Page 27 of Gambling with Time

Some had fallen over and tumbled to the ground. Still, I examined them. I was in these ones. As a little kid with them or in my graduation cap and gown my arm was thrown around both of them, all of us smiling from ear to ear.

My stomach tightened as memories tried to slip through the cracks. What was this place? Why did it look like something exploded in here? And why did I feel sick inside at the thought of what happened to the inhabitants?

I spun on my heel at the sound of a foot crunching on glass. A tall man dressed all in black looking like something out of The Crow stepped into the room.

“Who are you?” I asked. Instinct had me reaching for the nearest makeshift weapon I could. With the fireplace poker in my grip, I held it like a sword.

“Is that really the question you want to be answered?” he asked slowly.

“I have a lot of questions.”

“I don’t have all the answers.” He strolled into the room, taking in the damage. “Looks like you’ve fallen into a future that is yet to come. Dreams are strange creatures, taking you places you shouldn’t be.”

“Why shouldn’t I be here?” Suddenly I wanted to stay. I felt like I needed to learn everything there was to learn about this reality.

He pursed his lips. “Well, it isn’t that you shouldn’t be here. It is that I’m not sure exactly how you stumbled into this. My mother is usually more cautious when she gives prophecies.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you?”

He sighed and held his hands behind his back. “Morpheus, but I’m not sure that matters much in this situation.”

I glanced around the room. “What happened here?”

“A battle was lost I’d assume.” His nonchalant tone grated on me.

“What battle?”

“I knew you were full of questions.” He moved over to an armchair and righted it before he settled onto the surface. “Sit.”

The couch was tossed onto its back, and the other armchair appeared to be torn in half. I squinted at him. “I’ll stand.”

“Very well. There is a battle between Gods. It happens every so often. Usually, they fight for a bit and then go back to their respective pantheons and lick their wounds. In those skirmishes, there are sometimes casualties.” He shrugged. “Something happened to the prophecy. It’s broken somehow. If it isn’t fixed, this will be the outcome. It appears the world will suffer this time. I do wonder if there are any humans left to dream. Because if there are not, I will also be a casualty.”

“That means you have a stake in this outcome. You can help.”

He chuckled. “I’m a God. I cannot interfere. Even this conversation may be too much. But you are in my realm, and it seems you are lost, so maybe it will be okay.”

“I need my memories.”

“And you have them. You only need the right key to unlock them. Could that key be hidden in plain sight?”

A bright crack of lightning blinded me for a moment, but when it faded, he was gone, and in the next blink, I was back in the palace.

CHAPTER 15

Samantha

It hadn’t worked. I’d knocked him out with the magic. He’d slumped over, his fingers loosening seconds after I felt the burst of power.

“Rai, oh my Gods, wake up,” I said. His cheek was warm beneath my touch as I slightly shook him. My hands moved to his shoulders. “Rai.”

His head flopped to the side, and I sucked in a breath. Then I leaned forward to listen for his. My palm rested flat on his chest as I held my breath, waiting for his next one. A soft brush of warm air traveled over the shell of my ear as his chest rose beneath my fingers.

Pure panic shot through me. Help, I had to find help. I scrambled off of the bed like a deranged crab and raced through the halls to where I had left the guys.

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