Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (9 page)

Wren
listened to the story, her eyes growing wider.  This place had been a wonderful
escape for her once. 
Once
, it had promised her a new beginning.  To
hear what had happened hurt her as much as any of them.

“That’s
terrible,” she uttered quietly.  “It’s
horrible
…”

“You
believe in me, don’t you?” he asked her, leaning closer to assure that her eyes
met his.  “Despite what I look like now, you can trust me?”

He
had asked for her trust, and how could she deny him?  She had waited all these
years just to be back with him, and if there was some way that she could help,
she had to do that.

Rifter
brushed his hand across her neck, burying his fingers in her hair, and Wren
made her decision.  Though he didn’t look like she’d expected, he was still the
boy she had fallen in love with those years ago.  She had promised him forever
back then, and she had meant it.

“Of
course I believe in you,” she assured him.  She saw a gracious smile rise up on
his mouth but it vanished as he began to speak urgently.

“Now
that I’ve found you, we can’t wait another moment.”

“For
what?” she asked.  Then it came to her.  “Rifter, do you know how to fix
things?  Can Nevermor be saved?”

“I
have a plan, but I can’t do it without you.  Your presence changes everything.”

Wren
felt something then that had abandoned her since laying eyes on this place:
hope
.

“The
truth is that I am nothing without them, Wren.  I learned that back then, but
it is even truer now.  I need you to help me find them.  They will listen to
you.”

She
knew exactly who he was speaking of. 
The Pack…

“But,
why won’t they listen to you?” she asked before she had thought much about it.

The
look in his eyes then was dangerous, and she did not know how to respond to it.

“They
have grown as well, you see, and are slowly becoming corrupted by the
darkness.  Some have even seen the Scourge’s side of things.  I know this.”

Wren
could hardly believe that, but she supposed that a lot could change over time –
even a few years.

“What
makes you think they will listen to me then?” she asked, overwhelmed by it all.

Rifter
looked up at her, his eyes lighting wildly.

“You
are a prominent figure to them,” he explained.  “They protected you – fought
for you.  You’re beautiful and innocent, and haven’t been touched by this
corruption.  In their eyes, you can do no wrong.  They have missed you just the
same, and when they see you, they will be able to trust me again.”

Trust
you?
 
His statement struck her, but she did not say anything toward it.  Wren
considered it all, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Will
you help me?” he asked eagerly.

She
felt pressured, but she could not say no to this.  She couldn’t go back to the
asylum now – wouldn’t – and if she was going to be here, she needed to make
herself useful in restoring the place.

“Of
course I will help you,” she said with a brave smile.

His
face lit up with pleasure.  “Good, I’m running low on help these days.”

Wren
felt better at that, seeing how he looked at her so affectionately.  Perhaps
this was the side of him that she remembered – or the one she had retained. 
She needed to hold onto that if she was to accept what he was now.

She
thought of kissing him then, never mind the fanged teeth.  His mouth was still
attractive, and she’d wondered if his kiss would recall anything to her.  She
was just about to move closer when they heard the cracking sound above.

Rocks
shifted, grinding together, breaking apart.  Wren’s immediate instinct was to
duck down, fearing that the beasts outside had found them, but it was much
closer than that.  Tiny pebbles began to fall as the ceiling of the cavern
shifted.

It’s
a cave-in!
she realized frantically. 
We’ll be trapped!

Rifter
was quick to push her behind him, guarding her as the ceiling fell, and Wren
had just lifted her eyes to observe the rubble before she gasped at the shock
of her revelation.

The
pile of stone was
alive
!

The
creature before them was some sort of hard-shelled beast with crystals growing
from its back, but it had awakened at the sound of their voices – or perhaps by
Rifter’s presence.  It had been a long time since Wren had seen a creature like
this, but Rifter was not shaken.  He drew his sword – a basic piece stolen from
a pirate – standing firm.

“Find
a place to hide!” he told her hurriedly.  “I’ll keep it off you.  Go!”

Wren
didn’t question it.  She backed away into the rock formations of the cave as
the nightmare creature lunged at Rifter on all fours, but he was quick as
ever.  The years had not dulled his senses.  He stepped out of the way as the
monster dove past, leaping up as the crystals grazed his sword.

Wren
moved blindly, seeking a place to hide.  She did not have to know anything
about this cave monster to know why it existed.  It was like so many other
beasts that roamed this realm, having been born from the remnant of a nightmare
that had washed up from the sea of dreams.

As
her heart sped and her breath rushed through her lungs, Wren understood what
Rifter had been trying to tell her in all that he’d just explained.

This
was no longer a place of dreams.  More so now than ever, Nevermor was a world
of
nightmares
.

2

Wren
found a place within the rocks, watching the fight clandestinely, listening to
the clang of steel against stone as Rifter forced the crystalized abomination
away from her.  She could hear their battle echoing off the walls, spiraling
down through the cavern in all directions.  She held her breath but Rifter
maneuvered carefully, letting the monster chase him into another branch of the
cavern.  It gave no thought to following after him angrily.

I
hope he will be alright.
  But she did not quite doubt that.  Rifter had
always been capable.

Even
once the beast was out of sight, Wren kept herself hidden behind some taller
stalagmites, but stayed away from the edge of the water.  This pool looked
horribly menacing to her, not knowing what was down in it, and that was perhaps
what frightened her most.  It was like staring into the dark, aware that it was
full of living things – and possibly monsters – that could not be seen.  There
could be any form of strange creature waiting to swallow her whole at the
slightest whiff.

Shuddering,
she tried not to think about what might be waiting for her.  Instead, she
smoothed her dress around her legs and leaned back against a rock, trying to
control her breathing.  Rifter would be back soon.  She trusted that.

The
water hardly stirred here, sitting soundlessly between the rock pillars.  The
air was cool against her skin, but so thick that she could feel it weighing her
down.

The
whole world is like this now – cloudy and hidden, deceptive and dark
.  Would she
remain untouched by this corruption if she stayed here?  She might have
wondered, but she knew she had no choice.  This was her home, as it had always
been.  All there was to do was find a way to deliver it.

“
What
are you doing here
?”  Wren snapped up at the sound of the voice.  It was
unfamiliar and had seemed to come from everywhere, until Wren finally realized
that it was nowhere except
inside her head
.  It was soft and smooth,
feminine, but Wren sensed a menacing note as it spoke to her.

Startled
enough that she almost lost her footing, Wren peered through the ominous dark,
finally glimpsing the one who had addressed her.  There, watching her from
within the water, was a pale face, blue like a strangled corpse.  The top of
the head was barely visible, but Wren could see the shining, silver eyes that
reflected the light of the crystals, and she was able to deduce what it was.

A
mermaid
… 
Wren was not a stranger to this sort of beast.  Perhaps these beings were some
of Nevermor’s original inhabitants but to her, these fish-tailed nymphs were as
bad as the nightmares.

Slowly,
the creature drifted closer, rising up from the water and wrapping herself
around a rock.  Wren could see that the mermaid was quite different from what
she remembered, and she could not think to call her anything other than a
monster
.

The
mermaid was utterly thin and Wren was certain that she could make out all of
her ribs beneath the tangled hair that hung around her.  The strands were as
dry as seaweed, colored like blood and rust, spilling over her barnacle-covered
breast and shoulders.  Her flesh was like cracked stone or peeling paint.  Her
face had been beautiful once, perhaps, but no more.  Whatever youthful and
lovely glow the mermaid had once possessed was gone.

Wren
remembered seeing them for the first time.  She had been jealous of the way
Rifter had looked at them, their faces and bodies so desirable, but that
problem seemed to have been absolved with time – and this darkness.  There was
nothing at all to envy now.

When
Wren did not respond immediately to the posed question, the mermaid repeated
herself.

“
Speak
to me, precious
,” the voice urged.  “
A rare treat such as you has not
crossed me in a long time
.”

Wren
was not sure how to answer, caught up in her staring as she was.

It’s
not polite to stare
,
she reminded herself now, but couldn’t keep from it.

The
mermaid leered back at her, examining Wren from the spirals of her hair to the
tips of her shoes.  She did not seem impressed.

“
I
know who you are
,” the mermaid said snidely.  Wren knew better than to
respond to this creature.  Rifter had warned her about them in the past.  Once,
she had been hypnotized by their song and several had tried to drown her, but
she’d not been aware that they could speak her language, even as telepathy.

“
You
are the Wren, aren’t you?  The Rifter’s whore
,” the mermaid declared,
splashing her fin around in the water.  “
Much has been said about you.  You
are not welcome here!
”

Wren
was surprised by those callous words, yet she couldn’t ignore them.  She had
opened her mouth and spoken before she could remind herself not to.

“What
do you mean?”

The
mangled mermaid came down off the rock and swam closer, silently gliding
through the water like a snake.  Wren lost sight of her for a moment until she
reemerged, closer, but not near enough to be a threat.

“
It
has been said that a horrible demon will come, which will bring even more
famine and decay to us here.  It’s said that this demon rules over even
Rifter’s demon and will arrive in the disguise of a young woman.  It must be
you!
”

Rifter’s
demon
? 
Wren was shocked at that – didn’t understand what it meant.  This was the first
she’d heard of a demon.

The
mermaid looked Wren up and down with hungry eyes, carefully examining her
features.  This made her uncomfortable, as if she was a slab on a butcher’s
block.  The cave was silent around them – even Rifter’s battle with the crystal
beast had gone quiet in the distance.

“You
think I am evil?” Wren asked in confusion.  “I had nothing to do with this!”

“
Anything
Rifter brings is evil
,” the mermaid swore to her.  “
He is possessed. 
The Scourge is the only one who might kill the Rifter, and we pray for his
return.  When the Rifter is dead, this curse will finally be lifted.
”

“No,
that can’t be true,” Wren declared, feeling a bit weak in the knees.  “The
Scourge has done this.  He has twisted your thoughts!”

“
You
should not worry about this now
,” the mermaid declared, rising from the
water a bit, moving closer.  Wren instinctively stepped back.  “
Look at you
– standing there with your perfect skin and young body; your beautiful hair! 
We mermaids were once the most beautiful, you know.  I will enjoy killing you
just for that!
”

“This
is wrong,” Wren insisted. “Rifter would never hurt this world!”

“
Enough
of this,
” the mermaid screeched in a horrible tone like scraping metal.  “
Perhaps
I have lost my voice, but I can still manage to kill you!
”

The
mermaid lurched forward in an attempt to pull herself up from the water and
onto the cavern floor, but Wren got herself out of reached by moving farther up
onto the raised area of the slope.

“Wait!”
she protested, trying to think of a way to make her case.  “I’m not a demon! 
Neither is Rifter.  It’s all a mistake!”

The
mermaid released a shrill laugh, casting off the distraction, crawling rapidly
from the muck to grab at the ends of Wren’s dress.