covered in artistically rendered dreamcatchers from the top of his shaved head to the palms of his hands. His deep v-neck revealed the finest, a dreamcatcher whose shadow reflected a crescent moon. He smiled kindly, the piercings on his lip rising like roller coaster cars.
“Me and Julian need some air,” Cassie announced. Standing, she left the room. Julian quickly followed, reshuffling his grey wings as he went.
Ash was watching me. “How do you feel?”
My eyes found Cassie’s feather on the carpet. “I feel like I’ve just seen two people with wings,” I replied. “What are they?”
“Utopians,” he answered.
I shook my head. “What?”
“They’re –” Ash began, searching for an explanation. “Super Dreamdrifters.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not,” he responded. “But their wings are more symbolic than anything.”
“Symbolic of what?” I asked.
“Attainment,” Ash sighed. “Wings are a status symbol in a Holurn. The Utopians are held in higher regard than we ordinary Dreamdrifters even though we Drifters are already super human!”
“When Cassie said they needed air,” I began. “Did she mean they were going to…?” I mimed flapping.
Ash laughed. “I think she meant oxygen and lemonade,” he said. “Anyway, should we go upstairs?”
The staircase was winding and elegant. Reaching the top, we found an upstairs hallway. “Want to see Wayfara’s room?” Ash asked. “It’ll make you feel better about yours.” He was right about that. Wayfara’s room was a disaster scene. The only part of the room that didn’t appear tarred and feathered was a windowsill that housed potted plants.
“At least the plants are upright,” I commented, smiling.
Ash opened the door opposite Wayfara’s. The room beyond was a narrow hallway. A spiral staircase erupted upward at the end of the hall, its wrought iron caught in the light of half a dozen circular windows.
“My grandfather built this house when he was Holan,” Ash explained, leading me down the hall. “He designed the tower room as the Holan’s quarters.” Pausing, Ash copped an ear. “Can you hear them?” Two people were talking upstairs. One voice belonged to a woman and the other a man. Had Julian and Cassie flown up?
“Sis!” Ash’s voice carried up the stairs. “We have a visitor!”
“I know!” The reply from above was impatient. “He’s already up here, Ash!”
“We have another visitor!” Ash corrected. “Annie!”
A second passed. “Come up!”
Ash gestured to the spiral staircase. “The Holan.”
The tower room was circular, its walls portioned between bookshelves and windows. An oaken desk and a sofa were the central pieces of furniture. Her steps swift, a woman appeared from around the desk. Though older than either of her brothers, she shared their eyes and hair. Dolphins chased each other into a dreamcatcher above her breasts. The feathers had been swapped for starfish.
“Holan Wildecore,” she said, speaking quickly. “Call me Coraline. Ash has been talking about you a lot recently!” There was no time to register that good news. My eyes had found the man sitting in front of the desk. It was Lin Divion.
“Annie!” Divion exclaimed. “How are your parents?”
“Fine,” I managed.
Divion’s curly brown hair was frizzy in the sunlight. “Dinner was delicious the other night,” he said. “Thank you!” He turned to Coraline. “I should be leaving, Holan.” Finding his feet, Divion offered hasty goodbyes. He descended the spiral staircase and was gone.
Ash turned to his sister. “We have a purpose in coming,” he said. “Annie wishes to accompany me into the subconscious mind. She desires your endorsement.”
Coraline gazed into my eyes. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” I said. “May I?”
The Holan smiled. “She’s already seen the others, hasn’t she?”
“Yup,” Ash said.
Suddenly, silvery grey wings sprang from Coraline’s shoulders, filling the room behind her. The Holan flapped, fanning Ash and I smoothly. After a few seconds cool breeze, Coraline reshuffled her wings and folded them behind her. “You will be her guide, Ash?”
Ash was serious. “Yes, I will.”
“You have my permission,” granted the Holan. She turned to me. “You do exactly as he instructs,” she said. “We know best in the subconscious mind.” Walking to an open window, Coraline squinted against the sun. Suddenly, she leapt into open space. I screamed but almost immediately felt silly. The Holan’s wings stretched in the summer air and she flew gracefully out of sight.
Sighing, Ash lowered himself onto the window frame. Beckoning for me to join him, he gestured to his lap. I didn’t need a second invitation. Relaxing onto him, I realized that Ash’s muscular body was rough to lie on. After some adjusting, however, I was able to find a comfortable angle.
“Look!” Ash said, pointing to a cloud. “A dreamcatcher!” The circular cloud was trailing feathers.
“A Utopian!” I exclaimed, pointing to another.
“That’s a stretch,” he commented. “It’s only got one wing!”
I smiled easily. “The rest of him was good though.”
“You try flying with one wing.”
I shook my head. “So our psych professor is also a Dreamdrifter, huh?”
“Sure is,” Ash responded. “And my tutor.”
“Your tutor?” I repeated in surprise. “For psychology?”
“Not exactly,” Ash said, sounding hesitant. “I’ve been trying to become something for a long time. Something specific.”
My curiosity was aroused. “What?”
He sounded embarrassed. “A Utopian.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Why!” Ash repeated incredulously. “For the reasons I already told you!”
I tried to remember. “Status?”
“That’s part of it,” Ash admitted defensively. “But that’s not the main reason. I really want to…” He trailed off.
“What?” I coaxed.
“Fly,” Ash sighed. “I want to fly. It’s my dream to fly.”
Thinking about it made me smile. “How do you become Utopian?”
“There are two ways,” Ash said. “Either you must realize your own subconscious or someone else’s. Afterwards you instantly transform.”
“I’m confused,” I admitted. “You’ve already entered subconscious minds.”
“That’s true,” Ash agreed. “But entering and realizing are two separate things. Entering is temporary and partial, realizing is permanent and holistic. To realize someone’s subconscious is to understand the entirety of their life’s conflicts. I have entered many subconscious minds but I haven’t realized a single one.”
“Which is harder,” I asked. “Realizing someone else’s or your own?”
“Your own,” Ash answered. “It’s a very, very hard thing to achieve. Not only that, but I must achieve it.”
“Why must you?” I asked.
His reply was simple. “I’m a Wildecore. We’re the royal family of the Holurn. If something happens to Coraline then I will ascend to Holan. And the Holan is always a Utopian. A Dreamdrifter Holan is unheard of. It would be a disgrace.”
I was still thinking about the Utopians. “Coraline’s wings were invisible,” I commented. “How’s that possible?”
“Utopians can become invisible,” he explained. “That’s a recent development, actually. We’ve only had invisibility for six years.”
“Is Adia a Utopian?” I asked.
“Yes,” he responded. “She is our most powerful Utopian.”
“How about Divion?”
Ash waved him away. “Divion is hardly a competent Dreamdrifter let alone a Utopian.”
“So what’s Adia like as a tutor?” I asked.
“Stressful,” Ash sighed. “She’s good though. She really pushes me and I don’t blame her. My parents and Coraline all became Ut
opian during their teens. Wayfara has an excuse, he’s only twelve. I’m nineteen…”
I tried to distract him. “Can a human become a Dreamdrifter?”
He nodded. “Dreamdrifting is about consciousness, whether it’s higher or lower, sub or super. It’s also about limitations and knowing your own,” he continued. “Everyone is limited. You’re limited because you’re not a Dreamdrifter, I’m limited because I’m not a Utopian, and even the Utopians are limited because there are still higher levels –”
“Of consciousness?” I interrupted.
“Yes.”
I smiled. “That’s amazing.”
He smiled back. “The subconscious is more amazing. Should we go there?”
“With you?” My smile widened. “Definitely!”
“Tomorrow after class?”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’ll actually be in class?”
“For you?” His smile widened. “Definitely!”
6. The Creed
“Exam on Monday,” Adia announced in Friday’s class. “There will be forty multiple choice and true and false questions. Know your Freud, know your Breuer, know your Jung,” she added briskly. “And study the definitions I handed out from the DSM-IV. They will be on the exam.”
“I’m so excited!” I said, ignoring Adia. “I’m going Dreamdrifting today! I can hardly breathe!”
Ash shushed me. “Keep your voice down.”
“Mr. Wildecore,” Adia inserted. “I hope you’re paying attention. You’ve already missed a day of class and the material we cover today will be on the exam.” Regardless of Adia, I was beginning to feel a thrill beating inside of me. I was going Dreamdrifting today! Some students would go bowling or horseback riding later, but not Annie. Annie was going Dreamdrifting. I was going Dreamdrifting.
Adia called the end of class. Students started packing