Tag: The Children of Morpheus

All three boys came with Sage and Dev. Matt was looking at me with a frown. “Why are you pulling them out?”

“Can I talk with Matt?” Everyone looked around and then left. Drake didn’t want to leave but Dev carried him out whispereing to him about how they could all go get icecream as soon as his dad was done doing something important. I wondered how much Dev had picked up from me. I could tell something was bothering him. I couldn’t read him like I could Sage, but there was something tense between all of us. And I was about to make it worse.

When the door closed behind them, Matt sat down and whispered to me, “You are leaving for good aren’t you?”

“I have to.”

He smiled. “Good. It’s about fucking time. I’m coming with you.”

“Matt. Your dad. You need to finish your lessons.”

He laughed. “No one here can teach me anything about my ability, Nox. And everything else well I can be just as human as you or Fae. Please don’t make me stay.”

I grinned at him and pulled him close for a hug. He wrapped his arms around me, “I don’t think I could have stopped you even if I wanted to Matt. But you know what this means?”

Matt nodded. “I do. Everything involved, it’s one of the first things we learn.”

“I remember.” I tried to stand up. “Help me stand up.”

The boy had grown more in the short time we’d know each other, and I swear since the last time I’d seen him. How long ago was that? I couldn’t remember.

Matt looked at Fae and smiled. “You remember that bag I packed for an emergency Fae?”

He nodded. “Go get it.”

Fae looked at him. “You are running away?” He looked sad.

“Not running away, running home.” I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Fuck I was an emotional mess. But I was done being manipulated.

“Sage can I borrow your phone?” I asked.

He nodded and handed me the phone and I called Dorian as we walked down the Infirmary. He answered, “Sage?” Any news?”

“I’m awake if that’s what you wanted to know.” I said and I heard the sigh of releif from my father figure and mentor.

“D, Can you come down to HQ and bring my dad and walker and whoever you think might care.”

“Care for what Nox?”

“You’ll see D. Please? I have to do this.”

“Nox… don’t do it. You can do more good here.”

“Sorry D. I can’t do it anymore. Trust me. Bring them please. I need you there.”

Dorian agreed and I hung up the phone. “Nox what are you doing?” Sage asked as I handed him his phone.

“I’m going to tell the Venatori exactly what I think of them.” I said as we headed down to HQ.

No one tried to stop us. Not once. It was like the world had stopped to realized they had fucked up for the last time. No one wanted to get in my way. But then again when you are surrounded by supernatural creatures with one exception, why would you want to stop me?

When we got to HQ I had the others stay near the elevevator as I walked towards Dae’lin’s office with Matt’s help. His grip on my waist was strong, and he was going to outgrow me in height in a matter of months. He had grown so much since we’d met. I whispered to him, “I’m proud of you.”

“I wish my dad could say those words, but you are a better father than he ever was.”

I smiled. “I try. But don’t do this to spite him. You can still walk away.”

He stopped in the middle of the open space before the fish bowl. They could see us at the elevator. There was a crowd forming. As with everything in the AU building, rumor flies fast.

Striding from the fishbowl was Mark Green. He was weak. I could see the patterns flickering around him but they grew dimmer with each passing day. Mark Green would die and the Venatori would pick a new leader. But his power flaired and I saw colors brighter than a few moments before. It was a brief moment. And I grinned as my leader preened like a peacock. Matt looked at me and smiled. “You could do better.”

“I know but I won’t.” I let go of Matt and stood before Mark Green.

He asked, “I hear you have something to say?”

“I do.” I shifted to stand straight and be the man they had made me. “You tried to kill me.”

“I’ve done no such thing. You aren’t worth the time to think about Mr. Sétanta.”

“I meant the collective you. The Venatori. Your scientist poisoned me while I was on suicide watch. For their researc project. I don’t give a fuck if it’s in your right to experiment on me. I’m done with you. I’m done pretending that what we do here is right. You are wrong. Killing to least of the crimes is barbaric. There are so many cleaner ways to handle this. I get death is the only sure way we can fix the worst of the worst.”

“I’m tired of fighting you.”

Mark Green smiled. “It’s about time. I think there is a pool running around here. I wonder who won it.”

“Then I’ll just go.”

Kai stepped out of the shadows of Dae’lin’s office. “Nox, why don’t you challenge him. You could easily win.”

“Why do I want to lead the Venatori, Kai? Will you follow my orders? Will you bring in the vampires who are slaughtering those frat boys. You think I didn’t know what you didn’t show me?”

Kai frowned. “Don’t leave it like this Nox. You’ll be Exuli. We won’t…”

“There is nothing in the rule book that says you can’t see the boys. We’ll make arrangements.”

Dylan stepped up next to Kai. “You’ll leave Sam and Emma to their lessons without help.”

“Garrett is dead. The demon who stole their powers and hurt them is dead. I killed it. And I’ll know if they need me again. I’ll always be there for them. Always.”

Around us security had formed and I thought at Dev, get them out of here. I don’t want you to watch what’s next. I’ll be home soon. I trusted Dev to get my… no our family out of here safely.

Matt stood next to me, “And I’m going with him. No one here can teach me. And I can’t be one of you if you can’t accept people like him or me.”

Matt’s father rushed up towards us but security stopped him. He shouted. “Matthew, your mother will be so disappointed.”

Matt sighed. “She’s dead, Dad. I’m sorry but I have to do what I beleive in. Just like Mom taught me.”

The man standing next to me. “Are you truly doing this son?”

I nodded. “I am.”

“You know what that means.”

“I do. We will go willingly.”

“It’s permanent – the world will see the tattoo etched on your temple.”

I nodded and Matt put his hand on my waist and helpd me close to his body. “I know.” I whispered. I was about to face one of my biggest fears. And I would do it just as I did when I was 18 – with fear but without giving them the satisfaction of seeing me shaking in my boots. Fuck them. Fuck the Venatori!

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I just smiled at Sage. “Making sure she’ll be okay.”

Sage shook his head. “That’s a pack bond. And not just any bond. You can’t do that with this many people.”

I nodded. “I just did.”

Dev looked at me, “What did you do?”

Sage looked at him. “He tied us to him. No one in the pack can touch us. We are his – mate.”

“It’s not like that.” I said. “It’s protection. Same as what I did with you before with a change.”

“That isn’t the same. I don’t feel compelled to do anything like before. I’m not your alpha. This is the mating bond, Nox I know it is.”

“It’s not. I change it. Sage I promise it’s only to help protect us all from threats. You can feel me. I can feel you. There will be no worry if we are safe – we’ll know.”

Sage frowned, “And then I’ll know and I won’t be able to do shit about it.”

I grinned at him. “There are a lot of things we need to talk about. But I don’t think you’ll need to worry about me getting hurt.”

Sage rolled his eyes. But Dev’s hand on his shoulder made him look at the other man. “He’s telling the truth isn’t he. He thinks we’ll be in danger, but he won’t be getting in it without us.”

Dev laughed. “We’ll always worry. He’ll always be in danger. But I think he has a plan. I can’t sense it.”

Dee stirred below our hands and when she sat up her eyes were red and puffy and she looked like she’d been crying. “What happened she asked?”

Dev pulled her into him and brought the three of them together in a tight embrace, “Oh nothing. Just a little bonding.” Sage groaned but Dee held them close.

I felt left out. I didn’t even want to think about moving or joining them. My body ached like I’d run a marathon. Dee looked at me and frowned. “Why are you sad? You are sad right?”

I smiled. “I feel left out. The three of you all hugging and pressed together like the lovers that you are.”

She smiled and patted my leg. “We are only here because of you.”

“I know.” I chaned the subject. “What did I miss?”

Sage frowned, “About two weeks worth of things. And Dev’s birthday.”

I looked around the room and saw the Halloween decorations and I asked, “Did you get a lot of trick-or-treators?”

Dev laughed. “I told you he knew what Halloween was.”

“I’ve never done any of that, but I’m not an idiot.”

Sage blushed. “See told you he didn’t do any of it.”

Dee looked at them and then back at me and sat down on the bed. Her hand ran through my long hair. “You’ve been out of it for a few weeks. It was a few days ago since we finally breached your shileds. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be better once I get out of this bed.” I kinda wanted out now. I needed out of this building while I wasn’t under lock and key. They had tried to kill me. I hadn’t forgotten the little talk I had.

Dev pulled Dee out of the way by her arm. “He means now.”

Sage pulled a bag from the closet, “A change of clothes.”

I tried to get up. I really did but my body refused to work. Dee helped me dress while the other two went out to get the boys from class at my request. I had things to do… I had to get something off my chest.

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I opened my eyes and promptly closed them again the white lights of the Infirmary glared down on me and the soft beeping of the monitors. I shifted in the hospital bed and felt the hand clutching mine stir and I turned in that direction. Beside me sitting in the chair was a tossle of brown hair. She murmurred in her sleep. I put my hand in her hair and she stirred again. Then she was clutching at her head.

There was movement on the other side of my bed and I saw Dev and Sage come around to Dee. Her hands clutching her head. Dev said, “It stopped when we left the dream, what’s going on?”

“She’s an empath.” I said groggily.

Sage looked up at me and fell ontop of me crushing me, “Nox!” And then he pulled away and looked back to Dee and frowned. “Wait, what?”

I touched her head again and shared my shield with her and she calmed down. “She doesn’t have a shield.”

Dev laughed but I could hear it shaking. He was nervous. “I’ve seen it. You have too.”

“Not anymore.” I said. “The demon is dead.”

“What?” Dev stood up in anger. I don’t think he was mad the demon was dead, but that the demon had something to do with Dee – his Dee.

Dev frowned at me. “Our Dee. Jesus fucking christ Nox … our.”

I looked away from him and he grabbed my chin. “Just because you weren’t here doesn’t make it any less so. We’ve grown together because of your fucking life. The three of us here waiting for you to wake up – day in and day out. All of us worried about you.”

Sage looked at Dev. Dev shook his head. “Why is she better now?” Dev asked.

“I’m lending her my shield.”

“We’ll have to teach her how. We can all lend her some and teach her to build it up. How do you know she’s an empath Nox? Did the demon tell you before it died?”

I shook my head. “No. I see it now. Like I see you are a telepath, and like Sage is a technopath. I see her now. See the patterns around her now that the demon isn’t protecting her from her power. I see everything about her now. I don’t think she’ll be happy.”

Sage frowned, “You mean she’s like the rest of us – not normal.”

“Why would you want to be normal Sage?” I asked. He frowned at me and sighed.

Dev frowned, “He says you’ll never understand.” He pressed a finger to my lips to quiet me, he knew I wanted to go off on the fact that I did know what he meant. Dev took Sage in his arms and pressed a kiss to his lips. “He understands far better than you or I will ever know. But let’s help Dee. You and I can lend our shields to Dee. We can help her learn about who she is. She’ll need all of us.”

Sage nodded and he pressed his hand to Dee’s head. “I don’t know what to do.”

Dev and I laughed together. “You do, just touch her and it’ll happen.” Dev said.

I added. “You’ll want to think extending your shield rather than just letting it work. We don’t want you to have to touch her all the time.” I grinned at him, “The rest of us might get jealous.”

Sage grinned. Dev laughed as he put his hand on top of ours and we all feed her a little bit of our shieldinging. I sent the power of pack through them. Sage gasped and Dev looked at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing Nox?” Sage breathed out.

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Morpheus laughed. “Even your friends abandon you.”

I smiled at the demon with red eyes. His pale skin made paler from the light his eyes made. “They aren’t my friends.”

“Even you admit you are worthless. Come to me, Nox. Be mine. I’ll give you everything you want.” The power of persuasion was thrown at me. I could feel the magic trying to take hold. I didn’t have my normal defenses available, all my power routed through the demon.

“I have everything I need.”

“Who said anything about need. I said everything you want. We can take whatever it is you want. You want to free the Venatori of their chains of tradition. I can give it to you. With me at the helm we can take the Venatori. I’l even let your reshape the vermin to whatever way you desire. My gift to you.” He held out his hand. “Join me.”

“I don’t care about the Venatori. Not enough to take it from them. You need to do better than that.”

Morpheus whiped all of the tentiacles behind him in my direction and I watched as they fell against my skin. I bit back the pain but their razor sharp edges did nothing to my skin. That’s when Dev’s words rang true. This was my dream. I was in control. I was afraid this was like my other dreams. The demon had power over me. But this was my dream. Not Garrett’s, not Dev’s – mine. In my head. My world!

I smiled at him and I held out my hand and I felt my power flow through my fingers. Just remembering that simple fact and rendered the demon’s control moot.

Morpheus screamed, “Nooo!” The world turned dark and I willed it light again.

Fire erupted everywhere and I quelched it with a thought. “This is my world, Morpheus.”

I remembered what I’d done to the mara in the basement of Sage’s house for attacking my boys. Morpheus cackled, “Thank you for reminding me.” And tens of thousands of little black oozing creatures stood behind him. An army of nightmares. I closed my eyes and thought about all the little suffocating bubbles, tens of thousands of little bubbles and they screamed. I covered my ears from the sounds they made as they died. Morpheus screamed incoherent words as they died around him. Little floating orbs of black and red ooze.

“You will not defeat me.” He ran towards me and the moment he touched me I felt that charge of electricity and I felt everything the demon did. I could feel it’s connection to everyone near me. How it had manipuluated dreams for thousands of millenia. I knew it’s secrets. I could feel it’s power. I could take it’s power. I could have everything if I wanted to.

I heard a small voice in my head, “Come back to me Daddy. I’m scared.” And that was all I needed to forgt the darkness. My hand found the demon’s throat and I squeezed. Like I had done when it had been in Dae’lin’s body. This time I wasn’t afraid of killing it. I squeezed tighter, willing the world to suck the air from the lungs of the creature before me. I didn’t use my ability here. It worked in the outside world, but not here. It was just illusion.

The demon kicked me and we tumbled to the ground but I didn’t let lose my grip on it’s throat. It tried to get the advantage. We tussled on the ground until I had a grip on it’s neck so tight I heard a snap and it fell lip. I heard a scream in the outside world but I couldn’t leave yet. I had to make sure it was dead. Dead and not just in hell. The dream world manifested mundane tools – saw and shovel. And I got to work.

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The demon was getting angrier. He was stalking back to me when I felt the presence. Fuck! It wasn’t nearby, but I felt Dev. I could smell his familiar scent on the wind. There was tickle against my skin. Like a ghost passed over me. A hand grasping me. I closed my hand around it, it grasped nothing but it felt good.

A ghost touch against my cheek. The demon stalked me but it didn’t seem to be getting any closer. Like time stopped. Maybe it had. No it wasn’t that, it was like it was wading through water, or stuck in a swamp. He was moving – just slow.

I took a step back but I moved fine.

A felt a drop on my cheek. I wiped it off and looked up but there were no rain clouds above me. The stars shown brightly in the sun light sky of my dreamscape. It was such a bizarre thing.

In the distance there was a loud sound – a thunder clap?

The fury on the demon’s face grew stronger, as it waded through my dream. I wondered what was happening. A flame flickered above his hand, in one moment it was empty and then it was just there.

I tried the same thing but my gift was unreachable. Fuck! The demon was hijacking me. I felt the tree burning beyond me it again. It was blazing like bonfire but yet it wasn’t turning to ash. I stared at it beyond the demon… I felt it burning my skin yet I was intact. There was no denying what I felt. I knew what it felt like I’d felt the burn of death on my skin before but nothing burned.

Another loud thunderclap. Closer this time. The demon turned and looked in the direction it had come and it turned towards it in the muck and threw the fireball in it’s hand. I stepped in front of the ball of fire without thinking. Whatever it was trying to do I wasn’t about to let it do it. Not since the breeze in my dreamscape brought orange and lavender and roses on it’s whispereing tendrils. My love was coming. Dev was coming. Dee was coming….

The demon laughed and brought the tentacles above him, fire and air, earth and water all stood behind him and I thought about Dev. I let him in. I pulled him towards me. I didn’t want to face this alone. Face the terror alone.

Holding my hand, Sage squeezed my fingers. Dev was pressing his fingers to my check and Dee was holding my ohter hand. Their eyes were distinct in the light of my dreamscape and I flicked to the tree and smiled. Dev grinned at me and pressed a kiss to my lips and then turned towards the demon, but it was Dee who spoke. “You can’t hurt us anymore.”

“So brave little one. Come to me.” He beckoned a finger and she took a step closer but I held her hand and I pulled her back.
“He doesn’t own you.”

Dee turned to me, there was fear in her eyes.

“Oh you don’t know what I do for her do you. None of you do.” Morpheus laughed. “Such ignorant fools.”

Dee screamed and fell to the ground losing her grip on my hand a she clutched at her head. “No. No more. I’ll listen.” I knelt down beside her and touched her cheek. She looked up at me and I could see the pain. She flinched away from my fingers after a moment. “Don’t touch me.”

I reached out towards her not with my hand but my power. But the demon had it all and it laughed. “Don’t let her go to him.”

Dev was down at her side and holding her tightly against him. Sage was there too. The flickered in and out. “Go.” I said. “I’ll be okay. Take care of Dee.”

They both looked up at me and I saw the hesitation in their eyes. “Please.” I begged.

Sage looked to Dev and Dev was watching me. I felt more than heard Dev say, “Remember it’s your dream.” And the three of them blinked from existance.

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I struggled to breathe. The air was thick and I felt like I was drowning. I could see nothing, I couldn’t feel anything. There were no currents in the air. It was a void. Nothing. No life save me. No air, no light, no ground. I couldn’t even feel the elements around me. I felt nothing had nothing to work with it was devoid of everything.

My heart raced as I felt the panic rising. There was nothing to see. Nothing to touch. Nothing to hear, or small. The only thing I tasted was fear. My fear…

I drifted in this nothingness. Panic coursed through my body I fought to take control. If I let it come at me I’d never figur anything out. I had to think. What had happened before… Dee…

Black eyes. Fuck! Demon…

As if on queue the red eyes showed up and a man in a black suit and pale skin stood in front of me. His eyes weren’t red, they were brown more like mine. But the magic behind him made everything about him look red – the fires of hell glowing underneath his skin. He cackled with pleasure at my realization. He knew what I was thinking.

“Of course I do, we are inside your head.” He looked around and the world lit up to reveal my dreamscape. The lone tree in the background, the lush green field filled with blooming flowers, but they were dying all around him. “I never understood this setting. Why the barren tree? Why the field? But it was my pleasure to take it from you. And I’ll take it again.”

The man looked at me through hell fire eyes and I felt my mouth go dry. I felt the power flow around him. I got lost in the fear. It was the same presence that Garrett had. My eyes went wide and the demon man laughed. “Yes. I’m the one you fear, not that meat puppet who you thought. He’s nothing in the scheme of things.”

The air shimmered and shifted and just behind the demon a man on rack was being stretched. His limbs pulled to the point of popping. He screamed and the demon walked over to the screaming man and ran his fingers down his check. “Isn’t he beautiful in pain. Do you know his greatest fear?”

I shook my head.

He laughed, “Come now, guess.”

“He’s afraid of the things he did to us as kids.”

The demon opened his mouth and manical laughter fled. He cackled as he touched Garrett’s face and looked at me with those red eyes. The eyes I was afraid of. This was my nightmare come to life. “Would you like to make him fear you, Nox? Torture him like he tortured you. I’ll give him to you, here in your dreams of eternity.”

The fear in Garrett’s eyes grew. His bottom lip quivered and I can’t say I wasn’t tempted to unleash fury on the man that tortured me my whole life. I shook my head. “No. I’m not Garrett. I don’t hurt people because I can.”

The demon sighed and waved his hand and the cranks turned again and Garrett screamed and then with another wave of his hand the image was gone and Garrett went back to whatever hell he had come from. If it were even real. This was a dream.

“Oh all dreams are real on some level or another. Specially for a Master of dreams such as me. You little boyfriend is trying so very hard to get in through your newly crafted shields. You could invite him in to play.”

I thought hard and hoped Dev would hear, “No, lover stay away. Please stay away.”

“He can’t hear you, but I can. Your body is exquisit. The lump of a man Garrett could have been this powerful if he’d only tried. But you – you see things differently don’t you.” He sauntered over to me, almost floating over the green grass. I watched as it died as he moved towards me. It withered and turned black before dying. I thought I heard tiny litle screams as each little leaf died.

The demon…. “Oh please boy, you know my name. Call me by it.”

I was confused. “I know what you know. You know what I know come… boy.”

He started towards the three and I followed without thinking. When I realized what I’d done I’d stopped. I’d made a promise. And I was going to stick to that promise. I told Sage I’d never let anyone control me like The Dragon had. I closed my eyes, not that it mattered we were in my head anyway. I dug around looking searching for things that weren’t me. I found a name – Morpheus.

The demon laughed as he came to a stop at the tree. A single flame danced upon his his hand and he threw it at the tree. I felt the pain of burning. I could feel it on my skin but I wasn’t burning, the dream was burning the tree – me…

The demon…. “Morpheus,” it said. “My name is Morpheus not the demon.”

I grinned at him and thought demon… as hard as I could.

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