Page 30 of Addicted in Blood
I stood on a cliff, the ocean waves—a hundred feet down—crashed against the rocks.I spun around.A dense jungle was a mere twenty-five yards away.Colantha sat in a raggedy, overstuffed recliner with burnt-orange and lime-green stripes.The footrest was raised, and she stared out to sea as if she were watching a gigantic LCD display.All she needed was the bucket of popcorn.
There was an empty recliner near her, and she waved me over.
“I prefer to speak without your bodyguard listening.”She glanced upward as if gathering strength to deal with a stubborn child.“Come sit.You’ve been waiting for this.I don’t bite.That’s why I have Frederick and Jamison.”
Those must be her two vamps.I glanced around again, then sat in the recliner.My feet were immediately lifted as if the chair had a mind of its own, but I imagined it was her doing.
“Is this a dream?”
Her laugh floated away with the soft breeze I hadn’t noticed before.“The easiest explanation is that we’re in a dreamworld.One concocted from my own imagination, although this particular one is a mixture of several of my favorite places.This is my thinking place.”
“And you come here whenever you want?”
“Of course.”
I jumped when she patted my hand.She hadn’t moved from the recliner, but we were now sitting side-by-side.
“But it’s like a dream.”
“In as much as we use our minds to create the worlds.But you’re sitting in a real recliner.You walked across the rough surface of a real cliff.If you were to step off the ledge, you would fall to your death unless I stopped it.”
That was good to know.“So gravity, or I guess, the normal rules apply.”
She nodded.“For those that don’t have the ability to modify the environment.If you were trained to use your skills, you could walk off that ledge and float down to the rocks.”She leaned over.“With enough mental strength you could fly off that ledge.”
I sat back.“You’re serious?”
“Of course.I might create the constructs, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t modify some elements.Take your chair, for example.Perhaps you prefer a different color fabric.You could make it a paisley design.Or perhaps make it leather.”
“And how does one gain that power?”
This time her laugh sounded more like a cackle.“Right to the advanced course.You must be a Rasmussen.”
That was like splashing ice water in my face.Any residual alcohol vanished.“You know my father?”
She glanced out to the sea, and she became motionless, like a robot waiting for its next command.A moment later, she patted my hand.“All in good time.For now, you must learn what it is to be a dreamwalker.You’ve lost valuable years that will delay the progress you should have been making by now, even without training.”
“Why didn’t you come for me before?”I could have been out of Christopher’s influence before everything had turned bad.
“We knew you existed, but we had no way to find you.The only thing we could do was leave markers, a psychic imprint, if you will, that would notify us if anyone asked about Rasmussen.Then your bodyguard started poking around, and once we located you, your situation piqued my interest.I was waiting for the correct moment, but then you selected it instead.”
That had been Devon’s idea, not mine.“What happens now?Do you train me?”
“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the sanctuary and give you a tour of where you’ll be staying.”
That made sense.I wouldn’t lose time going back and forth from the hotel.“What time should we be there?”
She smiled.“Just you.And we’ll pick you up from your hotel.”
“Sergi has my utmost trust.”
“I have no doubt of that.But he has responsibilities with his House.He can’t leave them to stay with you.It’s not necessary.”
I should have known this was going too well.“I’m sorry.I’m not sure I understand.”
“What part?”
“It sounded like you expect me to move here.How long do you expect this to take?”Yep, this was all too good to be true.
