The Dreamers

Chapter 4

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“Why do they hate me so much?” I asked at dinner. It was weird having people to talk to at the same time as dinner. I was used to eating by myself so I felt self conscious.

“Who?” mumbled Clara, her mouth full.

“Humans are rarely called, that’s all,” answered Mark.

“Why?” I asked.

“No one really knows why except the Rulers. All we know is that there’s something special about you guys.”

“Special, sure,” I said sarcastically. That was hard to believe in my case. Hey, maybe I had some super untapped power inside me like all those movies! I thought about it for a millisecond. Nope.

“So what happened to the last human who was called?” I asked savouring the rice we had for dinner. I have to get some tips of Janae about her cooking. Delicious didn’t even begin to cover it. In fact, I was so preoccupied with the food in front of me that I didn’t realise how silent the table had become.

I chewed slowly and gulped, before carefully putting down my fork. “What? What happened?”

Mark looked like he was about to say something but Janae bet him to it. “Oh, it’s just that the last time it happened was so long ago, no one really remembers. But it’s nothing to be too worried about, honey. Now eat up everyone – I don’t want any left overs!”

I shook my head slightly and smiled – the idea of wasting Janae’s food was preposterous! But what she said had just made me more worried. Everyone had gone so quiet, it wasn’t normal. Even Clara looked a little pale as she tried to change the topic. I made a mental note to find out about it later. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

After we all helped Janae clear up, I asked Mark for a word and he suggested a walk. I agreed, though I brought a torch with me, I did not like the dark.

“What really happened?” I asked slowly, “to the last human who was called?”

He sighed. “Janae was right, it was so long ago.”

I waited for him to continue but he was quiet for a while. “Go on…” I probed.

“You know, we don’t change until we come of age,” he said to the sky. “Which is around 16 years. Until then we’re completely human. Luke’s already changed and we’re expecting Clara’s in a couple of months.”

It wasn’t exactly what I had asked, but the man was talking. Who was I to stop him?

“The pain of the change is excruciating. You feel like you’re dying. Like you’re soul is being ripped apart. You have a choice when you first change, to join the Light Courts or the Dark Courts. But most choose what their family is already. It’s easier that way.”

I most certainly did not want to feel like I was dying. Yeah, I think I like being human.

“The first thing you learn is how to put up a glamour. So you can still go out in public. It’s not easy at first, but eventually it becomes as easy as breathing.

“You go to a different school on top of the human one. They teach you to cast spells , to Dream and…the tricks of trade I guess,” he laughed.

“Huh.” Whether you’re human or not, there’s no escaping school. Damn.

“But that’s the ones who are born into this world. There are also the ones that come by choice. I don’t even know how they find us, but they do.”