Dream Casters: Shadow: Dream Casters, #2

By Adrienne Woods

Chastity Blake discovered the hard way what she was: a modern-day Sandman. But things aren't looking up for Chastity. She is guarding a secret deep within her — her dark sand, or what Reverians call her Shadow. Shadow Casters are known for their dark dreams, the nightmares they create. If she's caught with dark sand, she may be subjected to harsh interrogation, even banished to the Oblivion with the other Shadow Casters... and that is SO not on her list.

Will she be able to hide her darkness from the most powerful Somnium alive? How long can she outrace her destiny before true nature catches up with her?

Shadow Casters is the follow-up of bestselling author Adrienne Woods' second series, Dream Casters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing
• Release date: Oct 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781947649378

Adrienne Woods

Adrienne Woods resides with her family on the East side of Joburg, Gauteng. If she isn't writing, she is reading and love to spend time with her two beautiful little girls. You can find out more about Adrienne Woods at www.authoradriennewoods.com   

Book preview

Part One

One

Happily After Doesn’t Exist

It had been four months, five days, six hours, and twenty-odd minutes since the Virtual Realm was lost to us.

Since the one person I’d looked up to betrayed us all.

Fox.

Fox had been a brilliant guardian who’d made a deal with the Shadow Casters. Had been being the key words in that sentence. She’d died by my hand, and I was still struggling to come to terms with that.

The very same night, Sophie—a sweet, smart, and loyal girl—and Tom’s entire team of Seekers also perished.

And on that same night, the one person who made this place worthwhile—the guy who was one of the reasons I dragged my ass out of bed every morning—got tossed into the unknown.

The scientists had given upon their search for him. If there was no sign of Leigh or anything worth saving in what had been recovered of the Virtual Realm, the scientist in charge of restoring it was going to switch off the machine.

It didn’t matter to them whether or not he still existed. But he still existed… in my dreams.

My beautiful, colorful dreams.

My ability to see in color still hadn’t returned, and I was starting to freak out about it. Not being able to see in color was one of the first signs that you were a Shadow Caster.

I was lucky that Shades—or Mr. Grey as the Reverians knew him—a talking cat whom only I could hear, hadn’t died. He occasionally told me the colors if someone was having a conversation with me.

I was glad my cat was alive, even though he was still as grumpy as ever with his snarky comebacks. He had become one of my best friends.

Mr. Grey believed the Virtual Realm was huge, and that Lover Boy might still be alive.

Well, as alive as he could be.

See, Leigh was part of the Virtual Realm, but technically he didn’t exist. Like a computer program, just way more advanced.

Reverians called his kind Jumpers—not that there were more like Leigh.

He’d given me hope, and now they were just going to plunder it, murdering the only guy who would ever make my heart skip a beat by just being him.

It was also four months, five days, six hours, and now seven minutes that I’d been living a lie.

I dreamed of Leigh every night. My dreams were the only place he still existed.

In these dreams… well, we’d gotten to know one another pretty well.

In these dreams, we’d shared our very first kiss of many kisses. And so much more.

Leigh knew about my mother—well, he’d always known what she was. He’d always told me to choose, and he was right.

When I dreamed about him, we talked about almost everything except that horrific night when everything fell apart, the night Fox died. Leigh had no idea that I had given in to the darkness. And I wasn’t ready to tell him.

He still had no idea about my father. It was strange how my father never came up in our conversations. Leigh had no idea who my dad truly was. Because I only saw him in my dreams, my time with Leigh was very limited.

I learned as much as I could about him. Or at least, what I hoped was the truth.

Why say hoped was the truth, you wonder? Well, this was the worst part.

Dreams were just that: dreams. Even inside the world of Dreams, it was still only a dream. We just experienced them differently than what the Nomads on Earth did. Nomads, those humans who were not like us.

In Revera, dreams could be used by someone like Leigh to have a private conversation, or they could be used for a silly girl’s fantasy of a guy who was way out of her league, but real or not, you experienced the full dose and not just twenty percent.

My mother, Vinicola Sodivic, a name the Light Casters feared and one of the best Shadow Casters who ever lived, had first shared that with me.

So a part of me—and I still didn’t know how big that part was—had no idea whether it was my imagination or whether he was really there.

That was why I was living a lie.

But whichever way I looked at it, I knew it would all be over today when the scientist pulled the plug.

Rushing footsteps clattered up the stairs. My eyes flicked to the door as a guy with scruffy blond hair peeked into my room. A huge grin adorned Max’s face.

I couldn’t recall ever seeing Max grin like that before.

What’s up? I asked.

He stared at me with that idiotic grin on his face before answering. They found him.

I sucked in a breath. What?

He grinned even wider. It’s just a voice, but they think it’s Leigh.

I flew out of my room and down the stairs with Max right behind me. A voice? How? When? I looked over my shoulder at him as we made our way out of the House of Lords.

They were about to exit the Virtual Realm, about to make it final and shut down the entire world, when his voice just popped through.

We ran toward the science building across from the academy as fast as we could. The science building had various laboratories and was used for video streaming, audio recordings… everything one could think of. It also had living quarters that housed not just the team trying to save anything that had been destroyed inside the Virtual Realm, but all the other scientists who ran Revera’s systems—under strict supervision from the academy, of course.

The frequency was unclear, Max carried on as we reached the front door. We couldn’t make out a single word, but it’s him, Chas.

I pulled the door hard and slipped through. Max, now in front of me, sprinted up the steps. I gasped for breath as I took the stairs two at a time, my muscles aching from exertion.

I had to hear Leigh’s gibberish for myself. If his voice was there, if he was fine, I would be fine too.

It was the first non-Dream sign of his existence since he’d disappeared. A sign I’d been praying for during the past four months.

We’d spoken about this day in my dreams so many times, I couldn’t quite believe it was finally here. Of course, each time we discussed it, I confessed my worry that the dreams were all just my imagination. Leigh would burst out laughing at me. If that had been Leigh’s voice on the audio, I could push aside my insecurities once and for all.

Max was a few paces in front of me as we reached the second level of the science building, and he pushed open the door to a lab. We rushed down the hallway and came to a skidding stop in front of a door with a sign that said Be quiet.

A plaque beneath the sign read Audio laboratory.

Max opened the door softly and we walked into the gallery.

Rows and rows of chairs, like in a movie theater, led down to the windows that overlooked the audio equipment.

The windows were blocked by a mass of people crowding around the front to see better.

The crackle of white noise blared through the speakers as the scientists tried to find the right frequency.

Leigh, can you hear me? one of the scientists said.

I strained my ears to hear Leigh’s voice, but there was no response. Deflated, I sank into a chair closest to the door, my legs shaking from the run. Max slid into the chair next to me, his face alert, waiting for any familiar sound to come through the horrendous crackling.

After a while of hearing nothing other than the scientist asking the same damn question over and over, I started losing hope. I wanted to strangle Max for getting my hopes up.

Leigh, if you are there, say something.

More crackling. I was going to lose my mind if they kept this up.

I could not do this, not again. I could not go through losing him all over again.

Leigh wasn’t there. He was gone. I pushed up out of my chair and headed to the door.

Chas, Max said softly as he grabbed my hand.

I grabbed the doorknob without looking at him.

Just as I was about to open the door, the crackling noise stopped and a voice finally came through. It was incomprehensible, but definitely a voice.

My stomach flipped.

I knew that voice. It was him. It was really him.

I ran to the glass windows.

I didn’t care who I had to shove aside to get a better look at the scientists, who fussed over radio equipment and computers like fastidious hens in white coats.

Two of them were tuning, the other talking. All three of them closed their eyes and tilted their heads toward the speakers to hear better.

One word could be heard before the crackling resumed. Another half of a word. More crackling.

A smile broke over my face.

Tittering fell on my ears as everyone’s faces lit up.

Leigh.

His words still weren’t clear, and Selene silenced everyone. In my daze, I hadn’t even noticed her presence.

They fiddled with the frequency to hear him better one more time. But none of that mattered to me. He still exists.

His voice echoed through the speakers again.

Tell Chas… The voice disappeared, drowned out by white noise.

I looked at Max, who squinted back at me. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. I noticed everyone was staring at me.

My eyes found Margot.

Her stare wasn’t one of surprise like Max’s. No, hers was a downright hostile glare. My gaze lingered on her for a few seconds. I didn’t like her look at all. Her lips thinned and the muscles in her face tightened as she clenched her jaw.

I forced myself to look away and back to the technicians.

Tell me what?

They fine-tuned the frequency, trying not to lose him. My heart hammered in my ears so loudly, I was afraid I wouldn’t hear his next words.

Tell me what?

His voice came again. …cat is always right.

I froze. The cat is always right.

My stomach fluttered as a soft laugh escaped my lips.

I knew what he meant. Mr. Grey had told me so many times that dreaming about him was real.

The cat is always right. But how would Leigh know that? I shoved the question from my mind.

My dreams hadn’t been a figment of my imagination. Neither was the time we’d spent together. He was really there. The past four months had been real, even though they were only in my dreams.

It had been real. He really did feel the same for me. My heart surged with joy.

Now we just had to find him. Easier said than done.

Involuntarily, my gaze flitted over to Margot’s again. Her eyes were twitching and she was biting on the inside of her cheek.

It was the same expression she got whenever she was thinking hard and trying to piece things together. She wasn’t really one to give away her tells, but I’d seen that same expression the night we had to work together to save Revera. The night she discovered that I was a Shadow Caster.

When she realized I was watching her, she shifted her stance and shoved her hands in her pockets, turning around and walking toward the exit.

I kept my eyes trained on her back as she walked away, but she didn’t look back.

I sighed as Max bumped me on my shoulder.

What’s Mr. Grey right about now?

I huffed. A small smile tugged at my lips. So many things, I lied. It’s hard to keep track.

He chuckled. You’re really happy he’s alive, aren’t you?

Max, it’s Leigh. If they’d shut down the Virtual Realm, he would’ve been lost to all of us.

Max laughed, but it was the kind of laugh that made me narrow my eyes. Max had a range of laughs This particular laugh was the one he used for dissent.

You don’t agree.

I didn’t say that. It just reminds me of a time when Margot… he drifted off and I glared at him.

He stared at the scientists fine-tuning the frequency to hear Leigh better. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was clearly deep in thought. He shook his head. It doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.

I huffed at his dismissal of the subject.

Max didn’t have to finish the sentence. I knew what he was getting at . . . and it wasn’t that long ago.

Margot still had feelings for Leigh and she hated—despised—the fact that the first words we had heard from him in four months were directed at me.

Margot was smart. I was sure she knew there was something more between me and Leigh.

I sighed.

If it had been anyone else, it wouldn’t have bothered me so much, but this was Margot, the girl who helped me save Revera from the Shadow Casters. She was one of the few people who knew what I truly was—what I hid beneath the surface.

She knew my deepest secret, knew I technically didn’t belong in Revera.

She’d promised Max she would never tell another soul about me.

But did that deal still stand now that she saw me as a threat?

Max joked beside me, I’m pretty sure Leigh is making life very hard for the essence around him.

Or trying to negotiate with it, another voice said.

Laughter tinkled through the crowd around us, but I wasn’t feeling the same lightness.

My stomach twisted and churned as a strange feeling of unease settled over me. I gulped down the rising bile that accompanied this feeling of unease.

She promised…

Then why did I have a sinking feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong?

Two

WHAT WILL BE WILL BE

That night, I waited for Mr. Grey to come back so I could tell him about Leigh and Margot.

I tried not to think about the consequences, about how much Margot really liked Leigh and what type of person she really was.

To be honest, I didn’t know Margot or Max that well.

Would she keep all the promises she’d made? What if she was with Selene right now, telling her what I was? What then? What would Selene do? Would she chuck me out of Revera immediately, or was there a procedure to follow?

There was still so much to learn about everything and everyone in this world.

One thing was for sure: I couldn’t end up inside the Oblivion.

Margot needed to keep her mouth shut like she’d promised.

And so she will, Mr. Grey’s voice popped into my head.

I looked back at the window. Mr. Grey was pulling himself up through my open window, half his body securely on the windowsill, the other half still hanging outside. With one last stretch of his limbs, he pulled himself up, settled on the sill, and started to clean himself vigorously.

You didn’t see her this afternoon.

He stopped licking himself and looked down at me with his scrunched-up little face.

I heard. Congratulations. I told you Lover Boy was going to be fine.

I smiled. Yes, you did. How on earth does Leigh know what you and I have been talking about? I squinted.

I have no idea what you are talking about. He jumped from the windowsill onto my bed.

He said the cat is always right.

Oh, that. Mr. Grey’s voice sounded bored.

Spill, I ordered him.

It’s how things work in Revera, Chas. Everything is so linked. It’s hard to explain. I’m not entirely sure myself what Leigh truly is, but I do know that for some reason he really likes you, which is how I know it was really him whenever you dreamed about him.

My face lit up with a smile for a fraction of a second before Margot entered my mind.

Stop it, Mr. Grey chastised, interrupting my train of thought. "Margot isn’t that type of Light Caster. She made a promise to Max, Chas, and she would rather die than betray her twin.

How can you be so sure?

I know a bit about bonds, especially twin bonds. It’s different with Reverians. If one twin promises something, the other one has to oblige.

You didn’t see her face.

Again with her face. Chastity, your secret is safe. No one is going to tell Selene. Calm down and go to sleep. I’m extremely tired.

After walking around and around on one spot to make his place comfortable, Mr. Grey curled up on my bed.

His thoughts were getting quieter and quieter. I envied him for being able to just close his eyes and fall asleep. I wished I could do that.

My thoughts drifted to Leigh and the last time we were together, sitting underneath the big oak tree our initials were carved on.

It was corny, but sweet.

Sleep! Mr. Grey shouted inside my head and I bit my lip so as not to burst out laughing.

I covered my head and cleared my mind, thinking of nothing but the color black.

---

When I opened my eyes, I was standing on top of a mountain. The acre stretching behind me was covered with tall trees, and a few steps behind me, with a stone path leading to it, was a big oak tree. The oak tree.

Carved in the bark were Leigh’s and my initials and right below that the number four and the word ‘ever.’

To me, it was one of the most romantic things in the world. Carving initials onto a tree was the only romantic gesture that had been carried on for centuries.

It was twilight.

It was always twilight when we met.

The sun was going down, and the sky was painted with yellow, orange and blue. I missed seeing colors. It was the first thing that always gave away that I was dreaming. Color.

I knew this place so well; it was our spot. The place where Leigh and I met as often as we could.

It was hard not knowing when I would see him again. We’d never managed to figure out this conundrum of getting our timing right for this to work. And I was still struggling to accept that all this was real, never mind how it all worked.

I looked to the horizon.

Mountaintops stretched out in front of me as far as the eye could see. Behind me, right in front of my tree, was a small meadow,. Yellow wildflowers flourished among the tall grasses.

It was summertime, and the air was redolent of the season. The floral scent of nectar filled my nostrils.

A twig snapped behind me and I twisted around.

It didn’t matter how many times I saw his long, lean figure; my stomach always fluttered. His glasses were resting atop his head and he was wearing a Van Halen shirt with baggy shorts and a pair of Converse All Stars.

I ran toward him and jumped into his arms. He was so much taller than me, I dangled well above the ground.

That excited to see me? he mumbled into the nape of my neck, which made my skin break out in goosebumps.

That excited, I replied simply.

He pushed me away to look at me before gently placing me back on my feet.

What’s going on? He looked around, squinting. Something is different.

I laughed, not wanting to give away how foolish I had been the past few months thinking that all of this had been my doing. I sighed. Nothing. I’m just ecstatic they found you, I said. It wasn’t the complete truth, but I wasn’t about to reveal my insecurities about us.

He stared at me and I could tell by the way he was biting his lip that he wasn’t buying this for one second.

What?

He shrugged.

Can I ask you a question?

He nodded.

How did you know the cat was right?

He laughed. Because you told me.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to remember. When?

That first time we shared our dreams, Chas.

I could remember that day so clearly and I wanted to kick myself for almost blowing what was really going on here. I had mentioned the cat said that Leigh would be fine.

I laughed. I did.

He grabbed my hand, the warmth from his hand enveloping mine, and led me down the path to our regular spot under the tree.

He was right about one thing, though. Today was different. This was real. He was really here.

He sat down first and I took the spot right in front of him, leaning with my back against his chest.

Our fingers entwined. I couldn’t help but think how we were so different from one another. My pale complexion looked sickly against his tanned one as the last daylight seeped from the sky.

It was like we were never really going to fit together.

What is going on in that mind of yours? You’re not usually this quiet, Chas, Leigh whispered against my ear.

His breath tickled against my skin and I blew out a laugh. I know. It’s just that I’m happy, so happy that they finally found you. They were going to shut down the Virtual Realm today if they didn’t find any sign of you.

I got that feeling.

Yeah? How?

Leigh chuckled, his breath tickling my skin. But let’s just say that I rely on my gut a lot.

We fell silent. Leigh was right. We’d never been this quiet before. Knowing that it truly was him and not my imagination was changing things for us.

He shifted out from behind me and moved toward my side, and I hugged my legs and rested my head on my knees.

What is it? He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I shook my head.

C’mon, just tell me.

I sighed, contemplating whether I should tell him. And then, I just said it. It’s Margot. When your voice came through those speakers today… I couldn’t help it. I— I sighed. It was the best day in a row of really crappy days.

He smiled.

But the look Margot gave me... She knows about us, Leigh. And she’s not happy about it.

So? he said nonchalantly.

She likes you, and she knows what I’m desperately trying to hide. She is dangerous.

Chas, she would never tell a soul.

Why does everyone keep saying that? She can break her promise, Leigh.

She gave it to her twin.

Everyone kept saying that, too. So, what you’re saying is unless Max dies, Margot can’t run and tell Selene what I am?

He nodded.

Ugh, it sounds so stupid. People aren’t like that. Just because she made a promise to her twin… I wanted to pull my hair out.

Calm down.

How? Nothing is stopping her. When Selene knows, she’ll chuck my ass into the Oblivion and I’d never see anyone ever again.

Leigh frowned. That’s your main concern? Not seeing anyone ever again?

I know it’s shallow.

It’s not; it’s quite the opposite, in fact. He huffed softly, and for a moment I thought he wouldn’t elaborate. The Oblivion is not a healthy place, Chas. People change for the worse there. I’ve only experienced it through the Virtual Realm, but it’s just as dark and real. If your only concern is not being able to see the people you care about… He gave a slight shake of his head. It’s big.

I looked away. I hated when he gave compliments that didn’t even feel like they described me at all. I wasn’t like that. That big. It was a lot of pressure.

And, he carried on, I can promise you, you won’t get rid of me that fast.

Leigh, it’s the Oblivion. You said it yourself. It’s dark and unhealthy. People change for the worse. Have you forgotten what happened the first time we met?

He frowned. What about it?

Shadow Hounds were chasing us around every corner. What sort of time would we spend together if we were always running?

He stroked my back. Relax, Chastity. You’re jumping the gun here. Selene doesn’t know what you are, and Margot won’t tell her either, okay? I know Margot. When she gives her word, she means it.

I wished I could trust people the way he did, but my experience with people and trust was shaky to begin with.

Okay, let’s just change the subject, please.

With pleasure, he said. But first, I think you’re missing something.

My eyes widened as he came closer. He grinned as he grabbed my shirt and pulled me against him until our lips crashed into each other.

Everything around me disappeared.

Margot’s glares, my own insecurities, my doubts, even what lay beneath my golden sand. Everything washed away with a simple kiss.

We broke apart, resting our foreheads against each other. I stroked the sun-kissed skin of his cheek.

You were saying.

I had to shake my thoughts into place. For a second, I couldn’t remember what we had been talking about.

Changing the subject… I cleared my throat and pulled away.

Then shoot, he said with a huge grin.

Heat shot into my cheeks. I felt kind of flushed and I couldn’t blame the sun for the rise in my temperature; now only a deep blue and purple faded into a black sky with a rising moon and a gazillion stars.

A lantern shone above us, hanging from a branch in the tree. I didn’t know how it lit up, but every time the moon came to play, the lantern appeared, shining down on us.

Where have you been all this time? I needed to know.

He frowned as if he didn’t understand the question.

Not the dreams, Leigh. You, the real you. What is going on in the Virtual Realm?

He lowered his head, staring at the ground for a second as a smile danced on his mouth. We’ve been sharing dreams for four months now, and you’re only asking me this now?

Oh…crap. I closed my eyes and sighed. It was one of those audible sighs. The kind that told the other person you were hiding a secret. A secret that could cost you any kind of relationship you had with the other person.

I opened my eyes again; Leigh was still staring at me. He wanted an answer, and he waited patiently.

I bit my lower lip. Answering him would mean owning up to my insecurities and I knew I was going to feel like an idiot. Nevertheless, I had to say something, and I wasn’t a good liar at all.

I didn’t know if this was real, or if it was all my doing.

If what was your doing?

Us meeting here, Leigh. The dreams. I thought it was my dreams alone.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, shame crept over me. When I worked up the courage to look at him, he chuckled, the tip of his tongue resting in the corner of his lip.

It made him look extra hot, and it was a look Leigh managed to pull off without looking like a moron.

"So you wanted to dream

Reviews for Dream Casters

[srushtig · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was awesome just as dragonian series.. I love ur work..