Lamia's Dream

Chapter 25

I ran my hand along the stone creature.  Large bat wings stretched from its back.  Two spiral horns jutting from its forehead, its fierce face snarled back at me.  I was grateful my girlfriend didn’t have horns.  Or did those show up when she transformed?   

“What’s that?” asked Valerie, entering the dream as if on cue.

“A gargoyle.  You’ve never seen them?”

Four stone gargoyles rested on the edges of the balcony.

“Yeah, come to think about it, I have in a few old movies.”

“What about in real life?”

Valerie shot me a sideways look.  “Gargoyles aren’t real, Miles.”

“Don’t tell me that Sucubi are the only mythical creatures that are real.”

“No, there are a few.  But what makes you ask?”

We walked from the castle ledge into the bedroom.  Or what should have been a bed room.  Instead, we were in a bazaar in the middle of the desert.  Middle Eastern men with wooden stands stood along the dirt street.  They shouted for Valerie’s and my attention.  Except I couldn’t hear them.  Perhaps this was probably due to the surreal effect of Valerie being in my dream.

“I was at the mall today with Malik and, while I was in the jewelry store, some guy approached me.  He knew you were a Succubus.”

“He just knew?  You didn’t tell him anything?” Valerie demanded, alarmed.

I told him I love you.

“No, I swear I didn’t.”

She didn’t seem convinced.  “What’d he say to you?”

“All sorts of weird stuff,” I said.  I wanted to explain it to her coherently.  Instead, I rambled, “the difference between anger and rage and Succubi can taste that difference.  Do you think he’s an Incubus?  Oh, and he threatened me!  He said the next time I encounter the Hunter, he’ll hurt me.”

“The Hunter?”

“I’m guessing that’s the name of the guy we ran into at the restaurant.”

Valerie placed her hand on her lip.  She stopped walking and looked off in the distance, beyond the bazaar.  “The Hunter?  Singular…  That probably means he is working alone.  And, if he warned you to stay away from the Hunter, that probably means we don’t have to worry about the Hunter coming for you.  Samantha will be relieved.  She was supposed to keep watch over you tomorrow night.”

“If he was being honest…” I said, eyeing her curiously.  I was amazed she figured all of that out from the few details I gave off.

Valerie’s gaze returned to me.  “And no, the man you saw is not an Incubus.  He can’t be.”

“Then what is he?”

Valerie paced, giving it more thought.  “My mother once spoke of a trickster, a meddler.  She warned me to stay away from him, if he ever came calling.  I’d advise you to do the same.”

“I can’t help it if these freaks keep popping up whenever I’m out in public.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“They’re freaks.  Not you.”

“Right, because I’m normal.”

“Val, that’s not…” I growled in irritation, knowing I was fighting a futile battle.  “Look, I’m sorry.  Anyway, are there any other supernatural creatures I should worry about.”

“Sirens.  They’re about the worst thing you could run into.”

“Wait?  Don’t they have a song to lure men?  How am I supposed to get around that?  I can’t walk around with stuff in my ears all the time.”

Valerie smiled widely.  “I’m kidding.  I don’t even know if they’re real or not.  When we were taught about other…  let’s go with paranormals.  When the girls and I were taught about other paranormals, I didn’t pay much attention.  Alex did.  I figured the odds of them showing up here were slim to none.”

“The Hunter did.  And now this trickster guy.”

“The Hunter is a human.  I’m sure of it.”

“And not an Incubus? In human form?  I mean you guys can transform, right?”

Valerie’s face turned red.  “Yes, we can transform.  But, let’s not talk about that,” she said, recovering.  “Succubi just know when they’re around an Incubus.  I think it’s smell or something.  Either way, the Hunter isn’t an Incubus.” 

“And…” she smiled, “since you want to know more about us, Incubi and Succcubi don’t get along.  Really, they hate each other.  Mating is probably the tensest time in a Succubi’s life, next to child rearing, which Succubi also despise.  As told by my mother anyway.  Regardless, there’s no reason for an Incubus to be after me.”

“And the trickster?”

“The way my mother explained it, he wouldn’t harm me, so much as be a nuisance.  And his warning about you staying away from the Hunter was good advice.  Whether it really is him or not, let me- FLASH- this.”

The bazaar disappeared.  Above us, the sky flashed white.  “Oh- FLASH- I’m waking up.”

Valerie smiled.  “Dreams always- FLASH- too soon.  Oh, by- FLASH- what were you- FLASH- in a jewelry store?”

My jaw dropped, just before Valerie faded away.

Awake, in my bedroom, I slapped my forehead.