Chapter 6

"She'll be okay," a male voice whispered above me. I was still passed out, and I didn't really want to gain consciousness. Not after I'd found out that my parents had adopted me. That paper had been a part of my adoption papers. It was like that one piece of paper confirmed all of my unspoken suspicions. I shivered in my dazed state.

"She shivered, though. Doesn't that mean something's wrong," I heard Savannah ask softly. Her country-ness made me smile in my sleep.

"Dakota is right, she'll be fine. She just smiled," Zoey assured them. Did she say Dakota? Dakota was over my passed-out body? Who knew how bad I looked right then, sprawled out on the floor! I made my eyelids flutter open.

"Eliza," Savannah breathed, crouching down suddenly to hug me. "Are you okay? Do you pass out a lot? I thought you'd had a seizure!"

"No," I answered, pushing her off of me gently. I didn't want to make it seem like I didn't want her there, though, because I did. "I just found out that my parents aren't my parents." I sighed at the confused look on her face. "Zoey didn't tell you? I was adopted."

"Oh, Goddess, Eliza, I am so sorry! I had no idea! Dakota and I thought that... That... Well, I don't know. But your parents should have told you instead of you finding out by someone you don't know. No offense, Zoey." Her worry and sincere look made my heart melt. She really cared about me. I didn't think I'd make friends here, but I already had the best.

"None taken," Zoey insured.

"Eliza, do you want me to help you up," Dakota offered. Okay, this is where I started acting out of line. I wasn't weak at all, and I definately could have gotten up myself. Pushing what I really could do aside, I coughed purposely and nodded.

"Thanks so much," I whispered coarsely. It was an act. I just wanted to see if I felt anything when he put his arms around me.

"You're welcome," he smiled. He leaned down and laced his arms around my waist, smoothly pulling me up. And, yes, there were sparks. They were undeniable. I wanted to stay there forever, but then he unlaced his arms and held my shoulders in an attempt to make sure I was firmly planted to the ground.

"Your parents just wanted to protect you. Chances are they never met your birth parents and didn't want you out searching for them," he told me. I hated how he'd said birth parents. It made me feel so... Adopted. Not the most creative diction, but still. I'd only had a few minutes to get used to the fact that I'd been adopted. I couldn't accept it. I didn't even want to accept it.

"But... But they should've have met my... my birth parents, right," I asked, feeling helpless.

"If they adopted you from an orphanage, then no, they wouldn't have met your birth parents," Zoey said.

"An orphanage? They got me from an orphanage?"

"That's what the papers said. I guess your mother was unable to have children."

"But... She made it seem like I was theirs. I mean, I know I look different from them, but-"

"-But nothing. To them, you were theirs. You shouldn't be mad at them for not telling you. They didn't want to make you feel like you were missing out for never meeting the people who actually... Um, created you, I guess you could say."

But, Dear Child, you've known your birth mother your whole life. Have I not visited you in your dreams? Her voice snaked across my mind, and I felt a cold sensation in my head. Neferet was telling me that I was her daughter! I gasped and began to fall.

"Oh, no ya' don't." I felt Dakota catch me. I barely paid attention to his warm, strong hands and the feelings his touch gave me.

I forced myself to not faint. "Zoey! I have to talk to you. Alone," I told her frantically, yet firmly. If Neferet was my mother, then who was my father?

"Yes, we need to talk. If... If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then you're wondering who your father is. And I have a conjecture." She gave me a serious, all-knowing look, and I knew she knew who my father was. I also knew that somehow, we were going to have to make sure of it. My mind was going to go through some serious crap to do that, I was sure.

"So you want us to go," Savannah asked. I looked at her. She seemed sad to have to leave, but I was pretty sure she needed to go to class.

"Savannah, I'm sorry. But you and Dakota need to get to class," I told her weakly. "And I need some rest after I talk to Zoey." Again, I was lying; I didn't need any rest. All of this drama had me wide awake.

"Okay, Liza..." her voice trailed off as she quietly closed the door behind her and Dakota.

I stared at Zoey and felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. It was so silent in the room, I probably could've heard them splash onto the ground if I'd been listening. Her smile was small and barely there as she patted my back and urged me back into the soft lavender chair.

"Now, Eliza, I know this is hard for you to digest, but-" I blurted out what I'd beent thinking without even considering the fact that I was inturrupting my high priestess.

"Neferet's my mom! She told me! She's not just visiting my dreams anymore! She and some guy tell me stuff, like... like life lessons or something! Please tell me you don't think that's true!"

"I'm going to be frank with you. I believe Kalona is your father, an evil immortal who I defeated at the same time I banished your moth... Neferet. At the same time I banished Neferet." Her mouth twisted on the word mother, and I felt myself flinch. I knew my mom had to be very dang damnable to have done it with an evil immortal. So, was I damnable by association?

I hope not.

"The problem is, I'm having trouble believing all of this." Zoey wasn't the only one.

"And I'm not?"

"No, no, of course you are, but," she stood up and walked over to one of her book shelves, "I think we need to make sure. Have you ever been able to call your parents- your birth parents- on your own?"

I had to ponder that. Neferet had visited me in my dreams many times before, but I'd never been able to call her on my own to speak with her. Why did she want to come on her own time, and why didn't she come that often? Why is she beginning to speak to me when I'm awake? And why am I only now hearing from Kalona, who is apparently my father? Too many questions, too little time. But... If I could somehow talk to her without her making the first move, could I find out? I had to try. Hopefully, Zoey would have the answer to how I would do that. I shook my head in answer to her question.

As it turned out, she had more questions than answers. "Oh. Well, if you could, it'd be interesting to know when she had you. I didn't think she was pregnant when I banished her, but she had to be since she'd never met Kalona until then, or so I thought. Maybe she somehow got to him without him being freed from the Earth? Who knows, honestly? I think... I think we should experiment with this, though."

"Zoey! How would we do that? And, why are you so calm about this? I am freaking out," I screamed. How else was I going to let my feelings out? This was an impossible situation.

She looked out of the window then down at the book she'd picked from the shelf. I tried to read the spine of it. The light from the moon that was shining through the window helped. The words were in a beautiful calligraphy and were printed in gold. Schlaf: Mythen des Siebzehnten Jahrhunderts. I had no clue how to pronounce the title or what it meant, but I was pretty sure the words were in German. The cover was bound in leather and some of the seams were loose and ripped, which made the large book look ancient and full of wise words.

"Sleep: Myths of the Seventeenth Century. The title is in German, as are the chapters. But I studied German for a while after becoming a high priestess. It's good to be quadrilingual, to speak four languages. I can speak English, Spanish, French, and German. All of which I learned to speak during my time as a new vampyre and high priestess. That was a digression from the point, however, so let me explain why I picked up this book of myths on sleep." She slowly sat down at her desk, flipping through pages and smiling when she came to the one she was looking for. I leaned forward, intrigued by the book and the ominous feeling of the night as an owl hooted, and the moon's light seemed to dull. Zoey flipped on the lamp sitting beside her computer and began to read the passage.

"Dreams are a part of sleep that many of us have experienced. We can fly, dance, fall, and follow through with our wildest fantasies in these successions of images and thoughts that pass through our mind while we go through the phase of inactivity and inertness. Many people and scientists have posed the question of whether or not it is possible to "visit" people in their dreams. Carlo Carpochelli, a seventeenth-century philosopher, said that one night while resting, a friend appeared in his dreams. Carlo said that, 'His presence was true, and he was undeniably there, within my thoughts, my dreams. I have come to believe that there may be more to life than life itself. Dreams.' "

"More to life than life itself? Dream-walking. A myth of which very few people believe to be true, but many wish to be true. Carpochelli was the first to report dream-walking and probably the first person to consider it. One of the theories that come with this myth is that angels or demons can speak to you through your dreams, or even people in other realms."

Zoey looked up from the book, studying me curiously. "This is where your problem comes in. Kalona is an immortal fallen angel, which more or less fits the description of angels that can walk through your dreams. I'm pretty sure I banished them into another realm, if possible. And you're definately not imagining this, which is why I consider this book truthful. I wanted to read that part to prove to you that you're not the only person to have experienced dream-walking, though. The next one I'll read is how to do it yourself, or a theory on how to do it, since nobody can unless they have a deep connection to spirit of some kind. I've tried, though it hasn't been successful. I guess my connection to spirit may be strong, but not strong enough." She sighed and seemed saddened for a moment, but flipped a couple of pages and began reciting again.

"There have been no reports ever accounted for on someone walking into someone else's dreams, though many ideas have surfaced throughout history. It is said that dreaming is deeply connected to a person's spirit and that to dream-walk, you must have a deep understanding or bond- which may or may not be known by the person doing the dream-walking- to spirit. Once the bond or understanding has been established, according to Mario Vespulianochi, dream-walking can be easy, almost second nature to the person."

"The steps to accomplish walking into or conversing to the person's spirit or self through dream-walking is simple, under the conditions of being connected to spirit in an enhanced way. The first step is to make sure your dreamer is actually asleep. After that, think of that person deeply, picture them, imagine their voice, things they've said to you, places you've been with them, etcetera. Soon, you should feel the person's prescense, a sensation Vespulianochi described as 'Indescribable. Feeling a person within yourself or yourself within a person. You can't deny or miss the feeling. 'Tis the mark that you have accomplished walking into a peron's dreams.' Of course, this was just a theory he came up with after serious thinking and self-exploration. It could be true, howvever no one has ever been as deeply connected to spirit as an angel or person from or in another realm."

"Hence the fact that Neferet- a person in another realm- and Kalona- a fallen angel and a person in another realm- can visit your dreams," Zoey said, stopping in her reading once again. "You probably won't be bound to spirit deeply enough, but it's worth a try. For you to call to Neferet in her dreams. Or, maybe you can ask her when she comes to you."

"No," I responded, almost automatically. I didn't know how I knew this, but something told me that the person who was asleep couldn't control the conversation within the dream. They are asleep, so it was acceptable that it would be impossible to be in control unless you were the person walking into the dream.

"What?"

"The person who is doing the dream-walking has contol over what's discussed in the dream. Even if I wanted to ask, I couldn't if she was in my dream. I'd have to be in hers. If I was there, she couldn't change the subject. She'd either have to answer me or stay silent." Oh. My. God. How did I know that? It was as if someone else was speaking through my mouth, as if I'd become the new beacon of dream-walking. As if I could guide anyone on their dream-walking quest! I'd only just learned about it even being a published theory!

"Good point, it makes sense. How you know that is questionable, but we'll go with it."

"Yeah. But, if the person has to be asleep, how are Neferet and Kalona talking to me while I'm awake?"

Like this, Daughter? Why must you speak with Zoey on this matter? Her concern, it is not. You are my heir, the person to continue my visions of a world controlled by Kalona and I. This. Is. Your. Destiny. Not teaming up with Zoey Redbird-Stark to once again defeat a couple who only wanted to save the universe of a blindsided world with the inhabitants vulnerable and uneducated on the evils of the world. Zoey shelters, keeps the people ignorant. Kalona, myself, and you, young Eliza, can inform.

I felt myself tense and let out a gasp. She was listening in on my conversations, telling me to go against Zoey! I desperately wanted to tell Zoey about this, but I knew if I tried to speak about it, I couldn't. Neferet wouldn't let me. Somehow, she had partial control over me. And it scared the heck out of me.

I knew this was wrong, but a part of me- probably a part being manipulated by Neferet or Kalona or both- wanted to do as she told me, to not talk to Zoey about it and plot against her by letting Neferet tell me what to do. Being strong wasn't just an option for me right now, it was a way of living on my own terms, as crazy and insand as that sounds.

"Enhanced power, maybe? I have no idea, but dream-walking is as close to an explanation I can give you right now. Let me read the next steps on how to dream-walk."

"Okay."

"The third step to dream-walking is making sure your dreamer knows that you are there, within the person's mind, conscience, and spirit. Send your thoughts out to the person. When their physical form appears in front of you, they are 'awake' and aware. You may speak to them as you wish. Once you've finished, think about where you were before the dream encounter and about the person being alone. In a few seconds, you'll find you're by yourself or at least not with the dreamer any longer."

"Once again, no one has ever done this, and this is just what Vespulianochi believed to be the steps of dream-walking. He is, of course, a person from the seventeenth century who listened to and believed Carlo Carpochelli, and both of them may be wrong. Dream-walking is just another myth of sleep that people would like proven true, but probably will never be experienced by anyone, because it is a legend, fairy-tale, myth, or whatever you wish to call it."

Zoey marked the pages she'd read from and closed the book. I was outraged. "How could they completely blow off the idea of dream-walking like that! It's true, and those guys were obviously highly intellectual!"

She stayed calm and answered me with a contradiction. "Would you not have called it a myth and thought of Vespulianochi and Carpochelli insane and in need of mental help if you hadn't experienced this yourself?"

I ignored her question. "Who has those kinda' last names, anyway," I mumbled, crossing my arms and scowling at a large green plant that was growing in the vertex of two of the bookshelves.

"Eliza, that doesn't matter. I used to be just like you. I would have felt the same way, but the author blowing off the idea of dream-walking is totally beside the point! The point is that we now have something to go by."

Something to go by? "What do you mean?"

"We're gonna get some answers. You're going to visit Neferet's dreams."

"WHAT?!" This was what I had wanted, but now that I had a possible way to do it, the reality of it hit me. I didn't want to travel into another person's dreams. Especially Neferet's.

"You're going to visit Neferet. See when she had you, what happened to her, what she wants, why she didn't keep you..."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we're back to where we started in Plan: Find Out Eliza's Family History."

"Crap."

"Eliza, you need to be a bit more willing to do different thingsto be a fledgling with parents like Neferet and Kalona."

` "And you need to be a bit more considerate of how freakin' freaked I am, and that you probably would say a huge 'heck no' to trying this!"

"Touche."

Personally, I was fighting a panic attack, and I had no idea what to say, how to say it, or what to do. Visiting Neferet was a huge step now that I knew she was my mother. My real mother. Which brought a whole new problem to my mind, a mind of which was now a tangle of problems and questions. Telling my adoptive mother, the woman who'd been there for me my whole life, seemed impossible. When she heard I knew, it would probably crush her and Dad. Hearing that I'd sort of found my birth parents would crush them even more. To top all of that off, the knowledge of my seeking my mother out through her dreams would give Mom a stroke and Dad a heart attack. I ran my hands through my long ponytail and closed my eyes.

"Zoey, why do I feel like an official alien with sucky birth parents?"

"Because you have sucky birth parents. But you're not an alien. You're part angel, even if your father was a fallen one, I guess. Like they say, the cup's either half full of half empty." I opened one eye and noticed Zoey looking out of her window again, ruefully smiling. It made me feel like she had more problems than me or either a guiltier conscience. Being the nosey person I am, I dug deeper.

"Zoey, is something wrong? I know now that I have major life problems, but you just seem to have a bigger chip on your shoulder than me." I silently prayed that she wouldn't ignore the question with a smile and a wave of her hand.

Sighing, she turned to me and answered. The look of utter sorrow in her eyes frightened me. "I feel so guilty and responsible for this," she waved her hands towards Schlaf: Mythen des Siebzehnten Jahrhunderts and myself. "For you never meeting your parents and being adopted! If I'd never banished them, maybe you would have lived a normal life!" Tears were rimming her eyes, making her mascara run a little. I sat there speechless.

"And now, you've been Marked, and your life is changing, and I don't have any real answers for you!"

Once again, I couldn't form words. Zoey Redbird-Stark was having an emotional breakdown in front of me, a kid she'd barely known for six hours. Her face was redder than a cherry, red from guilt, anger, sadness, or a combination of the three. This was so not what I had expected from her.

"Zoey, I don't need answers right away!" I wanted to make her happier, but there was only one way to get her mind off of her guilty conscience. There was only one way to fill the hole inside of her, to fill it up with the answers both of us needed. "I'll try the dream-walking!" I gulped as the tears stopped pouring from her eyes.