Dream Killer: Book One in the Nadia Chronicles
Chapter 7: Know When to Quit

Gaia pushed Nadia hard and she shot, as if by a canon, off Gaia’s island and into wakefulness. As Nadia was thrown from the dream she caught a glimpse of a massive army. Gaia was standing as a lone figure. Nadia could not imagine anyone living through an attack by such a large army. Nadia shot awake before the battle began sitting straight up in her sleeping bag. She fought to get to standing position in shock from all that had happened. She was alarmed to replace that she was sobbing silently and even more startled to see Gaia’s book still in her hand.

“Nadia?” The voice was astonished, but comforting. Nadia spun around ready for an attack and instead met the embrace of Dimitri. “Nadia, please tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered gently as he held her against his chest. “It is okay. You are awake now.” His words comforted her and her tears slowed. She would take the time to mourn Gaia if she found out she needed to. Until then, Nadia’s shock turned to embarrassment. She could not believe she had cried in front of Dimitri, let alone into his perfectly defined chest.

Nadia had always been the person to stay strong in every situation. She was the one to make other people happy when they were sad and to not show weakness like crying. But something about Dimitri put her at ease. She felt safe to cry or to scream or to show pain. She felt like she did not have to put on a front for him. It confused and worried her.

She stayed in his arms only a moment longer before saying, “I need to change out of these clothes.” She turned away from him. “And scrub off some of this blood and grime if possible.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged Gaia’s book to her chest before setting it on her sleeping bag.

Dimitri watched her. He could see she was still upset but he did not push the issue. “Let us eat first,” he said putting a pot on the fire. “And then we can walk over to the stream together. It will be cold, but I think we both could use a good scrubbing.”

Nadia glanced at Dimitri and could see dried blood and dirt on him as well. She looked down at her left hand flexing her fingers. She remembered what Gaia had said about being healed. She stretched other parts of her body. She smiled broadly when she realized she was not only healed, but she felt rested as well. A quick scrub and a new set of clothes was all she needed to feel like a real person again.

She glanced around the small clearing. Nadia could tell that the sun would soon set and she wanted to get her bearings before it was too dark to see past the fires light. She strapped on her knife and tried to strategically place a few branches and large stones to be used as weapons if need be. Then, she scanned the area for a few fast get-a-ways before she noticed Dimitri watching her. She looked away from him quickly. Nadia did not want to look into his eyes and see pity. She crossed to retrieve the book Gaia had given her, but when she looked up again Dimitri was standing directly in front of her.

“Whoa,” Nadia’s heart skipped a beat. “You scared me.” She smiled at him. Dimitri didn’t smile back per se but he did not look as sad as he usually did. “Um, listen,” she began lamely. “This last dream visit thing or whatever was with a woman named Gaia.” She paused because Dimitri looked so taken aback. He tried to compose his face. “Do you know her?”

“I have not heard anyone say her name in many years,” he said in his deep voice. “She is a great guardian of the land and it is a great honor to meet with her. I know of very few, if any, that have met her while they slept.”

“Well, the honor is part yours then,” Nadia said taking a step back from him. “She gave me this book. She said I need to read it, but not yet and to give it to you for safe keeping. She told me that it must be guarded at all costs, just short of dying for it.”

She handed the book to Dimitri who took it solemnly. He quickly put the book into a pocket inside his coat and abruptly turned away from Nadia. Nadia’s curiosity was almost over whelming her. She wanted to tell him everything that had happened. She wanted to replace out more about his world, Gaia, the evil man, the book, and Dimitri himself. She didn’t know where to start, but she also couldn’t handle the silence anymore. “So, what are you making?” Nadia asked sheepishly. She considered the pot before sitting close to the fire. “It smells really good.” And it did. Nadia had not realized but Dimitri’s cooking would be her first real meal in five days. She was starving and did not honestly care what he was making as long as she could eat it and soon.

He was scooping the stew into bowls as he answered her, “this is a meat stew with a great deal of vitamin content to strengthen you. I can see that you are physically healthy, but.” He paused glancing at her left hand and then her face. “You should eat and we can talk after dinner. I have a feeling it will be hard for you to sleep tonight. After all, you have slept so much in the last few days. Please, eat.”

They both ate quickly and silently then gathered the items they would need to scrub the blood and dirt from their hair, bodies and clothing. The sun had fully set by the time they started off toward the stream and Nadia welcomed the dark. She has never liked bodies of water at the best of times. She also did not plan to bath in front of Dimitri no matter how much she was supposed to trust him.

Growing up in Arizona, she had seen very little water, except the occasional flash flood, so the stream was more like a river to Nadia. It was ten feet across, four feet deep and moving steadily. Nadia decided that she was going to get into the stream fully clothed

so she could try and wash her clothes without losing pieces in the fast-moving water. She needed to salvage as many items as she could, since she doubted she would replace an outlet store or big box clothing store in all of Baako.

Nadia found that Dimitri’s description of the temperature of the water was a rather large understatement and she had to stifle a cry as she got in. She stripped down as quickly as she could once in the water and did her best with cleaning her clothing, hair, body and even under her finger nails. She had travel size bottles of shampoo and conditioner for her hair. Dimitri gave Nadia a bar of soap that kind of smelled like honey for her body and clothing. When she could no longer feel her hands or feet she fumbled her way out of the icy water and got dressed in her clean clothes as quickly as possible. Nadia sat on a boulder near the water’s edge hugging her legs while Dimitri took his turn in the frigid water. She rubbed both her arms trying to chafe warmth back into them as she waited silently for Dimitri. Unable to see him she listened for clues of when he would be done and stared aimlessly into the water. She was just beginning to wonder about what came next, when she saw a vision on the water’s surface just like in Gaia’s well.

Nadia was frozen watching a waking nightmare play out before her eyes. She could see Dimitri fighting three armed assailants while a fourth man hit him on the back with a crude club. Nadia could also see her unconscious form being dragged away between two men. She blinked and the vision was replaced by a fully clothed Dimitri standing in front of her.

“Nadia,” Dimitri said leaning into her face to try to get her attention.

“We need to move,” she whispered urgently. “Now!”

Nadia threw her hand over Dimitri’s mouth as he started to protest her dragging him back to their camp as quietly as she could in the pitch black. Dimitri stopped just outside the fire’s light and dropped to the ground shape shifting into a midnight blue panther blending almost completely into the darkness. He had finally heard what Nadia had heard and seen. Men were moving quietly through the trees sneaking up on their camp. Nadia thought about putting the fire out, but decided it would be better to draw the men in. If her vision was right, then there were going to be at least six men. She unsheathed her knife as quietly as possible and readied herself to use it. Nadia didn’t think she could use the same tactic on the armed men that she had used on Dimitri. Against multiple assailants, she planned to remain hidden and quiet until a clear opportunity presented its self. She glanced down at Dimitri and understood that he was going to leave her side.

“Stay hidden and don’t do anything foolish,” he seemed to say her. She nodded still a little weirded out by how well she understood him, but fully intended on breaking the agreement. She could not let Dimitri get hurt while she stayed hidden. It wasn’t in her nature and the men were not after him. Nadia would not give herself up either. So, I am going to give this group hell, she thought with a grin though she had never given anyone ‘hell’ before.

As the men approached the fire, she heard them split up. One maybe two men were going to walk past the tree she had her back pressed to at any moment and discover her. She silently hoped the wind kept the scent of her shampoo away from the men and if possible the smoke from the smoldering fire in their eyes. Nadia glanced at the fire wishing for it to burn bright to help her see in the dark night even if it helped the attackers too. Nothing would give away her location faster than her tripping over a root in the dark and go sprawling on her face. She asked the trees to aid her in not tripping and for any steadfast strength she always imagined trees possessed. Finally, she sent out a silent prayer to any god or goddess that was listening. Keep Dimitri safe and help both of them get out of the fight in one piece.

All at once the wind picked up as the men passed where she was standing. They choked on the smoke of the fire and looked right at Nadia through streaming eyes. But they could not see her. She knew she would have to do something or she was a sitting duck even with the smoke and wind working in her favor. She walked up behind the closest attacker and struck him hard on the back of the head with the hilt of her blade. He fell unconscious onto the first attacker causing both to tumble to the ground. The conscious attacker freed himself from his fallen cohort, but rolled into a well laid trap. Dimitri had laid out traps the first night Nadia had arrived to help protect the two of them if they were attacked. The trap was a strategically placed pouch of dreamless sleep that sprayed into the conscious attacker’s face and knocked him out almost instantly.

Nadia almost giggled with pent up anxiety as two out of the six men from her vision were out cold. Then her heart stopped for half a beat because she heard a growl rip through the chill night air. “Dimitri?” she fearfully whispered listening for a few more seconds before she realized she was standing in the open. She jogged silently back to her tree, but it was too late. She had been seen and she was quickly surrounded by three men. Two were from her vision and the other confused Nadia.

The third man emanated power and command but he also had on what looked to be monk’s robes with a large orange eye embroidered across the chest. He was chanting silently and slowly under his breath as he stared straight into Nadia’s eyes. At first, she felt nothing but growing dread, not daring or even able to act or move. She could feel all hope of getting out of this fight in one piece swiftly being destroyed.

Hope, she thought. She could barely recall that sweet old woman she had just met. “What was her name?” she wondered silently. “Gail?” She looked down breaking eye contact with the monk. “Gaia,” she whispered. She concentrated on Gaia’s name as she slowly remembered the conversation about not losing hope and the sacrifice Gaia most likely had made to protect Nadia.

Nadia’s eyes snapped back to the monks, but she was no longer afraid even if she could still feel her strength ebb away from her. I must act now, she thought to herself, before this bad Halloween costume takes me down. She reached out and touched the trunk of the tree and felt the spot where Gaia had kissed her on forehead grow hot. She asked the tree for strength to fight the men and she was surprised to feel the tree lend it. Nadia was staring back into the man’s eyes and was filled with a passionate anger. She asked the fire to aid her but not to burn her. The ground trembled as the fire grew from smoldering to a full and almost uncontained bonfire. A fistful of smokeless fire flew to her hand as the two men from her waking dream stepped back with a gasp.

“Attack you spineless idiots,” the monk hissed.

Nadia smiled as she began to tremble with the power and excitement that was coursing through her. She quickly glanced around realizing there were far more men than just the six she had seen in her vision. After being chastised by the monk, two of the men charged at Nadia with swords drawn. The first man stopped short and dropped his sword with a yelp staggering back. Nadia had super-heated the metal sword and it glowed blood, red smoking in the dirt as its owner nursed his burned hands.

While Nadia was dispatching the first attacker, the second man swung his sword nicking Nadia’s shoulder before he too stopped suddenly. The man dropped his sword grabbing at his neck desperately gasping for breath. Nadia was staring straight at his throat. Her hair flung in the wind that had picked up every direction except around the man she was suffocating. She allowed the air to enter his lungs again only after he had passed out cold.

Nadia switched the fire to her right hand and allowed her left to hang painfully at her side. The sword wound was bleeding sluggishly, but Nadia thought it didn’t look too deep. Surveying the scene, she noticed movement in the trees and kindly asked the trees to eject the intruders. As one painfully hit the ground another was tossed from branch to branch before coming to a stop on his back near the tree’s trunk. The monk’s other men seemed to be torn between attacking Nadia and self-preservation. Nadia enjoyed the men’s indecision because it gave her time to survey the scene before her. She noticed a man drag Dimitri’s unconscious body and dump him like a sack of trash just inside the fire’s light.

“Dimitri,” Nadia called as she walked slowly toward him. The fire on her palm grew to encase her entire hand, so she could easily see to step over any unconscious men.

“Do not allow her to get near her guardian,” the monk yelled. Two more tried to attack her one swung straight for her fire lit arm missing as he went sprawling on the ground as the earth began to quake. The other burst into flames and had to throw himself onto the ground several feet from Nadia to put himself out.

“You idiots! She is a child and clearly new to her gifts,” the monk screamed as the men around Dimitri drew back in fear allowing Nadia to approach without a fight. She felt weary as she checked Dimitri for any visible injuries. She scrambled to replace a way to protect herself and Dimitri from further attack. She decided on a ring of fire that burned six feet tall just large enough to go all the way around herself and Dimitri. However, she knew that she was too tired to keep the ring burning for long. Nadia could not wait for the men to recover and attack her again. She would have to bring the fight to them fast and hard. After a deep breath, she left the safety of her fiery circle leaving Dimitri inside.

“Leave now, by your own accord or so help me by the gods and goddesses you will join the land for all eternity. Make your choice?” She spoke fiercely with the voice of a woman warrior from times long forgotten.

“You are but a child,” the monk snarled. “What harm can you do to the likes of me?”

Nadia was wondering that herself. She thought her voice sounded cool and she could fight much better than she could have ever imagined. But she really did not have a grasp on what was going on. She had always known that she had a kinship for nature and the elements since she was old enough to walk. It was nothing compared to the power she wielded in Baako.

As great as her new powers were, Nadia could feel that the powers were taking their toll on her. She was trembling all over and the monk was beginning to fade in and out of focus. For a few short seconds, she thought she was going to lose control over her gifts and fail. The fire in her hand shrunk and the ring of fire wavered. She looked at her bleeding arm, back at Dimitri and into the smug smiling face of the monk.

“Maybe you haven’t been paying attention,” she said forgetting her pain and weariness as she looked at the overly arrogant monk. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to beat him. “Let’s finish this.” She threw a gust of wind that picked up the monk and slammed him against a tree before he crumpled to the ground.

The monk’s men did not leave as Nadia had hoped they would after seeing the monk get laid out. Some simply continued to gawk at her with their mouths open and hands still gripping their swords. Others were considering attacking her again. Nadia turned to the man closest to her and he began to choke on water that was unseen, drowning on dry land. The men still did not turn to leave so she looked up to sky with blazing red eyes and made fire rain down upon the remaining men. The fire dropped like water, but burned the men’s clothing and skin like acid. It took all her remaining strength to not allow the fire to consume any part of the forest. Trembling from head to toe she stopped the fire rain and saw that the men had finally fled stopping only to pick up those that had fallen.

She walked gingerly back to the circle of fire where Dimitri stood wide eyed waiting for her. It was a struggle for Nadia to remain on her feet as she let the fire from her hand fly back to the fire pit, the winds go back to where they were headed and she questioned the trees to make sure they were safe apologizing for the theatrics. The land reported that the men were still fleeing and that no other people, evil or otherwise, were around for ten miles in each direction. She looked up at Dimitri and said in barely more than a whisper, “I think I’m in trouble.”