running out of places to retreat. The ledge just above them would be their undoing, unless they could somehow sneak down past the creature without it seeing.

As they reached the ledge Zo glanced around, panic coursing through her veins. There was no way they would make it up to the next one. The cliff face was a smooth vertical rise, topped with barely visible greenery. The grasses drooped over the edge in long wind battered strands. A few almost invisible yellow flowers were lost within its thick netting, but even with a boost, neither she, nor Daniel, could reach the grasses in order to pull themselves higher.

The creature had gained ground and, unlike them, expended little effort during the climb. She glanced to Daniel desperately, positioning herself between him and where the creature would appear in just moments. Her only hope was to wake him before it reached them. At least that way there was only need to fear for her own life. She couldn't be responsible for his, not here, she wasn't skilled enough. But that did not mean she wasn't going to defend him.

“Zo.” He turned to face her, having now realised the severity of their situation. For a moment he half expected to see Marise in her stead, but instead he saw her back, as she did something only his friend had ever done, stand between him and danger. For the first time, he allowed himself to believe it was really her.

“Daniel, wake up.” She cast a backwards glance in his direction, not daring to move from her position. He looked back to her in confusion. She snapped her fingers. “Wake up,” she ordered. But still he stood just behind her. Seiken had told her it was merely a preference of his to use a gesture when waking a dreamer, a habit he had developed at a young age and never managed to break. She tried to clear her mind, remembering the lessons, but how could she, when all she could think about was the creature whose dark mists were now rising to the ledge? Even had she been able to focus, she had only succeeded in waking but a handful of people. She turned to look at him as the creature rose behind her. Her hands gripped his shoulders tightly. “For the sake of the Gods, Daniel, please, wake up,” she screamed, her voice trembling as much as her body. She pushed her arm against him, pressing him back to the cliff face as she turned to face the creature.

The dark mist formed a solid mass of distorting shapes as it adjusted it size. Daniel watched her, and for the first time he truly believed they were in danger, not one brought on by nightmares, but a real and terrible danger.

Far above them, one of the small yellow flowers watched as the creature began to advance upon the dreamer. A light breeze lifted its leaves slightly, and in that one motion, both it, and Daniel, vanished. Zo leaned back against the wall where Daniel had only a second ago stood. She intended to give a premature sigh of relief, but that sigh soon became a gasp as the all too familiar pain began to spread from her chest. Distracted by the momentary energy caused by Daniel's disappearance, the creature scouted the small ledge, extending its legs to peer at the area above them. Zo knew it would find no trace of the flower. It had done what all Oneirois should, woke the dreamer, and vanished.

If not for the pain she would have run, but even as she attempted to move, she felt the energy leave her. Her legs gave way as she sank to the ground barely able to see past her darkened vision. She could only hope not all of the darkness that swirled before her belonged to the creature.

She ran her hands over her clothing, frantically searching her pockets for the pouch of pomberries. When she failed to find it, a sickening feeling washed over her, and in that moment she recalled the dull thud of something as they had fled. It was so clear now what it had been. The creature raised one of its legs, talons now appeared on its shapeless form as it moved to strike.