Chapter Thirty-Five

"I think we chose the wrong movie," Dawn said, pouting.

Cierra nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jeremiah is a US citizen and not going to need to marry you for citizenship anytime soon."

"I don't even think they texted the entire time," Dawn added, looking at her phone in her hands.

"Why not just start with a classic 'Hey'?" Cierra asked, laying back on her bed, "And when he replies you can be all 'I was thinking we should meet at the school library at 2pm and start with Romeo and Juliet.'"

"Ugh," Dawn let out a loud exhale of air, plummeting back on the bed, "Fine!"

A few seconds later she announced it was done.

"When do you think he'll reply?," Dawn asked, legs dangling off the edge of the bed.

Cierra glanced at the time on her phone, reading eleven thirty, "It's kinda late, so probably not tonight?" Cierra said, unsure.

"Mmmph," Dawn exhaled impatiently through her nose.

Cierra glanced at the notifications on her phone; she had five unread messages on social media. She ignored them, not wanting to speak any sooner than necessary to her dream realm acquaintances.

She knew ultimately that they had done nothing wrong, but still, she wasn't ready to get over the embarrassment of having been toyed with and forced to prove herself. Everyone had lied to her face: Nora, Hans, Goldie, even Lonnie.

Her face burned when she thought about it, a mix of hurt pride, self-deprecation, and humiliation.

She wasn't looking forward to going meeting them tonight.

That night Cierra fell asleep while Dawn was still playing on her phone, waiting for a response.

When Cierra and Cid arrived in the clearing, they were surprised to find that only Hans had beaten them there.

"Hey," He said, awkwardly raising his hand in a wave. "I hope you don't mind, I asked the others to come a bit later."

Cierra wasn't sure what to say, so she stayed quiet, awkwardly waving back as she walked towards the other side of the golden hibiscus bush, Cid at her heels.

"I really wanted to apologize to you," Hans started, looking at Cierra, "We couldn't take chances that you might be some new enemy, but we never meant for you to go through all of that with Freya's warriors. We should have done things differently, worked with you to get a divine artifact or found some other way to do things."

Cierra looked at her hands, unsure what to do. His words were sincere, they weren't exactly why she was angry, but she could see where he was coming from.

"It's alright," Cierra said, "I would have probably done something similar." She paused, pulling at a leaf on the bush, "We're all so new to this, and you all were right to be wary, I mean," She swallowed, it was hard to admit out loud, "I am different from your guys. I don't have a ring and I've been here much longer than any of you."

"Have you really been coming here since you were a child?" Hans asked, curious.

"Yeah, for about as long as I can remember," Cierra answered, biting at her lip.

"That's wild," Hans looked at Cierra with something she found hard to decipher.

"Hope we aren't interrupting," Nora called from the clearing entrance, Lonnie by her side.

"No, not at all," Hans glanced at Cierra, "We were just talking."

"Yup," Cierra added, backing him up, "We're all good."

"Nice," Lonnie said rushing forward, "By the way, do you think I'll be able to pet Cid one day?"

At the boy's question, the hibiscus bush transformed, and Goldie stood before them. Cierra wasn't sure she would ever get used to how stunning Goldie's features were. All that gold shimmering in the light that broke through the canopy overhead made Goldie's hair and eyelashes shimmer.

"Maybe one day in the distant future," She answered, looking in Lonnie's direction, "I've never seen a skogkatt grow a deep attachment with members outside of its own family. Though, of course, Cierra seems to be the exception."

"So, like, in a future far, far away?" Lonnie asked, waiting for the others to laugh.

"Like Star Wars?" He continued, as everyone simply looked at him, "Have you guys never seen Star Wars?"

"You guys suck," He finished, exasperated.

Goldie arched an eyebrow at his insult, eyes still shut.

"Hey, Goldie, good to see you again," Hans said, while the rest of us waited to hear what news she had.

"I wish this was a pleasant visit," Goldie said softly, they all gathered around to hear her better, "But we have a lot to talk about."

"First, can I see your bracelet, Cierra?" She asked holding out a hand.

Cierra stepped forward, anxiously looking at the others, and put her wrist in goldies hand.

Goldie felt at the beads with her fingers, pausing on the broken one.

"Five of Freya's tears, all gathered from the same spot… One broken and desecrated," Goldie's voice trailed off. "This is an unprecedented act, and one we must take seriously."

"Other realms are fighting off the nightmares as well," She paused, "They seem to be looking for something. Maybe more artifacts…or perhaps something else."

"What's their end goal?," Nora asked, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not sure yet," Goldie answered, "But we need to find out as soon as possible."

"How?," Hans asked, raising his voice slightly, "It's not like we have combat training or know where they are."

"Wait," Cierra thought for a moment, "We know of at least two places: Fólkvangr and where Sekhmet's vessel is."

"They've been torturing Freya at Fólkvangr and they're supposedly looking for West Mountain in Sekhmet's desert," She added, helpfully.

"West mountain?," Goldie's mouth dropped into a little 'o' for a moment and her brow furrowed thoughtfully before she composed herself.

"Either way, we must tread carefully from here on out," She turned her head towards each of them, as though she was trying to look through them with her closed eyes.

"You need to learn how to fight, how to master your own powers."

She let the sentence hang in the air before continuing. Nora, Cierra, and the others nodded in agreement. They had been too weak for too long, they all knew it.

"I've prepared training grounds for each of you. These are places of power," Goldie warned, "And I'm merely opening the door. I do not know how long your training will take, but you can't go anywhere else, not even the meadow clearing, while you are training."

She looked each of them over, making sure her words stayed with them.

"I will give you each a word, think of it as your passcode. When you go to sleep each night, think of this word and you'll go back to your training area. If," She turned towards Cierra, "You deviate from training and go somewhere else, you'll no longer be able to visit your place of power.

Her blind gaze swept over them all.

"A warning: These places are isolated from all others. The creatures and beings you meet there may not know of your time period and will most likely talk about the past as the present. Don't correct them."

"They know you're coming, and they're taking you in as a favor to me. Take your time, learn all you can, and when you're done, meet in the clearing."

Nora cleared her throat, "How long do you think this will take?" She asked.

"At least a few weeks," Goldie replied, "I would be shocked if it didn't take months. You all have a lot to learn, and it's all a matter of life and death."

"Months?," Lonnie asked, shocked. "We won't see each other for months?"

"What happens if the realms get worse during our training?," Cierra jumped in, concerned for the fates of those like Freya and Sekhmet.

"What happens to the realms if you're weak and die in battle?," Goldie countered.

Everyone was silent.

"When you leave, you need to be ready to fight the nightmares. No more half-measures," Something in Goldie's voice sounded tight, like there was no room for miscalculation. Where before Cierra had known Goldie to sound borderline playful, she know seemed deathly serious.

"Let's begin."

She walked to Lonnie first, "Coyote." Cierra gasped as Lonnie turned to smoke and blew away.

Next Goldie went to Nora, her closed eyes seemingly gazing into the girl's, she whispered, "Murugan."

Cierra looked at Hans to find that he was also looking at her. Despite everything that happened, Cierra mouthed "Good luck" to him, and he smiled, small and reassuringly as Goldie whispered "Leshy," to him and he dissipated.

With just the two of them left, Goldie positioned herself in front of Cierra. Goldie took Cierra by the shoulders, "Beware the raven."

"What?" Cierra asked, not understanding.

"Dagda."

Cierra felt her body lighten, the world spinning around her. Feeling sick, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was standing in a damp field, Cid at her side. She fell to her knees gagging, the world still spinning.