breath and knowing he didn’t have time to argue, Aidan nodded and stepped back, withdrawing his blade. The Elder immediately spun about and worked furiously at the console, eventually entering a combination of keystrokes that turned the flashing lights solid, then blue, and finally off.
Resting his palms on the edge, Sheron visibly collapsed with relief. “You don’t have much time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to make it to the lake before your absence is noted.”
“Explain,” Aidan ordered curtly.
“You want to cross over.” Sheron reached back and lifted his hood, once again hiding behind the veil of shadows. “Your increasing dissatisfaction has been obvious to us for the last few decades, and your infatuation with the Dreamer has been whispered about for weeks. Your actions today can mean only one thing—you want to be with her rather than do your duty here.”
Lifting his arm, Aidan slipped his glaive into the scabbard that crossed his back. He released a deep breath, wondering if Sheron suspected the true reason he wished to leave. Without the benefit of reading the Elder’s facial expressions, there was no way for him to know. The toneless, emotionless voice revealed nothing. “What do I have to do?”
“Search your conscience. You are our best warrior. Your loss will change the balance between Guardians and Nightmares considerably. Morale will plummet. A selfish choice, wouldn’t you say?”
“Fuck you.” Aidan crossed his arms. “I have given more than enough. I refuse to feel guilt for wanting something for myself. You hold no hesitation in sucking me dry, yet I’m selfish?”
The quick rise and fall of Sheron’s chest was the only sign that he’d struck a chord.
“You will have to travel past the Gateway,” the Elder rasped. “Beyond the rise you’ll find a lake.”
“Yes, I’ve seen it.” Aidan felt his mentor’s smile.
“Why am I not surprised? You were always overly curious.”
“Go on. I don’t have time to reminisce.”
“When you get to the lake, dive beneath the surface.You’ll see light emanating from a cave. There is a grotto there, tended by two Elders.”
“What are they doing down there?”
Sheron held out both hands, palms parallel. “In the space between waking and dreaming, there is the place where some humans come by force. They hover here, more awake than asleep, but not cognizant enough to comprehend. Once we thought the Key would come to us this way. Now we simply guard them from coming too far into this conduit. Nightmares are predators. They would use that tenuous tie if they could.”
Aidan frowned, and then his eyes widened. “Hypnosis!”
“Yes.” Sheron nodded his approval. “That is what the Dreamers call it.”
“Is that how we entered here to begin with?”
“No.”
Something in the Elder’s tone gave him pause. “There is more than one way to make the journey?”
“There is only one way that will allow a lone Guardian to make the journey,” came the evasive reply.
“How can I trust you to tell me the truth?”
“How can I trust you not to kill me now that you know?”
There had been occasions when he’d had to act based on faulty or suspect intel, but Aidan never liked it. This time he hated it. If he was sent in the wrong direction…
He caught the Elder by the elbow. “You’re coming with me.”
“You can’t—”
“Yes. I can.” He dragged him out of the room and downthe hall, making a quick stop at the private Elder library.
“What are you doing?” Sheron snapped, when Aidan went straight to the historical volumes that were omitted from the entirely electronic public Hall of Knowledge.
“Taking answers with me.” His fingertips drifted over the spines until he reached the spot where he should have found the text chronicling the two years preceding and directly following their discovery of this conduit. “Where is it?”
“It was lost.”
“Bullshit.”
“It is lost to me,” Sheron
Resting his palms on the edge, Sheron visibly collapsed with relief. “You don’t have much time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to make it to the lake before your absence is noted.”
“Explain,” Aidan ordered curtly.
“You want to cross over.” Sheron reached back and lifted his hood, once again hiding behind the veil of shadows. “Your increasing dissatisfaction has been obvious to us for the last few decades, and your infatuation with the Dreamer has been whispered about for weeks. Your actions today can mean only one thing—you want to be with her rather than do your duty here.”
Lifting his arm, Aidan slipped his glaive into the scabbard that crossed his back. He released a deep breath, wondering if Sheron suspected the true reason he wished to leave. Without the benefit of reading the Elder’s facial expressions, there was no way for him to know. The toneless, emotionless voice revealed nothing. “What do I have to do?”
“Search your conscience. You are our best warrior. Your loss will change the balance between Guardians and Nightmares considerably. Morale will plummet. A selfish choice, wouldn’t you say?”
“Fuck you.” Aidan crossed his arms. “I have given more than enough. I refuse to feel guilt for wanting something for myself. You hold no hesitation in sucking me dry, yet I’m selfish?”
The quick rise and fall of Sheron’s chest was the only sign that he’d struck a chord.
“You will have to travel past the Gateway,” the Elder rasped. “Beyond the rise you’ll find a lake.”
“Yes, I’ve seen it.” Aidan felt his mentor’s smile.
“Why am I not surprised? You were always overly curious.”
“Go on. I don’t have time to reminisce.”
“When you get to the lake, dive beneath the surface.You’ll see light emanating from a cave. There is a grotto there, tended by two Elders.”
“What are they doing down there?”
Sheron held out both hands, palms parallel. “In the space between waking and dreaming, there is the place where some humans come by force. They hover here, more awake than asleep, but not cognizant enough to comprehend. Once we thought the Key would come to us this way. Now we simply guard them from coming too far into this conduit. Nightmares are predators. They would use that tenuous tie if they could.”
Aidan frowned, and then his eyes widened. “Hypnosis!”
“Yes.” Sheron nodded his approval. “That is what the Dreamers call it.”
“Is that how we entered here to begin with?”
“No.”
Something in the Elder’s tone gave him pause. “There is more than one way to make the journey?”
“There is only one way that will allow a lone Guardian to make the journey,” came the evasive reply.
“How can I trust you to tell me the truth?”
“How can I trust you not to kill me now that you know?”
There had been occasions when he’d had to act based on faulty or suspect intel, but Aidan never liked it. This time he hated it. If he was sent in the wrong direction…
He caught the Elder by the elbow. “You’re coming with me.”
“You can’t—”
“Yes. I can.” He dragged him out of the room and downthe hall, making a quick stop at the private Elder library.
“What are you doing?” Sheron snapped, when Aidan went straight to the historical volumes that were omitted from the entirely electronic public Hall of Knowledge.
“Taking answers with me.” His fingertips drifted over the spines until he reached the spot where he should have found the text chronicling the two years preceding and directly following their discovery of this conduit. “Where is it?”
“It was lost.”
“Bullshit.”
“It is lost to me,” Sheron
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