The Witch's Relay

Chapter 27: The Dreamwalker

"Good-morning Kade. You're up early."

"Hm? Oh you're up already? I thought you said you'd sleep in?" I turn around to see Heather walking in through the dividing door. The window I'm standing at is just beginning to let in the sun's first rays.

"Yea, well I planned to, but I woke up to the sound of some dancing elephant."

"You mean my pacing?" I look at her with a dead face.

"Yup. You really should be considerate of others' sleep schedules. Just think, someone is sleeping in the rooms below us as well."

"I'm plenty quiet, your ears are just weirdly sharp, do you happen to have used magic on them at some point to improve them?"

"Nope, they've always just been this good. Anyway, what's bothering you?"

"Just some weird dreams." I wave it off.

"Weird dreams? Like how?" She tilts her head.

"I don't know.. Nightmares that felt too real to be dreams, but still obviously not real at the same time. Despite knowing that they were dreams I could not escape." I look down. "This might sound strange, but when I woke up I felt an enormous exhaustion unlike anything I've felt before. So I've stayed up since then. Somehow staying up is less exhausting than resting."

Heather furrows her brows and crosses her arms together looking altogether thoughtful. "That does sound strange. Might I ask what this dream was about?"

"Well.. First I was underwater, and then I found myself falling from the sky before ending up in a tower. Once in the tower a fog rolled in and I saw you, and a voice told me not to.. uhm.. not to trust you. Then I thought I woke up since I was back in this room, and then I saw my sister and she told me to run away with her, and then you came up behind me and killed me. And then I woke up for real."

"That.. Yup. That sounds weird." She giggles a little. "Have you been thinking about whether or not to trust me lately? Have I really been that mysterious?"

"No. None of that. This dream came from out of the blue." I answer, ignoring her wannabe guilt-trap.

"What is your concern then?" She asks me.

"It doesn't make sense, but if I fall back to sleep, I have an uncanny feeling that I won't wake up."

"The exhaustion?" She tilts her head.

"Yes."

"Sounds like a combination of mind-manipulation magic and mana drain honestly." She hums quietly for a moment, deep in thought.

"Heh?"

"How much detail was there in each world you were in, and how old was your sister?" Heather takes a few steps closer to me and leans forward.

"I.. I don't think there was that much going on in each location?.. The first place, in the ocean, there was only stagnant water as far as the eye could see, and in the tower, looking out the windows there was only gray sky and fog covering the ground. In this room I don't think I really paid attention to much else other than my sister who was wearing a dark cloak.. She was probably around the same age as I last saw her, I don't really know. Probably like she looks now, it technically hasn't been all that long of a time."

"So everything would have been simple enough for someone to imagine and keep on their mind?"

"I.. I suppose? What are you thinking?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm overthinking this, but it sounds like what I just said it sounds like. A type of magic, more specifically, a dream-drain spell."

"A what now?" I stare at her confused. "Are you saying that someone was casting a spell on me all night!? Who else could have done that other than you!?"

"Whoa now. I can't cast that spell." She takes a step back. "It is a high level spell only available to the dreamwalker class of mages, a mage type that is unique to the elves. And I'm not saying for certain that that happened. I can only be sure if I'm able to detect it while that person is casting it on you."

"So.. It's a remote spell?" This is getting way too much.

"Yes." She gets that glint in her eyes that she gets when she explains things she knows about. "Dreamwalkers are able to enter, and manipulate people's dreams, since it technically requires a lot of mana depending on the distance, they sometimes steal that mana from the person who's dream they are manipulating. That would explain the exhaustion you felt, as well the worlds you were in. Dreamwalkers are only able to manipulate your dreams with things they themselves are able to visualize, so keeping things simple is ideal. Concerning enough however, the dreamwalker would have had to have seen both your sister and me, as well as known that I myself am a mage. I asked about Grace's age to gauge when this person might have seen her last."

"Is.. there a way to confirm this?" I scratch the back of my neck, feeling awfully uncomfortable somehow. Weird. Why am I feeling feelings? Weak feelings, but something nonetheless.

"We can. But the presumed dreamwalker will have to attack again first, so you'll have to be asleep, and I'll have to be next to you while casting mana-path detection, and then I'll see if something related to magic is going on."

"Great.. Will you be able to pull me out of it?" I look at her intently.

"Nope. Unless slapping really hard works, I can not do anything about it."

"Great.."

"Let's try it right now!" She suddenly does a little jump.

"Now!?"

"Yes! You need sleep and I'm awake. If you end up sleeping well, you will find yourself refreshed and eventually ready for the day, and if your dreams get hijacked, we will find out about it."

"Ok.. Fine. Just don't let me die from mana exhaustion if worse comes to worse."

"I'll do my best!" She grins and giggles.

I really hope she means that..