Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(55)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Sam looked at me and I shrugged. Mom really meant it when she said that she was going to accept Sam as part of my life and this offer was her way of proving it.

“I don’t know,” Sam said.

I looked at my mother’s aura. It was filled with blues and greens. She was calm, comfortable and I knew that she meant what she said. I would see if she was only offering out of guilt.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” Gran said, her aura looking a lot like Mom’s.

Gran’s acceptance seemed to put Sam at ease and he looked at Logan. “What do you think? Want to stay at Hev’s Mom’s?”

Logan nodded. “Can I eat candy when I watch movies?”

Mom laughed. “Sure.”

I just hoped she didn’t try to cook him some chicken.

“Okay, then.” Sam nodded. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

“You are most welcome, Sam.” She turned to Logan. “Bring your things over tonight and you can stay, that way you won’t have to get up so early to come over.”

Logan nodded.

“Wonderful!” Mom said, happy with her plans. She gave me a warm smile and I smiled back.

Our relationship was getting stronger every day. I prayed it stayed that way.

Chapter Thirteen

Heven

When the sky darkened and night fell, the back of my skull began to scream. The pain was intense and distracting, but at least I understood why I was feeling this way. There was a demon in my head. This pain was that demon’s—the Dream Walker’s—way of trying to get inside my brain and manipulate me.

I glanced at the bed and groaned. I did not welcome sleep tonight. I prayed Sam would soon be here, so that the idea of sleep wouldn’t be so bad. Turning my back on the bed and doing my best to ignore the pain, I looked at the door where my suitcases sat packed and ready. Tomorrow, we were leaving for Rome.

Tonight, all across town, my fellow classmates were packing their final items, pouring over the itinerary and texting excited messages to their friends. The anticipation of going abroad would fill their dreams with adventures and fun. I couldn’t remember the last time my dreams were full of adventure and fun.

And this trip to Italy wouldn’t be, either.

While everyone else was going for culture and learning, Sam and I had a much broader agenda. Saying we could possibly be saving the world seemed very melodramatic, but saying we could be helping to keep the world as we know it seemed much more manageable. And a little less frightening.

I heard a light sound and turned to see Sam slipping through the window.

“Did you get Logan over to my mom’s?” I asked, still a little surprised that she was being so supportive of Sam and this trip.

“Yeah, she seemed really excited to have him there. She rented movies and made popcorn for him. And, of course, she had candy.” Sam laughed and shook his head.

I smiled. “We used to do that a lot.” It made me sad that we didn’t anymore. I decided right then, that after the scroll was returned and we got home, I was going to do everything I could to put my relationship with my mother back together. She was making a great effort to accept Sam and now his brother, and I vowed to make a bigger effort as well.

“He’ll be okay,” Sam said, taking a breath and sounding like he was trying to assure himself of that fact.

“Yeah, I really think he will. At least this way he isn’t alone.”

He nodded and I glanced down. In his hand he grasped the bronze case that protected the Treasure Map. My breath caught. Sam held out the scroll and I took it, pulling it close to my chest.

“You dug it up without me.”

“I figured you had enough on your mind.” He brushed his fingertips across my forehead.

“Can you feel it too?”

He nodded. “Just an echo of it through the back of my head, so I know it’s got to be hurting you.”

“It gets worse the later it gets.” I glanced at the clock.

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

“You have?”

He lifted a golden-brown eyebrow. “Of course.”

Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me down alongside him. “Your dreams, the ones the Dream Walker manipulates, seem to only happen when I’m not sleeping with you. Is that right?”

I thought a moment, having to relive the few dreams that I have had. Slowly, I shook my head. “The first time it happened, you were here.”

“Yeah, but I got out of bed and was over there at the desk.” His eyes flicked to the corner where I remembered waking and finding him.

I gasped. “That’s why you’re body was trying to shift! You sensed the Dream Walker.”

He nodded.

It all made complete sense. Except for one thing. “Who is this Dream Walker?”

Sam cleared his throat and the area around his eyes tightened before he asked, “Have you seen him in your dreams?”

I nodded, the face flashing into my mind, pale skin and dark hair. Mostly, I recalled the power and pull he exuded. Someone wanting power and control could easily be drawn to someone like him. I felt something warm on my thigh and I looked down to see Sam’s hand lying in my lap.

“Tell me about him.”

I shifted uncomfortably and got to my feet to pace the small room. “Why?”

“So I know what to look for when I go in your head to get him out.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared. “You’re going to go in my head?”

His lips curved. “I’m already there.”

I resumed pacing. “True, but…”

“But?”

“You have access to some of my thoughts and feelings because of our Mindbond, but the Dream Walker is different than that.”

“I know. I’m going to try and get in like he did.”

“But I was unconscious then.”

“I should be able to get in while you’re sleeping.”

I couldn’t help but shudder. My head was just too crowded these days. I didn’t like feeling like my head was a playground.

“Hey…” Sam caught my hand and drew me forward, standing to look into my eyes. “It’s the only way I can think of.”

“I understand.”

“I won’t take advantage of you.”

“I know you won’t,” I said, tilting my head down. I felt ashamed that he thought he had to tell me that.

He placed his finger beneath my chin and lifted. “I promise.”

I placed a finger to his lips. “I trust you.”