The Child Dreamer: A Dead Dreamer Prequel

The Final Chapter: Lies and Goodbyes

I shouldn't be writing in this. If they find me, I would surely be punished for it.

But I want my truth written along with my husband's. You can make up your own mind from there. Or they will tear this page out and no one will hear my words. It is not my place to say what Fate will dictate.

My husband, George, has died. His guardian, Lorcan, told me that his death was noble and quick; That he passed away while away on one of their journeys away from home. He told me to take solace in the fact that he died doing God's work and I should be proud.

I'm certain Lorcan truly believed in his words. But they tasted like acid. An acid that finally released me from my chains.

The voices were beginning to destroy George from the inside. Even in this journal, it was clear the voices had tainted his memory. There were words he couldn't seem to write or recall. He had to write them in the same characters he used to seal the doors.

George always spoke in anger and hatred of the voices that haunted him every day of his life. With each sealed door they became louder, more difficult for him to suppress. During a moment of weakness, he admitted to me his only peace was behind the Veil, where none could find him among the Shades, not even Lorcan.

His second death...Though Lorcan refused to tell me the full truth, I wondered if George finally crossed the Veil permanently. If he willingly detached his soul from his body to give him to solace he constantly craved.

When I first met my husband, it was when my family was inducted into the Gatekeepers. The church blessed us with knowledge that few were privy too. They were only allowed within because of me. You see, I am sensitive to the other side. I can feel when a spirit or something else is nearby. They knew they could use me; Use me to find the doors to the other side.

My parents were so proud. But I was afraid.

They kept the secret for seventeen years; Afraid they would anger whatever demon possessing me. Only when they finally requested an exorcism from the church did they learn the truth. The clergyman put me through tests, to see if I truly had a demon within. When he discovered what I really was, he told my parents of the secret order beneath the church.

That was the first day my parents weren't afraid of me anymore. It was the first time they were proud of what their daughter could do. They gladly joined and allowed the church to use me as they saw fit. They beamed with pride, while I shrunk in fear.

My fear grew when they my parents began discussing my prospects. Those in the church were few, but most were cruel. I did not see the other side as they did. Their greedy eyes only made me cower as I tried to hide in the shadows. But many men wanted me for my ability, to pass it down to their children.

But one day the fear disappeared when they brought my future husband to me. Only recently did I learn of the falsehood behind that smile. Discovering the truth should have left darkness and hate in my heart. Something that should have destroyed me. But it didn't.

I discovered that my life was a lie soon before his left for his last trip.

My husband did not love me.

He did not love our children.

He was merely a tool. A tool to keep me under control. A tool to further the Gatekeeper's cause.

The clergyman was the one who orchestrated the whole thing. One that normally would have been forbidden for someone like George. He suggested that George seduce me. Show me love. Give me comfort. Marry me. And solidify that marriage with children. Children that would be tied to the Gatekeepers, forever.