Sleeping Beauties (2 page)

  “You saw what he did to that girl. That could easily be one of us. Some say
that when you go in your dreams, you go in real life. I don’t want to chance it. The last thing I want is to die on your living room floor. I say, we find what he wants and give it to him.” Laurie stopped speaking and tried to rub away the sudden chill she felt on the back of her neck.

“Agreed,” Chloe said quickly. “But, where to start? If
Alexander’s dream realm works similarly to ours, we should  be able to move ourselves from here to our old apartment. The book has got to be there.” Nicola’s eyes shifted to somewhere beyond Chloe and she turned to follow her gaze.

Guitar Guy had left his perch and guitar at one of the b
ack tables and was approaching them quickly. His smile was grim and brief as he came to stand directly in front of Chloe, nodding acknowledgement to the other two women. “I’ve been waiting for you three. We don’t have much time. Alexander will not give up easily and he’s not overestimating his power.”

“And this just went from bad to worse,” Laurie said under her breath.

He nodded. “Undeniably.”  He focused his eyes again on Chloe. “I’m Seth and you’re” – he pointed to each of them – “Chloe, Laurie, and Nicola. Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”

“And, how do we know that for sure?” Chloe kept her eyes level with his.
His eyes were a beautiful sky blue that caught her by surprise. She couldn’t recall ever meeting someone with remarkable eyes like his.

Seth’s lips tilted up a bit at that. “I’m not like Alexander,
all evil and menacing. I’m one of the good guys, believe me.”

“Did he trap you in his dream realm, too?”

“No, I did that all by myself.” Seth paused, looking as if he was deep in thought for a moment. “I’m a hybrid. Half-angel, half-human.”

Before anyone could comment, loud music came blaring
from all of the speakers. The dj for the evening had finally started his shift. Chloe looked towards the music booth in breathless anticipation. She knew it was Noah even before he looked up, the familiar earphones perched between his ear and shoulder. Their eyes met for long moments before he smiled at her and waved. 

Noah was alive and well in this dream realm but ha
d been buried in a Los Angeles cemetery for the past twenty years.

******

Chloe

Chloe was shaken to the core to see Noah in the dream realm, smiling and happy as if he had never died in a tragic traffic accident years before. She turned to look at Nicola and Laurie who both appeared as shocked as she was. Laurie grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

“Ok, now this is getting bizarre,” Laurie whispered. “Noah
is very dead but he’s here in this dream realm.”

Seth spoke softly, looking at Chloe as she kept moving her
eyes to the dj booth. “If God put his spirit here and he’s not just a figment that Alexander pulled from your mind, then it’s for a good reason.” He met Chloe’s eyes. “I have an idea.” He clasped her hand. “Ladies, stay here for a few minutes. We’ll be right back. Chloe has some unfinished business to deal with, I suspect.”

Seth pulled Chloe away from Laurie and Nicola, mov
ing them through the throng of people to the dj booth. She tried to pull away, scared of his intentions. “What unfinished business?”

“I’ll bet that you never got a chance to say a proper go
odbye so now’s your chance and you’re going to take it.” Seth moved her in front of him as they approached the booth, lightly pushing her shoulders to keep her moving. Chloe’s heart thumped and she was sure he could hear it. Her breathing became shallow and she found it difficult to swallow. A last goodbye to Noah, the guy who once had heart completely? She silently thanked God for this chance.

“I’ll stay here while you two talk,” Seth said as t
hey stood right outside of the booth. “You won’t have a lot of time because we need to find the book and I need to deal with Alexander.”

Chloe nodded, placing one hand on the do
orknob. Butterflies dipped and circled in her belly but she tamped down her fear. “I’ll make this quick.” She opened the door to the booth and stepped inside, closing it behind her.

Noah had big brown eyes that could melt a girl’s heart, short
dark thick hair, and fair skin and he looked exactly the same now. Chloe watched him as he sorted through one of his plastic crates that held his precious vinyl records. She tried to imagine him listening to an iPod and felt an overwhelming sadness. He looked up as if he could sense her standing there and gave her a happy grin.

“Hey, Chloe.”

She willed her feet to move and came to stand next to him seated in his chair. Somewhere in her heart, she found a genuine smile. “Hey.”

“I thought you were going to be out cruising the boulevard
with the rest of the Trifecta tonight.” He stood and gave her a soft kiss. She kissed him back and died a little inside. “Thanks for coming to see your hardworking man.”

“You know I can’t stay away from you, Noah.”

He sat down and grabbed another vinyl record, effortlessly switching one for the other on the turntable. He then turned his attention back to her. “Ah, you’re beautiful tonight.”

Chloe took one of his hands, stroking it against her cheek. “Beautiful for you.”

“Marry me in ten years?”

“You know it,” Chloe responded, easily slipping back into t
heir old banter. “I can’t stay but…I just needed to see you.”

“I’m glad that you did. Can’t hang out tonight because
I’m meeting with another club owner after my shift here ends to negotiate taking on another gig with more hours.” He smiled disarmingly. “I have somewhere else to be, baby. Sorry”

Tears burned in her eyes as she nodded. “You sure do,” she said, her voice choked.

Strangely, despite the sadness, she felt done here in this moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, putting all of her love into it. “Bye, Noah,” she whispered into his ear. “I will always love you.”

“Bye, baby,” Noah said cheerfully, already turning his attent
ion back to the plastic crate, in search of another record. “I’ll page you tomorrow. Love you.”

Chloe drank him in with one last glance before sliding out
of the booth. Seth was waiting outside, looking at her expectantly and she gave him a teary smile. “I’m good.”

“I’m glad.” Seth  unexpectedly reached out and caught
a falling tear from her cheek, cupping her face in his big hand for a brief moment. “I’m fairly sure that your mind didn’t dream him up so you had a real goodbye. When he wakes up again in his afterlife, he won’t remember most of this. What he does remember, he’ll think was a dream.”

Chloe’s face tingled from the warmth of his hand. ‘Y
ou’re unbelievably comforting, Seth. Thank you.”   

“That’s what hybrid angels do. We comfort humankind w
ho are suffering.” Seth turned around, searching the crowd for Laurie and Nicola. He spotted them at the bar and moved Chloe in their direction. “We need to get our hands on the Book of Secrets before your time runs out.

Luckily, I have a plan.”

Chloe’s heart was beating rapidly as they headed back to her friends waiting but for an entirely different reason. Her body still tingled after Seth’s brief touch and she felt flushed and maybe a little aroused. She ran through all the reasons in her head why being attracted to a hybrid angel in a dream realm where she had no control was a bad idea but still she felt the pull.

******

They had moved to a table in the back of the club to discuss Seth’s plan for getting them out of this mess. The club was fully packed now, the loud music coming from the many speakers around the place vibrating the floor.

“Ok, so we’ve narrowed down the location of the
book to two places – your old apartment in Pasadena or your storage unit in Glendale.” Seth looked at all three women as they nodded in agreement. “It would be easier to just move ourselves there using the power of the dream realm but that’s not possible because Alexander’s realm works a little differently than our normal one. He is the only one who has that ability here. So, Chloe and I will go to the storage unit and you two will go to your old apartment. I have a car outside and I’ll drop you off there so that you can begin the search.”

“Finding that book is not going to be easy,” Laurie c
ommented. “What if we’re wrong and it’s not at either place?”

“Then, it’s going to be a dark day for you and every rea
l person in this dream realm,” Seth replied, his tone serious. “As long as the book is out of his possession, Alexander is vulnerable. He’s waited for the right time to bring you here and if he doesn’t get it, he will wreak

havoc. I don’t know that I have the power to stop him.”

“We’re going to be dust here and dead in the real world, aren’t we?” Nicola asked, her voice scared and small.   

“I’ll do my best to keep you all safe.” Seth looked at Chloe
intensely for a moment. “It’s time. Let’s go.”

Seth lead the way for them as they moved through the thron
g of people to the entrance of the club. They stepped outside, coming down the stairs to the valet area and the balmy summer heat hit caught Chloe off guard. She hadn’t expected it to be so real but outside under a night sky

full of bright stars was the ever exhilarating Sunset Boulevard. Cars f
illed with rowdy kids, barely out of their teens, were bumper to bumper and rap and dance music could be heard blaring from each car from a long distance. The Hollywood cruising scene was just as she remembered

it.

Seth lead them to his big SUV parked around the back of the place and helped them inside, Nicola and Laurie taking the back seats with Chloe riding shotgun. Just as he was pulling out of the parking space, a big white truck blocked them in. The driver got out and headed for them.

Laurie gasped from the back seat. “Good God,” she said in disbelief. “It’s Byron.”

******

Alexander

Alexander had fed on the spiritual energy from the girl in the club so he was feeling just fine at the moment, strong and confident in his success. He had brought those three meddling bitches to his realm where he was in control and he had high expectations of retrieving his Book of Secrets very soon. He smiled darkly. Their lives depended on it, after all.

He was watching them right now in the parking lot from his
vantage point and was pleased to see them accompanied by the hybrid bastard Seth. Angels, especially hybrids, weren’t all sweetness and light and he knew that Seth may be his undoing if he didn’t stay strong and keep one step ahead. He almost looked forward to fighting him again, feeling superior as his recent victim’s energy coursed through him.

Alexander was focused particularly on the one named Nicola
. She was a fiery little piece of ass, of course, but still she had aroused him sexually and piqued his curiosity. She may be of some use to him later. He hadn’t been the Dream King for over two centuries without learning

how to manipulate a situation to his satisfaction.

He had never believed in or had time for love and so, when presented with an opportunity to sell his soul to Hell for his dream power, he had taken it greedily with both hands. Here, in his dream realm, he wielded great power and had done much to further Hell’s treacherous agenda.

He had also become capable of extreme cruelty.

Alexander had seen a great many changes in Los Angeles over the past two hundred years but mankind’s capacity for fucking each other over for money, power, and sex never changed. This simple truth guaranteed that the Dream King’s position in Hell’s hierarchy would never be challenged. He would always be needed as an agent of darkness.

If those three bitches failed to return his Book of Secrets,
they would discover first-hand just how dark  things could get.

******

Laurie

“Quick, let me out,” Laurie said, her breath catching
in her throat as her heart did somersaults. Byron, here after so many years of not seeing his face? She whispered a quick thank you to God for miracles, answered prayers, and all that as she scrambled to get out of the back of Seth’s SUV.

“Alexander may have conjured him up from your me
mory, Laurie,” Seth warned her from the driver’s seat, unlocking the back doors. “He may be just a part of the dream.”

Laurie listened with half an ear as she stood outside of the vehicle, watching Byro
n get out of his truck. She took him in as he walked towards her. He was a big man, all muscle with dark brown skin and a shaved head.  He looks exactly the same, she thought in wonder.

“If you’re going to give my engagement ring back, you need to do bet
ter than leave it with my mom, Laurie,” Byron said as he came to stand directly in front of her. “That was pretty chickenshit.”

Because she couldn’t think beyond this moment, she took
his hand and kissed it gently. Things in this dream realm were playing out as they should have in the real world two decades