The Nightmare Inflictor (4 page)

He offers a small smile. “Right, your best friend. I should’ve expected it when she found me. She asked about you before I even told her I had a daughter.”

I grin. The day Alyssa arrived with my father at the compound was one of the best days of my life. She didn’t even have to convince me that we’d be best friends. The connection was already there. She’s like family now.

I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I’m glad you brought her here.”

“Me too.” My father glances over his shoulder at the opaque door of the guest apartment building. After a minute, he asks, “You want to take a stroll around the compound?”

I shift my feet. “I have a volunteer awaiting my arrival.”

My father bobs his head. “All right. I’ll make sure to stop by the dorms in the morning if the council assigns me a job.”

I suck in my bottom lip. “You mean when they do.”

He glides a foot away. “No, if. Nothing is set in stone.”

I watch my father glide to the path that leads to the perimeter of the property. I almost wish I’d gone with him, but the sleeping volunteers inside beckon me.

I enter the lobby and glance at a girl on the couch with her legs crossed and her nose in a book. She doesn’t look up and I glide past her and into the hallway. I head to the stairs and to the second floor where Abigail Blake is staying.

I sense her sleeping through the door and quietly enter so no one sees me hovering in the hallway. Her black hair is cut short and she sleeps on her side. The pillows are on the floor and she almost looks like she’s pretending. But I know she’s not because I can taste the cinnamon and sugar flavor of her dream.

I close the short distance between us and press my fingers to her temples. My stomach rolls and the world disappears, and I’m standing in the middle of a river. Icy water crashes around my knees and the water shifts from crystal clear to oily black. I wade to the shoreline and climb onto a boulder just on the edge of the river. The algae on it blackens as my hands press into it.

I get to my feet and look around. A forest surrounds the river and clouds roll in above me. I sense Abigail nearby, but don’t see her. She’s not afraid just yet.

I jump from the boulder back into the murky river where a few dead fish pop up to the surface. The water rushes and rises, but doesn’t affect me as I glide through it to the other side.

“Did you hear that?” a feminine voice says.

“It’s just the roar of the river.” Branches crack as someone walks over them. My dreamer is coming closer to me.

The ground rumbles and I clutch a nearby tree. I didn’t create an earthquake. Something is happening in the real world and fear races through me.

The sky cracks and rain pours down. Something is disturbing the dreamer’s sleep and I need to get out of here. I pull myself from Abigail’s head and stare wildly around the room. I meet the gaze of the girl from the lobby as she leans against the door.

Abigail moans from the bed, but doesn’t wake up. It’ll be a few minutes before she can. Anytime I invade a dream, the effects of the nightmare last a little while, giving me a chance to get away before the dreamer wakes up.

“What are you doing here?” Heat rushes into my face.

The girl smiles and crosses her arms. “The council gave me permission to study you.”

Anger courses through me. I can’t believe this. This is so messed up. I need to find my father and tell him about this. He knows how I feel and I can’t believe the council would go against my wishes of privacy to allow some girl to drop in while I’m inflicting a nightmare on someone.

“Well, I didn’t give you permission.” I go past her and hit my shoulder on hers as I push through the door. I’ve never wanted to leave the compound more than I do right now.

My trust in the council is broken. I don’t think anything can ever repair it.

8. IT’S WHAT MONSTERS DO

I sit in the lobby outside of the meeting hall. There was nothing my father could do about the council before he left so here I am waiting to face them alone. Like always.

“I’ll wait here until you’re done,” Alyssa says.

I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I wish you could go in with me. I could really use someone on my side.”

She pats my knee. “I’m sure things will go smoothly and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

“Did you see anything?” I cross my legs and uncross them, before getting to my feet. I pace the room instead.

“No decisions have been made yet.” Alyssa gets to her feet and paces with me.

I stop and then she stops, and we face each other. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing.”

The door that leads to the meeting hall swings open and Roxanne, the council’s assistant, steps in. She’s wearing a midnight blue, floor-length gown with glittering diamonds in her ears, on her wrist, and around her neck. She looks ready for an elegant evening, but I know she has nowhere to go. She just likes to dress up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear pants or something non-formal for that matter.

Roxanne swings her long, strawberry blond braid over her shoulder and offers me a small smile. “The council’s ready to see you, Nadia.”

I glance at Alyssa.

“You’ll be fine,” Alyssa says.

I turn away from her and walk toward Roxanne. She leads me into the empty auditorium and the council sits at a table on the small stage. A chair is stationed next to the table for me to sit on. I wish I could stand.

Roxanne takes a seat on a chair on the floor, facing the stage. Thankfully, my meeting isn’t open to the public. It’s hard enough talking about this as it is.

“Ms. Petrov, what brings you here today?” Mr. Soto asks. He’s a shaman well over a hundred years old. The deep wrinkles on his lined face map out his long life.

I press my lips together. The council knows why I’m here, but they’re forcing me to rehash the situation when all I want to do is forget they ever allowed an enchantress to sneak up on me while I was with a volunteer. It sucks they were the ones who thought it was okay to begin with.

Heat crawls up my neck. “I think you know.”

Council member Ana Midnight clicks her pen. “This is part of our procedure, Nadia. Please just state the reason you’re here.”

I sigh. “Because one of you granted permission to one of the enchantresses to study me while I was with a volunteer. It was an invasion of my privacy. You should’ve asked.”

Ana glances at Mr. Soto, and then to Veronica Sanders, and lastly to Thierry Stevens. She looks back to me and says, “I must apologize for the action of my sister.”

The girl who interrupted my dream invasion isn’t Ana’s sister by blood, but part of the Enchantress Sisterhood.

“Why? You should be apologizing for yourselves. You guys are the ones who granted her permission.”

Mr. Soto throws his arms in the air. “I don’t see what the big deal is, Ms. Petrov. People eat in public all the time.”

I clench my jaw. “That’s completely different.”

“No it’s not. I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal. We are nice enough to provide you with volunteers and if someone, with the potential of being a volunteer, wants to see what it’s about without being one of your victims, they should be able to watch from an outsider’s perspective.”

“Javier!” Veronica snaps.

He turns and glares at her.

My shoulders slump. Calling the volunteers my victims stings. I’m not hunting them. I’m not doing anything they didn’t agree to. I hate that the council makes me feel this way.

I hold out my hand. “It’s fine. I get it.” I stand up and glide off the stage.

This meeting was pointless.

“Nadia, please,” Thierry calls, finally speaking up. “Wait.”

I shake my head. “So Mr. Soto can shame me some more? No thanks.”

I glide out of the room and slam the door behind me. I look at Alyssa, and she jumps up from her chair, and follows me to the elevator.

When we step inside, she hugs me. “I’m sorry, Nadia.”

I shrug. “They think I’m a monster.”

“Doesn’t make you one,” she says.

The elevator dings and the door slides open. Maybe the council is right though. I survive off the fear of others. It’s what monsters do.

We step outside into the dark. Alyssa strolls next to me and we come up to the guest apartment building.

I turn to look at her. “It’s late. You should head back to the dorms.”

“It’s okay. I can stay.”

I shake my head. “No, really, go. I’ll see you later.”

Her eyes shine but she doesn’t argue. She turns and walks down the path back to the dorms, leaving me in the pale moonlight outside of the guest apartment building.

If the council thinks I’m a monster, then I’ll be a monster.

Fredrick Wood, an elf from the city, sleeps in the first room on the left. Hints of strawberries and sugar tickle my taste buds and I press my hands on his closed door. He’s the only one in the building since my father escorted the enchantresses to their next destination. 

Go in and get it over with,
I think.
Show them what a monster you really are.

I close my eyes, suck in a breath, and sneak in.

Frederick sleeps on his stomach with his face smashed into the pillow. The comforter is around his waist and he’s shirtless, and I notice the name Katerina tattooed on his shoulder.

I glide across the room, slide my fingers through his blond hair until I touch his temples, and then I invade his dream.

I open my eyes to an empty field. Hunger burns in my stomach and I sense an overwhelming sadness drifting through the air. It rolls over me and presses into me, suffocating me with grief that isn’t my own.

Gut-wrenching sobs echo around me and I lift my head to see Frederick kneeling on the ground, running his fingers through a pile of glittery dust. “Oh, Katerina. How am I ever supposed to live without you?” Fredrick bends over until his face touches the sparkling dirt.

The weight of his mourning squeezes my heart. This dream is different. This isn’t something imagined in Fredrick’s mind. His sorrow and grief are palpable, and without having to ask, I know Katerina is dead. She’s the pile of dust on the ground. I’ve never seen a pixie die, but I’ve read about their demise and how they disintegrate into glittering dust.

Finish the dream.
My nightmare inflictor side struggles for control. But I won’t let that half have me right now. It isn’t right. I wasn’t expecting this.

I turn away from Fredrick and pull myself from the dream. It’s not right to be here. I may be part monster, but I’m also part human, and sometimes I have to let my humanity win. If I don’t, then I have nothing left. 

9. THE NIGHTMARE INFLICTOR

You don’t have to do it. Turn around and walk away. You’re stronger than this. Don’t let the monster control you. Walk away. Walk away!

I twist the doorknob and slip inside the guest room of Lydia Monroe, a leshy from Hawaii. There are a handful of names on my volunteer list, but I chose Lydia in hopes that her dreams could take me somewhere I’d like to see. I doubt I’ll travel outside the compound farther than the city. I want to, but I’m not brave enough.

I hover in the middle of the room and look at the embodied tree spirit lying on the bed. The lavender comforter is balled up on the floor and dark brown soil peppers the sheet. The room smells of moist dirt and grass and I can’t take my eyes off the patch of bark-like skin on Lydia’s cheek.

You still have time to change your mind,
I think.

Hunger burns me to the core and I glide forward as my nightmare inflictor side grabs hold of me. The need to invade Lydia’s dream is overwhelming and I couldn’t stop myself from moving closer even if I wanted to.
You don’t want to.

Lydia’s blond hair is dirty with soil and leaves and I lightly touch my fingers to her temples. The world blurs and my stomach drops as I invade her head and fall into her dream world.

The scent of saltwater tickles my nose and I open my eyes. I’m standing on a black sand beach, facing a vibrant rainforest. I glance over my shoulder at the turquoise ocean with white, foamy waves that lap at the sand. The sun is setting and golden rays light the world aglow. It’s mesmerizing and hypnotic, and I find myself turning away from the forest to the ocean.

A scream rips through the air, drawing my attention back to the forest, and a small child rushes from the trees. He stops at the edge of the beach and stares at me. He doesn’t move, suddenly shy, and I step closer.

“River, get back here!” Lydia emerges from the trees and stops behind the boy. She covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes wild, and then scoops the boy into her arms after a second.

I don’t say anything. I can’t. The words are locked deep in my throat.
Destroy the dream, Nadia. You know you want to.

I take another step.

“Stay back. You can’t have him,” Lydia says.

It’s just a figment of her imagination.
I take another step.

Lydia sets the boy back on his feet. “Run, River, and hide.” She pushes him toward the forest and he bounds away, looking over his shoulder once before disappearing into the trees.

I press my black boots into the sand and oil seeps from the ground. Dark thunderclouds roll over the setting sun and the wind picks up, blowing my white hair behind me. I need to finish the dream and leave. Drawing it out only makes it worse on the dreamer.

“You will never get your hands on him.”

I reach out my hand. “It’s you I want.”

Lydia scowls. “The council was right.”

I stop in my tracks and tilt my head to the side. Without a mirror, I can’t see what fear I’m personifying, but I do know it’s a person. “About what?” I ask. I should just finish the dream and get out of here, but I want to know more about the dreamer and her connection to the council. You can’t keep secrets in dreams.