Free Dreamscape by Christie Rich Page A

the
Dreamscape and Netherworld.”
    “This is too complicated. I’m never going to remember all
this stuff.”
    I smile at her. “You shall remember this.” She rolls her
eyes, but doesn’t comment further. “Eros fell in love with a mortal.”
    “Don’t they all?”
    “Yes, well, this mortal captivated him and he succumbed to
her charms. The two begat a child, but Eros was cursed before he could hold his
offspring. His wife cursed him to long for a love he could never have.
    “He hid the mother and child on the Earth, where his wife
could not touch them, and tried to live the life he had enjoyed for so long. No
amount of mischief could erase his pain, so he turned to creating love for
others he could not have himself.
    “In time, his need for love consumed him until he sought to
steal the love of those he had enchanted. His curse overtook him and in an
effort to escape, he shed his physical form. He became energy only, but energy
needs a conduit. Without his shell, he shattered. Some say he still searches
for the body he discarded.”
    A disgusted twists pulls Amelia’s lips. “That’s horrible.”
    “Yes, well, over the millennia the remains of Eros have
turned to darkness completely, breeding chaos in each realm they infest. When
Volos opened their prison, most fled into the Netherworld; however, a host
stayed behind and invaded Volos, perhaps to attain physical form again. Some
think the Eros search for a vessel strong enough to hold them all, even if it
is not his original form. Apparently Volos did not meet that measure.
    “Once infested, he sought council with our leaders;
however, the darkness had already taken hold. He was isolated and evaluated.
Eventually, attempts were made to remove the creatures from him. The Eros that
were extracted found hosts in those who had tried to aid him. In mere minutes,
they began to change as well.
    “It was determined that the best course was to create a
barrier between the Netherworld and the mortal realms, which is called the
Metaspace. It was a necessary precaution, but the harsh environment and
isolation caused desperation for those with no hope. We kept watch over the Metaspace
until our numbers began to dwindle.
    “By that point it was too late. The Eros had breached our
barriers into the Netherworld. In essence, they advanced on our unlocked back
door. We were so concerned about the mortals that we failed to protect our people
and the connections they had to the Netherworld fell to the Eros once they were
converted.”
    She gives me a dubious look. “I’m going to pretend I
understood the majority of what you just said. Why is everything so
complicated?”
    “Darkness has nearly won, Amelia. You can change that. You
can shift the odds back in our favor. Before Daegan learned about you, I
planned to teach you how to dampen your light. We desperately need willing
recruits, but we cannot make the connections we need to find them without you.
One of my brothers has a recruit as well, but as talented as she is she does
not possess the level of power you do.”
    “Power? What are you talking about?”
    “I know of no easy way to explain this to you. Dreams are
an important part of human life. They help the mind make sense of the world.
They help dispel the darkness from the soul. You have a special talent for
dispelling darkness, Amelia. Your soul is brighter than any I have seen, which
has been more than you can imagine.”
    She scoffs. “I’m nowhere near perfect. I don’t look for
trouble, but—”
    “Perfection is not meant for mortality. This is the time
for you to choose sides. By the time you die, you will either seek the light or
the darkness.”
    “So let’s pretend all of this is true. What do we do now? Daegan
knows about me. I won’t be able to find your key, and we will be stuck here
until we die.”
    “Once you crossed into my realm, you became immortal.”
    She laughs. “Right, so I will live forever?”
    “Humans cannot comprehend the