He didn’t say anything for a long time and Cassie thought that perhaps he’d disappeared. She looked over her shoulder, viewing the perfectly formed feet of the man next to her. She ended up glaring at his feet. Which guy had perfect feet? Only in dreams!
“So you’re like the new, better looking version of Professor Khan, right?”
“No.” He didn’t elaborate beyond that before repeating, “What do you know about the druids?”
“They’re dead?” she scoffed, and then stood. Stretching her body, she eyed the water. Maybe tomorrow night she’d fall asleep in her bathing suit, and then she could just swim and ignore everything—everyone—else.
She began walking toward the water, deciding she was going to hike her sweats up and walk in the shallow part. Cassie had successfully managed to forget that Alexander was in her dream when he appeared in front of her.
“Shit!” she screeched, backing away so quickly she almost toppled over. His hands steadied her, even as she let loose a stream of profanities that would make her mother blush. Her gaze flew to the now empty bed, and then back to him. It was a dream. Things weren’t supposed to make sense.
“Did your mother tell you about the druids?”
Cassie sighed and shook her head. “And now you’re mentioning my mother…because I haven’t spoken to her in a while, huh?” She looked away from him, feeling guilty as she thought of the days, maybe weeks, that she hadn’t called home. “I’ll call her when I wake up.”
His hands tightened against her arms and she glared at him. His eyes were serious now and she thought that in that moment they were definitely green. An extremely pale green.
“The druids are not dead.” He paused as if expecting her to interrupt. When she didn’t, he continued on. “They were banished, sent to a dismal existence at the pinnacle of death, but not quite there.” When she simply stared up at him stupidly, Alexander asked, “Have you ever heard of limbo?”
Her eyes grew hooded. “Limbo?” As in edge of Hell, Catholic-fearing, limbo?
“It is very similar to that limbo.” His arms slowly fell to his sides and Cassie felt a chill snake through her body. She dismissed it as being as result of her standing in the water, even though it was very warm. “They exist on different planes, waiting, watching, unable to choose life and yearning for death.” His voice had dropped an octave and those pale of eyes seemed to glow.
Cassie swallowed. This dream was seriously beginning to unnerve the hell out of her.
“Right. What does this have to do with me?”
“For centuries, the druids have searched for a way back.”
“Way back?”
“To the living,” he clarified. “You are the key to their return.”
Cassie’s head bobbed. It was becoming an automatic reaction in this dream. “Uh huh. So I can bring these druids back to life?”
“Yes.” He lifted his eyes to the sky before returning them to her face. “When the time comes, you’ll have to ask yourself if you want to.”
Cassie couldn’t have looked more confused if she tried.
She blinked then gasped when she opened her eyes and found herself back on the bed. Her feet were dry, the thin sheet was pooled at her waist, and Alexander was next to her. His hands were under his head and one leg was bent at the knee as he stared up at the clear sky.
“I know you’re confused now, but you will understand everything soon.” He suddenly pushed his body up, so that he was braced against the headboard, as she was.
“Before you can make that decision, you must know their story.” Alexander murmured so softly that Cassie had to lean closer to hear him.
“Centuries ago….” When he spoke, it was as if everything listened. The sounds of the beach faded and his voice took their place. She found herself drawn to that voice, hearing the softest syllable roll off his tongue like liquid mercury. Closing her eyes, she witnessed the range of images painted by his voice. As he continued with the story of things that shouldn’t—couldn’t—exist, Cassie found herself deeply interested in what he was telling her.
***
Conall returned to Cedar Creek early the next morning.
He hadn’t slept the night before. Instead, he’d taken to doing hourly sweeps of the house, before stretching out atop the covers next to Vivienne. By the time dawn arrived, the muscles in his back and neck were tense, and he could feel the beginnings of a serious headache. Most weres weren’t particularly friendly after sleepless days and nights. He left Vivienne, still sleeping, only after assuring himself that currently this was the safest place for her at the moment. He would return soon.