Free Bound by Blood (The Garner Witch Series) by P.A. Lupton Page A

circumstances, Leslie would understand if you shared her secret.” I placed my hand over hers with silent assurance, and felt the acquiescence settle over her.
    “There was something extraordinary about Leslie, but I don’t think you’ll believe me if I tell you.”
    “Try me.”
    She closed her eyes briefly and blew out a deep, fortifying breath. “I didn’t believe it myself when I saw it, but Leslie had a… talent. She called herself a dream walker. She could enter other people’s dreams.” Her eyes locked onto mine warily, waiting for a negative response.
    “Please, continue.” I maintained the composed and professional mien for anyone watching, but on the inside I was reeling from the announcement.
    “I found out by accident when I was working on a case last year. I was frustrated and depressed, so Leslie took me out for drinks. I told her I was positive a child of a family I was investigating was being abused, but I had no proof. My supervisor was insistent I close out the file. Apparently, the father was pretty important, and exerting a fair amount of political pressure to have my assignment closed. I cried to Leslie because I knew he was abused, but he wouldn’t trust anyone to help him. The kid was terrified and even hinted that his father would never go to jail because he had too many friends.” Her hands were shaking as she retold the story.
    “Anyway, I complained about the system, got drunk, and tried to put it out of my mind. Two days later, I was about to close out the file when it happened. Leslie came to me in a dream and told me the boy would talk to me if I met with him again. When I woke up, I tried to brush it off, but I felt compelled to go to the boy one last time.” She looked up with tears shimmering in her eyes.
    “He told me everything. It had been going on for years, but he was too scared to say anything. I had him safely removed from the home, and placed in a family member’s care. I went to check on him about a month later, and he was so happy—it was fantastic. I asked him why, after all the times I’d spoken to him, he finally decided to tell me the truth. He said he had a dream about one of the case workers in our office. In the dream, she witnessed the abuse he suffered, and convinced him to tell me everything. The next day when I approached him, he was ready to talk.”
    “Did you ever ask Leslie about it?”
    “Yes. At first she brushed it off as just a dream, but when I pressed, her she finally told me the truth. Leslie had an unusual rapport with her kids, and she was always able to get them to open up to her. She admitted to me that she visited them while they were sleeping, an ability she’d had since she was a teenager. She said people couldn’t hide in their dreams. Once she saw what was going on in her kids’ lives and what they feared, she would talk to them, dispel their fears of coming forward, and then suggest they talk to her when she next approached them. They always talked.”
    “Did she somehow control them?” I asked
    She was shaking her head before I finished the question. “No. I thought the same thing. She explained that she merely helped them work through their fears and earned their trust at a time when they were open to her. She said that whether their waking mind was aware or not, they were still talking about their problems and learning to trust her. Consciously, it was much easier for them to open up afterward. They still had free will to do as they chose.” A wistful smile crossed her lips as she remembered Leslie, then I felt the grief overwhelm her again. “She loved helping k—kids.” The last word broke on a sob.
    “I am sorry for your loss.” I soothed. “And I want you to know that you did the right thing in telling me.”
    She sniffled. “Do you think it will help anything?”
    “Yes. Actually, I do.” I was about to say goodbye when I thought of something else. “Did Leslie tell anyone else about her talent?”
    “Not