Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 63: A very real possibility

Luna fumbled around in the darkness surrounding her. Nothing. She could find nothing. Not her father, not the bed, and no sign of candlelight anywhere. Clenching her jaw she tried to feel around the dark space. She was still standing on something at least, but where were the walls? Was she still in the same room? With the mara around she could never be sure.

"Father?" she still tried calling out. If there was even a slight chance he could hear her wherever he was, she had to try, but then again the last time she'd seen him was when she'd knocked him unconscious.

She really hated it. Had his life not possibly depended on it she would have kept him conscious. She had no idea what to do or what to try in order to get out. Her mind just kept spinning around and she sank down on the ground with a sigh.

The fatigue was still killing her, and she was hungry. So hungry. Most likely because of all the vomiting. For how long would the Catherine poison last in her body anyway?

Lacking other ideas she touched the shoulder strap crossing her chest and followed it down to her satchel. Could she have use of anything there? She soon bumped her hand against the pocket-dimension umbrella and considered it. Perhaps there was something in there that could help.

Then again, it was a Catherine thing. She'd rather not take the risk at a time like that.

She sighed again as she rooted through the rest of the satchel. Nothing particularly useful in the current situation. If only Shyen had been there, or Derek or maybe Alexei or Livia. Literally anyone else. Someone who could take the initiative and come up with a plan. Now it was just her. Luna, the last person she'd trust to figure something out.

"Well at least I can hear my own voice," she mumbled as she got no reply. "For better or worse. Not exactly the conversationalist I'd want to be stuck with."

"Bad news then, I suppose," a voice said, and Luna wondered for a second if it had been her talking without knowing.

Until she turned around.

"Oh for Dyris' sake," she said with a half-hearted attempt at linking her fingers as she found herself staring at an exact replica of herself. "This is what you gather from my thoughts, mara? I'm my own worst enemy just because I suck at planning and talking?"

"Well... It's not like you're good at other things either," the other Luna said, and the original Luna suddenly wondered what it would feel like to punch herself.

"I don't have to listen to you," she said as she stood from the ground, holding her hands up as if she was bringing obvious news to her replica. "I always listen to me, and you're me, so whatever you can think of, I've already thought it."

The other Luna only stared at her, and Luna's upper lip curled as she waited for a reply.

"Besides," she continued, unable to remain quiet. "I'm good at plenty of things."

"Like what?"

"Well..." Luna blanked. She knew she was good at things but she couldn't put her finger on it. "... Reading. I mean, reading well. Reading more than—Than other people I mean. Or, uh... I don't..."

"You can't even talk well. And do you even remember most things you read? Do you even remember anything you experience?"

Luna huffed.

"So I'm in a pretty weird situation. Excuse me if I'm a little confused." She folded her arms. "Anyway what I meant to say is I wouldn't have gotten this far if I wasn't good at things, or—Or if I couldn't read. A lot. More than others, I mean."

The other Luna cocked an eyebrow.

"The way I remember it, you never actually did anything. What did you do when this mara attacked West Kerilia? You got lucky and fell down a couple of stairs, impaling a vampire at the same time. A nightmare-conjured vampire even."