Chapter Twenty-One: Dream Walking

"You know, you didn't have to give me your phone number. I could always just contact you in your dreams."

Opening my eyes, I saw a small, elegant garden surrounding me and Adrian. "You know, I'm trying to sleep right now," I told him.

"You are sleeping." Adrian stood in front of me wearing what seemed to be designer jeans and a maroon silk shirt. I silently cursed myself for noticing how good it looked on him. "Just not with me this time," he joked.

I sighed. "Don't remind me about that. I've already got a reputation on the first day of the job."

Adrian grinned. "How does that not surprise me?"

"It shouldn't, considering you seem to be the king of reputations. I guess while you're here you can help me with something," I said. "How do you dream walk? I want to see if I can get into Lissa Dragomir's dreams."

Adrian's eyes widened. "...May I ask why?"

"No," I bluntly answered. "Can you just please teach me?"

"Jesus, I don't remember you being so demanding. However, you know I can't deny a pretty girl, so fine, I'll teach you how to dream walk." He stared at me for a moment. "I should reword that: I'll try to teach you how to dream walk. It's hard to explain."

"Well, how did you get into my dream?"

"That's the funny thing, I didn't try to get into your dream, I just ended up here."

I glared at him. "You're kidding me, right? Why would I subconsciously lure you into my dream?"

He gave me a suggestive smirk. "I think we both know why. You miss my charming and attractive company."

"It's only been a day. I haven't had that much withdrawal. Are you going to try to teach me or what?"

He laughed. "You just want to get right to business, huh? You know, I personally appreciate some entertaining banter before-"

-Just then, Ivan showed up. His red eyes darted between both Adrian and me, but they stopped when they landed on me again. Those eyes felt as if they could look right through me and into my soul. I immediately forgot what was oxygen and how to breathe. It felt like so long ago since Ivan's death when it had only been a few days.

"Hello," Adrian greeted Ivan, but it sounded more like a question of why he was here.

Ivan glared at Adrian. "Get out." His voice sounded so much different from his usual sarcastic tone. This time, his voice sounded as if he would kill Adrian if he didn't comply.

"Ivan, it's okay, this is Adrian," I told him.

"Ivan?" Adrian asked, surprised.

Ivan remained silent for a few more moments as he studied Adrian. "...You're a spirit user," he observed. "...You can help Maya. You need to keep her safe!"

Startled, Adrian could not find any words to reply. I took over the conversation. "Ivan, Adrian's not nearby to where he can help me any time I need him. In fact, there are no spirit users where I am, except if I find Lissa Dragomir."

"Lissa Dragomir's a spirit user?" Adrian asked. Tonight was full of surprises for him.

"Well, I'm not 100 percent sure, but from what I've gathered she healed Rose from the car accident and now they have a bond."

Ivan stepped closer to me. "Maya, you need to listen to me. Be careful, there's someone who wants to use your spirit power to heal himself."

I surprised myself when I stepped closer to Ivan. "Who?"

"Victor Dashkov," he whispered.

"The royal Victor Dashkov?" I asked in disbelief. I hadn't run across him yet during my short time at St. Vladimir's, but if he was really after me it wouldn't be long before our paths crossed. "Does he know...that I have your spirit magic?"

"It's only a matter of time before he finds out," Ivan replied, and I became uneasy when he stepped closer to me, his lips almost touching my forehead. I glanced over at Adrian who had slowly backed away from Ivan; however, his eyes looked determined to protect me if Ivan did anything to harm me. "Please, Maya, be careful. I can't bare to watch you in danger," Ivan whispered.

"It's okay. Dimitri will protect me."

He sighed. "Of course he will...he's always been there for you..." He sounded as if we were in pain when he mentioned Dimitri. He looked down and noticed his ring on my finger. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry I failed you and Dimitri."

"You didn't fail us," I reassured him. "I felt like I failed you."

He scoffed. "Maya, you've never once failed me. Even if you tried to fail me, you couldn't."

I looked back up into his eyes. Talking to him made me feel as if he was really alive again, but his red eyes proved otherwise. "Ivan...I thought all Strigoi were...I don't know, vicious..."

"I'll be honest, I'm not proud of what I've already done as a Strigoi, but I can't possibly harm you, Maya. We're bound to each other. If I hurt you, it hurts me as well. All I want to do is to make sure you're safe."
Adrian glanced between both Ivan and me. "I thought something about your auras together were odd...I've never seen anything like it before. It's like the lightness and darkness in each of your auras are constantly flowing and transferring through both of you."

"Really?" I asked. "That's-

A knock on my door woke me up from the interesting dream. I felt bad for leaving Adrian with Ivan, but I soon disregarded the guilt as soon as I opened the door. I didn't recognize the older man on the other side of the door. "Hi, how may I help you?" I asked, feeling awkward answering the door in only my pajamas which consisted of an oversized t-shirt.

"I realize this might be a bad time, but I really need to talk to you, Maya," he said.

"May I ask who you are before I commit to this conversation?" I replied.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me. I'm Victor Dashkov."

Oh shit.