Chapter 4: In Your Dreams

Kyia didn’t know how she got back home. All she knew is that she found herself standing alone in her room, the conversation between Raevynn and Thanatos replaying in her mind. Raevynn had always spoken in code, and now was no different. Only now Kyia had no concrete backstory to piece it all together. Kyia had always known Raevynn was a panther demon, but her father was (for lack of a better term) a prick and the last King of the Demons killed her mother; why would Raevynn choose to ally herself with her enemy? What had happened in the last three years for the Demons to suddenly trust her so again, enough to invite her to compete for the title of their new King? So many questions raced through Kyia’s mind, and Kyia wanted them answered and answered now. Kyia let a chuckle escape her pursed lips. How was she supposed to talk to Raevynn? For all Kyia knew, Raevynn could want her dead. But she wasn’t about to let everything she had heard tonight slip...

Kyia suddenly remembered something. She ran through the halls now lighted by the rising sun seeping through the windows and into a large room stuffed wall to wall with bookshelves. Every shelf seemed to be bursting with books written in strange, ancient languages or in gold script that didn’t resemble words. There was a large oak table in the middle of the room, laden with books and a single straight-backed wooden chair. In this chair was Calla, wearing a silk robe overtop of linen nightclothes, nose pored over a book. She looked up at Kyia’s entrance.

“You’re up pretty early,” Calla said, closing the book. “You also usually don’t come into the library this early.”

Kyia began to frantically examine every shelf of every bookshelf, searching for that one book... where was it? “Where’s the spell book you stole from the Succubus demons?”

Calla held up the book she was reading. It was bound in red velvet and had black writing on the front. “I’m reading it. Why do you need it?”

Kyia walked over to Calla. “I need the spell for travelling into someone’s dreams. Unlike you, I haven’t quite memorized it yet.”

Calla raised a red eyebrow, standing up and holding the book to her chest. “And just who’s dreams are you planning on crashing, Kyia? Perhaps an old friend of ours that you think that you saw underneath a cloak? The spell doesn’t work on the dead you know.”

“She’s not dead,” Kyia snapped, reaching for the book. Calla managed to keep it out of Kyia’s reach. Annoyed, Kyia decided to switch tactics. “Please, Calla, I just want to talk to her. I want to know where her allegiances lie.”

Calla sighed, extending her arm and offering Kyia the book. As she took it, Calla said, “I’ve been curious about it too. I’ve contemplated using the spell myself, only I have no idea when she sleeps. She has to be asleep when you cast the spell otherwise you could get trapped.”

“So watch me, I’ll do it right here,” Kyia said, flipping through the yellowing pages that smelled like potpourri. Kyia scrunched up her nose as she scanned. Succubi. After a little more searching, Kyia found the demon symbols for ‘Dream World Spell’ and began to read.

Calla sighed. “All right, I’ll help you; just make sure she doesn’t try to strangle you.” Calla sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, concentrating on Kyia. Somehow more stressed than before, Kyia began to say the spell. As she did, red magic wove itself in long, ribbon-like tendrils around Kyia’s legs and eventually up her entire body. When Kyia was surrounded by the strange red stuff, she closed her eyes and clearly thought of the Raevynn she had seen in the forest a few hours ago.

She was instantly transported into a room lit dimly by the dawn. She saw a large bed in one corner and a changing screen in another corner. Kyia walked up to the bed, surprised to find two people in it. One she got close enough, she realized that one of them was Raevynn, and the other was a strong, handsome-looking man about Morokai’s age with his arms wrapped around her. Both were in a content slumber, and Kyia almost dreaded to wake Raevynn. She looked so happy, something Kyia had not seen for about six years. But she was there to talk, so Kyia shook Raevynn’s bare arm. Instantly Raevynn’s purple eyes shot open, and she looked directly into Kyia’s green ones. Raevynn sighed, and got out of bed.

“Back again, are you? It’s been a while since you were in my dreams, Kyia,” Raevynn said, walking to the foot of the bed and sitting down. “First time I’ve been in a room when I dream about you guys.”

Kyia tilted her head. “You dream about us?”

“Aren’t you the curious one?” Raevynn said, shaking her head. “What do you think, Kyia, that I would just forget all of you these past three years?”

Kyia looked away. “No, of course not.”

Raevynn narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong with you? You’re not like the dreams I usually have.”

“That’s probably because I’m not a figment of your subconscious,” Kyia said, looking back into Raevynn’s prying eyes. She quickly broke eye contact. Those eyes were harsh. “It’s really me, Raevynn.”

“Really?”

“Really really.”

Raevynn blinked. “I suppose there’s really no reason for me to doubt you. But I’ve got a question. Why are you here?”

Kyia sat down on the side of the bed that didn’t contain the sleeping man. Even though this was only happening in Raevynn’s mind, possibly sitting on the guy she was in bed with could set her off. “Well, I wanted to talk to you. Thought you might have a few things to get off your chest.”

Raevynn sighed, locking her fingers and stretching her arms above her head. “Well, I suppose you’re right. The only problem is I don’t really know where to start.”

Kyia’s glance turned to the sleeping man next to her. “The most immediate question is ‘Who is this?’” Kyia turned her gaze back to Raevynn, who walked over to the bed and knelt next to the man. She gave him a light kiss on the head.

“This is Mikhal,” Raevynn said, standing up. “I owe him my life.”

Kyia raised an eyebrow. “You went for a mortal? That’s unlike you.”

Raevynn chuckled. “Look who’s talking. And no, he’s actually a half-demon.” When Raevynn saw the surprised look on Kyia’s face, she continued, “His father was a necromancer, so he’s not exactly half-and-half. Necromancers are weird like that. Of course he’s not proud of it, but it suits me just fine.”

Kyia stood up, trying with all her might to at least make it look like she was looking Raevynn in the eye. She barely succeeded. “Well, now that that’s squared away...”

“I’m not telling you what happened that day,” Raevynn said, shaking her head. Kyia knew she wouldn’t get it out of her right now. “You’ll have to ask Morokai, or maybe Amon if I decide to tell her.”

“I think you owe her that much,” Kyia said, moving to put a hand on Raevynn’s shoulder. It stayed there. That was a good sign. “Amon was devastated when she had first thought you died. And she was your best friend.”

“Still is,” Raevynn said, looking down, her shoulders falling slightly. “Separated by circumstance.”

Kyia sighed, and then removed her hand. “Speaking of circumstance, why are you doing mercenary work for the Demon Counsel?”

It was Raevynn’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “You were in the forest tonight, weren’t you?”

“Was Thanatos really that obvious about it?”

Raevynn chuckled again. “You think I would have forgotten what your magic feels like after just three years? That’s why I didn’t say much.” Raevynn sat down on the bed, locking her hand with Mikhal’s. “I wanted a way to get back on my feet. Doing them a favour here and there would have been ideal for me.”

Kyia nodded reluctantly. “I guess that’s one way. But why didn’t you just come back to us?”

That did it. Raevynn’s grip on Mikhal’s hand tightened and her eyes gained some catlike characteristics. “What, after everyone thought I was dead for six months? It’s not like I was perfectly fine the moment after I fell into the Bottomless Chasm, Kyia. The rumours did say that, if there was a bottom, it had spikes.”

Kyia didn’t want Raevynn to leave this point, but she was too curious to not let this question pass. “Is that how you got that scar?”

Raevynn retreated, looking down. She put her free hand against the scar. It flashed a pink white as she did. “No,” Raevynn nearly whispered. “Spikes couldn’t do this.”

Kyia examined the scar for a moment, and dropped her jaw. “Is that a-“

“A holy scar, yeah,” Raevynn said, getting up and walking over to the window. “Certain weapons have been blessed by the human Magisterium to deal damage like this. But only three in the world make it this bad, and I possess one.” Raevynn looked to the plain-looking sword laid carefully against the wall. “Against a human, the weapon inflicts normal injuries. But on a demon, it causes the wound to scar over, no matter how serious, and is coated in an impermeable holy barrier that feeds off of demonic energy. Eventually the scar begins to grow and...”

“It will consume you unless you do something about it,” Kyia finished Raevynn’s thought, then walked over to her and placed a hand on her arm. “...You’re dying, Raevynn.”

Raevynn snickered grimly. “I know. But really... I should be dying anyway, Kyia. When I... fell... into the Bottomless Chasm, I should have died. But... somehow... I survived when I hit the bottom. And... Mikhal saved me.”

Kyia was confused. “How did you survive? Anyone that falls to the bottom, from no matter what height, never comes back.”

Raevynn sighed. “I suppose I can tell you, Kyia. At the bottom, there aren’t any spikes. I lied. It’s a hidden village of outcasts and half-demons. Mikhal was living there. I damn near landed on him when I fell.”

There was silence for a minute. Is that what happened that day? But it was so easy... There must have been something else, Kyia thought. And maybe now, she would tell me.

“You and me, Kyia, we’re living off of borrowed time,” Raevynn broke the silence, looking back at Kyia. Or really, Raevynn was looking right through Kyia... “We both owe our lives to a man that holds us dear to our hearts... That’s the only reason you’re still here, isn’t it?”

Kyia smiled grimly. “Yeah. Being a vampire sucks. What about you?”

Raevynn gave Kyia a look that made her feel so very stupid. “I thought you would have known that answer. I live to get my revenge right now. I’ll see what happens when I get it.” Raevynn walked back over to the bed. She sat down, sliding her slim legs back underneath the covers. “It’s getting late... er, early. You should be going soon.”

Kyia nodded. “All right. It was good to talk to you again.”

Raevynn smiled sincerely. “Yes... yes it was.”

Kyia clasped her hands together, about to recite the incantation to stop the spell, but paused. “Let me know what you decide about the trials. And... What happened between you and Morokai that day? I have to know.”

Raevynn snarled, curling up next to Mikhal. “If he’s not going to tell you than neither will I, Kyia. It’s something that Morokai should tell you himself.” Raevyyn rolled over and the room began to dissolve around Kyia as she began to reappear in the library.