Dream Walker (The Coven, Book 3) Read online

  DREAM WALKER

  Erica Stevens

  Copyright © 2018 Erica Stevens

  All rights reserved.

  Distributed by Smashwords

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  ALSO FROM THE AUTHOR

  Books written under the penname Erica Stevens

  The Captive Series

  Captured (Book 1)

  Renegade (Book 2)

  Refugee (Book 3)

  Salvation (Book 4)

  Redemption (Book 5)

  Broken (The Captive Series prequel)

  Vengeance (Book 6)

  Unbound (Book 7)

  The Coven Series

  Nightmares (Book 1)

  The Maze (Book 2)

  Dream Walker (Book 3)

  The Fire & Ice Series

  Frost Burn (Book 1)

  Arctic Fire (Book 2)

  Scorched Ice (Book 3)

  The Kindred Series

  Kindred (Book 1)

  Ashes (Book 2)

  Kindled (Book 3)

  Inferno (Book 4)

  Phoenix Rising (Book 5)

  The Ravening Series

  Ravenous (Book 1)

  Taken Over (Book 2)

  Reclamation (Book 3)

  The Survivor Chronicles

  Book 1: The Upheaval

  Book 2: The Divide

  Book 3: The Forsaken

  Book 4: The Risen

  Books written under the penname Brenda K. Davies

  The Alliance Series

  Eternally Bound (Book 1)

  Bound by Vengeance (Book 2)

  Bound by Darkness (Book 3)

  Bound by Passion (Book 4) Releasing 2019

  Hell on Earth Series

  Hell on Earth (Book 1)

  Into the Abyss (Book 2)

  Kiss of Death (Book 3) Releasing 2019

  The Road to Hell Series

  Good Intentions (Book 1)

  Carved (Book 2)

  The Road (Book 3)

  Into Hell (Book 4)

  The Vampire Awakenings Series

  Awakened (Book 1)

  Destined (Book 2)

  Untamed (Book 3)

  Enraptured (Book 4)

  Undone (Book 5)

  Fractured (Book 6)

  Ravaged (Book 7)

  Consumed (Book 8)

  Unforeseen (Book 9)

  Forsaken (Book 10) Coming 2019/2020

  Historical Romance

  A Stolen Heart

  This book is dedicated to all the dreamers.

  CONTENTS

  Books by the author

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Epilogue

  Where to find the author

  About the author

  CHAPTER 1

  Landon tilted her head back to gaze at the Halloween decorations hanging in the gym. She loved Halloween, not because she was a witch, but because it was the one day a year when she could be someone else. Over the years, she’d chosen many different costumes, but this year, a fairy sounded like fun when Rosie suggested it.

  And she was in the mood for some fun. Lately, she’d been feeling awful and out of sorts, but dressed up and at the school Halloween dance, she felt alive again.

  However, she couldn’t forget that everything with the coven was a mess. Reid was distant and moody. She knew he was unhappy about his breakup with Avery, but he refused to talk about it. He’d discuss other things, but whenever Avery came up, he shut down.

  She understood why Avery broke up with Reid, even if she was infuriated with Avery for hurting him. No matter what Avery said her reasons for the breakup were, Landon suspected she was trying to protect Reid from Regan, but she despised seeing her twin so heartbroken.

  Landon sighed and looked back at the dance floor. She’d spent a lot of time with the dance committee planning for this night, but now that her thoughts had turned to the coven, she wished she’d never come. A cup of chamomile tea and her bed were calling her name. However, she couldn’t leave Reid. He acted like he was having a good time here, but he didn’t fool her.

  Landon’s thoughts wandered to last Halloween when the coven stayed up and partied all night. Since becoming witches, Halloween had become more important to them. Even before they knew the truth of their ancestry, the coven spent every Halloween together from the time they were old enough to trick-or-treat.

  Mario, Eric, Shawn, Alex, Rosie, and Reid toilet-papered trees and shaving creamed signs while the rest of them trailed behind, laughing and eating candy. When they got older and learned what they were, they started throwing parties on the beach. They would dress up, start a bonfire, and celebrate the holiday well into the next day.

  Last year, Mario and Eric stole a bunch of pumpkins and slipped M-80s into them. The multiple explosions almost caused Landon to piss herself as pumpkin guts splattered the unsuspecting members of the coven.

  She’d been certain Sandra was going to kill them, but Mario and Eric managed to evade her by hiding in their houses for two days afterward. And when they did finally come out, they discovered Sandra had filled their cars with pumpkin guts. She also used a sticking spell she created to glue their hands to the doors when they tried to open them. She left them there for three hours before finally releasing them.

  A stab of yearning shot through Landon when she wondered if the coven would ever celebrate another Halloween together. They barely spoke to each other anymore, but was there enough distrust to keep them apart forever?

  The possibility caused tears to fill her eyes, but she blinked them back; she refused to think about it. They may all be mad and confused right now, but they would talk again.

  “Hey, Landon!” Rosie greeted. “What are you doing?”

  Landon forced a smile as Rosie bounced over to stand beside her. Cupid was the perfect costume for Rosie as she radiated an aura of warmth and love. Blue eyeshadow emphasized the striking color of her large, sky-colored eyes. Her short, strawberry blonde hair bounced against her shoulders as she shifted from one foot to the other while surveying the crowd.

  “Not m
uch,” Landon replied.

  Landon’s smile vanished when Talia joined them. Talia had been dancing with Reid, but he’d moved on to Dottie.

  “Hi,” Talia greeted. Her Little Red Riding Hood costume emphasized the paleness of her wheat blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes.

  Landon resisted rolling her eyes at Talia. When Avery first started bringing Talia around, Landon hadn’t minded the girl, but she’d grown to dislike her. Talia used Avery to get close to Reid, and now that they were broken up, she followed him everywhere in the hopes he might show her some attention.

  Reid was friendly to the girl but not interested. Talia didn’t seem to notice or, if she did, she didn’t care about his disinterest. She was determined to act like a barnacle when it came to Reid. Still, no matter how much Reid loved Avery, Landon worried he might decide Talia would make a good rebound. She’d rather deal with Regan.

  “Hey,” Landon greeted.

  Landon didn’t like the girl, but she couldn’t bring herself to be rude to her. Rosie clamped her lips together, folded her arms over her voluptuous chest, and became fascinated with the wall. Landon had never seen Rosie dislike anyone, but she didn’t even try to play nice with Talia.

  “Would you like to dance?” Ben Walker asked.

  Landon’s attention was diverted from Talia when Ben stepped in front of her. With brown hair and blue eyes, Ben was handsome in his black ninja costume. She’d always considered him cute, but she’d been with Alex since they were kids.

  This reminder was like a knife to her heart. She still loved Alex, she always would, but it was over and time to move on.

  It doesn’t have to be over, a small voice whispered in her head.

  It wouldn’t be over if one of them apologized, but they were both too stubborn. So instead, she was suffering because she couldn’t bring herself to admit she’d been wrong. Alex had a point when he said Avery did the right thing by breaking up with Reid. He claimed Avery was trying to protect them all from Regan, and she probably was, but Landon hated anyone sticking up for the woman who broke her twin’s heart.

  Of course, she cut off her nose to spite her face by telling Alex to get out of her house and not come back. She’d been angry, confused, and frightened by the fact the coven was crumbling, Regan had returned, and Reid was suffering. In her frustration, she lashed out at Alex and broke her heart too.

  Just tell him you were wrong.

  It was the only option, and she was wrong, though she hated to admit it. She’d acted like an idiot when she kicked him out of her house. They’d been friends since birth and started dating at twelve. She’d thrown away six wonderful years together because of anger.

  Tomorrow she would try to fix it. Hopefully, he would forgive her and take her back, but tonight she might as well have fun.

  “Would you like to dance?” Ben asked again.

  “Sure,” she said and hooked her arm through the one Ben offered her.

  Landon walked with him out to the floor, and when he turned to face her, she slipped her arms around his neck. The band started playing a slow song.

  “You look good tonight,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Thanks. So do you.”

  The band was too loud to do much talking, so they moved gracefully through a few songs before she grew tired and thirsty. “I need a drink.”

  “All right. Let me know if you want to dance again.”

  “I will,” she promised, but she wouldn’t.

  He reluctantly released her, and she strolled off the dance floor. Returning the friendly hellos she received, it took her longer to reach the refreshment table than she anticipated. She hid her impatience when she was stopped by a few people to talk.

  Finally, she broke free of the crowd and lifted a glass of punch off the table. She walked over to lean against the wall while she surveyed the crowded gym. She couldn’t help but smile as she scanned the happy faces surrounding her. Her planning and hard work with the dance committee had a big hand in the dance being such a success.

  The candle in the jack-o-lantern beside her cast a flickering shadow across the floor and warmed her skin. The other jack-o-lanterns in the room emphasized the vast array of students’ costumes as they strolled by her.

  Landon felt a stab of envy as she watched them; she envied them their carefree lives. They didn’t have to worry about an unhappy twin brother, a destroyed coven, and a demon from the Nightmare realm who was determined to turn them to his side.

  At the thought of Regan, she cringed involuntarily and clutched the plastic cup tighter. It was Halloween, Samhain, the night when the veil between the worlds was thinnest. If Regan were going to do anything, it would be tonight, and there was nothing the coven could do to stop him.

  They couldn’t deal with each other, let alone Regan.

  Landon had pondered the idea of getting the coven together tonight in case Regan made an appearance. But most of them wouldn’t have come, and if they had, she didn’t know what she would have done with them.

  She didn’t have the energy, or the strength, left to fight them anymore. She hated herself for this weakness, but she couldn’t help it. This past month had done nothing but batter her down.

  It had battered them all down.

  Landon finished her drink and stepped away from the wall. It was time to go home.

  “Landon!”

  She jumped when the voice ripped through her melancholy thoughts. Turning to see who called to her, she did a double take when she spotted the group of students gathered behind her. Ben Walker was with them, and the flame of the candle he held cast eerie shadows across his face. A chill of apprehension ran through her, but she didn’t back away from the malice emanating from the students.

  “Yes?” she asked warily.

  “Time to burn, witch,” Ben said.

  “What?” Landon gasped.

  Did I hear him right?

  No, she couldn’t have. She knew everyone in this group. Some of them were her friends, and she’d danced with Ben. She must have misheard him.

  Then he threw the candle on her.

  Landon jumped, and her eyes darted to the flame as it sputtered and caught on her thin, muslin dress. Shock held her immobile while the fire surged up her skirt. The flames licked her flesh and blisters broke out on her as her dress was consumed.

  She stumbled back as the students chanted, “Burn, witch, burn! Burn, witch, burn!”

  Landon beat at the flames while laughter swelled around her; she wrapped the dress around her legs to smother the fire, but it didn’t work. When the fire encompassed her hands like a snake choking the life from its victim, a scream tore from her, and she flung herself backward.

  A sudden jolt woke Landon; she cried out when she found herself entangled in something. Kicking at whatever clung to her legs, it took her a few seconds to realize it wasn’t flames around her legs, but blankets.

  Chest heaving with her rapid breaths, Landon stared blindly into the darkness as she tried to piece together her surroundings. Finally, she registered that she was in her room and she’d fallen out of bed.

  “Stupid nightmare,” she mumbled.

  Landon placed her hands beneath her and winced when agony shot through her palms. “What the…?”

  Jumping to her feet, she fumbled desperately with the lamp on her bedside table. She ignored the discomfort the motion created as she switched it on to reveal her red palms and the blisters on her delicate skin. She couldn’t tear her eyes away as full-blown panic hit her.

  This can’t be real; it can’t be!

  Then the cloying stench of smoke and burnt flesh seared her nostrils, and she knew it was real.

  CHAPTER 2

  Sandra woke and looked to the night pressing against her blinds. She had no idea what woke her, but being up before the sun was not her idea of a good way to start the day.

  “Ugh.” She fumbled to lift her phone from the nightstand. “Three thirty!”

  Nothing should be awake at thi
s ungodly hour, least of all her. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up and swung her feet over the bed. Her feet searched for the slippers she always left beside her bed, but they weren’t there. Frustration and a tingle of unease crept through her.

  They were always right there. Had someone come in her room and taken them? But who and why? Where are they?

  She couldn’t stop herself from picturing yellow eyes gazing at her from under her bed and a gray, bony hand with claws extending toward her from the shadows. She was about to leap off and run when her toes touched the fluffy bunny heads on her white slippers. They’d been where she always left them; she was just up at the wrong damn time and out of sorts because of it.

  She slid the slippers on before standing and lifting the silk bathrobe at her bedside. Strolling to the door, she pulled it open and stared into the dimly lit hall. The nightlight by her parents’ bedroom door illuminated the top of the stairs as she padded toward them.

  “Everybody else is sleeping,” she muttered as her father’s snores drifted to her.

  She made a right at the end of the stairs, still mumbling and miserable, as she turned on the kitchen light and waited for her eyes to adjust. When she could see again, she made her way over to the fridge and opened the door. Her stomach rumbled, but she didn’t see anything appetizing.

  Still muttering to herself about being up at the butt crack of dawn, she removed the carton of milk. She unscrewed the top and took a deep swig of the cool liquid. Lowering the container, she used the back of her arm to wipe away her milk mustache and chuckled. People would be so astonished to see her, of all people, drinking from the carton. But it was her one bad habit. Well, this and she could be a little bitchy.

  However, she didn’t see bitchy as a bad habit. She got things done, and she refused to let people walk all over her. Landon was good at being the doormat who tried to make everyone happy; she was not. Sandra chuckled again and placed the carton back in the fridge before shutting the door.