SleepWalker

Chapter 6

She was halfway through breakfast when the doorbell rang.
"Darcy," her dad said without looking up from his paper. "Could you get the door?"
She got up and went to the front door. As soon as she opened it, Morpheus stepped inside with a slight nod.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked, inspecting the various photos on the wall.
"Um, no!" Darcy replied. "I'm still in my jammies!"
Morpheus looked at her quizzically. "And what's wrong with them?" He asked.
Darcy bit back a scathing comment.
"Wait here," she hissed.
She ran up to her room and pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a loose t-shirt. She raced down the stairs pulling on a pair of sneakers.
"Okay," she said breathlessly. "Let's go. Let me just tell my parents..."
"Already taken care of," Morpheus beamed. "I've convinced them that you are on a school trip. They won't even remember you till you come back."
"Wow you can do that?" She asked in amazement. "That could come in handy."

Morpheus led her down to the docks.
"Are we going to New Orleans in a boat?" She asked.
"Of course," he replied. "Voilà!"
They were standing in front of a tiny dinghy. It's paint was peeling and there was dirty water in it.
"Are you sure that thing can take us?" She asked sceptically. "It looks like it was brand new when the dinosaurs were around."
"I meant that one," Morpheus pointed out to sea. A magnificent ghost ship materialised out of thin air. It looked like an old man-of-war, with its sides lined with cannons. It's sails were ripped in places. It seemed translucent but Morpheus effortlessly pulled himself and Darcy aboard.
"This one," Darcy said breathlessly. "Wow!"
Morpheus grinned. "I do prefer to travel in style, if I can help it."
Darcy leaned slightly towards him as the ship rocked to and fro. She looked up into his ancient eyes. They seemed to hold a deep sadness, as if those eyes had seen the world change time and again, and not all of it had been happy.
She realised they were standing uncomfortably close and nearly jumped away. Morpheus looked out to the horizon.
"I'll get the ship ready," he said. He turned and marched off to the bridge without another word.

A few minutes later, the ship was sailing at a fairly high speed. Darcy enjoyed the whip of the sea breeze. She had always had a fascination with the sea.
"Darcy," Morpheus called. "Enjoying yourself, are you?"
"It's fine," she lied. "Not bad. I suppose it'll do."
"You're a terrible liar," he grinned.
"Whatever," she stuck her tongue out. "Couldn't you have done your whole, finger-snap teleportation thingy?"
"That thingy," he said with a sigh. "Is a complex process that needs a lot of power. Sure, I can transport myself quite easily, but it's quite difficult with a passenger. You could end up losing a limb or two."
"Okay," she said. "So, bad idea."
"Very bad," he said. "Now if you're quite done, we're almost there."
"What?" Darcy wasn't exactly a geography expert, but she knew that it would take much more than twenty minutes to reach New Orleans. But when she looked at the city line, she realised Morpheus was right. Somehow, the ship had moved at an impossible speed. After all the craziness she had already seen, that shouldn't have been much of a surprise, but it was.

They got off the ship and made their way to a waiting town car. A woman was standing by the door. She had olive skin, a beautiful face and curly brown hair that fell over her face in ringlets. Her eyes were a startling green. As they approached, she smiled in greeting.
"Morpheus," she said. "He's waiting." She opened the door for them and went to the driver's seat.
"Interesting," Morpheus said as she started the car. They were seated comfortably on plush leather seats.
"What is?" Darcy asked curiously.
"He sent Ruth," He replied. "He never does that."
"Let's just say," said the woman, Ruth. "He's intrigued. If you're lucky, he'll stay that way."

They drove up to a massive three story mansion. People seemed to hurry by the iron gates, not even noticing the massive structure.
"Why doesn't anyone notice it?" Darcy asked Ruth.
"Because the master of the house doesn't want them to. Besides, even if they saw anything, they wouldn't care. This is New Orleans, it's the supernatural capital of the country."
"Is that why he stays here?"
"This isn't his only house, hon." She replied. "But yes, he likes this place. The spookiness appeals to him."