Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, J.K. Rowling, The Berkley Publishing Company, and the creators of Charmed. Nothing belongs to me; this is just a parody for your entertainment purposes only.
Rating: R
Today was Saturday and I felt like shit, plus the weather wasn't helping any. It started to rain late last night and was still raining. I hadn't been able to sleep anymore after the nightmare late yesterday afternoon. Richard and I were supposed to go hiking and caving today, but that was cancelled due to the weather. Plus I was too tired and upset to have fun. We didn't need me looking over my shoulder every five minutes, trying to see if I'm being watched or followed.
Looking out the living room window, while drinking hot herbal tea. I was in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white spaghetti strap shirt, with no shoes. I had wondered what to do about Falcor. He's changing and things don't smell right. Why I didn't see it before was beyond me. It bugged me to no end that he pulled one over on me. He was a governor of the school, what had he done to put the lives of children at stake? I had to figure out how he got into my dreams, or I'll never get any sleep. I felt Richard enter the room, turned to look at him from the window. He was wearing a matching pair of grey sweatpants and nothing else. He walked over toward me as I placed my tea mug down onto the windowsill. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me toward him in a hug.
I had placed my head onto his chest, while he rubbed the top of my head with his chin. We stood like that for sometime, before I said, "I'm going to have to go to my study at the Circus."
"Why?" he asked.
"Cause I need to find out what spell he's using to enter my dreams. It's the only way to find out, what has happened to him," I answered.
"And if you can't find the answer there, then what?" He questioned.
"Then I will have to go to my private library at the school," I stated.
He stiffened at that and continued, "Don't worry, I will prepare myself this time and he won't be able to enter without my permission. Plus the library sits behind a bookshelf that stands behind my desk. No one knows it's there but my family and me. If anyone comes near my office, they won't know I'm there."
He let out a sigh and replied, "That is good to know, but I don't want you going there alone. I want you to take a guard with you, just in case."
I leaned back from him, to glance up into his face. The look in his eyes told me he was worried for my safety. I nodded my head and asked, "Who do you recommend I take?"
He shrugged, while holding me tighter. He took a breath in, taking my scent with him and letting it out. I moved closer to him and nuzzled his bare chest. I began nibbling at his chest, then stopped, pulling away with my face turning red.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is everything all right?"
I sighed, then looked at him with my sad face and said, "No, if I don't get dressed and get going I'm never going to solve this mystery. The only problem is I want to spend the day with you, but this can't wait and that just sucks."
He smiled, leaned down and slightly brushed my lips with his. "Do you know you�re cute when you pout," he asked.
I smiled and hugged him. He picked me up and said, "Since today was suppose to be our day. I will be your guard, so you can crack this case. I don't want to leave your side, because I'll just miss you too much."
"Ah that's so sweet," I replied, leaning down to give him a kiss.
Once inside the bedroom, he put me down so I could start getting ready. Between the two of us, it took an hour before we got out the door. Richard had called ahead, to tell Jason we would be coming by. Jason would be waiting for us at the back door like always. Jamil was to meet us there as well, along with Shang-Da if he didn't have other plans. I would have called Luna, but don't need Anita involved just yet. I'll use her as a last resort that is if I can't deal with this on my own. I was wearing my ankle dress boots, blue jeans, a green turtle neck, and a sporty green jacket to match my shirt. I had parted my hair down the middle and French braided both sides. Lightly touched my face with make-up, then adorned my gold-framed glasses. The only jewelry I had on was the three earrings in each ear and my five star amulet.
Richard was wearing his moccasin boots, blue jeans, sweater, and his leather duster. He had pulled his hair back from his face into a ponytail and looked yummier as ever. We locked up the front door and windows, heading out the back through the kitchen to the garage. Richard unlocked the doors to his mustang, opening the passenger�s side door, to let me in. Once done he walked around to the driver�s side got in and started the engine. We pulled out of the drive about quarter till eleven, with rain still pouring down. The drive into the city was silent, except for the sound of the rain hitting the car.
We hit the city limits by eleven-thirty and had reached the Circus parking lot by noon. Richard found a spot close to the back door, so it wouldn't be a far walk in the rain. Once parked he cut the engine, and we both got out of the car, locking it behind us. We made for the back door, just as it came swinging open. Jason's head popped into view as we entered the Circus. He shut the door behind us and we made our way down the steps into the underground apartments.
I found my study door with ease this time. It was now a step or two down from Maggie's Lab door. I had found a spell to keep it in one spot, so it won't move again. It looks good beside hers and I wouldn't mind it staying there. I stopped by Maggie's lab to see if she was in, but there was a note that said out to lunch on it. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, 'I'm next door in the study, so if you need anything give me a call.'
I went back to my door, pulled out a piece of paper and read from it, "Door of portals, stay amongst the mortals. Do not try to glide, for I will not let you slide. Do not test thee, for I bind thee."
The power of the spell took affect and like roots of a tree, held the base of the door into the ground, so it couldn't move. It bound the door to its new place and could only move when I chose to lift the spell. Richard was leaning up against the wall on the other side of the hall. He was watching my back, while I performed my task. Once that was done, I tapped on the entrance way three times releasing all enchantments. The door immediately swung open to allow me inside. Richard came up to me and pulled me behind him. He was going in first, just to make sure no one got access to my study and trapped it with spells. Stepping over the threshold, and glancing around, he found no one inside and I found no foul play. Once we established that the place was clean, I shut the door to my study and continued toward the lab. Richard had whistled upon entry at the floor to ceiling bookcases. What impressed him the most was they were all lined with books, not a shelf or hole was lying empty.
I had moved toward the lab door, when Richard grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. "Oh no you don't, not till I go in first to make sure it's ok," He said going ahead of me.
"Richard I have to take off the spells first," I replied.
That stopped him in his tracks and he looked over at his shoulder at me. "Why do you have spells on this door, if you have spells on the first one?" he questioned curiously.
"Oh because Sarah is going to the mage's school and can undo just about every blocking spell. If she got in here and the lab wasn't protected. God only knows what will happen, especially if Sarai and Chessire are with her," I answered.
He rubbed his chin with his hand and said, "You've got a point there."
He backed up just a little for me to undo the protective spells over the lab. There were loud bangs, pops, and squeals then a huge hologram dragon came bursting out of the door. Richard jumped at the sight of it, and then glared at me, when I started laughing.
"What the hell was all that?" he asked angrily.
I giggled, "That's what we mage folk like to call kiddy proofing the labs."
He just shook his head and replied, "Is that all of them."
"Nope got a few more," I answered, while taking off the more deadly and dangerous spells. Once the spells were off, this door swung wide open as well.
Richard positioned himself in front of me, making sure he went in first. I followed him closely. We entered the room to nothing out of the ordinary and after a full inspection of the room, it was clear to use. I walked back out into the main room and started looking for a certain book on dreams. I was halfway up the ladder, when bells started going off. I rolled my eyes and climbed back down the ladder. The bell sounds when off again and they were more persistent than before. Richard raised an eyebrow at me, while watching me move in behind my desk. I pulled a lever on the bookcase behind it, causing the shelves to move out of the way, to show a huge floor to ceiling mirror.
Before I touched the mirror Richard came over to me and asked, "You going to be ok here, while I run to get us something to eat."
I gave him my puppy dog eyes and replied, "No, so hurry back and if you have to. Just call for take out, then make Jason run and get it. He's not doing anything anyway, but being a brat."
He smiled, shook his head, while pulling me into his arms. "Ok, be back shortly," he answered, then kissed me on the cheek. He gave me a hug then exits the room. I tapped it three times and Tam came into view.
She smiled into the mirror and said, "Hey witchy-wolf, how�s it going?"
"I'm doing fine, except for a little bump in the road," I replied.
Tam stared at me with a funny expression and asked, "What kind of bump?"
I sighed and filled her on the details of the last two days at work, plus what happened at home. She had a worried look on her face when she stated, "You are of Lillith�s line. You should have a natural affinity for controlling dreamscapes. Try to figure out how to use the inborn ability and turn the dreams against him. Is he of her line as well?"
I shook my head and said, "No he's not. He was a good man, who is now being corrupted by the dark arts."
Tam just stood there on the other side of the mirror watching me. "If that's the case, then he's using a spell to enter your dreams. Spells can be countered if you can figure out which one is being used," she commented.
"Yeah I know, that's why I'm looking for my dreams and shadow spell books. They have most of those kinds of spells in them," I stated as I began to climb the ladder once more.
I rummaged through books; trying to find the ones I was looking for. Tam stood quietly, while the volumes went everywhere. Finally after an hour of glancing through editions after editions, I found the three books I was looking for. Tam had gone to check on the children and Richard was just coming through the door, with bags of food. I smiled at him when he entered, then raised an eyebrow when Jamil and Jason waltzed in. Jamil wasn't here when we had gotten here. He was over an hour and a half late, for bodyguard duty. But it wasn't my place to yell at him, it was Richard's and the way it looked, Jamil got a chewing of a lifetime. Jason had plopped down in my chair and started grabbing for the food.
"Boy I'm starving," he said.
"Don't see how Jason. You eat all the time," I teased.
He smiled at me and replied, "Yeah but I have such a high metabolism."
I snorted, "Where in your mouth?"
"Hey I resent that remark. And no it's no my mouth, it's something else," he said wiggling his eyebrows.
I turned and smiled at him with an evil glint to my eye. "Not if you need a microscope to see it," I stated.
He grabbed for his stomach and bent over like he was hurt. "Oh that was a low blow Alex. You could hurt a man's pride with that tongue," he commented, falling out of the chair and forming a ball.
I used that time to hop over the desk and into my chair, before he had any idea what I've done. He jumped up quickly and glared at me, which made me smile.
"Hey no fair Alex, you cheated me out of my chair," he pouted.
I glanced at him and replied, "Sorry Jason, this is my chair, but if you want a chair you got to say the magic word."
Richard snickered and Jamil snorted drink through his nose at my comments. I conjured up a chair for Richard and Jamil to sit in, while Jason plopped on the front of the desk. Richard began going through the containers of Chinese as I started flipping through the books. A voice cleared from behind me and we all turned.
Tam had returned and I waved at her. She waved back and said, "I'm back. Hey Richard, Jamil, and Jason. What cha eating and have you found anything yet?"
"Hi Tam," said Richard, Jamil, and Jason in unison.
"We're having Chinese and not yet. Care for some Chinese though," I answered.
"Depends on what you got," she questioned with curiosity.
I examined the food and said, "I've got sweet and sour chicken, some beef with vegetable, and some rice. Plus think there's a couple of egg rolls."
She pondered for a minute then replied, "Give me a little bit of everything and your egg rolls if you don't want them."
Jason had laughed out loud, when I asked Tam if she wanted anything. "How do you suppose to give it to her Alex," he giggled.
I whacked him in the head, then filled a plate of food for Tam and gave it to her through the mirror. She took it from my hand and began to chow down. I turned to see a pale face Jason, who then fell off the end of the desk. Richard glared at me. Jamil was trying to keep a straight face. Tam just smiled, and I went back to flipping through the spell books. Everyone ate in silence, so as not to disturb my reading. Tam tried to glance over my shoulder and after she asked if I found anything for the third time in five minutes. I turned the chair around so she could look at the books too. An hour passed, before I found the dream spell, which Falcor used in the book of shadows. There was however one small problem. Falcor was no longer human; he had apparently sold his soul to gain power and in doing so had become a demon. For only dream weavers had the power over that spell and unless you were born of my great-grandmother's line, the only other way to gain that power is to sell your soul and become a demon yourself.
I pointed at the book and said, "This is it. I've found it."
The small chattering stopped and everyone's head turned toward me. I sat the book down on the desk and read to myself. The Book of Shadows deals mostly with demons. The demon that Falcor had become was in the line of what Cimiries and I were, but he wasn't born, he was turned. When a dream weaver is born, they can go either way. But if they are turned, they only walk one way and that's down the path of evil. For in order to gain such power over beings, would cost you your own life, damning you forever. This was not good, especially when I haven't been trained to use my dreamscape powers. I turned to look at Tam then showed her, so that she knew what she was talking about. Tam glanced from me to the book, and then back again. From the look on her face, she didn't seem too happy about all this. I can't blame her; I'm not either. I wonder if grandmamma had a hand in this, or was someone trying to get back at me?