Dream King by Elise Knight

24

Iwhirled around, slipping my fingers through the half-inch gap between the door and the frame. Half a second longer and the door would have been closed. I slammed it open, almost falling back through it into the forest. Dream’s screams were like something out of my worst nightmares. He’d not made a sound when the wolveries attacked, so what the hell could make him howl in pain now? Could he be feeling the same grief I was? Could his howls be . . . over me?

As soon as the idea surfaced, I dashed it. It was a fucking ridiculous notion that needed to be buried in my brain and never see the light of day again. His screams were way beyond emotional pain. Something was attacking him. Something worse than wolveries. I skidded around the gray door frames and came face to face with the most terrifying scene I’d ever witnessed.

Not even in my worst nightmare could I conjure a creature so terrifying. It made the wolveries look like cute puppies in comparison. It was all muscle and teeth and hair and horns and like nothing I’d ever seen before or ever wanted to see again. It was shaped almost like a man if you ignored the cat-like snout, glowing horns bristling down its back, and two blue eyes that shone eerily in the darkness. Although its body was very, very real, the parts that made it a monster, the parts that glowed, were see-through, almost ghostlike, as though a ripped human being was wearing clothes made from a glowing monster on top of it. Human or monster, it had Dream’s leg clenched between its teeth and was already dragging him off into the forest.

I chased after them, struggling to catch my breath as they thundered through the trees.

Oh hell. What was it with everything in this place with superhuman strength and speed? I had no hope in hell of catching up to them, and yet I pushed through the dizziness and lack of breath, using muscles I’d forgotten I had, trying to keep them in sight. It didn’t help that everywhere in the forest was darker than my ex’s heart. Wherever the Nightwalker was taking Dream, it wasn't back to the Village. It wasn't to anywhere I had been before. The thickness of the Canopy above me increased, and the leaves blocked out the small glow of moonlight, leaving me almost blind.

But I could still hear them ahead. Dream’s anguished screams as he was dragged across the forest floor sliced through the quiet of the night and filled me with panic.

“Mother fucker!” I panted as lower tree branches whipped into my face. I was losing them. I didn’t stop or slow down, but I could no longer hear Dream screaming, nor could I hear the sound of the Nightwalker dragging him through the forest. The silence deafened me, but stopping wasn’t an option. I was in the middle of the woods all by myself in almost complete darkness, and fuck only knew where I was supposed to go next. I was well and truly lost.

“Dream!” I shouted out his name, hoping he would hear my voice and shout back, but my own voice echoed through the darkness. There was no reply.

My heart thundered in my chest as I bent to my knees to get my breath back.

I was in no fit state for this. Years of doing no exercise and eating, what was, quite frankly, a disgusting diet of greasy fast food, and in later months, not much at all, was not conducive to hauling ass through a forest after a motherfucking super-strength monster. If I got through this, I was going to have to take an exercise class or some such shit and maybe eat a vegetable or two.

“When,” I corrected myself. When I got through this, not if. Because even though I couldn’t see a bloody thing and the silence of the forest was thickly draped around me, I was still alive.

I closed my eyes. The same couldn’t be said for Dream. At least, I had no way of knowing if he was still alive. I hadn’t thought anything could rattle that man. Well, kissing me had rattled him, but the screams he’d produced when the Nightwalker had dragged him off through the forest were branded into my brain. Panic settled around my gut, adding to the overall sickness I felt at overdoing it. If Dream had died at the hands...claws of the Nightwalker, then our world would eventually collapse. This world would collapse. And Dream would no longer exist, a small voice piped up in my mind. A strangled sob escaped my throat, amplified in the silence. Why the fuck did I even care? He wanted me gone. I should have gone. I almost had. Surely the people of this world could figure something out. What kind of weird-ass world would put so much responsibility on one person? Maybe everything Aethelu and Dream had told me was utter bullshit, and I’d fallen for it like a naive idiot.

I hated the thoughts that were spiraling through my mind, but anything was better than thinking about the predicament I currently found myself in. Lost in the darkest part of the forest with a bloodthirsty killing machine somewhere out there, not to mention the wolveries and fuck knew what else that might think I’d make a tasty snack. Going back, although an option, wasn’t necessarily the best one. Maybe I couldn’t save Dream. I certainly couldn’t if I couldn’t find him, which was looking more and more unlikely with each passing minute. But we’d twisted and turned so much that I doubted my ability to ever find the red door again. There was nowhere to go but forward.

I put one foot in front of the other and walked onwards, this time more slowly so I wouldn’t add to the numerous cuts the branches had produced on my face. I hadn’t walked far when my foot caught in something, sending me toppling to the ground.

“Fuck,” I hissed, rubbing my knee where it had hit the ground.

“Ana.” The voice was faint, but it was unmistakable. Dream! I’d gone ass over tit over Dream’s leg. I bent down and ran my hand up his chest, and when I brought it away, there was something sticky. I couldn't see what it was, but I didn't need to see to know that it was blood. “Dream, are you okay?” I asked frantically. “Use your healing magic!”

“Ana,” he repeated quietly, his voice a hoarse whisper. He was not okay. Even in the dark, it was obvious, but what could I do? He'd carried me through the forest when the wolveries attacked, but he was much stronger than me. Much heavier. Much quicker. There was no way I could lift him. Nor would I know where to take him if I could. It was so dark I could barely see him. Clamping my hand against his chest to stem the flow of blood, I ripped off a layer of my dress, balled it up, and jammed it against where I thought the blood was coming from.

He groaned.

“Why aren’t you healing?” I cried urgently. He had healing magic. Why wasn’t he using it? “Come on! Do something.” Panic laced my voice, but it was no use shouting at him. The guy was barely breathing. Whatever had attacked him had managed to bypass his healing magic. Or he’d been so badly injured that no magic could save him, and it was too late. A sob caught in my throat at the thought of it. “You'll be okay,” I murmured through the tears falling down my face. “I won't let you die.” The moment the words escaped my lips, I knew it was a lie. He probably wouldn't be okay. I couldn't help him. I didn't even know if the Nightwalker was still nearby. It was all I could do to sit next to him and try to stem the flow of blood escaping his chest.

The forest around us was eerily quiet. The Nightwalker was gone, for now at least, but who knew when it would come back to finish off its dinner? Reaching down, I rummaged around Dream’s boot. His knife was still there. I pulled it out and gripped the handle tightly, ready for when the Nightwalker came back. I was no match for the monster, but I wasn’t going to go down without a motherfucking fight. With my other hand, I clasped Dream’s. It was cold. Dangerously so. His body was going into shock, and I had no idea what to do. Wasn’t giving someone sweet tea a way to stop shock? The question was moot. I had no tea, sweet or otherwise. All I had was myself. Unlike Dream, I was hot and sweaty after the hours-long dash through the forest. At least I could share my body warmth with him.

I bent over him and wrapped my arms around his naked chest, shuffling as close to him as I could. He shivered beneath my touch but didn’t speak. His breathing was labored, but at this point, I was just grateful he was breathing. His whole body quaked against mine, and his skin was like marble to the touch. Cold and hard.

“Ana,” he mumbled, almost slurring my name.

“I'm here,” I whispered back, but there was no more response from him. “Dream, can you hear me?” No answer. I put my hand on his chest, needing to feel it rising and falling to reassure myself. I left my arm draped across his chest, scared that if I took it off for a second, he would die, as if my arm could stop such a thing. I didn’t want to lose him.

Fuck! I really didn’t! Everyone’s existence depended on him surviving. That was the reason... the only reason... Damnit, maybe it wasn’t the only reason.

I closed my eyes and snuggled against him, wishing that my small body could stop the quakes in his. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into an uneasy sleep.

I awoke with a start. Dream hadn’t moved, but his shivering had subsided a little. There was no way of telling how much time had passed since we’d both fallen asleep. It seemed to be a bit lighter now, though that could be because my eyes had gotten used to the darkness. I narrowed them, squeezing them together to try and take in all the light possible so I could see where we were. All I could make out were the outlines of the trees. More infernal trees.

The nightwalker hadn't returned, and I didn't know why. It must have known that Dream would still be here. He was an easy target. I didn’t even know why it hadn’t killed him in the first place, though perhaps it thought it had. The thought made me shiver. It meant the beast was only out to kill Dream and not to eat him. Like everything else in this goddamned world, it was another question I’d have to put on the back burner for another time. If there was going to be another time. As it was, I was lost in the middle of a never-ending forest in almost pitch black with a man who was on the edge of death and wouldn’t have been able to walk out of there if he was awake enough to want to...which he wasn’t. I blinked a few times, trying to get used to the light, and checked Dream’s chest. I could see it now. The ripped dress I used to cover his wound was saturated in blood, but it was dry, which gave me hope that his healing powers had kicked in. I felt his brow with the back of my hand and winced at how hot it was. I was no doctor, but hot was worse than cold. Hot meant an infection of some kind. Back home, I would have gone to a doctor or a pharmacy, but here there was nothing. I knew nothing about trees or leaves or medicinal herbs. Maybe Aethelu did. She seemed the type to know about that kind of thing, but I didn't know where Aethelu was, and I could no more have found my way back to the Village from here than I could find my way back to the red door.

I would have to find my way somewhere at some point, but for right now, I mopped up Dream’s brow with the sleeve of my dress. More to give me something to do than to actually help him in any way. He needed water, but I’d not crossed a stream the whole time I’d been chasing after him. An idea dawned on me. There was the lake. I’d started running after Dream and the Nightwalker in the general direction of the lake. Granted, we’d twisted and turned a lot, but the lake was huge. If I kept on walking, I’d have to hit it at some point. Leaving Dream alone scared the hell out of me, but it was either that or we both die here in the darkness. I stood carefully, whispering to him in the darkness, “I’ll be back. I promise.”

He didn’t respond—his shallow breathing was the only sign of life.