“I thought they weren’t coherent or even aware of what was happening to them.”
“I am not so cruel. They are not capable of handling great emotion, such would tear them apart. I provide them a safe place where they are happiest. They relive those moments until they grow bored, and I provide them a new one.”
“You’re like a sanctuary for broken souls,” Burke mused. “Lucky them.”
The blank darkness that served as E’s face turned towards him. “No one has ever thought of it like that.”
“I have a feeling you’ve never really let anyone know you very well.”
“Touché,” E muttered.
They stopped after a few moments. Burke’s feet settled onto firm ground. After traveling in such a way, it was almost startling to feel himself not moving.
He stared around them and wondered now where they were. No dreams reflected here. In fact, he didn’t even see any souls. There was nothing but a blank void that made it feel as though he were blind. The only reason he knew he wasn’t was the solid feeling of E’s hand and the general shape of the creature next to him.
“Are you frightened?” the creature whispered.
“No.” But his voice was higher than it should have been. He cleared his throat. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re still holding onto my hand.”
He immediately dropped the referenced limb and took a step back. The laughter that rumbled out of E’s chest made him uncomfortable. He was not likely to mention it.
His body felt heavier here. Not quite as though he weighed more or that the form he took inside this mind was larger. But there was a certain seriousness that held down on his shoulders as though there were hands upon him.
It couldn’t be the place he was in. Burke knew how to keep his own emotions out of his dreams. This couldn’t be his own nerves, his own stress, filtering into the world which E had created… Could it?
“Easy there big guy,” E muttered.
He glanced towards it.
“This isn’t a dream. You affect the environment just as much as others. For now, you’re a visitor inside me who has just as much power as any other soul.”
“Good to know,” he muttered as he worked hard to clear his mind. The last thing he needed was to turn this into yet another of Wren’s nightmares.
The last one had been dangerous enough.
Burke took one step, then another, further away from E and towards what he knew was likely to be the fight of his life. Find Wren. Give her the elixir that was wrapped around his throat. Keep her with him and convince her to return. Hope to every God that might be listening that E could put her in control over her own body again.
“E?” he asked.
“Last question Burke, you’re stalling.”
“How do I get her to you? Are you staying or not?”
“She’ll know. Give her the elixir and everything will be changed.”
“Right, ‘cause that’s going to be easy. Why do you think I’m capable of this?”
Silence was his answer.
“E?” He turned around to see whether or not the creature was still behind him. It wasn’t. There was nothing but a blank space where a column of darkness should be.
“Okay,” he muttered. “Guess I’m on my own.”
Burke bent down to press his hand against the solid ground beneath him. There was nothing here with him. Just a blank slate he could fill to try and lure Wren towards him.
Taking in a deep breath, he flexed his fingers and spread them wide against the ground. In his mind he built the scene he wanted. Green grass spread from his fingertips and flowers grew into bright colors. Every rose color he could think of and more bloomed before him.
Into the scene he added a warm sun with puffy white clouds. Butterflies that fluttered above the flowers and landed upon his shoulders and arms. Birds that could not be seen chirped and filled the ears with lyrical music. And finally, he made certain that the sweet scent of lavender danced through the air.
It was enough. He hoped it was enough. He added a chair and table. Silver wrought iron slithered from the ground and metal roses entangled with the legs of the chair and table. Here he would wait for her.
Burke settled onto the chair and tried to tell himself he wasn’t setting a trap for her. He wasn’t going to harm her, he was going to do the opposite. Yet it still felt as though he was lying in wait for the woman that made his chest ache.
He did not know how long he waited. Only that the entire time he sat on that chair with the sweet scent of roses, he thought of her. He thought of the way she laughed loud and long at the oddest of things. He thought of her kindness to her customers. He thought of the graceful way she moved and the long arch of her neck.
The shadows beyond the edge of his creation moved.
“Wren?” Burke asked quietly.
He held his breath as the shadows moved once more. Like a curtain they parted to reveal Wren as she wandered into his creation. Her feet were bare, and he could see a shiver travel up her spine as her toes touched the springy grass.
She was beautiful in the way a wild creature was. Her hair swept off of her neck as a breeze constantly walked with her. This time her white dress was slightly different. It glittered in the light, and Burke realized it was made out of webbing. Spider webs, it must be, just like the spider dress Pitch had given her.
A spike of jealousy made some of the grass curl and die. Wren paused, and her brow furrowed in confusion. He was losing control of the dream and himself. He couldn’t do that at a time like this.
Slowly, he stood. His hand reached out towards her, and the grass became green
