Dream Killer: Book One in the Nadia Chronicles
Chapter 20: Training for What

While Nadia and Dimitri ate lunch, they were visited by three Prestarians; Astrid, her son Kieran, and Waylon a tribal elder. Waylon was in his late seventies and one of the oldest people Dimitri had ever known. Waylon had earned Dimitri’s respect through his age. But not through his stiff views of the world and his stubborn ability to end a conversation with a simple nod. Many of the Prestarians hung on Waylon’s every word. There were a few that believe Waylon was too old and too set in his ways to give credible advice to his people. Dimitri wanted Waylon to meet Nadia in the presence of Astrid and no others so they could all talk. Dimitri knew if he wanted Nadia to get the respect she deserved she would have to win over Waylon before any other in the tribe.

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“Hello,” Nadia said standing gingerly to greet her guests, placing all her weight on her right foot. Dimitri also stood, gave a small bow to Waylon and ruffled Kieran’s hair before he moved to Nadia so she could use him as a crutch. Kieran smiled as he looked between Nadia and Dimitri reaching for his mother’s hand. Astrid looked down at Kieran with small surprise that spread into a soft grin. “You must be Astrid,” Nadia said as she used Dimitri to walk over to her and shake her hand. “I am so glad to meet you under much better circumstances.”

“And I you,” Astrid said in a motherly voice. “But please do not tax yourself just to be formal. Waylon, Kieran and I know you have been through much and are still healing so please sit. I will make you a healing compress for your ankle to aid Dimitri. I am sorry for your pain, my dear. I made him promise to not heal it all at once so it would heal stronger.”

“Oh,” Nadia said looking at Dimitri. “It does not hurt too much.” Kieran laughed at this and Dimitri smiled down at him as if they shared an inside joke. “What?” Nadia asked Dimitri, confused. “What is so funny?”

“Well,” Dimitri said helping Nadia back to her bed once more. “Kieran is gifted, very gifted. He can see when someone is tainted with negativity, even evil in their soul. He can see auras and has been able to read them since he was very young. He can typically tell what someone is feeling. Most impressive is that he can see when someone is lying. He knows, like I do, that you are a bad liar.”

“Oh,” Nadia said slightly embarrassed. “Good to know.” She looked down at Kieran. “I guess my ankle does hurt a bit, but I can handle the pain. It is not so bad. I mean, I have had worse.”

“That is no lie,” Kieran said in the soft voice of a boy’s but with the depth of a man’s. “I am honored to meet you Nadia of Earth.” Kieran gave Nadia a little bow. “If I may help you in any way, I will. You need only to ask.”

“You are too kind,” Nadia said. She was amazed at how eloquent the adorable nine-year-old boy was.

“Yes, my son is quite the gentleman,” Astrid said with a big smile and a compress for Nadia’s leg. “Now Dimitri, let us get started.”

“You’re right,” Dimitri said moving his chair out of the way. “Waylon, please use my

chair to be more comfortable during this little lesson. Nadia, I am going to move the beds closer together so we can try something. Astrid is here for her medical assistance, Kieran for his gifts, and Waylon as a witness.” He pushed the beds within two inches of each other and sat in the middle of the unused bed. “We have all decided that you need to learn to meditate very soon, however we also know that we cannot give you anymore dreamless sleep powder. Meaning, the more important lesson is that you can enter and leave the dream realm on your own. We want you to have more control and hopefully the puppet master won’t know you are in the dream world. We do not know the dream realm as you do. You must teach us, so we can help you.”

“Oh,” Nadia said not fully understanding what they wanted her to do. “So, I teach you what I know of the dream realm by telling you about it or by showing you?”

Dimitri smiled, “Both. Do you feel up to this little lesson?”

Her ankle was feeling much better since Astrid had given her the compress and she was starting to hate the little room she was trapped in all day. “Yes,” she said trying to contain her excitement. She was itching to get back into the dream world. It was one of the reasons she fought so hard not to take anymore dreamless sleep powder. She was also excited that Dimitri wanted her to go and it seemed he would be coming with her.

“Don’t get too excited,” Dimitri said looking at Kieran and then Nadia. “First, you have to teach us all you know of the dream realm. Then, teach me how to get in and out of it as you seem to be able to do. I fear you will not be so excited by the time this lesson is over.”

“We’ll see. Let’s get started.” Nadia told them of the first time she had appeared in the castle. She told them of her spinning table experience, the numbered guards, the man with the shabby robes, the coffin, and the acting that helped her escape. She filled them in on what happened when she had woken to Althea and Dimitri’s voices and had re-appeared in the castle in a different area. She tried to draw a map of the castle for them, but the castle seemed so big that even Dimitri, who had been there before, could not understand the map. Dimitri described to Astrid and Waylon his part of the dream walk and what it felt like to jump with Nadia from one area to another. Nadia in turned tried to explain how she had jumped and how she knew she could. Dimitri was just ending the story of how he had forced Sergei to release them when Astrid announced that it was dinner time. They left to eat with their people while Nadia and Dimitri munched on left-overs from lunch mulling over all that they had told the others. Nadia tried to suppress a large yawn, but Dimitri saw it.

“Are you getting tired?” he asked her.

“No,” she said quickly.

“You know, I don’t need Kieran in here to know when you are lying.” Dimitri laid back on his bed patting hers. “Let’s rest for a few minutes before the others come back.” Nadia laid back on her bed and Dimitri took her hand. “Nadia, honestly tell me how you feel right now.”

Nadia felt like she could fall asleep at any second. Her ankle was beginning to hurt again and the headache that started in the back of her head had moved to her entire head. But she was happy. She felt that everything was going to be okay in that moment lying next to Dimitri and feeling his fingers trace lines on the back of her hand. She sighed deeply, “I hurt all over. But in this moment, I’m okay.”

Dimitri shifted his bed so it was right up against hers and pulled her closer.

“Where do you hurt the most?” he asked softly into her ear.

“Well, I think it is kind of a competition between my ankle and my head,” Nadia said, allowing Dimitri to let go of her hand so he could reach her ankle.

“Done and done,” he said sitting up so he could touch both her ankle and head at the same time. He slowly allowed his gift to fill both areas and before he was done Nadia felt the release of all her pain. Her eyes fluttered with exhaustion as she thanked him softly. “Rest, my love.” Hearing him say those words would have taken away any pain she still felt without the use of his gift, Nadia thought. She instantly felt at peace as she curled into his chest.

Just as Nadia started to dose off Dimitri sat them both up. “You cannot sleep just yet only rest,” he said to both him and her.

“Ohhh,” she groaned through her yawn. “Okay, I’m up.” Nadia said as she started to fall asleep again.

“No, you don’t,” Dimitri said sitting her up a little straighter. He reached over and grabbed the book he had been reading the night before off the end of Nadia’s bed. “Tell me why you brought this book of all the things you could have brought and what exactly a hobbit is.” Nadia started to laugh and Dimitri knew he had succeeded at keeping her awake.

“Well,” she began as she took the Lord of the Rings from him. “When I received the email and then the backpack I still didn’t really believe I was going anywhere, but just in case, I packed some important things. Can you grab my bag for me?” He reached over and grabbed her bag as well as the scrap pieces of material he had taken out the night before. “Hmmm?” she said raising an eyebrow at him for going through her bag. She rolled her eyes when he looked away sheepishly. “Anyway, this book is not the only important item I packed.” She unzipped the front pocket of her dingy dark green bag to reveal her candy stash. “These are called Skittles and they are basically sugary heaven.” She opened the pack grabbing one of each color and handing them to Dimitri. “Try each of them individually, because if you eat them all at once they taste kind of nasty.”

Dimitri stuck the first one in his mouth and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. “Mmm, I like the orange one the best, I think,” he said after he finished each of them.

“Good, because the orange is my least favorite,” Nadia said fishing out all the orange ones for Dimitri. “There is a lot of sugar in these so they will probably help to keep us awake for a little while at least.”

“Yes, but this will help to keep you awake much longer,” Astrid said as she pushed open the door. “It is a stout tea that we usually drink in the morning, but I think you both will need it tonight.” She handed Dimitri and Nadia their own glasses as Kieran brought

in a small slice of a meat pie for each of them.

“Thank you,” Dimitri said to Kieran. “Where is Waylon?”

“He has decided to stay among our people,” Astrid said. “He said it is too taxing to climb the stairs again tonight.” Dimitri gave her a meaningful look that was not lost on Nadia.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Nadia said wanting to get started again.

“I don’t think it will be that easy,” Dimitri said sipping his tea. “Have you ever entered the dream world without being forced into it?”

Nadia stopped mid sip and thought. “No,” she said. “But I am willing to try.” She handed her half empty cup of tea to Astrid and took a deep breath. “Okay, it must be kind of like jumping from place to place within the dream realm.” She closed her eyes and felt Dimitri take her hand. She concentrated on the dark hallway that Dimitri and Nadia had first arrived in. She felt her body gasp and fall backwards onto the bed before she found herself standing in the dark unused hallway again. Dimitri was gripping her hand too tightly and she noticed that he was still closing his eyes.

“Dimitri,” she whispered.

Dimitri opened his eyes, but instantly fell to his knees in pain. Nadia had not seen the large numbered man come up behind them. In her panic, Nadia jumped the scene ending up in the room she had been in when she first attacked Sergei. Again, a large numbered man charged at her and the still kneeling Dimitri. The man barely missing Dimitri and Nadia as Nadia pulled them to another location. The jump took them into the room Nadia and Dimitri had left the dream realm from. It was pitch black and the only noise was her and Dimitri’s ragged breathing. After a minute or two Nadia whispered, “they knew we were coming, didn’t they?”

“Yes, we did my dear,” a voice in the shadows answered, causing a shiver to run up Nadia’s spine.

“How?” Nadia asked Sergei.

“Oh, you have your secrets and I have mine,” Sergei said in a singsong voice remaining in the dark.

Dimitri was still on his knees and Nadia could feel his grip loosening. She knew he must have been really hurt to not have jumped up to protect her. “It is my turn to protect you,” she whispered in his ear. “I love you and I will see you soon.” She gripped his hand and then abruptly let go. She reached out in the darkness still within the same room to make sure she was successful. Dimitri was no longer in the dream realm. Even as Sergei was walking toward Nadia, Nadia knew she had scored another small victory over Sergei.

“Bye,” she said to Sergei before jumping once more and collapsing from exhaustion in a room that had not been used in a very long time judging by the amount of dust that covered Nadia’s temporary sanctuary.

It had a large ugly tapestry of a pompous looking Duke or Earl riding a rather fat looking horse. All the people in the tapestry were servants and peasants and they were bowing to the man except one. In the very center of the depiction was a large man standing stock still pointing back. He did not have the look of a grateful peasant but instead a man trying to convey an important message. Nadia found herself nodding off as she stared at the tapestry. She glanced around the room and saw a love seat and matching chair covered in white sheets. There was also a large window seat under a massive gothic style window. It was dark as a moonless midnight outside and no landscape could be seen in the pitch-black night. Nadia took the sheet off the love seat and found it was rather modern looking with a Victorian flare. She sat gingerly on it and glad it was only moderately comfortable. She only wanted to rest, not sleep. She wasn’t even sure a person could sleep in a dream world, but she found out quickly that she could.

One minute, Nadia was staring into the dead of night out the large window. The next, she was awakened by the sun warming her limp body. As she became aware that she had fallen asleep she could also hear the noises of doors being opened and slammed very near to her hiding spot. She stood too quickly and the room spun, but at least she felt a little more rested.

She glanced out the window and saw an incredible garden. It was in full bloom with birds of all colors swooping in and out of the trees. Nadia loved gardens but she had no time to enjoy this one. She had to find a way out of the room without leaving the way she came in. Even though she had slept she didn’t think she could do more than one dream jump and she needed to save that one just in case she was discovered again. Nadia frantically searched the room to no avail. Her eyes fell on the tapestry again. She crossed to it with the intentions of hiding behind it if nothing else, but as she pushed it aside she found a passageway behind it. She let the tapestry fall back into place as the door to her room opened. She silently began to walk up a flight of steps leading away from the room as she heard Serg’s voice.

“She was here!” He bellowed. “She is here somewhere!! She cannot elude us

forever. Spread out and search each room again. I want her found, before she pulls another vanishing act!”

He slammed the door as he left and Nadia felt a smile growing on her face. Sergei had no idea where she was, so she must be doing something right. Her smile wavered slightly when she realized how close she had come to being captured and possibly killed. She knew she could have left with Dimitri, but she had a goal.

“Find the prisoners and get out,” Nadia whispered to herself.

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