Project: Nighthall

12

The phrase "cuddle sandwich" is my new favourite.

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I found myself back at this little tourist trap, waiting for the store to be cleared out. She recognized me the moment I walked into the store, and she kept her eye on me until it was just the two of us.

"What is it you need, dear?"

"I think the crystals are becoming weak. I can feel them when I'm sleeping. Almost like a tickle in my mind," I explained as I came to the counter. The woman tsked and fluttered around the store, picking things up and setting them into pouches.

"How has it been while you're awake?"

"Manageable. But the feeling when I'm asleep is dark. Like I can feel something trying to make a connection."

"Like a Spirit Dream?"

"A what?" I stuttered.

"A dream where travellers can contact you in your sleep. My grandmother was a traveller, she used to visit my dreams," she explained as she came back to the counter.

"Is there a way to prevent only some travellers?" I asked. I knew that it was a cryptic question to an already cryptic conversation.

The woman shrugged. "Subconsciously you know which travellers are friendly and which ones aren't. They shouldn't disrupt that," she said as she totalled up the amount. I handed her my card and sighed, slipping on the new bracelet she had placed in the pouches.

"Thank you. I don't think I've gotten your name," I said when she handed me back my card.

"Marina," she said softly, "And I know you've probably heard this, but be careful."

I smiled at her as I set my crystal pouches into different parts of my bag.

"Rose, and yes I've heard that. Thank you," I said before stepping out of the store, putting my sunglasses on my head as I walked down the street.

"She's nice," Mason mused as he fell in step beside me. I smirked to myself and put one of my earbuds into my ears.

"She is," I said, smirking to myself. I had learned early that if people thought you were talking on the phone, they didn't look at you funny. They just noticed the earpiece and went back to ignore the world around them.

"What's all the fancy crystals for? They don't work against me or Savannah-Mae or Ivan."

"It's used for bad energies. Not good energies. There is a difference. But you're starting to become a pain in my ass, so maybe you are bad energy," I teased, glancing towards him as if I was checking to walk across the street.

"Any updates on your side?"

"Not really. But I'm seeing a lot of faces affiliated with Court, but we already anticipated that," Mason said, tossing his red hair out of his face. I frowned but held the door open for someone exciting the ice cream parlour and then stepped in. There were a few people in line ahead of me and I crossed my arms over my chest as I read the menu.

A little girl was standing in front of me, holding her mother's hand as she looked at me. She was adorable, but I could tell she could see Mason standing next to me.

"Mom, he looks like Chuck!" the girl squealed.

"Who sweetheart?" the mother asked.

"Him!" she exclaimed, pointing at Mason. The mother looked but all she saw with me. She kneeled down and looked slightly embarrassed as she tucked her daughter's hair behind her ear.