asked.
Suddenly the black and gold palace rematerialized around them. The Empress was sitting in her throne at the far end, laughing.
“Did we go in a circle?” Nora hissed.
“It's a dream. We could have, but going in a circle doesn't mean it wasn't the way out,” Isabella answered. “Maryann, this is your dream. Why is she here?”
“Because your little redhead fears me, that's why,” the Empress answered in a mocking voice. She stood up and her eyes glowed. “She's afraid that I am too powerful for you to defeat, and she's afraid you all will be trapped here until I drain away all your delicious dream energy. She's afraid because of her you'll never wake up again. And she's right to be afraid of me.”
“Maryann, this is your dream,” Nora snapped. “Don't be afraid of her. You've got us with you. Use you magic. Call on your gods. Do something. Do anything!”
Maryann was shaking her head. “I always fall,” she murmured.
“We're not asking you to fly. We're asking you to stop her,” she retorted.
“Look, the way out is behind her throne,” Isabella said. The first door behind the throne had been replaced by a door that looked exactly like the hotel room doors.
The Empress was slowly moving forward in her strange, gliding fashion. “By the way, I really did not appreciate getting hit in the face with a guitar.”
“And I don't appreciate being dinner for some kind of dream vampire,” Leah snapped, holding out her crucifix.
Nora held out her cross. “Stay away from us, whatever you are.”
“Your faith holds no power over me,” the Empress replied disdainfully. “I am not of your world.”
“Maryann, you need to do something,” Isabella said, pulling out her last evil spirit charm.
“This is a dream,” the Empress continued. “The rules of the waking world do not work here.” Her eyes flashed and she was suddenly right in front of them.
Isabella slapped the charm on her forehead.
She stumbled back a step and ripped it off.
“You're a liar,” Isabella snapped. “The rules apply if we believe they apply. Maryann, this is your dream. You have as much power here as you want.”
“Silly children. How little you understand about my realm,” the Empress said. She fixed on Maryann. “I like your dreams. They are full of passion and energy.”
Nora and Leah stood in front of Maryann and held out their holy symbols.
“I'm pretty sure we told you to back the hell off,” Leah said.
The Empress seemed reluctant to try to push past them. She snapped her fingers, and the room went completely dark.
“Everyone here?” Isabella asked. She couldn't hear a response.
“Guys, guys, are you alright?” Leah asked. But she didn't hear a response either.
The Empress suddenly appeared in front of Maryann. “Oh, poor little redhead,” the Empress said to Maryann.
“Aaahhh!” she yelped.
“Now you're done it. You've lost everyone. You've failed. Too, too bad. Now you will play for me, by yourself. And then they will play for me. And I will win.”
Maryann didn't reply.
“Too bad, little girl,” the Empress said. “You have so many gods and they can't help you here. All is lost. Lost little girls. You were even named after two lost girls.”
All she could hear was the Empress. “I always fall,” she murmured.
“Yes, you do.”
“But the others are counting on me.”
“And that's their mistake. They thought you had some power here. You don't. You never did.”
Maryann clenched her fists. “But my friends are counting on me. They wouldn't let me down.”
“Well, that's because they're stronger than you,” the Empress sneered.
“You know what I like about dreams?” she asked, trying to shut out the terrible feeling of defeat. “I can do all sorts of crazy magic that I can't do in the real world. I don't have to call on gods and I don't have to spend hours preparing. I can even fly if I want to.”
“What are you prattling on about?”
“And you said the rules don't apply here. So there's no reason I can't fly. And there's no reason I can't do this,” she said.
“Do what?” the Empress asked.
Maryann's eyes blazed with fire and suddenly the whole room lit up again.
“Okay, so she's glowing. That's good?” Leah said.
“A bit of light and fire isn't enough to get past me to that door,” the Empress said. She snapped her fingers, and vaguely humanoid black shapes crawled off the walls and stood behind her to block their path. Their features were not defined but the band could see they had sharp claws. She gestured to a new stage. “Just play. It'll be easier.”
“And if I can do crazy magic, they can do crazy magic too, or have superpowers, if they want,” Maryann continued, surrounded by a fiery aura.
“Ooo, I've always wanted telekinesis,” Leah said. “And then I'd grab that stage with my mind and toss at those creepy shadow things like this,” she said, and gestured at the stage. The drum kit lifted into the air and smashed into several of the shadow monsters. “Oh, that is as awesome as I imagined! You guys have got to try this.” She chucked the remainder of the stage set-up at the creatures.
“I just want more charms,” Isabella said, and suddenly her hand was full of them. “And be able to throw them.” She took the handful and threw them in a wide arc. The charms flew across the room and stuck to the forehead area of the shadow creatures like they were magnetically drawn to them. The creatures screamed but seemed immobilized.
The Empress looked very upset. “Fine. They were merely diversions. You still have to deal with me.” She stared at Nora. “They have magic powers or superpowers. What about you?” she sneered.
Nora lunged at the Empress.
She was too surprised to dodge.
Nora tackled her and yanked the crown off her head, then stood up. “You're no Empress,” she snapped. “You're nothing but a predator pretending to be something better. You have no power over me, or them.” She crushed the crown with her hands.
“Noooo!” the Empress wailed.
“Now, let's get out of here,” Nora called the band.
The Empress gibbered on the floor, keeping her head down, and they walked right past her to the door behind the throne. Isabella put an evil spirit charm on the door, just in case, and they walked through.
They all abruptly sat up in bed. Their alarms weren't set to go off for another few hours. They all got up and went to the shared door.
“So how do we know we're awake?” Leah asked.
“Details,” Isabella answered. “Dreams don't have details. Your brain just doesn't fill in all the blanks.”
“Okay, so we'll look around and make sure everything has the fine print,” she replied.
“Pretty much.”
After an hour of looking over nearly everything in their own rooms, and the other pair's rooms, they were satisfied that they were really awake.
“So, how did all that happen?” Nora asked. “And how do we keep it from happening again?”
Isabella shrugged. “I don't know how that happened, or why. There are nasty things out there, some mundane, and some not. We just keep ourselves armed and aware, just like you would with any mundane threat.”
“Nora, how did you know to take her crown?” Maryann asked.
“It was clearly the symbol of her power. It made sense to me that taking it and destroying it would weaken her,” she answered.
“Thanks, Nora.”
“It’s not a big deal. We all had to face our fears. I liked your superpowers and magic. It's just not me, you know?”
“I see that. That was a pretty good tackle you pulled off there. Did you fight with your sister a lot?” Leah asked.
“Of course I did. I was also on the girls' varsity rugby
team.”
“Yeah, that explains a lot,” she replied.
Nora yawned. “So, are we going to get moving for the day or go back to sleep?”
They all looked at each other.
“Get moving,” Leah said.
“Absolutely,” Maryann said.
“I'll get some coffee,” Nora offered.
“That sounds good,” Isabella replied.
The Lyrics:
I used to know these places
Here I've lived and worked
Filled with people I once knew
But they have unfamiliar faces
I see loved ones since passed on
First there is confusion, then sorrow
When in the dream or when awake
I remember they're really gone
Refrain: To sleep, perchance to dream
To enter another world
All is strange and vague
And nothing what it seems
In our mind live our fears
Pushed back in the daytime
Behind work and stress
But in dreams all too near
Out of the dark nowhere
Come monsters that chase
We run without escape
Caught by nightmares
Refrain
Sometimes I try to fly
But all I do is fall
Waiting for the impact
And I don't know why
Sometimes I take control
And can make things happen
But then I lose my grip
And don't know where to go
Refrain x2
Track 6: Tricks O'Pedia
The Interview:
Brad: The next track, “Tricks O'Pedia” is a hard alt-rock tune. Am I going to get any explanation for this one?
Anna: It's Dave's fault.
Brad: Who's Dave? A boyfriend?
Band: [laughs]
Belle: Oh, goodness, no. Dave is Mr. Rafel's son. Unlike his dad, Dave gets our music. He's working on breaking into the music scene, so he helps his dad out with