Spell Broken

14 - His Nightmare

I stare up at Mia. Her fingers dig into my shoulders, but the pain is mild compared to my curiosity.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Did Madam Mara never teach you anything about dreams?" Her eyes search my face.

I think back to all my lessons with her. Were dreams ever brought up? I can't recall anything about them.

I shake my head.

She sighs and releases my shoulders. I rub them as she goes back to pacing.

"It was one of the first things I ever learnt. That dreams are a window into the soul. They emit massive amounts of emotions."

"Maybe that's why," I say, standing up.

She stops and turns to me. Raising a brow she asks, "Why what?"

"Why you learned about dreams and I didn't."

When all I get is a blank stare I explain.

"You said dreams emit high levels of emotion and because you're an empath that would affect you."

"Oooh."

I nod.

"That... makes sense." She rubs her chin. "But, you can use the spell and see his dreams." Her eyes widen and glow with excitement.

I rub my arm. "I don't know... it would be invading his privacy."

"So? You want to help him, right?" She raises her eyebrow and places a hand on her hip.

I nod. "But-"

She stops me by wagging her finger in front of my face. "No buts. Let me teach you the spell so you can help him."

"But he wouldn't like it," I object.

She shrugs. "So? Would he even tell you anything else that could help you figure out what happened to him?"

I want to believe he will. That I shouldn't do this. But Neo seemed determined to try to keep what happened a secret.

I sigh "What's the spell?"

***

As I lay in my bed staring up at the ceiling Mia reminds me of the rules. "Make sure to stay quiet. Keep your presence small. Do not interact with anything you see."

"I know," I mumble.

She glares down at me. "These are important if you want to make sure he doesn't know you're there."

I nod.

"You ready?"

"Yep."

She grabs my hand and squeezes. "Good luck."

I smile then close my eyes. "Rux sayohati, Neo," I whisper.

Everything turns upside down before I'm dumped and land on my butt inside a familiar hall. It's bright. The rug is cleaned, the mirror hangs on the wall unbroken and everything that had landed on the floor is back on the little table like it's supposed to be.

If this is Neo's dream then why am I in Madam Mara's house?

The hall ripples at my thought. Shoot.

I try to think small as the door to the study creaks open. Golden light spills out of it.

I walk toward it. Voices float out of it. Two familiar voices.

"You have to remember what you want to see," Madam Mara's voice says. She faces the door but watches as the figure in front of her reaches their hands out above the cauldron.