I scrambled to my feet and began to run in the opposite direction the wind came. The sudden male voice made my heart pound faster. I could feel the icy creep of panic flooding my veins; the dry grass kept cutting the bottom of my feet. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew I had to get away.
If a Dreamweaver was invading my dream, I had to keep moving.
Some Dreamweavers aren't dangerous, some are curious, some are children who accidentally cross, and others mean to do serious harm.
My friend Ameria was murdered in her sleep by a Dreamweaver. It took months to figure out what happened to her; they wanted to rule her death as a suicide, but my friend Billy and I knew better.
I prayed to Lady Moon that it wasn't a Dreamweaver, and it was my mind running away with the stories we heard about Amearia. I prayed for the moon to be full, and within moments, the crescent in the sky grew pregnant, and even then, the shadows felt thick as they followed me. I kept running, afraid to look behind me.
Malice was back in the air, along with a heavier weight that had me running out of breath, and had my legs screaming in protest. I kept going until the strain on my legs spread everywhere, even to my arms. I kept praying; this was supposed to be a dream, I shouldn't feel this exhausted.
I should be safe in my own head. A crunch to the left almost had me screaming until I saw Alexia's sand color fur running towards me. Everywhere her paws hit, the grass turned healthy, bright green; it looked striking against the dying brown land that was surrounding me. It took me a moment to understand that the ground looked like it had been burned. Completely.
The trees held the remains of blackness from flames licking up the side of them, and the grass crunched entirely too loudly to simply be asleep. Something burned my inner forest.
Get on. Alexia demanded.
I didn't argue with her, I quickly jumped on her back, lowering my body to where I was almost lying down on her with my arms wrapped around her neck, and my legs were held tightly against her body.
"What's going on?!"
I could only get my voice up to a whisper due to the pressure in the air, but I knew she could hear me. The shadows around us seemed to grow thicker and reach for the two of us. I glanced back and could swear I saw arms and hands reaching for my legs. I threw my face against her fur, afraid to look at them anymore. Almost believing I was giving them shape.
You have an intruder,
Someone who isn't happy that I'm here.
This is going to be tricky, to run away from someone in your own mind.
But you must help me, understand?
I nodded my head and held on closer to her. Trying to remember everything that I heard in class after the murder.
We were told how to create walls, mental barriers to keep outsiders, well, out.
"It won't be that easy, dear."
The deep male voice seemed to echo from every part of the forest; it felt like he was surrounding us. I felt my heart skip a beat and knew that this time it was going to be me who died. I felt a pull on my back-left leg, and almost screamed.
Alexia turned around with a deep growl that vibrated all down her body. I heard her snap, but I was afraid to look up and see what she snapped at. She started running again, and I felt myself let out a breath. There was a slight sting on my leg. I lifted my head to look and saw Alexia's fur darken from what seemed to be my own blood.
Don't think that he's everywhere, or think that he's going to kill you, if you do that.
Then we are damned.
You are giving him power.
Remember what you were told.
You must practice it NOW!
Even as she was yelling in my mind, I could still hear her fear. It echoed mine.
I kept my eyes closed and brought my face closer to her fur.
Thinking of my sanctuary, a safe area that could keep anything out.
The first thing that came to mind was Amearia's Sacred Circle. The smell of honey flowers came from nowhere, and made the image come to my mind so much easier.
She had an array of honey flowers, of dewdrops, of moonlight bells, different colored wildflowers, that she always used as her sacred circle.
I kept thinking of her, of how she always had her rituals.
Even when the flowers were asleep for autumn or winter, the power was still there. She had an Ash tree next to her circle, and she always swore there was a Goddess that would come and visit when she worked.
On the right side of the circle lay a pond, which she would tell everybody was filled with holy water. That the Goddess and Lady Moon would help keep it sacred.
She also told me that the pond helped keep her sacred circle alive, and the flowers that lay around it.
Good. What else were you taught?
I could feel the icy wind trying to distract me, to push the protection magic away. Amearia had a wolf hybrid as a pet. He was her familiar and would always guard the outside of the circle. He was able to go in and out of it as he pleased. I pictured him; he came up to my thigh. Compared to Alexia, he was almost half her height. Where she was a hundred and fifty pounds, I could easily put him at eighty-five pounds. His build took on more of a wolf than his other bloodline; his eyes were a beautiful blue, his fur was a shaggy grey that always smelled of home.
Whenever he was around, I knew he would protect us until the end.