Dreamscape Read Online Free PDF Page A

hand, may be able
to discover the key and in the process free us both.”
    She cocks her jaw to the side,
riffling her fingers through her dark hair. What follows is a swift smile. “For
a while there I was pretty sure Cryptic was your middle name.”
    Despite my efforts, a soft laugh
escapes me. “I haven’t a middle name.”
    She smiles completely now. “Ha. All
right, do you have a first name?”
    “You may call me Seth.”
    Her smoky eyes lock onto mine.
“What if I take the job and don’t like it, Seth?”
    My fingers curve along the plush
velvet armrests of my chair. Her skin is softer.
    My pulse quickens with the thought
of touching her, of loving her like I’ve dreamed so many times. I swallow, and
make my body relax. “My offer stands. If at any time you can find the key, you
may leave.”
    I barely have finished speaking
when she blurts, “What about time off?”
    “You will not require time off.”
    She gives me a once over. “Everyone
needs time off.”
    When I stand, she startles. Instead
of moving toward her as I had planned, I take a step back. “Are you agreeing?”
    She shrugs and joins me on the
carpet as she says, “It’s not like I have anything better to do. Who knows? It
might be fun.”

 
     

    This guy is certifiable, but at least he’s entertaining.
For all I know, I’m right there with him. I still can’t quite accept the things
that have happened. I’m hoping I’ll wake up soon, but I might just have to
rethink everything I think I know about reality. My freakoutometer is measuring
an eight right now. I just hope Seth doesn’t know what’s happening inside me.
    It’s taken a boatload of pretend courage for me to sit here
and listen to him tell me outrageous things. What I should be doing is clawing
through the walls to escape. It might come to that, but not yet. I’m intrigued
by him as much as I am afraid of him. It’s stupid to feel this way, yet I can’t
seem to make myself feel anything else.
    For a moment I wonder how long I’ve been here. I guess it
doesn’t really matter because I no longer have a home to go back to. Once
Varner figures out I’m not coming to get my things, he’ll probably cart what
little I have off to charity or, more likely, his third floor unit. Slimy
weasel. Everything that meant anything to me was in that suitcase.
    I push my greedy ex-landlord out of my mind because Seth’s
voice still echoes in my thoughts. You are of the blood.
    I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. Next, he’s gonna
tell me he’s a vampire and my blood called him to me. Yeesh. It’s bad enough he
thinks he controls dreams or sends dreams or whatever. I’d hate to see what
would happen if he thought he was the lord of the undead instead of the Dreamscape, or whatever he said this place was.
    Truth is I stopped really listening after he told me things
about myself he shouldn’t know or even be able to guess. It’s as if he and I
are old friends and I’ve lost my memory somewhere between where I left my brain
and my nerve. That’s just absurd, not because I don’t know the guy, but because
I’ve never had a real friend in my life, just one make-believe boyfriend that kept
me sane for four years.
    Seems weird that the minute Jason leaves my dreams this is
what happens. I stiffen. What if Seth’s telling the truth? Could he have sent
Jason to me? Could he bring him back? Could Jason be real.
    Man, I’ve got to stop thinking this stuff. It’s not gonna
do me any good to lose my brain.
    Seth knows things about me I haven’t shared with a living
soul, not even Justine. I have no clue where blood is concerned, but I’ve been
able to feel people out pretty well all my life. It’s what’s kept me out of
real trouble, but clairvoyant? I don’t think so. I’d be raking in the dough if
I could read people’s minds. I figure, if you got something to lift you up in
this dingy world, best use it.
    Seth moves toward the far wall where the pendulum swings
and