Dream of Darkness Read online

  Dream of Darkness

  The Rise of the Light, Volume 1

  H. M. Gooden

  Published by H. M. Gooden, 2017.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  DREAM OF DARKNESS

  First edition. October 15, 2017.

  Copyright © 2017 H. M. Gooden.

  ISBN: 978-1775108603

  Written by H. M. Gooden.

  Also by H. M. Gooden

  The Dragons of the North

  Mai's First Date

  The Raven and the Witch Hunter

  The Raven and the Witch Hunter: The Spirit of Big Bear

  The Raven and The Witch hunter: The Wedding

  The Rise of the Light

  Dream of Darkness

  The Stone Dragon

  The Phoenix and the Witch

  Dragons are Forever

  Watch for more at H. M. Gooden’s site.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By H. M. Gooden

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Also by H. M. GOODEN

  COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

  Sign up for H. M. Gooden's Mailing List

  Further Reading: The Stone Dragon

  About the Author

  To everyone who has touched my life, I thank you for making me who I am today. For those who I haven't yet had the pleasure to meet, thank you for entering my world.

  Special thanks go out to my family and most importantly my husband Thomas, who has supported me every step of the way. To my children, who have thrown up cute roadblocks continually, thank you for the inspiration.

  CHAPTER ONE

  EVELYN SLEPT FITFULLY, sheets tangled around her legs. She'd been resting comfortably until a few minutes earlier, when the dream had first begun. It played like a movie, even to the extent of having a subtitle at the beginning- On The Way Home. Even from inside her slumbering state, she'd known it wasn't normal.

  Two girls about her age were headed into town. One had long dark hair and was driving with grace, while the passenger had fiery red hair tied back in a messy ponytail. The rest of their features were blurry, as though they weren't quite fully formed. Evelyn couldn't hear what they were discussing because their voices were muffled, as though underwater. As she watched, she recognized the set of lights the girls were about to go through on the outskirts of town, then everything changed.

  A loud crash shattered the night and Evelyn found herself moving weightlessly through the air. She panicked, until she remembered that she wasn't really there, instead, she was again stuck in the role of silent observer, as she'd been on so many other nights.

  Evelyn floated above the scene, watching as the girl with dark hair screamed for help until her voice splintered with exertion and tears. Her hands shook as she fumbled for a cell phone, pulling it out after several frantic attempts. The redhead was deathly white and unmoving inside the car, a trickle of blood from a small cut on her forehead the only sign of life until Evelyn caught the barest flicker of pale eyelashes as the girl struggled to open her eyes.

  Evelyn's attention was drawn to the dark blue, mid-size vehicle that had penetrated the side of the car the girls had been driving. The blue car was crumpled just behind the passenger's seat and had narrowly missed hitting the redhead.

  The driver of the other car was slumped over the steering wheel, unmoving, with his neck bent at an angle. As Evelyn moved closer, familiarity washed over her. She knew this man, but he felt different, wrong somehow. Whoever it was had been altered, and felt dark and slimy as though he was already decayed, or missing something important. Before she had time to discover what it was, ambulances arrived, their flashing lights ripping her from the dream.

  Opening her eyes to darkness, Evelyn looked over at the clock on the bedside table. Midnight. A shiver coursed down her back and she knew she wouldn't fall asleep again for the rest of the night. Something was about to happen, something big.

  "THIS SUCKS."

  Catherine McLean stared morosely out of one of the car's back windows as the pretty but boring landscape moved past her.

  "Couldn't we have done this a few weeks ago? Now I'm going to be the big loser who shows up late for school."

  Her sister glared at her.

  "Oh yeah? How do you think I feel? I had to leave Dave and all my friends. And I'm graduating this year. Way worse. At least you have a few years before you graduate and maybe you'll make some friends this time. I'm probably stuck being a total loner."

  Vanessa shot her sister another glare before turning to look out of her own window, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'brat'.

  Their mother sighed, turning around to look at both of them.

  "Guys, you know this wasn't exactly what we wanted either. But with the economy being what it is, and your dad getting the chance at a better paying job, we just couldn't say no. It may even help enough for us to be able to afford university for you two."

  Cat, as Catherine preferred to be called, looked at Vanessa and silently agreed with her chastised expression. Their parents were trying to make ends meet and the girls could at least cut them some slack about the move, even if it wasn't what they wanted.

  Vanessa offered a small smile. "It's okay, Mom. We get it. We're just nervous about the new school situation."

  "Yeah, Mom, it's fine," Cat added. "It's really great Dad got this job. We'll be good after a bit, it's not like we haven't done this before."

  Cat and her mother exchanged genuine smiles and both parents seemed to relax. The car ride continued afterward in comfortable silence. Her dad hadn't said anything during the brief exchange, but the set of his shoulders proved that he'd been listening, and Cat was grateful to see his shoulders slacken somewhat. Cat gazed out the window, thinking about the whirl of the previous month. She'd hung with friends at various local hangouts and had been bored. At one point, she'd even considered getting a job before school started. Then in the first week of school an unexpected, life changing event had shaken things up.

  Her dad was offered a chance to take over as a branch manager at a bank in another town after the previous manager had died. It was a great opportunity for her dad, representing a promotion with more pay, moving expenses, and a house to use for the first year with low rent. Her parents had been struggling to make ends meet and they'd been excited and happy when they'd told Cat and Vanessa the news.

  Vanessa had exploded of course, but she did that over a bad hair day sometimes. This time Cat felt it was legit though, as Vanessa had recently become serious about Dave. Cat was pretty sure they'd gone all the way over the summer. This was supposed to be Vanessa's year; grade twelve, a hot boyfriend, popular. Instead, she was going to be stuck as the new kid with a long distance love and no friends, graduating from a school in which she hadn't even spent a full year.

  Cat didn't have it bad in comparison. No boyfriend and just some acquaintances she'd hung with to pass the time. There was nothing and no one super exciting that she'd really miss. They'd only moved a few years earlier from their previous town and Cat was slow to warm up. Still, it was irritating to be starting all over one month into the school year. It'd be like walking into cl
ass late with everyone staring at her, again. She hated that kind of attention. It made her skin prickle uncomfortably whenever she was singled out in any way. As a natural redhead, it also meant the prickling usually progressed into a dreadful creeping blush across her fair skin that went all the way up to her pale blue eyes and into her long, flame-red hair. She usually ended up feeling like a thin and awkward tomato.

  She was okay with her parents having expectations because they were generally pretty low key about things. It was expected that she always try her best, but that didn't have to mean straight A's. She did okay academically in general so that wasn't an issue, but when it came to extracurriculars she preferred solitude. In high school she'd dropped out of the team sport circuit and switched her focus to track. It was still competitive but didn't involve team effort or large crowds. She loved the quiet of distance running and found it helped get her through hard times. On a good day, she felt as if she was flying, and could sometimes leave the rest of the world behind back on Earth while she stayed far above the noise.

  As for friends, it was the same. She was friendly, but didn't share much. It wasn't like she'd had a lot of problems with other kids or people hurting her in her life, she was just slow to trust. Even with her family she kept a lot inside, but not because she didn't trust them. It simply didn't seem important to share things when they all had their own issues to deal with, especially Vanessa.

  Vanessa had almost the opposite personality to Cat, with her emotions leaking all over the place and getting on everything. Maybe that was partly it. Growing up with her older sister's feelings was as much drama as Cat needed in her life. Cat shook herself out of her reverie and realized that a lot of time had passed during her introspection. The trees and grass outside the window had given way to buildings and street signs again. The town looked nice and had the generic name of Valleyview. It could have been anywhere in North America. She noted a post office, a bowling alley, and at least one movie theatre. They stopped at the bank where her dad would be working to get the keys to their new house. From the outside, it looked like any other bank in the world. Some brick, some metal, and a whole lot of windows. Cat never understood why banks had so much glass. It really didn't make a place harder to rob, silly buggers.

  They drove into a residential area and pulled up on a tree-lined street with sweeping and gracious houses, like southern belles curtsying in colourful ball gowns. The car stopped and Cat looked at the house in front of her. It appeared warm and welcoming, with yellow siding, chocolate coloured shingles and trim, and roomy enough that Cat could have space to herself to sit and think, away from her family and noise. Maybe they could get a cat? She'd always wanted a pet, but they'd moved so often over the previous ten years it hadn't been practical. She watched her dad get out of the car and walk up the sidewalk to the front door. She jumped out, curiosity motivating her to be the first one inside.

  She was excited about the possibilities of the move for the first time. The house even had a bay window upstairs. She'd wanted one since she was a little girl, watching the old Peter Pan movies in which Wendy told stories while sitting and looking out at the stars.

  Her dad gingerly stepped into the house, hand braced on the brass knob as he pushed it open.

  "Hello? Anybody here?"

  A cheery looking man with a shiny head of thin red hair popped into view from around a corner like a magic genie.

  "Hello! Hello! The McLean's?"

  The man had a large booming voice, probably aided by his diaphragm being pushed up into his rib cage by a large midsection, Cat thought, stifling a giggle.

  "Yes, that's us. I'm Peter, this is Catherine, my youngest, and my wife Mindy and oldest daughter, Vanessa, are coming up the walk. We made better time than I expected, given the couple hundred miles we drove today. The moving trucks will be here soon, I hope."

  The other man beamed at them. "Very good, very good! My name's Joe Dumarche. I'm one of the realtors in these parts. I had a lady come in and tidy the place up yesterday. It's been empty since the last branch manager...well, since he passed on to glory." Joe cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. "He was an older man without any close relatives, but his sister's grandkids cleaned it out for us a month or so back and put it to rights. I hope everything's to your liking!"

  Cat thought he appeared slightly anxious, like a guy who truly cared to please people, not like someone just making conversation.

  "It looks great so far!" said Cat, feeling bad for him. "Could you show us around a bit?"

  Her Dad smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder, just as her mom and Vanessa walked through the doorway and stopped.

  "Oh, look at the light, Peter!"

  Her mom spun around slowly, scanning the open main entry with its high ceiling, stair case climbing the right side and open area to the left leading into a dining area. The main floor had large windows and a good sized stained glass circular window served as the light source near the top of the stairs. Vanessa looked interested despite herself and Cat could see some of her sister's bad mood ease.

  "I'd be delighted to give you the tour," Joe replied, brightly. "Follow me!"

  He led them through the house with flair, describing each room poetically. Cat looked at the richly coloured walls and felt her chest warm. The house felt cozy, not cold like she'd feared it might be when she'd first heard that they were moving to an older house.

  "Over here is the kitchen." Joe opened a French door into an oval room, where another door jutted off to the left.

  "They used to separate the kitchen from the rest of the house, to keep the servants as far out of sight as possible. You see there's another door here and here." He pointed to another French door that led to a hall, as well as to the back door.

  "The basement is through there, over by the back door, but I'll show you the bedrooms first. It's a good size house with four bedrooms for the family, as well as a few other rooms you can use however you'd like."

  As they followed Joe, he kept up a stream of conversation about mouldings and details Cat imagined her parents cared about, but she just wanted to get a feel for the place. Sometimes she could tell things about people by how she felt around them. In some cases, she could also get a feeling about objects, especially old ones. So far, even though this house had belonged to a dead guy she felt only warmth, which was a good thing. She'd been scared of seeing ghosts ever since she'd learned that the previous owner had died in the house, but tried to shrug off the thought to avoid jinxing things. Just in case ghosts really existed.

  The two rooms on the main floor had pleasant floral patterns for wallpaper. One had master bedroom written all over it and the other was directly across from it. Not exactly teen friendly. Cat and Vanessa glanced at each other, wrinkling their noses. Joe opened another door Cat had initially assumed was a closet and was surprised to see a small staircase, through which Joe managed to squeeze his girth while still talking.

  "Now this was the servant quarters." he said, puffing slightly.

  As they followed him in single file up the stairs, Cat discovered that she could almost touch the wall on either side with her shoulders, it was so narrow. At the top, the entry way branched into three. A room to the left, which was sunny with a window seat, another to the right, with a smaller window and a bathroom tucked into a closet within the room, and a larger bathroom directly across from the stairs.

  "This is an original water closet." Joe looked proud, pointing to the closet in the bedroom. "It was originally just a hole that drained down the outside of the house, but my dad, who was a house builder in these parts, was commissioned to make it into a real bathroom in the late fifties. You won't find anything more solid than a room he built."

  Cat's dad took a look around and seemed impressed.

  "Do you mind if I call this one?" asked Vanessa, looking at Cat.

  Cat smiled wryly before shaking her head.

  "Even if I minded I wouldn't say anything. You spend longer in the bathroom than t
he rest of us combined. You definitely need your own. Besides, I like the window in the other room. It looks like a perfect place to curl up with a book."

  Their parents smiled at each other and Cat saw them clasp hands briefly.

  "Girls," said their dad, "why don't you look around a bit more up here while Mr. Dumarche, your mother, and I finish some paperwork?"

  He gave them that look parents give when they want you to go away while they speak adult, so Vanessa and Cat nodded, then waited for them to leave. They watched as the adults disappeared, turning to face each other the moment they were alone.

  "So?" asked Vanessa, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

  Cat shrugged. "Looks like a nice house. The rooms are big and it isn't creeping me out so far."

  While the sisters had never openly talked about it, Vanessa knew that Cat often got feelings about things and was more than willing to use her sister’s ability to help her make decisions. There'd been more than a few times growing up where they'd escaped from a tight spot because of this knack. Vanessa was dramatic, but not stupid, and she trusted her sister implicitly. They fought of course, but they were in it together. Sisters first, good or bad.

  Vanessa looked around the room Cat had picked. "Looks like you finally got your bay window, Wendy."

  Cat raised one eyebrow, then crossed her arms. "Ha-ha. That's okay, Cruella. You finally got a makeup room."

  Vanessa pretended to pout, dramatically swirling her long black hair while batting her deep blue eyes, but Cat ignored her, looking at the empty space instead.

  "I wish our furniture was here. I want to unpack, settle in, and relax."

  Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, staying in a hotel tonight will suck, but at least we don't have to sleep on the floor. And maybe it'll have a pool." Cat felt hopeful at the idea, but Vanessa looked at her watch, already moving on to her next concern. "Come on, let's see if they're done yet. I'm hungry."