Once again, Caderyn finds herself in the woods, except this time she is wearing a long midnight blue silk chiffon dress, with a halter style top, and no shoes. Her long dark hair is pulled up, and a flower clip holds it in place. She stands and jumps when something zips past her face. A hummingbird zips around her body and hovers just at eye height, chirping at her. “Teuuuu, Teuuuu,” it calls and flies a few feet away. How odd, Caderyn thinks and starts to go back into the woods. Faster than she can blink, the bird blocks her way and calls to her again.
“Do you know where they went?” Her heartbeat picks up at the thought. The emerald tones sparkle as the bird flies a few feet in the direction of the ocean, and Caderyn decides to trust her instinct and follow him. It constantly has to fly back to keep track of her, and she wonders why she’s following a little bird. She should turn back, but she needs to find him.
“Don’t lose me little one, I’m not as fast as you,” Caderyn calls out. The ground beneath her feet begins to change from the soft texture of grass to sharp, prickly sand. The bird zips over and drops down silently as though hiding. She takes the hint and finds a bush big enough to hide behind.
As the Shadow passes by, all noises cease, except the drumbeat of the ocean. He drags the soulless body behind him, pulling it over rocks and sharp shells, leaving a bloody trail in the sand. The crimson stains attract Caderyn’s eyes, and her soul cries out in rage.
Trembling with unshed tears of anger, Caderyn waits until the bird moves. “Why am I here?” she whispers to the bird as though it could talk to her. In her heart, she already knows the answer. She has to save him.
Once more, she follows the shadow, careful to make no sound; she creeps along behind him, following the bird. The shale and crushed shells rip at her bare feet as she walks, but she does not stop. They move along the coast, away from the shore. Her friend returns zipping in front of her, moving away from the shore to a group of boulders. They drop down behind the rocks, to wait. Caderyn wonders what they are waiting for until the first rays of dawn break across the sky.
She notices the ground beneath her body is black rock, and warm beneath her throbbing feet. Where are his people? Why aren’t they trying to save him? She wonders angrily, balling her hand into a fist. She jumps when the hummingbird pokes her thumb to get her attention. Again, he zips up and moves from behind the rock, and still, she follows. Now traveling across hot black rock, her cuts burn, and her feet blister from the heat. In front of her is a large black mountain, and her heart drops to her stomach. “He’s inside?” she asks and taking a step, something sharp sinks into her foot, and she falls to the ground in pain.
Caderyn wakes, once more in her home and the pain is horrendous. Her feet are on fire, and she jumps throwing her sketchpad across the room. The sun is just rising, casting a golden glow around the room and Caderyn tries not to scream as she watches a blue vapor swirl through her living room and suck back into the globe. Heart pounding, she sits back and stares at the tiny blue orb, as the fog inside disappears. “I must be losing my mind.”
The pain in her feet tells a different story. Looking down, she feels blisters, sand, and shells stuck to the soles of her feet. Her right foot has a gash, with a small black piece of shale protruding from it. She limps to the bathroom to get her medical kit, and that’s when she notices the dress. She’s wearing in the silky blue dress from her dream, and her feet are torn to pieces!
“Deep breath, Caderyn,” she whispers and tries to remain calm as she grabs the medical kit from under the sink. As she sits on the side of her claw foot tub, she turns the water on to rinse her feet clean and flinches at the pain. Scarlet ribbons of blood swirl with the water and Caderyn sits in shock. “What kind of dream hurts you?”
“Damn!” she hisses at the sting of pains. Next, she grabs her tweezers and pulls the shale free, setting it on a rag. She bandages and disinfects her feet, and limps back to the living room. Scared and unsure of what is happening, she walks toward the fireplace to look at the globe. Careful of its fragility, she places her pointer finger on the blue glass and sees, the King! He’s chained inside the black mountain, beaten and bloody. His head hangs with his blonde hair shielding his face from view. The Shadow moves forward blocking him from view, and a dark voice says, “A visitor? Don’t be shy, join us Caderyn!” She jumps back before he turns to face her, breaking the connection.
“OMG!!!” she screams. Grabbing her keys and phone, she runs from the house and jumps into her car.
She whips out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires and drives to Jaz’s condo ten minutes away. Leaping from her vehicle she runs, leaving the door open and beats on her door. Desperately she rings the doorbell, pounding and crying at the same time. When the door opens, she falls inside.
“Cadie! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Jaz cries out as she catches her friend and helps her inside.
“You
