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forgotten. Even Morpheus can’t bring humans into the Dream Realm. If he could, my mother’s body wouldn’t be languishing in a bed in Toronto, driving my family sick with concern because she wouldn’t wake up. I couldn’t bring her into the Dreaming either. Well, I could, but she wouldn’t be able to stay for any length of time. No human could. At least, no human that I knew of. I wasn’t about to say no as an absolute. After all, I was against all the laws of that world as well.
    I managed a smile. “Think I can scare them into leaving me alone?”
    “They can only affect you in this world,” he reminded me. “Not in the human realm. And while I can’t interfere with their process, I can make things very difficult for them if they overstep their boundaries.”
    That made me feel better—at least a little. Then I noticed the lines around his eyes and the circles beneath. He looked tired as well. I glanced at my mother. She was more than tired, she was scared.
    “Is there something you two aren’t telling me?” I asked. I admit, my fear was mostly for myself.
    Mom sighed. “I went into your sister Ivy’s dreams last night.”
    I knew she did that—in fact I had met her in one once. She did it with all my siblings. It was her way of checking in on her kids and grandchildren. No, I didn’t think it was the same as actually being there for them, but I knew it wasn’t an easy choice for her, and I was trying really hard not to judge her for it.
    “Is something wrong with Ivy?” Screw fear for myself. My oldest sister sometimes drove me to distraction, but I loved her to death. I loved all my siblings, even though they had no idea that I was more than human.
    Mom shook her head, wringing her delicate handsin her lap. “The specialist they’ve called in—Dr. Ravenelli—is coming by the day after tomorrow to examine me.”
    Oh, shit. A while ago my family had heard of this “doctor” who claimed he could bring mom out of the coma she was in. Apparently my family believed him because they’d hired him. How this man planned to sever the hold of the God of Dreams, I have no idea, but obviously my parents were concerned that he just might do it.
    Not, of course, that Ravenelli could have any idea just what he was up against, right?
    Or did he? I mean, it could just be a coincidence, but given everything else Morpheus’s enemies had tried, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were behind this. How much effort would it take to go into a dream and convince this guy that he could wake my mother? Worse, what if they told him how ?
    I looked at my father, my heart tripping. Coming after me was one thing, but my mother…“He’s no match for you, is he?”
    Morpheus shook his head. “Not for me, no.”
    My attention shot back to my mother. “You?”
    She was pale. “I’m scared that he will bring me back. And yet, part of me thinks I should just let him.”
    I raised my brows. This was new. “Really?”
    She nodded. “I’ve missed my family, Dawn. I’m not as cold and heartless as you think.”
    I didn’t reply. The jury was still out on that most days. I opened my mouth, but my father cut me off. “There’s nothing to worry about, Maggie. I’ve been in his dreams. He’s no threat. You’re not going anywhere.”
    He went to her and put his hands on her shoulders, standing behind her like some great avenging angel. She couldn’t see his face, but I could, and the look on it gave me a shiver. I pitied that specialist if he did manage to wake my mother. In fact, I pitied anyone who came between my parents. My father might be soft when it came to me and my mother, but he was a god, and historically speaking, gods don’t like to be crossed.
    Being his daughter, that technically made me a goddess—or at least half one. I didn’t like being crossed either, come to think of it. And I had no idea what I was capable of—except that I could do things that even Morpheus couldn’t.
    No wonder the Nightmare