Zane was having the same nightmare again. It was so hot the air felt like it was on fire. It was hard to breathe. He struggled to get away, but he couldn’t move. Someone was there, trying to help him. An animal was looming above him, something that made him afraid and full of hate at the same time. The other person…a woman…tried to protect him from it. IT BURNED! It burned! Like liquid fire poured on his face. He tried to get away, but he was tied down. THE PAIN! Stop! Stop!
Zane jerked awake yelling. He felt so hot, so hot. He ran into the bathroom and stuck his head under the cold water of the faucet. His eyes slowly found the mirror, afraid of what they might see. Nothing. No scars, no burns, nothing. Zane gingerly touched his face as if in a trance. It had felt so real. Just as it had when he was a child. Why were the nightmares coming back now after all this time? Maybe it was the stress of his uncle’s death and preparing to return to Norway after a lifetime away. He didn’t want to go. His sister, Zoe, didn’t want to go either. Norway hadn’t been their home. They’d just been born there. Maybe it was all only stress and grief, but a part of Zane had a feeling there was something else going on, something monumental.
“ZANE! ZANE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
“Aaagh! Zoe! Please don’t shout in my head. You know you have a loud telepathic voice.”
“Sorry, but I was worried. It was that dream again?
The same one I’ve been having?”
“Yes.” It was bad enough being plagued by nightmares, but having to share them was even worse. Zoe got to feel his fear when he had them, and he had to experience the terror all over again when Zoe had her dreams. There were some disadvantages to being telepathically bonded to your twin.
“Are you okay, Zane?”
“Yeah. For
now. I’ll be so glad when we get Uncle
Ulmer’s estate taken care of and we can get back here. I’m sure after all this stuff is past us,
the nightmares will end.”
“You’re right.
It’s probably just stress.”
But Zoe didn’t sound any more sure than Zane did. “Well, if you’re positive you’re okay…”
“I’m fine. Don’t
let me interrupt your date with Kento.”
“You were peeking!”
“I didn’t need to.
You were broadcasting loud enough for deaf people to hear.” Zane could feel Zoe mentally blush. “I’ll try not to listen in and you can
tell me about the art exhibit later, ok?”
“Ok. See ya’.”
Kento waited patiently for Zoe to finish “talking” to her brother. They’d been walking through the gallery when Zoe stumbled and almost fell. She said Zane needed her.
Zoe turned to Kento. “He’s ok.”
“You’re sure? We could go out to the cabin and check up on him.”
Zoe laughed. “Oh, no. You’re not getting out of this art exhibit that easily. I know how uncomfortable you are here, but the artist isn’t allowed to bail on his own first gallery showing. Zane’s really ok. Just another nightmare.”
“Man! Another one? Maybe you guys should see somebody about that.”
“It’s just stress. Once we get this stuff in Norway taken care of…” She sighed.
“I wish I could go with you, but my agent has me booked for two more showings. You know, maybe you should talk to Mia about the nightmares. It could be something attacking you in your dreams—like an evil spirit or a brain-sucking demon or…” Kento started making monster faces as he talked.
Zoe tried not to laugh too loud. “Oh, it’s not that serious. Not everything is some earth-shattering threat from the forces of evil. I think you and the other Ronins see bad guys around every corner.”
Kento took that as his cue to peek cautiously around the corner with mock fear. “Aha! This time I’m right. Look at that!”
Zoe peered around the corner. “It’s just some prissy-looking guy in an expensive suit.”
“Just some guy? That’s Jean-Marc Trudeau, the famous art critic. If he hates my sculptures, I’m doomed! My almost-career will be flushed down the toilet. Whoooosh! That qualifies as earth-shattering, doesn’t it?”
“Then you’ll just have to have another showing and find a critic who does like your work.” Zoe was glad Kento had changed the subject. Talking about the nightmares was making her very uncomfortable. They stopped in front of Zoe’s favorite sculpture. Kento had made a huge statue of a samurai fighting a monster. The samurai looked suspiciously like bits and pieces of the Ronins. The sense of action in the piece was incredible. It looked like he’d frozen them in mid-fight. “Kento, why don’t you tell the other Ronins about your statues? I’m sure they’d love them.”
Kento frowned. “Aw, Zoe. You know the guys. They’d just give me a hard time. They probably wouldn’t even believe I’d made them. They’d think it was one of our practical jokes.”
“But you have such a great talent. I’m honored that I’m the only person you’ve told, but you should really share this with the others, too. Sure they’ll tease you. You know you love it, though. You wouldn’t have it any other way.” They walked through the gallery, arm in arm.
“Yeah. I like goofing around with you and the guys. I never got to do fun stuff like that when I was a kid. Father never let me do anything. I guess I’m making up for lost time. But every once in a while I wish…you know…”
“I know. You want them to take you seriously sometimes. When they realize how important this is to you, they’ll understand.”
“What if they don’t like them? I don’t know if I could handle that.” He looked at the sculptures worriedly.
Zoe knew how sensitive Kento was about his work. He’d told her how his parents had always mocked and discouraged his sculpting. “Don’t worry. If they have any taste at all, they’ll love ‘em as much as I do.”
“Maybe you’re right.” The two of them went off to get some punch and talk to the gallery owner.