Neil Harrison, demon warrior or unlucky civilian? Did he know he was fighting lower level demons, or think they were street punks? Was good old Neil leading a double life outside of the office job ? Jenna wondered, as she stared outside through the window of , Merlin's trunk. A self-made business owner; she had a passion for books, and Mr. Harrison. He intrigued her a great deal. Is  Neil one of the warriors? Was he a chosen one, meant to fight the seven demons? Each of the seven deadly sins had a specific demon ;to encourage the sin. Some specialized in lust, others were greed and gluttony. The worst case scenario, he was a mortal in the wrong place at the wrong time? That didn't happen often but it was a real mess when it did.

A full moon cycle after Neil fighting off those two street thugs; he began having strange dreams. He wasn't one to remember dreams, but this was different. There were 3 mythical creatures, 2 of them were unicorns, the last was a porcelain white horse. In the dream he stared at her, the most perfect creature he had ever seen. The magical horse kept him in a  trance. He was on a beach, it was a vivid dream. Seconds later he was wide awake.

In the following months Neil began to read and research dreams. He read articles on dreams, it was a new found passion. The last chapter he was reading before falling asleep that night; controlling your thoughts in dream and dream recovery. This night the dream wasn't the same. This time there was a new presence. He was still on the beach with the two unicorns. His favored porcelain white mare was there. This time there was a woman on his horse. It was as if she knew the creature, its soul. Neil's physical body twitched from the response of the dream. He didn't say a word to the fire red haired vixen on his magical white horse.

The red haired maiden simply nodded to him and again the dream vanished. Returning to the waking world once again, he quickly fumbled through the night stand drawer for a pen and a piece of paper. The dream had such an impact that he wanted to write it down. These strange dreams were getting to him. It progressed; soon he began to sleep more, napping on the couch in the early evenings. He wanted to see the red haired woman again. He wondered who she was and why he was suddenly dreaming of her. Neil began to question his sanity. Had he lost his mind?

It was another  moon cycle before he had the dream again. This time he was on the same majestic beach like before. There was a white mist. He could smell the sea; feel the sun on his back, gentle and soothing. Once the white mist cleared, he saw them. There was his favorite, the porcelain white horse in between the two unicorns.

That is where the dream ended for him. Once Neil realized he was awake, he quickly wrote down all that he could of it. He tucked his dream book back under his dark green pillow. He fell back to sleep hoping to dream of the red haired vixen again.

The next day Neil was more frustrated than normal. He slowly began to lose focus. It was little things at first. He was more curious about these strange and magical dreams. In his spare time he did nothing but dream research and dream work. He stumbled on dream meditation. He was very interested in this and began to read more on the subject. After searching for a while, he found a few candles and got right to work.

He immediately was able to put himself in a trance state. He stayed focused on the dream.  captivated, staying in that way for hours. His body jolted out of the meditative state He made sure the candles were extinguished, and then grabbed his notebook the only thing he would need before going to sleep that night.

It took no time at all before he was lost in that in between worlds, located just beyond awake and before sleep. Again he was there on the secluded beach and waited for the thick white mist to clear. He had the impatience of a child, hoping those magical creatures would be there again. It appeared to him that the mist had seemed to linger then it began to slowly evaporate. As it began to clear, he saw a shape in the fog. Then as it had cleared, there were the mythical creatures and on his favorite horse, the young vixen. The woman turned to look at him .

"Wait, please don't go." He begged the woman on his horse.

"Yes mortal, what is it?" 

He was stunned, and then he thought quickly, "Why are you on my horse?"

"She belongs to no one, and she is a child unicorn, not a horse." She corrected the mortal.

"I'm sorry miss. Tell me why you're in my dreams?" 

"I don't know, you summoned me, sir."

The dream state ended abruptly and Neil flipped open his notebook. He wrote down what jumbled information remained in his memory. He then replaced his notebook, hoping to dream of her once more.

Half awake, he rolled over to check his digital bedside clock. At that very moment he was officially three hours late for work. He bolted up and out of the twin sized bed like a bottle rocket.

"Oh shit!" realizing how late it had been.

Neil was never late for anything, especially work. He had to this day, not called in sick for over seven years. He could not believe he had slept so late. He needed to get ready as soon as possible.

                                               When Neil made it to work, he parked his dark blue civic in the closest spot. He walked as quickly as he could to get in the building, he was already late. Neil was a bit of a perfectionist, especially with his career. He started to worry that Bill might fire him. Neil slowly turned the door knob to Bill's office. When he did Bill looked up from his desk to see Neil standing there.

"Neil, What in the hell happened?" Bill demanded.

"Sir I am so sorry. I overslept and that has never happened before." 

There was nothing but silence. Bill just looked at him for what felt like forever. Neil did know what else to say or do so he just stood there, waiting for his boss to say something.

"Neil you have worked here what eight years now?" Bill asked rhetorically.

"This would also be you first real screw up, right?" Neil nodded in agreement.

"Just this once, I will let it go, but remember that I will not be this forgiving in the future." He warned Neil with a strong firm tone.

"Yes, thank you sir." Neil told him with gratitude, and then shook Bill's hand before heading off to his own office.

As Neil walked the hallway to his office, a few of his coworkers were staring at him. They could not believe that  Neil Harrison was hours late for work.

chapter 1, part 2

She kept staring at the front door of the bookstore. Every time someone came in, she would look up. She was waiting for him, like a siren. She never chased after men, this was different. Jenna shook her head and told herself to lay off the romance novels. She tried to stay focused on her bookstore, instead of daydreaming about the guy.

She knew at some point he would probably return. She just wished it would be today. She sighed staring at the front door. She saw a few more customers come in the front door but not him.

So why was she so worried about this guy? What was the deal? These questions took control of her mind through most of the day. She usually closed the store at five o'clock during the week, but she had this impulse to stay open until six thirty. She did not know where that came from, but as usual she followed the instinct. She stayed open late with a cup of coffee and a nice suspense novel. Those were her comforts.

She lived alone in a small apartment not far from her book store, Merlin's trunk. She thought it sounded like an attention grabbing name. She kept the store open late, but sent home her employees. She stayed, there was some reason she had decided to stay open for another hour and a half. She sipped her cup of gourmet coffee, and she waited until six thirty. She had gotten involved with the book she was reading, someone walked through the front door.

She could not believe how dead on her intuition had become over the last few years. It had started when she was a young, around the age of four or five years old. She did not tell others about these things, they were kept secret. There were days it felt like a gift and other days it had felt like a curse. When the front door opened she looked up. It was Neil standing there the time on the wall clock said six twenty nine pm. She wanted to laugh. She smiled; glad to see he had come to the store.

"Neil, are you looking for a book? I can help you find anything in the store." Jenna greeted him, and then it dawned on her as to how flustered she must have sounded. She looked around for a rock to crawl under but there wasn't one.

"Hello, Jenna isn't it?" He asked unsure if he had remembered her name. She nodded in agreement. Good he thought.

"I am looking for another dream book." He informed her. She smiled.

"Come on and follow me, I'll take you to them." She responded to him in the sweetest tone he had ever heard.

"Do you like to read?" way to go Mr. obvious, he thought.

"Yes, I love to read." She replied trying not to laugh, it was apparent he was trying to be polite.

"I noticed you have been buying dream books." She stated to keep him talking to her.

"Yes, it had become a recent hobby of mine." Neil replied.

"That's great; I also have an interest in dreams, what they mean and other things of that nature." Jenna replied. After a long moment of silence, he responded.

"Would you like to go for a cup of coffee?" He offered, unsure as to why he did. It was as if he was a puppet and some other part of him was controlling the strings.

"Sure just let me lock up for the night." Jenna replied, trying to contain her emotions.

                                                      The two of them decided to go to the café around the corner. Once the two of them made it in to the little coffee shop, they immediately found a quiet table. The cashier took their order. When the coffee was ready, Neil and Jenna sat down together. Jenna wasn't sure what to say but knew one of them needed to break the silence.

"I like the coffee here, this is a nice place." Jenna commented, hoping to keep things from being awkward for either of them.

"Yes it is a nice place; I have always liked it here." Neil agreed with her.

"I think I have been here a couple of times. Thank you for bringing me." She replied and then smiled at him.

"Neil, how long have you been reading about dreams?" Jenna asked, to get the conversation going.

"For the last couple of months I have been having some strange dreams, so I thought I would start to read about them." Neil replied to her with an honest heart. She smiled softly.

"I feel the same, when you start to have some memorable dreams, you wonder if there is more to it than just a dream." Neil drank his coffee down until the cup was empty. He listened to her intently, having a great time with her. He was glad that she agreed to have coffee with him.

"Yes, that is it I feel the exact same way. I'm going to order another cup, would you like one?" he offered to her.

"Yes, I think so." Jenna answered him. Neil got up from the seat, went to the cashier and ordered two more cups. He returned quickly. Jenna was glad to get him to talk a little. That would help.

She was more than happy to ensure another coffee date. There was something she could see in his soul, but she did not know what. She just knew it was there. She hoped to be seeing him again soon. Jenna had to get up early, to open the store in the morning. She went to bed at a decent hour, after a little time to unwind. She slept well that night, thinking about Neil.

A few days after his coffee date, Neil was sitting in his office thinking about his date with the store owner. She was a sweet and attractive woman. You could see a deep kindness in her eyes, it seemed almost mystical to him. He had planned to see her again soon, maybe he would stop by on his lunch break, see what other dream books he could find there.

He shook her off of his mind again, as  one date could affect him like this. Over the next hour he worked through the endless stack of papers on his desk. Sometime later he looked at the large round wall clock to see it was time for his lunch break. Finally, he thought to himself. He made sure to grab his wallet before heading out . He usually just worked through it.

Pete and Phil looked at Neil, bewildered. Mister straight and narrow, going out for lunch? Pete had seen Neil leave for lunch once in five years. Phil had never seen Neil leave for lunch.

He could walk to the bookstore in under fifteen minutes, power walking to get there faster. He didn't need a book, he could afford it and to see her he'd build his own library. He had noticed a lot of people out and it was a beautiful day. He made good timing he was able to weave through the downtown crowd. He had made it to Merlin's Trunk and went in.

                                             It wasn't packed with customers, but there were more than a few people there. He saw Jenna was busy with a customer so he headed to the section in the back. In a few minutes he found an interesting book, Dream Meditation, A beginner's guide. He looked around. He had been meaning to get another dream record book. He looked around until finding a good one. It was large black leather bound, blank book. It was perfect for his dream memories. When he was ready to check out, saw that Jenna was not busy and waved to her. She walked over.

"Neil, hey how are you?" Jenna asked him softly.

"Hi, I'm sorry I have not called you, I have had sleep issues lately but I wanted to see you again." He explained to her.

"Oh? It's okay, really." Jenna replied to his apology.

You are free for coffee after you close tonight? I'm on my lunch break, so I can't stay, but I wanted to see you." Neil replied hoping to ensure another date with her.

"I would love to; can we go to the café we went to the other night? I liked it."

" I was going to suggest it." He admitted to her. She was glad he remembered, that meant he was thinking about her. That was definitely a good sign, she thought.

" Good, it is settled. I'll meet you here around five?" Neil offered to her.

"Yes that would be fantastic, I accept." Jenna replied to him, and then kissed him softly.

Neil was not opposed to it, but more surprised than anything. Women did not just simply haul off and kiss him. Neil just kissed her back, with an uncontrollable force he did not know existed. It surprised him as well as Jenna who really did not mind this side of him. It was different. The two of them talked while he paid for his books, and headed back to the office to finish out the rest of the afternoon. He couldn't wait to meet Jenna after work for coffee.

After Neil left the store Jenna couldn't help but blush. He was a good kisser, that was for sure, wow. She was looking forward to seeing him after she closed. She liked the company. It was nice to meet a gentleman. It was also great that he was intelligent and liked to read and worked close to the bookstore. Something small, a neighborhood friendly store that people could go to, relax and enjoy.

"Yes Dale I'm fine why do you ask?" Neil wanted to know.

"You look like you have had a religious experience or something." 

"It's nothing like that I assure you."

"What is it then?" Dale asked. Dale was married with four kids; he had worked for the company as long as Neil had been there. Dale was a nice guy. He had always been a good friend to Neil.

"I met someone, were going out for coffee after work." 

"That is great man. I am happy for you, who is she?" Dale asked, sounding like one of the women at the water cooler.

"Her name is Jenna; she owns the bookstore not far from here." 

"The chick that runs Merlin's Trunk?" 

"Yes that's her. Do you know her or something?"

"Not really, I have been in there to get a few books for the kids, and you know my Sam, reading all of those romance books and home décor magazines." Dale told him kidding about his wife's taste in reading material.

Neil nodded to him and chuckled to be polite. He felt as if he were itching to get out of there to spend time with Jenna, it seemed as if she had some sort of magical pull to her.

After what seemed to be an eternity, it was five o'clock. Jenna was finishing up a few details in her office. When she saw what the time was she began jumping up and down. She stopped suddenly realizing her childish behavior. She sat in the lounge chair near the door and waited for Neil to meet her.

Neil happened to look at the wall clock to see seven minutes past five. He grabbed his things and bolted through the office door and down the hall. He practically ran the first three and a half blocks, until he became slightly down winded.

She in a single date had captivated him like no other woman had. If he did believe in voodoo he would swear she had bewitched him. Then for just a second he wondered if she had. He shook away the thought. He found a person he had a connection with, possibly a kindred spirit. There was nothing more to it than that, he though as he speed walked the last two blocks to Merlin's Trunk. He finally made it to Jenna's book store.

He slowly opened the door to see Jenna sitting in one of the lounge chairs near the front of the store. She stood up from the chair when she saw him enter.

"Jenna, hey are you ready?" Neil asked softly.

"Yes, let's go." She replied, glad that he wanted to see her again.

She had enjoyed their first date a few nights ago, now this time he might be more relaxed with her. Neil replied to her with a soft peck on the cheek and a smile. He was glad to spend more time with her. She walked down the sidewalk with him.

"I did not look to see when you were in this afternoon, what books did you buy?" Jenna asked him, curious.

"Oh, yes one is a guide to dream meditations and another was a blank book for the dreams." He answered her.

"How are the strange dreams going?" Jenna asked, she loved to talk of dreams. Hers were of falling, being stuck on a roller coaster out of control. Not often it would be of her drowning in the ocean.

"I have them a lot. I dream about the three unicorns and this fire-red haired woman. She is mounted on the smallest unicorn." Jenna listened to him

He took as long gulp of coffee before continuing on. "I also notice I have been sleeping a lot lately. I have the strangest feeling there are more to these dreams."

"You may be on to something; I have had some pretty wicked ones myself." Jenna admitted to him . She was glad to see him having a good time deep in conversation. She smiled and listened to him, fascinated by the discussion of dreams. She had done an extensive amount of research on the subject.

"Have you ever heard of the dream-shifters?" Jenna asked while Neil sipped the last of his coffee slowly.

"I can't say that I have, what is a dream shifter?" Neil asked with curiosity.

Jenna gulped down her coffee, he as a gentleman offered her more. She accepted and waited for him to get two more fresh cups for them. When he returned with their coffee, they went back to the conversation where it had left off.

"When a person's life is changing for whatever reason, a dream shifter sort of prepares the subconscious for the mind, body or spiritual transition." Jenna explained to him.

"What changes do you mean?" Neil asked very intrigued by the idea of this dream shifter.

"Such as changing from a boy to a man, or when your life path is going to change." She explained to him.

He nodded as he listened to her explain that the woman on the unicorn was there to help him. Neither of them could figure out why. The rest of the evening they talked about dreams, ways to remember them and meditation. This was a new thing for him, but found it fascinating. He also liked having things to talk about with Jenna. He was really starting to like being around her. She was a good teacher.

Jenna made things easy to understand. The two of them stayed out for most of the night He again offered to walk her to the book store. She suggested he walk her home. The evening ended with a glass of wine in her apartment and a good night kiss. He liked her apartment, it was organized and almost a shelf or two of books in every room. The carpeting was a dark tan, as was the couch. She had dark pink curtains; they looked nice with the rest of the decor.

He promised that he would call her tomorrow, after a long goodnight kiss. She smiled and hugged him before he left.

That same night he was not having a good night's rest. After walking Jenna home for the night, he went home and had a bite to eat, then began to lose himself in the dream meditation book. Neil was lost to the waking world, swimming through the land of dreams. Suddenly his dreams that were so peaceful and majestic turned for the worst.

                         Suddenly in the skies above him a crimson red thunder cloud rolled in, reminding him of a scene on the weather channel during a mid-western thunderstorm. Then a blot of neon purple lightning shot to the ground so fast he almost missed it. He could not believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. Once the neon purple lightning bolt stopped penetrating the ground near the massive flames in the canyons, creatures he'd never seen before had appeared in the distance. He was not sure if he should say hello or run like hell? He was unsure what to do, if anything. He was frozen where he stood. The creatures were closer to him now, almost close enough to see them. From yards away they looked like a small group of large dogs. When they were easier to see, he could tell he had been mistaken. These creatures were unrecognizable.

If it were genetically possible to cross a winged demon with a troll or goblin, that was what stood in front of him, three of them stared him down. He was not sure, this was weird. He usually had dreams lately; this seemed to be a vivid nightmare. He didn't understand. It had been a long time since he had nightmares. He was not sure if these critters spoke or not, but he had to do something. He smiled, hoping these creatures were friendly, but in the back of his mind he knew better. He still had to try. Neil was normal, but he never gave up on anything.

"Hello there, are you lost?" He tried to be friendly, to offer assistance. The three creatures started to laugh and snort at him. "What's going on? I'm confused."

"So are we. You are Neil?" They asked to make certain it was him.

"Yes I am. How did you know that?" He was curious and freaked out. The three creatures started to laugh in hysterics.

"Do you believe this? This guy is the hunter? The great demon warrior is this fellow?" The creature spoke to the one on his left.

"I am hallucinating, that has to be it." Neil spoke out loud.

The creatures shook their heads, black with scales and horns. They could not believe this was the  hunter. This guy looks like he wouldn't be able to defend himself against a kitten. They could report back to the demons, they don't have a thing to worry about in the physical world. This guy looked like a total wimp. He probably didn't know the first thing about mental attacks. They found it to be hilarious, he looked like an accountant. They couldn't get why they were sent to this wretched place to spy on a demon warrior that looked like he couldn't hunt down a mouse. The three of them started to head back to the underworld portal.

"Hey, wait a minute, I am no warrior. I think you got the wrong guy." Neil shouted after the strange beings. He was confused, and had no way to just fix it, like he did in the waking world. One of them turned and looked at him teeth showing. Its fangs were huge, like the fictional Dracula. He shuddered in fear.

" We don't make mistakes. You haven't figured out what you are but you will." The creature then turned and left to catch up to the other two creatures.

Once they left Neil standing there, the ground began to shake with a violent force. The boulders and canyons burst into a neon red flame surrounding him. He panicked and began screaming in his sleep. The jerking and thrashing motions caused him to fall out of bed. He smacked his head on the hardwood floor.

Over the next few days, Neil was exhausted. He had felt as if someone had drained him of all life. He didn't understand how he could be this tired. He was barley in his mid- thirties. He muttered around the apartment. It was his day off. He really liked having a little time to read and work on his dream theories. He got a fresh cup of coffee and then he walked over to his breakfast nook. He grabbed his new book and began to read the next several chapters of it. By late morning he realized how much time had escaped his attention. He stretched his muscles, and then got up. He thought he'd get ready, head off to Merlin's Trunk and see Jenna.

That morning she had been swamped. The store had just gotten the first shipment in a new true crime series. Its popularity was more than unexpected. The book store was at full capacity. Jenna had been running around like she was a lunatic. The store was full of excitement. Her newest employee, Katie looked like she could have a coronary attack any moment. Jenna understood, she had felt that way the first time she had an event planned that went over a little too well.

Katie stayed by the register, helping customers.

He walked to the front register and read the name on the girl's tag. 

"May I help you sir?" 

"I am looking for Jenna." He replied, being direct and to the point.

"She is restocking the shelves." Katie stood on her tip toes, to just barely peer over the shelves. "There in the new age section in the back." She pointed him in the right direction.

"Thank you, Katie." He then walked to the back of the store.

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