Dream Killer: Book One in the Nadia Chronicles

Next time she opened her eyes, she was in her sleeping bag and extremely warm. “Dimitri,” she began, but her throat was so dry she wasn’t sure he could even hear her.

“I cannot believe you and your inescapable ability to get yourself into bizarre and dangerous situations. You have been here mere days and you bring an elemental to being. Were you sent here to challenge my sanity? Did you know you could have died? What would have happened then?”

Nadia sat up and tried to calm Dimitri but she began coughing up smoke instead. Dimitri handed Nadia her green canteen of water, before he went on ranting. “I mean, what could I do? I am sitting there,” he pointed across the fire. “Calming myself enough to come up with our next move when I am suddenly blasted out of my meditative state by a man made of fire.” He began pacing in circles around the fire. “I was so taken back at first I was not sure I was really seeing an elemental. After all, elementals are stories, right? Legends told around camp fires late at night? Then, I heard it speak to you.” He stopped abruptly, pointing at Nadia. “Of course, I don’t speak fire or elemental or whatever he was speaking so I am still unclear on what happened.” Dimitri hesitated, but Nadia could tell he was still not done ranting. She sat silently, trying as hard as she could not to smile. “But what was I supposed to do,” Dimitri continued. “Before I could consider any sort of action, it jumped at you and disappears. You, then fall to the ground and as far as I could tell were not breathing and I still don’t know what is going on.” He paused taking a deep breath. He was trying to bring his voice back to a normal level since it had been steadily rising in volume. “Apparently hitting the ground knocked the wind out of you, because you started coughing up billowing gray clouds of smoke. Could I help you? NO,” he started yelling again. “Because you were glowing white hot. Every time I tried to touch you I got horribly burned.” He showed her his wrapped hands, but did not stop long enough for Nadia to explain or say anything at all. “You have been lying in the same place since you fell over an hour ago. Only in the last ten minutes was I able to cover you up without lighting your sleeping bag on fire.” He stopped to glare at her. Nadia tried to speak but Dimitri cut her off. “I don’t get it, Nadia of Earth. I have met a few people from your world. But between your world and mine, no one is as, well I don’t know, reckless? Do you even understand what you accomplished today aside from stopping my heart and almost dying? Do you?” He sat down hard a few feet away from her. He had his back to her with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. At first, Nadia could not say anything for fear she might laugh or continue coughing. She was so amused by this large man pouting and touched by how much he seemed to care about her.

Nadia stood awkwardly still wrapped in the sleeping bag and crossed to Dimitri. “I’m sorry,” she began in a scratchy whisper. “I am sorry I scared you. I’m not even sure how it happened. One second I was looking into the fire.” With a flick of her wrist she sent the embers in the fire pit ablaze. “And the next I am staring at a man made of fire. He said I created him with the warmth in my own body. He did give me a choice to live without fire or to blend with him. I chose to blend.” Dimitri spun around to glare at her once more. Before he could speak Nadia rested a hand on his arm willing him to calm down and said, “For me, the choice was a simple one. He did tell me it would be dangerous, even life threatening.” Dimitri harrumphed. “But,” she continued ignoring his interruption. “He also said if I did not blend I would lose the warmth I used to create him and always feel cold inside. He told me I could control fire as easily as breathing. He was made by me with part of me. I figured I could handle taking that part back with some extras.”

“Nadia,” Dimitri started in a whisper looking straight into her eyes. “You could have died. Don’t you understand what that would have done to this world? To me?” He stopped abruptly and looked away into the trees.

“No,” she began, a little taken back by how angry her voice sounded. Once she controlled her sudden emotional outburst she continued, “I mean, I have not been here in Baako very long. And yes, most of the time I was sleep walking or dream walking or whatever. But I need to know more, like what is the prophecy that Gaia and the fire man were talking about? Why exactly was I taken from my world and brought to yours? How was I brought here? Why me? Why are you looking at me like that?” She finished exasperated, because Dimitri was almost laughing, but he also had a strange sort of fear behind his eyes.

“Okay,” he said after he composed himself. “Calm down. Let me try to explain to the best of my ability.” He took in a huge breath, held it for far too long, and let it out annoyingly too slow for Nadia’s patience. “Hmm? Where to start?” he said lamely.

“I don’t really care, just start somewhere.” Nadia said, still exasperated.

“I’m sorry,” he said sarcastically. “Am I not going fast enough? Are you going to bring another elemental to being?”

“I might just do that,” Nadia snapped as a half threat. “What is with your mood swings?” She got up still wrapped in her sleeping bag and threw a couple more logs on the fire. “I am sorry about the fire thing.”

She flicked a small fire ball at the camp fire for emphasis. Then she grabbed her bag to change her clothes once again. She shyly and silently asked the trees if anyone was nearby before she slipped behind a tree to change. “I’m sorry if I seem impatient,” she yelled from behind the tree so Dimitri could hear her. “But I don’t understand what is going on and I am starting to think you may not either. I know you were scared for me or the prophecy or your world. But the sooner I truly understand what is going on and this prophecy the sooner you can get me out of your life. Clearly, I’m irritating you. I mean, before you can even talk to me you have to take in a massive breath only to release it for, what was it, ten minutes.” She took her newly burnt clothes, relieved they weren’t as burned as the other ones, and flung them over a branch to air out before coming out from behind the tree fully clothed. “I would understand if you didn’t want to be my guardian,” she continued with a sniff. She glanced around trying to calm down. “I can go it alone if you want. Oh.” While Nadia was ranting, she hadn’t realized she had begun to cry until it started to rain. She must have gradually been heating up because the rain was causing her to steam. Dimitri got up and crossed to her. He hesitated before touching her afraid to get burned again. Even though she was steaming, she was cool enough to touch. He embraced her. She looked into his eyes and whispered, “Why is this happening? I never cry and now if I do it starts to rain? This could get really embarrassing.” The rain lessened and Dimitri finally began to explain.

“Ever since I can remember,” he began walking Nadia back to the fire. “I have been

fighting in this damned war. Why it started, I don’t think anyone truly knows or remembers. Why it continues is engrained in our minds and hearts from the day of our birth.” He released Nadia and grabbed his jacket before he continued. “When I was a child I was entrusted with this.” He pulled out a small book from one of the many pockets on the inside of his jacket. “We, the chosen guides, were given one from our mentors. It is the story of our mentor’s lives, training, battles, victories, and defeats as well as their mentors and so on. I too have written the story of my travels and adventures and now it will include the part of your story that I am privileged enough to be a part of.” The shabby little book was just small enough to fit into a jean pocket comfortably. It did not look big enough to hold a story more than a few pages long let alone life times. He placed the book back into his jacket and pulled out the book Nadia recognized as the leather-bound book given to her by Gaia. “Whereas that book,” Dimitri continued gesturing to the book he had just put away. “Holds the lives of a few, this book holds the lives and futures of us all. This is the book of prophecies that Gaia and the others have collected for thousands of years. I have only been privy to this book one other time in my life and now I carry the burden of being its guardian as well.”

Nadia stared greedily at the book that held the key to all the prophecy stuff. “So,” she began excitedly. “Let’s read it.”

“No.” Dimitri said with finality Nadia recognized from adults that were about to tell a child, ‘you can have it when you’re older’.

“What do you mean no?” Nadia’s eyes narrowed. “Gaia said I could read it.”

“Yes,” he said calmly. “But she also said you were not meant to read it yet.”

“So, that’s it?” Nadia said through clenched teeth. “You get to decide what I know and don’t know, just like that?”

“Nadia,” Dimitri was slightly alarmed. “Please calm down, you are starting to smoke. You may try to open the book, but if you are not meant to read it yet, then it will not open for you.” He tossed the book into Nadia’s hands. “I am not even able to open it currently.”

Nadia turned the book over and over in her hands. She tried to open it like any other book with no success. She was just about to pull her knife out to open it, when Dimitri took it back.

“Hey,” Nadia said enraged, then caught Dimitri’s eyes. “Oh, sorry, you’re right. I don’t know why I am so hot tempered right now. It must be the fire elemental,” she finished with a small, shamed smile that Dimitri returned with a head shake.

“We are a pair, aren’t we?” he put the book away. “There is more I can tell you.” Dimitri began again. “Even without access to all of the prophecies. I know Gaia has watched you from the time you were very young and knows more about you than most. She has seen you weep for a dying tree and give life to those plants you have cared for. She knows of your fears and your weakness as well as your great capacities for love, trust, and self-sacrifice.”

Nadia blushed deeply and whispered, “She said all that?”

“Yes,” Dimitri replied. “She has brought your name to the great council on many occasions and pushed to bring you here.”

Nadia stared at him and he stared at the newly lit fire. “Wait a sec, Gaia wanted me to come here?”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

Nadia continued, “And how do you know all of this? I mean, it is not that I don’t believe you,” she stammered back pedaling.

“The story of my life will come to you in time,” he said mysteriously. “But for now, we need to teach you control. We can’t have you burning down forests or causing rain storms every time you switch emotions.”

Nadia agreed with that, but she had so many more questions. Dimitri’s next sentence derailed her train of thought. “Meditation is something you must master to control your new gifts and all of their, um, side effects.”

Nadia began to argue, “But I am dreadful at it. I mean, look what happened when I stared off into the fire. There has to be another method for me to learn control.”

“There are many styles of meditation,” Dimitri said amused. “We will just have to find one that fits you the best.”

“You’re going to need the patience of a saint,” Nadia said matter-of-factly. “Many people have tried to teach me to meditate with no success.”

“I think I can teach you,” Dimitri said confidently. “More importantly, I think that I must. If you can organize your thoughts in your wakefulness, you are going to be stronger in your dreams. I am amazed with how strong you seem to be in the dream realm considering you cannot meditate. Can you do me a favor?”

“Yes,” she answered hesitantly.

“Can you talk to the forest and tell me if there is anyone around? You look worn out and I am not much better. We both need to sleep before this night is over.” Nadia realized then that it had to be close to midnight or later. She quickly asked the trees if anyone was nearby. There was a lone hunter fifteen miles due east, but camped for the night. The trees asked why she was so warm. She soothed them by trying to explain what happened. There was a noticeable shiver that ran through the trees when she spoke of the fire elemental. She thanked them for their information and their patience with her and her new power.

When she looked at Dimitri again she noticed her bed roll was out near the fire and his was on the outside of hers. He had also set out a short sword, a handful of throw knives, and more dreamless sleep powder. He was sprinkling twigs on the ground about fifty feet around the camp site so they would know if anyone or anything tried to approach them while they slept.

“We are safe for now,” Nadia said through a deep yawn. She didn’t realize just how bone tired she was until that moment. “There is no one nearby to the north or south of us. There is a hunter east of here near what the trees called the singing hills. I have no idea how far that is from here. I can take the first watch.” She tried to hide a second massive yawn that escaped from her.

He looked at her with a warm smile, “No, we can both sleep. If I understand the trees correctly that is quite a distance from here. We will be safe until sun up. Then we must travel as far from this spot as possible. I think we can make it to the shelter and safety of a cave that is nearby if we start early and rest little. There is much we still need to talk about Nadia and I am sure you still have many more questions for me.”

He trailed off when he noticed that Nadia had fallen asleep. He walked the camp once more both as a man and a panther. He could not afford any mistakes with their safety. He walked slowly back to his sleeping bag watching Nadia’s peaceful face in what he hoped was a dreamless sleep. He zipped up her sleeping bag though he did not think she can become overly cold anymore. He marveled at all that she had been through and all she had shown she was capable of. He wondered briefly at what she still may be capable of. He allowed himself to hope that she may be the one his people had been waiting for.

She stirred gently and started to talk in her sleep. She said the name Hazel and Cassandra and then smiled in a carefree manner that made Dimitri smile too. He was fascinated by the emotions she was exhibiting in her sleep and wanted to watch more. He moved his sleeping bag so they were only a foot apart and climbed in zipping his bag up to his neck.

The chill was picking up in the night and he could feel the frost in the air that would turn to snow on the ground in a few short days. He sent out a short prayer that they would be among friends before the snow began to fall and went back to watching Nadia sleep. She still had the trace of a smile and was gently giggling. He was astounded at the emotions her small giggle made him feel and how happy he became when she was happy. He fell asleep as he wondered at his new-found feelings and all the chaos that small woman brought into his life.