Holly & The Mystery Of Dragon's Blood

Not A Dream

This was a mistake, Holly thought, taking her first steps through the trees. The one thing Nana told her never to do, and here she was doing it. It was dark, and she'd never been in the forest before. But there had been a response to her calling for Osrune, and she needed to know what was going on.

"Over here," she'd heard, in a chorus of whispers, but she still couldn't see the source of them.

Holly realized that she'd left her candle on the tree stump. She would have better luck finding her way around this forest with some light, even if it was only a little. She wasn't very far in, but already the thick canopy of the trees was obscuring the moonlight. She turned to head back and retrieve her candle, and was shocked to see she wasn't in the forest anymore.

Holly was in a field, stretching ahead of her as far as she could see. It was a wheat field.

"Just like my dream!" she exclaimed, feeling both anxious and curious. In her dream, she'd only ever remembered being in this field, never actually getting there. Although how she had got there was a mystery to her. Mere moments ago, she'd been in the forest, and had turned around to find herself here. How could this be? It must be something to do with the necklace, she thought. Perhaps the glowing was some sort of magic? But magic was only something that existed in her storybooks, she thought. She looked around, trying to get her bearings. All around, she could see nothing but wheat, extending seemingly endlessly into the darkness. She decided she would just start walking, she'd find something eventually.

As she walked through the field, the wheat brushing against her legs, Holly became aware of how silent it was. She could see the wheat gently swaying in the breeze, but it made no sound. Nor were there the usual sounds she would hear at night, crickets, owls, sometimes foxes chasing squirrels. But here it was eerily quiet.

The silence was broken by what sounded like a voice. Holly couldn't make out any words, it was too quiet, but it definitely seemed like talking. She moved towards the sound, treading lightly so she could still hear and try to make out what was being said. It was coming from a well, a welcome change in scenery, she thought. She paused, remembering that there had been a well in her dream, and in it, a reflection not entirely her own. But that was just a dream, she thought. Perhaps this was a dream too? It didn't feel like it now, but then, it never did when she was dreaming either.

Holly approached the well. She'd decided on doing a test. If the refection was her, an eight-year-old girl, she'd know this was real. If it was the older looking version of her, she'd know this was a dream. She leaned over the edge of the stone rim, pushing the bucket to one side to get a good look at the water. The face looking back was not her own. It was just like the dream. Different shape, longer hair, definitely older, a young woman. Still wearing Nana's necklace, the soft glow of the strange letters illuminating the surface of the water.

Then she saw it. In the reflection behind her, the large black hand with long claws glinting in the moonlight. She turned around, startled, but there was nothing there. A splashing sound surprised her, and she turned back to the well to see that the hand she'd seen had emerged from the water. It grabbed her on the shoulder, it felt like ice. The grip was so tight, and she could feel the sharp claws digging in. She'd never remembered feeling pain in her dream, but this was enough to make her cry out.

"Let go!" she shouted as she tried to wriggle free.

In response, in a low growling whisper, she heard, "Give us the amulet of Tulek!"

Holly jerked her shoulder backward, wrenching herself free from the clutches of whatever had grabbed her and began to run. She didn't know where she was running to, she just needed to escape. Perhaps if she ran far enough, she'd somehow appear back in the forest, she hoped. She glanced behind her as she ran, and from the well, a large black mass had appeared, blending into the darkness. This creature, for she was sure it was not a human, whatever it was, was chasing her.