Author's note: I do not own characters and make no profit. Many thanks to my beta, Valawenel. Also- I received a wonderful review that I could not respond to because it was from a guest. Among the many kind words in this review, the guest stated that he/she would be reading this story a second time. I can't imagine a more complimentry thing to say. Just wanted to send out a huge thank you to that guest. You really made my day.

Chapter 13, I Must Be Dreaming

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Jake walked through the barren landscape. It felt good to stretch the stiffness from his legs and his sore shoulders. The sun was still beating down relentlessly and his flannel shirt had long since been peeled off. He needed to think. He had to figure out how to get home using the book and he certainly wasn't going to be able to focus on the problem while Atlas was snarling and glaring at him. So, he walked.

There was nothing but rocks and sand as far as he could see. Whistling a country tune- his favorite technique for relaxing his mind- Jake thought fondly of cheeseburgers and sunglasses. When he decided he had finally put sufficient distance between himself and the angry planet-wielding Titan, he chose an outcropping of rocks for support and partial shade, and sat down with a grateful sigh.

It was time to get to work. Jake began with an inspection of the book's elegant cover. As he ran his fingertips over the jewel encrusted leather, he thought he felt a faint tingle. The book was beautiful. He would have been happy to spend a month examining this extraordinary item, but his first priority was finding a way home. That tingly feeling in his fingers was reminiscent of what he had felt the instant before he was violently pulled from his own world and unceremoniously dumped in this one. This was an encouraging finding. It meant that this book was likely to have the same magical properties as the one in the Library. He would need to understand how the transportation was triggered, though.

Turning the book on its side, Jake stared in disbelief at the title- The Librarians. Heart pounding, he opened the book to the first chapter. It told the tale of Librarian Flynn Carsen meeting the NATO operative who would soon become his Guardian. Jumping ahead several chapters, he found an illustration that commanded his attention. In it, the Library Annex was depicted with a man reaching towards a jewel encrusted book with another man and a red headed woman at his side.

Forgetting his former sense of urgency about returning home, Jake settled into a comfortable position and began to read. He was so engrossed in the narrative that he lost all sense of time. He read Eve's account of the battle in Athena's temple. He shook his head in dismay at Ezekiel's fruitless attempt at saving him and worried about what it had cost him emotionally to try. His hands trembled when he read that Cassandra had vanished into the book and growled under his breath when he read that Flynn had hatched a dangerous plan of his own. Those idiots!

Though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know how this chapter was going to end, Jake read on.

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Though she could not speak or move, Cassie was still aware. She heard the door open, saw Clytemnestra by the torches flickering light. In her mind, she was screaming no though her voice was silenced while Cassandra bravely declared that she was the true seer. Cassie heard the slam of the door and the turn of the key in the lock. She heard footsteps receding as Cassandra was taken away.

She knew the instant that control of her body was returned to her. She knew that she could speak, scream, move. She knew that she could get to her feet and use her fists to pound on the door. She did none of these things. What would be the point?

A teardrop slowly trickled down her cheek and Cassie wondered how her thirsty body could spare even that one tiny drop of precious liquid. Her back and hip ached from Hera's attack. Her throat was parched and felt as if a fire was burning within. Her head thundered with pain as if a thousand hammers pounded on the inside of her skull. And she was cold, so very cold.

She knew also, that Clytemnestra would not be freeing her.

Cassie closed her eyes and welcomed death. She thought it would not be long. This was the moment that she had been waiting for since she was 15 years old. So certain was she that the end was near, she first mistook the soft glow for an angel come to escort her. But no. Apollo had returned. And though he had the face of an angel, Cassie knew better than to think his goodness went any deeper.

Apollo stood and gazed at her impassively for several minutes. Finally, he crouched down beside her and with unexpected gentleness, he brushed her hair back from her face. The pain in her back and hips flowed from her body like sand in an hourglass and her chill was replaced with a glorious warmth. The fire in her throat cooled and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she was headache free.

"Nothing hurts anymore. Am I dead?"

Apollo chuckled. "No. I merely removed your pain. I am the god of healing, you know."

"Cassandra is gone. They took her away."

"I know."

"I think they killed her. I think she is dead."

"I know. She is."

"You didn't try to save her?"

"No."

"Are you going to save me?"

"No."

"Then why are you here? Why did you heal my wounds?"

Apollo stood and turned away from Cassie as if he could not bear the sight of her. He was silent for so long that Cassie was certain that he was not going to respond to her questions. She blinked in surprise when he abruptly whirled to face her. He shrugged and gave a small shake of his head as he said, "I don't know. I really don't know."

And then he was gone and Cassie was alone in the darkness once more.

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"Oh, no, that won't be necessary! Let's just slow down here. We should have a little talk. There's no need for roughness or, you know, killing stuff." Flynn's captors paid no attention to his desperate pleas as they hauled him towards the door. A guard on either side dragged him by his upper arms with so much force that his feet barely touched the floor. He was being brought outside presumably so he wouldn't bleed all over the polished marble floor.

"Listen, I have important information for Zeus! It's about the book. You know, the book that Athena sent? That book is dangerous. Zeus will want to hear what I have to say."

The guards seemed oblivious to Flynn's words though he saw the one he thought of as Alpha Dog pause at the door.

"I am sure you saw Hermes arrive. He was delivering a very important book to Zeus, as a gift from Athena," Flynn said, "but there are things that Zeus does not know about that book. You guys could be in big trouble with the boss when he finds out that you killed the only guy that could have warned him about that book's unique properties."

Alpha turned and slowly walked back to face Flynn. "And what would those unique properties be?"

"Oh, no," Flynn said, shaking his head firmly. "I will only speak to The Big Guy."

"You will speak to me or you will die here and now," Alpha responded.

Flynn made a mental note of the truly intimidating scowl on Alpha's face. And the voice? It was wonderfully low, and growly. You could totally believe that this dude was about to rip your head off. Alpha really had the scary Schwarzenegger thing down pat. If Flynn wasn't pressed for time, he might ask the guy for a few lessons. Unfortunately, time was of the essence, so Flynn steeled himself to face down Alpha. Making the effort to appear considerably more confident than he actually felt, Flynn stepped closer to Alpha and met his stare unflinchingly.

"I guess I will die right here and now, because I will not be sharing any secrets with you."

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Deep in the darkness, there was a brief scratching sound followed by a click, and a tiny flame burst into life. It seemed to float upward. Cassie thought she was dreaming. Or perhaps this was a hallucination born of the tumor in her brain.

The delicate flame spread through the torch on the wall sconce until the room was lit with a golden flickering glow. In the welcome new light, Cassie could see another stranger. This was an old man. He had flowing white hair and a long beard. His eyes twinkled with interest and he had a kind smile.

"You must be Cassandra, the Librarian. It is a great pleasure to meet you, my dear."

"Who are you? Am I dreaming?"

"No, not at all. I am quite real. You may call me Lex."

"Have you come to kill me?"

"Of course not, dear child. I simply wanted the great honor of meeting you. I know what you tried to do for the other Cassandra. That was selfless and very brave."

"Not really. I am going to die anyway. I just figured that one of us could live," Cassie said.

"And you had hoped that your death would not be in vain."

"Yes, exactly."

"What else do you hope for, Cassandra?"

"Why? Why do you want to know?"

"Hope is a very important thing. I wonder if you know how powerful hope can be."

"Of course I do. I am dying of cancer. But I never gave up the hope that a cure would be found in time for me. And even though there has not been a cure, I have lived for years longer than any of my doctors predicted. There is always hope."

"Good girl. For a few moments there, I was worried that you had forgotten that. I feared that you had given up hope."

"Maybe. Maybe I really was giving up. But where there is life, there is hope."

"I quite agree! I said as much to your friend, Jacob."

"Jake? You saw Jake? Is he okay?"

"He is well. Have you heard him sing? He has the voice of an angel, you know. I was quite impressed by his talent."

"Did he get the planet off his shoulders?"

"No. Not as yet. But I trust it will be soon."

"When? How? Can you take me to him?"

Lex just smiled. Cassie saw a small green plastic cylinder in his hand. As he dropped it into the pocket of his robe, Cassie caught a brief glimpse and wondered Is that a lighter? But her attention was immediately shifted to the leather bag on his shoulder, much like the satchel that Flynn always carried on jobs. Lex dug his arm deep into the bag and after some rummaging, he triumphantly pulled a notebook from the bag.

I am dreaming, Cassie thought. First I think I am seeing a Bic lighter and now this old guy is brandishing a spiral bound binder. This is just a dream.

"No. Not a dream," Lex said in response though Cassie was certain she had not spoken aloud. He flipped through the notebook until he found what he sought and tore a few pages out.

"None of this makes sense. I am not hungry or thirsty anymore. Nothing hurts. You look like you belong here but you are carrying things that definitely don't belong here. If I am not dreaming…I am dead, aren't I? Are you an angel?"

"No, my dear. You are alive and Apollo has healed your injuries. As for me, I can assure you that I am no angel and no deity. Just a fellow traveler." Lex eased himself down to sit next to Cassie. "Ah, these old bones. Today I feel my age with every creak and groan of every joint."

"Apollo? He was really here? I didn't dream that either?"

Lex smiled kindly and held up the first notebook page for her to see. It contained a sketch of a bruised and dirty woman with long tangled hair. A beautiful curly haired man knelt before her gently brushing a wisp of hair from her cheek.

"Is that me?"

"Yes."

"And Apollo?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand."

Lex shrugged. "I did not wish to see you in such pain and I could not bear it if you lost your hope, so I sent him."

"You? You sent him?"

"Yes."

"I really don't understand. Wait. Wait. Oh. Your name- is it just Lex? Or is Lex short for something else?"

Lex threw back his head and laughed with gusto. "You are really quite brilliant, Cassandra Cillian! It is short for Alexander, actually."

Cassie gazed at Lex in wonder. "You are…"

But Lex was no longer paying her any attention. He placed the sketch aside and intently flipped through his remaining notebook pages, each covered in writing from top to bottom. When he reached the last page, he nodded in satisfaction. "Tell me something, Cassandra. What do you hope for the most? Above all else?"

Cassie didn't need to think about that answer. "I hope that Jake gets home safely."

"I thought as much." Lex took her hand in his and just before he pressed the notebook page into her palm, he said, "You might wish to close your eyes, my dear."