Iridescence

CHAPTER SEVEN

FAITH

My room was currently supposed to be empty. I'd had three roommates, but in the last two weeks, one had been relocated to another group home, one had been reunited with her dad after he got out of rehab, and the last had run away. Again.

She'd be back. Liana ran away every couple of months, but they always found her and brought her home. Her mom couldn't be bothered to take care of her and her dad had been in jail since she was six. She'd lived at the group home ever since and had been there longer than anyone else. She liked following rules even less than I did, and that was part of why she kept running. They always kept her bed ready because they knew she'd be back.

I was pretty surprised to see someone in my supposedly empty room. She had tan skin and eyes that reminded me of an onyx. Her smile was pretty dazzling and her dark brown hair was perfectly braided and hanging over her right shoulder. I won't deny she was pretty stunning... But she was no Artemis.

"Oh, hi," she said with a shy smile. "You must be Faith. I'm Genie. Eugenia, really, but no one has called me that in ages."

"I take it you're my new roommate?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you." She offered me an extremely cheerful smile.

"First time in the system?" I guessed.

"Yes... Is it that obvious?"

"A little. You don't have to try so hard. I promise I won't set you on fire... Without reason." I winked at her.

She tensed for a moment before relaxing at my wink. "I guess I'll have to stay on your good side," she said. "So, have you been here long?"

"On and off for several years now. My mom is sick. When she needs to be hospitalized, this is home."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! It must be difficult."

"What are you in for?"

"My grandmother passed away recently. She raised me. I don't have anyone else."

"Share if you want. Or don't. I won't push."

"My parents were killed when I was a baby. I don't remember them... My grandmother raised me. We were very close." She looked about as sad as I'd expect, but she soon smiled again. "So now you know my life story," she added awkwardly.

"Yep. We're practically great friends already," I replied. "Don't worry, Genie. This place is one of the better ones. You'll get used to it."

"Thanks, Faith," she replied.

"I need to take a shower," I said as I remembered I was covered in dirt from the woods. "Dinner's in about a half an hour. I'll show you the ropes when I get back."

I hurried to clean myself off. I replayed the afternoon in my mind, wondering if Artemis knew just how crazy she'd driven me. I had never been accused of being shy and I always went for whatever or whoever I wanted, but she refused to return or even acknowledge most of my flirtations.

I need to up my game, I decided. I'd had a ton of crushes on girls before, but Artemis was a literal Goddess and I couldn't seem to get her out of my mind.

After I showered, I headed back to my room. Genie was sitting on her bed with Baby Doll, who had probably been hiding under my bed when I got in. She had a habit of doing that when she was scared. Baby Doll was seven now, and she'd been in the group home since she was two. Her real name was Bella Parker, but even the staff called her Baby Doll. All of the older kids took care of her like she was our kid sister. She was a little ball of light most of the time and we all loved her.

"I found a very cute little spy under your bed," Genie explained with an indulgent smile as she stroked Baby Doll's long blonde hair.

"You'll get used to that, too," I replied with a laugh. "You okay, Baby Doll?" I asked.

She nodded before looking at me with sad baby blue eyes and opening her arms for a hug. I scooped her up in my arms and held her.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I fell asleep and had a bad dream," she replied.

"Well you're safe now, okay? I've got your back."

She snuggled against me. I kissed the top of her head before releasing her. "Come on, Kiddo. It's dinner time," I said. "Genie, follow us."

Things were fairly uneventful after that. I introduced Genie to the other residents. There were currently twelve of us, although we'd probably be back up to sixteen soon. Beds never stayed empty for long in group homes.

By the time we went to bed, I was pretty relaxed. I fell asleep easily.

I started to dream about Artemis. She was smiling at me as I flirted shamelessly. Then, very suddenly, Artemis was gone and I found myself surrounded by darkness. I manifested a ball of fire in my hands to light my way and started to move through the shadows.

I soon realized I had stumbled into an abyss of some sort. I could see the sky above me, but I was in a dark pit. I spotted a grave marker. It had a word I didn't recognize on it, but the letters looked Greek.

As people came toward me, I hid in the shadows. They wore hooded black cloaks and Greek Comedy and Tragedy masks. Something told me I was in terrible danger. I was ready to fight when I bumped into someone, but I quickly realized it was Eliza. She looked terrified and confused.

"I think they're some sort of cult," she whispered. "They were talking about something rising... My Greek isn't very strong."

"What is this place?" I asked.

"I don't know. I fell asleep and ended up here," she replied.

"Same," a new voice whispered.

"Krissy? What's going on? Why are we all here?" Jenna asked as she came toward us.

"Shut up before they hear you," Emily whispered sharply as she came into view. "Which one of us is actually having this dream?"

"I think I was the first one here," Eliza replied.

"Why are we sharing dreams?" Krissy asked. "I mean, it's cool, but kind of weird."

"Because Eliza was scared," Vanessa replied. "I sensed she was in danger, so I walked into her dream, and then I brought the rest of you here."

"Wait, you can do that?" Jenna asked.

"I've been dream walking for years. When I'm scared I can even bring people into my dreams. It's usually my mom."

Suddenly, I felt a really dark presence. It was angry and it was close. "Girls, I think we'd better get out of here," I said.

Vanessa nodded. "Follow me," she said before heading deeper into the shadows. Considering she was the one with control over Dreams, none of us hesitated to follow her. We had almost made it out of the abyss when something jumped up and grabbed onto Krissy's leg.

"Krissy!" Eliza cried in alarm. She grabbed her to keep the creature from dragging Krissy away.

"What the hell is that?" Krissy asked as she tried to free herself from its grasp. The creature was both bird-like and almost human. Its body was mostly human, but it had talons for fingers and wings coming out of its back. Its facial features were similar to a human's except for its sharp beak-like nose. It narrowed its beady eyes at us before trying to drag Krissy back into the abyss. Jenna joined Eliza in trying to keep her where she was.

"It's a dremlin," Vanessa replied softly.

"A gremlin?" Jenna repeated.

"No, a dremlin. They're dark creatures that stalk the dream realm looking for prey."

"Sorry, buddy. I'm not a snack," Krissy replied. She kicked its head with her free leg.

It yelped in protest before growling and biting her leg. Krissy cursed and continued to struggle.

"Let her go," Eliza said firmly.

"Liz, don't," Krissy warned her.

"This is my dream. I got us into this mess. Let her go and take me instead."

"Liz, are you nuts?" Krissy cried in shock.

The dremlin studied Eliza for a moment before releasing Krissy. It latched onto Eliza. I was impressed by how calm she remained as the creature caressed her face with one of its talons.

"Oracle..." It said in a deep, creepy voice.

Eliza stared at the dremlin in confusion. "I'm not an oracle," she replied.

It scratched her cheek, drawing blood. Eliza let out a cry of pain.

"Back off!" I said firmly, trying to get between them.

The dremlin grabbed her by both arms and dragged her into the air. Eliza screamed in terror as they went impossibly high.

"Liz!" Krissy shouted in horror.

"We have to do something!" Jenna declared.

"Vanessa, how do you defeat a dremlin?" I asked.

"I don't know. I try to avoid them," Vanessa admitted. "But this is a dream, right? We can do anything if we focus." She closed her eyes. Her athame appeared in her hands. "See? The only limit is your imagination. Just picture what you need and manifest it."

Emily took a deep breath and also closed her eyes. Her dagger appeared. "It works against astral beings like spirits or raised dead warriors... It might work on dremlins, too," she said.

I nodded. I manifested fire in my hands and said, "I'm good." The sword was great, but I was feeling the need to fling fire at the creature's head.

Jenna manifested her javelin. She held it confidently and looked at the rest of us with determination in her eyes.

Krissy manifested her trident. Waves of water flowed around her almost like a shield. "Let's go," she said.

"Krissy, you're really hurt," Jenna protested. "Maybe Vanessa should send you somewhere safer."

"No way! My best friend just got abducted by a seriously angry bird because she switched places with me. She saved me and I'm not going anywhere except to her rescue."

"Let her come, Jenna," Vanessa said. "We'll keep her safe if she needs us to."

"Yeah, we've got your back, Kris," I agreed.

As Eliza screamed again, there was no more time to argue. We ran toward the sound, climbing up the steep path that led to where she'd been taken by the dremlin. I tried to mentally prepare for whatever came next.

I was not prepared.

The dremlin had flown Eliza to a nest. There were giant eggs and we watched in horror for a moment as they started to crack.

Jenna threw her javelin at the dremlin. It pierces the creature's chest before falling aimlessly to the ground and returning to her. The dremlin looked mildly annoyed before it returned its attention to Eliza.

"Okay... So now we know that sharp, pointy sticks don't do much to it," Krissy mumbled.

I was definitely glad I'd chosen magic over my sword. I flung the ball of fire at the dremlin. It singed its body but didn't kill it. Emily ran toward it and slit its throat. It turned to dust almost immediately.

"Nice!" I cried.

"There will be more," Vanessa warned us. "She was nesting... That means she probably isn't alone. Dremlins sometimes hunt in packs."

Several more dremlins began to come out of the shadows. I was pretty sure we were screwed. As the eggs continued to crack ominously, Krissy knelt beside Eliza.

"Liz... Come on, Liz, we have to go," she said.

Eliza groaned in pain as she tried to stand. She fell back down. Her wounds were pretty serious and I began to wonder if you could die in the waking world from injuries sustained while dreaming.

"Yes," a voice said. "You can. Luckily, I am here to prevent that."

"Morpheus!" Vanessa cried in relief. She flung her arms around him. "I am so in over my head."

"Your heart was in the right place, Vanessa, but you need more training before you attempt something of this magnitude on your own," Morpheus replied. "Next time you run into trouble in my realm, call for me."

"I panicked," she admitted.

"I know." As the dremlins surrounded us, Morpheus turned his attention toward them. He thrust his hands out and I could feel the powerful burst of magic he released. The dremlins and their eggs vanished. Only a few shards of the shells remained.

"Did you just kill them?" Krissy asked in shock.

"I removed the threat," Morpheus replied. "Come. You need to be healed before you awaken."

"Liz is hurt worse. Help her first."

He looked at Eliza and nodded. "Very well," he replied. He gently took her into his arms and began trying to heal her. Eliza tensed nervously. "You have nothing to fear, Eliza," Morpheus said soothingly. "You are safe in my care."

Eliza allowed him to heal her. "Eliza, you must not fight your dreams," he said suddenly. "The dremlin attacked you because you do not remember whatever your subconscious is trying to tell you. You must allow the truth to reveal itself."

"I don't understand. What truth?" Eliza asked.

"That is not for me to say. It will come to you in time, so long as you allow it to." Without another word, Morpheus moved on to healing Krissy.

"Alright, children. It is time for you to return to the waking world," he said when he was finished.

We couldn't protest. As soon as Morpheus said it, I woke up, and I assumed the others did as well. I didn't go back to sleep. For once, all I wanted was to go to school so I could see the others and find out if the dream had truly been real.