Tempting Fate

“Renato Alfonso is someone we need to find. What room does he occupy?” Reed asked.

The security guard retreated to his post and consulted a chart on his desk. Moments later, it glanced at them.

“Room 3015.”

When Reed got up and walked, the two women immediately followed. Reed walked up to the elevator, but the sign claimed it was out of service for repair. Instead, black smoke emanated from his palm and make its way into the elevator. Sometime later, when Reed touched the elevator button, it opened.

Avery said, “That was very impressive.”

Reed didn’t speak. They hurriedly entered the elevator as it opened, and as they shut the door, Reed caught sight of Devin.

‘What is he doing here?’ Reed thought.

After taking Emy’s hand, Reed turned to face her. “Keep close to me. As long as you stay near to me, I’ll be able to keep you safe.” Reed said.

.....

Emy nodded. “Okay.”

The elevator took them to the third story, where they were greeted by a cheerful Devin. He leaned against the wall at the elevator entrance. He has one foot up against the wall and both hands in his pocket. In that pose, he is strikingly attractive, much like a fashion model.

“So, what exactly is the plan?” Devin asked.

“Why are you even here?” Reed asked.

“Why am I even bothering to be here?” Devin said, smiling.

They all got up and followed Reed as soon as he started walking. They had arrived at room 3015 and were waiting there. When Avery went to knock, someone unexpectedly opened it. Devin unlocked it from the inside. He teleported without them noticing.

“Would you want things to be a little tenser?” Devin said, laughing. He kept looking across at Emy, but she never once glanced at him.

Avery and Reed entered the room. The kids were soundly sleeping in the other room. Reed opened the door to another room. And there was the couple.

Devin let out smoke and directed it towards the kids’ bedroom.

“What the heck did you do?” With a hushed voice, Emy said. Emy’s sudden question caught Devin by surprise. “Why did you allow smoke to enter the kids’ bedroom?”

“Oh, that’s a safety measure for the kids. Whatever noise won’t rouse them that it exposed them to.” Devin said.

Emy gave a brief nod and then turned her attention away from Devin. Reed once again sent forth a cloud of black smoke, which then penetrated the woman. After a moment, Reed faced the three of them.

Reed said, “We need some volunteers.”

“Volunteer where?” Avery spoke up.

“Entering the realm of his dream,” Reed said.

“Then what exactly will take place? Why does someone have to go in?” Avery asked.

“To ensnare the dream demon and evict him from his realm,”

“If that’s the case, I am. I’m willing to give it a go.” Emy said this to surprise the three.

“Wifey...” Reed murmured in disbelief.

“You’re putting yourself in harm’s way,” warned Devin.

“The risk of harm to yourself is high, Miss Emy,” Avery said.

“I just cannot accept this,” Reed said.

Devin turned to look at Reed. “I’m going to tag along with her.”

“What?” Reed asked Devin.

Because Emy is unique, I am certain that we will expel the dream demon from her world with no trouble. I can keep her safe both from the other side and from you two. “Give it to us,” Devin said as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. “15 minutes”

“I will not entrust you with the responsibility of caring for my wife,” Reed said.

Avery said, “I think that this is a good idea.”

“Not me,” Reed said.

“Can you please tell me why you don’t trust your wife?” Devin asked.

“I don’t trust you. You’ve known that for a while, right?” Reed asked.

“I guess it’s OK if you tag along with him. And Avery, we’ll be left here alone.” Devin said.

Reed clenched his teeth and gazed at Devin. He did not know whether Devin was aware of his inability to access the realm. When he last visited Dynhir’s realm, his whole body almost caught fire. After he had it for a few days, he still didn’t tell anybody. It will become clear to Devin that he is a weak demon. Maria may have murdered him if he hadn’t intervened to save his life.

“Fifteen minutes,” Reed said. “The dream demon must be let free in the next fifteen minutes.”

“Okay,” Devin said.

Reed looked at Emy and gave him a peck on the other cheek.

“Be careful...” Reed whispered to Emy as he gently kissed her on the lips.

Avery and Devin walked away. Reed took the demon’s dagger out of nowhere and it floated in the air.

“Use it if you have to,” Reed said.

Emy took the demon’s dagger and held onto it while she was in the air. Avery tied a piece of cloth around Emy’s hand as she held the dagger. They didn’t know what was written on the fabric.

“When you are in his dream, I can hear you,” Avery said so.

“Then I’ll start now before the dream demon takes over,” Devin said.

Devin grabbed Emy’s wrist, put his hand on the man’s head, and then sucked on both of their lips. Reed took a deep breath while Avery looked at Reed.

“You should put your trust in your wife if you don’t trust Sir Devin,” Avery said.

Reed didn’t speak. He just looked at the person they were going to help.

—-

Devin first fell while he was standing in the middle of the road. A scream could be heard from above. Devin smiled at Emy and put his hand out to touch her. He immediately hugged her, and then he got up and fell back down on the road. Emy had her arms around Devin’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” Emy said.

Devin immediately put Emy down, and they turned around. They observed the place. In the real world, it is the same place, except that no one can be seen there.

“That is the building. Let’s go inside.” Devin said.

It surprised Emy when Devin grabbed one of her hands. He was about to take it off, but Devin’s hold on him got stronger.

“You need to be brought back to the real world alive, and I have to be close to you to do that,” Devin said.

Reed had said the same thing to her while they were in the elevator. They walked toward the building.

Emy looked back to where they had seen the guard before, but he wasn’t there. He and Devin took the stairs together because there was a maintenance sign on the elevator door.

“You can’t teleport?” Emy asked.

“We’re in a dream, and if we use teleportation, we might end up in another dream where he’s hard to find.”

“What do you mean had another dream?”

“When people sleep, they don’t just go to one or two dimensions. People have lots of imagination, and you can see this in their dreams. And they don’t just have one dream; they have a lot of them. The only one they remember is the one that makes the biggest impression on them.” Devin said.

Emy nodded. The place where they are is on the third floor. They could hear steel hitting steel.

“It is him,” Devin said. He pulled Emy toward him and tried to open a door, but it was locked. “Damn...”

Everything is visible, and none of the doors or rooms have opened for them. Devin did nothing else but knock on the victim’s door in room 3015. Right away, it opened. The man was about to say something when Devin punched him in the face and knocked him out.

“What happened?” Emy said.

“I’ll try to help him stay alive,” Devin said. He immediately pushed the door open, but the man on the other side blocked it, making it hard to open anymore. Devin and Emy both turned when they heard a sound coming. Devin let go of Emy’s hand and pushed the man with all of his strength until he opened the door. He grabbed Emy again right away and brought her back into the room.

“Shut that door!” Devin told Emy to do something, so she did it right away.

Devin picked up the man and threw him hard on the bed. Emy covered her mouth with a hand. “Take it easy.” E my said.

“He’s a great deal. Even though he’s small, he is heavy. What kind of bone does he have?” Devin said he was upset.

Devin moved the guy who looked like he was sleeping. They looked for somewhere to hide right away. Devina opened the bathroom door, but I could see them there before she did. Devin would have come in when Emy pulled him out from under the bed and put him in the drawer. They tried to fit in there, but it was too narrow. Devin had to tilt his body just a little to get in. Emy was standing between his legs and felt at ease. The cabinet was at the right height, but the inside was so small that their skin almost touched. Luckily, their faces were only two inches apart.

—-

Avery saw that the man’s forehead was bloody and that he was making a face. Avery walked right up to the man who was sleeping.

“What happened?” she asked Reed.

Reed said nothing, but he didn’t think that the man’s head had hit something hard.

“Has the dream demon done that?”

“Devin was the one who did that.”

.....

“What?”

During that time, Devin did nothing but stare at Emy. He could kiss Emy if he wanted to, but he didn’t want her to be mad at him, so he would have to first deal with the longing on his lips that made him feel like he could kiss her.

“I guess I didn’t get it right. You’re too tall to fit here.”

Devin felt the hand of the dream demon moving. It will hit the sickle inside that closet to make it a bit sharper. Devin had both hands on Emy’s ears as the demon drove the sickle deep into the ground. Emy turned around and saw the tip of the sickle blade inside the closet where they were hiding. Suddenly, the demon took it out. Devin took his hand off Emy’s ear and put it on her lips as a sign for her not to talk. Emy nodded.