Secrets of the medallion

Leena lived on the other side of the city, and commuting across Faros in the morning was always painstakingly slow due to the rush hour traffic.

On any other occasion, she would have preferred to ride the tram, but understanding the urgency of the situation she decided to spend the extra cash and take the express cab service.

Before the clock could strike twelve, Leena showed up at Xander's doorstep.

Leena Hayden was only a year younger than Xander, but her innocent eyes and freckled face made her look just like a teenager. She wasn't the prettiest face in town but had a comforting and homely appearance.

Dressed in a fluffy white cardigan and a pair of blue denims she looked just like a young college student. Xander had known her for four years now and was she probably his only friend in this world.

As Xander opened the door, Leena looked at him breathlessly. "I came as fast...as I could. You really...shouldn't be bringing your work home."

"You need to catch your breath. Come inside and grab a drink," Xander said, ushering her in.

Tiva was delighted to see Leena. Though she usually regarded almost every adult with suspicion, Leena had managed to make an exception in her book.

As soon as Tiva saw her, she greeted her with a gleeful smile. "It's been such a long time, Ms. Leena. I missed you so much," she trilled in excitement and ran up to her.

Leena got down on her knees and gave her favorite kid a tight hug. "I've missed you too, my cuddle bunny. Gosh, you've grown so tall."

"You literally saw her just four months ago," Xander remarked from behind.

"That's a really long time in my book. It's not just four months. It's over a hundred days," Leena replied. Fixing her loving gaze on the little girl, she added, "I know Uncle Xander can be a real pain in the butt sometimes. If you ever feel lonely, just give me a call, and I'll pick you up. We can go to your favorite ice cream shop."

"I would love that, Ms. Leena!" Tiva exclaimed excitedly.

"You can just call me Leena. The miss makes me sound super old," Leena said scrunching her nose playfully.

"Okay, Leena. You're the best!" Tiva threw her hands around Leena's neck and held her tight.

Xander felt happy to see Tiva so excited. He didn't want to interrupt them, but unfortunately, his work couldn't wait.

"Tiva, why don't you go tidy your room? I need to talk to Leena about something important."

Hearing Xander's words, Tiva's expression changed into a frown. She looked at him with annoyance and replied, "You never share your work stories with me. How mean!"

"Hey, I'll tell you some of my stories today. You just do what Uncle Xander says, and we will spend the whole afternoon together." Leena was quick to come to Xander's rescue.

Tiva's face immediately lit up with excitement. "You promise?"

"I swear on Larosh," Leena replied, raising her left hand.

That was all the encouragement Tiva needed to dart into her room and set to work cleaning her bed.

Finally alone, Xander took Leena to his room. Shutting the door, he turned on the lights and pulled out the necklace from his pocket.

Leena stared at the medallion with interest. A tingling sensation ran down her spine as she touched it. "I can sense magic in this item. Where exactly did you find it?"

"It's from a murder scene," Xander replied. "They found a woman hanging from the ceiling in her own apartment."

"Wait...You entered another Death Nightmare?" Leena's eyes widened as they focused on the Dreamwalker.

"The pay was good. Twenty thousand vireks. I thought it would be business as usual."

"And?"

"Well, there was something wrong with this nightmare."

"What?" Leena held her breath as she waited for Xander's reply.

He answered after a long pause. "I encountered a Dread Lord inside the nightmare. Plus, the Last Memory was unable to answer my questions."

"A Dread Lord? The ones living in the underworld?" Leena asked. "You know no one has ever seen a Dread—"

"I know what I saw. He nearly killed me."

Xander's reply stunned Leena. She realized Xander had gotten himself involved in some dark business. "I keep telling you to stop taking such cases, but you never listen! Why can't you take on simpler jobs like me?"

Leena was a Dreamwalker as well, but she never took on any criminal cases. Her clients mostly consisted of old people with sleeping disorders and ambitious youngsters who wanted to know more about their dreams and desires.

It was a lot safer for her since she rarely ever dealt with nightmares. On most days she would be sauntering through wild open Dreamscapes and solving riddles and puzzles.

Things were completely opposite for Xander. His was a dangerous job. One where he had to deal with violent Ethereals inside terrifying Nightscapes.

Leena was ready to tear into Xander and give him an earful, but Xander lowered his gaze and went quiet. After a minute of overbearing silence, he finally spoke again.

"I need the money. You know I'm not doing this for me. I want to send Tiva to the best schools and colleges, and I want to give her everything she could ever want. And..." Xander's voice faltered for a moment as his heart skipped a beat. "She needs that surgery before she turns seven, or she'll never be able to—

"It's fine. Don't say it," Leena cut in before Xander could complete his sentence. She already knew that Tiva had a serious medical condition and needed a heart transplant soon. It was the reason behind Xander being so willing to risk his life for money.

Sweeping his dark thoughts away, Xander focused on the medallion again. "I saw a similar drawing in my sister's diary. Hold on to this for me."

Xander pulled out a cardboard box from under his bed and took out a dusty old diary bound in hard brown leather. Giving it a good whack, he opened it.

The diary's pages had already started turning yellow at the edges, but the writing was still crystal clear.

Among the detailed notes and bold keywords, a few rough sketches were sticking out. One of them was exactly what Xander was looking for: the drawing of a feather-shaped medallion with the words, 'Blood Mark' highlighted in red.

"I knew I'd seen it before," Xander said, pointing at the sketch.

Leena took a good look at it and asked, "Are there any details about it?"

Xander glossed over the notes on the adjacent page but didn't find any reference to the medallion. "There's nothing. Just these two words under the sketch."

"Blood Mark," Leena read out in a barely audible whisper. "I've read about Blood Marks before. Some objects of power are bound by the blood of their owners. These items are used to identify specific individuals belonging to certain elite family lines."

"Why would a Mystic give such a precious item to an Ordinaire?" Xander asked.

"I have no clue," Leena replied, shaking her head. "But you may be able to enter the owner's memory through the medallion."

"How?" Xander asked.

"Well, we just have to unbind the object by using a counter spell." Leena looked hesitant to add more details, but Xander pressed the matter.

"Leena, I really need to do this. Please help me out."

Leena looked at Xander with worry flashing in her eyes. "Is this just about the money? Because I have a feeling it won't be worth it."

"It's not just about the money," Xander replied after a moment of silence. "The cops think a Mystic was involved in the murder. A Dreamwalker. And...it's connected to Shamura."

Leena's eyes widened, and her face flushed as she heard those last words. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into? This isn't gonna end well."

Xander grabbed the medallion from her and closed the diary. "You let me worry about that. Just tell me if you can help me enter the memory or not?"

Leena let out a cold sigh and nodded. "Fine, I'll chant the counter spell. But if anything goes wrong, I won't be responsible."

"If anything goes wrong, just take Tiva and leave," Xander replied crossing his legs on the floor and closing his eyes. "I'm ready. You can start whenever you want."

Leena had a bad feeling about this, but she kept her word. Taking the medallion from Xander's pocket, she whispered an ancient incantation and gently placed it on the floor before him.

The medallion soon started glowing blood-red, and a glowing red portal opened in front of Xander.