Page 50 of Rogue Witch

“Yeah,” I agree. “Let’s have a look.”

We head toward the sound, which comes from the far end of the meadow. The meadow is much larger than I remember. I had never done anything other than sit or lie on the ground near the middle of this meadow.

A woman emerges from the still distant trees.

Ariel.

I halt. “What is she doing here?”

The urge to race to Ariel and punch her as hard as I can nearly overwhelms me and I realize I’ve fisted my hands. More people emerge. I recognize Anthony, who helped chase Jonas, and another dozen people I don’t recognize. They halt behind Ariel and stare at us.

I frown. “They’re supposed to be attacking the house.”

Stony grunts loudly.

I jerk my gaze onto her. “This is a lucid dream?” I never thought of coming here as a lucid dream. “How did you follow me here?” I ask Stony, but immediately know the answer. “When I began the creative visualization for the armor around the farmhouse. Well, fuck a duck. I get why you were able to tap into my psyche. But how did they do it?” I ask, but mean how is Ariel able to intrude upon my special place?

Stony snorts a laugh. “Do you think lucid dreaming is any more private than buying stuff on eBay?”

I blink. “You’re joking?”

She shakes her head and her floppy ears flap.

“You do too joke,” I say, my attention on Ariel.

I can’t decide whether to grab the bitch or run. The fury inside me is eating its way through my intestines. She has to pay. Half a dozen Shadows emerge from the trees. What the hell? Shadows in my lucid dream—in my special place? This is Ariel’s fault. She brought them here. Oh, I’m going to make her pay. I force a slow breath. I’ll deal with her in the real world, where she doesn’t have Shadows to do her dirty work for her.

“Let’s get out of here,” I tell Stony.

“Why?” she asks.

“Because a gang of students are headed this way—one of which is a killer. Do you want to become bacon?”

She plops her butt down on the ground and lifts her snout in the air with a loud grunt.

“I am not afraid,” I shoot back. “At least, not of them. Look.” I point at the half-dozen Shadows hovering behind the group.

“So what?” Stony says. “We’re in a lucid dream.”

I finally understand. Rules are different here.

We were taught at The Academy that our soldiers—Raith, Ethan, and Blade—turned the tide of the Shadow War in our favor by battling The Shadows in a lucid dream, using harmony, peace, and love. Oh, and some magic. Not the full magic we normally use. Our instructors didn’t specify spells, but said the soldiers used earth magic: magic related to nature that somehow didn’t make them susceptible to infection by The Shadows. The one thing the instructors emphasized was that the person wielding the magic in the lucid dream had to be at complete peace with themselves.

“How am I supposed to be at harmony with myself?” I mutter. “Fuck, half the time, I argue with myself.”

Stony snorts.

“Hush,” I say. “This is crazy. How am I lucid dreaming while in the Reaping? “God, I hate when I wake up from a dream only to find out I’m still dreaming. It’s just too weird.”

The group starts toward us, the Shadows flanking them. To my surprise, my anger has subsided.

“Lucid dreaming,” I say. “Be at complete harmony with myself.” I’m most in harmony when practicing magic. Magic isn’t about fighting. Magic is about embracing the forces around us.

I shift my attention to the Shadows and touch the spot where the Shadow entered me. A tremor of panic ripples through me. I hadn’t let myself think much about the Shadow inside me. I don’t feel different—at least, not unless I get really angry.

All I have to do is not get angry. I focus on Ariel. If she challenged me in the real world, I would walk away because she isn’t worth my time. But a murderer is worth my time. Sadness weighs down on me.

Focus on getting out of this lucid dream, I tell myself, then out of the Reaping.