The Dream Seeker

Children of Magic, Volume 1

Robin Burks

Published by Bad Karma Publishing, 2023.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE DREAM SEEKER

First edition. May 2, 2023.

Copyright © 2023 Robin Burks.

Written by Robin Burks.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

About the Author

I would like to offer a huge thank you to all my Patreon supporters — this novel wouldn’t have happened without you!

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Chapter One

Alessa Grey never thought of herself as a brave girl, but she did believe in her dreams: in those, she found a certain kind of courage.

Unfortunately, Alessa's dreams often got her into trouble, mostly because she got so caught up in them that she often forgot reality. It was 1:45 p.m., and Alessa sat in the library of Ashmill High School caught up in a daydream about Devin Winter.

"Hello?" A voice whispered from within Alessa's vision where she was running through green meadows while holding hands with the school's hottest hunk.

Alessa didn't answer. Instead, she smiled to herself as the bright sun in her daydream beat down on her face.

"Hello?" The voice was more insistent this time. She also began to see a blurry hand waving in front of her.

"Huh? What?" Alessa jerked herself back into the library, its floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing a gray, rainy day outside, cold with the threat of winter. She caught herself as her chair started to tip backward, saving herself from an embarrassing tumble in front of her classmates.

A girl, Mae, sat across from Alessa at the wooden table. She giggled quietly and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, pushing them further up her nose. "Wow, you were really out of it. You do realize you were staring at Devin and grinning like an idiot, right?"

"Huh?" Alessa asked again, still confused as to how she had gone from her beautiful dream to ending up in a boring school library that smelled like old books and sweaty teenagers.

"You were staring at Devin," Mae whispered. The corners of her lips turned up as she tried to hide a smile. "And I think he noticed." She tilted her head to the left twice quickly, indicating the place just over her shoulder that was the focus of Alessa's daydreaming gaze.

Alessa blinked several times and then looked in the direction Mae had indicated.

Devin, with his perfectly styled dark hair and deep blue eyes, sat just behind Mae and was looking back at Alessa. He smiled, his dimples inspiring future daydreams.

"Oh!" Alessa gasped, quickly turning her head to face her friend. She reached up and pressed her hands against her flushed cheeks. She moved her chair a few inches to the right so that Mae's body blocked the sight of her dream boyfriend.

"Yeah," Mae replied, not able to hold her smile back any longer.

"I am going to die," Alessa stated, looking down at her ignored math book on the table, her camera lying beside it.

Mae giggled softly, putting a hand over her mouth. She leaned forward and whispered, "I swear, sometimes I think you spend all your time with your head in the clouds."

Alessa shrugged. It was the truth: she liked to dream. She put one hand on the camera and sighed. She was a girl full of dreams, and that was about it. Alessa knew that when it came to doing something to pursue those aspirations, though, she lacked courage.

Take photography, for instance. Alessa loved taking photos and dreamed of becoming a world-class photojournalist someday. She already had an extensive portfolio with hundreds of images, but she found herself too scared to show them to anyone but her closest friends and family. Even with their encouragement, she always made excuses for not showing her work to others outside her small social circle.

"It's okay. I get it," Mae said. "I'm kinda jealous you have time for daydreaming." She motioned to the three books in front of her before picking up an orange highlighter and using it to highlight a passage on a page. "Me? I have to study my life away, or my parents will freak out because I didn't get into Harvard."

The world slid back into place, returning to the familiar. Alessa and Mae Allen had been friends since kindergarten, having found each other through the terrifying world of the school play yard at recess. Mae had offered Alessa a potato chip and they immediately formed the kind of friendship that time had not severed.

"So, how's that working out?" Alessa asked, joking.

"Shhhhhhh!" hissed an anonymous librarian from behind a nearby tall desk.

Mae didn't seem to take notice, motioning to her books, smiling. Despite her complaints, she already knew she was at the top of her class. Harvard, or any other school, would probably invite her in without question.

Alessa, on the other hand, tried not to think about higher education. She was lucky that her mother was okay with her wanting to go to art school after graduation. However, Alessa knew that she would eventually need to get brave enough to show her photography to someone in the future for that to happen. Alessa knew she had a lot of growing up to do, and time was running out. High school would only last for a few more years.

A bell sounded, marking the end of the hour, interrupting Alessa's thoughts before she could travel further down her guilt-ridden rabbit hole. Study hall was officially over, meaning that she only had American History left to deal with before the school day ended. She quickly grabbed her things and shoved them into her backpack, closing it up and slinging one strap of the bag over her shoulder.

Mae also gathered up her books, laptop, notes, and writing instruments. The two girls then joined the small herd of students heading through the library's large double doors.

"Wish me luck on my calculus test!" Mae said as she pushed her way through the students blocking her way.

"Good luck!" Alessa called out, watching her friend reach the doorway, after which she raced down the hallway.

Alessa shuffled her feet towards the exit, a flash of her daydream floating to the surface of her thoughts. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Devin, but she didn't see him. Distracted, Alessa also never saw one of the heavy library doors swing towards her. But she did feel its wooden surface as it slammed into her nose hard enough to knock her backwards. In a haze, Alessa fell and dropped her backpack, spilling her books onto the floor. Pain flared across her nose.

Alessa lay prone on the dingy brown carpet as blurred faces stared over her. She heard whispers of "is she okay?" along with several snickers just before everything turned dark, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

ALESSA SAW NOTHING but darkness, black, an overwhelming lack of color. It reminded her of the “dark rooms” in Halloween haunted houses, those lightless hallways where the only way to navigate was by reaching out to touch walls covered in fake cobwebs. But when Alessa lifted her arms, she didn’t feel any walls that could guide her through a tunnel or hallway. Instead, her fingertips touched nothing.

And that’s what this was: nothing, a void.

Alessa turned around in a circle, her hands still outstretched, hoping her fingers would find something substantial, something that would give substance to the dark.

But there was still nothing.

Alessa hugged herself as a chill passed over her. She inhaled deeply, letting air fill her lungs, grateful that at least in this state of nothingness, oxygen seemed to exist. But it had no scent or flavor. It was empty, dead air.

“Hello?” Alessa called out into the void as she rubbed the backs of her arms. She hoped to hear an echo or something that might signal that there was an end to this darkness somewhere.

There was no echo or reply.

Alessa strained her ears, thinking she could pick up the sound of dripping water, footsteps, or even breathing. But there was no sound at all. And that was perhaps the most frightening thing.

“Hello?” she called out again, desperate to hear something, even if it was her own voice, which wavered. She spread her arms out again and took a few tentative steps forward, but then fear froze her in place.

That was when she finally heard something, the first sound to invade the dark.

“Thump... thump... thump... thump...”

Alessa stiffened, squinting as if that might help her see through the black. It didn’t.

“Thump... thump... thump... thump...”

Alessa imagined a ghost dragging chains behind it, like something from a Dickens novel she’d read in school. Was there a monster out there hunting her?

“Thump... thump... thump... thump...”

The rhythm was familiar, though, and finally, Alessa placed it. The sound did not come from a ghost, or a creature lurking behind her. It was the beating of her heart, loud in her ears. It was fast and picking up speed.

Alessa dropped her arms, her hands tightening into fists. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then another, forcing her heart rate to slow down, fighting the panic rising in her throat.

Alessa reopened her eyes, and something finally appeared in front of her vision. It was tiny, just a pinprick of yellow, but she recognized it as light. There was light, and it was somewhere in front of her.

She narrowed her gaze, thinking that this dot of light was nothing more than an illusion, a trick played by her mind. But blink after blink, it was still there.

She fought the urge to run towards it. Instead, she forced herself to walk slowly, measuring each step.

In response, the yellow beam began to widen as she moved closer to it. She continued walking but stopped when the ball of light became about the size of her head.

Pinpricks ran up the backs of Alessa’s arms as something light and feathery brushed past her, something that felt like fabric.

“Hello?” she called out, her eyes remaining focused solely on the light.

Then she heard it: a sound that started low but became louder until she recognized it for what it was: laughter. But it wasn’t happy or childish giggling. It was a dark sound, deep and insane.

Alessa lost her composure and began sprinting towards the light, intent that this was her exit, her way out of this dark place where such terrifying sounds existed. But the laughter became louder as if the source was right behind her, even as she tried to run faster.

But she couldn’t run fast enough and ended up stumbling over her own feet. Alessa fell, landing hard on one knee. She jumped up quickly, resuming her mad dash, despite the pain vibrating through her knee and into her leg. She could not let that laughter catch her.

When Alessa reached the light, she jumped into it and through it, closing her eyes and praying that the nightmare would end. The laughter followed her, but then seemed to whizz right past her, eventually fading out of range.

Alessa landed on her feet in a square white room about the size of a high school gym. In the center of the room was a man, bent over, his hands and knees on the floor. He wore tattered clothes, their color long faded. Dirt and leaves were trapped in his long hair and beard. His gray eyes were dull and expressionless. Perhaps he had been handsome once, but time and madness had taken their toll.

Alessa approached the man cautiously. She whispered, “Who are you?”

The man didn’t answer, although he looked up to stare at Alessa with bloodshot eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of sound, black feathers burst from his lips, spraying the air.

Alessa screamed.

Chapter Two

Alessa woke up with a start, sweat beading on her forehead and dripping from her chin. Her knee felt bruised, from where she had fallen on it, but that didn’t make sense, because that had happened in a dream, right?

The sound of snapping fingers drew Alessa's attention outward. Her eyes opened and then squinted as light assaulted her from above. Alessa lifted a hand to shield her face, groaning in pain when her finger brushed against her nose.

"Oh, there you are," a voice said as a blurry figure glided closer to where Alessa lay.

Alessa blinked and lowered her hand to the surface under her, where she felt fabric but also something more solid underneath it, like metal. She tried to lift her head, but the room spun wildly, so she remained where she was, lying on her back, staring at a tiled ceiling. She tried to speak: her mouth moved, but there was no sound.

The figure came closer. "Welcome back to the land of the living," the voice said.

Alessa blinked and forced her head to turn enough to see the person sitting beside her. Although the face remained fuzzy, she noticed blue hair framing it. It was Tyler Winter, Devin's sister. Tyler was sitting backwards in a wheeled chair.

Alessa tried to speak again, and this time, words came, although her voice seemed to come from far away. "Where am I?"

As Tyler's face eventually became clearer, Alessa saw the blue-haired girl bring a lollipop up to her mouth, licking it. "Nurse's office," Tyler said. "You were out cold, so we had to pick you up and drag you in here."

Alessa pulled herself up on her elbows, the dizziness starting to fade. "We?"

Tyler nodded, the lollipop's handle now sticking out of her mouth. She talked around it. "Yeah, me and Devin."

Alessa groaned and closed her eyes. Could this day possibly get any worse? But at least Devin wasn't here, at least as far as she could tell, and that was a good thing, right? But why wasn't Devin here? She knew better than to ask Tyler. It didn't matter, though: after having him witness her walking into a door, she was pretty sure she never wanted to see him again.

"I don't think it's broken," Tyler said as her lips smacked and sucked on the lollipop.

"Huh?" Alessa asked.

"Your nose." Tyler gestured at Alessa's face. "It's not broken. I mean, I'm no expert, but I remember when Devin broke his nose in the fifth grade after jumping out of a swing, and it was all crooked and black and blue and stuff. And, well, your nose looks okay." She rolled away on her chair towards a desk that contained a backpack on it. She opened the pack up and rummaged inside until she found what she was looking for, a small compact mirror. Tyler wheeled back to Alessa, opened up the mirror, and held it out to her. "Here, see?"

Alessa slowly pulled herself up to a fully seated position. She took the mirror and winced as she brought it up to her face, terrified that she might suddenly find herself disfigured, like something out of a Picasso painting. However, the reflection that stared back at her was mostly just her. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and a small bruise across the bridge of her nose. She reached up tentatively with one hand and touched the tiny wound. It still hurt a bit, but not a lot.

"See? Not bad at all," Tyler commented as she snatched the mirror back and held it in front of her own face. She tucked a stray strand of blue hair behind one ear and then re-adjusted the knit cap that covered the top of her head. With that done, she shoved the mirror into one of her jacket's many zippered pockets.

A woman rushed into the room, long dark hair swishing around her shoulders, her concerned eyes the same shade of blue as Alessa's. "Honey, I just got a call from the school. Are you okay?"

Alessa’s mother, Reina, had arrived.

"She'll live," Tyler announced as she spun the chair around in a circle and away.

"Good to know," Reina responded as she wrinkled her nose, not meeting Tyler's gaze.

"I'm okay, Mom, just a scratch, see?" Alessa announced as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and gestured at her nose with one hand.

"Well, where's the nurse?" Reina asked as she looked around, still a little frantic. "Isn't that her call to make? Do we need to go to the E.R.? Do you need x-rays? I bet you need x-rays."

"She's fine, Missus G." Tyler shrugged, closed her backpack, and slung one strap over her shoulder. She stood.

Reina wrinkled her nose again but did not reply.

Tyler shook her head, sighed, and exited the room.

"I'm fine, Mom," Alessa reiterated. "Really." It was a lie, considering the dream that stayed with her and her aching knee. But she decided that this was the untruth that the situation required.

Reina reached up as if to touch Alessa's nose, but her hand stopped in midair. "Does it hurt?"

Alessa shook her head, "Nope, the only thing hurting here is my pride. I'll now forever be known as the girl who got attacked by a door.”

Reina's face lit up as she laughed. "Well, if that's all, I'm glad. Now let's get out of here. I think you’ve earned the rest of the day off.”

“But will there be ice cream?” Alessa grinned as she stood. “I think an injury like this,” she pointed at her nose, “deserves a frosty treat.”

Reina shook her head and laughed. “We’ll see.” She offered her arm to her daughter.

Alessa took her mother’s arm and strolled out of the nurse’s office. She walked out of the school with her mother, grateful that she didn’t see any of her classmates on the way out.

Chapter Three

The dove remained still as it sat on the lowest limb of the sycamore tree. Alessa, who stood a short distance away, slowly brought her camera’s viewfinder up to her eye. Although the camera had a digital display, Alessa preferred the old-fashioned way of framing a photo, letting her eyes decide what to include in the shot, rather than relying on the computer inside the device.

Alessa quickly adjusted the zoom, held her breath, and pressed down on the button that would take the photo. She did this three times before the bird, sensing something amiss, fluttered its wings and flew away, its lack of weight causing the branch to swing up, loosening red leaves that fell to the forest floor.

Alessa examined the three images on the camera, shaking her head, frustrated because none of them were on par with her usual work. She knew that her concentration wasn't as good as it usually was. However, she had hoped that spending time with her camera would help take away the remains of the dream that still drifted around her, as well as the slight pain that resounded in her bruised knee every time she took a step.

The sound of crunching leaves caught Alessa’s attention as she heard footsteps somewhere in the woods near her, followed by Tyler’s voice.

“I’m not saying Mom and Dad are wrong, Dev, but I think we should look at all the facts.”

As the footsteps grew closer, Alessa quickly crouched behind a bush. She wasn’t sure why she chose to hide, but some strange instinct told her to. She soon became aware that Tyler was talking with Devin, and felt the familiar flush come over her cheeks at the thought of him.

As Alessa peeked through what remained of the bush’s fall foliage, the siblings came into view. Tyler stopped and kicked up some leaves, grunting. She wore a beige wool hat over her vibrant blue hair, along with a long black trench coat, dark jeans, and motorcycle boots.

Devin joined her, dressed in a Harvard sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. He raised his hands and shook his head back and forth. “Mom and Dad know what they’re doing, Ty. They always have,” he said.

Tyler laughed. “If they do, then I’m ashamed to call them my parents.”

Devin looked down at his feet. “Don’t say that. That’s a horrible thing to say.”

“Dev.” Tyler closed the distance between herself and her brother. “It’s wrong. What’s happening is wrong. And even if Mom and Dad are okay with it, I’m not.”

Devin sighed. “So you’re willing to stand against Mom and Dad? You’re planning to go against... Him?”

Tyler looked at her brother, her eyes squinting, her jaw set. “Damn straight, I will. And you should, too.” She poked her index finger at her brother’s chest. “Because you’ll have to choose a side, and I really hope you’re better than that.”

Devin shrugged. “I don’t have to do anything. This isn’t our fight.”

Tyler laughed, holding her palms up to the sky. “You think that? You really believe that? You’re stupider than I thought.”

Devin grabbed his sister by the shoulders, his mouth open with gritted teeth.

Alessa, feeling a cramp in her leg, adjusted her position. The bush in front of her rattled quietly. She froze.

Devin dropped his hands, his fists clenched at his sides. “Who’s there?”

Alessa panicked, not sure if she should keep hiding or if she should expose herself before they found out she was eavesdropping. In the end, the honest decision seemed to be the right one. She stood up. “Sorry, I... well... I was just taking some photos of the birds. I... I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Devin ran a hand over his head and through his hair, rolling his eyes.

Alessa stared at him, unable to move.

“It’s okay,” Tyler said as her shoulders relaxed and she playfully hit her brother in the arm. It was as if her anger had suddenly dissipated. “She’s one of us.”

Devin quickly turned his attention back to his sister. “What? What do you mean? She's one of us?” He stopped speaking, tilted his head, and sniffed the air.

Tyler nodded knowingly.

Alessa, still paralyzed, had also become completely confused.

“So how’s it going... um... Alessa, right?” Devin asked as if they were suddenly old friends.

That was the most frightening thing of all. Alessa couldn’t recall the last time Devin had spoken to her, but she was reasonably certain he hadn’t uttered a syllable in her direction since at least grade school.

In return, all she could do was nod and force herself to speak. “Okay, I guess?” she squeaked.

This was not going well at all, especially after the incident with the door.

“We’ll let you get back to it,” Tyler said, gesturing at the camera that hung from Alessa’s neck. “Don’t want to interrupt your creative flow and stuff.” She grabbed Devin’s arm and began pulling him back towards the way they had originally come from. “See ‘ya later,” she said as she lifted her arm in a wave, her back already turned.

“Later,” Devin offered, mimicking his sister.

The two were out of sight before Alessa became aware of herself again. Her eyes darted back and forth as she bit her lip. What was that about?

THE STRANGE CONVERSATION between Devin and Tyler stayed with Alessa as she walked home. However, her thoughts shifted as she saw her grandparents’ silver luxury SUV parked in the driveway in front of her house.

Alessa mostly liked her grandparents, but Reina had a complicated relationship with them. Reina got pregnant with Alessa during her freshman year of college but refused to marry the man who was Alessa's father. This angered Reina’s wealthy parents, and after much arguing, Reina broke ties with them, insisting she could care for herself and her child on her own. After dropping out of college, she worked as a server for a restaurant until Alessa arrived nine months later.

Life as a single mother was a struggle, but Reina managed without her parents’ help. She put herself through night classes at a community college, earning a business degree, after which she started a successful catering business with her childhood best friend, Tara Prescott.

Reina was a self-made woman, so she found it very difficult to accept that her parents often lavished attention, money, and gifts on Alessa. This complicated relationship meant that they rarely visited.

Seeing her grandparents’ car in the driveway made Alessa anxious. As she reached the front door of the house, she slowly turned the knob, but hesitated for a brief moment to consider walking around to the back door to sneak in without being noticed. Instead, she took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself, and opened the door to step inside the front foyer.

“All I’m saying is that something is going on, and you very well know it,” said Alessa’s grandmother, Evelyn Grey. Her voice carried from the next room. Her tone was matter-of-fact but soft. This was a woman who never raised her voice, even when she was angry.

Although Alessa couldn’t see into the room from where she stood, she imagined her mother shaking her head violently back and forth.

“No,” said Reina, her tone the opposite of her mother’s, loud with anger curling around the edges of the word.

“She is one of us, and you know it,” said Evelyn.

Alessa imagined her grandmother leaning forward, eyes intent on Reina.

“No,” Reina repeated, her voice rising.

“You have to tell Alessa,” said Evelyn, her words still measured, even, and calm.

"No!" Reina screamed a third time, her voice cracking.

Alessa’s curiosity got the best of her. She walked into the living room, physically forcing herself to appear calmer than she felt. Could this day get any weirder? She quickly took stock of the figures in the room. Her grandmother sat on the sofa, hands clasped together in her lap, eyes narrowed. Alessa’s grandfather, James, sat quietly beside his wife. Reina stood in front of the pair, one hand clenched, eyes glistening with tears. Behind Reina was Tara, her mother’s best friend and business partner.

Alessa cleared her throat, announcing her arrival. “Tell me what?” she asked.

For a moment, all eyes in the room darted back and forth in panic. Then, Tara jumped to her feet and forcibly smiled. “Your trip to Europe!” she exclaimed with enthusiasm that was well over the top. “We were just talking about that.” Tara rubbed her hands back and forth as she looked around the room. “You know, the trip with your grandparents here,” she gestured at Evelyn and James. “After you graduate.”

Alessa raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I already know about that. We talked about it a month ago.” She stared at her grandfather as if wishing he would speak up and tell her the truth.

James did not meet his granddaughter’s gaze and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“I think you should leave now,” Reina announced from where she stood, rage visible in her eyes as she glared at her mother.

“That is probably for the best,” Evelyn said as she stood and brushed imaginary dust from the front of her spotless skirt. “Come along, James.” She extended her hand to her husband.

James stood and took his wife’s hand.

“We’ll discuss this later,” Evelyn said, her final words directed at Reina, but with a sidelong glance at Alessa after she spoke.

The couple walked past Alessa. Her grandfather placed a hand on Alessa’s shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. The couple exited through the foyer and out the front door.

No one said anything until the door shut.

“What was that about?” Alessa asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

Tara shrugged, “Oh, nothing. As I said, we were discussing your graduation, college, Europe, all of that. Nothing more.” Her words came out in a rush, making it clear that she was nervous. It was also blatantly apparent that she was lying.

Reina shifted her weight from one foot to the other and unclenched her fists. “We also talked about that gallery thing, remember?” She motioned to the camera hanging around Alessa’s neck.

Alessa’s brain struggled to switch gears, but she couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that a labyrinth of secrets and lies suddenly surrounded her.

“You know, about getting some of your photographs in an exhibit?” Reina asked, leaning forward, her eyes skimming over Alessa and to Tara.

“Oh, yes, the gallery!” Tara exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Beverly Raines said she would love to feature some of your work.”

Alessa shrugged. She remembered a brief conversation a few weeks ago with her mother about potentially submitting some photos for an exhibit, but Alessa had quickly dismissed the idea. She thought she was a good photographer, but she didn’t know if the world would agree - the idea of putting her photos out there for others to see terrified her.

The two women didn’t give her a chance to respond, so desperate to change the subject from whatever had happened just a few minutes ago. “Think about it, honey?” Reina asked. “It would be a wonderful opportunity for you.”

Alessa nodded, but the strange day continued to give her an odd feeling deep within her belly.

“We’ve got somewhere to go, don't we?" Tara asked as she put an arm around Reina’s shoulder.

Reina didn’t relax, but she responded with a curt nod. “Oh, yeah, that engagement party gig. I almost forgot.”

Tara laughed and waved her hand in dismissal. “Good thing I didn’t. The food is ready. I baked a cake, and all we have to do now is show up and feed those hungry people.” She looked at Alessa and forced a smile. “Don’t worry. I didn’t forget you. Cookies on your nightstand. Those double chocolate ones you like. And there’s mac and cheese in the fridge.” Not waiting for a reply, Tara guided Reina past Alessa and out of the room.

Alessa heard the front door open and close. She was frozen in place, dumbfounded, wondering why everyone she cared about was now lying to her.

Chapter Four

Alessa spent the evening turning everything over in her mind. Her thoughts were heavy enough to cause her to ignore her hunger pangs. This was despite the cookies wrapped in plastic on her nightstand and the knowledge of macaroni and cheese in the refrigerator. How could she eat knowing that the people she cared about, who supposedly cared about her, were lying to her?

Frustrated, she paced the length of her bedroom, back and forth, until she exhausted herself and tripped over her own feet, causing her to land on the floor on her injured knee. Pain flared through her leg.

Alessa yawned and pulled herself up to her bed, her brain still running in circles. However, sleep quickly enveloped her.

The dream began with complete darkness but slowly lightened as the sun rose over a distant horizon, illuminating the world, converting it from grayscale to vivid color. The grass beneath her feet was an impossible shade of green; the sky above her was as blue as a sapphire. Wildflowers in every shade dotted the grass in vibrant purples, reds, and yellows. It was like being inside a painting: color filled Alessa’s eyes.

Alessa heard running water in the distance. She followed the sound, her feet moving independently from the rest of her body. She inhaled deeply, her nostrils filling with the heady scent of flowers, their sweetness mingling with the day’s crisp air.

Alessa soon found herself standing at the edge of a shallow creek. Crystal clear water bubbled over rocks and sand. Underneath the surface, she saw goldfish swimming, their orange colors sparkling beneath the bright overhead sun.

This was a dream, but it was not. There was substance here, something that felt real.

Alessa followed the creek as it meandered down a small hill. She saw a figure sitting in the distance at the bottom of the slope, a man.

Alessa quietly walked closer and then stopped, taking a moment to observe this person. He was handsome, perhaps a few years older than her. He wore rolled up jeans and a t-shirt with a faded rock band logo on it. His long legs stretched out over the bank, his bare feet dangling in the water. His eyes stared into the creek’s depths as if waiting for it to reveal its secrets.

Alessa recognized him. This was the man from her previous dream. Not the thing that had chased her, but the man she saw before she awoke. He looked different now, though, and much less ragged.

She approached him cautiously until she was standing beside him. She looked down at the water, expecting to see his reflection. Instead, she saw a hooded figure with a skeletal face, its teeth curled up into a grin. She jumped.

The man beside her finally spoke. “He escaped. I fell into the mirror. I took him with me. But he got out...well part of him got out.”

His words made no sense, but Alessa nodded all the same.

The man leaned over and placed a hand in the water, moving it in a swirling pattern, causing the hooded reflection to disappear. He then looked up at Alessa.

Alessa caught her breath. There was something so familiar about him, something that transcended having seen him in a dream. She knew this person, but she didn’t remember how. So she asked, “Do I know you?”

He shook his head as he pulled his legs out of the water and stood. He wiped his wet hand against his jeans and then offered it to Alessa. “Silas,” he said. “But the more important question is... do I know you?”

Heat rose in Alessa’s cheeks as she looked down at his hand, taking it into her own. “I don’t think so. But...” Her voice trailed off as they touched. An electrical surge ran through his hand and into hers, coursing through her body. It was like touching an electrical outlet, but somehow more pleasant. “Alessa,” she mumbled, confused. She forced herself to look up at his face.

Silas smiled and dropped her hand. “I knew it. You’re a Dreamer.”

Alessa, disappointed that the electric sensation ended when they stopped touching, wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes. “A what?”

The man ignored her question. Instead, he said, “That look...” He tentatively reached toward Alessa’s face but stopped just short of touching her. “I know that look.”

Alessa, slightly alarmed, took a step back, her mind at odds with this strange meeting. What was most baffling, though, was that she had a feeling that she was a puzzle piece that had suddenly found its place. This man was somehow significant to her.

“This is a dream,” Alessa whispered to herself.

“It’s not,” Silas answered. “I mean, it is, but it isn’t.” He smiled softly.

“A dream, a dream, a dream,” she repeated, thinking that if she said it enough, it would make it true.

“This is the Dreaming,” Silas said, holding his palms out in front of him. He then sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, stepping away. “You don’t know what you are, do you?”

Alessa didn’t know how to answer, so she said nothing.

“You are a Dreamer, a magic user,” Silas explained, rocking slightly on his heels. “You dreamed me back into existence. Here. You brought me back.” He sighed heavily, his voice suddenly full of emotion, words spilling over his lips. “I owe you everything. You saved me.”

“Um...” Alessa replied. “Okay?” The conversation had become surreal as she found herself in unfamiliar territory that bordered on insanity.

Silas pulled one hand out of his pocket and gestured around them. “This is real. And you’re doing it right now. You made this place.” For a brief moment, a halo of light seemed to surround him.

Alessa quickly dismissed it as a trick of the light. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, feeling a need to deny everything. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she took several more steps away from Silas. “But this is a dream and I’m going to wake up now. And when I do, this will be gone. You will be gone.”

Silas quickly moved to cover the distance between them and grabbed her arm. “No, please, don’t go,” he pleaded.

Alessa closed her eyes and wished it all away. When she opened them again, she was in her bed, staring at the ceiling, its familiar cracks and crevices a reminder of what was real and what wasn’t. But she could still feel that last touch on her arm.

“Just a dream,” she whispered to herself, her pulse slowing as she took several deep breaths.

She could say it all she wanted, but something deep within her knew better. Her dream, Silas, all of it, was real.

Chapter Five

Alessa showered and dressed, hoping that the mundane would wash away the uneasiness she felt. But it seemed that even a normal weekend routine wouldn’t shake the dream from her mind. Even after waking, Silas’ face haunted her, his last words echoing over and over inside her head.

Alessa’s stomach growled as she stared at the plate of cookies still sitting on her nightstand. “Okay, okay,” she whispered to herself as she unwrapped the plate and grabbed a cookie, quickly bringing it to her mouth to bite into it. Double chocolate goodness ignited her taste buds and flooded down her throat.

And suddenly, Alessa felt better. She scarfed down the rest of the cookie and by the time it was gone, the dream began to fade away. After she ate a second cookie, she almost felt like herself again. Silas faded into the background of her memories.

Laughing, she shook her head back and forth, wet hair slapping against her face.

Downstairs, the phone rang.

Alessa stepped out of her room and into the hallway as quick footsteps pounded the floor below.

The phone rang for a few moments before Reina answered it. “Hello?”

Alessa walked to the stairwell, one hand clinging to the cold banister: it sent a chill through her hand and into her arm. She took one step down, but then stopped on the top stair, motionless, listening.

“Frank, Frank... calm down... calm down...” Reina said, her voice rising, panic lacing itself around her words.

There was a long pause.

The floorboard beneath Alessa’s feet creaked softly.

“What?” Reina whispered. “No. No. No. No!” Her voice rose to a crescendo. After the last “no,” there was a sharp intake of breath, followed by a loud sob.

Every light in the house began to flicker.

Alessa barely noticed the electrical display. She flung herself down the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

Reina sat curled up at the bottom of the stairwell, her body trembling, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Mom?” Alessa quietly said as she knelt and put one arm over her mother’s shoulder.

Reina responded by pulling Alessa close in a tight hug.

Alessa felt her mother’s head shoved into her shoulder, and then felt the dampness of tears through her shirt. Alessa remained where she was, kneeling beside her mother until Reina’s crying subsided. Finally, Alessa spoke. “What happened?”

Reina pulled herself away and used the backs of her hands to wipe at her eyes.

“Tara,” Reina said and shook her head. “Tara’s dead.”

The lights in the house flickered once more before going dark, leaving the house illuminated only by narrow slivers of sunlight sneaking through nearby windows.

Alessa stared at her mother briefly, unable to fathom what Reina had said. There was no way Tara was dead. Alessa had just seen her the day before. And people you see all the time don’t die, do they?

“How?” Alessa asked, using the only word that came to her mind.

“Someone killed her,” Reina stated as she pulled herself up and patted her daughter on the shoulder.

Alessa heard the words but didn’t comprehend them. They seemed so impossible that they couldn’t possibly be true. And yet, here was her mother, torn with grief: there was nothing in the world that could bring the great Reina Grey to such despair, except maybe the death of her best friend.

Reina stood up and pressed down the front of her clothes.

“I’ve got to go,” she stated quickly, staring down at her daughter. “I need to go... well, the police are there, and they’ll want to question everyone and... I should go.”

Alessa jumped up. “I’ll come with you.”

Reina placed a hand on Alessa’s shoulder and squeezed it. “No. You stay here. You’ll be okay, safe, here.”

Alessa nodded, unable to come up with a valid argument, her brain refusing to really grasp the situation.

Reina turned away from her daughter, grabbed a set of car keys on a table near the door, and dashed out of the house, leaving Alessa alone as the lights in the house flickered back on.

ALESSA STAYED ON THE floor, kneeling, long after Reina left. No one had ever died on Alessa before, so the shock of it all didn’t quite know how to settle in. Instead, it stayed on top of her, pressing her down so much that she could feel the grooves of the tile beneath her knees. Was she still dreaming?

Alessa slapped herself hard. She could feel a hand-sized red welt flare up on her right cheek. But instead of bringing her back to her senses as she’d hoped, she felt drowsy, like she could lie down on the cold floor and sleep for hours.

Alessa almost gave in to the feeling, but then the doorbell rang and reawakened her senses. She looked up and stared at the ceiling as if it might give her answers.

The doorbell rang again, followed by three short knocks on the front door.

As she stood, Alessa buried her face in the crook of her elbow, rubbing at her cheeks with the rough material of her shirt.

“Reina!” a man’s voice yelled from outside. He had a strange accent and the way he said it made it sound like “Reena.”

Alessa shivered and stared down at her bare feet. Slowly, she shuffled to the door, the world a cloudy mess around her. She ran a hand over her damp hair to smooth it down. She approached the door, not bothering to check and see who was waiting on the other side. Instead, she grabbed the doorknob and swung it wide open.

Two men stood on the front porch. One was short and portly and wore an eye patch. The other was taller with shoulder-length brown hair and a dark five-o'clock shadow across his cheeks and chin. Alessa thought she recognized the taller man, but she did not know how.

It was this man who spoke first. “Alessa,” he said.

Alessa nodded, unable to find words. The world continued to shift around her. She stared at the man with the eye patch, almost imagining him as a pirate on the high seas. The thought made her giggle, despite her earlier despair.

The man with the eye patch scowled at Alessa.

She quickly averted her gaze.

The tall man tentatively stared at her. “Do you know me, girl?” His accent was Celtic, Irish maybe.

Alessa shrugged, even as she remembered who he was. She did know him.

“It’s me,” he continued. “I’m your dad.”

Alessa held tightly to the doorframe, mentally willing away the vertigo that threatened to overcome her. She focused her gaze on staring at her father for the first time. She had only ever seen him before in photos.

“Don’t be rude," said the wannabe pirate. His accent was the same as Alessa’s father, but thicker, his voice more gruff and insistent. “Invite us in, lass.”

“Um... come in,” Alessa offered, stepping aside.

The two men walked into the foyer. Alessa’s father shifted from foot to foot as he looked around the room.

The man with the eye patch shook his head back and forth, impatiently. “I’ll do the proper introductions then.” He clapped Alessa’s father on the shoulder. “This is Sean, your da. And I’m your Uncle Fergus. There, all done. Now offer us a cup of tea or a bit of whiskey.”

“I don’t have tea,” Alessa mumbled, caught up in a conversation that felt like a boulder rolling down a hill. “And no whiskey either.”

The man who was her uncle grumbled something under his breath and huffed, disgusted.

“Now, Fergus, don’t be a bad guest,” Sean said, a hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

Alessa stared at Sean, attempting to take him in. This man was her father, someone who had disappeared shortly after her birth. Her mother always explained that he had left because she had told him to, that she had not wanted him to be a part of her daughter’s life. Reina had described him as irresponsible and even a little dangerous, a man incapable of properly raising a child.

Alessa didn’t see any of that. Instead, she saw a man who looked as awkward about this meeting as she felt. She couldn’t help but feel a certain kind of joy at his arrival.

Alessa led the two men out of the foyer and into the living room. Nervous, she tried to be a good host. “Would you like some coffee?” It was the only drink Reina always had in the house.

Fergus grunted and nodded tersely.

“That would be nice,” Sean answered, his face almost lighting up.

Alessa turned around and promptly bumped her shin against the coffee table, the one she kept begging her mother to get rid of. “Ow...” she mumbled as the house around her began to melt, turning gray. She slid to the floor, a wave of darkness crashing over her.

Chapter Six

It was night. Alessa stood in an alley behind a row of houses. The smell of rotten food assaulted her nostrils as she recognized the shapes of dumpsters shoved against a fence. But there was another scent underneath that odor, not only of food rot but also of decay, like something dying.

She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes, waiting for her sight to adjust to the dark.

Not too far away, Alessa saw a street lamp casting a dim yellow glow across the pavement. A cold wind blew in from her left, chilling her and causing her to wrap her arms around herself. She walked toward the light; the blue house it illuminated came into view.

Alessa knew this house. This was Tara’s home.

Unlike before, Alessa recognized that she was in a dream. It didn’t quite feel the same, though: there was something cloudy and dim about it as if she was seeing it underwater.

“Silas?” she called out, wondering if he would show up again.

There was no answer to her call.

She slowly walked to the blue house, as quiet as the night around her. As she reached the back door, she stopped, seeing a figure there, a thing in a black cloak and hood. Alessa ducked behind a bush and watched.

The shape turned its head in her direction, looking up at the starless sky. Underneath its hood was a skeletal face with bright red eyes.

The smell of decay grew stronger, and Alessa struggled not to gag.

The cloaked creature spoke words, but they were in a language that Alessa did not understand.

The back door to Tara’s house opened, allowing the shadowy thing to enter.

Alessa suddenly understood that this was no mere dream. This was a dream that was also a memory. To test her theory, she bravely stepped out of her hiding place and called out. “Hello?”

There was no answer.

She took several steps forward.

The cloaked shape did not, no... Alessa corrected that thought... could not... see or hear her. She was an invisible spectator in its world.

She followed it into the house, knowing instinctively that this was Tara’s murderer. She knew she should be terrified, but she felt an urgent need to watch this dream to its completion. This was the truth, something hidden from her.

Alessa followed the figure as it floated through the house like an apparition. It moved silently through the kitchen, the living room, and then up the stairs. Alessa watched as the shape pushed Tara’s bedroom door open. Alessa could see the bed where Tara was sleeping. But as the cloaked man (it was a man, Alessa now knew) entered the room, Tara’s eyes shot open and she jumped out of bed, sheets and blankets falling away from her body.

Tara saw the man approaching her and opened her mouth to scream.

The cloaked man raised his hand and moved it in a circular motion.

Tara’s screams turned silent. Her mouth remained open, but no sound came from her throat.

It hurt to see the fear on Tara’s face, but Alessa could not look away, even as something inside of her begged her to wake up, to snap out of it. Instead, Alessa remained frozen where she was, a witness to what would become a brutal scene.

The figure spoke again, his low voice echoing down the hallways. This time it spoke English, but its accent was strange, unrecognizable. “Where is it? Where is the cauldron?” It raised its hand higher.

Tara’s body rose, her toenails scraping against the hardwood floor beneath her.

“Cauldron?” Tara asked, her voice returning, but strained as if she was struggling to breathe.

“Don’t toy with me,” the man said, his voice reverberating around the room. “You, and the others, you hid the cauldron. Now tell me where it is!”

Tara reached into her pajama pocket and pulled out an unwrapped candy. She quickly popped it into her mouth and set her jaw, clenching her mouth shut. Waves of energy began to roll off her like lightning, forming tiny bolts that struck her assailant.

The cloaked man stumbled, but his hand never wavered. He squeezed his palm into a fist as if wrapping it around Tara’s throat.

Tara began to kick her feet underneath her.

The cloaked figure tightened his grip.

Her struggling stopped, and her body became limp.

Alessa knew then that Tara was dead. This was how she died.

The dark man released Tara from his grip, letting her body fall to the floor with a sharp thud. He was done.

Finally, it became too much for Alessa. She screamed, closed her eyes, and wished herself home.

But when she opened her eyes, she was standing on top of a green hill. A short stone pillar stood nearby. Alessa reached out to touch it, but when she did, it burned her hand.

Alessa backed away, her palm burning.

A tall man with dark hair and eyes appeared before her, dressed in the kind of clothes she'd only ever seen in fantasy movies. “Only our kind may rule this earth," he said.

This was the hooded figure that had killed Tara. He seemed more human now, but a dark energy seemed to envelop him. It made the hair on Alessa’s arms stand on end.

The man raised his arm and pointed at Alessa.

She felt the electricity in the air intensify as her body started to tremble.

“Wake up!” Alessa screamed at herself, clenching her eyes shut again, imagining her house in Ashmill.

The world drifted around her in a hazy fog that rolled in and then settled. Alessa stood on the edge of a tall cliff. Below it, blue water lapped the rocky shore. She barely had time to register the scenery before a hand pushed her over. She fell...

And landed on her feet at the edge of a tunnel. The path ahead was mostly dark, but at its end was a tiny dot of light. The way out.

Silas stood beside Alessa, his hand gently placed on her shoulder. “Go,” he whispered, gently pushing her forward.

Alessa stumbled through the tunnel and into the light.

ALESSA’S EYES FLUTTERED open as they were filled with light. Her body felt strange, as if she had been floating in water and then suddenly was not. Every limb felt held down by weights that were too heavy to move. She felt the cold and unyielding hardwood floor beneath her aching back. She groaned.

Reina stood over her daughter, but as soon as she noticed Alessa waking up, she fell to her knees and whispered, “Oh, thank Cair.”

The hinges of Alessa’s mouth slowly opened, allowing her to speak. Her voice sounded ragged, out of breath. “What happened?” she asked.

“You disappeared, that’s wha’ happened!” Fergus interjected as he moved to stand beside Reina. Sean moved in closer, too, just behind his brother.

Alessa blinked, thinking she had misunderstood.

Reina looked up at Fergus and Sean, her gaze accusatory. “What did you do?”

Sean shook his head. “I didna’ do nothin’, I swear. The girl just fainted dead away.” He gritted his teeth.

“And disappeared,” Fergus added.

“And disappeared,” Sean repeated.

“She what?” Reina demanded to know.

Alessa propped herself up on her elbows and used the momentum to bring herself to a more upright position. “Cauldron,” she said, mulling over everything she had just seen.

“What did ‘ya say, child?” Fergus asked.

Alessa lifted her hands and ran her palms down the length of her face.

The only sound that followed was that of the wooden floor tiles creaking beneath her.

“I said ‘cauldron,’” Alessa repeated as she held a hand out to her mother.

Reina took her daughter’s hand and helped Alessa to her feet. “What about the cauldron?” Reina asked.

Alessa noted that her mother said “the” cauldron and not “what” cauldron. But Alessa still couldn’t bring herself to believe that what she had seen was real. “Oh, nothing.” Alessa pulled her hand away from her mother’s. “I just had a weird dream.”

“A dream?” Fergus raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at Reina. “What kind of dream?”

Alessa shook her head, trying not to appear as shaken as she felt. She knew it wasn’t a dream, so why did she call it that?

“You haven’t told her have ‘ya?” Fergus asked as he tapped one foot impatiently, still staring at Reina.

Reina squinted as if preparing for a blow. It made the creases around her eyes seem more pronounced.

“She’s a Dreamer,” Sean said, flatly.

“No,” Reina whispered.

Fergus replied, "Fine, I'll tell her."He turned his attention to Alessa. “Magic is real. ‘Yer a Dreamer. You just went on a Dream Walk. Any questions?”

Although his words barely made sense, Alessa felt as if the pieces of that puzzle she’d thought of earlier had fallen into place. Hadn’t Silas told her the same thing?

“Fergus!” Sean exclaimed, patting his brother on the back. “Don’t you think she needs a better explanation than that?”

“No,” Reina said as she inserted herself between the two men and shoved Fergus away. “I’ve spent my whole life protecting her from this. I am not about to allow you to come into my house and ruin that.”

“It’s too late, you stupid, ignorant woman,” Fergus grumbled. “It’s too late, and ‘ya know it. She is what she is. And the only way you can protect her now is by tellin’ her the truth.”

Reina stared at him, and, for a moment, her hands balled into fists.

Alessa was sure her mother was about to hit her uncle.

But then Reina’s head fell forward, her hair tumbling into her face, her fingers uncurled. She remained still for several seconds. Then she shrugged and walked away, entering the living room. She slumped down on the sofa.

Sean and Fergus followed her, taking seats nearby. Everyone looked at Alessa.

Alessa took a deep breath, enjoying the last bit of ordinary life as she knew it. Everything was about to change, and possibly not for the better. Hesitantly, she walked into the living room and sat on the sofa beside her mother.

“No sense tiptoin’ around it,” Fergus announced, leaning forward in Alessa’s direction. “You’ve had dreams, haven’t ‘ya?”

Reina stared at her daughter, waiting for an answer.

Alessa looked down at her hands, which lay in her lap, demonstrating a calmness she did not feel.

“Have you?” Reina asked, her voice low, yet tinged with a hint of panic.

Alessa allowed the question to settle in the air before answering. “Yes, I’m having dreams. Dreams that feel real.”

“That’s because they are real,” Fergus said. “Those dreams are part of yer magic.”

Alessa nodded and finally looked up at her uncle, who now seemed a little less crazy than before. “The Dreaming,” she whispered.

Fergus lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, the Dreaming. And you were just there, weren’t ‘ya?”

Alessa nodded, her head heavy as ever. But then she remembered something her uncle had said earlier, something concerning. “You said I... I... disappeared?”

Fergus waved his hand at her dismissively. “Yes, yes. We’ll get to that. Now tell me, what did ‘ya see in the Dreaming?”

Alessa hesitated, not wanting to bring up the dream - no, the memory - that she had witnessed. But she felt that she was about to finally get answers, so she forced herself to recall it. “I saw a man... well, something like a man, but also like a monster. He wore a hooded cloak. I watched him kill Tara.”

Reina caught her breath audibly.

“Go on, child, tell us everything,” Fergus encouraged. He reached out and awkwardly touched Alessa’s shoulder, with something akin to a smile playing around his lips.

Alessa recounted her experience, down to every last gory detail. As she spoke, she looked over her uncle’s head, attempting to pull herself emotionally away from what she had seen. But by the time she got to the end of her story, she was crying.

Reina, still seated beside her daughter, began to sob.

No one said anything for several moments. All Alessa could hear was the sound of her mother crying and the ticking of a clock hanging on the wall. She thought about Silas and realized that she hadn’t yet mentioned him. For some reason, Alessa decided at that moment that Silas would remain a secret.

Her father’s voice broke the silence filling the room. “When did this start?” he asked.

“A few days ago,” Alessa answered. “When I had my accident at school. A door hit me in the nose and knocked me out. And then I saw darkness and something was chasing me. It was escaping. It escaped. Then I had other dreams...” her voice trailed off.

“Dagda,” Fergus growled.

“Dagda?” Alessa asked.

“He’s the man you saw, the monster,” Sean explained.”The man who killed Tara. We thought that he was in the Dreaming, but well... I think he escaped when you made contact.”

Alessa’s eyes widened as fear rose inside her, like bile forming in her throat. “What? Are you saying I let him out? I let him kill Tara?” She stood up, banging one foot against the floor.

“No, no... honey... no...” Reina grabbed her daughter’s hand and gently pulled her back to sit on the sofa. She wrapped her daughter in one arm, in an attempt to comfort her. She also cast a fierce warning glance at Sean.

“No,” Sean quickly amended. “He just found a way out. Through you. It’s not your fault.”

Alessa didn’t feel any better, though. “Why did he kill Tara?” she asked. “What is the cauldron? Are we in danger? I disappeared?” The questions began to burst out of her mouth as if of their own will.

“Well, that’s a long story, but it starts at the beginning,” Fergus stated as he rubbed his hands together. “In the beginning, there were the First People ...”

Reina interrupted. “You’re going to tell her the whole story? Do we have time for one of your stories?” She sighed and reached up to smooth Alessa’s hair with her free hand.

When Alessa looked up, she realized her mother had stopped crying, and a smile was now playing across her lips.

Sean laughed.

Fergus scowled at them, but continued,” As I said,” he raised his voice. “In the beginning, there were the First People. Of course, they probably weren’t even people at all. They were more like gods.”

Alessa leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her chin resting in her hands. She gave her uncle her full and undivided attention.

Chapter Seven

Fergus’ voice filled the room as he spoke. “There were four First People. And as gods, they had magic. And with magic, they created everything.”

Sean leaned back where he sat and stared at the ceiling. He had heard this story many times before.

Alessa, though, found herself fascinated as she visualized the world her uncle painted with his words.

“Before too long, though, other people turned up: people who did not have magic,” Fergus continued, his tone becoming low, serious. “But the First People were wise and generous: they shared their magic with the Mundanes - that’s what we call people who don’t Dream - by lying with them.”

“Sex,” Reina interrupted, shaking her head. “He means they had intercourse with Mundanes.”

Alessa’s eyes widened as she stared at her mother, shaking her head. They had long since had “the talk,” but it was still awkward when her mother brought it up.

“Aye, sex,” Fergus cut in, his one good eye narrowing at Reina. He reached up and tugged on his eye patch. “The First People had sex with those few of the Mundanes they chose to share their gifts with. And that created the Dreamers, the Children of Magic.”

“That’s what we are, right?” Alessa asked.

Fergus nodded. “Yes, child. But that still left many Mundanes without magic. And it was they who feared the First People and their children. They convinced themselves that magic was unnatural and that the world should be rid of it. They started a war, a war they eventually won, and many Dreamers died during those long years. But the First People were immortal: they could not die. Instead, the Mundanes captured the remaining Dreamers and forced them to use their magic to trap the First People in the Otherworld, a place deep inside the Dreaming. To keep them there, they used four enchanted treasures, one to represent each of the First People. These treasures would lock them in the Otherworld forever.

“But legend has it that if someone brings all four treasures together, the doors to the Otherworld will open and bring the First People back to the world. And if that happens, they will reign destruction on the Mundanes.”

Alessa stared at her uncle, slack-jawed. The story entranced her. But she still didn’t see how it was relevant to her, at least until a realization dawned on her. “The man who killed Tara?” she asked. “Is he one of the First People?”

Sean and Reina turned toward their daughter. Their faces were solemn.

Fergus nodded, “ He is Dagda.”

The name fell into the room like a stone sinking into deep water.

“But how did he escape from the Dreaming?” Alessa asked, remembering what her father had said earlier, that somehow it had something to do with her and her dreams.

Fergus opened his mouth as if to say something, but Reina spoke first. “That’s a long story for another day. But it’s not really him, at least not his physical form. He is a shadow, a representation of the Dagda that remains trapped in the Otherworld.”

Alessa did not understand and felt that, again, there was something her mother wasn’t telling her. And at this point, what more could there be? Alessa pushed those thoughts aside until later. For now, she would ask whatever questions she had and hope she would find answers. “The cauldron,” she said, “is that one of the treasures?”

“Yes,” Fergus answered. “A being like him, a being banished to the Dreaming, needs something present here in the physical world, something he has ties to. It is the cauldron that will help Dagda become more fully realized here...in our realm of existence. And that’s why he killed Tara.”

But for Alessa, that left another question hanging in the air. “So, where is the cauldron?”

It was Sean who spoke up. “That isn’t necessarily your concern.”

And just like that, Alessa was shut out, the adults in the room having decided that she was still not capable of handling the complete truth. For now, she had to accept that, but she continued to wonder just how much she didn’t know. But there was one more question, so she asked it. “So back to how you said I disappeared?” she asked. “When I had that last dream?”

Fergus clapped his hands together. “That’s what happens when you Dream Walk. And honestly, I’m impressed that someone with no training like you could do that. You can physically will yourself into the Dreaming. You can walk around there, poking about in other people’s dreams and memories and what have ‘ya. It’s quite a feat, believe me.” A wide smile broke apart his face as if he were beaming with pride.

Alessa was about to ask more, but Reina stood up and said, “I’ve got to help make arrangements for the wake.” She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, squeezing it before she walked away.

Fergus stepped in front of Reina. “We should have a proper Awakening immediately. And then training.”

Alessa looked first at her mother and then at her uncle. “Awakening?”

Fergus nodded. “The sooner, the better.”

Alessa still did not understand.

Fergus stared at Alessa and grunted impatiently. “An Awakening. Call it a party for magic users. You’ll have your powers completely released, and then you’ll be ready to start using them properly. You’ve already done the near-impossible by getting inside Dagda’s memories, but that also makes you open to him. He’s a shadow, yes, but he’s a powerful one, more powerful than any of us, even in our corporeal forms.” He gestured to Reina and Sean.

“Do we have to talk about this now?” Reina asked, gritting her teeth as she stood up and faced Fergus.

“Would you like to put it off until we have to put the girl in a coffin?” Fergus snapped.

“Fergus!” Sean exclaimed and nudged his brother.

Fergus shrugged and grabbed Reina’s arm. “You know I’m a realist, Reina, so you also know that I’m right. It’s time Alessa finds her magic and learns what she can do. This girl needs to learn how to protect herself.”

Reina pulled her arm away.

Alessa grew angry as everyone around her discussed her future without her input. “I’m right here!” she shouted, stomping her foot and leaning forward to put herself between her uncle and her mother.

Fergus stared at Alessa with his good eye and raised an eyebrow above it. “Well?”

Alessa, feeling the heat of her anger dissipate as fast as it had appeared, knew what she had to do. “I want to do this Awakening thing. I want to learn about my magic. Will you teach me?”

Reina sighed and muttered an unintelligible curse word under her breath.

“Of course, girl,” Fergus replied, his scowl turning into a smile. “That’s why I’m here. And I think we should do it right after the wake.”

Reina narrowed her eyes at Fergus. “No, we won’t.”

Fergus shook his head. “Yes, we will. I can’t imagine a better time. Most of the magic users here in Ashmill will be there, won’t they?”

Reina looked down submissively. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Then that’s settled,” he said, having the final word.

Alessa was about to ask other questions, but her mother’s defeated expression stopped her.

"I have to go," Reina said before she stood up and walked back into the foyer and out the front door, letting it slam behind her.

Chapter Eight

The rest of the day was a blur. Alessa, Sean, and Uncle Fergus enjoyed pizza while Reina popped in and out while making preparations for the wake and the funeral. Alessa tried to ask her about the police investigation surrounding Tara’s murder, mostly out of curiosity, but all she discovered was that officers had deemed Tara’s death an accident. Alessa’s family seemed to believe that this was for the best.

Alessa began to understand that being a Dreamer in a family of Dreamers meant embracing lies. But lying wasn’t an art that Alessa had ever appreciated, especially having been raised to always tell the truth. Now, Alessa had to accept that most of her life was based on deceit. And that she, too, would soon have to learn how to lie because the world would never accept her for who she was and what she could do.

When Alessa went to bed that evening, she tried to Dream, seeking out Silas within her mind. Instead, she fell into a restless sleep, tossing and turning as her thoughts ran in circles.

At some point during the night, though, she managed to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep and didn’t rouse until well after noon.

The next day was also hazy. Alessa barely registered the world around her as she went through the motions of taking a shower and getting dressed. She put on the only black dress she owned, a simple tank dress with spaghetti straps, pairing it with a black cardigan and scarf. Alessa pulled her long hair back into a low ponytail. As she stared at herself in her antique mirror, a gift from her mother, Alessa almost didn’t recognize the girl staring back.

At some point, Alessa’s mother called for her, but later, she couldn’t even remember getting into her mother’s car to ride to Tara’s house with her uncle and father.

Alessa’s mind didn’t seem to clear until they arrived at what was once Tara’s house. As Alessa had never been exposed to death in her small world before, Fergus had already explained that wakes were never meant to be sad affairs. Their purpose was to be joyful, a celebration of life. Although tears were acceptable, so was laughter, as attendees shared amusing anecdotes about the deceased, remembering the good times over the bad. There would also be a great deal of eating, drinking, and dancing.

As they walked to the front door, Fergus explained that their family had always preferred wakes to traditional funerals in “depressing funeral homes.” A proper wake always took place at the loved one’s home, their body laid out in a casket somewhere nearby, so that they, too, could participate in the festivities and take that joy with them into the next life.

However, Alessa was still not sure what to expect when she walked through the house’s front door. As she entered, though, she was met with boisterous music, people loudly laughing and cheering, many holding glasses of alcoholic beverages. Various spreads of food were laid out all over the living room, including trays of meat, cheese, crackers, and fruit.

A man and woman that Alessa did not recognize approached them, holding out glasses of dark ale to greet them. Fergus took two glasses, handing one to Alessa. Alessa raised an eyebrow and took a side glance at her mother. She had only ever tasted champagne before, once at a wedding, but she wouldn’t drink the substance without her mother’s approval. She was, after all, still a minor.

Reina glared at Fergus as Sean handed her a similarly-filled glass, but then she nodded in Alessa’s direction. “Not too much,” she whispered as she brought her glass to her lips and took a long draught of the dark liquid.

Alessa sniffed at the glass, the heady odor filling her lungs. She hesitantly took a sip and then wrinkled her nose at the bitter taste. She handed the glass back to her uncle. “I’m good, thanks.”

Fergus took the glass back and laughed, shaking his head. “Are you sure she’s related to us, Sean?” he asked of his brother, clapping him on the back as he took a sip from that glass and then another from the other one he’d already been holding.

Sean shook his head, laughing. “Yeah, pretty sure,” he said as he winked at Alessa and took a position between his daughter and Reina, holding his arms out to them.

As Reina and Alessa looped their arms around Sean’s, he escorted them further into the room.

The wake was unlike anything Alessa had ever seen. Scores of Tara’s friends and family filled the house, crowding the main living area and spilling out into other rooms. Although a tinge of sadness hung over the air, most were celebrating. Alessa caught snippets of conversation and laughter. Even her mother’s mood seemed lightened, although tears still stood in Reina’s eyes.

Alessa saw many familiar faces in the crowd. Her grandparents stood in a corner, wine glasses in hand, smiling and laughing with Devin and Tyler’s parents, the Winters. Devin and Tyler were in the opposite corner, each holding a pint of beer in their hands, although they, too, were technically too young to drink the substance contained within the glasses. It seemed that rules could be broken for certain events, a nugget of new knowledge that Alessa filed away in her mind later for future reference. However, she had no intention of ever drinking the putrid substance again. However, she had no intention of ever drinking the putrid substance again.

Reina peeled herself away from Sean to speak with some of the other people present at the wake. Sean guided Alessa through the room and introduced her to those she didn’t know, which seemed odd, considering that Sean had been gone from Ashmill for so long. However, everyone he approached greeted him with a handshake, a hug, or a clap on the back. Sean, was, apparently, a popular man, even after his long absence.

Alessa couldn’t help but think that she was nothing like her father, at least in that respect. She nodded and smiled where appropriate, trying to avoid the far end of the room, where Tara lay in her coffin, seemingly at peace on her padded bed of white satin. There was a line of people approaching the coffin: each raised a glass to the dead woman, saying their goodbyes in the only way they knew how.

Hours passed like this, but as the day dragged into the night, the crowd began to dwindle. Eventually, all that was left was Tara’s parents, Alessa’s grandparents, the Winters, and Sean, Fergus, Reina, and Alessa.

That’s when Alessa realized that almost everyone’s attention was focused solely on her.

Someone had turned the music off. Silence settled in the room. Fergus cleared his throat and began to speak. “As you all may know,” he said as he held out his hand to Alessa. “Alessa’s time of Awakening has come.”

Alessa walked to her uncle and took his hand, standing at his side. A strange energy began to buzz inside her, almost as if her body were full of bees. Strange that she would think that. There was also a crackling of electricity in the air, the kind that made every hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

The others gathered in a circle around Fergus and Alessa.

Fergus continued to speak. “You stand here to help usher Alessa into wakefulness as she embraces her true nature as a Dreamer.” He squeezed Alessa’s hand.

The circle tightened around her as everyone held hands.

The buzzing inside Alessa grew louder, but it also became visible as if Alessa could reach out and touch the sound.

Alessa’s grandmother began to sing:

"On Carrigdhoun the heath is brown.

The sky is dark over Ardnalee,

And many's the stream comes rushing down

To swell the angry Owen na Buidhe.”

As her grandmother’s soft voice filled the air around the group, colors began to dance above her head.

Alessa’s grandfather broke ranks and raised his hand, conjuring a fiddle from thin air. He rested the instrument on his shoulder, tucked it underneath his chin, and began to play a soulful melody under the sung lyrics, adding harmony to the sound.

Alessa’s ears were full of music, and although she did not understand why, she smiled as she felt herself swaying back and forth, keeping time with its rhythm.

After Alessa’s grandparents finished the song, even after her grandfather placed the fiddle at his feet, the music continued, the pace quickening as invisible drums joined the cascade of sound. Fergus released Alessa’s hand and began to dance, his hands motionless at his sides, but his feet nimble and quick as he jumped into the air to the rhythmic cadence.

Alessa’s head felt heavy, full of colors and sounds, but somehow she managed to take a look around the room. She noticed that everyone in the circle was doing something specific, and somehow, she understood that this was how they channeled their magic

Tyler’s head was down, her long hair floating around her head and eyes. She stared at the blue strands as they danced around her face in time with the music. Beside her, Devin pulled on a thin chain that hung around his neck, revealing a silver pendant shaped like a lion. He pulled the chain taut and stared at the pendant, his focus only on it. Their parents embraced and began a slow dance, their feet shuffling quietly back and forth.

Tara’s parents lifted their palms above their heads, waving their fingers as if they were moving through water.

Reina’s eyes filled with tears as her emotions became visible tendrils, wrapping themselves around her. Beside her, Sean closed his eyes and hummed.

The music continued to grow louder, and a strange voice began singing in a language that Alessa didn’t understand. The sound was hypnotic, she thought, as she swayed in time with it.

Fergus held out a hand to Alessa. “Your tell, what is it, girl?” he asked, slightly out of breath as he continued to dance.

Alessa shook her head. Tell? What was that?

Fergus leapt into the air as part of his dance and then took a deep breath, winded. “he thing you do or the thing that happens before you Dream! What is it? You already know, deep down, you know what it is!” he exclaimed.

Alessa took another look around the room as balls of color danced in front of her eyes. She opened her mouth to question her uncle, but closed it again, accidentally biting down on her lip hard. She tasted blood on her tongue. The balls of color exploded, and she finally understood.

Pain. Pain was her... what had her uncle called it? Tell. Pain was her tell.

Alessa bit her lip again, more intentionally and harder.

The world around her changed. The room began to spin, faster and faster as if she were suddenly on a merry-go-round that couldn’t stop. Everything rushed at her: color, energy, and power. Something surged through her body like an electric current, over and over. It wouldn’t slow down, and everything kept swelling and spinning, and Alessa’s head felt dizzy.

She fell to her knees, her abdomen wrenching. She leaned over and puked on the floor, the contents of her stomach emerging in vibrant colors: blue, purple, and pink.

The music reached a crescendo as if amplified, and then suddenly, it stopped. Quiet descended on Alessa as the world slowly stopped spinning. However, she dug her fists into the floor as if she were afraid she might fall off the Earth itself.

After a few minutes, the feeling faded. Alessa, through her daze, noticed that everyone’s faces were standing over her, all smiles and expectations.

Tyler was the first to approach Alessa, offering her a hand.

Alessa took it and allowed her new friend to help her to her feet.

“Trippy, huh?” Tyler asked as she let go of Alessa’s hand, her blue hair still dancing around her face.

Alessa couldn’t find words but somehow managed to nod slowly. She now understood what Fergus had meant about “Awakening,” because she felt as if she had been asleep and was just now waking up to a world that was suddenly alive in an entirely new way.

This was magic. And it was beautiful.

But it was also a tiny bit terrifying.

Chapter Nine

Alessa slept well that night, dreamless again, but she woke up with a sense of newness that permeated the core of her being. She was a different person now, changed in a single evening.

When Alessa woke up, she squinted as sunlight streamed through her window, dust motes dancing around each ray. She heard the sounds of life all around her: birds sang outside her window, the voices of her family carried from downstairs. As she sat up and put her bare feet on the floor, she felt small vibrations beneath her soles.

She thought for a second about the word “family.” That, too, had changed. For so long, it had just been Alessa and her mother. But now, she had Uncle Fergus and a father, and Alessa wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. But wasn't it kind of nice?

She padded her way downstairs and into the kitchen. The three adults were gathered around the table, drinking coffee and laughing. She briefly wondered how long this would last. Would Uncle Fergus and her father stick around? She hoped they would, realizing that this was something she’d been missing, even though she hadn’t realized it.

Reina took a sip from her coffee mug and looked up as her daughter entered the room. “Honey,” she said. “I washed your dress so you can wear it to the funeral today. It’s hanging up in the laundry room.” She took another swig of coffee and stood up, walking over to the sink to place the cup inside it. “We should probably start getting ready.”

The two men also stood up and exited the room without a word.

They weren’t going to talk about magic or Alessa’s awakening or anything else until Tara was buried in the ground. Alessa sort of understood, but at the same time, she was bursting with questions. Somehow, though, she restrained herself and used the excuse of fetching her dress and getting ready for the funeral. This kept her busy so she wouldn’t have to think too much about it. But nothing was normal anymore. And it was nearly impossible to do normal things like getting dressed without thinking about it.

Alessa remained quiet in the car on the way to the cemetery. She and her family stood on damp grass for the ceremony and listened to a minister talk about how death was an act of moving on. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The funeral was short and ended quickly, with everyone who had gathered together eventually wandering off to their separate lives, as if Alessa wasn’t a completely different person, changed in a significant way.

Mae, though, stayed behind long enough to hug Alessa and whisper in her ear, “Call me.” Then she, too, walked away, unaware that anything had changed.

Alessa’s grandparents also stayed behind, but when they approached Reina, who still stood graveside, she waved them off just like she would have done before the wake, before the Awakening. Alessa’s grandmother frowned and tugged at her husband's coat sleeve. Taking the hint, he escorted himself and his wife away from the newly dug grave, the coffin suspended above it.

Alessa placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder.

“Well, that’s that,” Fergus mumbled and rubbed his hands together as if they were dirty.

Sean glanced sideways at his brother and shook his head. But he said nothing.

Reina sighed and, together, the family made their way back to the car.

THE RIDE BACK TO THE house was a quiet one, but after Alessa asked about returning to school the next day, there was a great deal of argument. Although Fergus insisted that her training should start immediately, Reina made it clear that her daughter should still maintain as normal a life as possible.

“If she wants to go to school, I will encourage her to go!” Reina yelled at Fergus.

“It could be dangerous,” Sean said. “She’s been inside Dagda’s thoughts. We need to keep her close.”

Fergus nodded emphatically. “And she needs to devote her time to training.”

Reina clenched her fists as her face turned red. “My daughter will have a normal life. You will not take that away from her,” she continued.

Oddly enough, Alessa didn’t seem to have a say, but she agreed with her mother. And in the end, Sean and Fergus conceded.

However, now that Alessa sat in the Ashmill High School cafeteria, she realized that she wasn’t even sure what normal was anymore. Her mind was a million miles away as she listlessly brought a fork of something that resembled mashed potatoes to her mouth.

There was so much to think about: magic, Dagda, all the lies. But her mind kept returning to a single ray of light: Silas. Every detail about him was permanently etched in her brain: the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, his dark eyes, his laughter, the way he carried himself proudly, despite his predicament.

Alessa was already trying to figure out how to bring Silas out of her dreams and into her reality. But until she figured it out for sure, she would withhold the truth of his existence. Her family had their secrets, but Silas was hers.

“Hey, you,” Mae said as she slid into a chair across from Alessa, placing her lunch tray on the table. “Daydreaming again, huh?”

Alessa blinked and stared at Mae. Even she seemed different now. Alessa felt like an outsider, someone with a life that no one could understand, especially her best friend, who was blissfully ignorant of things like magic and evil beings from the Dreaming. But this was Mae, the only person in her life that she felt was genuine. So Alessa forced a smile and attempted to push her thoughts away.

“Yeah, you know me,” Alessa answered. “Always with my head in the clouds.”

“Well, I”m glad you’re okay,” Mae responded as she pushed food around her plate, staring at it with disgust. She mumbled something about wishing it was pizza day before looking at her friend. “That whole thing with Tara. It’s so sad.”

Alessa nodded. “Yeah,” she said, staring at her own mediocre plate of what the school referred to as food.

When she looked up, Tyler was standing at the end of the table, chewing on a granola bar. “Hey, ‘Lessa, what’s up?” She put her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Everything okay?” She looked at Mae, almost knowingly, and frowned.

Alessa merely nodded.

“So... can I have a moment of your time?” Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow. “I need to talk to you, like now.”

Mae stared at Alessa, questioningly.

Alessa shrugged. “Sure.”

Tyler turned her attention to Mae. “Sorry, but it’s sort of private.”

Mae’s face continued to express confusion. She looked at Alessa and shook her head before answering Tyler. “Sure...” She faked a laugh and took one more poke at her tray of food with her fork. “I’ll just go dump this before I eat it and die of food poisoning.” She stood up, grabbed her tray, and said to Alessa, “See ‘ya later.” Then she walked away.

Alessa bit her lip as guilt began to eat away at her.

Tyler watched Mae walk away, then sat down across from Alessa. She looked around conspiratorially and dropped her voice to a whisper before addressing Alessa. “So, how does it feel?”

“Um...” Alessa wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. “Different,” is all she could come up with.

Tyler seemed excited about the conversation, though. “So have you figured out what kind of Dreamer you are yet? I bet you’re a Seeker, aren’t you? Like I bet you can find all kinds of stuff in the Dreaming.” The pitch of her voice rose as she smiled widely, her eyes bright.

“Um... there are kinds?” Alessa asked as she furrowed her brows together. There was still, obviously, so much she didn’t know.

“Oh, maybe you haven’t found out yet,” Tyler shrugged and leaned forward. “We’re Changers, the Winters, well, all of us except for Devin. He’s a Ruler.” She rolled her eyes. “Fits his big ego.” She laughed.

“What’s a Changer?” Alessa asked.

“Oh, we can do illusions and stuff,” Tyler whispered as she reached up and pulled a blue strand of hair in front of her face. Focusing on that piece of hair, she held out her hands and showed Alessa her palms. Her eyes focused on her hair as a tiny orange fire formed in her grasp, which she cupped so that only Alessa and she could see.

Alessa leaned back, her chair scooting audibly against the floor.

Tyler closed her hands, and the fire disappeared. “Don’t freak out. It’s not real. It’s just an illusion. I mean, if I wanted to, I could make it seem so real that it could burn you, but I wouldn’t do that. At least not to you.”

Alessa stared intently at Tyler, while the world kept tilting sideways.

Tyler tucked the stray strand of blue hair behind her ear. “Anyway,” she said. “I just wanted to officially welcome you to the club.” She held out her now-empty hand.

Alessa tentatively took Tyler’s hand and shook it. “Um... Thanks.”

Tyler let go of Alessa’s hand and stood up. “I gotta’ jet. I told Dev I’d meet him in five minutes and I’m already late. And he hates that, and I’ll probably get a lecture about how I’m not just wasting his time, but mine, too.” She leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry. We’ve got your back now. You’re one of us.” She winked, stood up, and then turned around and walked away.

Alessa focused on what the other girl had said, though: one of us. For the first time in Alessa’s life, she felt like she belonged to something bigger than herself.

Chapter Ten

“So, where to start?” Fergus asked as he stared at his niece and scratched his chin.

Alessa and her uncle stood in her backyard. She was dressed in her most comfortable clothes, as requested: a long sweater, leggings, and sneakers. She had one hand on her hip, wondering how this whole magic training process was supposed to work.

Sean and Reina sat on the steps of the back porch, watching. Reina chewed anxiously on her lip. It was apparent she was uncomfortable with this but also resigned that her daughter would learn magic.

The afternoon sun was bright, a rarity this time of year, although it would occasionally duck behind a cloud, darkening the sky, painting the trees and grass with shadows and light.

“Protection, I think,” Fergus spoke again, after mulling it over. He walked over to Alessa and abruptly grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Push me away,” he said.

Alessa blinked at him a few times, her eyebrows raised but she did as he asked. She placed her hands against her uncle’s chest and pushed him.

Fergus didn’t move.

“Push me,” he said again, this time raising his voice slightly. The grip on Alessa’s shoulders strengthened.

Alessa put her palms against his chest again, pushing harder.

He didn’t move.

“Push me!” Fergus yelled, his face directly in front of Alessa’s, his spittle spraying her nose, his fingers squeezing so hard into her shoulders that it hurt.

Alessa jumped, startled, but she pushed her hands into Fergus’ chest again. This time, though, it felt different. She felt something else in her hands, something that had moved through the air and into her body and against her uncle’s chest.

Fergus stumbled backwards, his grip broken. He grimaced, but then his face broke out into a devious smile, which was somehow even more frightening.

“Fergus,” Reina interrupted. “Wouldn’t it be better to explain it to her?”

Fergus scoffed. “I’ve trained Dreamers for 20 years. Don’t tell me how to do my job.”

Alessa stared down at her hands, amazed. “I did that,” she said. “I did magic,” she repeated.

“Yes, you did, girl,” Fergus replied, reaching up to muss her hair. “You’ve been doing magic all along. You just didn’t know it.”

“But how?” Alessa asked.

“Your tell,” Fergus finally explained. “Pain, even a little bit, gives your magic focus. Everyone has their own tell. Mine is dancing. Your mother’s is emotion. Your father’s is humming. That blue-haired friend of yours? Hers is the color blue. Everyone has a tell, that thing that turns the thinking about magic into the doing of magic.”

Fergus’ words made sense to Alessa. At the time of her Awakening, she had somehow subconsciously realized it. Pain. Hitting her knee, biting her lip, her uncle’s fingers digging into her shoulder. All of those things triggered her power.

“Cool,” Alessa said, her own face breaking out into a smile.

“Let’s try again, shall we?” Fergus asked, placing his hands on her shoulders again, although this time, he didn’t squeeze as hard.

Alessa took the cue and bit her tongue, not too forcefully, but hard enough. Power swelled inside of her, and she focused it on her uncle and shoved against his chest. The force of the push, her magic, blasted out of her and at her foe.

Fergus fell backwards again and stumbled to regain his footing. He laughed. “You’re a strong one, I see,” he said proudly.

“I can’t watch this,” Reina said as she stood up and shook her head. She still hadn’t come to terms with her daughter doing magic. “I just can’t.” She turned around and walked into the house.

Sean stood up and followed her.

Alessa barely noticed them leaving. “How exactly does it work?” she asked. “My magic? Can I do anything with it?” She wanted to know everything about this new gift the universe had given her. But something else, Silas, was also on her mind.

Fergus paced in front of Alessa, his arms behind his back, as he spoke. “You use your tell, in your case, that’s physical pain, and that helps you focus on tapping into the power of the Dreaming. Then you take your dream, your intent, and make it real. So if you intend, or dream, you want to push me away, the power manifests itself through your body to allow you to do that tenfold.”

Alessa nodded. “Can every Dreamer do that?”

Fergus continued his lecture. “Everyone is different, and, therefore, so is their magic. You and I have the power to manifest the Dreaming into physical strength. Others can use the Dreaming to make people bend to their will or to transport themselves from one part of the world to the next. You also have the power of Dream Seeking, though, meaning that you can send your consciousness into the Dreaming.”

Alessa nodded again, thinking about everything she had done so far. But she felt like her power extended beyond what her uncle knew. Silas had told her that she had made a world in the Dreaming, and Alessa felt like she might be able to do magic even more advanced than that.

Fergus said, "Okay, again," as he motioned for Alessa to repeat her previous actions. He put his hands on her shoulders, but not as forcefully. Now knowing how to focus her magic, Alessa bit her tongue again, just hard enough that she felt it. Something inside of her came alive, and she put everything into the push.

Fergus fell back several feet and landed on his back in a pile of leaves at the edge of the yard.

Alessa felt herself thrown in the opposite direction, also landing on her back. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire. Her mind felt blank.

“Now you see,” Fergus laughed as he picked himself up from the ground, a little breathless. “Magic has its limits. It takes stamina and endurance. And those are the things we'll work on next.”

He gestured with his hands to indicate that Alessa should stand.

She did.

Fergus tottered off behind the old shed that housed Reina’s rarely-used gardening equipment. He returned with a crude wooden dummy shaped like a person.

“Okay, here’s the real test. Now we’re going to work on your body’s strength. You also need to learn to fight without magic. You will need to be strong, girl. Dagda will come for you. But I'll make sure you’re ready.”

A chill ran up Alessa’s spine. Dagda would come for her? She felt her pulse quicken as she thought about it, terror beginning to fill her heart. But it made sense. She had been inside his head against his will. Of course, he would come after her.

Fergus lifted his leg and kicked at the wooden figure, which vibrated and then fell over from the force. “We’ll start with kicks and punches,” he announced as he bent down to pull the wooden dummy up. “Begin.” He glared at Alessa.

Alessa stared at her uncle for a moment, but then lifted her leg and attempted to mimic his kick. The wooden figure didn’t react. It was as if she was trying to kick a stone wall.

“Again,” Fergus stated.

Alessa kicked the dummy. She kicked it again and again and again. When he told her to punch it, she did. Again and again and again. Although each punch sent a shock through her fist and up her arm, the dummy remained unaffected, still standing in defiance of her physical exertion.

After an hour of attacking the dummy, Alessa sat curled on the ground, her hands and feet beaten and bruised. Every muscle in her body ached, and yet the dummy remained standing, mocking her.

“Again,” Fergus said for what felt like the millionth time.

Alessa couldn’t move. She sat in the dirt, feeling helpless and weak, like a stupid little girl who would never be strong enough.

Fergus leaned over her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to her feet.

Alessa’s feet faltered underneath her as she tried to stand. “I can’t... no more...” she whimpered, as fresh pain rolled through her.

“Then you’ll die,” Fergus said as he let go of her arm.

Alessa crumpled back to the earth, leaves crunching underneath her weight.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Fergus said. “Same time tomorrow. Be here.”

Alessa heard his footsteps as he walked away, stomping up the porch and into the house, the door slamming behind him.

“I’ll die,” she whispered, her body too exhausted to cry. She lay prone, closed her eyes, and rested.

ALESSA’S CONSCIOUSNESS floated away from her body, taking her back to the Dreaming, to the creek where she last saw Silas. There was a full moon in the sky, surrounded by a glittering bevy of stars.

Silas stood by the bank, facing Alessa, waiting for her.

Heat rose in Alessa’s cheeks. Butterflies swam in her stomach. She forced herself not to step away, choosing to stay in the moment.

A sense of reality washed over her. She now understood that this was not a mere dream, but something else, something more. This place was the Dreaming, and it was real.

“I’m glad you came back,” Silas said as he approached Alessa and stopped when he was about an arm’s length away. His movements were slow and tentative as if he were afraid she might disappear.

“I had to,” Alessa said, with an honesty that surprised her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, focusing on her thoughts. She had questions. “Who exactly are you?”

Silas smiled as he held out a hand to her.

Alessa felt no hesitation when she took his hand. The touch sent a wave of shivers up her spine.

Silas continued to smile at her as he looked down at their hands, still clasped. “You’ve been learning, haven’t you? About us. You've had your Awakening, haven't you? I thought I noticed something different about you...”

Alessa shook her head and interrupted him. “I know we’re in the Dreaming, but how? Where?”

Silas continued to smile at her as he looked down at their hands, still clasped. “You’ve been learning, haven’t you? About us? You had your Awakening? I thought I noticed something different about you...”

Alessa also looked down at their hands, the butterflies in her stomach seeming to increase with each passing minute. It made it difficult to focus, but she was here, and she was determined to learn more about him, as well as more about herself. Somehow, Alessa knew that Silas would tell her things her family would not.

“The Dreaming is the place people travel to when they dream,” Silas continued. “Well, sort of. It’s part of a much larger realm, one that’s been locked and hidden from everyone except the Children of Magic.”

Alessa looked around at the tranquil scene. She gestured with her hand, “But if everyone comes here, where are they?”

Silas laughed, the moon beaming down on him.

Alessa noted how handsome he was in the moonlight.

“This is a pocket realm within the Deep Dreaming. A pocket realm that you created. Before you came, this was nothing but darkness. But you made it real.”

Alessa nodded. Everything he said made so much more sense than anything her Uncle Fergus had taught her so far. She stared at the water rippling in the creek, the moon and stars reflecting on its surface.

Silas squeezed her hand. “This is real. I am real.”

His touch made it nearly impossible to concentrate, but Alessa tried to keep her mind in order. She had questions, and he had answers. “And you’re trapped here?” Alessa asked. “If you’re a Dreamer and this is just some pocket of the Dreaming, how did you get here in the first place?

Silas sighed and let go of her hand.

Alessa felt the chill of the night enter her fingertips, and she suddenly missed that intimacy between them.

“Because this particular pocket of the Dreaming is a prison,” he answered wistfully, staring up at the dark sky. “It was meant to be, at least. But the one imprisoned here with me escaped. And I don’t know how he did it. I’ve tried to get out, but I can’t.”

Sadness etched itself into his words, into the lines of his face.

“Dagda,” Alessa whispered, almost as if afraid to say the name aloud.

Silas looked up but didn’t seem all that surprised by Alessa’s knowledge of the First People. He nodded and then looked down at his hands, his palms raised as if searching for something within them.

“How long have you been here?” Alessa asked quietly.

Silas shook his head. “I don’t know. Minutes? Days? Years? Time doesn’t pass here the same way.”

“It’s 2023,” Alessa announced.

Silas’ eyes grew larger as his face drooped even more. “That long?” he asked. “It’s been... it’s been over 16 years.” He turned his face away, but not before Alessa saw tears pooling in his eyes.

Alessa’s brain began to turn furiously. She stood up and began to pace. “Well, if I’m a Dreamer, can I somehow help you? Help you get back? Back to the real world?”

Silas shrugged as he stared at her. A small spark of hope lit up his eyes and his half-smile. “Maybe? I don’t know how, though.”

“Well, how did you end up here in the first place?” Alessa asked as she faced him, one hand on her hip, impatiently waiting for the answer.

Silas stood up and scratched his chin. “I used powerful magic and pulled myself and Dagda through a mirror. And we landed here. I think I did something wrong. Screwed it up somehow. Because I’m still here, but he’s not.”

“No, he’s not,” Alessa admitted.

Silas crossed his arms and stared at her.

“He’s out there,” she said, gesturing wildly with one arm. “Out there in the world. Because I let him out — well, I mean, I let part of him out. I didn’t mean to, but he’s out there, and he killed my mom’s best friend.” Guilt piled like heavy rocks on her shoulders. She felt the weight of it drive her further into the ground.

Silas took a step forward and turned around to kneel at her feet, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Who are you?” he asked.

Alessa couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “I’m Alessa Grey,” she answered. She shifted slightly under his touch and looked down.

Silas dropped his hands and began to shake his head back and forth. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. You’re their daughter, aren’t you?” Silas asked, tilting his head as he leaned down to look into Alessa’s face. “You have to be. I see it now. You have Reina’s eyes... and Sean’s nose.”

Alessa blinked several times and finally looked at him. “How do you know my Mom and Dad?” she asked, incredulously.

Silas shrugged and laughed. “I knew it!" he exclaimed with triumph, one hand punching into the air. “We were friends, you know. Your mom was pregnant with you right before I ended up here.”

“Alessa!” a voice called through the Dreaming.

Silas didn’t move. He didn’t hear it.

The voice, though, was insistent, reverberating in Alessa’s mind. “Alessa!” it said again.

The world began to dim, and Alessa found herself struggling to hold onto it, to hold onto Silas. She reached out with both hands toward him as if he could somehow keep her there.

The last thing Alessa saw, though, was Silas’ sad smile. “Tell them,” he said. “Tell them about me.”

ALESSA WOKE UP ON THE living room sofa, with no indication of how she got there. However, when she opened her eyes, her mother stood over her, frowning. Between Reina’s hands, though, was a steaming cup of what smelled like hot chocolate. Fergus stood behind Reina, leaning around her so that his good eye could study Alessa.

Alessa sat up and rubbed her face.

Reina held the cup out for her daughter.

“She’s exhausted,” Reina stated.

“Of course she is,” Fergus replied, his tone surly. “She’s not sleeping.”

Alessa cleared her throat. “She,” the girl stated succinctly, “is right here.” She smacked her lips, her mouth dry. She sat up and took the cup from her mother and carefully took a sip of the hot beverage. It warmed her tongue as it slid around her mouth and down her throat. She swallowed and continued to speak. “And I am sleeping. I’m Dreaming. Like all the time.”

Fergus stepped forward. “No, Child,” he said. “You’re Dreaming. There’s a difference. And Dreaming, magic, it takes its toll. You need to sleep.”

Alessa shrugged and brought the cup up to her nose, inhaling its steam. She took another sip and swallowed it. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” she joked.

Reina sat beside her daughter and sighed. She placed a hand on Alessa’s knee. “What Fergus is trying to say is that Dreaming takes a lot out of you, and it’s not the same as sleeping. So we’re going to teach you how to turn it off, how to sleep.”

Alessa noted the “we” part of that statement. It seemed that her mother was finally getting on board with her daughter doing magic. But there was something important that had to come first. “Not yet,” Alessa said. “Later. I have something to tell you.”

Sean entered the room, cradling a steaming mug that smelled like coffee. He stood behind Fergus but said nothing.

Alessa looked at the three of them, resting her gaze on her mother. “Do you know someone named Silas?” she asked.

Reina’s eyes grew wide.

Sean slowly placed his cup on the nearest table.

“How do you know that name?” Fergus asked, seemingly the only one in the room capable of speech. But his tone was one of surprise.

Alessa, remembering Silas’ last request, continued. “I’ve been Dreaming about him,” she admitted as she looked down at her hands. She felt like she was giving up something precious. It was as if somehow sharing Silas with the world would ruin how she felt about him.

“Silas?” Reina asked. “You... saw him?”

Alessa took a moment to look at the three of them. Although she wasn’t always good at reading expressions, it was evident that Silas was important. Yes, he had been their friend. But there was something else that went beyond that.

“Well, go on,” Fergus announced impatiently. “Tell us.” He poked a finger under his eye patch and scratched there. “When did this start?”

Alessa inhaled deeply as if she could find courage in her breath. “Last week,” she said. “It started with my first Dream. He was there, but...” her voice trailed off.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Sean asked, his voice demanding an answer. He sat beside Reina, his hands shaking.

Alessa shrugged. She didn’t have an answer for that, except that she liked having Silas to herself. But now it was weird because Silas knew her parents. “So who is he to you?” she blurted out, making her own demand. She didn’t expect an answer, though, because there were still so many secrets hidden from her.

“A friend,” Sean said as he leaned back briefly. He closed his eyes. “My best friend. Our friend.” He opened his eyes and motioned between himself, Reina, and Fergus. He leaned forward. “We thought he was dead.”

“He’s alive,” Alessa stated. “He’s trapped in the Dreaming.” Her words began to rush out of her before she lost the nerve to say them. “And I want to get him out.”

Fergus shook his head adamantly. “That’s impossible.”

Alessa saw her father and mother exchange glances, also shaking their heads. The fear in their eyes, though, is what alerted Alessa that there was more.

“Why?” Alessa asked, raising her voice slightly. “Dagda got out.”

“Dagda is very powerful,” Fergus replied.

Alessa stared at the three of them as they became suspiciously quiet. “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked, her voice increasing in volume, tinged with frustration.

No one would meet her gaze.

It was too much. All the secrets, all the lies. Alessa jumped to her feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that passed over her. “You know what?” she yelled, her fists balling up at her sides. “Forget it. I don’t want to know. I’ll get him out myself!”

Reina stood up quickly. “No, you will not!” she yelled back.

Although Reina’s raised voice alarmed Alessa, the girl stood her ground. She met her mother’s gaze.

Reina looked away.

Sean took an audible breath, remaining seated. “Silas is not your friend, Alessa.”

Alessa stared at her father in disbelief. “How would you know that?” she asked.

“Because he betrayed us,” Sean answered. His voice was emotionless, but his eyes were red, swimming with tears. “Because he serves Dagda.”

Chapter Eleven

Alessa blinked. She was certain she had misheard her father. “He what?” she asked.

Sean shook his head as he bit his lip, refusing to say more.

Alessa attempted to prod him further for more information. “What do you mean he betrayed you?” She stared at her father, her eyes narrowed, scanning his face. She let her gaze slide over to her mother and then her uncle, but they, too, were silent with their eyes averted from her. It seemed secrets were continuing to pile up, including this one, which seemed relevant. There was much more to the story, but Alessa wasn’t going to learn it from her family.

She shook her head back and forth, trying to control the anger rising in her throat. She felt the need to defend Silas since he wasn’t present to defend himself. The Silas that she was familiar with, or that she thought she knew, did not line up with this version of events. This was not the person she had come to know in the Dreaming.

And hadn’t her family already proven themselves as liars?

Remembering that, Alessa decided that they were still lying to her. She would go into the Dreaming and ask Silas about it, because he had, at least, been truthful to her so far.

If anyone should feel betrayed, it was her. That’s what happens when you learn the people you trust the most have lied to you your whole life, Alessa thought.

Fergus cleared his throat and clapped his hands together to change the topic. “We need to teach you how to sleep, girl,” he said, completely ignoring the previous conversation. “How to not Dream.”

Alessa took a deep breath and swallowed hard, pushed her anger down, and did her best to keep it from simmering over.

Reina and Sean wandered out of the room, not looking at each other, not saying anything.

Meanwhile, Fergus began to lecture Alessa on how to shut down her mind and how to sleep.

Alessa barely heard him, but she somehow managed to nod in all the right places.

Fergus seemed pleased enough when he was done. “Do you get it?" he asked after explaining techniques to clear the mind at bedtime.

Alessa nodded and yawned. “Yeah,” she answered, feeling more tired than she had in her entire life. She stretched her arms out in front of her. “I think I might try it now.” She stood up, lifting her arms above her head, her body aching in places she’d never thought about before.

“That’s a good girl,” Fergus replied, standing up and coming over to her to pat her on the head.

Alessa turned her back and rolled her eyes, making sure he couldn’t see her reaction. She dragged herself away and up the stairs to her room. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and stripped out of her jeans. She fell onto her bed in nothing but her t-shirt and slept.

PERHAPS SOME OF FERGUS’ mind training had affected Alessa after all because she woke up the next morning well-rested and ready to tackle another day of weirdness.

But she missed Silas and, if given a choice, she would choose exhaustion over sleep to see him again. However, there was more: she had somehow decided that she alone would rescue Silas from the Dreaming and bring him home, back to the “real” world. She didn’t know how, but she would use her training with Uncle Fergus to figure it out.

Alessa went through the motions of getting ready for school, doing her best to avoid her family on her way out the door. But school felt wrong, too. She had changed, but nothing else had. She found herself avoiding everyone, even Mae, going so far as to duck down hallways and taking the long way around to get to classes so they wouldn’t accidentally bump into each other during the day. Alessa hid in the bathroom at lunch, unable to face anyone.

Her hiding, though, did nothing to keep Devin and Tyler from greeting her in the hallway, which probably seemed suspicious to everyone. Alessa was a known wallflower, someone no one ever noticed. And now, suddenly, the two most popular kids in school were treating her like an equal.

Study hall was particularly tricky because it was the one class that Alessa and Mae shared. So instead of waiting for Mae to arrive like she would typically do so that they could sit together, Alessa sat with Tyler and Devin, all the while trying to ignore Mae’s hurt and angry gaze from across the room. When the bell rang, Alessa ducked out as fast as she could and ran down the hallway to her next class.

Alessa was relieved when the school day ended, although guilt had also wormed its way into her heart. She dashed out of the front doors, hoping she could just run home and pretend the day had never happened.

But before Alessa could get to the bottom of the school’s front steps, a hand on her arm stopped her. Alessa turned around quickly, her hair slapping her in the face.

Mae stood behind Alessa, her mouth set in a grim line, her jaw clenched, her brown eyes squinting in the afternoon sun.

“Um... hey,” Alessa said awkwardly. “I was just... I mean, I’ve got to get home.”

Mae shook her head and continued to hold onto her friend’s arm. “Oh no,” she said. “You’re not getting away that easily. I think you owe me an explanation. What is going on with you?”

The hurt in Mae’s eyes shook Alessa to her core. But it also made her understand why she had avoided her friend: she wanted to tell Mae, her best friend, her only real friend, everything. But she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to.

“I’m sorry,” Alessa began. “It’s just well, things haven’t been good.” She refused to meet Mae’s gaze. “Since Tara’s funeral and all.”

Mae shook her head again. “No, that’s not it. Something else is going on.” She squeezed Alessa’s arm.

Alessa looked at the hand on her arm and lied, “You’re hurting me.”

Mae’s eyes widened as she bit her lip. The hand touching Alessa fell and hung limply at her side. “Sorry, it’s just...” she swallowed. “I’m worried about you. And you’re hanging out with Tyler and Devin and...” A sob caught in Mae’s throat, but she forced it down. “I’m just worried about you,” she said again.

Alessa’s heart was breaking. “I’m okay,” she said as she took Mae’s limp hand and held it, pulling her friend away from the school’s entrance and towards the sidewalk. “It’s just... well... a lot has happened.”

Mae stared at Alessa as they began walking. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Alessa thought her family would want her to lie. But seeing Mae’s pain had already sealed what she knew in her heart: she owed her friend the truth. Alessa wasn’t like her mom, her dad, or Uncle Fergus. Alessa still believed the truth meant something.

“I’m not sure you’d believe me,” Alessa responded as her mind raced. She thought about how much her family would disapprove of her current decision-making. They had never explicitly told her not to talk about magic and the Dreaming, but they had made it clear that such things should remain secret.

“Try me?” Mae asked, squeezing her friend’s hand.

Alessa pulled Mae behind a secluded tree, its large trunk hiding them from being seen by the other students walking home. She waited until the last person had walked by before speaking again. “Do you believe in magic?” she asked quietly.

Mae wrinkled her nose and stared at Alessa from behind her glasses. “Magic?” she asked. “What do you mean? Like unicorns and fairies and stuff?”

Alessa shook her head. “No, I mean magic, like something beyond our understanding of the normal world,” she attempted to explain. Alessa was trying to find words that she could use to make her friend understand, but she was doing a lousy job.

“Well, I mean, I guess I believe in something like that,” Mae shrugged. “Look at science. At astrophysics. Isn’t that all about learning more about the stuff we don’t know about? Like that?”

Alessa scrunched up the right side of her face as she searched for a way to tell her friend the truth. Words that made sense, though, wouldn’t come. Instead, she held out her hand and asked, “Can I borrow a pencil?”

Mae was perplexed but didn’t question the request. Instead, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a No. 2 pencil, its tip broken. “Sorry, I don’t have a sharpener.”

“Don’t need it,” Alessa replied as she took the pencil from Mae and held it out in front of her so they could both see it. Alessa wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but she focused every thought she had on the pencil. She used the strength that she knew she possessed inside, along with that touch of something else. She was still so inexperienced at this, though, that she stared at the pencil for what felt like an awkward amount of time.

Mae, though, remained quiet, watching intently.

Something eventually clicked inside Alessa as she focused all her thoughts on the pencil. Then she felt it, that bright beam of invisible light flowing through her. She channeled that energy into the pencil and then let go of it.

The pencil floated in the air for just a moment and then shot straight up. It hovered again and then fell back down to the earth, landing on a small pile of fallen leaves at their feet.

Mae stood dumbfounded as she watched.

Alessa let out the breath she was holding and reached down to pick up the pencil, shaking off any dirt before handing it back to her friend.

Mae took the writing utensil and stared at it. “How did you do that?" she whispered, afraid someone might overhear.

Alessa ignored the headache she felt coming on in her display’s aftermath. “Magic,” she said.

Mae shook her head. “No, really?”

Alessa nodded and smiled. “Let me tell you a story about the First People,” she began, regaling her best friend with what she had learned and what she could do. She told Mae everything about herself, her family, Devin, Tyler, Silas, and Dagda.

When Alessa finished her tale, Mae grabbed her friend with both arms, pulled her into a hug, and said, “That is like the coolest thing ever!”

ALESSA ASKED MAE TO keep her secret, and the other girl agreed that the trust between them was safe and secure. Mae was thrilled, though, at the prospect that magic was real and that her best friend could do it.

The two girls continued to walk together, the tension from earlier melting away. Alessa could almost imagine that things were normal again.

But they weren’t, and that became clear when Alessa rounded the corner and made her way to her house, where she saw Devin leaning against the fence that surrounded it, his arms casually crossed as if waiting for her.

So much for normal, Alessa thought to herself. She stopped walking and held her arm in front of Mae signaling for her friend to do the same.

Mae finally noticed Devin, too, and bit her lip. “Um... I better get home. Dad’s expecting me. We’re looking at college applications today,” she groaned, pretending as if Devin wasn’t there.

“Yeah, sure,” Alessa replied, patting Mae on the back. “I’ll see you later.” She ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched her best friend hurriedly walk away. Alessa moved closer to Devin and stopped.

Devin straightened himself and smirked. “Hey, Alessa, what’s up?” Devin asked as if they had been close friends their entire lives.

Alessa shrugged, not entirely trusting her voice to speak without shaking. Here was Devin Winter, the boy she started having a crush on two years ago, a boy who wouldn’t even talk to her until now. But here he was, standing in front of her, talking to her.

She knew why, of course. Everything had changed since Devin discovered her secret, her powers. She was like him now, and that thought made her even more nervous. She shifted from foot to foot.

Devin didn’t seem to notice Alessa’s anxiety, or maybe he just chose to ignore it. He reached up and ran a hand through his dark hair, his bright eyes focused solely on Alessa. He smiled.

His smile had the desired effect. Alessa blushed.

“So since we’re both, you know...” he began and then leaned in conspiratorially, bringing his face closer to Alessa’s. “We’re both Dreamers,” he whispered. “Well, I thought maybe we could get to know each other a little better or something. Maybe catch a movie? Grab some dinner?”

This was it. This was Alessa’s daydreams come to life. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming right now. Here he was, the most handsome guy in school, asking her out.

But something gnawed at her brain because she suddenly realized that even as handsome as Devin was, she was no longer interested. Despite her nervousness, she didn’t feel anything for him.

Devin raised an eyebrow as he waited for a response.

“Um...” Alessa surprised herself as she realized she was doing the exact opposite of what she thought she might do at this moment. And that forced her to think about why, but she knew: Silas.

Alessa had real feelings for Silas. It was more than a crush, more than what she ever felt for Devin. She was falling in love with Silas. Sure, that was a bit weird, considering she didn’t know a lot about him and had only ever seen him in her Dreams. But she couldn’t deny the way her stomach fluttered when she thought about him.

At 16 years old, Alessa had never been on a date, but she knew what - or who - she wanted. “I can’t,” Alessa finally answered, her arms stiff at her sides, feeling awkward as she forced herself to look up at Devin’s face.

Devin seemed as surprised by Alessa’s answer as she was. It was a few seconds before he spoke again. “Oh,” he finally said as he looked down, dejected. “I just thought... I thought you liked me.” He reached up and caressed the pendant that hung from his neck.

Well, that answers that question, Alessa thought. He had known all along. She felt, though, that she owed him the truth. “I did,” she said and then quickly added, “I just think that now we should just be friends.” She nearly groaned as that came out of her mouth, thinking it was the one thing that guys hated to hear more than anything else.

Devin looked at her again, his eyes blazing like icy blue fire.

There was something else in his gaze, though, something that suddenly terrified Alessa. She felt his power rolling off of him, like that quiet moment before a blizzard hits and whites out the entire world.

Alessa shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Devin spoke again. “We could accomplish so much together,” he announced. “Don’t you want to be on the right side of history when Dagda returns?”

Alessa swallowed hard as she rubbed the backs of her arms. It was one of the warmer fall days, but it suddenly felt as if the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees. She hid her fear by tilting her head and forcing herself to continue staring at Devin. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Devin’s eyes flared for a second and turned an unnatural shade of azure. He said, “You know, Dagda won’t have patience for the Children who turn their backs on him. Only his followers will survive what’s coming. I think you deserve to live, Alessa. I felt your power at the wake. I can help you reach your potential. Dagda can help you. You just have to help us find the cauldron.”

His words crawled into her head and reverberated inside her brain. Alessa found herself wanting to give Devin everything he wanted. He was so tempting, standing there, handsome in the afternoon sun, an ideal complement to herself. Wasn’t he all she’d ever wanted? Her old daydreams popped back into her head, those daydreams where she was kissing him...

Wait, she thought. These are not my thoughts. Silas. Remember Silas.

She focused on remembering the face of the boy in her dreams: his dimples when he smiled, his low voice, the way his dark eyes seemed to lighten when he looked at her.

What had Tyler said about Devin’s power? That he was a “Ruler,” or something like that? Maybe his power was getting into people’s heads and convincing them to do what he wanted.

Alessa blinked a few times and focused on Devin’s words inside her head. She imagined seeing those words as if they were tangibly written in the air. She reached up with her hands, waving them several times in front of her face as if that would break up the words and make them go away.

Devin’s hold over her broke, leaving her feeling violated, as if someone had physically touched and attacked her against her will. She suddenly wanted to cry, scream, and punch a hole in Devin’s face.

She felt her magic stirring in response to the anger that was building within her. How dare he?

But Alessa also understood something important as she remembered that day back in the woods and the conversation she’d overheard between Tyler and Devin. The Winters were followers of Dagda, and only Tyler disagreed with them. However, that made Devin, and his parents, the enemy.

Alessa felt her anger dissipate, replaced by a new resolve. This calmed her powers. She stepped back, stared at Devin, and shook her head sadly. She took a wide berth around him as she approached the front gate that led to her yard, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

He didn’t.

As Alessa walked through the gate and toward her house, she vowed never to waste another daydream on Devin.

Chapter Twelve

Inside the house, everything was quiet. Alessa decided that she wouldn’t share the Devin encounter with her family, at least not yet. But there was someone she desperately felt the need to talk to, someone that understood her.

Alessa quietly walked up the stairs to her bedroom and sat on her bed. She kicked off her shoes and sank back into her pillows, smiling as she closed her eyes, searching for that place that was not sleep, but something more. She imagined Silas in her thoughts beckoning to her, requesting that she find him in that place, the Dreaming.

The blackness behind Alessa’s eyes shifted and changed, brightening. She stood on a hill under a brilliant blue sky, not too far away from the stream where she had last met Silas. She squinted in the bright sunshine and saw him sitting near the bank of that stream. He was a handsome figure with one arm outstretched across the back of a wrought iron bench. He stared into the distance as if waiting for her.

As Alessa began walking toward him, she saw that he was holding something in his hand. As she grew closer, she recognized it as a daisy, her favorite flower. How did he know?

It suddenly occurred to Alessa that he knew because that was also her mother’s favorite flower. Like mother, like daughter, although recently, that wasn’t entirely true.

As Alessa stopped behind the bench, she cleared her throat to announce her presence.

Silas turned his head and saw her, his face lighting up, a smile forming on his lips.

Alessa realized something profound at that moment. Yes, she liked Silas. A lot. But it seemed that maybe he liked her, too.

Alessa returned the smile, her own as bright as the sun beaming down from overhead.

Silas stood, walked around the bench, and held out the flower. “For you, my lady,” he said, offering a small bow.

Alessa giggled and took the daisy from his hand, their fingers briefly touching. Her stomach felt aflutter, not with butterflies, but maybe full-sized birds. She tucked the flower behind one ear, where it vibrantly sat against her long brown hair.

“Lovely,” Silas said.

Alessa’s smile grew as she swallowed, struggling for words. Her breath caught in her chest. She stared at him and wondered if this was it, what everyone talked about when they spoke about falling in love. It was both wonderful and terrifying, in equal parts.

But there were more pressing matters at hand, Alessa reminded herself. She came here with a mission: to get Silas out of the Dreaming and into the real world.

Alessa noticed that her hand was trembling as she gestured to the bench, making her way around it to sit down, indicating that Silas should do the same.

He did, sitting so close that their legs touched.

Alessa could barely breathe.

Fortunately, Silas spoke first, breaking some of the spell. “You told them?” he asked.

Alessa nodded and struggled to find her voice. “Yes,” she said.

However, she still thought about her father’s strange reply about Silas’ betrayal, something her family would not explain, but also something Alessa refused to believe.

That didn’t matter now, though. Alessa was here for a reason, and she had a plan. So she spat it out before she lost her nerve. “I think I can get you out of here, out of the Dreaming.”

Silas nodded seriously. “I’ve been thinking about that, too,” he said. “I think we need the mirror. It’s how I got here in the first place.”

Alessa nodded and bit her lip. “A magic mirror?” she asked.

Silas laughed and shook his head. “No, it was just a regular old mirror. A standing mirror: I found it in the orphanage’s attic before I left. The nuns let me keep it.”

Alessa had not known that he was an orphan. That bit of information made her sad, despite her current strained relationship with her own parents. Silas had a whole life before he was trapped here, and someday, she would ask him about it. But just knowing that much more about him warmed her heart.

But there was something else. Something about the mirror. Hadn’t her uncle told her that an item from the physical realm would be needed for Dagda to fully return and that was why he wanted the cauldron? So didn’t it make sense that Silas would need something similar for his own escape?

“Any idea where the mirror is?” Alessa asked, realizing it could be long gone by now. And if that were the case, what would they do?

Silas shrugged. “I don’t know. I gave it to Reina because, well, I’m a guy and what do I need with a mirror, right?” He laughed and ran a hand through his dark hair.

Alessa thought for a moment, and then it dawned on her: she knew where the mirror was. Reina had moved it from her bedroom to Alessa’s several years ago when Alessa had mentioned needing a full-length mirror, something every teenage girl required. Reina had brought it in, sat it in the corner, and briefly mentioned that an old friend had given it to her. Although Alessa’s mother had never identified that friend, Alessa now knew that it was Silas.

Alessa’s revelation must have shown on her face because Silas picked up on it. “You know where it is, don’t you?”

Alessa nodded again and grinned. “Yeah,” she answered. “It’s in my bedroom. Mom gave it to me. It’s oval, wooden, and sits on a stand, right?” Sort of a dark red-like color?”

Silas’ face lit up, making Alessa’s stomach jump through hoops. “That’s it!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together as he jumped up from the bench. “Now, we just need to figure out how to manifest the mirror here in the Dreaming, I think.”

Alessa also stood up, as excited as Silas. “I can do that, right? I can just imagine it here!”

Silas nodded, “Well, it’s not an easy thing to do, but you made all this happen,” he gestured around him, at the world Alessa had created. “Yeah, I think you can do it. You’ll have to mentally prepare yourself, though. Do you think you’re strong enough?”

Alessa thought about it. Sure, she was a beginner at working with magic, but she also felt she had a talent for it. And she really wanted to do this, her resolve set in stone. “Yes,” she answered.

Silas nodded. “Then it’s a plan. I’ll be out of here in no time. And it’s all thanks to you.”

Alessa blushed and stared down at her feet. For a moment, she was carried away, but then thoughts of Devin and her encounter with him rose to the surface. Devin had scared her more than she realized. But why did she have to think of him now?

Silas noticed her change in reaction. He moved closer. “What’s wrong?”

Alessa was embarrassed to tell Silas about Devin, about her one-time crush, but that still didn’t stop the words from pouring out of her. She opened her heart to Silas and told him everything, including her confiding in Mae, as well as Devin’s attempted invasion of her mind. By the time she was finished, she was almost in tears.

“I’ll kill him,” Silas said under his breath when Alessa finished speaking. He rolled one hand into a fist and punched it into his other palm as if imagining it was Devin’s face.

Alessa shook her head back and forth, trying not to show her fear, trying not to cry. She wanted Silas to see her as both strong and capable, the girl who would save him. She took a cleansing breath and forced her emotions down, swallowing them into her belly. “No, it’s okay,” she answered calmly. “I’ll deal with him.”

Silas offered a curt nod, but anger still rolled off of him, at the thought of someone threatening Alessa.

Although seeing this side of him was unpleasant, at the same time, it also excited her. There was an air of danger around him, and it was intoxicating. She also liked that he wanted to protect her, although she felt that she should be more concerned about protecting herself.

“I’m just upset because, well...” Alessa began to admit something, but then stopped herself for a moment. She felt ridiculous, but she also felt as if she could trust Silas with anything. And so she took the chance to do just that. “Well, that’s the first time a boy has ever even asked me out.” She didn’t dare look at Silas as she said it, realizing that he would probably consider her a complete loser. But it was true: boys just didn’t seem interested in girls like her.

Silas’ anger faded quickly. He reached out his hand as if to touch her, but seemed to change his mind. Instead, he crossed his arms awkwardly in front of his chest. “I’m sorry, Alessa.”

Despite her best efforts, tears pooled in her eyes, and she hated herself for it. She willed her tears not to fall, not for Devin, and not in front of Silas. She blinked and steeled herself. She was better than this. Better than letting a stupid boy get to her.

The thing was, though, that the only boy she wanted now was Silas, but she felt foolish wishing for that. She was almost certain it would never happen.

But when Alessa looked up, Silas reached for her hand and grasped it, pulling her closer to him. They were now standing so close that she felt his breath against her forehead. With his free hand, he reached up and held his palm against her cheek. His eyes searched hers for permission, as if he were unsure of her feelings.

Alessa stared at him, her eyes meeting his, her internal doubts fading away. This was the moment, even as her brain still told her that there was no way this was happening. She silently told her brain to shut up and mind its own business.

Silas leaned down and brushed his lips gently against hers.

Alessa’s stomach dropped, her heart racing faster than it ever had before.

Silas pulled away.

Alessa was out of breath, pure joy rushing through her arteries and veins.

Her first kiss. And it was everything she had wanted, even if the circumstances and person were different from what she had imagined in her daydreams.

Voices, though, began to leak through from outside the Dreaming. “Alessa, your mom says it’s time for dinner.” That was Alessa’s father, Sean, speaking somewhere beyond the foggy haze of the waking world. “You want pizza or Chinese?” he asked. “I swear that woman never learned how to cook, did she?”

“I’ll get you out of here,” Alessa whispered to Silas as her father’s insistent voice pulled her away from the Dreaming. She awakened, opened her eyes, and stared at a drab ceiling. Her lips, though, still felt warm from where Silas had kissed her.

Alessa sat up, smiling, the first part of her plan now in motion. She glanced at the mirror standing innocently in the corner, hoping that she had the magical strength to keep her promise.

Chapter Thirteen

Although time was of the essence in rescuing Silas, Alessa understood that she needed to build her strength as a Dreamer, so she renewed her focus on her lessons with her uncle. Her ardent turn as a student of magic seemed to impress her father and uncle, although her mother still seemed leery of Alessa coming into her power. However, Alessa’s motivation remained hidden, as it must, for she knew that her family would probably not approve of her plan.

When Alessa’s father asked about Silas, she merely shrugged and lied by telling him that she had not visited the Dreaming and had not seen Silas in weeks. She even did this with a straight face, even after realizing that lies were becoming easier each time she told one. Alessa didn’t like it, but it was what she had to do.

She played the part of a dutiful daughter, student, and friend. She was even pleasant to Devin, flashing him fake smiles in the hallway at school, as if he had never threatened her. When she wasn’t training, she spent much of her free time with Mae, who had many questions. Fortunately, Mae didn’t seem to mind when Alessa brushed off most of her best friend’s inquiries with the excuse that she didn’t want to talk about it. Mae, though, probably knew something was up.

It was exhausting, this pretending.

But Alessa began to feel herself growing stronger as she learned more about how to work with magic. Although Fergus was often harsh in his training, he was also an excellent teacher. Alessa found his lessons and advice helpful. He also answered all her questions about magic and the Dreaming, although she made sure to word them carefully to avoid any suspicion about her future intentions.

About a week after she had last seen Silas, Alessa finished a lesson with her uncle about using the Dreaming to bolster physical strength. Alessa lay prone on the living room sofa, exhausted from training. Once she could catch her breath, though, she asked the most pertinent and direct question she had asked so far. “So magic allows me to manipulate the Dreaming?”

“Yes,” Fergus answered as he sat down in a chair near her. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, also tired from the day’s exertions of teaching.

Alessa waited, hoping that her uncle would continue speaking. He was often long-winded, and she was counting on that now.

He did. “You can bend the Dreaming to your will,” he said. “You can create small pockets of your own places in that world. Why, you can even bring objects from this world into the Dreaming and back again!”

Alessa forced herself to remain lying down, although she felt a flush of excitement rise to her cheeks. She reached up and put her hands over her face, trying to hide it. Here was the answer she was looking for, but she couldn’t let him know just how important his words were to her. She swallowed hard and forced her voice to sound calm. “I can?” she asked, her tone indicating nothing more than curiosity. “How?”

Fergus answered, “With your specific powers, I would imagine that it would come naturally. You just need to visualize the object you want to manifest in the Dreaming while you’re there, and it will appear. Pretty simple for someone like you.”

Simple. A whole week after last seeing Silas, Alessa was just now learning that she probably had the power all along to rescue him.

Alessa sat up slowly, still trying not to betray the influx of emotions threatening to overtake her. Her face was a mask of calm, another lie that did not reflect what she felt inside. “That’s pretty cool,” she said in an almost off-handed manner.

As usual, Fergus wasn't finished yet. “You can even bring things from the Dreaming into this world, too,” he continued as he leaned back and ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I could go on and on, but you get the idea.”

Alessa nodded, clearly understanding the idea. She smiled, but not too much.

Uncle Fergus stood up and placed his hands on his lower back and stretched. He grunted and then wandered toward the kitchen, probably to pour himself a glass of whiskey, something he did after every training session.

Meanwhile, Alessa’s mind reeled as she began to finalize her plan. She would make an excuse to skip training the next day to replenish her strength. Then she would wait until later that night when everyone was asleep to go to the Dreaming, manifest the mirror there, and use it to save Silas.

It seemed like the perfect plan. The hardest part now would be the waiting.

AS ALESSA’S PLAN CAME to fruition in her mind, she focused her thoughts and strength on making it a reality. Alessa had a drive she had not ever felt, fueled by deep feelings for Silas and memories of their kiss.

She knew something in the way that only 16-year-old girls do: she was in love. She fell asleep that night, confident she would soon kiss him again.

She snuck out of the house early the next morning and kept herself busy at school. She ditched homeroom, which she shared with Devin, with the excuse that she needed to take photos for the high school yearbook. During that hour, she sat in the gym bleachers with her camera, taking photographs of students playing basketball, a sport she had never had an interest in before.

Alessa snapped photo after photo, but her mind was a million miles away.

The rest of Alessa’s day passed similarly. She avoided everyone, her thoughts turning over and over on themselves. She occasionally caught herself smiling, though, at the thought of seeing Silas again and even at the thought of bringing him here, into her world.

The only person Alessa did not avoid was Mae, who could read her like a book anyway. During study hall, Alessa promised to tell Mae everything, but only after the day’s classes were over.

When the final bell signaled the end of the school day, Alessa let out a sigh of relief. She dumped everything in her locker that she didn’t need and packed up her camera and lenses. She texted Mae to meet her so they could walk home together. She then made her way around to the back of the school building, away from prying eyes and ears.

“There you are!” Mae exclaimed as she approached Alessa and teasingly punched her on the shoulder.

“Here I am,” Alessa replied.

“So, what’s up?” Mae asked as the two began walking away from the school.

“I’m going to help him,” Alessa admitted, a sly grin forming on her face.

“Who?” Mae asked as they approached a sidewalk and turned right. Then as it dawned on her, she stopped and grabbed Alessa’s hand. “The mysterious guy in the Dreaming. Silas?”

Alessa smiled at her friend and nodded. She looked around as if to make sure they were entirely alone.

There was no one in sight.

“Yeah,” Alessa whispered, keeping her voice low, though, just in case. Her eyes darted around the area. She took a breath, squeezed her friend’s hand, and continued to speak. “He kissed me,” she said as she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders. Her face could hardly contain her excitement: this was something she just had to share with her best friend.

“What?” Mae’s eyes grew wide as she grabbed Alessa’s arm. “Okay, you have to tell me everything. And by everything, I mean every little thing.”

Alessa thought words might spill out of her, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she felt an odd sensation. It was like her brain was itching. No, it felt like an insect crawling around inside her head. She absently reached up and scratched her forehead, but the feeling only intensified.

Alessa closed her eyes, trying to push the weirdness away. Instead, she saw something behind her eyes that resembled a worm squirming across the gray matter of her brain and plunging itself deep into its soft tissue. A bright light assaulted her, along with searing pain.

Alessa fell. Her knees slammed into the concrete, but even that pain was distant. Flashes of thoughts and memories flooded her mind, like moments trapped in time. She was eight years old, with her mother, on the beach. They held hands while singing a silly song that Alessa had just made up.

The scene changed.

In her mind, she relived the moment when Silas had kissed her, but after Alessa opened her eyes (at least, in her thoughts), the Dreaming around her turned dark. Tree leaves turned black and fell to the dull and brown earth. Gray light washed over everything, leaving the world’s once-vibrant colors muted. Silas’ face melted into nothingness, his body leaving only a black puddle at her feet.

“You’re just a stupid girl,” a voice said over and over in her head. It sounded like Silas, but Alessa knew it was not.

She screamed.

Mae knelt beside her friend, her arm around Alessa’s shoulder. “Alessa!” she cried out, her voice tinged with worry.

The pressure inside Alessa’s head evaporated. She stared down at her legs seeing the rips in her jeans from where she had landed against the sidewalk. Her knees ached, but she barely registered the pain.

Mae held out her hand.

Alessa took it and forced herself to her feet, ignoring all pain and discomfort. Her breathing was heavy, and her heart seemed to pound outside her chest.

“What happened?” Mae finally asked.

Alessa gasped, as the realization of what she had experienced came over her. “He was there,” Alessa said. “Dagda. He was in my head.”

Mae’s eyes widened in horror.

“I have to get Silas,” Alessa said as she began to walk hurriedly, despite the pain in her legs. “I have to get him out now. He’s in danger.”

Mae merely nodded. “Can I help?” she asked, biting her lip, knowing that the question was probably moot.

“No,” Alessa replied through gritted teeth. The pain in her knees began to throb, bringing her fully back to reality. “I just have to... I have to do this. You... you go home.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Mae argued, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulder.

Alessa stared at her friend and shook her head. “Yes, you are. Go home now. I have to do this alone.” Her tone left no room for further disagreement. “I’ll call you once it’s over. I promise.”

Mae looked down at her feet, defeated. “Be careful. Promise me that instead?”

Alessa nodded, “I will.”

Mae looked up at her friend, worry and fear written all over her expression. She gave Alessa a curt nod and then walked away, although she looked back once, a deep concern still in her gaze.

Alessa watched Mae walk away until her friend disappeared from view. Then she hurried home, refusing to succumb to the fear in her head left in Dagda’s wake.

Chapter Fourteen

When Alessa reached her house, she dashed through the front door. She briefly caught sight of her parents and uncle in the living room, huddled together as if in deep conversation. She stopped for a moment in the foyer, put on her most painful expression, and mumbled something about her period and the desperate need to lie down.

Alessa’s family barely acknowledged her, although Fergus nodded with a scowl as he waved her off. Alessa used the opportunity to run up the stairs, taking them two at a time, only stopping when she closed her bedroom door. She leaned against its wooden surface and took a few minutes to steady her breathing and calm her heart.

Alessa understood that Silas was in trouble. Dagda knew about him in her pocket of the Dreaming. She knew she had to get Silas out now, rather than later. She only hoped she could do it.

Alessa sat down on her bed, absently kicked off her shoes, and closed her eyes. She breathed in slowly and then out, focusing on nothing more than the sensation of her chest rising and falling with each deep inhale and exhale. She tried not to think about the task ahead and forced her mind to go blank, ridding it of thoughts to prepare herself for what she knew she had to do.

When Alessa opened her eyes, she felt relaxed and steady. She was as ready as she would ever be. She walked over to the mirror that sat in the corner of her room and looked at her reflection. Her eyes were serene, her face expressionless, and she knew that maintaining such a state of calm was a feat in and of itself.

She studied the mirror, making mental notes of every detail, including each small scratch on its shiny surface. A crack worked its way around one of its wooden legs in a spot where it was once hastily glued together. She studied the grain of the wood that surrounded the mirror, noting its swirling pattern. She committed the mirror and everything about it to her memory, permanently taking a photograph of it with her mind.

Alessa looked at her reflection again. She seemed older as if there was some new wisdom hidden deep within her gaze. Her magic sparkled behind her eyes.

It was now or never.

Alessa looked past the mirror and deep within its depths, searching for her special place in the Dreaming.

At first, nothing happened.

She focused harder, closing her eyes and imagining the mirror behind her closed eyelids.

“I can’t do this,” she mumbled to herself, trying not to get frustrated. She shook her head, her hair fluttering around her face.

“Sure you can,” Silas answered.

Alessa quickly opened her eyes. Silas stood before her, looking much the same, his arms open. The world around him, though, resembled her earlier vision. The once bright blue skies were gray. The vibrant green grass had turned brown. Dead birds lay at Silas’ feet.

Alessa turned around. Behind her, the mirror stood vigil, showing the reflection of herself, Silas, and the dying world behind him.

Alessa faced Silas again and stepped into his open arms. She threw her hands around his neck, pulling him close to kiss him.

Their lips touched. Alessa’s heart soared, even as the world around them withered and died.

Alessa heard the faint tinkling of something that sounded like water. The mirror was making its own music, summoning them forth.

“I knew you could do it,” Silas exclaimed as he picked Alessa up and swung her around until they both faced the mirror.

Silas tentatively reached out to touch its surface, which rippled underneath his fingertips as if it were liquid.

Ominous thunder sounded overhead. Three more birds fell from the sky and landed on the earth, steam rising from their tiny bodies. The edges of the landscape began to turn black. Time was running out.

“We have to go,” Alessa stated as she took Silas’ hand. With nothing more than love and a lot of faith, she stepped through the mirror, pulling Silas along behind her.

It was like stepping through an open doorway: the two were soon standing in Alessa’s bedroom.

When Alessa looked at Silas again, tears stood in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice wavering. “Thank you so much.” He leaned down to kiss her again, with a passion Alessa had never experienced before. She could taste his salty tears on her lips.

Alessa felt every cell in her body come alive. This was no mere kiss: it was a promise. Because she had done it: she had saved Silas. Pride and joy filled her heart.

Alessa’s bedroom door flew open, banging against the wall behind it. “What have you done, girl?” Fergus asked as he stared menacingly at the couple.

Silas pulled himself away from Alessa and stared at his old friend with trepidation.

Fergus’ expression softened. Then he laughed as he approached Silas, grabbed him, and pulled him into a hug. “It’s good to see you, old friend.”

Silas laughed through his tears. “You look old, Fergus.”

Fergus shook his head and scowled teasingly. “And you look exactly the same, you scoundrel.”

Alessa saw her mother and father standing in the doorway. They didn’t seem quite as happy to see Silas as her uncle, though.

It didn’t matter. Alessa stepped up to Silas and took his hand, owning what she had done, the decision she had made. She glared at her parents, daring them to say something. She could have taken the time to explain what Dagda had shown her when he invaded her mind. Instead, she just kept looking at them, daring them to question her decision.

When her parents said nothing, Alessa finally spoke, issuing the warning, the truth that she had seen. “Dagda is coming,” she said.

Chapter Fifteen

Reina shook her head, turned around, and stormed out of the room. Her footsteps on the stairs echoed throughout the house. Sean frowned and followed her.

Alessa begrudgingly dropped Silas’ hand as her eyes stared at the empty doorway. “Mom?” she called out, realizing that she had just seen something that scared her: she had seen real fear in her mother’s eyes. Alessa leaned against the door frame for support, listening for her parents’ voices downstairs.

“I can’t! I can’t do this!” Reina hissed under her breath.

Alessa stepped out onto the landing and saw her parents in the foyer below.

Sean tried to grab Reina’s arm, but Reina pulled away.

“Mom!” Alessa shouted, as cold prickles ran up and down the backs of her arms.

Reina stared up at her daughter, her eyes narrowed. “How could you do this without consulting us first? How could you let him out?”

Alessa slowly walked downstairs to join her parents. She felt Silas’ presence as he followed her, finding comfort in his nearness.

“How did you... how did you even know how to let him out?” Sean asked, staring at his daughter, his eyes reflecting the fear in Reina’s gaze.

There was something in her father’s tone, though, that Alessa couldn’t quite place. Something, once again, not spoken. Another secret. This knowledge made her blood begin to feel like it was boiling and bubbling over, sparking her anger. “Tell you?” She asked, her voice beginning to rise. “Why would I? You already made it clear that you had no interest in anything I wanted. And it’s not like I’m the only one keeping secrets!”

Reina gasped and took a step back as if Alessa’s words had physically assaulted her.

Sean grabbed Alessa’s wrist and pulled her away from Silas, who stood behind her. Sean addressed his old friend. “And you... how could you take advantage of my daughter like that?”

Fergus’ loud steps interrupted the conversation. "What's happening here?" he asked as he joined them. “Silas is our friend. Why are you two acting like idiots?”

Sean tilted his head and wrinkled his nose at his brother. “Why?” he asked. “Silas betrayed us. He gave Dagda the cauldron. Or don’t you remember?”

Fergus shook his head and addressed Sean. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, meeting his brother’s gaze with a steely one-eyed glare.

Sean’s expression suddenly made him seem like a deer caught in a car’s headlights.

Silas held his hands out in appeasement and took a step toward Sean. “Sean,” he said, his voice the calmest in the room. “It wasn’t me.”

“What are you talking about?” Alessa finally yelled, trying to find a way back into a conversation that concerned her.

Reina pointed at Silas. “When Dagda came back... the first time,” her voice wavered, “Silas gave him the cauldron.”

Silas shook his head. “It wasn’t me,” he reiterated. “Why do you think I grabbed him and jumped through the mirror? Why do you think I trapped him in the Dreaming with me? Do you know what it was like there? Being trapped in nothing but darkness for an eternity?” His voice rose with each syllable. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “At least until Alessa found me,” he said with composure, as he reached out and took Alessa’s hand.

“He makes a good point,” Fergus stated as he reached up and scratched the top of one of his ears. “I never believed it for a second. It wasn’t him.” He patted Silas on the shoulder.

“But...” Sean interrupted.

Fergus held up his hand at his brother, ending the rebuttal in its tracks.

Sean’s mouth snapped shut.

Alessa let out a breath, but the tension in the air remained.

“I don’t want this,” Reina positioned herself in front of Sean to address her daughter. “I don’t want this for you. You don’t have to be a Dreamer. We can just pack our things. Leave. Go somewhere else. Anywhere else.” Her voice broke with a sob.

“No,” Alessa answered, feeling her strength begin to coalesce around her. “I can’t change what I am. I can’t change who I am. I can’t pretend none of this exists. I can’t pretend that Dagda isn’t out there because of me.”

“Don’t say that,” Silas said as he squeezed Alessa’s hand. “This is not your fault.”

“Well, technically, it is,” Fergus replied. “She Dreamed you, and that meant she Dreamed him. And he slipped through.”

Alessa’s eyes widened.

Fergus held up a hand before she could speak, though. “But if she had known what she was and what she could do, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?” He stared directly at Reina.

“Oh, sure, it’s my fault,” Reina laughed sarcastically through her tears. “Forgive me for wanting a life for my daughter that didn’t include this. Now her life is in danger, and for what?”

“She saved me,” Silas whispered.

Reina stared at him and laughed, “Ha!”

Alessa continued to hold Silas’ hand, making sure that her parents noticed this gesture of affection. “I saved him, and that counts for something.” She walked around her parents and toward the front door, pulling Silas behind her. She did not look back as they walked out of the house. The door slammed behind them.

Alessa pretended not to hear her mother screaming her name from behind the closed door.

Alessa stepped off the front porch and made her way around the house, with Silas close behind her. A fence and gate separated the front yard from the back, but the gate had long rusted permanently open.

The old gate reminded Alessa of fonder memories: the backyard once belonged to Drake, a basset hound, Alessa’s first and only pet. Reina had installed the gate to keep him there, but 8-year-old Alessa accidentally left it open, which allowed the dog to escape, leading him to the street and into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

Young Alessa, full of grief and guilt, cried for days. Reina, distraught at her daughter’s state, got rid of Drake’s doghouse and toys, removing all traces of the animal from their lives.

The gate, though, remained as a reminder of what once was.

Reina never allowed Alessa to have another pet. She was always protective of her daughter, to a fault. Reina wanted to protect her daughter from the world, but Alessa was now of an age where she had to learn to defend herself.

Alessa did finally understand, though, the fear she had seen in her mother’s eyes. Reina had finally realized her daughter was now capable of making her own decisions, even if it meant potential danger. That was what scared Reina the most.

Alessa walked through the rusty gate, still holding Silas’ hand, thinking about her mother as she stared at the empty patch of grass that had once held a doghouse.

Alessa took a breath and shook her head. It was time for answers, and she thought she was with the one person who would give them to her. “Why don’t they trust you?” she asked Silas as she faced him.

Silas took Alessa’s other hand, his grip squeezing her as if she might disappear at any moment. “They think I betrayed them, that I gave Dagda the cauldron.”

“He had the cauldron?” Alessa finally asked.

Silas nodded. “Yes, but he didn’t have a chance to tap into its power. I tricked him into thinking I was one of his followers. But I pulled him into the Dreaming before he could hurt anyone.”

Alessa squeezed his hands. “You saved them.”

Silas nodded again. “I would never betray the people I love.” He stared into Alessa’s eyes.

Alessa felt her heart exposed under his gaze. She smiled, forgetting the argument with her family and her long-lost dog. “You’ll always have me,” she announced, feeling foolish saying these words, like a stupid teenage girl falling in love for the first time. But wasn’t that what she was?

She bit her lip, though, before continuing. “Even if I did let an evil monster out into the world.”

Silas let go of Alessa’s hands and touched her cheek. His hand was smooth, unmarked by time.

It was almost impossible to imagine that he was technically the same age as her parents, although the Dreaming had preserved him as a teen.

“This is not your fault,” he stated, forcing Alessa to meet his gaze. His eyes were steely and intent. “And you are strong, Alessa. So strong that it scares them.”

Alessa shrugged, not sure how to react. “I don’t feel it,” she admitted, averting her eyes to stare at her shoes.

Silas put a hand under her chin and lifted her face. “You are. You managed to create a pocket in the Dreaming, and you pulled me into that realm and then brought me here. That’s not third-rate Dreamer stuff. You are the real deal.”

Alessa suddenly felt slightly uneasy, as if there was a weight dangling above her head. But she accepted his words because she knew they were true. She felt her power, even now — it was this formidable force inside of her. She was strong. And she had to stay that way to survive. Dagda was coming, and she knew she would have to fight him.

“I just wish...” Alessa started to speak, but her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I just wish they would stop lying to me, just for once. Mom and I never lied to each other, but now, it’s like everything she says is a lie or at least part of a lie. I’m tired of it all.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Promise me, this, Silas, will you? Promise you’ll never lie to me?”

It was a lot to ask, Alessa knew this, but it was suddenly the most important thing in the world.

Silas continued to look into Alessa’s eyes. He cupped her face with both hands as he replied. “I promise,” he said as he pulled his lips toward Alessa’s.

Before she closed her eyes, though, she saw his right eyelid twitch. But when her lips found his, nothing else mattered.

ALESSA AND SILAS STAYED in the backyard until the sky began to turn orange and darken, but eventually, they knew they needed to return to the house. They took their time strolling through the yard and back through the gate that reminded Alessa of loss.

The couple hesitantly climbed the few steps that led to the front door.

Alessa reached out, touched the doorknob, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared herself for any new confrontations that might come. She opened the door slowly and stepped inside and found herself...

Surprised. The mood inside the house had shifted. Although the last hint of anger still hung around them, it felt like an afterthought. Instead, the air Alessa breathed felt more somber and restrained. She stood in the foyer with Silas and peeked into the living room.

Sean and Fergus sat on the sofa, chatting and laughing.

Alessa could hear Reina in the kitchen, rummaging through drawers. When she spoke, her voice sounded calmer, but still a tad strained. “Chinese or pizza?” she yelled.

“Pizza, definitely pizza,” Sean answered with a smile as he turned his head to peek at Alessa and Silas. “Extra pepperoni,” he added, winking at Silas.

Silas smiled, winked back at Sean, and grabbed Alessa’s hand. He led her into the living room. The two sat down, Silas on the couch beside Fergus, and Alessa in the nearest armchair.

From the kitchen, Alessa heard Reina ordering pizza on her phone.

Things felt almost normal. Or at least, they were peaceful. Alessa let out a long, deep breath, her stomach rumbling in anticipation of dinner.

When the pizza arrived, Alessa joined her mother to gather plates and napkins, and helped set the table. During dinner, there was some light conversation, including Reina bragging about Alessa’s photography. No one mentioned anything about magic, Silas (although he was right there), or Dagda (who was still a threat). Alessa and Silas were mostly quiet as if afraid any word they might say would set off another argument.

Reina politely asked Alessa to help her clean up after dinner. Alessa obliged and even got a “thank you” from her mother in return. Although things remained lighthearted, though, Alessa could tell that Reina was still struggling with her fear.

After dinner, Reina gathered sheets and a pillow for Silas, making up the sofa as a bed for him. It was the only place left to sleep in the house, with Fergus in the guest room, and Sean taking up a futon in the attic. For the first time, the house was full, and although the mood was still a bit tense, Alessa felt family all around her. And despite everything, it was nice.

Later that night, when Alessa fell asleep, there were no dreams. Maybe that was because her dreams had already come true. She had Silas and her family, and really, wasn’t that all she had ever wished for?

Chapter Sixteen

Fergus was almost chipper when he woke Alessa up early the next morning, way too early for a Saturday in Alessa’s humble opinion. “Rise and shine!” he yelled as he burst into her room and repeatedly tapped her on the shoulder.

Alessa grumbled incoherently, turned over, and pulled the covers over her head. Still, Fergus continued to tap on her shoulder, insisting that she get up now because breakfast was ready and they had a big day of training planned.

Alessa had to admit that the breakfast spread was impressive: Sean and Reina had put together a series of carb-loaded goodies on the table, including pancakes, eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Alessa stuffed her face quickly, still being urged on by Fergus to hurry up because time was of the essence.

Alessa soon found herself in the backyard, jumping rope, doing calisthenics, and these weird racing drills that had her dashing from one end of the yard to the other. Meanwhile, Fergus stood nearby watching her as he explained that physical stamina was as important as mental strength when it came to doing magic.

It might have been more convincing had he not been lazily smacking on strips of bacon and shoving biscuits into his mouth while Alessa sweated her heart out.

In the background, Fergus played some “motivational” music, which was some kind of classic rock with a lot of electric guitars.

Alessa would have preferred something more like K-pop. But she continued because she remembered how worn out magic always made her feel, and maybe, in the end, Fergus was right.

Reina sat watching on the back porch steps, a cup of coffee in her hands. Sean and Silas remained in the house, doing some much-needed catching up.

After an hour, Alessa’s legs felt as if they might fall off, and she was nearly drowning in her own perspiration. “I’m done,” she announced as she dropped the jump rope she’d been using. Her breath was ragged and uneven, heavy.

“No, you’re not,” Fergus stated between bites of biscuit.

Alessa stared at him, her frustration growing. Her damp hair fell into her eyes as she stomped one foot.

“Dagda doesn’t care that you’re tired,” Fergus announced in that “I know more than you and you will listen to me” manner that he had.

Alessa leaned over and placed her hands on her knees, still trying to catch her breath. “Can’t we just... I don’t know... shoot him or something? Why do we even need magic?”

Fergus laughed and approached Alessa. “Oh, so you don’t know much about magic, but you’re suddenly an expert on guns now, is that it?” he asked, teasing her. He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a revolver.

Alessa’s eyes grew big.

Fergus grabbed Alessa’s arms, nearly upsetting her balance. He shoved the gun into her hands.

Reina jumped up from her seat on the porch and yelled, “Fergus!”

Fergus waved her off with a grunt.

Alessa looked at the gun, turning it over in her hand. It was heavier than she thought. She held it up, noticing how its black body gleamed in the morning sun. It felt... dangerous.

Fergus took several wide steps away from Alessa and crossed his arms, staring her down. “Well, go ahead. You now have the power to kill someone. Go for it.” He pointed to one of the burlap sacks of sand he had been using for her training.

Alessa’s mouth hung agape at her uncle’s careless words, but something registered with her. This was a weapon meant to kill. And the weight of that was far greater than the physical weight of the gun.

“Take it, take it, I don’t want it,” she said, holding the gun carefully on its side as she attempted to hand it back to her uncle.

“Fergus, what in the...? Reina yelled again as she left the porch to storm across the yard.

Fergus took the gun from Alessa and waved it in the air. He put his finger on the trigger and fired.

Everyone held their breath for a split second, but the gun only made a “click” sound.

Fergus snickered. “Do you really think I would give her a loaded weapon?” he asked, shaking his head as if surrounded by fools.

Reina glared at him and shook her head. It was obvious she thought he was perfectly capable of doing just that.

“I just needed to prove a point,” Fergus said as he shoved the gun back into his coat pocket. “Guns aren’t toys. And we don’t want to run around killing people anyway, do we? And it’s not like we can kill Dagda easily. He’s a shadow, a shadow of a god.” His tone suggested he was explaining the situation to idiots.

Reina grumbled. “He’ll have followers.”

Fergus shrugged.

“I don’t want to kill anyone,” Alessa interjected, staring at her hands as if they still held the weapon. She had felt the responsibility of it as soon as its metal had touched her skin. Fergus was right. “Why do you have that?” she asked, pointing at his pocket, where she now noticed the gun’s outline. Had he been carrying it all along?

“For my protection,” Fergus said. “That’s all you need to know. Now back to training. You’re far from done, girl.”

This was going to be the longest day ever.

ALESSA LOST TRACK OF time as she jumped rope. Fergus stood nearby with a stopwatch, counting down each second and minute. Her arms and legs ached, but she kept swinging the rope over her head and under her feet, jumping and jumping, over and over.

“Time,” Fergus said, after what felt like hours.

Alessa stopped immediately, dropping the rope at her feet. Her body was on fire, but she somehow managed to stay upright despite feeling as if the only thing she wanted to do was fall to the ground and not ever get up again.

But her uncle had other plans. “We have one more thing to work on today,” he announced.

Alessa stared at him in amazement as sweat dripped across her brow and down her face. Couldn’t he tell she was already exhausted? Was he trying to push her past her limits?

Fergus didn’t seem to notice her expression, though. He paced in front of her, his hands behind his back, as he began yet another lecture. “Memory,” he said. “As Dream Makers, we can tap into the memories of others, as you have learned the hard way.”

Alessa bit back a retort and nodded. She wasn’t sure if she had enough strength left to speak anyway. But then she remembered being in Dagda’s memories and seeing him kill Tara. That was enough to send shivers down her spine. She hugged herself.

“It's not enough to learn how to control it," Fergus continued. “But also how to keep others from invading your mind and stealing your memories, too.”

Alessa’s knees trembled. “Couldn’t we at least discuss this sitting down” she whined, her voice still ragged, her breathing heavy.

“Fine, fine,” Fergus gestured to the back of the house.

Alessa slowly took one step after another. Each time her foot touched the ground, she could feel her body protesting against each movement. As she reached the door and opened it, she nearly stumbled but caught herself before falling.

She reached the kitchen and collapsed into a chair at the table. Silas sat opposite her, several ancient-looking books laid out in front of him. He smiled at Alessa before returning to his research.

Fergus leaned against the kitchen counter but remained standing. “Okay, as I was saying... memory...”

Reina entered the room and interrupted him. “Hasn’t she done enough today?” she asked. “She’s exhausted. Look at her.”

Fergus shook his head. “No time. We need to get her ready right away. You heard the girl. Dagda is coming. He doesn’t care that she’s tired.”

Reina seemed about to say something else, but her mouth stayed closed. She acquiesced and sat quietly at the head of the table, watching.

“Memory,” Fergus repeated as he pointed a finger in the air to prove his point. “You can learn to tap into people’s memories without a second thought. But it is often dangerous. You must be careful, child.” He leaned forward, his eyes never leaving Alessa. “For if you’re not, you could find yourself trapped inside someone’s head forever.”

That caught Alessa’s attention.

Silas snickered.

Everyone stared at him.

Alessa raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to hold back his giggles. “But remember that time Reina got stuck inside Miss Callahan’s thoughts?”

Reina frowned, but her lips twitched slightly at the corners as if she were reminiscing about something funny.

Sean stepped into the kitchen, grinning. “I forgot about that.” He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, tossed it into the air, and caught it. Light glistened on the fruit’s red surface as he laughed. “I bet Reina still has nightmares about that.”

“Oh, you two just go ahead and talk,” Reina grumbled as she grabbed the apple from Sean and took a bite out of it.

Alessa, feeling slightly more energized by the turn in the conversation, had to ask. “What happened?” She suddenly saw her parents, her uncle, and her boyfriend in a new light. These were three friends who were once very close.

Sean answered, “Your mom got trapped in our teacher’s memories, and from what I understand, they involved a romantic... um... shall we say... entanglement... with another teacher.”

Reina shook herself, her nose scrunched up. “It was disgusting. Mr. Poole was very hairy and those two were going at it and...” She looked at the apple and wrinkled her lip before handing it back to Sean. She stared at Silas. “Why did you have to bring that up?”

Laughter filled the room. Even Fergus couldn’t contain himself as he chuckled.

Alessa laughed, too.

Soon, though, Fergus turned serious again and cleared his throat. “Now back to business. I think it’s time Alessa learned the truth about how Dagda got back into our world in the first place.”

Reina, Sean, and Silas quickly grew silent and looked down.

“Do I have a volunteer?” Fergus asked.

“I have something I need to do,” Sean said quickly as he exited the room.

Fergus stared at Reina.

“Don’t look at me,” Reina said. “I don’t want my daughter poking around in my head.” She followed Sean out of the kitchen.

Fergus stared at Silas who was suddenly preoccupied with his books again. Alessa’s uncle grumbled something under his breath and shook his head. “Nevermind, I’ll do it myself.”

Fergus pulled himself up to the table and sat in the chair closest to Alessa. He held out his hand.

Alessa took it.

“Okay,” he said. “Close your eyes and focus on me. Just me. Nothing else. Imagine me in your mind’s eye. And then look beyond that, and see what I’m about to show you.”

Alessa did as she was asked, and soon, the world began to tilt and darken all around her.

Chapter Seventeen

Once the world became clear around her, Alessa found herself floating above Ashmill’s town center. A light dusting of snow covered the ground. There were two men below her, one slightly older than the other, but both around her age. The tallest was a younger version of her father, and she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was in his leather jacket and wool hat.That meant the other man was Fergus, but he wasn't the gruff one-eyed man she now knew as her uncle. This Fergus was a well-dressed young man in a long overcoat, a bright blue scarf, and leather gloves. He sported a sharp haircut, a devilish smile, and two vibrant blue-gray eyes. It was then that Alessa realized just how much the two brothers looked alike.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” Fergus said, as steamy vapor drifted out of his mouth and into the air.

Sean shrugged. “Oh, c’mon, when have we ever let that stop us.”

Fergus laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Pretty much never.”

Sean laughed and then pointed ahead to a young man and woman in the distance walking towards them. “There they are. Took long enough.”

As the two figures emerged from the mist that had settled around the town, Alessa recognized Silas, who was carrying a dark green duffel bag strapped over his shoulder. He seemed to struggle a bit with the weight of whatever was inside the bag.

Silas looked exactly the same. But the woman with him, who Alessa realized was her mother, was a far younger version of herself.

“You got it?” Sean asked as he skipped over to Silas.

Silas nodded, “Yeah, Reina found it in a hidden compartment in their closet.”

“Could they be any more predictable?” Reina asked, although her eyes seemed distant as she spoke.

“That’s my girl,” Sean said as he took Reina’s gloved hand and pulled her close.

Reina playfully smacked him in the arm, but her facial expression made it seem as if she was a million miles away. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on Sean’s lips.

Fergus and Silas audibly groaned.

“Seriously, you two, get a room,” Fergus grumbled, shaking his head, a teasing smile on his lips.

Reina pulled away from Sean, giving Alessa a chance to get a good look at her. Alessa knew her mother so well, and even now, with this younger version of her, Alessa knew something was wrong.

“So are we going to do this?” Reina asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot, one hand on her belly.

"Yeah!" Sean replied as he rubbed his hands together as if they were cold. “Let’s go raise a god!”

Fergus shook his head and smirked. “Where to?”

Sean looked around and pointed to the town center where Ashmill’s four main streets met. There was a small snow-covered grassy square at its center with a few park benches and a large tree. “There,” he said as he grabbed Reina’s hand and pulled her along with him as he bounded over to the area.

The others followed. When they arrived in the middle of the square, Silas placed the duffel bag on the ground and stepped away from it.

Sean leaned over to unzip the bag and pulled out a large stone bowl.

The cauldron! Alessa thought as she watched the scene unfold. She was starting to believe that everything would soon make much more sense.

“Will this even work?” Silas asked as he ducked the bottom of his chin into the black scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Sure,” Sean answered. “The cauldron gives us more power. And that should give us what we need to open the door to the Deep Dreaming.”

“This is insane,” Reina mumbled, chewing on her lip. But that was her only protest.

Sean kicked the empty duffel bag a few feet out of the way and placed the cauldron down in the snow.

The group formed a circle around it and joined hands, closing their eyes.

Although Alessa was only a spectator to this event, visiting it from a memory a long time ago, she still felt the power rising between the four young people. This was more magic than she ever thought was possible. It flowed through and around them like a bright fire in her vision. She watched as that blazing fire coalesced into a single point above the cauldron. There, it seemed that someone had ripped a hole in the air, and beyond that hole lay nothing but blackness.

Alessa shivered in her non-corporeal form. That void reminded her of her first dream.

A figure appeared within the portal, a tall thin man with fiery red eyes. He stepped through the hole and over the cauldron, appearing on the solid ground in front of it.

The portal closed with a sucking sound. The four Dreamers snapped out of their trance, stumbling backward a few feet from the abruptness of the magic fizzling out. Their breaths were heavy as they stared at the strange man they had summoned.

“Dagda,” Sean said first, as he bowed. “Welcome back.”

BEFORE ALESSA HAD A chance to process what she had just witnessed, everything changed. She felt her perspective shift, and suddenly, she knew she was in someone else’s head, someone else’s memories. This time, it felt familiar, warm. This was someone she was close to.

But it didn’t come to her whose memories she was inside until everything below her coalesced into solid shapes.

She was inside the thoughts of Silas, and she felt them as if they were wrapped around her like his arms.

The scene below Alessa was the first floor of her house, but it looked wrecked. She saw overturned furniture in nearly every room and scorch marks covering the walls. Sounds of crying and screaming came from somewhere upstairs.

Alessa understood that this was the result of Dagda’s resurrection: utter chaos.

Below her, she saw Silas yelling and running upstairs, towards the noise of battle. Alessa tried to scream at him, to warn him, to tell him to turn back, but she was only a mute spectator here — this was something that had already happened.

Instead, she followed him, floating into what would become her bedroom in the present. Now, though, Alessa understood this was Reina’s room. Although it looked different, one thing was the same: the mahogany mirror stood guard in the corner.

Reina and Fergus stood near the bed, its legs broken, leaving it tilted to one side. Clothing, dolls, and photos had been strewn around the room, and there were burn marks on the curtains. Silas ran into the room, chewing his bottom lip. His eyes scanned around him as if he were searching for someone.

Tears streamed from Reina’s eyes as she rubbed at her protruded belly: she was pregnant.

Fergus’s fingers were pulling at his hair as he shook his head back and forth. “No, no, no, no!” he muttered as if fighting an internal war within himself.

Reina looked at Silas helplessly. “Dagda’s in his mind,” she said quietly.

Fergus rocked back and forth on his heels. “If it offend thee,” he said, his voice rising with each syllable, “cut it out!” One hand crawled towards his face, shaking, as if against its will, and plunged its thumb and forefinger into his eye socket.

Alessa watched, aghast, wanting to escape the memory, but unable to.

Fergus plucked out his own eyeball and dropped it on the floor beneath him. His foot lifted and he stepped on it as it squelched beneath the bottom of his shoe.

Reina screamed.

Silas stared at his friend in terror, his mouth moving as he tried to find words. He eventually spit out what he was attempting to ask, “Where’s Sean?”

Reina shook her head back and forth.

“Here!” Sean yelled as he ran into the room towards Reina. When he reached her, he wrapped her in his arms.

Fergus stood motionless, staring at nothing with his remaining eye. Blood and fluids oozed from his empty eye socket.

“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...” Silas said, tears beginning to pool in his eyes. “This is my fault...” He shook his head back and forth violently, reaching up to tug at the ends of his hair.

Before the others had a chance to react, a chill filled the room and everyone turned towards the bedroom’s doorway where a dark figure appeared. Dagda. He held the cauldron, caressing it with one hand as if it were his lover.

Alessa felt power flowing around him. It was like being in a room where everything was charged with electricity. She wasn't even there, but it was overwhelming.

Dagda laughed.

“I’m ending this now,” Silas whispered as he moved to grab Dagda by the shoulders.

Alessa noticed that the surface of the mirror was shifting, moving much like the portal she’d seen when she’d rescued Silas. Inside was a black hole leading to nothingness.

The mirror demanded attention as if it were oblivion attempting to suck everyone in. Sean grabbed Reina and held her steady. Fergus fell to his knees, sobbing. Silas began to push Dagda towards the mirror.

The black hole inside the mirror grew deeper as the two got closer to it. An unseen vacuum began to suck at Dagda’s clothes, making his dark robes flutter behind him. Silas planted his feet and continued to push against the figure, his hands moving down to Dagda’s arms, squeezing with enough might and magic that it surprised the dark god, who dropped the cauldron at his feet.

The black hole reached out from the mirror’s surface.

The world turned dark.

Flashes of images came to Alessa — of Dagda, of Silas, and the void in the mirror. She understood that there was another revelation hidden just beyond this current memory. She reached for it.

THERE WAS A FLASH OF light. Alessa found herself returning to the kitchen, Silas sitting across from her, Fergus on her right. Silas frowned, his eyes narrowing. Fergus smiled. They looked like the comedy and tragedy masks of theater, mirroring each other, but with different emotions.

“How dare you?” Silas whispered, shaking his head angrily.

Alessa, confused, stared at him. But then she realized why he was mad. She had inadvertently seen into his memories. And she had seen something else there, too, something that felt like a secret. But she hadn’t been able to grab it in time. What was he hiding?

“I’m sorry,” Alessa responded, unable to meet his gaze. She looked down at the table. “I didn’t do it on purpose, I promise.” Her throat was dry as if she had spent days in the desert.

Silas shoved his chair away from the table, stood up, and walked away, leaving the room.

“I didn’t,” Alessa stumbled over her words as she looked up at her uncle. “I didn’t mean to.”

Fergus kept smiling. He gestured with one hand, waving Silas off. “Don’t worry about it. He’ll get over it. But you...” He leaned forward and his grin expanded. “You, my darling girl, are something special.”

Alessa blinked a few times, unsure of how to react.

Fergus jumped up and placed his hands on the edge of the table. “Well, we can call it a day,” he announced dismissively. “That’s it. Training's over. Go do whatever it is girls your age do. Homework, think about boys, whatever.”

“Um... okay?” Alessa replied, still feeling very uncertain. She stood up, but couldn’t shake the worrying thoughts she had about Silas. Was he really that mad at her? It hurt her heart to think he could ever be angry with her. But how could she make it better? She’d seen what she’d seen. And now she had doubts about him, too, and that made her feel even more guilty.

Alessa slowly walked away from the kitchen with new knowledge, knowing that it might have come with a heavy price.

Chapter Eighteen

Silas refused to talk to Alessa for the rest of the day. He disappeared into some dark corner of the house to brood or whatever it was that teenage boys did who were a lot older than they looked. Alessa gave him space, hoping that, in time, he would forgive her.

It had been an accident, seeing inside his memories. Alessa felt guilty about it, of course, but she was also curious as to what else she might have uncovered if she’d stayed there. She knew this was a dangerous train of thought and tried to dismiss it as quickly as it came.

The next morning brought a new day, and school beckoned.

School, though, seemed so unimportant now. There was magic in the world and people who could do it. How did the public education system even begin to compare to that? Reina, though, continued to insist that Alessa have a normal life, even if it was impossible. Needless to say, being a dreamer did not give her a “get out of school free” card.

So Alessa was at school early, sitting on the front steps that led into the building. She sipped on a bottle of orange juice her mother had shoved into her hands on the way out the door. The day was warm, the sun bright, and if not for the chill in the air, it was hard to believe that winter was on its way.

Alessa knew, though, that there was a cold storm on the horizon. A storm named Dagda.

Alessa felt the presence of people as they sat down beside her, interrupting her reverie. Blue hair appeared under a gray skull cap, attached to Tyler’s smiling face. Devin sat beside Tyler.

Alessa frowned and leaned forward, ready to grab her things and get up and run away, but Tyler grabbed her hand before she could do anything. “We need to talk,” she said.

Alessa shook her head, trying to make her voice sound a lot more steady than she felt. “I don’t think so. Not after what he...” she gestured at Devin and tried to pull away. “Not after he threatened me.” She averted her gaze, not looking at either of them.

“He didn’t mean it,” Tyler said as if explaining to a child. “I promise. It’s just...well, there’s a lot of stuff going on at home.”

Alessa saw Devin nod in her peripheral vision.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at his hands.

Alessa slowly turned and stared at him.

Devin didn’t look up.

“Our parents...there’s just...well, our parents are being complete jerks,” Tyler stated as if this were somehow a normal conversation about a simple argument between friends. “And he’s confused. But I swear it’s okay, right?” Tyler patted her brother on the back. “You know Dagda, he...” she looked around conspiratorially to make sure no one was listening in. “He gets inside your head. It’s hard, you know?”

Devin looked up briefly and nodded. “Right,” he said, but he did not meet Alessa’s gaze.

Alessa remembered that earlier conversation with him and hugged her arms around herself. Was Tyler saying that Dagda had forced Devin to say those mean things? At the time he hadn’t seemed under the influence of anything, but hadn’t Alessa herself felt Dagda’s power? He’d been inside her head, too.

“Fine,” she finally answered. “Whatever, it’s okay,” even if it was anything but. She wanted to finish this conversation and get as far away from Devin and Tyler as soon as possible.

Devin had scared her, more than she would care to admit. More than that one time she’d been hiking in the woods behind her house with her camera — she’d seen a snake that she thought was poisonous trying to wrap itself around her leg. That was terrifying, but somehow seeing Devin was even more frightening — he’d been a snake trying to wrap himself around her mind. Alessa shuddered.

With everything else she’d seen since then, she was shaken. And there was so much more to worry about now. There was a battle coming, and she was terrified. And it was even more frightening now that she was a soldier in this war.

Tyler released her grip on Alessa’s hand and raised it as if she were carrying an imaginary white flag. “Seriously,” she said. “He’s sorry. I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. We just...well, we all need to stick together, you know? What with everything going on.” Tyler’s arms darted around the school as students began filing into the building behind them. “There aren’t that many of us left, you know.”

Alessa shrugged, but Tyler’s words surprised her. This was something she’d never bothered to ask about. How many Dreamers were there? Curiosity got the best of her, despite her fear. “Why not?” she asked.

Tyler shrugged, “Our DNA, I guess? Dad tried to explain it to me once. Something about how our genes got all mixed up with others...” her voice lowered to a whisper... “with Mundanes. Not much left of the Dreaming in this world.”

Devin remained silent beside his sister.

Alessa didn’t trust him, not even after his apology. She stared straight ahead. That was when she saw Mae walking towards her.

Mae stopped and frowned when she saw Alessa with Tyler and Devin.

Alessa waved at her best friend, but Mae didn’t wave back.

Alessa shook her head. “Okay, whatever, I need to go,” she said, and this time, she managed to grab her things and stand up.

Tyler and Devin did the same.

Alessa started to walk away, but Tyler grabbed her hand again. “We’re on your side, Alessa.”

Alessa wasn’t even sure what that meant, but she nodded as she looked at Devin, feeling he was pretty much not on her side at all. Something inside her was telling her as much, and if anything, she trusted her intuition, now more than ever.

“I gotta’ go,” Alessa said again and quickly moved away, pulling her hand away from Tyler’s.

Mae began to walk away.

“Mae!” Alessa called out, but before she had a chance to catch up, Mae eluded her by moving into a crowd of other students and striking up a random conversation with a group. Mae’s eyes darted over to Alessa, but then she averted her gaze quickly, pretending to laugh at a joke, but there was disappointment behind her fake smile.

The school buzzer rang, signaling that homeroom would start in five minutes. Alessa begrudgingly turned around and began walking up the steps and into the building. She saw Tyler and Devin doing the same in front of her—they seemed to be in another heated discussion.

Alessa walked inside the building and into the familiar halls of her high school, wishing she were anywhere but there.

ALESSA WANTED NOTHING more than to talk to Mae. However, it seemed Mae was doing her best to avoid her best friend, especially after seeing Tyler and Devin with her. This frustrated Alessa, but she tried to put herself in Mae’s shoes — to understand how her friend felt. Everything had changed, not just for Alessa, but for Mae, too. Magic had suddenly put this big divide between them and now the two were no longer so much alike. They were now living in two different worlds.

But Mae was still Mae, and Alessa loved her and just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Being a Dreamer was cool, sure, but the only good thing it had brought her so far was Silas, and magic had messed that up, too.

Alessa had hoped that she and Mae could sit together during study hall, where they would often trade whispers and notes, but when Alessa arrived at the library, Mae had set herself up at a table full of other students.

Alessa sat at a table by herself and spent most of that time staring at Mae as if she wasn't just across the room, but across an endless sea.

As the final bell rang, Alessa sprang from her seat and launched herself towards Mae, who was quickly trying to gather up her pencils, books, and notes to shove into her backpack. “Mae!” Alessa called out, nearly pouncing on the girl.

Mae jumped, looked up, and frowned. “Look, I’m really busy,” she mumbled. “I’ve got some major tests coming up and stuff.”

Alessa held up a hand. “No, please, talk to me,” she pleaded.

Mae zipped up her backpack and slung it across her shoulders. She crossed her arms and shook her head. “Look, I get it. You’ve got a lot of stuff going on. You’ve got new friends. People change. People move on.”

That hurt — a lot. Alessa bit back an angry retort as tears pooled in her eyes. “Mae, you’re still my best friend.”

“Am I?” Mae asked, looking down at her feet.

“Yes, always,” Alessa said.

Mae shrugged and looked up, but she was staring past Alessa’s head. “I’ve got to go,” she said as she walked past Alessa.

Alessa bit her lip and watched Mae walk away. She wanted to call out again but stopped herself.

Tyler stood nearby, her face indifferent. “You told her, huh?” she asked as she approached Alessa.

Alessa nodded but didn’t face the other girl.

Tyler put a hand on Alessa’s shoulder. “It’s hard. Like they can’t even possibly understand. That’s why we mostly keep to ourselves.”

Alessa did not look at Tyler. She didn’t want anyone to see the tears running down her face. Her breath hitched as she tried to catch it.

Was her friendship with Mae over because of magic? Did she want this at all? Mae was the only friend she had, the only person she had ever really counted on, save for maybe her mom. Is this really how that friendship would end?

The world was on the verge of an apocalypse, but at that moment, nothing else mattered. Alessa decided to give Mae time to think, time to process. But there was no way Alessa was going to let something as stupid as magic come between them. She would try to talk to her best friend again later.

Sure, maybe being friends with Tyler and Devin would be easier because they understood the world Alessa now found herself in, but they weren’t like her. They didn’t really even know her. They didn’t understand her in the way that Mae did. And Alessa would not give that up without a fight.

Chapter Nineteen

Alessa had hoped to have some time to speak with Silas after school, but when she got home, he wasn’t there. In fact, no one was around, which was unusual — Alessa thought at least Fergus would’ve been lying in wait with more training for her.

“Mom?” Alessa called around the empty house. “Uncle Fergus?”

No one answered.

This was the first time the house had been quiet since everything had started, and she found it eerie. Alessa walked into the living room and slung her backpack in an empty chair and plopped herself down on the sofa, her hands folded in her lap. She stared out of the large picture window that looked over the back porch.

Alessa’s brain did circles around itself, as she tried to figure out exactly what she would say to Silas when she saw him again.

Just a few minutes after she sat down, she heard footsteps on the porch and the sound of her mother’s laughter. But something pulled at her, like a string attached to her brain. She followed it and found herself sucked into a spiral of fog and confusion. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was somewhere else.

She recognized the place. It was the Old Burying Point, the oldest graveyard in Ashmill. In front of her was a gravestone marked simply with the name “John Grey” and the dates “1788-1838.”

Although Grey was a common name, this was no mere coincidence. This particular man had been one of her ancestors, back when Ashmill was first founded as a town. Alessa’s family had been one of the first to settle there.

It took Alessa a moment to realize she wasn’t alone. Two figures joined her. But Alessa wasn’t really there—she had been pulled into a past memory, so they couldn’t see her.

Alessa saw her mother and uncle as teenagers again, except this time, they looked considerably different. Reina now had a protruding belly, and Fergus wore an eye patch over his missing eye. Fergus was carrying the cauldron, struggling with its weight as he walked through the cemetery.

Alessa studied the large stone bowl, making out decorative Celtic spirals along its edges. She could feel power, an old primitive form of magic, emanating from it.

Reina held a shovel in one hand, using it as a staff to support her weight. Her other hand rested on her pregnant belly.

“There,” Reina said, motioning with her chin towards the tombstone of John Grey.

“Will it be safe here?” Fergus asked as he shuffled his feet toward the grave, placing the cauldron carefully at his feet when he reached it.

Reina nodded and handed the shovel to Fergus.

Fergus began to dig, sweat beading on his forehead.

Reina stared at the cauldron as if she were afraid it would suddenly disappear. “He’ll never find it here,” she said as she gestured around them. “This graveyard is protected.”

Alessa understood that her mother meant that there were certain magical wards around the cemetery.

Fergus continued to dig, the hole growing wider and deeper with each passing moment. Dirt kicked up into the air every time the shovel struck the earth. “Good. Then we’ll keep its secret safe.”

Alessa continued to watch, unseen. She was there in two capacities: both as a watcher from another time, but also as an embryo inside her mother’s womb. She almost felt it — the duality of her two existences there. She tried not to think about it, though, because it made her head hurt.

When Fergus stopped digging, there was a hole large enough for the cauldron in front of him. He had not dug down so far as to uncover the final resting place of John Grey, but it seemed deep enough. He let the shovel fall to the side and bent over to pick up the cauldron where he had left it. Again, he struggled with its weight but managed to pick it up before leaning over and setting it in the hole he’d made in the dirt.

Once the cauldron was in place, he wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of one arm and leaned over to pick up the shovel again. He began scooping up dirt from the pile he’d previously made, throwing it on top of the cauldron.

“We can’t tell anyone where it is,” Fergus explained between heavy breaths. “No one. Not even Sean, understood?”

Reina nodded in agreement, but then something seemed to catch her attention. She slowly turned her head to stare at the space where the incorporeal Alessa stood, watching the memory unfold.

Alessa froze in place. Her mother couldn’t see her, could she? This was the past. This didn’t work that way, did it?

“How dare you!" Reina snapped, narrowing her eyes and speaking directly to Alessa.

Alessa closed her eyes and willed herself away, making herself return to the waking world. When she opened her eyes again, her mother — the version that existed in this time and place — was standing in front of her, arms crossed, fiery anger dancing behind her eyes.

Reina glared at Alessa for a moment before turning that gaze on Fergus. “You taught her this and now she’s just wandering around in my thoughts without even thinking about it! How dare you let her betray my trust like that!” Her gaze shifted back to Alessa.

Alessa shrank beneath the weight of her mother’s stare.

Fergus shrugged, completely unaffected by Reina’s anger. “Would you have her inside Dagda’s head again? I’m teaching her how to use her magic, which is something you failed to do. She’s going to make mistakes, just like we all did when we were learning. You agreed to let me teach her, didn’t ‘ya?”

Reina put one hand on her hip, her other raised as if she was considering slapping him. But she still kept her attention turned toward her daughter.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...” Alessa attempted to explain, feeling that she’d done something awful yet again. But she also knew that she was now privy to secret knowledge: she knew where the cauldron was.

Reina understood that, too. She flung her arms to her sides, her fists balled up, turning back to Fergus. “You stupid man!” she yelled. “She knows where the cauldron is! He’ll come for her now!”

Behind her mother’s angry words, though, Alessa was painfully aware of the fear that inspired them — her mother looked terrified. That fear was so tangible that it washed over Alessa in waves as she wondered: would Dagda really come after her now? Tara had died because Dagda had thought she knew where the cauldron was. Was Alessa now next on his hit list?

“You underestimate your daughter,” Fergus said, still as casual as if this was a conversation about the day’s weather. “Alessa is strong. Her magic is powerful. She was capable of getting inside his head, getting inside Silas’ head, getting inside your head. She’s stronger than any of us.”

Alessa wondered about that, but she barely had time to let it register before someone else stepped into the room.

Sean appeared, almost as if summoned. “What’s going on?” he asked as he stood behind the sofa and stared at Reina, noting her distress. He looked at Fergus. “Oh, Fergus, what did you do now?”

Fergus shrugged, raising his hands as if he had no idea why Reina was so angry, or even why she was so scared.

Hot tears formed behind Alessa’s eyes, but she did her best to hold them back. She forced herself to meet her mother’s gaze. “Mom?” she whispered as if somehow she could calm her mother’s rage.

Reina’s shoulders dropped and her expression faded. She sank into the nearest chair, defeated, leaning over with her head in her hands, her long hair concealing her face as she stared at the floor.

“How powerful is this cauldron?” Alessa asked although it might not have been the right time for that particular question.

However, Sean answered. “No company goes away from it unsatisfied.”

More riddles and non-answers, Alessa thought.

Reina shook her head as if to clear her mind, sat up, and pushed her hair away from her face. When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, but exhausted. “It brings great power,” she said. “Whoever has the cauldron is satisfied: they get what they want. And as Fergus said, Dagda wants to break down the veil between our world and the Dreaming. He wants to set the rest of the First People free, along with the creatures and whatever else exists there with them.”

Alessa nodded and said, “That sounds bad.”

Reina laughed sarcastically. “Imagine your worst nightmares running around in the waking world. Remember that boogeyman you thought lived in your closet when you were a kid? Well, basically, he would become real. But not just him, every nightmare and monster imaginable.”

An uncontrollable shiver passed over Alessa’s spine. She hugged herself.

Reina watched her daughter. “Exactly,” she said. “But it isn’t just the cauldron he needs. He needs all four treasures, but the cauldron is the first piece of the puzzle. If he gets that, he gains extraordinary power.”

“Where are the other treasures?” Alessa asked.

Reina shrugged. “We don’t know, but we think he might know, or he’s somehow made progress in finding them. It would explain why he’s so focused on the cauldron right now.”

Alessa sighed. Her world continued to tilt sideways and she was finally starting to think she wanted to get off this merry-go-round of chaos.

Just as she was about to give up and start screaming, she felt a pair of familiar hands on her shoulders that immediately calmed her.

Silas had returned. Alessa felt him lean over her as his lips nearly brushed her ear. “I’m here,” he said.

The tears Alessa had been holding back began to spill over. Her vision clouded as the world blurred out, shifting and changing again.

She blinked, and like before, she found herself transported somewhere else.

“UM...MOM?” ALESSA QUIETLY said as she struggled to open her eyes. But even when they were open, she didn’t see anything. It was just dark. Alessa knew this place, though. She was back in the Dreaming.

Alessa tried to control the panic that rose inside her. “Hello?” she called out. Her voice echoed in the darkness as if she were in a large cave. When her eyes finally adjusted to the dark, though, she could see the outlines of the walls surrounding her. She reached out and touched the edges of the walls, turning around to feel all four. There was no opening or door, nothing but cold stone beneath her fingertips.

She took a deep breath and nearly gagged. The air smelled like something rotten and it left a horrible taste on her tongue. She pressed her lips together, as if afraid to breathe in the putrid air, but it wasn’t like she could hold her breath for very long.

“I’m just Dreaming,” she whispered to herself as she formed her hands into fists and beat against her thighs, hoping the sensation would wake her up.

She didn’t wake up, though.

So she thought about how the Dreaming was when she was there with Silas. He’d said she’d created that world, right? Could she do that now? Could she change this dark room into something else?

Alessa focused her thoughts on the scene she remembered. The green grass, the lake, the blue sky, and the sun gently casting rays across the earth.

Nothing happened.

She reached out with her hands again. The walls stayed in their place. She was trapped.

Alessa felt her heart beating faster, thinking it might burst out of her chest.

“Where is the cauldron?” a deep voice asked from somewhere above.

Alessa looked up but wished she hadn’t. There was a face there — no, the shadow of a face. It had red demon-like eyes. Dagda.

Okay, now is the time to panic, Alessa thought. She felt her body grow cold as if the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped 20 degrees. She hugged herself, but that didn’t stop the chill washing over her.

“I don’t know,” Alessa lied, her teeth chattering.

“I don’t believe you,” the voice above her stated.

The room began to expand, the four walls moving away from her. Laughter started from above Alessa and bounced around until it seemed like it was coming from just in front of her. Dagda appeared there, his skeletal face glowing in the darkness as he flashed a toothy grin that revealed pointed teeth. The red eyes regarded her with something that was like curiosity.

“I know you,” Dagda said, his head tilting to one side. A bony white hand reached out from beneath a cloak and stroked Alessa’s cheek.

Alessa tried to move, but couldn’t. Her cheek felt hot where Dagda had touched it, but also cold at the same time. Like being burned by ice.

She wanted to scream, but she gathered her courage and spoke. “I do not appreciate you touching me without my consent.” In any other situation, she might have been impressed by how confident she sounded.

“Awwww....I see it now,” Dagda stated as his mouth opened and became all pointy teeth again. “Your mother is Reina. Your father is Sean. My summoners.” He laughed and held up a bony hand in front of Alessa’s face.

Alessa felt as if her breath was being drawn out of her lungs. She gasped for air, but suddenly, there was none.

Dagda dropped his hand.

As he did so, the air returned to the room and Alessa dragged in deep breaths of it.

Dagda looked pleased with himself.

“I know what you are,” Alessa said, as if that would mean anything to this monster that had crawled out of her Dreams and into real life.

Dagda nodded. “Yes, and your parents and your boyfriend called me back into this world from the void. And then that...boy...” he waved a hand in the air, ”...tried to take me back. But you...” he waved a finger in front of her face. “You saved me. But I’m not quite fully myself.”

Alessa merely stared at him, still unable to move. She wanted to run, to scream, to hide, but she remained in place.

“I’m just a shadow of myself. Not really here...nor there...” he said.

Alessa attempted to turn her fear into anger. She remembered her uncle’s lessons and bit her lip, waiting for that power that was inside of her to come up to do something, to push this monster away. She felt it and gathered it into herself, eventually holding out her hands, palms facing Dagda, pushing everything she could at him.

Dagda took a few steps back, stunned, but unhurt.

“My, my, my,” he said. “You’re a little brat, aren’t you? I should have known. You’re just like your mother.” Dagda hissed at Alessa and reached out again, this time grabbing her arm and turning around to walk away, dragging her with him.

For a shadow, he seemed real and strong enough, Alessa thought, as she struggled to pull herself from his grasp.

“I would take care of you right now,” he said, “but there’s no fun in that.” He snickered. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t roughen you up a bit.”

Alessa tried to yank her arm away again, but his grip was tight. He pulled her through the darkness into a larger room, where a light illuminated a single metal chair.

Dagda dragged her to the chair and then forcefully shoved her into it.

Alessa looked down and saw two luminescent snakes slithering around her ankles, binding them. Another larger snake began to curl around her chest.

She squirmed, struggling, trying to break free.

The snakes hissed at her efforts, tightening their grip.

Dagda knelt in front of the chair, still staring at her, his head tilted. He took one of her hands and caressed it.

Alessa tried to pull away, but she could not move. Instead, she endured his hot and cold caress, grimacing as he touched her.

Dagda dropped her hand and slapped her, his long fingernails leaving bloody scratches on her cheek. He brought a finger to his mouth and licked at it, tasting her blood.

Alessa felt violated, and she used that as an opportunity to let her fear and anger come to the surface again. She focused on the pain where he’d scratched her. “Let me go!"!” she screamed, focusing all her magic on those three words.

The snakes binding her disappeared into puffs of smoke.

Alessa stood up and kicked her foot out at Dagda’s face.

He moved, faster than she could have imagined, appearing several feet away from her, standing and unharmed.

Alessa’s foot kicked air, leaving her unbalanced. She fell backwards, her head slamming against the concrete floor beneath her. She felt something warm, liquid, oozing from the back of her head. Dizziness washed over her as she prayed for unconsciousness to just take her.

“You silly stupid girl,” Dagda said. “You are no match for me. Now, tell me, where is the cauldron?”

Invisible tendrils reached inside her head, dancing around in her brain, searching through it for the information he sought. She felt like a computer being hacked. Alessa tried to block it out, but every attempt made her feel as if she might pass out. But would that be so bad?

No, Alessa thought. She couldn’t let him get that information. He was inside her head and he was looking for the memory she’d inadvertently stolen from her mother.

Those tendrils dug deep, though, and Alessa felt herself weakening against the onslaught.

Then they found what they were looking for. Dagda laughed.

No! Alessa thought, still trying to fight the tendrils as they grabbed the memory and started to slither away. She didn’t even see Dagda standing over her, victory etched on his horrifying skeletal face.

“Hey, dirtbag!” A voice cried out from somewhere nearby.

Alessa recognized that voice — it was her mother. But was it real? Or was this just some trick or hallucination?

Alessa blinked, forcing her unfocused eyes to see Dagda.

Dagda turned away from her and began to walk away.

Alessa, still fighting waves of dizziness, managed to sit up on her elbows. She watched as Dagda walked toward another figure that had appeared in the room. The figure coalesced into Reina.

“Get your hands off my daughter!” Reina yelled as she threw several punches into the air, leaving magic in their wake.

Dagda stumbled backwards as a fury of invisible blows assailed him.

“I should have known you were near,” Dagda straightened himself and spat at Reina. He sounded out of breath, possibly even injured.

Alessa blinked, still trying not to fade out, even if she so desperately wanted to lay back and let the blackness take her.

“Don’t move, honey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” her mother said over Dagda’s shoulder. “I’ve got this.”

“Don’t you dare test me,” Dagda warned as he composed himself and made a gesture in the air, his hands moving in a circle. “I will kill you this time.”

Reina snarled at him. “Give it your best shot,” she uttered, putting her fists up, ready to fight.

“I will,” Dagda growled. A ball of energy formed between his hands, like a sphere of lightning.

Another figure suddenly appeared in front of Reina. “You’ll have to go through me first,” Silas said.

Two more figures appeared beside him, Sean and Fergus, their hands also balled into fists and raised. “And us,” Alessa’s uncle said.

Dagda muttered something unintelligible under his breath, his ball of energy hovering between his hands.

Silas, Sean, Fergus, and Reina reached out to each other, holding hands. They approached Dagda together, their combined magic palpable, filling the room with its energy.

There is power here, Alessa thought. A power that went beyond magic. A power combined with the force of friendship and love.

Dagda’s red eyes widened for just a moment, but then his face spread into an impossible grin, as if it might break the skull that lay beneath it. There was a bright flash of light, and then he disappeared.

Alessa understood why. He knew where the cauldron was. He had what he wanted. It’s over, she thought to herself, as she finally lay back against the cold floor and let unconsciousness take her.

Chapter Twenty

When Alessa awoke, she found herself in her room, lying on her bed. Her head still felt fuzzy, but the feeling began to fade with each blink of her eyes. However, she felt bruises and sore places all over her body, a result of what had happened in the Dreaming.

It was real, all of it. Dagda had found her, tortured her, and threatened her and her family. The weight of it came crashing down on Alessa like a ton of bricks.

As Alessa began to stir, she heard voices just outside her bedroom door, which was slightly open.

“He could have killed her!” Reina whispered loudly.

“But he didn’t,” Sean replied, his voice much calmer.

“She needs more training,” Fergus said, matter-of-factly.

Alessa couldn’t agree more.

Reina sighed loud enough for Alessa to hear it through the cracked door. “I know, I know,” she answered, perhaps finally resigned to the fact that her daughter was a Dreamer, but also that her daughter needed to learn how to protect herself with magic. Reina’s tone, though, suggested that she still didn’t like it.

Alessa took a moment before speaking up. “Mom?” she called out, her throat dry and scratchy.

The conversation outside Alessa’s bedroom stopped. Alessa heard the door creak open, but she didn’t try sitting up, not just yet. Her head swam as if part of her was still trapped in the Dreaming. Trapped with that...thing...Dagda.

Reina appeared almost immediately at Alessa’s bedside. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

When Alessa looked at her mother, she noticed a new weariness there, as if Reina had aged ten years overnight. It was as if all of this had made her mom older, every line on her face now deeper, her frown turned even further down than before. There was no sign of the lighthearted woman Alessa knew.

Alessa felt a certain kind of guilt when she looked at her mom. This was her fault, at least in a way. But then she remembered about not knowing what she was. About the lies. About everything her mother had never told her. That still lay between them like a wide chasm.

“Tell me about Dagda,” Alessa simply said, forcing herself to meet her mother’s gaze as best she could from where she lay. “Tell me why you summoned him.”

“We were just kids,” Reina answered, turning her head just enough that she faced Alessa, but wouldn’t have to look at her daughter’s face. “Just stupid kids.”

Silas approached and stood behind Reina. “Stupid kids with magic,” he said.

Sean and Fergus stood beside him.

“I’ll say, “Fergus added with a smirk.

Ignoring Fergus, Silas moved around the bed and sat on the other side. He took one of Alessa’s hands, not seeming to care that he was showing her that kind of affection in front of her mom, dad, and uncle.

Alessa smiled despite everything she’d just been through. At that moment, she knew that Silas had forgiven her, that they were maybe okay. Well, maybe not okay, but the feel of his hand holding hers let her have a single “okay” moment.

Reina continued, “Yes, stupid kids with magic. And of course, we thought we were invincible. Me, your dad, Silas, Fergus, we decided we’d try to contact the First People ourselves because we thought that would be so cool.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “So we drank a few beers, set up a magical circle, and said a few words of Gaelic we’d read in an old book.”

Alessa paid close attention to her mother’s words, imagining Reina as she was in her earlier vision, young and unworried by the world’s cares. Reina had once been a teenager, just like her. So had Sean and Fergus. It was only Silas who remained the same, thanks to his being trapped in the Dreaming for so long.

“Foolish children,” Fergus said, grumbling. “That’s what we were. And we let that thing...that shadow of a god out of the Dreaming.”

“We did,” Reina said, consigned to the fact, maybe admitting it out loud for the first time since it had happened.

Alessa blinked a few times, letting that sink in. “So now we have to save the world, right?” she asked. She laughed sarcastically. “No pressure.”

“Silas was the only one who could match his power, ‘ya know,” Fergus said to his niece as he leaned over where Reina sat, looking at Alessa with his good eye. He reached up and tugged on his eye patch, perhaps remembering why he wore it. “Silas was the most powerful of us all. He tricked Dagda somehow, and I guess, from what you and he have told us, trapped him in the Dreaming.”

Silas finally spoke. “But it was my fault he had the cauldron,” he looked down at his hand holding Alessa’s. “He manipulated me. He got inside my head. I stole the cauldron and I brought him to him without a second thought.”

That was it...that was the secret, Alessa thought. That was the betrayal the others had spoken about earlier.

“He does that,” Alessa said, squeezing his hand, knowing that she, too, had fallen into that trap.

When Alessa looked at the rest of her family, though, they seemed...suspicious? As if somehow they didn’t believe what Silas had said. It was...odd.

Alessa finally felt steady enough to come up on her elbows, to get a better look at whatever was happening in the room. The tone had suddenly shifted. But there was no time to wonder about that. “He escaped again because of me,” she said, making sure to make eye contact with everyone in the room. “I opened the doorway or whatever and he got out.”

But that left another question. She focused her attention on Silas. “Why couldn’t you leave then, too?” She hadn’t thought about it until just that moment.

Silas answered, “I tried, believe me. But I couldn’t. I think...well...” His face clouded over for a moment and then cleared. He shrugged, “I don’t know. Even without the cauldron, he still had a lot of power, even there.”

Alessa sat up. Her vision clouded for a moment. She reached up and touched the back of her head, remembering the feeling of blood gushing from it. She winced when she touched the place where the wound was, but it was clean now, her hair unmatted and brushed. Someone had taken the time to clean it while she’d been unconscious. But it still hurt.

“So Dagda is more powerful than Silas, even in the Dreaming,” Alessa summed up.

Fergus nodded, “Seems like it — and with each day he spends here, he becomes more real, and that makes him more dangerous. But...” he pointed at Silas, “Maybe you could shove him back in?”

Silas shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. I could try.”

Alessa bit her lip. She didn’t want Silas to try. She didn’t want him to risk being dragged back into the Dreaming. She had just brought him out, and who knew if she could do that again?

One thing was certain, though. She now knew what Dagda was capable of. But there was something else, something she had not told them yet. “He knows where the cauldron is,” she admitted, almost whispering it, afraid of what their reaction might be. “He saw it. In my head. I couldn’t help it. He just forced himself inside my brain and he took the memory.” Her words rushed into each other. “If he gets it...”

Reina interrupted, “He’ll become too powerful to stop.”

Silence settled in the room for a moment, the weight of that realization heavy in the air.

“We can’t let that happen,” Alessa finally said, even though she didn’t even feel strong enough to make such a statement. What was she going to do? Go fight Dagda again? She’d already tried that and it had not gone well.

“No, we can’t,” Fergus agreed grimly.

“So what do we do?” Reina asked, turning to look at Fergus as if she’d find some guidance there.

Fergus motioned to Alessa. “Well, don’t look at me,” he said, shaking his head. “Ask the girl.”

Alessa’s eyes widened. “Me?” she asked incredulously. What could she do?

“Yes, you,” Fergus answered, straightening himself. “You’re the most powerful of us all. What do we do now, girl?”

Alessa blinked a few times, slowly, just about to tell her uncle he had officially lost his mind. But then she felt it. Her power. As if it had an answer. But how?

Still, she knew what to do next. “We have to get the cauldron before he does,” she said.

Reina nodded at her daughter. “Then we better get going.” She frowned, adding, “Are you up for this?” she asked, grabbing her daughter’s hand and squeezing it gently.

Alessa regarded her mother. She was exhausted, but something was telling her they were running out of time. “I have to be,” she said, her mouth set in a straight line as she jutted out her chin.

Reina took a moment to glance around the room. “Five minutes. We’ll meet downstairs.” She looked at her daughter again, her expression grim, concern etched around the outer corners of her eyes. She stood.

Reina, Sean, Fergus, and Silas left the room, leaving Alessa alone to gather the last of her strength and will.

ALESSA ONLY TOOK A moment to pull herself together as she swung her legs around the side of the bed. She steadied her breathing as best she could and reached deep inside herself for the courage she wasn’t sure she had. But where courage might have failed her, determination crept in, giving her the strength to stand up and exit her room, heading downstairs to meet the others.

They were all there waiting for her, formed into a circle, holding hands.

As Alessa approached the group, Reina stepped aside to make room for her daughter.

Alessa stepped in to complete the circle, her mother on one side of her, Silas on the other. She grabbed their hands.

“Close your eyes,” Fergus said from across the circle. “This might be a bit disorienting.”

Alessa snuck a glance at Silas beside her, seeing that he had already closed his eyes. She did the same. Then she felt a strange sensation in her body, like it was shifting, transitioning, but also stuck in two places at once. She was in the mortal world, but she was also in the Dreaming, straddling the two in a way she had never experienced before. It felt...wrong...somehow, but she kept her eyes closed until the feeling began to fade and then stopped.

When Alessa opened her eyes, a bitter wind blew her hair away from her face. She looked around. She was still standing in a circle with Silas and her family, but they were no longer in her house. Now, they were just outside a cemetery, Old Burying Point. Alessa could make out old gravestones and markers in the background.

Silas dropped Alessa’s hand. “There!” he said, pointing to a tombstone that jutted up from the ground. Above it was a tree that was shedding brown leaves that lazily drifted down on top of the grave.

Sean and Fergus began to walk toward the grave. Reina, Silas, and Alessa followed.

It was then that Alessa recognized the location. It was identical to the memory she had inadvertently stolen from her mother. This was where the cauldron was. Alessa could feel its power as if it had soft tendrils of electricity reaching out to wrap itself around her.

When they reached the tombstone, Reina held up a hand to signal to the others for silence. She clasped her hands in front of her, almost as if she were in prayer, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

The power Alessa felt began to build, reaching up from beneath the earth to surround them.

A watery image of the cauldron formed in front of them, coalescing into something tangible.

Reina reached out with both hands as the cauldron became solid, catching it in her grasp. She swayed slightly as its weight almost unbalanced her.

Although the cauldron was covered in old dirt, Alessa felt the power of the Dreaming seeping out of it, more power than she’d experienced yet. She no longer wondered why Dagda sought it out. A chill passed over the backs of her arms. Alessa hugged herself. “Can we go now?” she asked. Something was off. No, something was coming...

That’s when Alessa noticed about dozens of dark shadows lurking just around the cemetery’s edges. One of the shadows had red eyes. It was Dagda. Fear crawled over her body like millions of insects.

Dagda had found them — and he’d brought an army.

“Who are they?” Alessa whispered, afraid to raise her voice.

“The dead,” Fergus answered, shaking his head.

Alessa stared at her uncle, not fully grasping his meaning.

“He can bring the dead to life, make them do his will,” Fergus explained, impatiently as if he were growing weary of teaching her what she did not yet know.

Alessa’s eyes widened as she looked at her parents, at Fergus, and then at Silas. How was that even possible? How was Dagda so powerful? How was he so...evil?

“Necromancy,” Fergus said as if he’d heard the thoughts inside Alessa’s mind. “Dark magic. The darkest.”

Alessa felt panic rising in her throat. “Can’t we just teleport out of here? Like how we got here? We can’t fight him,” she said, remembering her earlier encounter with the being she now thought of as a dark god.

“I can try,” Fergus said. “But I’m wiped. Just one trip takes a lot out of me. Teleportation isn’t really my strong suit.” But he still held out his hands and motioned for the others to join him in a circle again.

Everyone moved into position, grasping hands. Reina, though, clung to the cauldron, while Alessa and Sean held onto her arms. When Alessa touched her mother, it was almost like being shocked. The cauldron was feeding them its magic.

Fergus began to concentrate.

Alessa closed her eyes.

Nothing happened.

“Incoming!” Reina screamed.

Alessa’s eyes flew open.

Beside her, Reina widened her stance as if bracing herself. Her grip on the cauldron tightened.

Sean and Fergus did the same, their hands held at their sides as if channeling their magic.

Silas dropped Alessa’s hand and joined them, gesturing for her to follow their lead.

Alessa mimicked her mother, spreading her legs, holding her arms at her sides, digging deep within herself for her magic.

The dark shadows at the edges of the cemetery began to come closer, shifting in and out of sight. When they wandered beneath the cemetery’s overhead lights, Alessa truly saw them for the first time. They were horrors, skeletons with bits of flesh hanging from their skulls and limbs.

She bit back a scream as she realized that this was going to be a battle unlike anything she had ever seen.

As they grew closer, Alessa could feel the dark magic surrounding them, encircling their group and trapping them there, leaving them unable to do anything but stand and fight.

Dagda stood at the edge of the cemetery, near the main entrance, his red eyes taking in the scene.

At 16 years old, Alessa had never thought much about death, not until recently. She’d never known death until Tara had died, and she’d never understood what “life and death” meant until Dagda had taken her. But it wasn’t until that moment that she truly understood what it felt like to have death staring her in the face.

But she did what she had to do: she swallowed her fear, forcing it away, and she held up her hands, gathering all the power she could summon, relying on her instincts to know what to do.

This was an unfair fight, though. How did you defeat those who were already dead? At least 30 skeletal figures were approaching, and their group only numbered five.

Alessa’s power sparked to life inside of her, bolstered by the cauldron her mother held. She felt more powerful than she had ever felt before.

“Girl, you’re positively glowing,” Fergus said, speaking out of the corner of his mouth in a whisper. He seemed surprised, as well as impressed.

Alessa felt it all around her, as if the sun had burst to life inside her. She saw a bright white aura around her hands as she continued to hold them up in front of her. She’d tapped into something she hadn’t even known she possessed.

“Not now, Fergus,” Reina hissed. “We can talk about how powerful my daughter is when this is all over. For now, though, we fight!” Waves of magic flooded over her as she spoke, as the cauldron continued to channel power into their group.

The first of the dead finally reached them.

“We do this together,” Silas said, taking the lead as he stepped forward and stood beside Alessa. “On my count. On three, got it?”

Alessa included, everyone murmured their assurances.

“One...” Silas began. “Two...three!”

In tandem, the group raised their palms towards the creatures, channeling energy and magic from the Dreaming.

Alessa felt her power combine with theirs and then felt it burst forward, aimed directly at the first line of attackers.

Seven of the undead crumbled to the ground.

Alessa held her breath, expecting them to get up.

They didn’t.

A woman’s figure suddenly appeared in front of Reina. She was not like the others, the undead. She appeared as something alive, although her skin was covered in dirt, her clothes were torn, and her hair was mattedtted into clumps. “Hello,” she said.

Alessa jumped, moving her palms to face what she thought was a new enemy.

Reina shook her head back and forth, still clinging to the cauldron. “She’s one of us,” she said with a grin. Then she turned her attention to the woman. “Emma, it’s been a while.”

“Likewise,” the woman, Emma, said.

Behind Emma, others appeared.

Alessa felt their magic washing over them. More Dreamers.

They formed a line behind Alessa, Reina, Sean, Fergus, and Silas.

Knowing that backup had arrived, Alessa focused her power again on the approaching undead, shooting as much of her power in their direction as possible. The others did the same.

More fell.

But just as Alessa was about to focus her power on the next wave, the figures stopped, as if time itself had come to a halt.

Behind them, just outside the cemetery, she could make out Dagda, his hand in the air.

Alessa felt a chill crawl across her spine. Something was wrong.

“I’ll take that,” Emma said as she rushed to Reina, shoved her around, and grabbed the cauldron.

“What are you doing?” Reina asked, surprised, as she gripped the cauldron closer to her chest.

“He promised me a world beyond compare, with wealth, and riches, power, a world without Mundanes,” Emma said, shrugging as if she were explaining something simple.

Reina’s face fell.

Alessa, Sean, Fergus, and Silas all turned around.

Those who had arrived with Emma stood behind her, facing Alessa and her family.

They were being betrayed.

“You would follow him?” Silas asked incredulously, shaking his head.

Emma and those with her all nodded.

“Then you are cowards,” Silas spit at them, holding his arm out towards the group and blasting them with all his might.

Emma merely glared at him.

Silas’ magic bounced off her and back to him, striking him in the chest. He fell.

“Silas!” Alessa cried out, moving from her place in formation to kneel at his side.

“I’m alright,” he said as he sat up, glaring at the betrayers.

“Hold them here,” Emma said, gesturing at her small army. They moved in to form a circle around Sean and Reina. Emma moved towards Reina again but stopped short as she slammed into an invisible barrier.

Alessa saw her mother grimace. Her eyes were focused, determined, forming the magic that protected her.

“You,” Emma said to Reina, growling. “Let down the wards. Or my Master will have his way with you.”

“No,” Reina said.

“Fine,” Emma said. Then she yelled incoherently as she brought her hands in front of her face, her palms making a sphere. A ball of black stuff appeared between her fingertips.

Alessa’s eyes hurt looking at the black. She recognized it for what it was — the void, the darkness she’d once seen in the Dreaming. Alessa knew that this stuff was something far more dangerous, though. This stuff was death.

Emma shot her palms forward at Reina and the cauldron.

The blackness broke through Reina’s protections and hit the cauldron full blast.

Reina’s hands dropped from the cauldron as she stumbled backwards.

The cauldron remained hovering in the air.

“Thanks,” Emma said as she reached out for the cauldron, pulling it to her as if it weighed nothing. She caressed it as if it were an old lover she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Dagda’s voice filled the air above them, though he stayed just outside the cemetery gates. “I told you it wasn’t polite to take other people’s things,” he said, pointing at Reina. His voice carried throughout the cemetery. “For that, you will be punished.” His red eyes blinked.

Reina fell to the ground.

Emma, her group, and Dagda disappeared, the cauldron gone with them.

Alessa heard Dagda’s laughter in her head, even after he left. It echoed inside her skull.

Sean and Fergus fell to their knees beside Reina. Sean was crying. Fergus took one of Reina's hands and shook it, but Reina did not respond.

When Alessa found her voice, she turned around to stare at where her mother lay. “Mom?” she called out into the cold still air.

Reina did not move.

Sean held a hand in front of Reina’s mouth, checking for her breath.

Alessa thought that was silly, though, wasn’t it? Why wouldn’t her mother be breathing?

Silas placed a hand on Alessa’s shoulder. “She’s gone,” he said quietly.

Alessa felt a rage she did not know she was capable of working its way through her. “What do you mean she’s gone?” she yelled, as she turned her head to look at Silas. “She’s right there!” She motioned to where her lifeless mother lay on the ground. She stared at the body, willing it to move, to breathe, to call out, to yell at her, to do, well...anything.

Reina remained motionless.

Hot tears began streaming down Alessa’s cheeks as she felt the world shift and sway all around her. “She’s dead,” she whispered into the air. “My mother is dead.” Her cries became sobs as she struggled to find her breath.

“She’s dead,” she repeated as she bowed her head and gave in to her grief.

Chapter Twenty-One

Alessa didn’t remember much after that, although it would later come back to her in loose threads and small patches of memory. She remembered her father picking up her mother’s limp body, and how Reina’s arms dangled beneath her.

Alessa remembered Uncle Fergus putting his hands underneath her arms and lifting her, forcing her to stand.

She remembered Silas wrapping his arm around her, holding her in place. She wouldn’t have remained upright otherwise.

Dagda had the cauldron. Alessa remembered that. But it was the least of her worries. Because her mother, the woman who had been her protector and her friend, was gone from the world, leaving only an empty husk of flesh and bones. Certainly, this was a dream, something Alessa would wake up from, something she would tell her mom about later, as they laughed at her overactive imagination.

A sheet of ice gripped Alessa’s heart. She felt her veins grow cold, her body grow numb, her mind threatening to leave all reality behind. Otherwise, facing what had happened could break her into millions of tiny pieces. A light inside Alessa had flickered out, and there was no way to turn it back on again.

They had started to walk out of the cemetery when Alessa realized that Sean and Fergus were arguing about something. Sean was adamantly shaking his head, but Fergus, perhaps being the calmest of the group—especially considering what had happened—continued to attempt to explain something to his brother, his hands gesticulating as he spoke.

Sean sighed heavily, his shoulders heaving. Then he leaned over and placed Reina’s body back on the ground.

Alessa would always remember the pained expression on her father’s face. He still loved Reina in his own way.

Alessa swallowed the lump in her throat and allowed the numbness to sink in, to embrace her. Right then, it was her only hope of remaining standing because all she wanted was to throw her body to the ground beside her mother and die right there with her.

Sean stood upright and lifted his hands to the sky, closing his eyes. His mouth moved quietly as if he were praying to some unknown god.

A field of bright stars formed around Reina’s body, covering every inch of her skin. There was a sound like tinkling and then the stars faded away, leaving nothing but an empty patch of ground.

The other Alessa, the one that had existed before this moment, might have screamed, might have demanded an explanation, might have even yelled at her father. But this Alessa just watched on with cold and detached eyes as her mother’s empty shell of a body faded away forever.

Alessa remembered how Fergus had made them all hold hands just before he teleported them back to the house. She vaguely remembered crawling up the stairs to her bedroom and falling backwards on her bed, her eyes staring at her ceiling. Her mother’s face drifted there, just on the edges of her unconscious thoughts. Alessa tried not to see it.

But she did. As the dam inside her broke, tears streamed from Alessa’s eyes and down the sides of her face as grief finally exploded out of her in heavy sobs.

At some point, she fell asleep, although she had no idea how. When she awoke, the sun streamed through her window letting her know it was morning. However, there was a heaviness over the house, a massive gray cloud that even the sunlight could not penetrate.

Uncle Fergus had peeked his head in to explain that he’d called her school and told her teachers that she wouldn’t be there for a while due to the passing of her mother.

Alessa remembered thinking it was such a funny word. Passing. As if it were a kinder way of saying "died." There was nothing kind about death, so why not call it what it was?

Alessa spent most of her time crying. She might have taken a shower at one point, and she might have changed clothes, but the tears never stopped.

Silas came to her often, but he was no comfort, although he tried. She remembered crying in his arms, shedding so many tears that his shirt was damp with them. He never said much. He was just...there.

Alessa didn’t know how many days had passed like that. People wandered into and out of the house, telling stories about her mother and laughing about things Alessa had never heard before. There was a wake, a celebration of the life of Reina Grey.

Alessa didn’t feel much of a desire to celebrate. Sure, they wanted to remember Reina as she was, as she had been when she was alive. But Alessa couldn’t forget how she died. It played over and over in her mind like a short movie stuck on repeat.

Alessa reached for that icy coldness she’d felt before, but it had only become a shard of glass, piercing her heart over and over and poisoning her with her own sadness.

But grief has a way of changing, and for Alessa, she started to feel a new emotion seep in. It was red and mean and angry. It brought thoughts of revenge, and fantasies of killing Dagda and everyone who followed him once and for all.

Alessa welcomed this new emotion because it came with purpose.

Dagda would pay for what he’d done.

ALESSA REMEMBERED OTHER things, too, in those blurry days after her mother’s death. Mae was also there a lot, offering comfort and support, although Alessa didn’t find any solace in it. Tyler texted a few times, but Alessa couldn’t bring herself to respond to any messages.

The days floated by in a haze, and although a week passed beneath the shadow of that thing that was now missing from her life, she did find herself awake and aware, thanks to that new red haze inside her head. After a week of feeling like she wasn’t even able to breathe, anger forced her to come out of her daze and back into the world.

It was still a struggle, though, waking up in a house without her mother. Alessa woke up smiling one morning, expecting to hear her mother tinkering around downstairs and calling out for her to get up and get ready for school. A whole minute passed before reality kicked her in the gut again, but this time, instead of pulling the covers back over her head and crawling back into her numb cocoon, Alessa let that hot new emotion force her to sit, stand, and walk out her bedroom door and down the stairs.

As she stood on the bottom stair, she heard whispers in the living room from her father and uncle, but when they noticed her, they stopped. Sean stood up and walked out of the room, passing Alessa, without even looking at her. He then opened the front door and walked away, leaving the door to shut quietly behind him.

It was then that Alessa realized that her entire future was up in the air. What would happen to her now? Reina had taken care of her for 16 years...who would take care of her now? Technically, she was not yet an adult, meaning that she would need a parent or guardian, but who would that be? The father who had missed all 16 years of her life?

Alessa walked into the living room, hoping to find Silas, but only Fergus sat there, nursing a glass of whiskey that hardly left his lips. She took a moment to study her uncle, marking each wrinkle on his face, the gray hairs that dotted the roots of his hair, the way his cheek puffed out a little more on the side of his face with his bad eye.

Fergus turned his head to acknowledge her, “Awww...there ‘ya are,” he said, offering a sad smile.

Alessa knew social skills were not something Fergus was proficient at, but at least he was trying. She couldn't smile back, though. Not yet. Instead, she just nodded. “Here I am,” she said.

“Sit,” Fergus said, gesturing with one hand to the chair opposite where he currently sat. His face wasn’t stern, but it turned serious.

Alessa sat.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” he said. “We all have questions. There’s a lot going on and there’s still so much that will happen.”

Alessa nodded again. That was the understatement of the year.

“Don’t worry, girl,” he said before taking another swig of whiskey from his glass. “We’ll look after you. It’s what your mother would have wanted.” He smirked. “Not that your grandparents are too happy about it, but we talked to them and told them what’s what.”

He paused and reached up absentmindedly to tug at his eye patch. “But I guess I have to ask...what do you want?” He leaned forward slightly. “Where do you want to live?”

There it was, that thing that Alessa realized she had to worry about. That thing that no 16-year-old girl should ever have to think about. She’d always imagined living in that house with her mother for at least a bit longer. But now, Alessa had to make a decision that could change her life even further.

Alessa loved her grandparents, but she couldn’t imagine living with them. She’d already heard her mother’s stories about living under their strict care, and now Alessa knew that her mother had also lived with this huge destiny held over her head. It’s why she chose never to tell Alessa about magic or the Dreaming. Her grandparents had forced all that on Reina from an early age. Alessa understood that now.

“Well,” Alessa said, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. She forced the words out anyway. “I want to stay here. In this house.”

She didn’t even know if that was still possible.

However, Fergus just nodded. “We can do that. It’s time I settle down and put down roots somewhere anyway,” he said. “Reina left the house to you, so if you’ll have us...”

That was almost too easy, and not what Alessa had expected. She had lost everything and had expected to lose her home, too, but it seemed like she would get to stay there, even if it did now feel a lot emptier.

But she couldn’t help but wonder about her father. Her mother had always made it seem like it was a mutual decision that he stay away, but was that the whole truth? Shouldn’t he be here for this discussion? He’d ducked out quickly like he had more important things to do. But what was more important than the future of his daughter?

As if reading her mind (and maybe he was), Fergus said, “Your dad went out to gather some other Dreamers. He’s making calls, visiting people. There’s a war coming, Alessa. And we’ll all have to fight. I know you don’t want to hear that right now, what with losing your mom and all, but...”

Alessa interrupted him. “I know,” she said, sticking out her chin. “I’ll be ready to fight.” That hot red anger added a new determination to her words.

Sure they needed to stop Dagda before he destroyed the world, but more importantly, they needed to make him pay for what he’d done to her mother.

“Aye,” Fergus answered as he carefully regarded her, as if checking her resolve. He leaned back, satisfied with what he saw.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alessa spent several more days just milling around the house, often catching herself staring at her mother’s closed bedroom door. It had been that way since that fateful night. Alessa hadn’t dared open the door and go inside, maybe because she didn’t want to see just how empty the room was, another reminder of what she had lost.

But one day, that changed. Alessa stood in front of the door, her hand gripping the doorknob, turning it before she lost the nerve, and swinging the door inward. She closed her eyes and inhaled. Then she exhaled deeply before stepping across the threshold. Maybe secretly, Alessa imagined she would find her mom on her bed curled up with a book, a sight that had been a common occurrence before.

But when the door swung open and Alessa opened her eyes, the only thing she saw was an unmade bed, still mussed from the last time Reina had slept there.

It was the smell, though, that got Alessa. She could smell her mother as if that part of her had remained unchanged in this room. It was equal parts fresh bread, vanilla, and cinnamon, the way her clothes smelled at the end of a catering gig.

Tears slid down Alessa’s cheeks, but she forced herself to enter the room, to see, to wallow in that smell. She needed this. She needed to understand that her mom was gone, and maybe, just maybe, she needed to say goodbye.

She took two tentative steps into the room and noticed the corner of a brown shoe box peeking out from underneath a carelessly thrown coverlet on top of the bed. The lid to the box lay on the floor beneath the bed, tossed there by Reina on the day...

Well, on the day she died.

Alessa brought her hand up to her mouth, both wanting and not wanting to look inside the box. But her legs carried her across the room, threatening to buckle beneath her. She carefully sat on the bed, not wanting to disturb its messy state. She pulled just enough of the coverlet away to reveal the contents of the box.

Inside were photographs.

But these weren’t just any old photos or family pictures. These were photos Alessa had taken. Back in the before, when being a photographer was all Alessa wanted in the world.

Alessa reached into the box and pulled out the first photo which showed Reina, unaware, sitting in the living room eating popcorn and watching a movie.

A memory so real came over Alessa that she almost felt as if she was reliving the moment she’d taken the photograph. She and her mom had planned a girl’s night in with romantic comedies and loads of popcorn. Alessa had gotten up to use the bathroom, but when she came back, she found herself struck by her mother’s timeless beauty — Alessa often saw the world that way. Alessa hurried to grab her camera from the next room and snapped a photo before rejoining her mom on the couch.

Because of that, her mother and that beautiful moment  were forever captured in a photo.

Sobs choked Alessa, but she continued to pull photos from the box. There was one taken at the zoo of one of the elephants — it had seemed so sad to Alessa. There was one of Mae. There was a photo of a wine glass and a bowl of fruit, an experiment in still life.

After looking over at least 30 photos with many more to go, Alessa came across a business card. It was for the local art gallery and had a contact name on it, Beverly Raines, along with a phone number.

Alessa and Reina had fought several times over that business card. Reina insisted Alessa should showcase her work at the gallery and had even spoken with this woman, this Beverly Raines, about it. But Alessa had not felt ready, and argued as such, telling her mother she didn’t think she could put herself out in the world like that, her work for everyone to see.

Reina had disagreed, showing Alessa her photos as if that would somehow convince her daughter that she was way more of an artist than she ever knew. Her mother had always believed in her work, even when she hadn’t believed in it herself.

Now all that was left of her mother was this stack of photos and the dreams she’d had for her daughter.

Alessa picked up the business card and read the phone number out loud. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, quickly dialing the number before she lost her nerve.

The phone on the other end rang twice, and Alessa was preparing to hang up when a voice finally answered.

“Raines Gallery,” the voice said, definitively.

“I would like to speak to Ms. Raines, Beverly Raines,” Alessa said as she swallowed the large lump in her throat.

“You’re speaking to her,” the woman replied.

“This is Alessa Grey. I think you knew my mom?” Alessa asked, almost sobbing as she mentioned her mother.

“Oh, darling,” the woman responded, her voice changing to something more empathetic. “I’m so sorry. I heard about...is there anything I can do?”

“Yes,” Alessa answered as she clung to her phone for courage. “I’d like...well...If you’re still interested, I would like to submit my photos for an exhibition.”

“Of course, my dear,” the woman’s voice rose, as if excited. “Oh, I’ve already seen so much of your work. We would love to display your photography here! You’re quite talented.”

The conversation continued as Ms. Raines helped Alessa pick out a date in two weeks for the exhibit. In the meantime, Alessa needed to look through her work and pick out her favorite photographs, ones that would showcase her artistic vision. The gallery would help her get larger versions of those photos printed and then framed for display.

It was both the easiest and hardest conversation Alessa had ever had. When the call ended, Alessa sat in her mother’s empty room, feeling guilty that it had taken her this long to take that step, to put her work out there, something her mother had always wanted. But because Alessa had been such a coward, her mom wouldn’t even be around to see her first exhibit.

“This one’s for you, Mom,” she whispered to the empty room.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Alessa sat in the living room with Silas, the one thing in her life right now that felt safe and secure. His arm was draped around her shoulder, offering comfort without requesting anything in return. He was the only thing right now that felt solid, real, and once Alessa had sorted out her other emotions, she would tell him that.

They were waiting for her grandparents to arrive to discuss her living situation, which was, apparently, not as set in stone as Fergus had originally explained. There were legalities, he’d said, but he wanted to make sure that Alessa had a chance to tell everyone what she wanted.

Sean paced in front of the window, his arms crossed, frowning.

Alessa got the distinct idea that her father did not like Reina’s parents. So that was one more part of the mystery of why he had stayed away for so long. But he still hadn’t said more than a few words to her, almost as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But Alessa also understood something else. Her father was hurting, too. She saw it all over his face, the way he never smiled anymore, and the way his brow was always furrowed. It was in the way his eyes were usually puffy and red, although no one had ever actually seen him cry.

Alessa felt like there might be something else, though. Something he hadn’t told her yet — maybe another family secret she wasn’t yet privy to. Maybe the past few months had just made her paranoid, though. Regardless, it was not the time to focus on much of anything else. There would be conversations later, of that she was certain.

Alessa barely had time to register her thoughts before her grandparents stormed through the door, not even bothering to knock.

Evelyn Grey approached her granddaughter and crossed her arms, staring down at her. She took a moment to glower at Silas, though.

Silas shrank beneath her reproach, but he squeezed Alessa’s shoulder as if that would give them both strength.

“What’s the meaning of this?” she demanded pointing at Alessa. “You’re coming with us.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Fergus said as he entered the room from the kitchen. His fists were clenched at his sides as if he was preparing for a fight.

“There is no room for negotiation," Alessa's grandfather said. “She’s coming to live with us and that’s final. She needs stability. And well...” He motioned wildly at Sean and Fergus.

Alessa shrank into herself, almost as if she wished she could become one with the sofa.

Silas stayed beside her, steady as a rock.

Her grandmother leaned over slightly to stare at her. “Now.”

Alessa started to doubt herself. What if her grandparents were right? Her father and uncle hadn’t been in her life until recently, and they didn’t seem like the parenting types. She wasn’t even used to the fact that her mother was gone yet, so how was she supposed to know what she needed? Yes, she wanted to stay in this house, in her home, but her grandparents had the means to take care of her, perhaps in a way that her dad and uncle could not.

No, she thought, making up her mind. She thought about her mom and what she might have wanted for her daughter. Considering the relationship between her mother and her grandparents, Alessa had a feeling that Reina Grey would never want her daughter to live under their care.

“I want to stay here,” Alessa said, her voice almost too low to hear.

“What’s that, dear?” her grandmother asked, almost as if daring Alessa to defy her.

Alessa cleared her throat and stood up, facing her grandmother, meeting her gaze. “I said I want to stay here.” This time, her voice sounded more purposeful and clear.

Evelyn shook her head, “Well, that’s impossible,” she said as if Alessa had just said the sky was green. “Who will look after you? You’re still a minor.”

Fergus stared at Sean and nodded, urging his brother to speak.

Sean cleared his throat. “We’ll look after her. We’ll stay here and we’ll take care of her. She can stay in her school and graduate. Go to college or do whatever it is she wants.”

Evelyn stared at Alessa as if Sean hadn’t even spoken. She sighed dramatically.

James put a hand on his wife’s shoulder as if to steady her.

Fergus then asked, “What would Reina want?”

Alessa saw everything change at that moment. Her grandparents froze in place. They knew that their daughter had not been fond of them, their lifestyle, or how they’d raised her.

Evelyn eventually spoke. “What Reina would want doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice cracking up as her eyes began to glimmer. “She’s dead now and that’s that.” She reached out for her husband, who took her by the arm and guided her over to a chair into which she collapsed.

This was just too much. Alessa didn’t want everyone fighting over her. But she also didn’t want things to change any more than they already had. She stepped forward and kneeled in front of her grandmother’s chair. “Let me stay here,” she pleaded. “Just to finish out the school year. Then we can talk. I’ve only got one semester left. Please, Grandma?” she begged with tears in her eyes.

Evelyn looked around the room as she considered her granddaughter’s plea. She took a moment to right herself, not a woman who often succumbed to showing any kind of emotion. She opened her mouth to speak, but the tremor in her bottom lip betrayed her. She said nothing.

“Fine,” James said instead. “Just for the semester.” He stood behind Evelyn, both hands on her shoulders. “But we’ll have guardianship and I’ll have no arguing about that.”

It wasn’t exactly what Alessa wanted, but if it just got everyone to calm down, she’d take it. She nodded, knowing that she was agreeing to her grandparents having way too much say in her life from this point forward. But if she could just stay in her house, at her school, and with her life, for now, it was worth it.

“Deal,” Alessa answered, offering a small smile to her grandparents, who seemed so much older now than before.

They were hurting, too. There wasn’t anyone in that room who didn’t miss Reina, and Alessa recognized that. Everyone was suffering and grieving. Her grandparents had lost a daughter. Yes, the relationship between Reina and her parents had been difficult, but that didn’t mean they didn’t love her with all their hearts. It showed in every crease of her grandmother’s forehead. Alessa saw it in the way her grandfather’s lips seemed permanently turned down in sadness.

The tension in the room began to fade, as Alessa’s fate, albeit temporarily, had been decided.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alessa’s grandparents turned down an offer to stick around for a pizza dinner, something that was, apparently, still beneath them. Their dinners were made by personal chefs, and every time Alessa had dinner with them, she was usually forced to eat something expensive that she didn’t like.

So that was fine with Alessa. She loved her grandparents, and she wanted to continue to have a relationship with them, especially now that she understood how fleeting life was. Like her mother, they could go away quickly, too. Alessa promised that she would remember that whenever she became frustrated with anyone in her life.

The conversation around the dinner table managed to be light, her father, uncle, and boyfriend reminiscing about “the old days.” They spoke about school, pranks they used to play on each other, and how Reina would always be the one to rein them in, although she had her foolish moments, too.

It was nice, and had her mother been there, Alessa thought it would have even felt like some semblance of normal. She had family around her now, although her mother’s death had left a hole in the space where she would have sat at the table and where she had occupied space inside Alessa’s heart.

Alessa continued to think of her mother as she walked upstairs after dinner. Silas followed quietly behind her, almost as if he was afraid to speak, like he worried that he might say something to upset her again. But his presence was there, solid, and Alessa appreciated it, even if she still could not tell him that.

Instead of going to her own bedroom, though, Alessa went to her mother’s room again. Her breath choked on a sob as she stared around the room, which still made it seem as if her mom might burst in at any moment, a flurry of energy, just like before.

It made Alessa wonder how she’d grown up as a quiet, shy girl, almost the opposite of her mother. Perhaps that was something she’d inherited from her father. So much for nature vs. nurture, Alessa thought.

Alessa left the door open as she stepped into the room, wanting Silas to follow her, not wanting to be alone.

When she sat on the bed, he sat beside her. He still said nothing, but was just...present.

It was Alessa who broke the silence, once she felt her emotions were controlled enough that she could speak coherently. She reached over to where she’d left the box of photos. “I’m organizing an exhibit,” she said as she placed the box beside her. “Want to help me pick out some photos?”

Silas looked at the box and then up at Alessa’s face, meeting her gaze. “Sure,” he said as he put an arm around her.

Alessa leaned into him, briefly placing her head on his shoulder, feeling the rough fabric of his sweater beneath her cheek. Then she reached into the box and pulled out some photos, placed them on her lap, and spread them out so he could see.

Silas pointed at one photo, including the one that Alessa had found earlier of her mother. “These are amazing, Alessa," he said, holding one up to examine it. “You have talent.”

“Thanks,” she said, finding herself flushing beneath his praise. She looked at him, but then stopped herself from speaking again.

Something was off. Everything inside of her was telling her “beware.”

She blinked a few times, but the feeling didn’t fade.

Silas seemed troubled by whatever her expression had been at that moment. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, squeezing her shoulder.

Alessa nodded and studied his face. “Yeah,” she answered, and before she lost her nerve, she asked, “But you...are you...okay?”

Silas shrugged, “Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?” He offered a smile, but it seemed...forced.

Alessa stared at him, taking in the details of his face: his square jaw and the way a stray strand of hair always fell onto his forehead. That feeling of wrongness washed over her all over again.

Surely he wasn’t hiding something from her? Maybe her pain and grief were just making her see things? She chose to say nothing, although the world was suddenly flashing a big red warning light at her. She couldn’t take any more secrets or lies, especially from him. So she chose to ignore what she was feeling, swallowing it down.

Instead, she sighed heavily, and leaned into him, wishing the moment into something better, something without sadness and secrets.

That moment, though, only lasted a few minutes before loud voices interrupted it. “You can’t leave now, what about Alessa?” Sean’s voice carried from the next room over.

A door slammed.

“She’s your daughter,” Fergus answered. “You can see to the girl.”

Another door slammed.

Alessa listened and frowned.

Silas squeezed Alessa’s shoulder and then disentangled himself so that he could stand up, his head tilted.

“We can’t do this alone, you know that,” Fergus said.

Alessa heard banging, the sound of someone opening drawers hastily and then shutting them carelessly. She also heard footsteps stomping around.

“We need help,” Fergus continued. “I mean to go out and find it.”

Sean sighed loudly. “Fine, but what if he comes after us before you get back?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Fergus answered. His voice rose slightly, sounding exasperated. “He won’t. He has what he wants. We’re nothing to him now. Insignificant.”

Silas stiffened.

Alessa stood up, marched to the door, and swung it open. She stomped into the next room, tears already stinging her eyes at the thought of anyone else leaving her. “And what are we supposed to do while you’re gone?” she yelled at Fergus.

Alessa didn’t like the thought of losing any more members of this strange family she’d gained. Hadn’t they already lost enough?

Fergus stood near the bed, a duffel bag slung on top of it, clothing and other items stuffed into it. He gestured with a hand that was still gripping a wadded up t-shirt. “Find out where Dagda is hiding,” he answered. He threw the t-shirt into the bag, turned around to reach into an open dresser drawer, and grabbed a handful of socks.

“How?” Alessa demanded.

Silas entered the room behind her, but said nothing.

“Yes, how exactly?” Sean asked, his voice rising.

Alessa stared at her uncle, willing him to stop moving, to just look at her, to see the expression on her face. She didn’t want him to leave. She needed him.

“I don’t know,” Fergus admitted as he shoved the socks into the bag. He sat on the bed and reached up to tug at his eye patch.

“I could go into his memories again,” Alessa offered, suddenly feeling the need to suggest something, however stupid it might seem. All she wanted to do was keep Fergus there. “Please,” she begged him, “please don’t leave."

“Oh, child,” Fergus replied with a loud sigh and held a hand out to her.

Alessa took his hand and sat beside him on the bed. She knew her crass uncle was not the type to show emotion, but in that moment, she knew that he cared about her.

Fergus patted her hand and then let it go. He looked her in the eyes, his voice serious again. “You can’t do that again. Ever. He’s too strong and you’re not ready for that. Promise me you won’t try.”

Alessa knew her uncle was right. She’d already opened herself up to Dagda once and it had not turned out well. Now, because of it, her mother was dead. Alessa couldn’t bear to lose anyone else. Dagda knew how to turn it around on her, use her memories against her, use others’ memories she’d seen. She wanted to do something, but she also understood the limitations of her powers. You can’t fight a god with his own magic.

“Okay, I won’t,” Alessa promised. She meant it.

Silas spoke up. “We’ll find him the old-fashioned way." He looked at Sean.

Sean looked down as something unspoken passed between them.

Silas continued, “We’ll follow him, his followers. I’m sure the Winters won’t mind if we stalk them around.”

Alessa looked at Silas as he mentioned the Winters. Of course, it made sense that they were following Dagda. Hadn’t Tyler mentioned it?

“We can do that,” Alessa stated, feeling something almost akin to hope, grabbing onto it like it was a solitary raft in an endless ocean. “But still,” she turned back to her uncle, pleading again, “please don’t go, Uncle Fergus.”

Fergus shook his head gently, concern crossing his face. He stood up and faced the bed, leaning over to shove a hand into the duffel bag, pushing everything down so he could close it. “If we’re going to stop Dagda, we’ll need help,” he reiterated. “And that means other Dreamers. I mean to find them.”

What he said made sense, and Alessa knew they needed backup. She just wished someone else could go find others to help in the fight. Why did she have to lose another family member? Why now? None of it was fair. But she nodded in agreement because she now knew there was no way to stop her uncle from leaving.

“I’ll try not to be gone long, girl,” Fergus said, his voice softer than she’d ever heard it before. He walked over to Sean and clamped him on the shoulder. “You’re in charge now, gods help us all.”

Sean shook his head and smiled.

“And you,” Fergus said as he approached Silas, also patting him on the shoulder. “You keep your filthy hands off my niece.” He grinned broadly at his old friend.

Silas shrugged, his mouth beginning to turn up at the corners. “I can’t make any promises.”

Fergus exhaled dramatically and shook his head as he looked at Alessa. “Stupid kids in love. In times like these. Really.” With that, he walked out of the room.

Alessa heard her uncle walk down the stairs, followed by the front door opening and closing. He was gone.

She silently prayed to whatever gods or forces that might hear her. Please bring him back.

Chapter Twenty-Five

No one said anything after Fergus left. Eventually, everyone filed out of the room, although Alessa remained, standing there, clutching her fists at her sides. Anger began to fill her, not just from her grief, but also from disappointment, from feelings of abandonment.

She knew her feelings were unjustified. She was hardly alone. She had Silas and her father. But they were now down two people instead of just one. Her family was shrinking.

Alessa thought it funny, though. She hadn’t realized just how attached she’d become to Fergus until that moment. She’d always thought he was odd, and even a bit harsh, but with him gone, the hole in her heart grew just that much more. It’s not something she’d admit to him, but somehow she felt he knew because she’d noticed he cared about her, too.

And, well, as to her father — Alessa had to admit that she was still unsure about him. He was even harder to read than her tough uncle.

There was Silas, though, and despite her earlier inkling of something being not quite right with him, his presence in her life gave her solace.

Alessa sighed dramatically, looked around the room, and walked out, closing the door behind her. Her anger, though, followed her. She stomped down the stairs, itching for a confrontation.

She saw her father first, standing in the foyer. He became her target. “So that’s it?” she yelled at him. “Mom’s gone, Uncle Fergus is gone. Are you going to leave me, too?”

Silas stood behind Sean, his eyes wide, shocked at her outburst.

Alessa stared at her boyfriend. “Or you?” she asked as hot tears erupted from her eyes, her voice building into a crescendo. “Will you leave me? Will everyone just...leave?”

She banged her fists against her thighs, allowing all her emotions, her grief, her anger, her fear, to spill out of her. “Maybe Grandma and Grandpa were right,” she yelled. “Maybe I should stay with them!”

She stared at the door as if daring her grandparents to come in at any moment to agree with her, to take her away. Would that be so bad? Even if it wasn’t what she wanted? But Alessa didn’t even know what she wanted anymore. A feeling of utter hopelessness washed over her.

Alessa had never felt so alone in her life.

Silas approached her and reached out to touch her.

Alessa glared at him in such a way that he immediately backed off.

Sean stared at his daughter in horror. He shook his head, his mouth moving, although no words came out. He was at a loss, unable to handle these emotions coming from the girl that was his daughter. He forced his mouth closed and took a deep breath to center himself. When he finally spoke, his face became a blank slate again, as if nothing had even happened. “Fergus told me to continue your training while we search for Dagda,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He narrowed his eyes at his daughter as if he could somehow convince her to stop yelling, to stop being so angry, so emotional.

“No,” Alessa spat out. “Fergus is my teacher.” She stomped her foot, knowing she was acting immature, possibly unreasonable, but the non-reaction from the man who had fathered her was only feeding into her anger, making it that much worse.

Alessa was beginning to understand why he’d never been a part of her life until now. Maybe he wasn’t even capable of fatherhood.

Sean shrugged and leaned against the door for support. “Look,” he said, still calm, speaking each word carefully. “I know you have no reason to believe me. But I miss her, too. That wasn’t supposed to happen...she...” He clamped his mouth shut, resisting the urge to say anything else for fear he might lose his resolve.

Alessa heard him then, though. She’d heard him admit he missed her mother. That was something, wasn’t it? Again, Alessa reminded herself that she wasn’t the only person suffering here. She was not only being foolish, but selfish.

However, she wouldn’t admit it, at least not just yet. Instead, she turned around, glared at Silas one final time, and ran up the stairs back to her room. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against its wooden surface, collapsing into a heap on the floor. She sobbed as she tried to reach inside herself and touch her magic, thinking that if she could just figure out how to use it, she could make the last few weeks disappear.

But nothing happened. Alessa then wished that she’d never had magic in the first place. Without magic, her mother would be with her now, alive and well.

That’s all Alessa wanted, but she could never have it again.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alessa wasn’t sure how long she lay there sobbing, but eventually, her tears dried and she pulled herself off the floor and sat on her bed. When she reached up to touch her swollen face, her cheeks felt warm.

She was still a little out of breath and felt exhausted, worn out by all the emotions raging inside of her. But when she lay back on her bed, she couldn’t sleep. Frustrated, Alessa sat up, propped her pillow against the headboard, and reached for the table that sat beside her bed. She grabbed her phone, along with a small case that held her wireless headphones.

Alessa opened the case and picked up the headphones, plugging a bud into each ear. She put her finger on the scanner on the back of her phone to unlock it and then opened a music app. She scrolled through her music and then chose something she thought might soothe her, something that might take her away from the here and now.

Soon, the dulcet voice of Alessa’s favorite singer filled her ears with a quiet melody. Alessa closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the music wash over her, allowing her mind to wander with it.

Her mind filled with the color green, which coalesced into rolling hills dotted here and there with swaths of purple heather. While a brilliant sun shone overhead, small puffy white clouds that looked like cotton floated in a vivid blue sky. There was a forest of trees at the edge of her vision, and from those trees, birds chirped in time with the music’s rhythm. A soft breeze rippled through the grass, while the smell of summer filled the air.

Something tingled inside Alessa. This was her magic. This was not a place in her imagination, but a place she had created in the Dreaming, a place where she could exist outside of time and worry.

Alessa lay back in the grass, feeling it tickle her cheek as it moved, the music filling the landscape with an ethereal quality. She was in her bedroom, but she was not. She was both here and there at the same time.

She didn’t know how long she stayed there, in the Dreaming, but Alessa felt her mind begin to quiet, to become calm again, for the first time in days.

This was her magic, her gift. She had the power to seek out dreams and to build upon them, to create places like this where she could exist.

Alessa wanted to stay there forever as minutes, hours, or maybe even days, passed. Still, the music played on, and the scene never changed. This was solace. This was peace.

Someone touched her arm and whispered her name.

“Alessa?”

Alessa blinked a few times, and her special place, her dream, began to fade away. She found herself back in her bedroom, staring at her four familiar walls. Her dad was sitting beside her on the bed, one hand on her arm.

She looked at him for a moment, confused. She looked down and saw that her phone was still sitting on her lap. Alessa reached up and pulled the headphones out of her ears as this reality reasserted itself. She remembered where she was and what had just happened.

“I...” she tried to speak, but could not find words. She felt ashamed and wanted to tell her dad she was sorry, that she was just sad, that she was just feeling alone.

Sean spoke before she had a chance to say anything else. “I’m sorry,” he said, removing his hand from her arm and running it through his hair. “I’m no good at this. I don’t know how to be a parent,” he said as he shook his head. He looked away from Alessa, almost as if he wasn’t talking to her, but to himself.

“It’s...it’s okay...” Alessa said. “I was just...I’m just...” Why were words so hard to come by?

“Fergus and I. We lost our mom and dad right after they moved us here from Ireland,” Sean said. “They came here for a better life and left us here to fend for ourselves. My brother and I...we had to take care of each other. We didn’t have parents to do that for us.”

Alessa blinked, not knowing what to say. She realized she knew nothing about her dad or his side of the family. She was grateful that he was telling her this and opening up to her, though. She also realized that he understood loss almost in the same way she did. Hadn’t she just lost a mother?

“So I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here,” Sean said, staring down. After a moment, he looked up at his daughter, the emotions he was trying to suppress readable on his face. “I don’t know what to say, how to act. How to be your dad.” He looked down again, placing his hands in his lap. “Reina...she was a great mom. She always knew what to do. I don’t,” he admitted, sighing heavily. He took a deep breath and looked up again. “But I swear to you, I’m trying. I’m going to be awful at this, but if you just...well, if you just bear with me, I’ll keep trying.” His eyes met Alessa’s.

Alessa’s heart leapt in her chest like it had swollen a few sizes, filled with love, the love of a father she never knew. Before Reina had...died...hadn’t Alessa wanted this? A family? Hadn’t it felt nice when the house had been so full? Maybe it wasn’t as full now, but the love remained, didn’t it?

Alessa finally got it — she was not as alone in the world as she thought. She had Silas, her dad, and even Fergus, who had promised to return. She now believed that he would.

“Okay...” Alessa said with a soft smile. “I’ll try, too,” she said, before thinking of adding, “Dad.”

Sean’s eyes began to shimmer as he held his arms out to his daughter.

Alessa threw herself into her father’s arms and hugged him for the first time in her life.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alessa sat in the living room watching TV with her dad. She’d quickly learned that he liked a lot of the same old black and white movies she used to enjoy with her mom. They were currently watching a romantic comedy where a bickering couple was obviously falling in love, but they didn’t quite know it yet, so hilarity ensued.

For Alessa, it was...nice. She felt close to her father for the first time in her life, but it wasn’t just that. She finally had a father for the first time in her life. Although her mother’s death had left a hole in her heart, it had grown larger to make room for her new family.

It wasn’t perfect, and her heart still hurt. She still expected her mom to plop down on the sofa with her with a big tub of popcorn, asking what she’d missed. For a second, it would always seem possible. Then the realization that this was something that would never happen again would come over her, followed by a feeling of emptiness in her soul.

It was...better, though. Alessa knew she would never get over the loss of her mother, but she was starting to smile more when thinking of her mom, rather than cry.

Still, Alessa would never forgive Dagda for what he had done. He would pay.

But for now, she craved normalcy, or at least as much normalcy as her odd little family could offer.

The front door opened and closed. Steps sounded in the foyer.

Alessa quickly turned her head, thinking maybe her uncle had returned. Instead, she saw Silas entering the room, a large shopping bag held in one hand.

Alessa raised an eyebrow.

Silas dropped the bag and walked into the room.

Sean looked at him and the two nodded at each other, a silent agreement passing between them.

Silas looked at Alessa, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

Alessa’s heart sped up as he stared at her.

“Get up,” he said, gesturing with his hands. “Go do whatever it is you girls do before you go out.”

Alessa stared at him, tilting her head. “Huh?” she asked.

“We’re going out,” Silas announced, his smile growing wider. “A proper date. You and me. Dinner. A movie. Whatever you want.” He shifted from foot to foot, as if nervous.

At that moment, Silas was every bit an awkward teenage boy. It was hard to believe he was technically as old as her father, but his years had been cut short, thanks to being frozen for so long in the Dreaming.

Alessa looked over at her father, who seemed amused by the exchange.

Silas’ eyes followed Alessa’s.

Sean cleared his throat when he realized they were both looking at him. “Don’t look at me. You two go out and have a good time,” he said, smiling while he shook his head. “Never thought I’d have to deal with my daughter dating my best friend,” he mumbled, smirking, “but here we are.” Then he laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

His laughter was contagious. Soon, they were all laughing.

“I’ll have her home by 11, sir,” Silas said as he reached up and tipped an imaginary hat. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

That cracked Alessa up even more. She had to hold her sides because she was laughing so hard.

Sean faked an angry look, furrowing his brows, and stared at his friend. “You better, young man.” Then he burst out laughing again.

“Okay...okay...” Alessa said as soon as she could catch her breath. She jumped up from the sofa and looked down at her t-shirt and sweatpants. “Um...I’ll be right back,” she said as she moved out of the room and toward the staircase.

As soon as she was halfway up the stairs, Silas appeared below her, the shopping bag he’d had earlier in his hand. “Right behind you,” he said.

Alessa giggled and raced up the stairs. She heard Silas’ steps right behind hers. She approached her bedroom door and slung it open.

“See you in a bit,” Silas said as he raced past her to the room that had become his.

“You bet,” Alessa said as she threw herself into her room and closed the door behind her, taking a moment to lean against it. This was a momentous occasion. This was her first date. Ever.

“Oh no,” she sighed suddenly as she flung herself at her closet, swinging its double doors open as quickly as she could. “What am I going to wear?”

Alessa stared at the contents of her closet, which was packed full of jeans, shirts, and rarely-worn dresses. She began flipping through articles of clothing one by one, sliding their hangers along the pole they hung on, taking a second to look over each piece and then flinging it away in disgust.

She was almost at the far side of her closet when she stopped, her hand settling on a hanger that held a simple sleeveless dress with a purple floral pattern. Alessa didn’t even remember where the dress had come from, but it had certainly never been worn. She pulled it out carefully and held it in front of her, studying it. “Oh, you’ll do nicely,” she thought as she looked at it.

Alessa carefully laid the dress on her bed and turned around to approach her dresser, opening up a drawer to pull out a purple sweater and matching tights. She then stripped out of her casual clothes, kicking them out of the way. She carefully pulled on the tights. After that, she slipped the dress off its hanger, pulled down the zipper on its side, and then put it over her head, sliding it onto her body.

She zipped it back up and turned around to face the mirror (the mirror that had saved Silas, she reminded herself). The girl that looked back at her looked more grown up, and there was a depth to her eyes that she had never seen before. Alessa reached up and pulled on her ponytail, yanking out the elastic that had held it in place.

She walked over to her vanity and sat on a bench in front of it, grabbing a brush. She pulled the brush through her long hair, which settled along the tops of her shoulders. She laid the brush down and picked up a tube of lip gloss, applying just a small amount to her fingertips to pat on her lips.

She turned her head right and then left and smiled. The girl in the vanity mirror did the same.

It was then that Alessa realized she looked a lot like her mom. The smile faded, but Alessa forced it back as soon as she saw it disappear. Today was not a day for remembering or mourning. Today was a day for life, and she chose to live it before things got bad again.

Because she knew deep down in her soul that they would get bad again. So before that, she just wanted to be a normal teenage girl going on a date with the boy she...well, a boy she loved.

A nagging thought brought Alessa back to herself. “Oh, shoes!” she said as she leaned down to look at her naked feet. She jumped up and hurried back to the closet, kneeling as she started searching through a shoe rack on the floor. “Um...” she said to herself as she searched. She finally settled on a pair of black ankle boots with a short heel, making a mental note that they only squeezed her feet just a “little,” knowing she would probably kick them off before the end of the night.

But as she stood up in front of the full-length mirror again, she let herself feel content, and for a brief moment, even whole.

She took a deep breath, butterflies fluttering inside her stomach, and mentally prepared herself. The girl in the mirror smiled. Alessa flung herself at her bedroom door, swinging it open, and threw herself out of it, practically dancing down the stairs.

She ran into the living room, expecting Silas to be there waiting for her.

Instead, Alessa found her father standing at the edge of the room, his arms crossed, bad news written all over his face.

Alessa didn’t see Silas anywhere.

More importantly, she couldn’t feel his presence anywhere in the house.

Sean, as if reading her mind, shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alessa,” he said. “He’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Alessa asked, her fists balling up at her sides. The butterflies in her stomach turned to dust, followed by an empty and hollow feeling.

“He just...” Sean’s voice broke as he tried to explain what had happened.

“Dagda,” Alessa replied, knowing the truth as soon as she said the name.

Sean looked down at his feet, his voice barely a whisper. “He was just...there...” He gestured to a spot just in front of where he was standing. “And then he just...he just went away. I felt it. I felt Dagda take him.”

Alessa’s heart sank into the hollow shell that was now her body. She felt her knees buckle as she fell. She banged her fists against the floor beneath her, feeling that red hot anger consume her. “No,” she replied, fighting back tears. “No, no, no!" Her voice grew louder with each syllable.

That was it, the last straw. Dagda was trying to take everything away from her and she was...well, she was done with it. She finally looked up at her father as she reached up with one hand to wipe her tears on the back of her sweater’s sleeve. “We have to save him.”

Sean met his daughter’s gaze and nodded, determinedly. “We will,” he said. “We will.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

That just left two people in the house, in Alessa’s immediate family circle: her and her father. The house that had once been so full of life and love was now quiet, destitute, with both of its occupants wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Was this her future? Would everyone eventually leave her in the end?

Alessa couldn’t bear the thought of being left alone — or worse, being left in the care of her grandparents. So instead of thinking, she turned to her training, going over and over in her mind every lesson her uncle had taught her. She spent hours in the backyard testing her magic, her strength, her will.

Dagda was still out there and they still had no idea where. Sean spent most of his days searching, though, believing that Dagda had remained in Ashmill, no matter the lack of evidence proving that.

Alessa followed through with her regular routine at school, pretending that she was a normal high school girl who hadn’t been touched by magic and touched by death. But it was like the other students sensed something had changed in her — when she walked down the hallway, everyone seemed to clear out of her way.

Mae was there for her, though, even though Alessa had tried to push her best friend away. Mae honored Alessa with a friendship that Alessa knew she did not deserve, especially after she’d treated Mae so horribly. But Alessa didn’t know how to reach out for help. She withdrew into herself, so far away that even Mae couldn’t find her.

Alessa was thinking about Mae as she stood in her backyard, staring at the burlap sack filled with leaves on a stick. She forced those feelings aside, though, and focused instead on the hot anger she felt when she thought about her mother and Silas. She began to move her arms in front of her, as if punching air — each movement caused a thin gash to form on the sack dummy that was just outside her physical reach.

Her strength was increasing, and the more she trained, the stronger she would continue to get. She was also learning to sustain her magic longer. She wasn’t tiring out as fast.

She would find Dagda. She would find Dagda and make him pay. He’d taken everything from her and that was...unacceptable.

She couldn’t even think about the upcoming exhibit at the gallery. That seemed so far-fetched, so removed from her reality that it didn’t even feel like it mattered now. Maybe it didn’t.

Alessa had thought to ask herself if this was a healthy way to live — the way she let anger guide her days and nights. But it was the only thing that got her out of bed in the morning. It was what fed her, clothed her, and got her through the day, even if she was faking her way through most of it. That anger gave her power. And power was something she needed so she could use it against the thing that had hurt her.

Alessa slashed at the sack again, each tear of fabric bringing her a certain feeling of satisfaction. She slashed and slashed until her arms felt too tired to continue, but she kept at it until the world started to tilt, until her vision began to turn gray, until she felt her body crumple into a heap on the ground.

Alessa felt herself beginning to float away as her mind sought out something familiar. It quickly found it and locked on, and that part of Alessa that wasn’t physical made its way somewhere else.

Alessa was Dreaming again.

THE GRAYNESS COALESCED into a scene, revealing an area that looked like a large cavern where a group of maybe 40 to 50 people stood at attention, their eyes focused straight ahead on a platform where Dagda was standing. Silas stood in front of the group.

Alessa reached out with her consciousness toward Silas and felt his presence there, understanding that he was here against his will. Although he stood at attention with the others, his gaze focused on Dagda, she could feel that he was barely paying attention and was doing everything he could to not be swayed by the First One’s words.

It was nearly impossible, though, to ignore Dagda’s confidence and charm. Alessa felt Silas doing everything he could to not succumb to that darkness.

It would be so easy, Silas thought. So easy to just give in.

Alessa opened her mouth to scream “no,” but her incorporeal form made no sound.

Instead, she listened to Dagda as he spoke about not only bringing the First Ones back to the world, but magic, as well.

“And we will rule over all else,” Dagda said.

The group applauded as if compelled to do so. They seemed unnatural, too synced, too pleased, and Alessa understood that they were under his spell.

Alessa looked at Silas again. She felt him listening and finding understanding with Dagda’s words. Silas knew what it was like to hide in plain sight as a Dreamer, unable to show the world what he was capable of. They had been told for so long to keep themselves a secret, although the Mundanes had done everything within their power to try and destroy the world multiple times over.

Was Dagda right? Should they rise up and declare dominion over the earth? Should they take their place in the world as a superior species?

But Silas also knew that Dagda’s methods left little to be desired. Dagda would kill many people to make the world bow at his feet. Silas also knew that Dagda underestimated the Mundanes. If the Dreamers attacked the mundane world, the Mundanes would declare them a common enemy. They would unite and there were far more of them than there were of Dreamers. It would be a bloodbath on both sides.

Silas steeled himself as he tried not to let Dagda’s words infect him. He remembered the oath he’d taken the day his powers had first emerged, an oath to protect Dreamers and hide magic from those who were not Dreamers.

Alessa also felt something else in his thoughts. Silas was thinking about her, holding onto the memory of her as if that would protect him from Dagda’s vitriol. He saw Alessa as something pure, something worthy of living for, something worth fighting for. He wanted to protect her, too.

He also remembered Reina’s death, replaying it over and over in his head, reminding himself that her death would be just one of many if Dagda carried through with his plan.

But Dagda’s words rained down on him, and they were just so hard to resist.

For now, he was just playing along, having been kidnapped to be “converted.” He pretended that he agreed so that he could easily get more information about what exactly was going on, about how many supported Dagda, and about how much power Dagda possessed now that he had the cauldron. He was a spy, only play-acting, and he kept reminding himself of that.

Alessa turned her attention to Dagda as he spoke, even finding herself almost swayed by his words. The cauldron sat on a pedestal beside him, just within reach, as if he wouldn’t dare part with it. Power exuded from the cauldron and Alessa could almost see long green tendrils reaching out from it and wrapping around Dagda and his followers.

One of those tendrils reached out to Silas, who remained steadfast, fighting the urge to succumb to its power. Alessa felt his thoughts turn back to her, remembering their first kiss and how she felt in his arms. He also remembered the subtle scent of the shampoo she used on her hair. He missed her so much, even though they hadn’t known each other for long. She was part of him now, and that part would keep him strong.

Alessa felt his love for her wash over him, and it pushed the cauldron’s power away.

“We must find the next treasure,” Dagda said, his voice rising.

His followers murmured in agreement.

Silas caught himself and nodded, living up to the role he knew he had to play. He clouded his thoughts to keep them safe. But Dagda was still there at the edge of his mind, pushing, cajoling, worming its way inside. All Silas had to do was listen and believe.

Silas closed his eyes and fought, imagining barriers and walls inside his mind, things that could have been made of solid steel. But Dagda still crept around inside his brain, digging ever deeper until it found a small hole in Silas’ defenses. It slithered through that hole and Silas soon felt himself being stolen away. Memories flashed in front of him like images on a flickering movie screen.

Alessa saw those memories as if they were her own.

“Oh, c’mon,” Silas teased as he pulled on a young Reina’s sleeve. The two walked toward Sean, who sat near a bonfire on a sandy beach. It was night. “Think of how incredible it would be to bring back...to meet...our makers?”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sean said as he sat cross-legged by the fire and motioned for Reina to join him.

Reina sat beside Sean.

“Of course, you do,” said Silas. “Anything worth doing makes us feel uncomfortable. But just think, we could be the ones to bring back magic to the world. Then we wouldn’t have to hide what we are. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in the open?”

Sean nodded for a moment, but then shook his head. “That’s dangerous thinking, Silas, and you know it. We keep ourselves secret because of a vow made a long time ago. Who are we to say it’s time to break that vow?”

Reina shrugged and spoke. “I don’t know, Sean. Sometimes I want the world to know who I really am. Think of what we could accomplish if they knew. We could use our power for good. We could save the world, bring about world peace, and fight injustice. I mean, I have to admit that sounds nice.”

Silas laughed and clapped his hands together as he knelt in the sand. "Now we’re talking,” he said. “We could be so much more and create a better world. Even a better world for little Sean, Jr.,” he said and motioned to Reina’s expanding belly. "Isn't that a noble cause?"

Sean laughed, and the tension around the three of them faded. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Besides, I don’t think this harebrained scheme of yours is even going to work. Like how are you supposed to reach through the veil into the Dreaming and find Dagda, much less bring him back? Good luck with that.”

Silas leaned back and looked up at the night sky. “Just leave it to me,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve got a plan.”

Silas put his hand to his mouth as he realized what had just happened. Dagda was inside his mind, observing everything, knowing everything Silas was thinking and feeling. The slithering thing that was Dagda’s mind continued to delve deeper, taking in everything that had led Silas to the point where he was today. It saw Alessa, and it saw the love Silas had for her.

Alessa wanted to cry out as she felt Silas begin to slip as Dagda’s hold grew. His thoughts started to shift and change

Silas began to think of the Mundanes. They weren’t significant. They’d had their chance and had made a mess of the world. Now, it was time to bring back the First People and restore magic. He could help make things better for everyone.

No, Silas thought. But his protest seemed to come from somewhere outside himself. He was falling into the abyss and couldn’t stop.

Then Silas felt Dagda’s mind sink its teeth in, leaking a poison that started to spread throughout his body. It infected everything it touched, and soon, Silas started to feel his arms and legs go numb as if they were no longer his own.

Silas tried to keep fighting, but it was too much. He closed his eyes and tried to call on his magic to protect him. But when he opened his eyes again, he was changed, a new man with a new dark purpose.

Alessa felt Silas fade away until he was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alessa felt her body beneath her, sore from the fall, although a pile of leaves seemed to have cushioned most of it. She sat up as long strands of hair fell into her face, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. For a moment, she forgot where she was and had to look around before she recognized her familiar backyard and her house.

Then she remembered her Dream. She reached out with everything she could, as if she could find Silas again, but she found nothing, not even a whisper of him. It almost felt as if part of her had been erased, as if Dagda had ripped that part of her that belonged to Silas away.

“Dad...” she whispered, her voice scratchy and rough. She inhaled and tried again. “Dad!” she cried out, as loudly as she could as she pulled at her hair, trying to force it out of her face.

The back door opened and closed quickly and Alessa heard footsteps coming down the porch steps.

Alessa’s fingers gripped the leaves and dirt beneath her, as though she thought she might fall off the earth. She still felt dizzy, her limbs wobbly. She couldn’t trust her legs to stand.

“’Lessa!” Sean called out as he kneeled beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Silas. He has Silas,” she said, hot tears streaming down her cheeks, as she looked at her father. “Dagda has Silas.” Her head felt so foggy, unclear, but the memory of what she’d witnessed stayed with her.

Sean raised his eyebrows, but his voice was almost even, save for a slight tremor just underneath his words. “We know that,” he said, as if he thought she was confused. “Sweetheart, remember, he disappeared. We knew it.”

Alessa shook her head violently. “No, I mean...” She swallowed hard and gathered her thoughts. It felt as if she had been underwater and was struggling to make her way above it, back to air. “His mind. Dagda is inside his mind. He...I felt it...Silas...” It hurt her to admit it, but she had to. “Silas is one of them now.”

Sean frowned and stared at his daughter. “What do you mean?” It was almost as if he couldn’t comprehend what she was telling him.

“I saw it. I saw Dagda go into his mind and...Silas...he’s just gone. Like he’s not in control of himself anymore. Dagda took him. Took control of him.” She didn’t even really know how to explain what she’d seen, but she tried.

An expression of comprehension appeared on her father’s face. He nodded, still trying to maintain some semblance of calm, although he was clearly shaken.

Alessa threw her arms around her father’s neck. “You have to help me control this. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to see memories or secrets. Please help me stop it," she pleaded.

She was so tired, tired of the Dreaming taking her, tired of seeing things that only made her feel that much more miserable. She was beginning to understand the burden of having magic.

Sean nodded, “Sure, I’ll help. I’ll help in any way I can.” He paused before asking, “But what did you see?”

Alessa stared at him as if she could just show him what she'd seen through her thoughts. But her magic refused to cooperate, refusing to share what she’d seen with her father. Instead, she would have to relive it through words. That seemed somehow far worse.

She closed her eyes long enough to feel her body, feel the earth beneath it, feel the light breeze in the air, feel her becoming herself again. She let in the aches and pains from her fall until she was sure she was solid in the here and now again.

When she spoke, her voice was steady. “I saw Dagda,” she said. “I mean, I saw Silas with Dagda — and all these other people. They were listening to Dagda speak, talking about finding the other treasures, bringing back all the First People, taking over the world, and ruling the Mundanes. The people...they were listening...they were hanging on every word. Silas...he was pretending, at first, but then Dagda got inside him and he...Silas changed.” She looked down. “He changed.” She began to sob.

Sean squeezed her shoulder. “I was afraid of that,” he said, almost in a whisper.

Alessa looked up and met her father’s eyes, searching for answers. He seemed to understand, even if she didn’t. She waited for him to speak again.

Sean sighed. “He was always...” He seemed to search for the right word before finding it. “Weak. He was weak. He was always inclined to follow Dagda. Because...you see...” Sean stood up and brushed off the knees of his jeans. He extended a hand to his daughter. “He always sort of agreed with him. But there’s something else, too.”

Alessa reached up and took her father’s hand. She pulled herself up, fighting another wave of dizziness that washed over her. She let it pass and then looked at her father again. “What do you mean?” She feared what her father would say next.

Sean didn’t say anything immediately. Instead, he led his daughter back to the porch. He sat on the top step and motioned for her to do the same.

Alessa followed him wordlessly and sat beside him.

“He always had a link with Dagda,” Sean began to explain. "It was as if they were connected. We always thought it was because Silas was the one who really summoned him. Yeah, we were all there, but it was Silas’ idea and it was his power that brought Dagda into this world.”

“That can’t be,” Alessa argued. “I saw it. I saw all of you summon Dagda: you, mom, Silas and Uncle Fergus.”

Sean interrupted, “Oh, we were there...but we all felt it when Dagda stepped through. We knew that it wasn’t our magic that brought him here. It was all Silas.” He shrugged, “Maybe that was part of his magic. He had the power to summon Dagda. We didn’t. We were just conduits for him. When Dagda arrived, we felt it. We felt how connected Silas and Dagda were.”

Alessa blinked a few times, not believing her father’s words. But then again, why would he lie to her now? Somehow what he said felt like the truth, and she hated it. “Oh,” she said. She remembered what they’d told her in the beginning, that Silas had betrayed them. However, she’d felt him fight Dagda’s influence, and hadn’t he saved them from him so long ago?

It didn’t make sense, but at the same time, it did. But it didn’t matter.

“We have to find him,” she said. “We have to find Dagda and save Silas.” She felt her anger beginning to slip away. Instead, fear began to creep into her heart, followed by doubt. She still loved Silas and she felt he was still worthy of saving. He’d been thinking of her in that cavern, after all.

Sean sighed again and nodded. He stood up, took another quick glance at his daughter, and walked back into the house.

Chapter Thirty

Feeling the need to do something, anything, Alessa began to call everyone she knew, except for her grandparents because she didn’t trust that they would approve of her going after Dagda, and that’s exactly what she intended to do. However, she did call Tyler, who showed up at the house with Devin, much to Alessa’s chagrin.

Alessa still didn’t trust Devin, but he seemed apologetic enough, at least in the way he was currently behaving. He’d never actually said he was sorry in person, though, and Alessa knew that Dagda could very well be manipulating this boy she’d once had a huge crush on without her even being aware of it. She’d seen Dagda’s power. She knew he was capable of controlling people. It didn’t hurt that she’d already seen what happened when Dagda was inside Devin’s head — how could she be sure that he wasn’t still in there pretending to be Devin?

Sean had also sprung into action, telling Alessa he was trying to track down Fergus because it was time the three of them were all together again. Alessa didn’t disagree, but she felt a pain in her heart when her father left the house, afraid he might never return. She’d lost so much, but she’d made him swear he’d come back to her, with her uncle in tow. She only hoped he would. So much could happen...

So Alessa, Tyler, and Devin were in the living room, talking about what they knew about Dagda and trying to figure out exactly where he was. Alessa sat in an armchair, with Tyler and Devin beside her.

“He’s in Ashmill, I feel it,” Alessa said.

“Oh, he’s here, I’m sure of it,” Tyler said as the three hovered over Alessa’s laptop looking at maps of Ashmill. “But where? You said you saw a cavern? Like a cave?”

Alessa leaned in to stare at the map, zooming in on the town she’d known her entire life, although now it almost felt as if she didn't know it at all. She’d spent almost all her life not knowing Ashmill’s real secret...that it harbored Dreamers, people who could do magic. What else did she not know about the place where she’d grown up?

Earlier, Tyler had explained why Ashmill was a beacon for magic. It was founded by both the Winters and the Greys, and they had recruited many of their own kind. As a result, most of the town’s current residents came from those old Dreamer families who’d been seeking a place that was a haven, where they could be who they were a little more openly than they could elsewhere in the world. That explained the high number of magic users in the town. Others had come later, though, like the Allens, wanting a slice of New England small town life, but also still wanting to live close enough to the conveniences of the city, in this case, Boston. Those people had no idea about Ashmill’s real history or what the town was. Or maybe they just never really thought to bring up any strange things they had seen.

Devin stood behind Alessa, biting his lip, as he stared at the map.

Alessa turned and looked at him briefly, wondering what she ever saw in him. Sure, he was handsome, but there was one thing he was not: he wasn’t Silas.

Silas...Alessa frowned as she thought about him, about what she’d seen happen. She felt so hopeless, not knowing if she’d ever see him again.

“This is hopeless,” Alessa said as she leaned back and let out an exasperated sigh. “We’re never going to find him.”

The front door opened and closed. Alessa looked up, expecting to see her father, hopefully having returned with her uncle.

Instead, Mae stood in the entryway, a laptop bag strapped across her body. “I can find him,” she said.

Alessa blinked a few times, surprised to see her best friend since childhood just show up at her house uninvited. “How did you get in?” Alessa asked, knowing that she had locked the door behind her father when he’d left. He’d made her promise to, as if that could somehow keep Dagda from getting in. Alessa knew better, but she had complied.

“Dur, I have a key,” Mae said as she held up a set of keys and shook them. She grinned and shoved them into her back pocket. “Remember?”

Alessa remembered. Mae once had spent so much time at this house that Reina had insisted she have a key. Mae had almost been like a sister to Alessa and a second daughter to Reina.

Alessa frowned. So much had changed. But here was Mae, showing up like the proverbial cavalry anyway.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Devin announced, straightening up to stare at Mae, his eyes narrowing. “This is dangerous.”

“Pshhhh...” Mae said as she waved a hand in front of her, dismissing him. She walked into the living room and joined the group. “I know what you are,” she said as she reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop. She sat on the sofa and placed it on her lap, the bag tossed aside on the floor. “I know what you are,” she repeated. “I know what’s going on. I know who you’re looking for. And I can find him. Do you want my help or not?”

Alessa stared at her friend in amazement, a smile forming on her lips. Even after everything, Mae was here for her. Even after Alessa had pushed her away, Mae had shown up, and Alessa found herself grateful for that. “Of course, we do,” Alessa said, glaring at Devin, daring him to argue with her.

Devin shrugged. “It’s your funeral,” he said, shaking his head.

Tyler stood and reached up to smack her brother on the back of his head. “You are an insensitive jerk, you know that?” She pointed at Alessa, “She just lost her mom, you idiot!”

Devin reached up and rubbed the spot where Tyler had hit him. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Alessa doubted he meant it, but she let it go because she had to. Yes, she’d just lost her mother. But she also now had someone she was determined not to lose — Silas. Because she wasn’t going to lose anyone else that she loved.

“So how? How can you find Dagda?” Tyler asked, after watching Mae zone out on her computer, completely oblivious to the conversation.

Mae didn’t look up as she answered, and she kept right on typing as she spoke. “Easy,” she said, not missing a beat. “I have access...to stuff.” She finally looked up and there was a huge conspiratorial grin on her face.

“Stuff?” Alessa asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her friend.

“Yeah, stuff,” Mae answered. “Stuff I probably shouldn’t tell you about.” Her grin widened.

Alessa stared at Mae incredulously, but what Mae was saying was starting to make sense. Mae’s father was a police officer. That meant he had access to the DMV, any CCTV cameras in town, crime reports, and everything else. Mae, being the clever girl that she was, probably knew his passwords (she’d once complained about how simple her father always made them). As a result, Mae likely had access to all that information, too.

“You’re probably right,” Alessa said and laughed, her first laugh for the first time in days. "I probably don't want to know." She felt something akin to hope blossoming inside her.

Mae returned to typing, her fingers flying across the keyboard at what seemed like the speed of light. Less than a minute later, she spoke again. “Got it,” she announced, tapping a key hard and then raising her arms as if she’d just won a race. “I mean, I think I know where he is. This,” she pointed to her laptop. “This is the most likely location.”

Alessa stood up, and she, Tyler, and Devin hurried over to where Mae sat. They all leaned over Mae.

“And?” Tyler asked.

Devin sat beside Mae and stared at where the girl’s finger pointed. He tilted his head, seemingly impressed.

Mae only looked at Alessa who sat on her other side. Alessa stared at the computer for a moment and whispered. “The old mines? Why do you think he’s there?”

Mae turned her head to look at Alessa. “Because there’s been some activity out there, which is strange, because last time I checked, that was city property with a fence all around it and a ‘No Trespassing’ sign in front. But someone’s turned the lights on there, and CCTV has picked up a lot of cars driving back and forth on the road near it that no one ever uses. Well, I mean, they never used it...until recently.”

Mae continued, “I mean, it makes sense. No one would bother to look out there. It’s mostly underground. It’s secret and private. It’s pretty much perfect for a villain’s lair. I’m talking comic book-perfect.”

Alessa reached up and scratched her head and laughed again. “Mae, you’re a freaking genius.” She smiled from ear to ear. This was progress. Actual progress. That feeling of hope began to spread.

“I know,” Mae replied, wrinkling her noise to raise her glasses, also smiling.

Mae reached down as if adjusting her body where she sat.

But as Alessa watched her friend, she noticed something else. She saw Mae’s hand quickly dart into and out of Devin’s coat pocket. It happened so fast, though, Alessa wasn’t even sure that she saw anything. What was that about?

“So what now?” Devin asked.

“We go after him,” Alessa stated, matter-of-factly.

Mae held her palm up. “Not so fast,” she said as she turned her attention back to her computer. “I mean, I’m not 100 percent sure that’s where he is. I need to do some more digging and find out what else is going on out there. For all we know, they’re working on the mines or there’s some kind of top-secret government project going on out there or aliens have taken it over,” she let out a small giggle to let them know she was joking. She continued, “Let me do some more digging before we dive in head first, okay?”

That was so very like Mae. She was always the voice of reason. Alessa appreciated having her best friend back in her life to ground her. Right now, she really needed that. “Fine,” Alessa said. “But when will you know for sure?”

“Give me a day or two...” Mae answered.

Alessa winced. That was way too long.

Mae noted her friend’s expression. “Okay, a day, 24 hours. Let me talk to my dad.”

“You can’t tell your dad!” Alessa said, raising her voice.

“No, I mean...I can ask without asking, you know?” Mae stated confidently. “I can find out without letting everyone in on your little secret. Geez. Don’t you trust me anymore? I mean, we’ve known each other how long?”

Alessa looked down. Mae was calling her out. Again.

“Good,” Tyler stood up as she spoke. “That’s settled then. Mae will confirm Dagda’s location, and we’ll start thinking about what to do once we know for sure. Deal?” She looked around the room.

“Deal,” Alessa answered. “But once we know, I’m going in. I’m saving Silas.” The tone of her voice left little room for argument.

“No,” Tyler corrected her. “We are going in. There’s no way you’re doing this alone.”

That surprised Alessa, but she nodded.

“We’ll be in touch,” Devin said as he stood up, nodding at Alessa and then Mae.

“Definitely,” Tyler agreed, clapping her brother on the back. “But for now, we better get home.” She grabbed Devin’s arm and pulled him towards the entryway. Tyler took one last look at Mae. “But you let us know, okay?”

“I will,” Mae answered.

Then the two siblings walked out the door, leaving Mae and Alessa alone.

“Thank you,” Alessa said to the girl that was and always would be her best friend. “And I’m sorry...for being such a jerk.”

Mae raised a hand, stopping Alessa from continuing to speak. “It’s okay. You’ve...well...you’ve been through a lot. But I’ve got your back. You know this. I’ll always have your back. Got that?”

Alessa smiled and nodded, but then remembered something she’d seen earlier. “What was that? When Devin was sitting beside you — you...” it felt ridiculous saying it, but Alessa knew what she’d seen and she had to ask. “It looked like you put something in Devin’s coat pocket.”

Mae grinned devilishly. “Oh, that? That was nothing,” she said and waved a hand dismissively in front of her as she closed her laptop and leaned back.

Alessa raised an eyebrow at her friend, and stared hard at her. “Why do I not believe you?” she asked, smirking.

Mae crossed her arms and shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alessa mimicked her friend and also crossed her arms. “I saw you. You put something in Devin’s pocket. ‘Fess up!” She pointed at Mae and laughed.

Mae giggled. “I mean, I know I probably shouldn’t have, but he never takes that stupid coat off and I thought... I’m really surprised at myself, but yeah...I...well...” she leaned in closer to Alessa. “I put a tracking device on him. A GPS tracker thing”

“You...did...what?” Alessa asked as she leaned back and stared at Mae with complete surprise. There was even more to her best friend than Alessa thought.

“Well, my dad had a few of these miniature tracking devices in his office. They’re like super small. I thought maybe we could use them,” Mae stated as she stood up placing her laptop on the sofa where she’d been sitting. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

Alessa nodded. “And....?”

“So I grabbed one, just in case — you know, just in case we had an opportunity to use it. So when I saw that opportunity, I took it. Yep, that’s what I did,” Mae said, almost as if she were surprised at herself.

Alessa’s eyebrows raised even higher. “That was either incredibly stupid...” she said.

Mae nodded as she moved the laptop over and sat beside her friend. “Probably.”

“I’m not finished,” Alessa said and shook her head, laughing. “Or that was the smartest thing ever.”

Mae laughed and picked up the laptop, put it on her lap again, and opened the screen. She typed on the keyboard and then pulled up a map with a blinking red dot on it. She pointed at the dot, which had text above it that said “Devin.” The dot was currently just outside Alessa’s house, but slowly moving away.

Alessa peered at the screen. “You are dangerous!” She laughed louder, this time letting the sound fill the room. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

Mae also laughed. “Consider yourself reminded. But it makes sense, right? I mean, after he threatened you? I know you still don’t trust him. And I think he might just lead us right to Dagda’s hideout.”

Alessa nodded and scratched her chin with one finger. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don’t trust him. Tyler...maybe? But Devin...I don’t trust him at all.”

The two girls leaned over the screen and watched the blinking red dot move further away from Alessa’s house.

Chapter Thirty-One

Mae spent the night with Alessa that evening, and it almost felt like old times. The two reconnected and by the time they both passed out after eating pizza and giggling over a bad movie they’d watched on TV, it was as if there had never been any kind of distance between the two girls.

Sleep came for Alessa that night, the kind that left her feeling rested when she woke up in the morning. There were no dreams. There was no Dreaming, just nothing but the glorious void that was actual sleep. She felt better than she had in a long time, since maybe before her mother had been killed. It still felt very real, that pain, but hope was starting to fill in some of the vacancy inside her heart.

Alessa stretched her arms above her and sat up.

Mae moved restlessly beside her and then shoved the covers aside, her eyes slowly blinking awake. “What time is it?” she asked.

Alessa shrugged. “No idea.”

Then Alessa heard it — the sound of people downstairs. There were voices. She heard her dad, but she also heard someone else. Uncle Fergus! He was back!

Alessa quickly dressed and motioned for Mae to do the same.

“What’s the hurry?” Mae asked.

“My uncle’s back,” Alessa said and grinned as she pulled off her nightshirt and quickly pulled on some yoga pants and a t-shirt. “You’ve got to meet him. He is...he’s something else.”

“Okay then,” Mae replied and forced herself out of bed and wiggled out of the shorts and t-shirt she’d borrowed from Alessa the night before. She pulled on the clothes she’d had on previously. She unplugged her phone from the charger on Alessa’s nightstand and took a quick glance at it before pocketing it.

Alessa was surprised at just how happy she was to hear her uncle’s gruff voice. She practically ran down the stairs, not even waiting to see if Mae was behind her. “Uncle Fergus!” she yelled as she hit the bottom step.

Fergus, who’d been standing in the living room, moved towards the staircase. However, he seemed quite taken aback when Alessa threw herself around him in a hug.

“You’re back!” she exclaimed.

“That I am,” her uncle replied as he disentangled himself from the teenage girl who was making him uncomfortable with her affections. He squinted with his good eye and looked behind Alessa. “Who’s this then?”

“Oh!” Alessa laughed as she gestured to Mae standing behind her. “This is Mae, Uncle Fergus. My best friend. She’s helping out, and before you say anything, yes, she knows all about me. I would trust her with my life, and I don’t want an argument about it.” The words flew from her mouth in a flurry.

Uncle Fergus took a step back and shook his head, but he was pleased, and perhaps even a bit surprised, by Alessa’s welcome. He reached up and ran a finger across his mouth. “I won’t say a word, lass.” He looked at Mae and nodded. “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“Oh, is that breakfast?” Mae asked as she sniffed the air and walked through the living room and directly into the kitchen.

Alessa and Fergus followed her.

Sean was at the stove, flipping an omelet. The smell of coffee, eggs, cheese, and bacon filled the air. “Good morning,” he said. “How do you like your eggs?”

Mae plopped down at the table and started helping herself to a plate that was, apparently, waiting there for her.

“Alessa!” Mae exclaimed with a mouth full of food. “You didn’t tell me your dad was such a good cook!” She forced another forkful of egg into her mouth while she picked up a slice of bacon.

Alessa shrugged and looked around the room. Everything had changed again. Things felt almost...normal. The only thing that was missing was her mom.

But even with her grief still hanging over her, things felt...okay.

“Um...” Alessa thought for a moment as she sat at the table near Mae. “Scrambled, I guess?”

Fergus joined them, grumbling as he sat down, something about getting old and his knees aching.

Alessa enjoyed every single muttering and curse he mumbled under his breath.

Mae’s phone made a “ding” noise.

“Hmmm...” Mae said as she used her freehand to swipe up on the device, her other hand still shoving food into her mouth. She swallowed and looked at Alessa. “Devin’s on the move. Kinda’ early, too. What does a teenage boy have that’s so important to get up early on a Saturday morning for?”

Alessa nodded, “Hmmm...interesting.”

“What’s this?” Fergus interjected. “What are you two babbling about?”

Alessa answered. “Mae is going to help us find Dagda.”

“Is that so?” Fergus raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Sean coughed from where he stood behind the stove.

“Yep,” Alessa answered, nodding.

“And how will she do that?” Fergus asked.

Mae put her fork down carefully on her plate. “I planted a tracking device on Devin Winter.” She grinned at Alessa’s uncle with pride.

“Oh, yes, the Winters,” Sean groaned as he moved a spatula around in a frying pan quickly, scrambling eggs. He lifted up the skillet and allowed the eggs to slide out of it and onto a plate.

Alessa’s mouth watered at the smell. Suddenly, eggs seemed like the only thing she’d ever wanted to eat. Her appetite was back, and that meant she was no longer overwhelmed so much by her grief.

Sean brought the plate over and placed it in front of his daughter. “Scrambled, just like you asked for.”

“Thanks,” Alessa said as she picked up a fork with one hand and reached over to a second plate that was stacked with toast. She grabbed a piece and bit into it, while bringing a fork full of eggs to her mouth. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the flavors falling across her tongue. “So good...” she mumbled as she chewed.

“The Winters are not on our side,” Fergus said.

Alessa nodded and swallowed. “We figured as much. I mean, I think Tyler is okay, but...”

Fergus held up his hand and cut her off. “All of them. They’re rot. They would love to see the world burn, leaving it just for the Dreamers. They’ve always been like that.”

Alessa nodded again, remembering the memory she’d seen in Silas’ head. Had she seen the Winters in her vision with Silas? She couldn’t remember for sure, but maybe?

“So if Devin heads to wherever Dagda is...,” Mae began to explain. “Because, well, we know they’re meeting somewhere because Alessa had a vision...Dream...or whatever...well, we’ll know where Dagda is.”

“Impressive” Sean said as he sat at the table next to Fergus, laying his elbows across the top of its surface.

Alessa looked around the table, enjoying the food, the company, enjoying life. How could things feel so normal right now? How could she feel so safe and loved, even without her mother’s presence? She wasn't sure, but she was grateful for the feeling.

Was that the nature of grief? Would she soon forget that she had ever needed her mother at all?

That thought sobered her. “I...I...I...forgot something upstairs,” Alessa said as she absently dropped her fork onto her plate. For a moment, she’d forgotten that things were not normal. For a moment, she’d let herself enjoy something she had no right to enjoy.

Alessa shoved her chair back and stood up and looked at Mae.

Mae’s expression showed concern, but also understanding. She nodded at Alessa.

Alessa gave a quick nod back and walked away from the table, not daring to look at her father or uncle. She had things to do and had almost forgotten the reason why she was doing them. That would not...do.

She couldn’t let that happen until Dagda was gone for good.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Alessa lay in her bed and stared at her ceiling, forcing her thoughts back to the task at hand. She couldn’t let herself enjoy this makeshift family of hers. She couldn’t pretend things were normal. She couldn’t get complacent and overlook the fact that her mother was dead. She couldn’t forget the revenge she vowed against Dagda for taking her mother away from her. She couldn’t forget that Silas was out there, now just another person Dagda was using against her.

Downstairs, though, she heard the sounds of life, as if none of that really mattered. She wanted to scream at them to stop talking, to stop laughing, to stop pretending, but she knew she had no right. Plus moving on wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she just couldn’t allow herself to do it just yet.

“Ding, ding, ding!” Mae’s voice rang out from downstairs. “I think we’ve got a winner!”

Alessa sat up and shook her head, trying to clear her confusing thoughts. She would have time alone later to work her way through them, but for now, she had to stay on mission and not let herself get sidetracked. She tilted her head as she tried to make out the other voices she heard downstairs.

“Alessa!” Mae yelled.

“Coming!” Alessa yelled back as she pulled herself to her feet, took a deep breath, let it out, and then walked out of her bedroom and back down the stairs. At least she felt a tad calmer and a lot more focused now.

Mae was now sitting in the living room on the sofa, her laptop in her lap once more. Her face was lit up, a wide smile plastered on it. Her eyes were virtually sparkling. Sean and Fergus stood just behind her, leaning over to look at the screen in front of them.

When Mae saw Alessa, she threw her hands in the air above her head. “I think we found him,” she said, almost out of breath as she spoke, her words flying out of her mouth. “Or his hiding spot. Whatever. You know what I mean. Dagda. We found him.” She could barely contain her excitement.

“What?” Alessa asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She rushed to her friend’s side, all her earlier confusion forgotten for the time being. This is what she wanted, what she needed to hear. Thoughts of revenge began to play around inside her head again, along with thoughts of saving Silas. Maybe, just maybe, those thoughts about Silas were beginning to take precedence, even over her need for revenge against Dagda. That and the need to protect those around her. She still had family left, she still had friends. Dagda would not take anyone else from her.

“So where is he?” Alessa asked as she sat beside Mae and stared at the screen where she saw a map and a blinking red dot. Devin.

Sean and Fergus remained quiet as they continued to look on.

Mae typed on the keyboard and the map zoomed in on the location. She pointed at the dot. “Devin’s there. But here’s the thing — he has no reason to be there, unless, of course, he’s there with the others. With Dagda.”

Alessa reached up and scratched her head, her brown hair falling into her face. She shoved strands behind her ears as she huffed. “Where exactly is there?” she asked, her eyes focused on nothing but that dot.

“The old mines!” Mae exclaimed, “Just like we thought!” She couldn’t grin wider if she tried. “I mean, it makes sense. Because I did a little digging and found out that the mines were on private property that belongs to...” She let her voice trail off conspiratorially. “Guess who?”

Alessa stared at her friend, but didn’t answer, although she had an idea what Mae would say next.

"The Winters!" Mae exclaimed, making a broad gesture with both her hands in front of her. “The Winters own the mine and I feel so stupid that I didn’t make that connection earlier. It’s all connected.”

“You’ve lost me, child,” Fergus said as he stared at the back of Mae’s head. He reached up and absently scratched under his eye patch.

Mae didn’t even seem to hear him. She just kept speaking, as if no one else was even there. “The old mines. They haven’t been used for...what? 100 years? Something like that?” she asked herself. “Anyway, it’s private property, mostly underground, and almost everyone around here has forgotten about it. No one really even knows those mines exist out there because we never talk about them. It’s perfect!” She shook her head. “I mean, it’s just right for a villain’s lair.”

“Okay, okay...” Sean interrupted her quickly while he could. “So what makes you think Dagda is there, too?”

“Well,” Mae said, stringing out the word. “Like I said, it’s owned by the Winters. And we already know the Winters support Dagda.”

“Get to the point already, girl,” Fergus said as he continued to scratch at his bad eye.

Mae let out a loud sigh as if she was disappointed that no one seemed to be following her hectic train of thought. “Well, we know Devin’s there,” she said. “Because of the tracker.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard in front of her. A small video window appeared on the screen. She pointed to it. “This is security footage from a camera near the mine’s entrance. I guess the Winters must’ve put it there.”

“How did you get access to that?” Alessa asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Mae looked up at her friend just long enough to wink. She turned her attention back to the screen. “Anyway, watch.” Her fingers hit a few more keys and the video sped up and then slowed down.

The screen showed grainy footage of three people walking into the old mine shaft. They were recognizable, though — it was Devin and his parents.

“I thought the old mine was too dangerous,” Alessa said, rubbing her forehead.

“That’s what they always said, right?” Mae asked, but didn’t wait for a response. “What if they just told everyone that to keep people away? What if they’ve been using it for something else?” She moved her fingers over the keyboard again.

The video sped up and slowed down again, in stutters. A frame stopped and showed another group of people entering the mine.

“Well,” Fergus chimed in. “That is curious.” He rubbed his chin.

“Very,” said Mae, obviously proud of her work.

“That’s as likely a place as any,” Sean remarked.

Mae nodded.

“We have to go in there,” Alessa said leaning over to take a better look at the screen. “Like now. Right now.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Fergus quickly replied, placing his hand on Alessa’s shoulder. “You are not going anywhere. Sean and I will meet with the others and check it out. You two,” he gestured to Mae. “You two will stay right here.”

Alessa let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine! But you need to go right now!” Her voice pleaded with her uncle as she turned herself to look at him.

Sean shook his head. “We have to let the others know first. We can’t just blindly march into Dagda’s...” he looked at Mae, “...lair without a plan. Without backup. That would be foolish.”

Alessa threw her hands up, exasperated, and slumped down on the couch.

“Just give us a few days,” Fergus said as he let go of her shoulder.

“Fine,” Alessa said again, but there was no question that it was anything but.

She looked at Mae.

Mae looked at her.

A silent agreement passed between the two friends as the beginnings of their own plan began to form.

AFTER SEAN AND FERGUS left the house to make preparations and gather their troops, Alessa called Tyler. She still wasn’t entirely sure why she felt she could trust her, being that Tyler was a Winter, but Tyler had not lied to her yet. Alessa had to admit that they had somehow formed what might be considered a friendship.

Mae, though, wasn’t thrilled about Alessa’s decision to include Tyler in their plans, but she trusted Alessa and understood that they would need at least one other person who could do magic. Mae was, obviously, the brains of the operation and served an instrumental role. However, the only people who could really stand against Dagda in a fight were other Dreamers. Alessa needed Tyler to get the cauldron and free Silas.

Tyler arrived at the house quickly, and the three girls got down to business. If Tyler had any suspicions as to why Devin wasn’t invited, she didn’t voice them. Perhaps, she, too, had her doubts. Tyler also praised Mae early on for her findings.

Despite her misgivings, Mae eventually seemed to be open to Tyler’s presence, even if she didn’t trust anyone with Winter as their last name.

“So here’s what we need to do,” Alessa said as she paced back and forth in the living room. Her hands were tented underneath her chin as she thought through everything.

Mae sat on the couch, her laptop within arm’s reach on the coffee table in front of it. She was currently reaching into an open bag of chips and grabbing herself a snack.

Tyler sat in the armchair nearby and listened carefully as Alessa began to outline their plan.

“First, now that we know where Dagda is...” Alessa began and gestured to Mae with a smile.

Tyler interrupted. “How did you figure that out?” she asked Mae, staring the other girl down.

Mae shifted her body uncomfortably, but gave the standard answer. “I have my ways...” she said as she leaned forward and closed the laptop in front of her with her free hand.

Alessa continued to speak, not giving Tyler enough time to figure out what they’d really done. She wasn’t sure how Tyler might handle them tracking her brother without him knowing. “The old mines,” she said. “He’s in the old mines.

Tyler’s eyes widened. “You mean the mines my family owns?”

Mae nodded. “Yep.”

Tyler grimaced and looked down at her hands. “My family sucks. Have I mentioned that lately?” she asked, shaking her head. “I hope you understand that whatever my Mom and Dad do, I am not a part of it.”

Alessa stopped pacing long enough to look at the blue-haired girl. “I know,” she said, meaning it.

“Devin, on the other hand,” Mae blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth to shut herself up.

Alessa stared at Mae for a split second, trying not to cover her disappointed expression, before approaching Tyler, standing just to the side of the chair.

“What about Devin?” Tyler asked, staring at Alessa expectantly, waiting for an explanation. But something in her eyes suggested she already knew where this was going.

Alessa swallowed hard, deciding that it was best to go with the truth. “I’m sorry, I know he’s your brother, but...” she swallowed again. “I’m not sure we can trust him.”

Tyler’s eyes lit up with fire. She stood up and faced Alessa, staring her down, towering over her by at least two inches. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that Tyler is following Dagda. He might even be with him right now,” Mae chimed in, standing up, her voice rising. She’d seen her friend threatened and she wasn’t going to have it. Although she’d grown comfortable with Tyler, in that moment, she absolutely didn’t like the Winter girl again.

“It doesn’t matter. I just...I just don’t trust him,” Alessa said. “You can be mad at me about that, but that’s that.” However, she didn’t go so far as to mention the tracking device and hoped Mae wouldn’t.

Alessa changed the subject quickly, turning her back to Tyler, and continuing to speak. “So what we need to do is sneak into the mine and get Silas and the cauldron back.”

“Which sounds impossible,” Mae interjected, as she sat back down and leaned against the back of the sofa, taking Alessa’s lead.

“But we can handle that, right?” Alessa said as she turned around again to look at Tyler, obviously still wanting the girl’s help. But would she give it now that they’d basically insulted her brother?

Tyler seemed defeated when she sat back down. It was like she knew she should defend her brother, but she also knew they could be right.

That couldn’t be an easy thing to realize, Alessa thought, almost feeling sorry for her. She knew she was asking something difficult of Tyler, but she felt it in her gut — Tyler would do the right thing.

“Fine, whatever,” Tyler said. “I’m in. Get in, grab your boyfriend, get the cauldron, and get out. No problem. When do we leave?”

Alessa let out a sigh of relief at Tyler’s words. “Tonight, as soon as it’s dark. Mae’s working on the grand plan.” She gestured to her friend on the couch.

Mae nodded, “I’ve got the plans for the mine and I think I’ve figured out how this will work.” She seemed confident in her abilities, as if daring Tyler to say something otherwise.

Tyler stood up again, clinging her hands in front of her, and gave a terse nod. She was still struggling with her loyalty to her family and doing the right thing. But ultimately, it seemed she had made her choice. “Fine. I’ll be back then,” she said before turning around and heading to the entryway and out the front door.

The door slammed behind her after she left.

It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all they had. Hopefully, it would work.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Alessa made an excuse later that evening, explaining that she needed to go to Mae’s house to study for a big test they had at school that following Monday. Reina might have seen through the lie because she’d known the two girls didn’t even have any classes together this year, but Sean and Fergus didn’t, so they had no reason not to believe Alessa. She’d promised to be home by 11 and she hoped she could keep that promise.

More lies, she thought to herself as she left her house. But this time, it really couldn’t be helped. There was no way her father and uncle would let her do what she was about to do.

Alessa walked to Mae’s house, as it was only a few blocks away, letting the promise of a coming winter keep her fear at bay. She let the chilly afternoon sink into her skin as she walked, focusing on the sensation, while trying not to think too much about everything that could possibly go wrong that night.

The girls met at Mae’s house — Tyler was already there when Alessa arrived. The three went over the plan again, studying all the maps as if they hadn’t already done that many times. They couldn’t be too prepared. Once darkness set in, Mae drove them to the edge of town, right up to the large privacy fence that surrounded the mine. A big “Keep Out — Private Property” sign was attached to the part of the fence next to the gate.

When they pulled up, Tyler was the first to get out of the car. She walked to the front of the vehicle, leaned against the hood, and tugged at a strand of blue hair. She seemed nervous, and maybe even a little scared.

Alessa and Mae exited the vehicle and met Tyler where she waited. Their feet made scrunching sounds on the gravel of the old road.

Tyler reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a set of old keys that looked rusted, discolored, and old.

“Gates’s locked, but I’ve got these,” Tyler said, dangling the keys. “I guess it pays to snoop through your parents’ belongings from time to time,” she said with a grin.

“How do you know those are the right keys?” Alessa asked. They couldn’t take anything for granted at this stage.

Tyler riffled through the keys on the ring and held one up, shoving it close to Alessa’s face. “See?” she said, while pointing with her free hand to the front of it. “It says “mine gate." Dur.”

“Oh,” Alessa quickly said as she looked at the scrawling of the words on a piece of tape attached to the key. In her defense, the writing on it looked old and faded, making it hard to see. Instead of letting herself feel embarrassed, though, she focused on the task at hand, trying not to think about how dangerous it might be. But now was the time to act.

“Well, I guess that’s it then," Mae replied.

“You’ll stay here,” Tyler told Mae. “We need you to be our getaway car. I hope you can drive fast.”

Mae rubbed her hands together conspiratorially. “Can I spin the tires on the way out?”

Tyler shrugged, “Whatever.”

Mae giggled to herself, despite knowing the situation they were putting themselves in. She gave Alessa one more look, mouthed the words “good luck” and then walked back to the car. She opened the door and got back behind the wheel, waiting.

“Let’s get this over with,” Alessa said as she and Tyler walked towards a tall metal gate that led to the mine’s main entrance. A huge chain with a large padlock connected it to the surrounding fence.

Tyler put the key into the padlock and turned it. It clicked in place, rotated, and the lock came open. Tyler grabbed the end of the chain and shoved it to the ground where it fell in a heap, the padlock on top of it. She pushed open the gate.

“Well, here we go,” Tyler whispered as she began to walk through the gate.

Alessa took a deep breath and followed. Just beyond the gate was a dark cave that lived underneath the town of Ashmill. She’d once read that the mines extended for miles underground, but were unused, making her believe — and hope — that Dagda and the others were still keeping close to the entrance.

But just how many followers did he have? Tyler had said there weren’t a lot of Dreamers left. Alessa didn’t know how many were actually on their side, but she was more worried about how many had fallen sway to Dagda’s message of world dominance.

Alessa hugged herself as the two girls approached a set of railroad tracks that led into the cave’s open mouth. She tried to peer inside, but it was too dark. She couldn’t see a thing. She thought about the phrase about walking out of the fryer pan and into the fire. This felt a lot like that. As she paused at the cave’s mouth, she closed her eyes and reached out just a little bit with her magic, looking for something like it. She felt it almost immediately. It was there, not too far away. There were others here, like her, Dreamers.

There was another feeling as well. It felt like the Dreaming was just beyond the mouth of the cave, but not the Dreaming, but like a place where the veil between the Dreaming and the waking world was thin. It was as if somehow the two existences were bleeding into each other here, perhaps as a result of Dagda having the cauldron. It felt wrong and unnatural, and Alessa could sense something inside her telling her to run away.

She held her position, though, forcing her legs not to move, despite every instinct telling her otherwise. It would do her no good to lose her courage now. They were here and they had a job to do. Silas was just beyond that darkness.

Tyler pulled a flashlight out of her backpack, turned it on, and aimed it inside the cave. The light fell into the large front cavern, but there was darkness just beyond the orb it cast.

“Well, let’s do this together,” Tyler said, motioning for Alessa to go inside with her.

Alessa and Tyler stepped into the mine.

ALESSA AND TYLER TOOK several tentative steps forward. The flashlight’s beam revealed a narrow track in front of them that seemed to slope downward. They continued walking, slowly and deliberately, their ears perked for any hint of sound, their magic senses tuned into anything they might need to be aware of.

Alessa heard nothing, but as the two girls reached a line of track where an abandoned mining cart sat collecting dust, she felt the air shift around them. Her vision clouded just slightly, as if a fog had moved in.

Alessa knew this feeling. They had walked into the Dreaming. She wasn’t even sure how that could happen, but she knew that this part of the mine was not in their world.

Goosebumps formed along the base of Alessa’s neck and across the backs of her arms. She turned and looked behind her, but all she could see was darkness. The dot of light that should have marked the entrance behind them was not there.

The two girls exchanged glances and then kept walking, still carefully, as quietly as possible. Their footsteps barely made a sound.

A few more minutes passed as they slowly made their way farther down the path, but soon, they began to hear something. It was voices, but not voices speaking words. It sounded like chanting, like a strange song sung in a language Alessa did not know.

However, Tyler frowned when she heard it. She moved the light around in front of them, revealing a sort of crossroads. Two diverged from the one they were on.

The two girls stopped and glanced at each other again. They took a moment to study each path and then nodded. They knew which way to go.

Tyler turned off her flashlight and took Alessa’s hand. “This way,” she whispered, leading Alessa down the left path. They crept along quietly, hunched over, afraid of being seen. There was a dim light ahead and as they drew closer, the chanting grew louder.

It seemed to take hours to reach that light, but when they did, their path opened up into a cavern that seemed to overlook an expansive auditorium. The area was filled with hundreds of people chanting together as if they were one voice. In the middle of the space, Dagda stood on a raised stage, his red eyes glaring, his mouth widened into a smile. He swayed to the strange music, as if they were singing directly to him. Maybe they were.

Alessa stood behind Tyler just outside the top of the auditorium, unseen for now. Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn’t see Silas. However, she did notice something else — the cauldron sat unattended behind the stage where Dagda stood. She saw that there were Dreamers surrounding the stage, assuming they were guards protecting their master. Their attention, though, was solely on him, and they, too, were chanting.

Could it really be that easy? Alessa thought. She tapped Tyler on the shoulder and pointed to the cauldron. “We’ve got to get down there,” she whispered in Tyler’s ear.

Tyler nodded and turned her head, gritting her teeth. “How?” she asked.

Alessa looked over the area again. Just to her right, near the edge of the arena was a set of stairs that led down to the main floor and to the stage. She mentally worked out a path that would get her there, the one of least resistance that wouldn’t put her in the path of Dagda’s followers. But there was something else, too, something she often forgot she had at her disposal: magic.

“Stay here,” Alessa told Tyler as she gestured to the stairs. “I’m going down. I’ll get the cauldron.”

“No,” Tyler whispered, trying not to raise her voice. “Are you crazy? They’ll see you!”

Alessa shook her head because she had a plan. “I’m a Dreamer, right? Can’t I just make them not see me?” She wasn’t even sure how that would work, but she felt strongly that her magic could do just that — make her invisible. She was good at being invisible before she’d even known she could do magic, so how hard could it be now?

However, she had her doubts and she wasn’t sure she was capable of that kind of magic, but the cauldron now represented so much to her, more than she had ever realized. The cauldron was all that was left of her mother, who had sworn to protect it. Reina had died trying to protect it. Now that job belonged to Alessa.

This has to work, Alessa thought as she focused on that one thing and how important it was.  She reached inside of herself and tapped into all her chaotic emotions. She imagined herself invisible, not just physically, but also in that part of her mind that Dreamers could see and touch in this realm.

“How did you...” Tyler whispered as her eyes scanned around where Alessa stood. “I can’t believe that worked.”

Alessa whispered a reply. “You can’t see me?”

Tyler shook her head, still trying to figure out where to focus her words. “No.”

“Okay, then,” Alessa said. “I’m going in.”

“Be careful,” Tyler whispered.

Alessa slowly approached the stairs that led down to the rest of the auditorium. She put one foot in front of the other, beginning the climb down, keeping her thoughts focused on making herself seem as invisible, tiny, and insignificant as possible.

It was the longest climb of Alessa’s life. She expected someone would see her at any given moment. She moved so slowly that she thought she might never reach the bottom and she held her breath as much as she could, terrified of giving herself away.

Eventually, her feet landed at the bottom, just a few feet away from where a group of Dagda’s followers were chanting.

They continued chanting, not seeing her and not noticing that anything was awry.

Her plan was working.

Alessa slowly walked past that group and several others, careful not to touch them or give away that she was there. She kept her guard up while she continued to focus her magic, but Dagda’s followers only seemed to see Dagda. Alessa might not have even needed to become invisible, so intent were they on the dark figure of their leader. She wouldn’t take any chances, though, and she kept her defenses up.

Slowly, she inched around the edges of the crowd until the cauldron was in sight. Alessa scanned the room again, taking in her immediate surroundings. No one had noticed. No one had shouted an alert. The cauldron remained unguarded for now.

Alessa held her breath and walked as calmly as she could towards the artifact. She reached down to touch it, but paused, realizing that if the cauldron began floating in the air, her cover would be blown. Instead, she very carefully imagined extending the reach of the magic that made her invisible so that when her hands touched the cauldron, it would become invisible, too. Or so she hoped.

Alessa expected to feel something from the cauldron when she touched it, maybe some kind of resistance to her stealing it away. Instead, it just felt like a cold piece of stone in her hands, surrounded by her magic.  But she did feel her magic boosted, the cauldron lending itself to her invisibility.

No one saw Alessa as she began to walk away with it, clutching it with both hands and making her way back to the stairs. No one spotted her as she walked back up the stairs. She was out of breath when she reached the top, but she made it without incident.

Tyler stood there waiting for her, one hand held over her mouth in disbelief.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Tyler waited at the top of the stairs, offering to take the cauldron from Alessa’s hands.

Alessa handed it over, taking a moment to lean over and catch her breath. The cauldron was heavy, but its weight had far more to do with its power than anything physical. It was something Alessa could see as a burden.

She finally straightened back up and looked at Tyler.

“This thing is heavy!” The other girl whispered, placing it carefully on the ground.

Alessa nodded and then turned around and looked at the scene she had just escaped from. Had someone seen her? Had anyone noticed the cauldron was missing?

Dagda remained standing in the middle of the stage, taking in the chanting of his followers, seeming to drink in their praise.

However, Alessa started to notice tendrils of the Dreaming wafting around. These dark tendrils drifted from each Dreamer to Dagda as if giving him more power. But that wasn’t it. They were giving up something more. They had given up their will. Alessa realized they were all under his thrall, under a spell. Although many were here because they agreed with him, she realized that others might very well be here against their will.

Others like Silas.

The thought of Dagda violating others like he'd done to her made her angrier, maybe even more than she realized.

“Ugh...” Tyler whispered as she followed Alessa’s gaze over the crowd. She pointed to the farthest wall, about two rows up from the main floor. “There they are, my family.” She squinted as if to make out their figures and then her features changed. She clenched her teeth. “Damnit, Devin, too.”

Alessa’s eyes followed where her friend had pointed. She saw the three Winters as engrossed in Dagda as everyone else. Alessa's eyes flickered over them and to the right. She was just about to lean down and pick the cauldron back up when her eyes caught a glimpse of something — of someone

Silas stood just to the right of the Winters, as by himself as he could get in the cluster of others. He also seemed enchanted, but his mouth was closed. Silas wasn’t chanting.

Alessa felt hope spring into her heart. Was Silas fighting it again? Was he himself? Had he shaken Dagda’s spell from earlier?

“Silas!” she whispered, more to herself than Tyler. She could not contain the emotion in her voice, almost as if she wanted to cry.

The cauldron sat ignored at her feet, suddenly not the most important thing in the world. She stared at Silas, the boy she’d fallen in love with. She focused everything on him and called out to him silently through the Dreaming, through her magic, hoping her message would reach him. She was here. She had come to save him.

She didn’t even think about how stupid this was until much later. She was in the Dreaming, in a cavernous room full of Dreamers. Her silent shouting in the Dreaming was as good as shouting from the rooftops that she was there, that she had infiltrated their sacred space. But nothing else mattered then, nothing but Silas. He was everything to her, and he was almost all she had left.

She had to get to him somehow.

Tyler was looking at Silas, but winced when Alessa called out to him — she’d heard it.

Alessa, though, was a million miles away. She was only with Silas and she blocked out everyone else — and everything else. He became the only tangible thing in the Dreaming for Alessa. The only thing she could touch and the only thing that could touch her.

Black tentacles wafted above Silas’ head, but as Alessa focused on him, they began to turn blue. Whatever she was doing was working. She was getting though to him.

Alessa saw Silas lift his head and look up, noting the shift in colors above him. His eyes then scanned the auditorium, eventually finding where Alessa stood on the top platform.

Alessa felt the struggle inside of him, the part of Silas that was still Silas, and the part of Silas that was commanded by Dagda. “I’m coming for you,” she whispered under her breath, letting magic take the words directly into his mind.

Silas shook his head and she heard his answer. It was weak, but it was clear. “No.”

Alessa ignored him. He clearly wasn’t fully himself. She already had a plan and she knew how she would rescue him. Nothing else mattered. Not even the stone object she’d just risked her life for that was still sitting at her feet.

The air in the auditorium shifted. The chanting stopped. Dagda’s congregation began to move, shifting around, their eyes blinking, as if they were waking up from a strange dream. The magic around them was still thick, though, circling around the cavern like a dark fog. Whatever the chanting was supposed to do, Alessa feared it might have worked.

No one looked up, though. No one saw Alessa and Tyler still standing at the top level.

Alessa saw Silas begin to shuffle off, headed away from the Winters, but also away from Alessa.

That decided it. Alessa looked at Tyler and made a decision. “You take the cauldron and get out of here,” Alessa said, praying her trust wasn’t misplaced. “Get it to my dad and uncle. They’ll know what to do with it.”

Tyler narrowed her eyes at Alessa. “What are you going to do?”

Alessa didn’t mince words. “I’m going after Silas.”

“You can’t!” Tyler exclaimed, still keeping her voice down. She crossed her arms. “It’s too dangerous.”

Alessa ignored Tyler and leaned down to pick up the cauldron, shoving it at the other girl.

Tyler took it hesitantly, but her arms eventually wrapped around it. She was shaking, though, as if she was afraid of holding such a valuable — and powerful — object.

Alessa turned around and walked back to the stairs, calling on her magic to keep her invisible again, hoping that whatever stores of magic she had wouldn’t fail her. She recalled Fergus mentioning that magic required stamina, and she hoped that her stamina would last.

She crept down the stairs and along the back walls of the room until she reached the position where Silas had just stood. She reached out with her magic, trying to find him. A series of tunnels led off from the large room, but one felt more “right” than the others, so Alessa started down it.

As she walked, though, she felt it — her power was draining. Although she thought she was alone in the tunnel, she soon saw a solitary figure farther ahead. It was Silas. She let her magic slip away, praying no one else would see her as she followed him.

If he knew she was following him, he didn’t show it.

Alessa wanted to call out to him, but she feared someone else might hear her.

The tunnel met a crossway. Silas turned right, walking towards a set of ancient wooden doors that seemed to lead further into the mine.

Not wanting to lose him, Alessa finally reached out to him again, but when she did, she felt nothing. She wasn’t sure if that was because he was no longer inside his own mind or if she’d just used up all her magic. She bit her lip to keep from muttering under her breath. She was so distracted that she had to catch herself when she saw a man approaching Silas.

Alessa quickly ducked around a corner and peered around it to watch Silas as he passed through the doors, disappearing from view. The man followed him.

Alessa took a breath, scanned the area carefully, and stepped out into the open. She walked towards where Silas had disappeared. The set of doors was slightly ajar.

Alessa ducked through the doors, putting up what little defenses she could with what remaining magic she had left. She knew she would run out soon, especially if she kept tapping into it, but she had no choice. She had to follow Silas.

Silas walked just in front of her, the other man behind him. Silas turned to the right, but the other man turned to the left.

Alessa followed as quietly as she could, keeping her distance. She turned right where Silas had and was met with an old, cracked wooden door. When she reached up and pushed against it, it swung open, revealing a small dark room. The only light was from a single lightbulb hanging on a bare wire that led to the ceiling.

Silas stood in the middle of the room under the lightbulb, staring at her.

Alessa felt the last of her magic give and her defenses break when she saw him. She didn’t care. She wanted to be seen. She wanted Silas to see her. Maybe she was being foolish and way too trusting in the boy’s love for her, but what was love but the ability to trust?

Silas was both himself and not himself at the same time. But there was recognition in his eyes. Then he said her name, “Alessa.” His voice sounded flat, though, almost emotionless. His gaze remained the same, as if no light would dare touch it again.

Alessa’s face fell, but she had come this far and she was determined. She took the few steps required to reach him and quickly grabbed his hand before he could turn away. She held onto it tightly and reached into the Dreaming once more, praying she just had a little more magic left in her reserves. Her mind reached out to his, but it hit a barrier. She pushed harder, almost imagining herself as a giant wrecking ball that would tear down the wall Dagda had built.

The more the wall resisted, the more she pushed, knowing her magic could quit on her at any time. But then she felt it give a little, then a little more, and she gave it all she got, blasting a hole through that wall.

As she attacked it, she began to feel a brightness inside her head that grew until it caused her to stumble back. She gripped Silas' hand even tighter as she felt her last bit of magic drain away.

When she looked at Silas again, his posture had changed. Expression came to life on his features and his dark eyes were full of love.

It had worked. She had reached him.

When he spoke, though, he seemed almost angry. “What are you doing here?” he demanded as he pulled his hand away from her.

“I’m here to save you,” Alessa answered, jutting out her chin in defiance.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he stated, shaking his head back and forth. “You can’t be here. He will kill you.”

Alessa stuck her bottom lip out. “I’m not afraid of him,” she lied. She clenched her fists at her side.

“You should be,” he replied. “You all should be.”

Alessa stood her ground and stared at him.

Silas reached out to Alessa, but stopped just short of touching her. “No,” he said, his voice trembling. “You need to know the truth.”

“What are you talking about?” Alessa asked and reached out to him again, her hand against his chest. “Let’s just...let’s just get out of here and you can tell me whatever you need to tell me later.”

Silas took a step back. “It’s me,” he said. “He needs me. No one is safe.” Silas looked down at his feet.

Alessa opened her mouth to speak, but then there was a noise just beyond the door she had just walked through.

Silas sprang into action and closed his fist around her hand, squeezing it, and then letting it go. “You have to go. Leave me here. Leave me now,” he pleaded. “I need to...Just go. Alessa, please?”

“No,” Alessa said. “Not without you. I won’t leave you.” She didn’t move.

For a moment, time stood still. But then Alessa realized they weren’t alone.

She turned around to see a dark robed figure standing at the room’s entrance, its face hidden in the shadows of a long hood.

However, Alessa did not need to see Dagda’s face to know that he was smiling.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Five other Dreamers stood behind Dagda. Alessa could feel and see the magic that flowed around them. It was like they were channeling power from their master, as if Dagda were a huge battery of the Dreaming. Even without the cauldron near him, he still exuded power — too much power.

“You have something of mine, I believe,” the shadow that was Dagda said.

His voice echoed around the room and inside her mind.

Alessa reached for her magic, knowing it was already spent, but that didn’t stop her from spreading her legs, her right foot slightly in front of her left. She held her hands in front of her as if sheer physical strength could ward off any magical attack. “You’ll have to find it first,” she said, sounding braver than she ever had in her life. She was not even sure where it came from, although she felt her anger boiling inside her veins, fueling her on, keeping her on her feet.

Anger. That was good. She could work with that.

Silas had taken a few steps forward to join Alessa, but then his body went limp and fell to the floor.

Alessa felt Silas slip away from her, once more succumbing to Dagda’s will. Then she sensed something beginning to crawl around in her mind, but somehow, she managed to keep it at bay, using everything she had to keep him from getting in.

Dagda grunted in frustration.

“No!” she screamed at Dagda, letting her voice carry. She pushed her hands away from her body and tapped into this courage she’d somehow found. “No! No! No!” One by one, the five Dreamers behind Dagda stumbled backward and fell.

Alessa wondered briefly if she’d found her second wind, but she didn’t question it.

Dagda remained standing, but he tilted his head and looked at her curiously, as if she were some kind of anomaly.

Maybe she was. Alessa felt it. Power. Magic had come back to her, although she’d already used so much of it. Somehow, it was still there, ready to protect her, ready to fight. She screamed again, the sound guttural and held her hands out as if pushing against the figure before her.

Dagda stumbled backwards, enough to leave an opening in the doorway for her to get by.

Alessa hesitated, though. She looked down at at where Silas lay crumpled on the floor. She couldn’t feel him, and she knew that for now, he wasn’t really there.

She still took a second to reach inside him, to reach out to him, to pull him away from Dagda’s mental grasp. She almost touched something that felt like a secret, something that he had been trying to tell her, but then it disappeared, like maybe it had never been there at all.

Dagda started laughing. “You can’t have him,” he said. “He’s mine. He was always mine, you stupid girl.”

Alessa reached out to Silas again and she felt it: it was like an invisible chain binding the two together. They were inextricably linked. But how?

Alessa didn’t understand, but she knew she was running out of time. She also knew that she could not save Silas as long as he was under Dagda’s influence. She also realized that her plan to come here without knowing how to face Dagda had not been one of her brightest ideas. This had been a mistake and now she was about to pay for it.

At least the cauldron was safe, though, right? Alessa though, hoping that Tyler had made it out safely and was already on her way to her dad and uncle.

She was starting to feel tired. It was a struggle to hold her hands up, to keep her magic running, and although she’d found those extra reserves, they were wearing thin. She needed to worry more about how to get out of here alive now. Was that even possible?

Dagda did not seem any weaker than before, although the cauldron had been taken away. She soon felt him slithering inside her mind again as black tendrils curled around her feet and moved up her legs. She waved her arms in front of her, but they felt heavy, all the fight having withered out of them.

The black tendrils crawled up her body. The parts of her they touched began to feel numb. Soon, she was trapped in a dark cloud, and she felt as if she was losing her way.

Dagda held one hand in front of him, manipulating his power to wrap around her even tighter.

Alessa couldn’t breathe and found herself giving into the darkness, even though she knew she shouldn’t. But he was too strong and she was so tired...

BUT SLEEP DID NOT COME. Instead, Alessa found herself drifting through her memories, like an unwilling participant on some unhinged theme park ride. She was on a journey inside her own head as Dagda acted like a guide digging into her deepest thoughts, emotions, and fears.

Alessa had not known it was possible to feel this violated. She tried to shake him off, but failed. But she kept fighting all the same.

Scenes came to her as he poked around in her brain. Some were real, some were fantasies she’d had during her life. Here was her accepting a major award for her photography: in this fantasy, she was all grown up, dressed in an elegant evening gown, Silas dressed in a tuxedo beside her. She was smiling here, proud of the work and effort she’d put into photographs that were being shown on a display behind her: scenes of a war-torn country, children crying, scenes of a third world country the real Alessa would probably never visit. In this fantasy, she had helped expose a war the rest of the world had been ignoring. In this fantasy, she was the hero.

Alessa was ashamed that someone else was seeing this, but she couldn’t control what Dagda was doing to her.

Here she was more recently, with Silas. This one was still a fantasy. It was an intimate moment that Alessa had thought about a lot since she and Silas had found each other. It was not meant to be seen by others. She felt ashamed, embarrassed, and angry all at the same time. She pushed harder against the thing inside her mind.

The assault continued. She saw memories of herself as a child, when it was just her and her mother. How they loved watching old cartoons together. The time when Reina was attempting to explain how Bugs Bunny was a metaphor for life, making up her own philosophy about each cartoon and laughing. There was so much laughter.

Here was a time when Alessa had fallen off her bike and skinned her knee. Reina was putting on a bandage and telling her daughter that everything would be okay. She would get better at riding a bike and all it took was more practice. She quoted a line from an old movie with a funny voice that had made Alessa smile through her tears.

She even saw some of her fantasies about Devin that she’d had before meeting Silas, although she would never think such things about the boy now.

It was too much. No one should see these things. No one had the right to see these things. Dagda had no right.

“Enough!!!” Alessa shouted, both physically and mentally, using whatever might be left of her strength and magical ability to fight off Dagda’s assault.

Alessa resisted and pushed back as much as she could, putting more effort into it than anything she may have ever done before in her life. She steeled her body and her mind, willing away the thing that was shoving itself into her most private thoughts, determined to free herself from its grip.

As she pushed, its grasp began to slip. The tendril-like fingers that were crawling around inside her head began to shudder and break. Alessa doubled her efforts and felt them retreat. She saw them with her mind’s eye, tendrils of black dissipating into nothing.

Dagda stood in front of her, stunned.

Silas was standing beside her, holding her hand, lending her his strength. He stared at her incredulously.

Alessa took advantage of the moment. She looked at Silas and nodded.

Without another word, they ran.

Chapter Thirty-Six

As Alessa and Silas turned the first corner, hand-in-hand, she could feel magic gathering around them. A mental alarm was sounded by Dagda telling his followers about their escape. Alessa felt some chaos in the aftermath, as the other Dreamers tried to gather their wits to chase them down. A sense of distress began to reach out towards the pair, but Alessa kept running, her feet pounding hard against the rocky surface of the road that led back up the way she came. This was back towards where she’d last seen Tyler. She only hoped that the other girl had taken her earlier advice and escaped with the cauldron.

Alessa knew that this escape was risky, but if she failed, she understood that the cauldron being safe was really the only thing that mattered. She knew she could get captured, and the reality of that threatened to stop her in her tracks as she continued to run. The best thing she could do now, though, was to not let that happen.

Without the cauldron, Dagda wouldn’t have enough power, or so she hoped. She’d been able to get away from him easily, and she thought it had everything to do with him not having immediate access to the cauldron's power. Alessa also hoped that Dagda’s influence over his followers would lessen without the cauldron’s help. Those who had not come here willingly, like Silas, could be able to break free.

Alessa continued to run, the world spinning around her in a blur. Silas kept pace with her, both of them breathing hard, unable to speak. But still, they kept sprinting up to the arena, hoping the chaos would prevent others from following long enough to get away.

“Over here!” Alessa heard a voice call out.

Alessa’s eyes scanned the scene as she sped along, slowing down her pace enough to focus on that voice. She stopped when she saw Tyler standing at the edge of the arena near a door that she and Silas had almost run past.

There was something odd about the door, though. It seemed out of place, an illusion, something made from the Dreaming. Alessa realized that this was something created by Tyler, who had mentioned that her illusions were as real as they seemed when she made them. Alessa didn’t hesitate. “This way!” she said to Silas, her voice ragged. She dodged to the left and changed directions, heading straight for Tyler.

Tyler swung the illusory door open and jumped through it.

Alessa and Silas followed.

The door slammed and then disappeared, becoming nothing but a solid wall of rock.

Alessa stopped to lean against the wall, trying to catch her breath. “Where...are...we?” she asked between gulping huge lungfuls of air.

Silas did the same beside her.

“I made a tunnel,” Tyler said, grinning. “Well, it’s not a real tunnel, but I made it to take us back to the surface.”

Alessa straightened and looked at the other girl, but then realized something was missing. “Where’s the cauldron?” she asked quickly, suddenly panicking.

Tyler reached over and patted Alessa’s shoulder. “It’s safe. I came back to get you,” she said. “Good thing I did, too. You might as well have told everyone you were crashing this party!”

Alessa nodded and offered a smile, but she still felt like something was wrong. It was probably just paranoia, but it stayed with her. However, she did manage to mutter a quick “thanks.”

Tyler motioned to the tunnel that held a well-lit pathway that led up. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Silas said, speaking for the first time since their escape.

Tyler looked at him, almost suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. She turned around and started walking.

Alessa and Silas followed.

They didn’t waste any more time talking, although something began to bother Alessa as they climbed up a steep slope, hoping to find an exit soon. It was just her intuition, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck, or something else alerting her that all was not right. She let it consume her thoughts for a few minutes, but in the end, she had to speak. She asked, “So who has the cauldron?”

“Like I said,” Tyler answered as she led the group along the path. “It’s safe.”

That feeling of wrongness continued to weigh upon Alessa as they walked. "But who?" she asked, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.

Tyler kept her back to Alessa and didn’t reply right away, as if she were about to admit something she knew Alessa wouldn’t like. “I gave it to Devin.” Her voice was almost too low to hear.

But Alessa heard it and opened her mouth to start screaming at the girl in front of her.

Tyler kept talking, though, defensively, her voice rising in pitch. “It’s okay. Alessa, he wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t even under that spell thing or whatever it was we saw. He was just keeping an eye on Mom and Dad. He’s on our side.”

Alessa was just about to say something else when everything around the three of them began to shift and blur in her vision.

Tyler stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. “Oh no,” she said.

The path in front of them began to disappear, as if it had never been there.

“What’s happening?” Silas yelled as he caught up with Alessa and grabbed her hand protectively.

“They’re onto us!” Tyler yelled as she turned around to face Alessa and her boyfriend. “They’re interfering with my magic. I don’t know how long I can hold onto it!”

Alessa was confused for a moment, but then remembered what Tyler had said earlier about creating a way out for them. This tunnel and path did not actually exist — it was all just an illusion

The walls of the tunnel began to shift and move, beginning to close in on the three.

“We’ve got to move!” Tyler screamed as she made a mad dash for a thin sliver of light in front of them.

Alessa and Silas followed, still hand-in-hand.

As the tunnel’s walls began to collapse further inward, Alessa felt the magic pushing back against Tyler’s illusion. Dagda had followed them and he was about to trap them within the rock of the mine. Death breathed down her neck as she ran, and she could almost feel the tunnel walls growing narrower and narrower.

Tyler jumped through the sliver of light, a crack in the surface of the mine.

Alessa heard the girl cursing as she landed. The crack was growing smaller, but Alessa managed to jump through it, pulling Silas behind her. The walls came together just after, making a sort of sucking noise, leaving only solid rock behind. Alessa fell forward, scraping her hands and knees on gravel, but when she realized where she was, she laughed in relief.

Alessa saw that they were outside the mine, but more importantly, she saw Mae waiting by the car just a few steps away, ready to whisk them away. They had escaped.

ALESSA DIDN’T EVEN take a moment to catch her breath. She pushed herself up, brushing her hands off, wincing as she felt where they’d been scraped. She was sure they were bloodied, but she didn’t bother to check. She turned around and looked at Silas, who had also scrambled quickly to his feet.

In front of them, Tyler was already running past the gate and to the car, yelling at Mae. “Get in! Get in and get the car started! We’ve got to get out of here!”

Mae seemed dazed for a split second, but immediately responded by opening the car door she’d just been leaning against and getting inside. She hit a button that started the engine, bringing the vehicle to sudden life.

Tyler ran to the car and circled around to join Mae in the front seat, while Alessa quickly loaded herself into the back seat. Silas slid in right behind her.

“Go! Go! Go!” Tyler screamed, banging her palms against the dashboard.

“Okay, okay!” Mae yelled as she put the car in reverse, backed up enough to turn the wheels back to the road they’d come in on, and put the car in drive, screeching the tires as she shoved her foot down on the gas pedal.

Tyler turned around to look at Alessa and Silas. “All okay?”

Silas nodded.

Alessa looked behind them and saw that no one seemed to be following them. Had they really made it out alive? She looked at Silas and smiled.

Silas, though, responded by looking out the car window closest to him. He looked deep in thought.

Alessa marked his reaction, but put it away until later. There were other things to discuss right now. “You gave Devin the cauldron?” she asked Tyler, hoping that somehow she’d misunderstood earlier.

Tyler turned around as much as her seatbelt would allow and looked at Alessa. “We can trust him.”

Mae glared quickly at Tyler and shook her head. “No, we can’t!” she yelled. “Do you know how we found Dagda? We tracked Tyler. We tracked your brother with a GPS transmitter!”

Tyler seemed taken aback for a split second.

That gave Alessa time to speak. “We did, and he led us straight to Dagda,” she said. “You saw him there, Tyler. He was right there with your parents!”

Tyler let out a loud sigh. “It’s not what you think. He was there because Mom and Dad pressured him to be there,” she attempted to explain.

Alessa violently shook her head back and forth. “He was there because he wanted to be there,” she retorted. “I know he’s your brother, but you can’t trust him! If he has the cauldron, we did all that...” she gestured wildly behind her. “We did all that for nothing!”

Tyler yelled back. “Do you trust me?”

Alessa stared at her.

“Do you trust me?” Tyler asked again.

Alessa’s voice lowered as she answered. “Yes.”

“Then trust me on this,” Tyler said. “I know my brother. Yes, he can be a complete jerk at times, but I saw him. I talked to him there, and he is 100 percent on our side.”

Alessa couldn’t wrap her head around it, though. As the car sped off the dirt road and back onto a paved street that would lead back to Ashmill, she closed her mouth and looked away.

Maybe Alessa didn’t trust Tyler as much as she thought.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The rest of the trip passed in silence. Alessa watched Silas as he sat quietly beside her, his head turned to watch the world pass by as the car entered Ashmill and approached Alessa’s house. He was too quiet and Alessa could feel it, although her magic was all but depleted — something was wrong with him.

Of course, something was wrong, she had to remind herself. He’d been a captive of Dagda’s. But even considering that, it didn’t quell the feeling that he was holding something back from her. Hadn’t he said that he needed to tell her something back in the mine? Maybe he was trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject.

The car pulled into Alessa’s driveway. Sean’s car wasn’t there, which meant he and Fergus might now know what the girls had been up to. That was something Alessa would deal with when they returned, but she really didn’t think she had the strength left for an all-out family fight.

“Welcome home,” Mae said, her voice attempting to be light, but it was obvious that she, too, was concerned about everything that had just happened, and about Devin now having the cauldron.

In that, the two girls were certainly like-minded. Alessa had to stop herself from making a nasty remark at Tyler before she got out of the car. Instead, she bit her lip and held it back. That was just another thing to deal with later. At least she had Silas back.

Silas...he barely made a sound as he also got out of the car. He looked up at the house and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes weary and rough.

Alessa held out her hand to him, but he seemed not to notice. Instead, he walked toward the home’s front door.

Alessa sighed and followed, her legs feeling as heavy as concrete. Her entire body ached from all the running, but it also hurt because she’d pushed her magic to the very limit. Who knew how long it would be unavailable? She’d tapped into everything she had.

Silas waited at the door while Alessa fished a keyring out of her back pocket. She chose the house key, slid it into the front door lock, turned it, and opened the door. She stepped inside and took a deep breath, almost as if trying to determine if everything was okay there.

It seemed...alright, but she was so tired in that moment that she very nearly just fell to her knees to take a nap right there in the foyer. It wouldn’t be the first time...

No, she thought. Sleep could come later.

Silas followed behind Alessa, but moved past her to sit on the sofa. He leaned over, his elbows on his knees, rubbing his head in his hands.

Alessa watched him for a moment and yawned. She reached up and lightly slapped her cheek. Now was not the time for sleep, despite how tired she was. She forced her legs to drag themselves one after another into the living room, where she plopped down beside Silas.

Silas adjusted his position and slid a few inches away from her.

Alessa suddenly forgot how tired she was. “Silas,” she whispered, suddenly afraid that he wanted nothing more to do with her. Wouldn’t that be just her luck? Maybe he’d had time to really think about their relationship and had changed his mind about her.

Silas looked at her, but his face was a mask. Underneath the weariness wasn’t anything, just a deliberate blankness that hid his intentions from Alessa.

Alessa felt her heart begin to ache. She finally had to speak, to fill the empty air with some kind of noise. “What’s wrong?” she asked, trying hard not to scoot over and fill the space separating them, but also wanting to give him the space he obviously needed.

“It’s nothing,” Silas said. He still refused to look at her.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing,” Alessa replied. She felt that hot anger beginning to build up inside her. It surprised her because she thought she was too exhausted for that and she didn’t even know if she still had the energy to feel it.

“I just...” Silas finally turned his head to look at her. His expression was pained, torn. “I just need some time.”

Alessa tried to bury her anger, but she was finding it difficult. She stood up and crossed her arms. “Fine.” She turned around and walked out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom.

Alessa knew she needed to rest, but when she tried to lie down, her mind wouldn’t stop thinking — not just about Silas and the distance she felt growing between them, but also about everything else. The cauldron. Tyler. Devin. Dagda’s followers. Alessa closed her eyes tigher as if that would protect her from the chaos living inside her head, but it was no use. Sleep would not come.

She could almost feel Silas downstairs brooding, but he was so emotionally cut off from her, as if the two had never been a part of each other’s lives.

Not knowing what else to do, Alessa began to cry. Her cries turned into sobs. That feeling of helplessness began to wash over her again, and she let it come.

ALESSA DIDN’T KNOW how long she stayed curled up and sobbing, but time seemed to crawl as she wallowed in her despair. Eventually, though, she heard the front door open and close downstairs, and she heard some mumbled whispers from voices that belonged to her dad and uncle. They were home.

“I just can’t believe she’d go out and do something so foolish,” Sean said.

“You mean like what we did when we summoned Dagda and unleashed him on the world when we were her age?” Fergus asked, defiantly.

“That was different,” Sean said, although the hesitancy in his tone suggested that he knew otherwise.

“Hrmph!” Fergus huffed.

Alessa rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands. Her face felt sore and swollen. Her eyes burned. However, she got up and left her room, slowly going down the stairs.

“Alessa, is that you?” Sean called out.

He didn’t sound angry, but Alessa hesitated at the bottom of the stairs anyway, her hand clinging to the banister. It was time to face what she had done. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, preparing herself for the admonishment she was about to receive.

“I’m here,” she finally said, her voice cracking. She moved slowly into the living room and saw her father sitting beside Silas, and her uncle standing at the window, one hand pulling back the curtain, and looking out as if expecting an attack at any minute.

She looked at her father, and again, prepared herself.

Instead, Sean jumped up when he saw her and ran to her, throwing his arms around her. “Thank the gods, you’re okay,” he whispered as he held her tight in his grasp. “We were so worried.”

“You were worried,” Fergus said gruffly. “I know the girl. She can take care of herself.”

Sean pulled himself away from Alessa long enough to give Fergus a stern look.

“See?” Fergus replied as he pulled himself away from the window. “She’s fine. She even managed to rescue Silas,” he gestured to where Silas sat on the couch.

Like earlier, Silas was still quiet.

“You should not have gone there,” Sean told Alessa, not sternly, but with concern. “You should not have gone there alone.”

Alessa finally spoke, feeling the need to defend herself, although this is not quite how she’d expected her father to react. “I wasn’t alone,” she answered. “I was with Tyler and Mae.”

Sean shook his head. “It was still dangerous,” he said. “If something had happened to you, too, I don’t know...”

Alessa saw tears pooling in her father’s eyes. In that moment, she began to feel an unfamiliar emotion — guilt at having possibly made him worry. This was new to her, having a dad who actually seemed to care about her. It had been her and her mom for so long, she’d never expected this.

“I know,” she said and looked down at where his hands touched her arms. “I’m sorry. We just...well, we felt we had to move quickly and we did get the cauldron and Silas...”

Fergus interrupted. “You got the cauldron?” He clapped his hands together, almost with glee. He returned Silas’ glare from earlier. “See? I told you she was quite capable. You with all your worry for nothing.”

“Where’s the cauldron?” Sean asked, finally releasing his grip on his daughter.

Alessa backed away a few steps. “It’s...well, Devin has it.”

Fergus crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Devin...Devin Winter? You gave the cauldron to Devin Winter? The Winters are not our friends, girl!” His earlier praise of Alessa was long forgotten.

Alessa took another step back. “No, I gave it to Tyler,” she said. “When I needed to go after Silas. She gave it to Devin. She says he’s not like his parents." It sounded ridiculous to Alessa to say that because she didn't believe it. Alessa knew the cauldron was probably back in Dagda’s hands by now. She felt the need to add, “But I did get Silas back, and that’s something.”

“That’s something indeed,” Sean said as he turned his attention to Silas.

The two men stared at each other as if a secret had passed between them.

Sorrow crossed Sean’s face, but he said nothing.

Fergus, though, had plenty to say. “Well, we have to get the cauldron back then,” he said as he strode back to the window, peeking out of the curtain once more. “We have a small army to help us this time, at least.”

Silas finally spoke. “You found others?” he asked.

Alessa noticed that Silas did not spare a single glance her way, though.

“Yes,” Sean answered. “We’ve gathered a few dozen of the Dreamers we could find that don’t want Dagda to have that kind of power. We’ll be meeting them the day after tomorrow to go over what we need to do to retrieve the cauldron and send Dagda back to the Dreaming.”

“That’s it?” Alessa asked. “We’re just going to send him back to the Dreaming? Why can’t we just kill him?” Funny how that word “kill” had suddenly found its way into her vocabulary. But that thing seeking revenge inside her would not give up so easily.

“I thought we already explained that you can’t kill a shadow,” Fergus said, almost as if disappointed in her. “But if we can send him back and lock up the Dreaming for good — which we can’t even do without the other treasures, I might add — he won’t ever be coming back.”

He continued, “But if we had the cauldron, we could lock him back up in his cage until we can get the other treasures and finish this all for good.”

“Wait,” Alessa said, as her uncle’s words finally sank in. “You want to close the Dreaming...forever?” She tried to imagine what the consequences of that would be. “Would that mean...would that mean the end of our magic?”

“Probably,” Sean said as he sighed and sat down with Silas. “But we can’t even discuss that right now when we don’t even have the cauldron. For now, we just need to take care of Dagda.”

Silas spoke again. “Easier said than done.”

“You shut your mouth, boy,” Fergus responded, in a way that Alessa had never seen him talk to his friend before.

Alessa realized that both her uncle and Sean had been watching Silas suspiciously this whole time, and although she wanted to question them about it, she understood why. Something was not right with him.

Had she made a mistake? Should she have left him with Dagda?

She stared at Silas and reached out again to him, but she felt nothing. Her magic was still drained, though, and that’s all it was, right? He couldn’t have cut himself off from her so completely?

She needed to rest, and even as she thought about it, she yawned.

“It’s been a long day,” Sean finally said as he looked at his daughter, studying her features. “You look exhausted and I can tell you are running on nothing but fumes. Go get some sleep. Real sleep. Not Dreaming sleep.”

It was the first time her father had actually told her to do anything. “I tried,” she responded. “I can’t.”

“I can help with that,” Fergus said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flask. He screwed off the lid and brought it to his mouth, taking a sip and then wincing.

“You are not giving my daughter whiskey,” Sean stated succinctly, but a hint of a smile was hanging around his mouth.

“Do you think I would share my good whiskey?” Fergus stated as he put the lid back on the flask and slipped it back into his coat pocket. “I meant I could cast a little Dreaming spell, nothing more than that.”

Sean looked at Alessa and smiled at her.

Alessa felt her father’s love come over her like a wave. How could this happen now when he’d been gone for most of her life? Perhaps she would never know what had separated Sean and her mother, but she suddenly felt that she’d been missing out on having him present. It didn’t make her miss her mother any less, but it helped to have at least one parent in her life.

Alessa looked at Silas again, trying to force him to meet her gaze.

He didn’t. He stared straight ahead, as if deliberately trying not to make eye contact.

Something was definitely wrong with him, but Alessa decided to give him his space. He’d been through a lot, she reminded herself. She had no idea what he’d suffered at the hands of Dagda before coming under his thrall. Surely, she could give Silas some time, and maybe, she thought, that’s what she needed, too. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.

“Okay, put me to sleep,” she asked her uncle. She knew that this was all she could ask for right now. She needed rest. She needed to recover. She needed her magic back.

Fergus moved towards her again and gestured with his hands to the stairs before beginning to climb them.

Alessa followed.

They entered her room. Fergus motioned for her to lay down.

When she did, he pulled the covers over her. “Close your eyes,” he instructed.

Alessa did as she asked.

She heard Fergus moving beside her bed. Her limbs began to feel heavy just as her mind finally started to shut down. A wonderful blackness passed over her and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Alessa woke up to the sound of tapping at her window. Assuming it was just some random night noise, a bird, or tree limb, she turned over and tried to ignore it, but the sound came again — and then again.

Alessa leaned over and turned on the lamp that sat on a table beside her bed.

There was another tap on her window.

Alessa finally sat up and stared at the window, seeing something that looked like...a rock... hitting it, making that tapping sound again. Still half asleep and confused, she swung her legs around the side of the bed and slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers. She stood up and approached the window, looking out.

Alessa saw a shadowy figure underneath the street lamp and nearly screamed. Then she recognized the shock of blue hair underneath a cap that marked the person below as Tyler. What exactly was going on?

Alessa carefully opened the window and leaned out, squinting. “What are you doing?” she whispered loudly.

“Finally!” Tyler said, also whispering loudly, her voice barely carrying up to the second floor. “I need to talk to you.”

Alessa had no idea what this was about, but she nodded anyway. “Okay, fine. I’m coming down. Stop throwing things at my window.” She shut the window and turned around, staring at her darkened bedroom lit only by a single lamp. Shadows played against the wall, but they were familiar and comforting.

She walked to her bedroom door, which she didn’t even remember closing, and opened it, stepping out and into the short hallway that led to the stairs. She tried not to make a sound as she walked down them, although a creaking step in the middle betrayed her. She stopped, her foot hovering above the next step, listening for any sound or indication that she’d alerted someone to her presence. She didn’t even know what time it was, only that it was late.

The house remained quiet. Everyone was either gone or asleep.

Alessa continued down the stairs, unlocked the front door, and walked out into the darkness, which was only lit by street lamps just beyond the house. She closed the door quietly behind her.

Tyler waited for her just outside.

“What time is it?” Alessa asked, stifling a yawn.

Tyler reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. Its light illuminated her face as she studied it. “2:30,” she said before she put the phone back in her pocket.

Darkness surrounded the two girls once more.

“Why are you here at 2:30 in the morning?” Alessa asked, still trying to shake off the vestiges of sleep. She yawned and stared at her friend.

Tyler looked down at her feet. “You were right, well, sort of.”

“I was right about what?” Alessa asked as she leaned against the door.

Tyler took a moment to respond. “Devin,” she finally said, her voice even lower.

Alessa stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

Tyler seemed to take her time in giving it. She finally looked up and spoke. “Devin has the cauldron, like I said. He won’t...well, I asked him to give it back so I could return  it to your family, but he won’t give it back.”

Alessa couldn’t help herself. “I knew it. I told you!” She raised her voice and then covered her mouth when she realized how loud she had just become.

“I...I trusted him,” Tyler said, her voice reeking of disappointment. “And you trusted me. So I betrayed you and you have every right to be mad.”

Alessa almost felt bad for the anger rising in her and how angry she’d been in the car the previous day. She also felt guilty because she’d basically done the same thing as Tyler, but with Silas. She had asked everyone to trust him, even after they had known about him succumbing to Dagda’s will. She’d brought him back into the house, and even she had some doubts that she’d done the right thing, especially with the way he’d been acting ever since. If she stayed mad at Tyler, wouldn’t that make her a hypocrite?

“It’s okay,” Alessa finally said, looking down at her hands. “I get it,” she added. “I mean, I think I get it. He’s your brother. You want to believe the best in the people you care about.”

Tyler nodded, “Yeah, exactly. Love can make us idiots, I guess.” She shrugged and shuffled from foot to foot. “Anyway, I’m sorry I woke you. I just...I felt so bad and I wanted to apologize because I let you down, and well, I don’t have a lot of friends to begin with.” She looked up at Alessa. “I mean, I hope I can call you a friend.”

Alessa stared back at the other girl. This was not a conversation she had ever thought she’d have, but the truth was that the two girls had grown close. It wasn’t like what Alessa shared with Mae, but what she had with Tyler was still a friendship nonetheless. “You can,” Alessa replied, and offered the other girl a smile.

“Cool,” Tyler said and then waved Alessa off with one hand. “Now go back to bed. At least one of us should get some sleep around here.” She laughed, and any tension that had been in the air drifted away.

Alessa responded, also laughing. “I’m glad you came by, though,” she said before she turned around, one hand on the doorknob behind her.

“Me, too,” Tyler said as she bounded away, her blue hair glowing eerily beneath the street lights.

It had been a weird day, Alessa thought, but even a weirder night. It was going to be even stranger as they tried to get the cauldron back, which was probably in Dagda’s hands again. She had been angry at Tyler, but that was gone now. Instead, that anger had turned back towards Dagda, although she realized that she wouldn't hesitate to slap Devin if given the chance.

It made Alessa mad that Devin had betrayed her, yes. But it made her even angrier when she thought about how he had betrayed his own sister. The two were nothing alike, but it was clear that they had always been close.

But these were thoughts for another day and there was nothing Alessa could do at that moment. So, instead, she walked back into her house and up to her bedroom, where she lay back down and, again, fell into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Alessa woke up to an unending beeping on her phone. When she looked at it, she sat up in shock, realizing that she’d forgotten something that once seemed important, but that somehow had fallen through the cracks over the chaos of the past few days.

Her gallery exhibit’s opening was the next evening, and the phone was reminding her, something she had told it to do, back when she’d been excited about it. Now, though, it just flashed on her screen, a forgotten thing in a sea of forgotten things that didn’t even seem that significant.

But it was, Alessa reminded herself as she put her phone down and stretched her arms above her head, yawning. It had been important to her mother, and that’s why she was doing it. She’d even gone so far as to dedicate the exhibit to her mother, and now she felt ashamed that she had not even thought about it, feeling completely unprepared.

Everything was ready, though. She’d looked over her photos and chosen those she thought would be suitable for the exhibit. She’d forwarded all the digital files to Ms. Raines, who had already printed large copies of everything to hang in the gallery. Her phone had just reminded her that all she needed to do was visit the gallery later that day to look over everything and make sure it represented her in the way that she wanted—at least that’s how Ms. Raines had put it.

Alessa could do one of two things. She could call it all off and disappoint not just herself, but Ms. Raines. Her chances of getting another exhibition there might even be ruined by that. Or she could suck it up, let the last few days, months, and even year flit away like nothing had even happened, and follow through with it.

In the end, there was no real choice. Alessa was determined to do this thing that had been her dream for so long. Even if her dream was no longer quite the same. Even if she didn’t really understand what her dream was anymore. This was one of the last things she could do that would involve her mother in some way. Her only regret is that she hadn’t done it when her mom was alive.

So Alessa sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, showered, and dressed, trying not to look at her hands that were still shaking, and trying not to think about that empty feeling inside of her that told her the gallery showing didn’t matter.

It did matter, Alessa continued to tell herself. It mattered a lot.

When Alessa was dressed, she walked down the stairs. It was still early and the house was quiet. Perhaps everyone was sleeping in. It was too bad because she really wanted to see Silas, to talk to him, even if he didn’t want the same. Alessa was worried.

As if summoned, Silas walked down the stairs after her. He looked slightly better, maybe a bit more rested. The circles around his eyes weren’t quite as dark.

Alessa opened her mouth, thinking she might say something, but stopped.

He was smiling. At her. Like everything was okay. Alessa took a step toward him, but hesitated, remembering how he had just demanded his space the night before.

Silas approached her and took one of her hands, squeezing it. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, cupping her face with his hand. “I’m sorry I was such a bastard.” He closed his eyes briefly and then reopened them. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me, my love.”

Alessa stared at him, her second big shock of the day. Everything in her melted, as if it had frozen over and she hadn’t even known it. Suddenly, things felt okay.

“Anyway, it’s your big day!” Silas said, as he took her hand and led her into the kitchen.

Alessa blinked a few times. “You remembered?” she asked.

“We all did!” her father exclaimed from behind her, almost as if he’d appeared out of thin air. In his arms was a bouquet of roses. “For you, Miss Professional Photographer,” he said as he held them out to Alessa.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Fergus said, grumbling, as he staggered in and stood behind Sean. “At least we’ve got somethin’ to celebrate in this pitiful world.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Fergus said, grumbling, as he staggered into the room and stood behind Sean. “At least we’ve got somethin’ to celebrate in this pitiful world.”

Alessa took the roses from the bottom of the vase that held them. She put her face in the middle of the bouquet and took a huge whiff. They smelled wonderful. But this was just so weird. She’d forgotten her big day, but everyone else had remembered? How could that happen? She smiled despite herself, though, her heart warmed by the thought of the support she was receiving now.

“But...” she attempted to explain, feeling flustered. “What about...well...the cauldron? Dagda? Everything else?” It felt like cheating, to have a day just for herself, a day to enjoy something that didn’t involve any more magic than creating a photograph with a camera.

“Bah,” Fergus said as he pushed Sean out of the way and walked past him to take a seat at the table. He waved his hand in front of his face. “That can all wait. Today is your big day and we won’t let anything...or anyone...” He looked at Sean, as something secretive passed between the two men. “...get in the way,” he finished.

“What he said,” Silas replied as he pulled a chair out for Alessa for her to sit down.

Alessa, still flummoxed, sat in the chair and looked first at Silas, then at her uncle, and then at her father. She was still clinging to the roses, as if they might somehow disappear and she was imagining this. Maybe this was a dream, the kind that didn’t come true. She carefully placed the roses on the table and stared at them. She blinked once. She blinked again. But everything remained exactly the same.

She was surrounded by the people she loved and they were telling her to go do the one thing that still gave her joy. Tears came to her eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Sean said as he approached his daughter and placed a hand squarely on her shoulder. “You know this is what your mother would have wanted, right?”

Alessa nodded as tears began to roll down her face. She did nothing to suppress them.

“And who I am to argue with Reina Grey?” Sean said, shaking his head and squeezing Alessa’s shoulder.

“You could say that again,” Fergus interrupted. “That woman was a force of nature when she wanted to be. Always. I never wanted to cross her, that’s for sure.”

“Nor I,” Sean answered as he chuckled. He leaned down to look at Alessa, his voice lowering, reverent. “You remind me so much of her.”

Alessa smiled through her tears.

“So, what do you want for breakfast?” Sean asked as he walked away and toward the kitchen island. “Maybe pancakes? I think today is a pancakes kind of day.”

Alessa grinned and reached up to wipe her tears with one hand. “That sounds amazing,” she said, barely able to speak.

How could life be so horrible and so wonderful at the same time? Was that what life was all about? Both horror and joy? All at the same time?

BEFORE SHE REALIZED it, Alessa found herself all dressed up in a black cocktail dress that had once belonged to her mother (not having anything appropriate in her own closet), and she was standing in the Beverly Raines Gallery staring at large prints of her photos, a glass of sparkling apple cider in her hand, sipping on it as if it were champagne.

The gallery was full of patrons, all there to see her work. There were even people in the gallery that she didn’t know, along with her family and friends.

Silas was standing just behind her, Sean and Fergus nearby, and of course, Mae had come with her parents. But it seemed like all of Ashmill was now wandering around the small gallery, perusing the photography of a teen girl many of them had known their entire lives.

Alessa thought she should have been nervous, but for the first time in her life, she felt confident. She wasn’t just faking it — she actually felt like she was a real artist. The photographs had been displayed beautifully, each one framed in gold, with a placard beside it explaining the name of the piece and when the photo was taken.

Alessa had put a lot of thought into the photos in the exhibit, wanting to provide some variety to showcase her skills. There were shots of wildlife, but also shots taken at school. She had photos of her mother, along with photos of her friends. There were close-ups of nature, and even a photo of a burst water pipe she’d seen at a restaurant. The pictures were all frozen moments in time.

Alessa was so caught up in just being seen that she almost missed the conversation taking place behind her.

“They’re not coming,” Fergus whispered, his voice seeming to struggle to stay low. This was a man not used to whispering.

“What do you mean they're not coming?" Sean asked, his voice lower, slightly more difficult to hear.

“Like I said, they’re not coming,” Fergus reiterated, his voice rising, edged with frustration.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Sean whispered.

When Alessa turned around to face the two men, she saw her uncle shrug.

Sean was frowning, but when he noticed Alessa, he forced a smile on his face instead.

Fergus mumbled something about needing a drink and wandered off before Alessa could ask him anything.

What were they hiding now? Alessa thought to ask, but this was her night, and she thought maybe she didn’t really want to know. She just wanted this moment to be a girl with a dream of becoming a professional photographer.

But life has a way of giving you the opposite of what you want. Just as she was about to relax, she noticed some familiar faces headed her way — faces she didn’t want to see. Faces who were traitors to her and her kind. Faces who were partially responsible for her mother’s death.

The Winters, or otherwise known as Tyler and Devin’s parents, had entered the gallery and were walking straight towards her. Their faces were unreadable, but Alessa imagined they had come there to gloat. Their son had delivered them the very thing they needed, and Alessa was certain they had used that to their advantage to gain even more favor with Dagda.

Alessa felt Silas close the small distance between them — he placed his hand on her arm, as if to steady her, lend her some of his strength.

Everything inside of Alessa wanted to scream at them to get out — they weren’t invited, but instead, she felt a steadying force root her to the ground, helping her maintain control, even keeping her face from betraying the anger and need for vengeance that had risen in her heart.

Alessa noticed that Tyler and Devin were not with the pair, which seemed a bit odd, although it made sense that Tyler was keeping her distance. But wasn’t Devin their golden boy now? He’d single-handedly spoiled Alessa’s plans.

“Alessa, darling,” Mrs. Winter said, her voice seemingly polite, but a little too sickeningly sweet.

Mr. Winter cleared his throat as he watched the exchange.

Mrs. Winter continued, “We need to have a brief chat.” She looked around as if making sure no one was within hearing range.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Alessa said, still feeling Silas’ presence behind her, as if he were a rock she could lean on.

“I don’t think you have a choice,” Mr. Winter remarked, shaking his head. “You have something of ours and we want it back.”

Alessa blinked a few times, not understanding what they were talking about. They had the cauldron, didn’t they? What else did they want? She stared at them, her eyebrows raised.

“So just give it to us and we’ll go,” Mrs. Winter said. “We won’t make a scene.”

Alessa couldn’t take it anymore. “What more do you want from me?” she asked, trying not to raise her voice. She scanned the room carefully, looking for her dad or uncle, but she didn’t see them. “You’ve taken everything.”

"Don't play dumb with me, girl,” Mr. Winter stated, his voice more threatening, although his even tone had not changed. “Give the cauldron back and no one has to get hurt.”

Alessa took a step back, surprised. The cauldron? They didn’t have the cauldron? Devin had taken it from Tyler and had given it to them, hadn’t he?

Or had he?

Alessa suddenly realized that not all was what it seemed. She remembered how much Tyler had trusted her brother, but then had felt betrayed. But was it possible that wasn’t the case? Maybe Devin had taken it upon himself to go directly to Dagda first? Surely, he didn’t still have the cauldron, did he? Did he want it for himself? Alessa had so many questions.

“I don’t have it,” Alessa said, without feeling the need to lie. She bit back mentioning that Devin had it. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt the need to keep that information to herself, all the same.

"Don't lie to me, girl,” Mrs. Winter said, her voice more steely, slightly raised.

Alessa didn’t have to turn around to know that her dad and uncle had joined Silas behind her. She felt their strength emanating through them and into her as if it were a physical thing tying them all together.

“We don’t have the cauldron,” Fergus said, his voice as threatening as Mr. Winter's.

“Well, in that case, we have a problem,” Mr. Winter said as he rolled his hand into a fist, raising it above Alessa’s head.

Alessa felt power in that movement, but before she had a chance to react, Silas moved to stand in front of her, his glare daring Mr. Winter to act upon his threat.

“You want a fight?” Silas asked. “You’ll get it. But not here. Not now.” He looked around and motioned to the crowd, some of whom were getting curious about the drama about to unfold.

“Fine,” Mr. Winter said, lowering his hand. The power around him faded as if it had never been there.

“If we don’t have the cauldron by midnight,” Mrs. Winter said, seeming more alien by the minute, as if she had never been human at all. “We will kill you all. We have no use for your...kind.” She waved a hand in front of her as if to rid herself of a pest.

“Mom!” A voice called out from behind them. Tyler stood a few feet away from her parents, her eyes narrowed, defiant. “How dare you?” Beside her was Devin — the siblings were holding hands.

Alessa realized that Devin had picked a side, and maybe it wasn’t the one she’d thought.

“Children, you’re just children, you don’t even know what you’re doing,” Mrs. Winter said, her attention focused on the two she had sired. “Stop being so foolish and get back in the car.”

“No,” Devin said. “Not until you leave Alessa and her family alone.”

Devin had stood up for her, Alessa realized. Devin was not the monster she thought he was.

This changed everything.

Mrs. Winter looked around the room, realizing that they were quickly becoming the focus of everyone's attention. She huffed and then turned around and walked away, followed by Mr. Winter.

Alessa allowed herself to breathe, nearly falling against Silas, who still stood in front of her.

He turned around to face her. “You okay?”

Alessa nodded, although it was a lie. She would never be okay. She would never have a normal life. Her life was this: magic, lies, and war.

If that were the case, she thought, feeling her courage bolstered by Devin and Tyler’s appearance, then so be it. She’d give Dagda a war if he wanted it.

Tyler and Devin ran over to Alessa.

Alessa stared at Devin, unable to think of anything to say.

“It’s okay,” Tyler said. “He’s with us.” She lowered her voice and leaned in so only Alessa could hear her. “The cauldron is safe — and it’s yours. We’ll bring it to you later. We think...well, we think...”

Devin interrupted her, also leaning in to speak. “We think it’s how to beat Dagda.”

Alessa stared at the two and nodded, still taken aback by the sudden turn of events. But she’d heard them clearly enough. They possibly had a way to beat Dagda once and for all? She’d take it.

“Thank you,” she said, staring at the two and trying not to make too much of a scene. She really just wanted to throw her arms around their necks and give them the biggest hug, but she still felt awkward around Devin, although it seemed she had no need to.

“We’re going to need your help,” Fergus said as he stepped into the conversation. “Because we’re it. We’re all we’ve got.”

Alessa stared at him for a moment. “I thought you were recruiting others?”

Fergus shook his head. “No one came.” He looked down at his hands, disappointed.

Alessa remembered the conversation from earlier. But it didn’t seem to matter now. They were enough. “Then it’s just us. That’s all we need,” she said, that courage not only bolstered but flaring in her chest.

At some point, Mae had joined them, and she was nodding. For someone without magic, she was perhaps the bravest soul in the group. “Exactly,” she said.

Alessa thought, who needed an army when you had friends?

Chapter Forty

For Alessa, the end of the night couldn’t come fast enough. She couldn't even find time to celebrate her accomplishments. After the Winters left, she couldn’t get her mind off what might come next. When the gallery finally closed for the evening, and she walked out the front door with Silas, Sean, and Fergus, Tyler and Devin were waiting for her.

They were both leaning against Devin’s sports car, but they approached Alessa as soon as they saw her.

“Where’s the cauldron?” Alessa immediately asked, folding her arms as she stared at the siblings.

Devin stepped aside and opened his car seat door. There, on the passenger side seat sat the cauldron.

Alessa closed her eyes and reached out to it.

The cauldron’s power reached back to her and filled Alessa with...was that hope?

Alessa’s eyes blinked open. “Is it true?” she asked. “What you said? That the cauldron could help us defeat Dagda.”

Fergus, who was standing behind his niece, answered. “It’s a very powerful artifact,” he said.

“And it’s tied to your family,” Tyler offered. “The Greys have had the cauldron for a very long time. It knows you, it feels you, it would boost the power you already have.”

Silas stepped up to stand beside Alessa. “The cauldron is what brought Dagda’s presence here in the first place.”

Alessa caught on quickly. “So the cauldron can send him back to the Dreaming? Where he was...before?”

Devin nodded, “That’s what we think. But it will only work for you. We tried...well, we tried to use its power.”

There it was, the crux of the situation. The cauldron hadn’t worked for them. Was that the only reason they were here? Alessa tried to rein in her skepticism because she truly wanted to see the best in people, but was that the right strategy to take when so much was on the line?

“That makes sense,” Sean said. “It’s connected to the Greys, and probably always will be.”

“But it’s connected to Dagda, too,” Alessa chimed in. “It’s literally his. Or was his.”

Fergus interrupted, “But he’s been away from it for a long time. He’s lost some of his connection to it. But your mother’s family had it all along. It’s part of you...part of your DNA.”

Alessa felt that what they were saying was true. Even now, she felt the cauldron calling out to her. It wanted her to touch it, to use it, to bind her power to it.

Tyler ducked down and reached into the vehicle, reaching over to grab the cauldron. She pulled it out and handed it to Alessa. “It’s yours. We need to stop this. Now.”

“Please,” Devin offered.

As soon as Alessa’s hands touched the cauldron, she opened herself to it, letting it in as she hadn’t done before. It was terrifying, but it was also exhilarating. Power unlike anything she'd ever experienced washed over her and through her, as if she were swimming in a sea of pure magic. All her exhaustion, her emotions, everything faded away. She was pure magical energy and she was ready to stop Dagda.

“This ends now,” she said. She looked around at everyone. Her eyes scanned over Tyler and Devin, and then she turned around to face Silas, Sean, and Fergus.

Sean and Fergus nodded silently at her. The time was now.

Alessa placed the cauldron at her feet, feeling its link stay with her even as she let go of it. She stood up proudly, defiantly, and raised her head to look up at the sky. She took a deep breath and let the cauldron guide her. “I summon you, Dagda.” The cauldron reached out with its invisible magic and wrapped itself around her in a protective cocoon. She could see a gold aura surrounding herself as she spoke the words.

But would it work?

Around her, the others prepared themselves for battle. Tyler had pulled off her cap and was twirling a strand of blue hair between her fingers. Devin was tugging on the chain that hung around his neck. Sean hummed so low that Alessa only barely heard it, but it thrummed like a vibration inside her head. Fergus tapped his feet to a rhythm that only he could hear. Alessa tightened her hands into fists until her fingernails drew blood. Magic began to flow in and around the group, connecting them with a chain that felt unbreakable, that led back into the cauldron.

Alessa was so focused on channeling that power, though, that she almost did not see Silas as he took a few steps away from the group, his eyes widening, his expression indicating he was feeling pain. She couldn’t stop what she was doing to react, though, because she now belonged to the cauldron, to its magic. But she did see it, and she began to understand the secret he’d been hiding.

However, even as the group brought all their magical abilities together, nothing else happened.

Silas, though, began to step even further away, his face twisting and changing, becoming unlike his own. His body convulsed as he fought the transformation.

Alessa saw all this in her mind’s eye, but was still unable to react. She felt her heart begin to ache, somewhere outside of herself, but the cauldron kept it far away from her, as if it knew she could not be distracted.

“Where are you, you coward?” Sean yelled. “Show yourself, Dagda!”

Fergus grumbled in approval, his foot still stomping in time to his own personal rhythm.

“He’s here,” Alessa whispered, not knowing why she said it, but knowing that the words were true as soon as they left her mouth. She stared at Silas, who was no longer Silas, but something...someone else. A single tear fell from her right eye as she watched his transformation. “He’s been here all along.”

Silas’ face widened and cracked into a big grin, as he clapped his hands together. When he spoke, his voice had changed, lowered, become sinister. “Aren’t you the smart one?” he commented before stepping forward, where a street lamp could highlight his features. He was no longer Silas, he was a shadow of Silas. Silas was there...but also somehow gone. Dagda and Silas were somehow one and the same.

“How...?” Tyler said as she stared at him, at the Dagda that had appeared before them.

“You’re not Silas,” Alessa stated, as if that weren’t the most obvious statement of the evening.

“But I am,” the Silas/Dagda hybrid answered. “You see, the two of us were connected all along. When you opened the veil, you let us out, and when you brought him over, I merely took what was mine...that being, your boyfriend. He belongs to me, you foolish girl.”

Alessa didn’t dare try to take the time to make sense of his words, but it was as if a lightbulb had turned itself on over her head, even as the cauldron illuminated her. Silas and Dagda had always been connected, perhaps because of what had happened when Alessa’s parents had first summoned Dagda. They were two beings, but also the same. The Silas that she loved...he did exist, but he was forever connected to the thing that wanted to destroy the world, who had, in fact, already killed her mother.

Alessa tried to work all this out, but she knew she needed to prepard for battle. Because that was what had to happen next. They had to fight. It was too late to change that now, the war had started.

Well, if it was a fight Dagda wanted, Alessa thought, he would get it.

Chapter Forty-One

The thing that wasn’t Silas moved its arms in front of its body, making waving motions with its hands, as if channeling the wind itself to obey its will.

Alessa felt magic in the gestures and turned to face Dagda in Silas’ body, trying not to see Silas at all, but the shadow that now possessed him. The cauldron stayed put at her feet, as if linked to her, its magic feeding into Alessa and those around her. It was almost as if the cauldron had chosen a side, rebelling against the very power that had created it.

Alessa hesitated, though. This was Dagda, yes, but it was also Silas, and could she attack the boy she loved?

However, her uncle and father had no such hesitations. They were already channeling their magic and shards of pure power began to slice at the Dagda and Silas hybrid.

The attacks bounced off Dagda’s arms as if he wore magical gauntlets, dissipating into nothing as they were flung away.

Shapes of people began to form behind Dagda, coalescing into the air like black smoke, but then coming together to form several of his closest followers. Among them were the Winters, who stared at their two defiant children with disgust.

Alessa counted. There were 10 Dreamers with Dagda, meaning that her small group was outnumbered. But they had something Dagda did not. They had the cauldron powering them. It reached out and touched Devin and Tyler, as well as Sean and Fergus. Great power surrounded them, like a golden aura of sunshine.

The Winters addressed their rebellious offspring. “Don’t be silly, children,” Mr. Winter said.

“You belong with us.” Mrs. Winter said.

Devin spat on the ground and took a few steps towards Dagda and his group. “No,” he said, standing his ground.

“Well then you will pay for your insolence,” Mr. Winter said as he sent a flame of green directly at his son.

Devin quickly ducked out of the way, and the flame missed its mark.

Tyler joined her brother, standing at his side. She stared at her parents through strands of blue hair, her fists clenched and held up. She punched the air, digging into the power of the cauldron, sending an attack of blue fire directly at her father.

Mr. Winter attempted to move, but wasn’t fast enough. The blue fire singed his shoulder, leaving a scorch mark where it landed. He winced.

“How dare you?” Mrs. Winter yelled at her children, beginning to send a volley of her own magical attacks.

Tyler and Devin, though, ducked and danced away, with nothing ever touching them.

It was the cauldron. Alessa knew it. The cauldron was protecting them somehow and giving them the power to defeat Dagda. She could feel it, as if it had become a part of her, connecting her to Tyler, Devin, Sean, and Fergus. As they attacked Dagda and the others, they were of one mind.

Alessa sliced at the air, sending her own attacks, but never at Dagda. She couldn’t bring herself to attack him, not while he was occupying Silas' body and mind. This was the man she loved, her first love. How could she attack him?

But the others had declared open war on Dagda and were aiming their attacks at him, as well as the others. Would one of Alessa’s friends or family members hurt Silas? Could her dad and uncle go so far as to kill someone who had once been their best friend?

Alessa reminded herself, though. This wasn’t Silas. This was Dagda. She wasn’t even sure they could kill him. But right now, all she worried about was protecting herself, her family, and friends. But if the cauldron was the secret to taking him down, how?

She knew, in her heart, what she needed to do. Dagda had been locked away in the Dreaming once, with help from the cauldron’s power. The cauldron had summoned him and the cauldron would be the key to locking him away again.

But that would mean locking Silas away, too — they were connected. If one went away, so would the other. Could she give do that? Could she send Silas back to that horrible place?

Alessa remembered their first meeting. Silas had been unrecognizable...a shadow of a person. He had been in torment, locked in eternal darkness.

Could she send someone she loved so much back into that infinite void?

She didn’t have time to think about it, though. Dagda (and Silas) were approaching her, knocking away each attack with a flick of his wrist. He stared at her as if he had read her thoughts.

She heard him inside her mind, speaking directly to her. “You can save him, you know.”

Those words tried to grab hold of her mind. It was hard not to listen, not to let them wash over her.

“All you have to do is give me the cauldron,” Dagda said, holding out hands that did not belong to him. “I’ll let him go and he’ll be yours forever,” he whispered.

For some odd reason, Alessa believed him, and isn’t that what she wanted? A chance at a normal life with Silas?

But how could things be normal when Dagda would still be out there in the world gaining power and becoming unstoppable?

Alessa had a decision to make, and it would be the hardest one she would ever have to make in her life. What was she supposed to do?

“No,” Sean and Fergus said simultaneously.

Alessa barely heard them. She was too busy imagining Silas and her together, holding hands, kissing, going to the prom, all those things she never even knew she wanted. But...

Those thoughts were not her own. Alessa knew it, but they were difficult to turn away from.

She stared, conflicted, at the thing that had taken Silas’ body.

Its mouth opened, but the words that came from it were not Dagda’s. “Alessa, no. Whatever you do, don’t give him the cauldron." Silas' face wrinkled in consternation as he struggled for control. “You have to send him...us...back to the Dreaming.”

Alessa stared at him as tears began to stream from her eyes. “I don’t know if I can,” she whispered.

Silas' face was his again, at least for that moment. Deep within his gaze was a pained expression, but there was something else, too. Love. It was love. Love for her, but also love for life. He didn’t want to go away again. But he knew he had to.

If Silas could decide what was best for himself, who was Alessa to argue with him? She knew what she had to do. She knew what he wanted her to do. If the only way to honor him was to let him go, then that’s what she needed to do.

But it hurt. So much.

“Stop that,” Silas said again, but he was no longer Silas. Dagda had regained control.

Alessa, sobbing, leaned over and picked up the cauldron with both hands.

Dagda waved his hands in front of him, preparing another attack.

It was now or never.

Alessa closed her eyes and hugged the cauldron close to her, as if absorbing its power and its essence. She felt the truth wash over her, of what she was capable of, of what the cauldron was capable of, and of how she should proceed. However, the ache in her heart could not be denied, but she continued to tap into that power despite it.

When she reopened her eyes, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Tyler and Devin had moved closer to their parents, fending off attack after attack, while delivering their own. Sean and Fergus were on either side of Alessa, targeting their magic at the other followers who had appeared.

The cauldron continued to protect the small group — although Dagda’s followers were levying attacks their way, each wave of magic seemed to hit an invisible barrier that it could not cross.

Alessa knew the time had come. That barrier might not hold forever. If she faltered, she would lose even more people she loved.

Yet, she had to lose at least one.

She looked up at Dagda in Silas’ body, seeing how he didn’t really even look like Silas at all. Maybe that would make it easier.

She gripped the cauldron tight enough that it pressed against her chest, forcing the air out of her lungs as she concentrated everything inside her on one thing. She continued to stare at Dagda, but also through him, where a small black pinprick of nothingness had appeared.

Alessa poured everything she had into that small void and as she did so, it began to grow. Within seconds, it was the size of a quarter. Then it shifted and grew several more inches, a perfect circle of blackness. Eventually, its bottom and top edges stretched so that it became an oval, expanding and expanding, getting bigger and more powerful, a vacuum that would suck up the world.

Everyone had stopped moving, staring at the void growing in the middle of the street, except for Dagda, who stumbled backwards towards it, as if it had yanked on the edge of the jacket Silas was wearing.

“No,” Dagda whispered. “No, no, no!” His voice was breaking up, even as his shadow began to pull itself further towards the portal. It pulled itself away from Silas, long dark shadowed claws trying to cling to the man it had possessed. Still, the void called to it and it was sucked up into it.

Silas blinked and stared at Alessa, holding out a single hand as if he would touch her again. But the void called out to him, and he began to slide backwards, his feet dragging against the concrete beneath them.

The void began to wrap itself around him, claiming the thing that had been stolen from it.

He spoke, the last words, Alessa would ever hear from him.

“My love...”

And then he was gone.

The void made a whooshing sound and closed, taking Dagda and Silas with it.

There was quiet for just a moment before Alessa fell to her knees, dropping the cauldron in front of her, screaming, hot tears exploding from her eyes.

Chapter Forty-Two

Everything after that was a blur. Alessa’s grandparents were suddenly there — her grandmother helped her to her feet, while her grandfather picked up the cauldron. Alessa hadn’t even noticed their arrival, but she had been rather preoccupied. Now, well, now, she was just blank. Empty.

Her grandmother held her up, even as her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. All she could do was cry and scream and stare at the space where Silas had been.

Dagda’s followers had quickly disappeared when they realized the battle was lost. Alessa made a mental note somewhere in the back of her mind to remember their faces, but her memories of them had quickly become shadows, as her mind kept circling back to what she had done.

She had destroyed Dagda, yes. They had won. But the price had been far too great. Hadn’t someone once told her that magic came with a price? Maybe she had figured that out for herself. Whatever, though — she had lost too much, and her heart...her heart was utterly broken.

They were there, her grandparents, her dad and uncle, Tyler and Devin. Even Mae had somehow shown up, as if she’d felt Alessa’s suffering and had come running. But it meant nothing, at least in that moment.

Nothing mattered anymore. Her mother. Gone. Silas. Gone. Her heart gone with them.

A flurry of activity followed, and somehow Alessa was driven home. She walked into the house, which felt even more empty. She fell onto the sofa, her legs unable to make the journey upstairs to her bedroom.

Her grandmother sat with her, holding her hand. Sean and Fergus were nearby, looking at her with deep concern. She was both there, and not there, almost as if she had been drugged, both aware and unaware.

Time did not matter in that state. Alessa soon found herself lying down on the sofa, tucked in with a pillow beneath her head and a blanket pulled over her. Mae was there, on the floor near her, in an old sleeping bag someone had pulled out for her. She’d refused to leave Alessa’s side.

Was there sleep? Alessa didn’t know. She thought she had drifted in and out of consciousness, and there had been a dream about Silas, which had only been a dream. She desperately wanted to see him again, but then remembered why she could not.

Grief washed over her in waves. She cried through her fitful sleep that wasn’t sleep, her pillow wet with tears.

Exhaustion, though, was a demanding feeling, and at some point, she did sleep, and there were no dreams. But even in the blackness of that dreamless sleep, Alessa ached in her body and soul.

DAYS PASSED, AS THEY do. Alessa’s grandparents came and went, checking up on her. Sean and Fergus stayed close by. Mae never left her side, except to check in occasionally with her own family. With each sunrise, Alessa began to come around, began to find herself back in her body. Her grief never went away, but she did eventually become aware of herself again.

But then there was the dream...

Darkness, the void...a place Alessa recognized. She’d been here before, before Dagda. Before Silas.

Alessa had returned to the Dreaming, but why?

It was cold, and in this place, Alessa was only dressed in a flimsy nightgown. She rubbed the backs of her arms, but that didn’t stop the goosebumps that were formed there. The cold spread throughout her body.

Breathing was difficult — the air was oppressive, filled with dread.

Alessa tried not to panic as she held up her hand and Dreamed light into existence around her.

White light soon surrounded around her, but beyond its aura there was only Darkness.

She took a few steps forward, hesitantly and stopped.

Nothing happened.

Alessa took a few more steps forward, but then stopped when she saw a human-like shadow just at the edge of her light.

“Silas?” she called out, reaching out with her mind to that figure.

Dare she hope?

She moved forward, allowing her light to illuminate the figure. It was not Silas. Instead, she saw a man with long white hair framing an ageless face and black eyes. He was clad in armor black as night. He lifted one arm to reach out to Alessa. At the end of his arm was nothing — his hand was missing. “My sword?” he said, his eyes pleading. “Do you have my sword?”

Alessa shook her head and took a step back.

The armored man took a long step forward, closing the distance between them.

Alessa stepped back again.

His handless arm still upraised, the man opened his mouth wide and screamed.

Alessa woke up with a start. She was in her bed, but she knew that this had not been a mere dream, but something she’d seen in the Dreaming. It was a warning, a sign that she must throw off her grief and despair because she was needed. It wasn’t over...

She quickly dressed, putting on clean clothes for the first time in days. As she walked down the stairs, she heard familiar voices.

“He attacked us,” Devin said. “Our own dad  tried to kill us.”

“I know,” Tyler said. It sounded like she’d been crying.

Alessa, who had not spoken since that night, finally found her voice again as she approached the siblings. “You can stay here,” she said. “We’re your family now.”

Tyler looked up, surprised. Her eyes were swollen. She ran to Alessa and threw her arms around her.

Alessa hugged the girl back and felt her mind slip into place. There was more to be done, more work to do. She had to get herself together because there were people who needed her.

And she needed them, too.

Alessa eventually pulled away from Tyler. “We need to talk,” she said. “All of us.”

Tyler stared at Alessa for a moment, as if she saw something on Alessa’s face. The other girl nodded.

Soon, they were all gathered in the living room. Alessa’s grandparents stood near the window. Sean and Fergus sat on the couch. Tyler and Devin stood near Alessa.

Alessa told them about her dream, not keeping a single detail to herself. There was no more time for secrets and lies.

When she was done, silence fell in the room.

“I was afraid of this,” Fergus said, shaking his head. “Dagda was just the beginning.”

“What do you mean?” Alessa asked.

“The First People,” Sean said succinctly. “They’ve awakened. I don’t know how or why, but I bet it’s our fault.” He exchanged a quick glance with Fergus. “We should’ve never used that cauldron in the first place.”

“There are more,” Alessa said, meaning it as a question, but it sounded more like a statement. She already knew the answer.

Her grandmother nodded. “We knew they would attempt to make their way back to this world eventually,” she explained. “It’s no one’s fault,” she said as she looked at Sean. “You can’t keep gods locked away forever.”

“So what do we do now?” Tyler asked, throwing her hands up in the air.

It was Alessa, though, that answered. She’d already figured it out. “We have to get our hands on the other treasures before they do.”

Fergus nodded. “Exactly.”

“How do we do that?” Devin asked.

It was Alessa’s grandfather who answered. "A number of Dreamer families were charged with keeping the treasures safe. We, the Greys, were given the cauldron and other families were given the other artifacts.”

“We have to find them,” Alessa said.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Sean said.

Chapter Forty-Three

Life went on as it always does. Alessa returned to school, forever changed, a different person from what she’d been before. She was surrounded by new friends like Tyler and Devin, but Mae was always there, too, the rock that Alessa could always rely on.

Alessa’s grandparents had also changed, perhaps ashamed of their estrangement from their daughter before her death. They’d come around to Alessa’s idea of staying with her father and uncle, and an uneasy alliance had formed in the family. It was obvious they would’ve preferred Alessa to live with them, but they respected their granddaughter’s choice to stay with Sean and Fergus.

Tyler and Devin had still not reconciled with their parents, who had suddenly left Ashmill after Dagda had vanished. The two were now living with Alessa’s grandparents, who had offered to take them in, practically adopting the Winter children as their own.

Things were certainly different in Ashmill, and always would be. Those who were not Dreamers, though, still went about their business in town, none the wiser.

The last day of school before winter break came and went, leaving Alessa in her bedroom packing a suitcase full of her favorite clothes.

Mae sat on Alessa’s bed watching her, there for emotional support, as always. “So you’ll be gone the full two weeks?” she asked, frowning. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”

“Spend time with your family?" Alessa laughed and shook her head. “I’m surprised they recognize you anymore — you’re over here so much.” She laughed again, looking at her best friend with nothing but love.

Mae shrugged. “They’re so boring,” she replied as she leaned forward. “What do they know about magic?”

Alessa rolled up a t-shirt and placed it in the suitcase as she spoke. “They’re probably better off that way. Go be normal and do normal things for awhile.” She reached over and gently nudged Mae on the shoulder.

“Normal, not sure what that is,” Mae replied, shrugging.

“Seriously,” Alessa said.

“You’ll be okay, though?” Mae asked, concern in her tone.

“I’ve got my dad and Uncle Fergus,” Alessa answered as she shoved her suitcase to the side and sat down beside her friend. “We’ll be fine.”

“Alessa!” Sean’s voice called from downstairs. “We’re waiting!” He sounded impatient.

She heard her uncle grumble something loudly under his breath, something about how long it took women to pack.

“I’m coming!” she called out as she stood back up, closed the top of the suitcase, and zipped it up.

Mae stood up beside her and threw her arms around Alessa. “Still, I’ll miss you,” she said as the two girls hugged.

“Same,” Alessa replied, returning the hug. She pulled herself away and stared at Mae. “It’s just for a few weeks, though,” she said, but it seemed as if she was telling herself that more than telling her friend.

“Yeah,” Mae answered as she stepped out of the way.

Alessa grabbed the top handle of the suitcase and pulled it off her bed, setting its wheels on the floor. She pulled up the extendable handle and began to pull it towards her bedroom door. She took one last look at her friend and smiled. 'I'll be okay,' she said, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself more than Mae.

Alessa left the room and pulled the suitcase towards the stairs. She let it go and grabbed it by the handle again, struggling to lift it up as she slowly made her way down to where her dad and uncle were waiting.

“Are you ready, girl?” Fergus asked, tapping one foot.

Alessa nodded and looked at her father. “Where are we headed?” she asked.

“North Carolina,” Sean answered. “The last known location of the Sword of Light.”

Sean and Fergus turned and headed out the door. Alessa followed, not daring to look back at what had come before. Her life was forever changed, and now she and her family were heading out to find another artifact before it fell into the wrong hands.

What could possibly go wrong?

Mae stood at the bottom of the stairs, waving. “I’ll lock up,” she said as she watched Alessa load her suitcase into the car, and as she watched her best friend get inside the vehicle with her family. Mae moved towards the open door and stood there.

Alessa waved to Mae from the back seat just before the car pulled away, taking her away from the town she’d spent her entire life in. She should be afraid of what lay before her, yet courage filled her heart as she thought about what came next.

About the Author

Robin Burks is an author, entertainment journalist, and cosplayer. Robin is the author of Madame Vampire, as well as The Alex Grosjean Adventures Series, which includes Zeus, Inc., The Curse of Hekate and Return of the Titans. In 2014, Indie Reader named the protagonist of that series, Alex Grosjean, as one of its Top Five Smart, Strong and Relatable Female Characters. The series was also inducted into the 2018 Darrell Awards Coger Hall of Fame.

Robin, who currently lives in Missouri with her four cats, loves all things nerdy and has a serious obsession with Doctor Who and Star Wars.

Read more at Robin Burks’s site.