Chapter II:
Years passed…2017
"I never wanted you here. I just want you gone, free from me…Don't you want that as well?" questioned Alex.
"…." Morpheus
"Sigh….you never liked me anyway. Well, I'll say the feeling is mutual."
"Alex, my dear, stop. You need your rest" said Paul, Alex's husband for many years.
Paul has always been the voice of reason since finding out about Morpheus. However, his husband has never been able to follow through. His fear of a devil long since buried, but for whatever reason haunts him so badly, he does not fear the consequences of the being before him as much as he fears the ghost of a dead man.
Which proves to be a fatal mistake.
"Take me away Paul. I'll no longer be coming back down here. Farewell Dream"
Morpheus rolled his eyes. Not even caring about the elderly man's words. Wanting to be free of him as well but not willing to set aside his pride.
That is until he meets you.
A few hours later…
"I don't know, but I just have this weird feeling, like something is wrong." Said Mina Slade.
A beautiful African American woman with luscious curly auburn hair, hazel eyes that shown in the light like a star that's never been seen, light caramel skin, a curvaceous body that makes even the most beautiful woman envious.
But you were not like most females of your time, hell you were probably the most different from all humanity.
You had a kindness about you, a soul that is not from this realm or any realm known to the Gods.
A mind that was intelligent enough to know when to stop but not quite enough to stave off curiosity.
You had a mind that could rival those considered geniuses. Your empathy led your heart to be broken on multiple occasions by people you loved the most. Understandably, your heart was an ice wall when it came to the subject of love, but even then, it did not deter you from being kind to those that were deemed undesirable to society and those who were desirable.
"Well, you always did have a six sense about things. Why not go figure out what it is? I'm sure you could". Said your best friend, Christian.
"Yeah, but I don't even know where to begin, maybe I just need a vacation or need to do something else for a bit." You Sighed.
"You know, I did see an ad from a rich elderly guy needing assistance at his home. Apparently, it pays so well, you could retire from a week of work. You should consider it."
"Wouldn't that be nice. I guess I could try besides, what's the worst that could happen." you smiled as you shut the book of Greek Mythology.
The next day…
"Well, here we are Ms. Slade, Burgess Castle." spoke the taxi driver.
"Thank you, it's much bigger than I realized"
"Word of warning Ms."
As you were about to leave the car, the taxi driver caught your attention.
"What kind of warning?"
"Be careful of the basement. There are rumors that a devil lives there." The man turned with a look of concern and pity.
"Thank you for the warning, but to be frank, the devil doesn't scare me. They should be scared of me." and with that you leave the car and walk up to the doorstep of the Burgess residence.
Knock Knock.
"…"
Knock Knock.
"Perhaps no one is home. Am I early?" You, being nervous as hell, checked the time and was about to start walking away to look someone, when the door opened and revealed an elderly man.
"May I help you sweetheart?"
"Hi! My name is Mina Slade, I came here to see about the position a Mr. Alex and Paul Burgess placed in the ad. Are they home by chance?"
"Ah well it's nice to meet you young lady! I am Paul Burgess, Alex's husband. Please come in! Come In!" As Paul ushered you in, the uneasy feeling you felt at home returned.
"Thank you, it's nice to meet you as well!" you smiled and shook his hand even while feeling sick to your stomach.
Something wasn't right.
"Please, have a seat and I will explain your duties that you will be performing."
Startled by the lack of interview, you questioned "Wait…I got the job? Already?"
"Why yes. Me and Alex read your resume and were sure that you were meant for this job. We knew that you would be a sweet one. Nurturing."
As Paul is giving you a tour, you passed a door that looked highly suspicious, but you couldn't help being drawn to it.
"Mr. Paul, what is behind this room?"
As you asked, you noticed Mr. Paul had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was conflicted.
"Nothing dear, it is a cellar where we keep our most favorite wine, but please stay from down if possible. Alex is very fond of the wine collection." he told you, but you knew it was lie. You had already planned to see what was down there once the house gone quiet, but to keep suspicion from arousing, you simply said…
"Okay! Off limits got it!" you said cheerily.
Paul smiled and continued giving you the tour which meant meeting Mr. Alex Burgess. All the while, having no idea, what your true intentions were.
As night fell, the house and its occupants were sleep. Except you.
Sneaking downstairs to the forbidden door, you unlocked it and paused. The uneasy feeling you had grew stronger, but you never let your curiosity stop you before, you weren't about to stop now.
As you waded down the stairs, you gasped.
In front of you, was no devil, but a man. A malnourished, but good looking, unbelievably good-looking man.
As you stepped closer, the man looked at you with piercing blue eyes. You could see he was just as curious as you.
"Hello"
Nothing. He said nothing.
"Hi, I'm Mina. What's your name? Who are you? Why are you down here?" you couldn't seem to stop asking questions, but you realized he would not answer you.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know who you are"
Silenced.
As you were about to give up and start looking for something to break the glass sphere the man was in, he spoke.
"Morpheus…My name is Morpheus"
You couldn't believe it; he spoke to you. But you looked at him and had a startling revelation.
"Morpheus? As in the King of Dreams and Nightmares? That Morpheus?"
Shocked, he nodded.
Without any hesitation, you immediately knew what you had to do.
Looking around for anything strong enough to break the glass, you couldn't find anything. But you had another thought.
Looking at the runes surrounding the God, you remember reading about spells and incantations that can bound otherworldly beings to do the biddings of mankind.
So, you did something that Morpheus, didn't think would happen.
You destroyed the runes.
Feeling a shift, you realized you broke the King of Dreams free.
However, there was still the problem of the glass sphere. Running outside, you picked up a brick, ran back downstairs, and threw it at the glass that it shattered.
As soon as it shattered, a blinding light came through and you were knocked back by the force of the sand and wind. But by the time you opened your eyes, the King of Dreams was gone. Having left behind the remains of the glass and your shocked body.
You felt happy; the uneasy feeling was gone.
But you didn't realize that by setting him free, the King had some unfinished business that he was attending to, that would be the end of the Burgess line forever.
And that you and the King of Dreams would be intertwined forever.