Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(71)

"You're seeing the essence of dreams reworked."

"So those are actual dreams that people will have?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"How do they get from here to the people's minds?"

"Like that." He lifted his chin toward a woman whose bubble had reached the size of a grapefruit. She stopped blowing into the tube and lifted the bubble to eye level. In the scene taking place inside, Mikki could see a woman dancing through a knee-deep sea of blue grass as the sky rained flowers all around her. The palace worker tapped the bubble once with her fingernail, and it broke off neatly from the tube. But it didn't fall to the ground and break, as Mikki expected it to. Instead, it floated. The worker blew one last breath of air on it, and the bubble lifted, eventually disappearing into the ceiling.

"Would you like to create a dream, Empousa?"

Mikki jumped as the woman who had just sent the bubble through the ceiling offered her the newly emptied tube.

"Oh, thank you, but no. Tonight I'm just watching."

"As you wish, Empousa." The woman smiled at her and went back to work.

Mikki grabbed Asterius's hand and pulled him toward the door. "I want to see more!"

"As you wish, Empousa." He tried to sound formal and aloof for the benefit of the women, who were watching and listening, but the small hand that nestled so easily within his was a treasure beyond price, and he could not conceal the happiness that lit his face when she touched him so easily. He didn't care that they were watching; he didn't care that pain sluiced through his arm. All that mattered was that she did not take her hand from his until they reached the next door, which she touched open. He followed her in, smiling at her little gasp of pleasure.

This room was much cooler and smelled like moon flowers and spring rain. A clear stream bubbled through the center of the room, coming from nowhere and disappearing into nothingness. On one side of the stream, women lounged on puffy cushions the color of blushes, talking and laughing while their hands trailed into the water. Every so often one of the women would pull something that looked like a coin from the water, study it carefully, then, with a snap of her fingers, the coin would disappear in a puff of pink smoke.

On the far side of the stream, women sat comfortably cross-legged, dipping round hoops into the water. A young woman caught sight of her and called, "Greetings, Empousa!" and soon the rest of the Dream Weavers greeted her.

"Don't let me interrupt you; I just want to watch," Mikki assured them. Then she lowered her voice and moved closer to Asterius. "Okay, what are they doing?"

"The stream carries coins from all of the wishing wells in the mundane world. The women choose a coin, and if they like the wish, they turn it into a dream."

"What if they don't like it?"

"It stays in the stream and eventually becomes the sludge from which nightmares are formed."

"Can't they throw them away or something? I hate nightmares."

"There must be balance, Mikado. Light - dark, good - evil, life - death. Without balance, the circle of life would collapse."

"I still don't like nightmares," she grumbled. Then Mikki pointed to the women with the hoops. "What are they doing?"

"They're finding the right mixture of dreams, water, and magick to make scrying mirrors."

"Scrying mirrors?"

"Mirrors used for second sight - for discerning that which cannot be seen with the eye alone."

"Really? That's fascinating. You know, I think I'd like to get a closer look." Mikki marched over to one of the women fishing for coins.

"I would be honored if you would join me, Empousa." She smiled warmly at Mikki and scooted over to make room for her on the cushion.

Mikki sat and looked down into the water. It was clear, tumbling hurriedly over the white sand that formed the bottom of the magickal stream. Then a circle of silver rolled into view, and without letting herself think too much, she plunged her hand in after it. The water was pleasantly warm, a nice contrast to the cool room. Her fingers closed around the coin. Smiling triumphantly, she lifted it, dripping.

"Well done, Empousa." Asterius's deep voice rumbled from beside her. "Now look into it and see if the wish is a dream you will grant."

Mikki narrowed her eyes and stared at the coin. With a little shock, she realized she was holding a quarter! The mint date stamped on it was 1995. It was just a plain, ordinary quarter. No different than the ones she'd been seeing, and spending, her entire life. How could there be any magick within -

The skin of the coin rippled, and she almost dropped it. She looked closer. It was like putting her eyes to one of those old view masters, only the scene within the coin moved like a video. A man and a woman lay on a sheepskin rug in front of a crackling fireplace. They were naked and making love. Mikki could hear him telling her over and over how beautiful she was and how she tasted of honey and love. Then, as the woman orgasmed, snow began to fall in the room all around the couple, without touching them or getting them wet.

"Do you grant that the wish be made a dream?" Asterius asked.

Mikki looked from the erotic scene to the beast who stood beside her. She licked her lips, letting her gaze travel up the muscular expanse of his chest to the fullness of his very human lips. "Yes, I grant it," she said. Without having to be told what to do next, she snapped her fingers and the coin exploded in a puff of pink smoke, which drifted lazily up and then through the ceiling.