Dead King's Sword (Old Draft)

9. Dreams and Departures

Erin

***

In my dream, I explored a room. The walls were made of crumbling stone bricks. Soldiers dressed in pale golden uniforms sat at wooden tables, chugging beer and laughing. They crowded around a man with a scar on his right cheek. Light from a nearby lamp washed over his dark brown skin. His black hair stood straight and erect, making him look like the aftermath of an electric shock. Red-faced from his drink, he lifted his rifle, aimed at the paper target stuck to the wall on the other side of the room and fired. Multiple holes appeared in the dummy's chest.

The man with the scar raised a fist. "Until Virah lifts the curse she has placed on our offspring, we'll continue to arrest, torture, and sell her descendants. The day will come when Virah's children turn against her, and she'll have no choice but to give in."

The crowd cheered.

Who was Virah?

I moved away from the cluster. There was more to explore if I wanted to discover what this dream was trying to show me. One of the tables held a map of a place called 'Brenu'. There was a volcano in the north, and to the south, what looked like military camps with missile launchers and antimagic wards. The men's gruff laughter shook the air. Near the back of the room, two lean, young men wearing nothing but yellow skirts and gas masks mixed a pot of steaming liquid.

I recognized the strong scent of Mal-g-tox, a toxin produced by a Malgater, a species of North American Alligators that, after being influenced by its magical surroundings and natural selection, developed little purple sacs along its sides that could kill someone with a weak core, or knock out someone who was slightly stronger than average.

However, someone with my core size would only suffer from paralysis for a few minutes before shaking it off.

None of the men seemed to notice me as I walked to a red door with the sign 'Level three soldiers only'. I twisted the knob and went inside. The stone steps leading downstairs had eroded after being treaded on often. At the bottom, I found a handful of guards playing dice. They had their leaned metal spears against the wall while they reposed.

The hallway was filled with cells. Figures shifted behind black metal rods planted in the hardened earth. I stopped. Call it instinct, but I was suddenly inspired to look left, and there she was. Zeren leaned against the wall, wearing only underwear and a dirty brown cloak. A metal collar was on her neck. Her hair was brown as if she hadn't washed it in a couple of weeks. She stared at the floor listlessly.

"Hey." I kicked one of the bars to get her attention.

She didn't seem to hear me. She lay there, her cloak open, breasts and toned abs displayed for everyone to see. Mild annoyance made my stomach clench. Her fingers grasped her knees as she sighed. I had never realized how pretty she was. Her dark skin seemed to soak in the amber light coming from the lamps. Long eyelashes complimented her dark grey eyes. Her legs, long, slender, and sculpted, splayed across the sand. I remember how smooth her skin had felt the last time I touched it. Her jawline was more defined. All this, coupled with her broken countenance, stirred my desire. My fangs pressed my bottom lip as my hunger woke.

Zeren lifted her head and frowned as she stared in my direction. But like the others, she also couldn't see me. She whispered, "Why do you always slip into my head when all I want to do is forget you? All you ever do is betray me."

I grabbed two of the bars. "Zeren?"

She still couldn't see me. Covering the ground beneath her was an antimagic rune, but the broken and faded lines meant that it had long stopped working. I wanted to break the bars that imprisoned her, but this was one of the rare dreams where I couldn't use my magic, so I sat in front of her cell until it was time to wake up.