The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (25 page)

Traitorous...
  The word echoed in
Alarius’s mind, but it could bear no truth to him.  His friend of many years
had given him the map in good faith to help him and his family to have a better
life, knowing he wouldn’t need the treasures himself.  And despite Dual’s
words, he knew that the map did not rightfully belong to him or Quell.

His friend had merely found
it first.

“He’s no traitor,” hissed
Alarius.  “Nor am I!”

“
You’d best learn
differently then,
” sneered Dual, “
or
this
will be the next
sight you see!
”

A new vision appeared, this
one distorted and twisted. His house was engulfed in flames, the children
screaming as they ran from it.  Quell’s image stood close by, using his
malevolent powers to only partially ‘silence’ each one with paralysis as they
passed through the flaming doorway, dropping them instantly to remain in the
fire’s path.  All remained conscious, their agonized screams filling Alarius’s
ears, as the vision allowed no mercy.  If not horror enough, he witnessed his
beloved Laelea struggling weakly from the house, carrying the lifeless Daric,
until Quell paralyzed them too...

“
No!
” yelled
the half-elf, drowning out Laelea’s screams with his own anguished cry. 
Dropping to the ground as the vision persisted to taunt him, Alarius’s eyes
shot fire.  “Damn you, Dual!  I won’t let you harm them!”

The dragon’s eyes softened
knowingly.  “
Of course you won’t,
” he purred, finally allowing
the horrific vision to fade out.  “
Just give me the name, Alarius.
”

Alarius bit his lip,
shutting his eyes painfully.  “Damn you, Dual,” he said once more, brokenly,
adding in an equally shattered whisper, “Forgive me, my friend... and my poor
little Daric too.  I had no choice...”

Dual leaned forward, his
eyes glittering.  “
The
name
, Alarius!
”

The half-elf wouldn’t face
him as the name slipped from his tongue.  “Dominick…” he sighed.  “Dominick
Westbrooke.”

The dragon remained
motionless for what seemed like forever.

“
Dominick,
”
he hissed finally, with no absence of venom.  “
So... once more, the
familiar sword in my side has struck again.
”  Glancing up to face the
bemused Alarius, his expression retained its anger, but his words were calm.  “
You’ve
done well, Alarius.  You and your family are free from harm, and you may return
to them as soon as this dream ends and you relinquish the map.  We’ll arrive to
retrieve it shortly.
”  The half-elf stared at the ground, unanswering. 
“
You should feel proud, my friend.  You’ve saved many lives this day,
your own included.
”

While feeling unable to
speak, lest he bring renewed threats of destruction upon his family, Alarius
continued to keep his gaze lowered, remorse filling his mind.

I shall never be proud of
betraying a loyal friend
, he thought silently,
and what life shall I have
knowing I’ve forfeited my son’s?  None I can bear...

“Damn you,” he whispered,
feeling the chilling winds tugging at him to announce the ending of the
nightmare.

As he vanished, so did
Dual.

*****

Reappearing in a place not
far from the dreaming Alarius’s actual slumbering form, the dark dreamphaser
was once more in his human body.  The dragon form was merely an illusion that
solely existed in the dream-state, albeit it was certainly effective enough
there.

Ignoring his ally Quell’s
enthusiasm regarding the map, Dual’s thoughts traveled instead to the
revelation he’d learned.  Until tonight, he wasn’t certain who had cheated the
valuable map from him.  And from Quell too, of course, although that was a more
minor consideration.  But now he knew the thief, and the name brought no
surprise.

“Dominick, my old enemy,”
he hissed softly, “ever you plague me.  And once more, you’ve earned another
dose of retribution for your interference.”  His eyes narrowed with malice. 
“You’d best be on guard, my persistent foe.  For when next we meet, you’ll wish
the day had never come!”

“I must be dreaming,” whispered Julianna.

A moment later, she remembered how true this was.

Smiling as she glanced down at her attire, she
found herself standing in a gown of aquamarine, made of a material that felt
softer than silk.  No doubt a complimentary gift from her nightly—or rather
‘knightly’—companion.

She was a short distance from the castle they’d
shared, located beside a beach of golden sands and a sparkling ocean that
looked to be made of silver.  Just in front of her stood a fountain that
brought forth a similar translucent liquid through a shining marble statue. 
Glancing wide-eyed at the shimmering pool, she leaned against the edge and
stared within.  Through the countless ripples, she could see hundreds of
rainbow stones twinkling up at her from the bottom of the fountain, like
diamonds, winking back at the stars up above.

“Care to make a wish, my lady?” asked a softly
familiar voice, causing her to turn.  In formal white-jacketed attire, he
looked even more handsome than before if possible, and she felt her heart beat
faster at the loving look in his eyes.

“I don’t need to now,” she replied.  “You’re
already here.”

Smiling warmly, Dominick’s arms surrounded her,
his tender yet impassioned kisses warming her like a hundred suns, stealing her
breath away.  Moments later, the sound of sweet music filled the air, and
Julianna’s eyes opened with renewed surprise. 
What on Earth?
she wondered,
noting her companion’s look of amusement as he broke apart from her.

Just before she noticed illuminated rainbows
cascading in endless directions towards the starry night sky.  Something only a
dream could create… or a dream companion.

“It’s all your doing, Julianna,” he said, smiling
with mock innocence.  “You said so yourself that there are rainbows and music
when we’re together.”

“Yes, but I didn’t mean literally,” she laughed. 
“Thank you for remembering, my dear dream knight.”  Leaning forward, she
emphasized this with a deeper kiss.

“Be careful with your kisses, my lady,” Dominick
replied smiling, breaking away long moments later, though not releasing her. 
“I had other plans for us this evening, but I’m only human when it comes to the
charms of a most enchanting sorceress.”

“Ah, I see,” she replied with feigned
seriousness.  “Then you want me to be on my best undesirable behavior.”

“Minx!” he laughed deep in his throat, brushing a
few kisses across her neck.  “You can’t help but be desirable to me, Julianna,”
he whispered.  “Even if you tied back your hair, wore the drabbest clothes, and
painted your face green, I’d still want you.”

She gave a slight pout at that.  “Well, I
certainly won’t agree to try out the last part of that theory.  Knowing you,
you’d trick me into using indelible paint.”

“And purposely hide such beauty from these
eyes?”  He thought for a moment, before adding, “Still, it might be useful to
detract the attention of other admirers you might have.”  She swatted his
shoulder at the last, but he simply clasped her wrist and kissed her hand. 
“Really, Julianna, we must have a talk about this aggressive tendency of
yours.  It's fine for passionate moments, but surely not all the time.”

“You won’t be so smug when I display no passion
at all, Sir Dominick,” she retorted.

“None at all?” he asked doubtfully, his kisses
traveling down her neck while he hugged her close.  A gasp escaped her lips and
her eyes drifted shut, earning a soft laugh from him.  “The hell with smugness
then,” he whispered.  “It’s definitely not worth the sacrifice.”  Julianna
smiled at his touch, even as he pulled away with a groan.  “No, no, my
temptress.  There’ll be plenty of time for this later.  Right now, I wish to
follow through on my request last night that I learn more of your life.  Come.”

Taking her hand, he led her up a few steps to
where a decorated table with two soft chairs awaited, overlooking the ocean. 
Over a white tablecloth, two candles burned brightly beside each other.  Like
her and Dominick, she thought with a smile.  If nothing else, he surely sensed
her emotions, squeezing her hand once before stepping back to hold the chair
for her.

The gentle echoes of the music flowed through
Julianna like the sweetest melody she’d ever heard, complemented even more when
Dominick leaned over her shoulder to kiss her cheek.  As he took the seat
adjacent to her, he reached out to hold her hand again, gently caressing her
smooth fingers.

“I don’t remember when I’ve ever been treated so
wonderfully,” she said softly.  “And while I don’t know how or why you’ve
suddenly become a part of my life, I certainly wouldn’t trade these past few
days together with you for all the world.”

Raising her hand to his lips, Dominick brushed a
whisper of a kiss against it.  “How... would take a long time to explain,” he
replied.  “Though I will admit that Fate must certainly have had a hand in
things.  As to why, that reason should be more than obvious.”

“Tell me,” she coaxed.

For a moment, he looked about to reply, but then
shook his head with a smile.  “If we don’t get started on our dinner now, this
dream will be over before we get to dessert.  And I certainly wouldn’t want
that to happen.”

“You’re putting cake before me?”

Dominick gave a short laugh.  “I wasn’t referring
to
that
kind of dessert,” he replied, with a mischievous glint in
his eyes.  “Personally, I prefer something far sweeter than cake.”  Deciphering
his words instantly, Julianna blushed.  Flashing her a quick smile, he
commented lightly, “Now to see about that dinner.”

*****

An hour later, Julianna found herself wishing she
could live forever in the dream-state.  Not only was the food catered perfectly
to her liking, but Dominick assured her that she wouldn’t get sick from
anything, either here or when she awoke, which only made sense since it
was
a dream.

Dominick merely asked what she’d like, and the
food had materialized on silver trays, floating across the table, beside the
neatly arranged china and silverware.  He had good taste in everything she’d
seen so far, this romantic dinner being no exception.

During dinner, Julianna told him of her family
and life on Earth, hesitantly at first mentioning her brother-in-law and
nephew.  His warm responding smile soon eased any doubts from her mind, and she
went on to assure him that her sister Crystal and Jerry shared a solid, happy
marriage.  At her continual references to Sammy, it was easy to see that she
adored her nephew.  Dominick’s expression became curious.

“Would you like to have a child of your own
someday?” he asked.

Caught off-guard, Julianna froze.  “I used to
once.”  Taking a sip of water to consider, she added, “But I could never see
having a child if it wasn’t with someone I loved.”

He leaned closer, his eyes holding hers.  “And if
that was possible?”

Blushing, she forced a smile.  “I’ve been
monopolizing the conversation long enough.  You promised to tell me more about
you tonight.”

Sitting back in his chair, his eyes twinkled. 
“Fair enough,” he agreed.  “Outside of the dream-state, I live with my brother
on an island.”  Julianna’s own eyes widened.

“You’re
real?
”

“Well, of course I’m real!” he laughed.  “Hasn’t
this past week made that clear?”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.  I
mean, you said you exist
outside
the dream-state?”

Dominick took a sip from his wine glass.  “Yes,
as a matter of fact I do.  You may have a creative imagination, Julianna, but
you didn’t conjure me up.”  At her surprised expression, he reached forward to
squeeze her hand.  “I’m as real as you are in the waking reality.”

She reciprocated the gesture.  “How is that
possible?”

“I’m known as a dreamphaser,” he replied, a smile
forming.  “As to the details, that might take awhile.  You’d best keep eating
while I explain.”

Still reeling from the knowledge that he existed
in reality, Julianna barely noticed the taste of the food as he explained his
dreamphasing ability. 

Once he did, it made sense why she dreamed of him
so frequently, as well as retained vivid memories of him when awake.  It did
add new questions though.  In all her life, she’d never heard of dreamphasing
before.

“You said earlier you live on an island?”

“Very astute,” he replied, raising his glass
towards her.  “I live on the island of Barokka, which is well separated from
the distant shores of the outer regions.  It’s not the easiest place to reach
if you don’t know what you’re looking for, and there’s a protective mist
farther out along the perimeter which obscures us from the outer area.”