Before I Wake by Kathryn Smith

in that mist and started walking. Fast.
    Had I been better at this I might have been able to put myself on the front step of Morpheus’s castle, or perhaps even inside, but it had been too long, and I was lucky to have found my way here at all on my own. As it was, I had managed to enter the world at the gates of the kingdom. I stood before the horn and ivory—much like those gates that guarded entry to the world itself—and waited for them to recognize me. The light of the full moon lit my face, made the horn and ivory glow, and filled me with a sense of strength.
    A man bumped into me. I looked up to say something and found myself staring into familiar black-edged blue eyes. It was the Night Terror, but he didn’t “feel” like he should. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but he reeked of falseness.
    “Little Light. How delightful to see you again.”
    My heart felt like it was in my throat, choking me with every frantic beat. “Karatos.”
    A smile of pure pleasure curved his lips. “You took the time to discover my name, how sweet.”
    Sweet, my ass. “Are you stalking me?”
    He folded well-muscled arms across an equally impressive chest. He was so perfect and beautiful to look at, and yet there was an awful twistedness to him—a mockery of beauty. “‘Stalking’ sounds so dirty. I thought we had something better than that. I like to think of it as ‘visiting.’”
    I stared at him. My heart was back in my chest, but still pounding as though it might burst at any second. I wasn’t concerned about him hurting me. Somehow, I knew he wasn’t here to do that—he just wanted to scare me. “Why are you ‘visiting’? What am I to you?”
    He grinned, perfect white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “Oh, it’s not just me, Dawnie. It’s what you are to all of us. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
    Figured it out? All of us? I opened my mouth to ask another question just as the gates of horn and ivory creaked open beside us.
    “That’s my cue,” Karatos said with a sigh of regret. Then he—It—grabbed me and kissed me before disappearing into the swirling mist.
    The mist that was closing in around me. It was the guard dog of the Realm. I swear at that moment the damn stuff was whispering.
    I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was not friendly.
    I whirled around and ran through the gates, into the heart of my father’s Realm. I was safe from Karatos and the creepy mist here.
    The horn and ivory, symbolizing the real and the false, closed behind me, cutting off any thoughts I had of turning and running. I didn’t want to do this, but it wasn’t as though I had a choice. Karatos had killed people. It had hurt Noah. And It had, for all intents and purposes, raped me and made me like it. It was going to pay for that, even if I had to swallow my pride and grovel at Morpheus’s feet to make it happen.
    And now It was making comments about what I meant to “us.” What the hell was that about?
    I walked up the cobblestone path, breathing in the night-blooming jasmine and fresh air. My heart gave a funny twist. Jasmine was my mother’s favorite.

    Just ahead, looming high above all else, was the circular stone castle of Morpheus. It stood daunting and pale, its domes and pinnacles reaching for the starry sky. Looking at it, in all its shades of purple, blue, and silver, I wondered what colors Noah would choose to paint it.
    Lights glowed from the many windows, giving this intimidating structure a welcoming cast. Music drifted on the breeze, along with the smell of something warm and delicious. I tilted my head back, lifting my nose to breathe in that heavenly scent. Was that funnel cake?
    They knew I was coming. The funnel cake—one of my favorite things as a child—was proof of that. Some of my unease evaporated then. Neither my mother nor Morpheus would have conjured up funnel cake for my arrival were I not welcome.
    The guards at the door to the castle—tall, onyx-skinned,