Oliver

LAKE

The air has a slight chill as my eyes flutter open. I yawn and stretch as I shake last night’s sleep away. Lynne is as groggy as I am.

“Good morning, Firefly,” Derrick sings as he pokes what’s left from last night’s fire. “How did you sleep?”

I shrug and rub my face violently. Last night was a mixture of good and bad sleep. Having Derrick near me definitely helped, but my skin still crawls at the memory of my dreams.

“Well, I suspect you would like some breakfast?” Derrick asks. He pulls his jacket off the ground after I stand. My stomach growls loudly at the mention of food.

“I don’t smell any deer or anything of the sort near,” I state. “Do you?”

“Oh, we’re not hunting this morning.” Derrick smiles widely. “Have you ever had Ole Oliver’s Diner?”

I raise an eyebrow. “We’re rogues between two pack territories. I doubt anyone is going to let us eat—let alone step foot—in their restaurant. Human or wolf.”

“Don’t worry, Firefly,” Derrick reassures me. “I know the owners. Plus, there may be someone who’s able to help us.”

The books are tucked underneath my winter coat as Derrick and I come to a clearing in the woods with a road that stretches in both directions.

There’s a blanket of ice over the asphalt. The snow is bright as the morning sun peeks over the tree line in the distance.

“Here we are.” Derrick smiles and crosses the road. I look from side to side. There’s nothing around us that even resembles a diner.

Derrick stomps on the road three times with his left foot. The ice cracks and begins to glow bright greens and blues.

In a flash, I’m standing in front of an old diner with a slowly flashing open sign. The road is now gone and is replaced by the warmth of summer grass.

The cold air is very humid now with the sound of birds singing, and the heavily planted area has a sense of security.

“How did we…” My voice trails off as my eyes find the wandering people around us. They’re glowing blue and have lost glints in their eyes.

“Let’s go.”

Derrick ushers me into the diner with an arm firmly wrapped around my hips. The possessiveness of him makes my stomach full of butterflies.

The inside of the diner is old and faded. The baby-blue paint on the walls is starting to peel with mold beginning to show behind it. The tables and chairs are filled with dust and rust.

There is no one but an older gentleman standing behind the front counter with an old register to his side. Derrick’s demeanor has changed; he’s more on edge.

“We need to see Oliver, Benjamin.” Derrick stares at the man until they make eye contact. I look at the man with curiosity.

His gray hair is long and frizzy. He has a salt-and-pepper beard that almost reaches the top of the counter.

The features of his face are nothing to really like. Most of him is starting to sag, and the other parts of him smell strongly of decay.

I hold my breath as Benjamin lifts the counter for employees to enter the kitchen. Derrick holds my hand as we pass through to the back.

The kitchen is very old. Most of the pots and pans are made from iron. There’s a brick oven on the far end of the room with cool ashes that lie at the bottom.

We stop in front of a huge wooden door that says ~MANAGER~ in bold lettering. The handle seems to be out of a medieval time period.

Derrick gives me a glance before opening the door and entering the room.

I sneeze as the door closes behind me. We’re engulfed in darkness before a low light flashes in front of us. It’s the flicker of a candle.

“Derrick, long time no see,” my stomach twists as a thin woman turns around in her wooden chair. The creak sends chills down my spine.

From the low light, I can see her protruding cheekbones and sunken eyes. The woman’s skin is riddled with blisters and warts. Her thick lips are in the form of a smile as she glances over to me.

“Ah!” she exclaims in joy. “You’re a special one, aren’t you?”

Her bony finger points to me as the woman stands to her feet and walks around her desk toward us.

“Oliver, she isn’t here for your amusement,” Derrick puts his arm in front of me before the woman can get any closer. “We’re in need of your help.”

Oliver cracks a little smile and chuckles to herself. In an instant, the room is lit with candles dotting the room. Most are almost melted, while others seem to be brand new.

“Is it because of the Dream Walker haunting this young girl?” Oliver asks and goes back to her desk, where she leans on the side of it.

Her long, curly hair is a brilliant red. Her eyes are a piercing crystal-blue.

“Dream Walker?” Derrick asks. His head tilts slightly at his question.

“The girl is cursed, is she not?” Oliver asks. “This curse comes with a Dream Walker.”

“Jake…,” I breathe out.

Oliver waves her hand, and a cup of wine appears in it. She takes a few sips before looking at me with intense eyes.

“This Dream Walker is not this Jake you speak of,” she says. “It’s a simple familiar that does the bidding of its master. In this case, the master is the one who cursed you.”

“The nightmares,” I state. Derrick looks down at me with concern.

“They’re simply what the master wishes to do to you.” Oliver shrugs. “From the energy I’m getting from you, the master is a very powerful warlock.”

Derrick and I look at each other. There’s no way Jake was the one to put this curse on me. The woman in white was the one. Wasn’t she?

“My dear, this witch in white you’re thinking of is simply this warlock’s servant.” Oliver smiles at me. “These dreams you’re having, the dark veins on your stomach, they’re his doing.”

“How did you—”

“I’m a lot older and wiser than I may seem, Lake.” Oliver takes a lasting sip of her wine and pushes herself off her desk. “Your little goddess isn’t the only one of the Celestial Realm.”