Read Online The Changeling (Book One of The Síofra Chronicles) by K.R. Wilburn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: K.R. Wilburn
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I took a deep breath and forced the irritation out, following quietly behind him through the trees until we broke through the greenery surrounding the Pool of Dreams. He walked directly to the large boulder hanging low over the water and tugged my hand, pulling me up onto the smooth stone surface alongside him. The water, still as glass below us, lit from within and continued its constant projection of dreams. It was a beautiful light show that mesmerized me, and I longed to look into its depths again.
I stretched out on my stomach on the rock and peered over its edge, telling myself I didn't notice the warmth of him as his body stretched next to mine on the narrow stone, that I wasn’t aware of his eyes on me. Instead, I forced my eyes on the water below, caught in the images dancing on the surface.
"What did you mean when you said you protected the mortals?" I asked after a few moments, curiously watching the scenes in front of me.
As wrong as it felt to watch my friends, I didn't feel the same hesitation about watching other people. I should have felt embarrassed, but I wasn't. I was a hypocrite, and I wished it would bother me more than it did. Instead I felt detached and curious as the images danced before me. Aleksander had said that the dreams didn't hold any entertainment value for him, but I couldn't claim the same. I was too curious.
"We watch their souls while they wander. Being outside their bodies makes them vulnerable, and it’s our task to safeguard them while they journey through the Dreaming," he explained soothingly, so close that I could feel his breath tickling my ear.
I closed my eyes, ignoring the warmth flooding through my stomach, and forced my focus back on his words. "So you said yesterday that people can misuse the Dreaming. Is that what we're watching for?"
"Among other things. Consider a nightmare. They can be terrifying, overwhelming even, for the dreamer. The harder you try to run, the slower you move. It’s a vortex of fear that humans create and then find they can't escape from. This is one of the things we watch for. If a soul is too consumed in their fear, they may never return to their body and fail to awaken. Worse still are those who struggle so strongly against the constraints they create that, when they do free enough to run, they run in the wrong direction and sever their mortal tether."
I felt the blood drain from my face. Sever their tether?
"What happens then?" I asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
"They die,” he said sadly. "It doesn't happen often. The mortal tether is strong, but the older the body becomes, the weaker that link is. The mortal simply dies in their sleep, so terrified of their dreams that they lose themselves in the fright."
I stared at him, horror flooding my thoughts and bile climbing my throat. A hazy half memory of dark, empty eyes, ice-cold hands, and mocking laughter caught me for a moment, sending a tremor of fear through my body. Sometimes my dreams were so dark I was convinced I was going to die. It was scary to realize that the danger had been real after all and worse to think that I had done it to myself, creating the perfect storm of fear all on my own.
Aleksander's eyes were sympathetic and full of compassion as he stretched his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I lay in the circle of his arms, resting my forehead against his chest. I refused to think about the paralyzing cold of my nightmares and forced my thoughts instead to how pleasant he smelled, like musk and amber, or the warmth of his chest against my cheek. I listened to his heart beating and let the rhythm calm me. My anxiety eased, replaced by a sense of wholeness and peace that had not existed the moment before.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I didn’t mean to upset you. I find myself doing that more often than I would like," he said thickly.
Part of me wanted to stay there in his
I took a deep breath and forced the irritation out, following quietly behind him through the trees until we broke through the greenery surrounding the Pool of Dreams. He walked directly to the large boulder hanging low over the water and tugged my hand, pulling me up onto the smooth stone surface alongside him. The water, still as glass below us, lit from within and continued its constant projection of dreams. It was a beautiful light show that mesmerized me, and I longed to look into its depths again.
I stretched out on my stomach on the rock and peered over its edge, telling myself I didn't notice the warmth of him as his body stretched next to mine on the narrow stone, that I wasn’t aware of his eyes on me. Instead, I forced my eyes on the water below, caught in the images dancing on the surface.
"What did you mean when you said you protected the mortals?" I asked after a few moments, curiously watching the scenes in front of me.
As wrong as it felt to watch my friends, I didn't feel the same hesitation about watching other people. I should have felt embarrassed, but I wasn't. I was a hypocrite, and I wished it would bother me more than it did. Instead I felt detached and curious as the images danced before me. Aleksander had said that the dreams didn't hold any entertainment value for him, but I couldn't claim the same. I was too curious.
"We watch their souls while they wander. Being outside their bodies makes them vulnerable, and it’s our task to safeguard them while they journey through the Dreaming," he explained soothingly, so close that I could feel his breath tickling my ear.
I closed my eyes, ignoring the warmth flooding through my stomach, and forced my focus back on his words. "So you said yesterday that people can misuse the Dreaming. Is that what we're watching for?"
"Among other things. Consider a nightmare. They can be terrifying, overwhelming even, for the dreamer. The harder you try to run, the slower you move. It’s a vortex of fear that humans create and then find they can't escape from. This is one of the things we watch for. If a soul is too consumed in their fear, they may never return to their body and fail to awaken. Worse still are those who struggle so strongly against the constraints they create that, when they do free enough to run, they run in the wrong direction and sever their mortal tether."
I felt the blood drain from my face. Sever their tether?
"What happens then?" I asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
"They die,” he said sadly. "It doesn't happen often. The mortal tether is strong, but the older the body becomes, the weaker that link is. The mortal simply dies in their sleep, so terrified of their dreams that they lose themselves in the fright."
I stared at him, horror flooding my thoughts and bile climbing my throat. A hazy half memory of dark, empty eyes, ice-cold hands, and mocking laughter caught me for a moment, sending a tremor of fear through my body. Sometimes my dreams were so dark I was convinced I was going to die. It was scary to realize that the danger had been real after all and worse to think that I had done it to myself, creating the perfect storm of fear all on my own.
Aleksander's eyes were sympathetic and full of compassion as he stretched his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I lay in the circle of his arms, resting my forehead against his chest. I refused to think about the paralyzing cold of my nightmares and forced my thoughts instead to how pleasant he smelled, like musk and amber, or the warmth of his chest against my cheek. I listened to his heart beating and let the rhythm calm me. My anxiety eased, replaced by a sense of wholeness and peace that had not existed the moment before.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I didn’t mean to upset you. I find myself doing that more often than I would like," he said thickly.
Part of me wanted to stay there in his
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