Iridescence

CHAPTER TWENTY

VANESSA

Finding Morpheus was easy for me. Once Emily brought us into the dream realm, all I had to do was focus and I was able to lead us straight to him.

He looked startled to see us. "Girls... How have you come into my realm physically? Are you alright?" He asked.

"Emily opened a door into the realm," I explained eagerly. Part of me wanted to fling myself into the safety of his arms, but I knew I had to wait until he understood.

"Emily... Did you use a spell?" Morpheus asked.

"No," she replied. "I don't need one."

"I'm afraid I do not understand."

Emily moved closer to him. "I don't know how to tell you this... Morpheus, we were your daughters."

He tensed. "My children are dead. What you say is impossible," he replied sharply.

Emily looked into his eyes and said something in what sounded like Ancient Greek. He stared at her.

"Anastasia..." He whispered.

"What did you say to him?" I asked.

" 'Impossible is not a word for the one who runs the dream realm'," Emily replied. " 'All things are possible in dreams'... He used to say that to Ana all the time."

"I don't remember enough about Thea to make you believe me, but... Hi, Dad!" I said cheerfully before I hugged him.

He looked into my eyes and smiled sadly. "My Theadora... There is no mistaking you. How did I not see this before?" He asked.

"Her soul was dormant, but it's starting to stir," Emily replied. "And mine is almost fully awake. I remember nearly everything."

Morpheus wrapped his arms around us both. Surprisingly, Emily allowed it. "My daughters... How have you returned to me?" He asked softly.

"We come from you," Emily replied. "Part of our souls are made of the dream realm. That energy was reincarnated into new souls."

"Your souls were interconnected to your brother. You three shared a destiny. If you are back..." Morpheus began.

"Ly is, too," Emily confirmed. "We just have to find him."

"If we're awakening, he should be, too," I said. "Can you find him in his dreams, Dad?"

"That is complicated, my sweet Star Child," Morpheus replied. "Lysander's power shields his mind. Even I have extreme difficulty slipping into his subconscious unless he allows it."

"So how do we keep him safe?" I asked.

"With great effort."

"Don't worry, Vanessa," Emily said. "Ly doesn't know how to do anything small. Once he awakens, he'll be easy to find."

"Your sister is right about that," Morpheus said. "I suspect your brother will be easier to find than either of you were." He paused before saying, "Shouldn't you girls be in school?"

"We ditched our last couple of classes to come see you," I admitted. "Apollo told us Emily could open a door to your realm, so we decided to try it."

"Then you may as well stay until it is time to meet the others. Come... We have much to discuss," he said.

We spoke for a long time. I could tell Morpheus was emotional, but he hid it well and remained fairly stoic.

When it was time to go train, Morpheus brought us there himself. Other than Artemis, we were the first to arrive.

"Morpheus," she said. "I take it you already know."

"Indeed," he replied.

Artemis nodded. "At least that's one less person I have to explain this to."

The others began to arrive. Apollo brought the other four girls with him. The deities quickly joined us. I noticed that Artemis was making a point of not looking at Faith.

"I'm glad you're all here," Artemis began. "Last night, I came into information you need to know... The girls of Iridescence are actually the reincarnated souls of deities we believed were forever lost."

"Deities?" Ares asked. "Which deities?"

"Jenna was Alexia."

Nike gasped as Ares stared at her. "That would explain my fondness for you," he admitted to Jenna.

"My sister..." Nike said softly. "Have you truly returned to us?"

"I don't understand it," Jenna replied, "but I had a strange dream, and a woman sort of claimed me. She had branches and leaves for hair, and she was green."

"Gaia," Poseidon said. "She blessed you because you are her daughter."

"Emily was Anastasia, and Vanessa was Theadora," Artemis continued.

"Oh, Morpheus... Are you alright?" Prometheus asked in concern.

"I am still in a bit of shock," Morpheus replied, "but this news brings some peace to me."

"Krissy was-" Artemis began.

"Rydia," Poseidon guessed. "She must have been. She is so much like her."

"Yes," Artemis confirmed, looking at Hermes.

Hermes ran to Krissy and started examining her. After a moment, he burst into tears. "It's true!" He cried in surprise. "I feel my lost daughter inside of you, Krissy. Do you remember anything?"

"I saw flashes last night in my dreams," Krissy replied. "They felt like memories." She hesitated. "It was Theos who killed Rydia. Chaos helped him, but it was his idea, and he shoved the sword into her." She shook her head. "Her best friend murdered her."

"If he wasn't already dead, I'd destroy him!" Hermes declared.

"Oh, yes... About that," Apollo began.

Hades looked at him in concern. "What are you getting at, Apollo?" He demanded.

"Altheos is most likely back. We don't know who he is incarnated as, but he's here somewhere."

"I told Zeus to just let me destroy him right after he was born, but no! Instead of heeding my warning, he labeled me as the bad guy just because I knew what a monster that little brat was and wanted to end him!"

"To be fair, Brother, murdering babies is generally frowned upon," Poseidon pointed out.

"Do you not remember the damage he did? And now, he is back, and we will have to destroy him again!"

"Artemis," I said softly, hoping a change of subject would stop the brothers from killing each other. "Who were Faith and Eliza?"

"Eliza was Kleia," Artemis replied.

Everyone stopped and stared at Eliza. She shrank a bit at all of the attention. Apollo wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"My Gods..." Hermes mumbled. He smiled and said, "What excellent news for you, Brother! In fact, other than the likely return of Theos, all of this is excellent news... Sister, who was Faith?"

"Tana," Artemis replied softly.

Prometheus smiled. "I can definitely see that," he replied. "She embodies her fiery spirit."

"Tana! That's incredible, too!" Hermes declared.

Faith looked at Artemis hopefully. Artemis still wouldn't look at her. I wondered what the connection was between Tana and Artemis and why she refused to make eye contact with Faith.

"I know this is a lot for you all to process," Artemis said. "One day very soon, Psyche will join us. I am hoping she can unlock the souls of those of you who need help. Today, I will try to customize your training to your souls and what your deity selves were capable of."

With that, our training began for the day. I stood with Morpheus and Emily, which meant Hades stayed with us.

"I can assist Emily with her soul's gift the easiest," Morpheus explained, "but I am here to help you as well, Vanessa."

"What could Thea do?" I asked.

"She inspired hope in others with her mere existence," Hades replied. "She also possessed the ability to make the stars dance."

"I can only do that in dreams," I said.

"That is a start, my daughter," Morpheus replied. "You will soon learn to do it while awake."

"I did it for this boy I met in the dream realm. His name is Billy. I think I made him up, but he's interesting to talk to."

"Tell me about him," Morpheus said, suddenly turning very serious.

"He's sweet, but really skittish... He lives in a dark room with no windows. I think it's a basement. He never leaves," I explained. "We talked twice last night... It felt so natural... I made stars appear on the ceiling to comfort him."

"I do not believe Billy lives in the dream realm, Vanessa," Morpheus said. "I believe he is a real, living boy in this world."

"Why would you think that? I was dreaming when I found him."

"Your soul had a consort, my sweet girl. He was your balance. His name was Nyght, and we lost him the same day we lost you."

"And you think he's Billy?"

"Nyght lived a tormented life in darkness until you begged me to take him in. He was part of our family, and his existence is tied to yours. If you have returned, Nyght has as well."

At the name Nyght, I felt emotions stirring in me that were overwhelming. I could feel Thea's love for him and knew he was incredibly important to her. I also realized that Billy did remind me of the energy I felt surrounding Nyght.

"I have to find him," I said. "If he's real, then he needs my help! He's being held captive! He-"

"Easy, my Star Child," Morpheus said soothingly. "We will find your love together, tonight. You and Emily will enter the dream realm and I will help you locate him. He will be safe."

"Can't we go now?" I asked.

"It will only work if he is dreaming. We must wait until tonight."

"He's survived this long, Ness," Emily said. "He'll be alright for a couple more hours."

I didn't want to leave Billy alone any longer than I had to, but Morpheus was right. If he wasn't asleep, I wouldn't be able to get to him anyway.

I'll find you, Billy, I promised silently. And when I do, I'm going to save you.