The Dream Charmer

Chapter Thirteen --Are we there yet.

Here's a short update for you. More coming on this scene for sure. Enjoy!

Amaress lumbered behind the wagon, snapping twigs on the forest floor with her heavy steps. The faint scent of manure wafted on the air and made me crinkle my nose. Sage and Vega both perched on the end of wagon's gate, clutching the side rail, swaying with its movement.

"Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can stand the smell." Sage waved a hand in front of her face. "Of all the wagon's you took from the stables you had to pick this one?"

Robin chuckled and scratched his shoulder. "You should be happy the caretaker gave me the one without the compost still in it."

Amaress' rhythmical movement rocked me back and forth, lulling me to close my eyes if only for a moment.

Wren? Kellan called inside my head.

I jerked my head up and blinked a few times. "Hm?"

"Tired?" Kellan asked.

His crestar bleated, sounding more like a sheep than something that might be related to a horse. When it huffed and raised its head, Kellan tightened the reins.

I yawned. "Maybe a little."

"It's been a long day for all of us." Sage swung her legs in opposite directions over the open gate.

The wheel rolled over a rock, and Vega bounced high enough I could see the wagon's peeling green paint beneath her.

"We're all tired." Vega rubbed her temples. "Maybe we should find a spot to rest for the night."

Every muscle in my body screamed for sleep but wasting time actually doing it, meant I might not get back before Jax woke up. Not to even think about our second problem should Otis decided to move my dad from the facility.

"There's no time to waste."Another yawn overtook me, and I covered my mouth. "We have to keep going."

"No, we don't." Kellan reached out and took hold of Amaress' reins in his left hand. "You need to rest. You've been dangerously teetering on top of Amaress for almost a turn now. You're going fall off and break an arm or—"

"Worse," Sage interrupted. "And right now I doubt I could set a pinkie finger given how tired I am."

I didn't care that he was right. We couldn't stop. "I'm fine, really."

Kellan pulled back the reins, and Amaress slowed to a stop. "We all need some sleep. This isn't just about you. We can't storm the fortress as sleepwalking zombies."

I rubbed my eyes. "You're just trying to get me in trouble with Jaxon."

Rygar pulled up along the other side of me on another crestar. "I have no idea what a zombie is, but I might have a solution. How about we take turns getting some sleep?" He kicked the creature's side, and it trotted forward until he was alongside the wagon. Rygar shook the side rail as if testing its strength. "There's enough room for four to sleep."

"Problem solved." Kellan hopped down from his saddle. "We'll take turns getting some shut-eye and still get there as fast as we can. Happy?" Kellan held out his arm to help me down. "We can tie one of the crestars to the wagon."

"What about the prongmera?" Robin glanced back to see the two of us stopped, thirty feet behind them. "Whoa." He pulled the wagon to a stop.

"Amaress? That silly creature follows Wren everywhere. There's no need to tie her up. The girls can rest up first." Kellan swiped a handful of grass from the side of the path and arranged three blades so that they stood at attention in his grip. "Alright, short straws have first watch."

Rygar pulled the middle blade, and Robin took the one on the right. They huddled, presenting their chosen straw to each other.

"Yes!" Robin pumped a fist. "I could handle someone else driving." He climbed up onto the back of the wagon and squeezed between Vega and Sage. "Ladies." He nestled into his spot and placed his hands behind his head. "You're right. It really does smell terrible back here."

"You couldn't just take the one we rode from the Guild?" Sage swatted him. "No," she said drawing out the word. "Instead we all get to smell like we slept with the crestars."

"What if we had to make a quick getaway? That wheel might have flown off the Guild's wagon, and then where would we be." He crossed his legs. "You should be thanking me."

"Well, the Fire Circle guards won't need to use their eyes to know we're coming," Vega said from the opposite side of the wagon.

I rolled over and faced the sideboard. The bickering about farmyard scents faded into darkness, and I drifted into a cloud of sleep. An eerie silence filled my dream world, and the tiny hairs on the back of my arms raised. Mist swirled around my ankles, getting thicker with each passing second. Leaves crunched underfoot and I swiped an arm through the haze to get a peek at where I was. Stumbling a few more feet forward, I found myself in a section of trees I dreamt about a thousand times.

With my ankle screaming in pain, and the lichen wrapped branch firmly under my arm, I hobbled down the path. Brambles and twigs dug crimson tracks through my white flesh as I ran. My lungs burned, and my limbs ached. I'd rather die than go back to the keep.

"Wren!" Jaxon hollered in the near distance.

I panted for breath—no stopping. Otis could find a different pawn for his scheme. I didn't want any part of it or his family. I rubbed the tear drop mark on my chest.

"You know you won't get away that easily." Jaxon thrashed through the brush. "Wren, I know you can hear me."

My heart raced faster, and my feet clumsily navigated the dirt path in the dark. Before I could place my next step, the forest surrounds disappeared like someone had poured ink down a page. With his words, 'Wren, I know you can hear me,' circling in my head, the room where I'd left Jaxon formed in front of me—only this time he wasn't asleep.

More coming next weekend! Stay tuned. :)