Page 21 of Demon of Dreams

No, that wasn’t true, actually. My dreams had been pretty fucked up of late. I didn’t entirely trust them, either.

Maybe it was just the cheerful countenance of the guy staring at me. His smile was guileless, his eyes inquisitive but harmless, and I had the strangest sense that I could trust him.

With a shrug, I brought the mug to my lips and drank deeply.

Whatever was in that concoction, it worked fast. As the liquid slipped down my throat, I felt a soothing cool flow in its wake. It left me refreshed, and my throat felt much better. It tasted like mint and lemongrass. I took another sip, and then another.

“See?” said the guy. “Told you.”

“Where am—” I began to ask, but he interrupted me.

“Oh my God, where are my manners? The dean would be so mad at me. I’m Ash. It’s nice to meet you.”

That wasn’t what I’d been planning to ask, but it didn’t seem worth arguing about. Ash stuck his hand out confidently, then withdrew it and waved before I could even pull my right hand free of the blankets. I settled for a wave too.

“I’m—”

“You’re Cory,” Ash continued, his face bright. “I know. Dean Mansur told me when he asked me to stay with him and watch you. You’ve had two people with you at all times since you arrived here. He said he’ll be back in a few minutes, so don’t worry. But in the meantime, it’s just us. Ash, and Cory Dawson, age eighteen, of Churchill, Iowa. What’s Iowa like? I’ve never been there. Is it like Illinois? I drove through there once. Well, I wasn’t technically the one driving, but I was in a car that drove through there, all the way from Chicago down to the southern part where it gets all squiggly and hilly. I guess that’s a stupid question to ask, though—is Iowa like Illinois—when even Illinois isn’t all like one thing. I’m not even sure you can call the southern bit a part of the Midwest, but then, people never seem to agree on the definition of the Midwest anyway. Take Ohio. Nobody knows what to do with Ohio. It’s kind of a liminal space, you know? Maybe that’s why I like it so much.”

I stared at him, just trying to find my way through the waterfall of words. I wasn’t even sure what question to ask first.

“Why do you know so much about me?” I blurted out.

“Ooh, yeah, sorry. That’s probably kind of creepy, isn’t it?” Ash smiled ruefully. He smiled a lot, I was learning. “I swear, that’s the sum total of what I know about you. I don’t even know why you’re here. I mean, obviously I have some idea. No one comes here without a reason. But like, I don’t know what you are or anything. Do you know what haven you’re going to apply to?”

“I’m—I don’t—what? What do you mean, what haven am I going to apply to? What’s a haven? What kind of reason would I have for coming here? I don’t even know where here is. And what do you mean, you don’t knowwhatI am?”

“Oops.” He grinned. “I did it again. Felix always tells me I’d confuse people less if I talked less, but, I mean, you’ve gotta take that with a grain of salt coming from Felix, you know?”

I didn’t know, but Ash didn’t give me a chance to respond.

“Let’s see, one thing at a time. Where we are is Vesperwood Academy, located just outside the bounds of Pointe Claudette, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior. Largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area—there’s a piece of trivia for you. Kind of figures we’d be sandwiched between that and the world’s tiniest town, right? I mean, I’m sure it’s not literally the world’s tiniest town, but let me tell you, after you’ve spent a whole semester here, it feels like it.”

Vesperwood. The word flashed through my mind, bringing back a host of other memories. The dreams. The raven. Those things that had attacked me.

Oh God, and my stop at the Balsam Inn. The bartender coming onto me. Those guys in the bathroom. My mad dash through the snowstorm, and my collapse outside some mysterious, imposing building. It had to be Vesperwood. That was what the voice had said, as I’d passed out in the snow.

Welcome to Vesperwood.We’ve been waiting for you.

I might have preferrednotto remember some of that, to be honest.

“As for your reason for coming here, you’re obviously here to study. Vesperwood Academy is North America’s best, though not necessarily the most highly regarded, paranormal university, though I wouldn’t mention the highly regarded bit in front of Dean Mansur. I think it rankles him a little. Anyway, since you’re only eighteen, you’re clearly not here to teach or do research. Ergo, you must be a student, presumably beginning your journey into the occult.”

He drew that last word out—Occuuuuult—and wiggled his fingers spookily, but the joke didn’t land, because I was too busy being kicked in the chest by his explanation. My journey intothe occult? At aparanormal university? What the actual fuck was I doing here?

I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until Ash frowned. I drained the rest of the drink to try to cover my embarrassment.

“Do you really not know why you’re here? Is it amnesia or something? Cinda said you might be a little out of it at first, but she didn’t mention anything like that. Do you want me to go get her? Or the dean?”

“I don’t even know who those people are,” I protested. “I’m not trying to be dumb, I’m just honestly confused.The occult? As in magic and stuff? You want me to believe that Vesperwood Academy is a college of magic?”

“University,” Ash said with a nod. “The dean is touchy about that too. It’s mostly undergrads here, but there are some graduate programs, so technically, we’re a university, not just a college. Though you’d think if he cared that much, he’d change the name.Academymakes us sound like some kind of prep school, don’t you think?”

“I guess. I’m having more trouble with the paranormal part, though.”

Ash’s head tilted to the right. “I’m not trying to pry, and I swear, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. But I thought I heard Dean Mansur tell Professor Romero that there were tenelkiri stalking our wards right before you got here. And something about Professor Kazansky seeing one follow you on your way to the gate. How can you look at the tenelkiri andnotthink they’re paranormal?”

“Tenelkiri?” I said faintly.

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