Dreamwalkers: The Awakening

CHAPTER 21

"No. Please don't say that. I can't live another minute of my life without you."

"Charlie, if we stay together, if I love you, you'll die a horrible death because of a choice I made before I was old enough to understand what it meant. I can't take it back."

He clings desperately to me, gripping my arms with everything he has. "You have no idea what this place is like, what it does to you. I've lost so much. All I've held on to this entire time were my memories of you. I can barely remember my mother's face or my father's name. But I never let go of you."

Tears run down my cheeks. "If anything happened to you because of me, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I'd have to live another life without you in it and my heart isn't strong enough for that. I'm sorry but I can't be with you while this curse still exists."

He slides his hands down to mine and squeezes them tight. His mouth opens, but he stops himself and stares down at our linked hands. A tear slides down his face, breaking my heart more with each millimeter it travels.

Jones whispers to Zoë, loud enough for Charlie and me to hear. "I never thought she was real. He's been talking about her for as long as I've been here." Zoë throws him an elbow and a shush, but it's too late.

I slip my hands out of Charlie's and wipe the tears from my eyes, trying to regain my composure. Remembering the reason we're here, I ask, "you said there were others. How many people are you hiding with?"

"A few," he answers dejected, with a quiet, broken voice. "Why?"

I reboot myself with a heavy sigh. "Because I came here to do a job. Help lost walkers find their way home."

His tone changes. "When we found each other, who were you looking for? It obviously wasn't me. You didn't even know I was a walker."

I hesitate. "My sister."

"You don't have a sister."

"Turns out I do. She's Jonah's age. Her name is Natalie."

His mind catches up. "Wait. How do you have a sister that's Jonah's age?"

With a disdainful chuckle, I fill him in on everything I've learned the past couple days. "Natalie is being used to lure me to Isabel, the person who created the darkness. She needs the caligo to capture my soul so that she can become human again."

"Technically," Zoë adds as she walks back over to us, "she needs your father's soul. If a witch wants to return to human life, she needs to claim the soul of the one who took her human life."

Charlie stares at us, dumbfounded. "If I wasn't already a part of all this, I'd tell you how crazy you both sound." His expression changes as his mood lifts. "Let me help," he pleads.

"Charlie, no, you don't have to do that. It's barely safe enough for Zoë and me. She can't have to worry about protecting you too."

"I don't need protecting."

"The fact that you think you don't need protection, shows exactly how much you do need it," Zoë scolds. "Isabel isn't going to show you mercy. She knows exactly what you're thinking and feeling. She knows Emma loves you and she knows she can hurt Emma by hurting you. The only reason you're still alive is because she needed you to help bring Emma here."

"I'm not just gonna sit in a cave hoping you'll come back for me. I'm going with you."

Jones chimes in. "You can't just leave. We depend on you to keep us focused. If we lose you, we're never getting out."

"I have to go so we can get out. We'll go back to the camp. I'll explain everything then we'll leave."

I want to be with Charlie more than anything in the world, but I also want to keep him safe. Detaching myself from him is the best way to do that. "Charlie, I don't know about this. It's too dangerous."