As Cory brushed past him, Shade grabbed his arm, spinning him toward him and embraced his son. "It is going to be okay, son, I am going to help her, just leave me to be alone with her for a while. I am going to fix this."
Cory felt his dad's stress, but he also heard his words. If anyone could get through to her, it would be his dad. "I just want her back, Dad, I want my Maddie back."
Shade ran his hand through his son’s hair and hugged him tightly. "I am going to bring her back."
Cory headed down the stairs and never looked back. Shade turned to Kate. "You lead, I follow."
She smiled at him, as he used her common refrain, and she entered the darkened room, approaching the bed as Shade followed at a discreet distance. Madison had returned to the fetal position, covered in the blankets. Kate pulled the blankets down from her face and gently woke her. "Maddie, wake up for me please."
Madison's eyelids fluttered lightly before she opened her eyes to see Kate seated beside her. She was about to sit up when she saw the shadow of a tall man standing behind Kate and she started to panic. Kate shushed her, telling her it was just Shade and she was safe.
“Maddie, I want to leave Shade here with you. Do you understand?"
Madison scooted her back against the headboard and pulled the blankets up under her chin. She looked at Kate with questioning eyes, but she knew in her heart she was safe here. "Yeah, okay." Her voice trembled when she spoke.
Shade stepped closer to the bed and laid his hand on Kate’s shoulder. "It’s okay, mi amore, go, leave us and close the door. Make sure Cory is all right. Madison and I will be fine."
He looked at Madison, her eyes huge in her head, and he knew he had to make her understand what was going to happen.
Kate left the room, looking over her shoulder at Madison. She smiled at the girl, hoping to instill some sense of security. Closing the door behind her, she joined Cory downstairs.
Madison sat still on the bed, her eyes on Shade. She’d felt intimidated by him since the first time she’d seen him. And now, she saw him again in her head, his sword removing the monsters head, his swords and teeth ripping through him, as the blood flowed. She knew his actions were to protect her and Cory, but the vision of the violence wouldn’t leave her.
Shade sat on the edge of the bed. He could feel the absolute fear and horror ravaging her. Taking her hand, she started to pull away, but he grasped it lightly. Stroking her palm with his thumb, he tried to make eye contact with her, but she couldn’t look at him for very long.
"Are you frightened of me? I would never hurt you, Madison. I care about you a great deal, but I need you to trust me. I know what you have seen of me, and you know my power. But I have other powers too, powers that can help you right now. But you have to trust me first. You have to want to let go of the fear."
Her tears rained down her cheeks. "I'm so tired of being afraid."
Her tears broke his heart. He slowly drew her to him, pulling her to his chest, as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"It’s okay to be afraid. Sometimes, fear makes us stronger. But you are trapped in your fear. I want to help you. I want to take that fear from your memory. I am a dream-walker. I can go inside your dreams and rewire some of those memories. It does not hurt. You feel nothing. I cannot make what happened disappear completely, but I can blur your memory, and stop the scenes from replaying in your mind. I can make this happen for you. But I don’t want to do this without you knowing. I do this because I love you, and I love my son. I want you to come back to our family, we miss you. So, please, let me help you. Will you do that for me?"
His voice was deep, hypnotic, and soothed her. His strength was a comfort to her and she relaxed into him. She felt drawn into a trance and knew that was part of his power as well, but she felt safe with him. In fact, this was the safest she’d felt since the incident. With her face buried in his chest, she answered, “Yes.”
"That’s my brave girl. Now, come lay down."
Slowly helping her lay down, he smiled softly down at her. "I want you to sleep. I will help you fall sleep. You will dream, one more time, but it will be the last time you will see these visions as they were. I will step inside your dreams, and I will alter what you see. You won’t wake up until it’s over."
Staring at him as he spoke, he locked her tight into his gaze. He laid her back on the pillow, his voice a soft monotone that calmed her, lulling her into sleep. Her eyelids fluttered several times and then closed. He drew her into a deep sleep, listening to the sound of her breathing. Laying his hand on her forehead, he felt her fear, as it rolled out of her like a living entity. For the first time, Shade saw himself through her eyes, as he ravaged Max. Her memory was vivid and detailed, and he walked into the dream and physically changed her vision of him, blurring the images of blood, beheading and gore. He faded the image, like an old photograph that had been left in the sun until the people almost disappeared into the background. The clanging of his sword, and Max’s scream, cut short as his head was severed from his body, were replaced with nothing but a white noise she wouldn’t recognize. He could smell her blood, as Max fed from her, and he felt her pain and fear as he drained her and her body weakened from the loss of blood. He saw that final image her memory held of Max’s head, on a wobbly roll that landed before her, with Max’s cold, dead stare looking back at her just before Poe plucked one eye from the socket. The event couldn’t be erased, but he’d rearrange the puzzle pieces, so they no longer fit together.
Shade could feel himself being slowly drained mentally, the process taking all of his concentration and mental capacity. Struggling to work as fast as he could, he wanted to make sure every second that haunted her was altered in a way that made it hard for her to remember. He felt his own exhaustion taking its toll, and he let go, stepping out of her dreams.
Madison had fallen into a deep sleep, and the dream started to repeat, but this time, she watched as the colors started to run, and the edges faded, like watercolor paints, one color bleeding into another until the image was blurred. The images became less clear and were harder and harder to grasp. As the dream became more abstract, so did her fear and she could feel her body relaxing as the dream faded. She didn’t wake with a start, her heart pounding and covered in sweat. She woke slowly, gently, and she knew he’d taken the fear. The tears returned, but they were tears of gratitude. This man she’d feared had saved her once again.
He heard her sobs, but knew they were tears of relief. As she sat up slowly, she threw her arms around his shoulders and wept. Wrapping his arms around her, he let her cry. "Shh, let it go, Madison. I have you. It’s going to be okay now. Welcome back to us. We have missed you."
99
Shade stayed in Cory's room with Madison for a while, both of them quiet. Madison seemed a bit more at ease after the dream-walking. He knew she’d always been intimidated by him, but the battle with Max had totally shaken what little confidence she’d felt with him. As she slowly sat up, he smiled at her. His voice was calm and coaxing as he helped her up.
Scurrying into the bathroom, she got dressed and looked much better when she exited. She stood before him and wasn’t sure what to say. He could sense, from her body language and the way she cast a furtive sideways glance at him, that she was still unsure as to how to proceed.