What the Warriors Knew

Chapter 10

Lucien

“Have you started her training yet?

Lucien jerked. “Annigan, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be inside with ….” He looked at the hospital.

Annie put her hand on his outstretched arm. “Relax. Sarah is okay. She’s not going anywhere,” she said, her gaze steady. “I’ve … been inside.”

“She’s not caught in the nightmare, is she?”

“Not from what I saw. But it could be a trick.” Annie dropped her hand to her side. “Lucien,” she said, staring at her toes. Then, she raised her chin holding it high and set her shoulders back. This was the Warrior he knew. “You didn’t answer my question.” She tilted her head in Penny’s direction as Penny walked toward the hospital doors. “Have you started her training yet? There is no time to get reacquainted, I’m afraid. Warriors are dying.”

“I know. This shouldn’t be her burden to bear. Callie was prepared. Trained.” He lowered gaze. “What happened in there? Did she ever tell—is she able to—tell?”

“She’s not ready, and I can’t push her.” She studied Lucien. “Did you know your feather marked Penny’s palm? I saw just the edges of it, but Dreamwalker was written in blood.”

“Blood.” He turned to her. “She doesn’t have all three. Just mine, correct?” Annie shrugged.

“As far as I know, yes. She’s shown me nothing. I do not know if she has mine.”

She’s lying. “Why can’t she go in?” Lucien asked, pointing to the hospital. If there hadn’t been a sign, the hospital might have been mistaken for a university with its red brick walls, corniced entrance, and ivy. As dusk darkened into night, the new moon cast little light, but the florescent lights haloed the front of the building where Penny paced.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“No, look.” Lucien pointed to the automatic door that remained firmly shut. “It’s like something is not allowing her in. Blocking her.” He tracked Penny with his finger. “See how she moves forward, then stops. She reaches for the door … See?” He glanced at the corners of the building and in the recesses of the patio and walkway. “I see no shadows. Do you?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Wait, she’s in!” Lucien sighed, but Annie stiffened, glanced at him, then back at the door, her eyes wide. “I’ve shown her the coin. I thought I’d start there. But you’re right. Her training must begin in earnest. What does she know of you? What have you told her of how you know Sarah?”

“She doesn’t know what I am to Sarah. Have you even told her what a Dreamscape Warrior is? What they do? Who they are? Who they can be? Have you told her anything? She placed a hand on his shoulder. Someone needs to tell her soon that her mother is suspended between worlds, and how she can help. If you don’t do it, I will. When it’s time.”

“Callie is in danger. And not just from the Council. The shadows.” Annie gestured to the lampposts that dotted the hospital landscape. “I can’t see them. They should be out here, and I see no flickering of movement. Do you?” she asked.

“Mmmm,” Lucien grunted a response unable to express his worry. Had the shadows begun to attach themselves to Callie? He sighed deeply, his brow creased, his mouth set in a determined line.

Annie took his hand and squeezed it.“Sorry. I should go,” Annie said glancing at her watch. “Penny is used to seeing me at Sarah’s bedside. I can continue to work with her spirit.”

He nodded. In a swirl of color, Annie was gone. He sighed. She was right. There was no time to waste. But a few moments wouldn’t hurt.

He bought a coffee from the machine just outside the doorway under the portico and went inside. The steam from his coffee rose until it was one with the ether.

The worlds were splitting at the seams. He could spot the openings. They were growing, and the shadows from the otherworlds were playing a dangerous game in this one. If two worlds were compromised, his world, his daughters’, and all the generations before and to come, would be lost.

The Council has some part to play in this. But is it the part for which they were created or is there something darker at play? Something from a long-forgotten conversation niggled at him as he tried to recall whether it was Sundari or Markus with whom he had been speaking.

He should go check on Sarah. Annie would take care of his daughters, but he had to see Sarah for himself. He’d left Sarah alone too long and too often. This was his fault as much as Callie’s. At least, that’s the impression he’d gotten from Sundari before he returned to Sarah’s world this time.

Surely Callie didn’t know about the Council’s decision. He’d not breathed a word, even in his sleep. But someone knows. Suspects. Which put Penny at a disadvantage.

Lucien shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined himself on Sarah’s floor. When he opened them, he found himself instead at the maternity ward. My thoughts are too scattered, I need to focus. As he walked toward the wall map that would point him in the right direction, he remembered his conversation with the Council. Their warnings.

Sundari gripped the edges of a large bowl filled with water. “When the three feathers mark her palm, it will be done, and Penelope will be the new Dreamscape Priestess.”

With Lucien’s agreement, it would be unanimous, but Penelope wasn’t ready.

“It was your determination that encouraged us to not fully strip the oldest. Raising the younger sister has never been done,” Sundari added.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Penelope was born to this. Her name means ‘weaver’ and as the Dreamscape Priestess, it is in her blood to weave the common dream that holds our worlds together,” Lucien explained.

Sundari was focused on the water in the bowl. Lucien followed her gaze and peered into the water’s depths. Her mouth twisted.

“What do you see?” he asked.

“Not what. Who.” Sundari’s moonstone orbs met Lucien’s silver stare. “Penny’s was not the only soul to be reborn. A darker soul has returned and is stronger than ever. I can feel its hate and the power in it.”

Lucien jolted and ran to Sarah’s room.

©Lisa Rogers. This story has been written from my head by my hand for more years than I care to count. Completed December 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome, new readers and subscribers! If you’re just catching up, I’ve posted the links to the first nine chapters below.

Chapter 1 - The Silver Feather
Chapter 2 - Lucien’s Visit
Chapter 3 - Callie
Chapter 4 - Oscar
Chapter 5 - Shades of Crimson and White
Chapter 6 - Dreamweaver Training Begins
Chapter 7 - The Mark of Callie
Chapter 8 - Dreams for Sale.
Chapter 9 - Dragons and Dreams

I have gone back-and-forth ad nauseum about whether or not to serialize this book and have decided to rip off the Band-Aid(tm) or plaster, if you prefer.

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