Corinne first realizes things are not what they seem when she discovers that she and her friend Mason are having the same nightmares of a dark, consuming force. They don’t know it yet, but their destinies are closely tied together. In this scene, they begin to understand that they share something they can’t quite explain.
“I had some messed-up dreams the last few days I was in Africa,” Mason said. “They were really horrifying, not like usual nightmares. They were … I don’t know, more real, somehow.”
His eyebrows were pinched together in a frown. He actually looked scared. A knot of dread began to curl up in my middle. I’d managed to forget what he’d said in his e-mail about his dream of the cove.
As he searched my face, I saw realization dawn in his eyes.
“You’ve been having them, too.” There was no question in his voice.
I nodded. Echoes of the terror I’d felt in the dreams shot through my mind like shards of ice, and I wrapped my arms tightly around my ribs as I looked at him. Even through my anxiety about the dreams, I couldn’t help noticing how good his hair looked longer. He should have worn it that way all along. “How’d you know?”
“I don’t know how I knew. But I knew.” His stared at me with wide eyes.
“The … the black fog?” I asked, dreading his answer.
“Yeah.”
“Last night, did you dream of—”
“Your grandmother’s house,” he finished.
“I just can’t … How could this be?” I started shivering, little quakes rippling through my body every few seconds. “How are we having the same dreams? Are we crazy?”
He chuckled, the tension leaving his face for a moment. “Maybe. You, definitely.”
I didn’t feel up to laughing at his jokes at the moment. I shivered harder. My teeth were actually chattering a little. “They’re just s-s-so awful. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. Do you think we should tell someone?”
He reached for the throw blanket draped over the back of the sofa and handed it to me.
“I guess we could.” His forehead wrinkled with doubt. “I’m not even sure what I’d say, though. Or what anyone could do about it. Our parents would probably just send us to a shrink or something. Somehow, I don’t think that would help.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I was positive he was right, but it was scary to admit that no one else could help us. I unfolded my legs and stretched them alongside Mason’s, and then I spread the throw over both of us. After a moment, I shopped shivering.
I yawned. “God, I’m exhausted. But, lately, I’m scared to fall asleep.”
“I know the feeling.” He adjusted the pillow behind him.
The warmth of his leg alongside mine comforted me. For reasons I couldn’t articulate, I felt safer than I had in a long time. After a few minutes, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. As I started to lose consciousness, I heard Mason mumble something.
“I’ll keep you safe. I’m the…” his last word was garbled, but I thought it sounded like he said shield. Odd choice of words, I thought as I fell into a blessedly peaceful sleep.
Corinne learns that there is a whole other world, called the hypercosmic realm, that our minds enter when we sleep. She’s destined to protect both worlds, but her grandmother, who was supposed to teach her how, is dead. To make matters worse, a crazy woman--who Corinne discovers is actually a distant relative--insists Corinne’s destiny is rightfully hers and wants Corinne permanently out of the picture. As this imposter attempts to take Corinne’s place and nightmares begin leaking into the waking world, she and Mason race to understand her grandmother’s past and her own future.
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