Chapter 1
People of the Alliance (Also referred to as Magiks) Protection Act -
Demoniac magic regulation.
Preamble In recognition and acknowledgment of the presence, influence, and inherent dangers of demon magic, the Government hereby enacts the following regulations through the Bureau of Interspecies Relations.
Article I: Definitions
Section 1.01
a. Demon Magic: Refers to any form of magic derived from or facilitated by demonic entities as listed in the People of the Alliance Protection Act.
b. Dream Magic: A specialized form of demon magic focused on the creation or manipulation of dreams, allowing demons to interact with citizens within the Dreamscape.
c. Nightmare Magic: A specialized form of demon magic focused on the creation or manipulation of nightmares, allowing demons to interact with citizens within the Dreamscape.
d. Demon Powers: Any abilities that enable a demon to exert influence upon the physical world, including but not limited to telekinesis, possession, or physical manifestation.
Article II: General Provisions on Demon Magic
Section 2.01 Purpose and Objectives
a. The practice of demon magic is authorized solely under the conditions prescribed by this Act.
b. Demons are permitted to exercise Dream Magic and Nightmare Magic exclusively within the Dreamscape. Under no circumstance may they employ their Demon powers outside the dreamscape.
c. Demons, whether Dream Demons (the Weavers) or Nightmare Demons (Dream Devils), are expressly forbidden from disclosing their involvement with the Dreamscape to any other creature. This prohibition is in place to prevent any interference or intervention in the Dreamscape by outside forces.
d. ...
e. The use of Dream Magic and Nightmare Magic must not result in physical harm or death to any individual.
Section 2.02
A comprehensive registry of demons authorized to practice Dream Magic and Nightmare Magic shall be maintained by the Bureau of Interspecies Relations— Dreamscape Oversight Division, ensuring transparency and regulatory compliance.
Article III: Local Authority and Protective Measures
a. Municipalities, cities, and towns are vested with the authority to enact protective measures against demon magic as deemed necessary, provided such measures adhere to principles of reasonableness and fairness.
b....
c. ...
d. ...
e. All local protective measures must be submitted to the Bureau of Interspecies Relations—Dreamscape Oversight Division for review and approval to ensure alignment with national standards and prevent any misuse of power.
Article IV: Enforcement and Penalties
a. Violations of this Act shall be subject to penalties, which may include fines, imprisonment, or permanent banishment of the demon from the physical realm. The demon's access to Dream Magic and Nightmare Magic can be confiscated as deemed necessary to ensure compliance and public safety.
b. Any party aggrieved by enforcement actions under this Act may appeal to the Bureau of Interspecies Relations—Dreamscape Oversight Tribunal, whose decisions shall be final and binding.
~*~
Dreamscape – Nightmares Division HQ
“She might as well live under a dome of iron encircled with salt.”
From behind his onyx desk, as black as his tailored suit, Dorian rested his temple on long, elegant fingers. “Oh?”
Hunter’s sapphire eyes rolled so high they threatened to vanish into his skull.
No human, or magik, for that matter, would dare that gesture, but Hunter was the best Dream Devil of the Dreamscape Nightmares section, second only to Dorian himself.
And he and Dorian were the only two Tulpa demons in existence.
All this to say, Hunter had a little more leeway than the average individual.
Still, Dorian considered setting his psyche on fire just to keep the hierarchy clear.
But then, he realized he would have to wait for Hunter to heal and build back to finally have the entire story, and he didn’t have the patience for it.
“Care to give me the long version of yet another utter failure?” he demanded in a mild voice.
“There’s only one version, and it’s very short.
” Hunter leaned back in the chair. “Her subconscious is inaccessible. I tried every night for over a week, and nothing. You know I wouldn’t need anything more than a sliver to get in.
” He made a line in the air with his hand.
“Nothing. The woman blocks all her emotions. Refuses them straight up.”
“Preposterous. No creature is built that way.”
“She wasn’t always like that. I checked the logs at the registry, talked with some of the Dream Devils who dealt with her in the past, and they had no issues until a year back. The door to her emotions started closing, and now it’s shut–to Dream Devils. The Weavers are just fine.”
Hunter was always thorough; he had to give him that. Another reason why he was so good, and why Dorian had sent him when he’d started getting complaints about a woman whose unconscious mind could not be accessed.
A situation both frustrating and interesting at the same time.
Dorian left his desk and walked to the window facing the eternal night of the Dreamscape Nightmare section.
Shadows of menacing forms, glowing eyes, and flickering ghostly apparitions moved with purpose through buildings either distorted, crumbling, or filled with terrors.
His Dream Devils were hard at work, as they had been since way before the Dreamscape was made.
This woman was upending millennia of natural behavior.
Nightmares were a necessary evil.
Humans took their bloody time understanding how nightmares helped all sentient creatures to process their fears and regulate emotion too big to cope with logically. They helped with problem-solving and creative thinking.
Of course, they could also be a nice, extremely satisfying way to punish some scum that deserved to suffer.
Ah, those days had been Dorian’s favorites, back when nightmares were unregulated, and he led the Devils wildly and freely.
There was nothing like bringing a black heart to absolute, unadulterated madness.
Driving an individual to insanity or worse was against the law now.
Technically. He still did it every now and then when things needed to happen under the radar of the Dreamscape Oversight Division.
Always good times.
And as for now...
Dorian turned around and took his seat at his desk once again. “I’ll deal with her.”
Hunter’s eyes grew huge in his angelic face, and he leaned forward on his chair. “What now?”
Dorian checked the knot of his tie, pulling at the shirt sleeve under his jacket.
“I’ll do it. And if I fail, if her subconscious really is locked in so tight, then we have to understand why and how to access it.
It can’t be done from the Dream Plane, for obvious reason, so I’m going to spend a couple of days in the Physical Plane and see what can be done from that side. ”
“Makes sense,” Hunter agreed. “You’re gonna have to check with whoever is in charge of the Demoniac magic regulations there. Last thing you want is to break some law and end up dealing with the Dreamscape Oversight Tribunal. They can be such assholes.”
Didn’t Dorian know it. He sighed. “It’ll be alright.”
~*~
Mystic Hollow ~ December 1
Amelia Heart sat in front of the newish table where a small nick in the veneer revealed the cheaper material beneath.
Smoldering flames of the nearby fireplace danced in her peripheral vision, and the scent of woodsmoke lingered on the magnolia-painted walls.
It was a recently built house, with expansive windows that framed naked branches of trees.
Outside, the unforgiving winter wind howled like an angry wolf, rattling the windowpanes of the house that would be home for the next three months.
Slowly, she put her tingling, trembling palms on the cold surface in front of her, closing her eyes.
It wasn’t easy breathing through a tight chest and with such a crazy heartbeat, nausea threatening to send her light breakfast from her stomach to the floor.
But she knew how to get through it.
Breathe in; hold that breath; breathe out.
Panic disorders associated with stressors, the doctor had said.
Whatever.
Panic attacks were not real.
Or, they were a real response to an unreal danger. Which meant she could control her emotions—she wasn’t an animal—and guide her mind and body back to reality’s quiet.
She could and would control it.
She could and would control everything she wanted to.
See?
Her heart had already started to slow down, the hot chills less annoying.
Just a few more breaths, and she would be ready.
For doing what? her brain asked. It’s not like you have a job.
Amelia opened her eyes.
First of all, she still had a job.
Second, she had a lot of things to do.
She might be only a two-hour flight from San Francisco, but she was going to stay in Mystic Hollow, WA, for a little over 90 days, and even a temporary move this little required work.
She had to check with the firm’s HR that they switched the utilities in her name, make a list of the doctors nearby for emergencies, research grocery shopping places, unpack, go out and buy food—disregard.
She would shop online and pick it up. Surely, they offered such service even in a town this small and tucked in the mountains.
She walked to her bags lined up in the hall, opened the big front pocket of a suitcase, and took a notepad and a pencil, then her laptop.
“Time to get to work and write some nice list,” she said to the empty kitchen. “Panic attacks,” she scoffed.
She’ll take the time off like a paid studying vacation and be back where she belonged—at the firm and in court—more lethal than before. Airtight case.
~*~
Dorian wasn’t surprised to find Lachlan Fraser, Sorcerer Magnus and Mystic Hollow Major, ready for him when he entered his office—after politely knocking at his door.
The Scot had his hands linked in front of him, his elbows on the armrest of his office chair, and his blue eyes directed at him. “I felt you coming.”
Dorian sighed and sat on the chair on the other side of the desk. “Of course you did. All your bells and whistles must have made quite the racket.”
Only the side, one side, of Fraser’s mouth quirked up. “I had to give them up a wee back.”
“Pity.”
Lachlan sat back, unhappy by the visit but relaxed. “Tell me, do ye only use that fancy Brit accent to get a rise out of me?”
“Please,” Dorian said with a swat of his hand. “Don’t give yourself all this importance. I find this accent suits me, as does this, um, exterior.” He sighed again. “I can hardly come down here as dark fog or a monster. It would be overly distracting to the people.”
“Best case scenario would be ye not coming here at all.”
“True, true.” Dorian crossed a long leg. “I’m here on business.”
Lachlan’s ginger eyebrows shot up. “Ye are?”
He and Lachlan had crossed paths a few times in the past couple of centuries, and while they weren’t on friendly terms—the stubborn sorcerer could not get past Dorian’s state of being a demon—Lachlan was a fair man and recognized Dorian and his Dream Devils were a necessary evil.
He would understand this peculiar situation.
“My Dream Devils are having issues with a woman that’s within your town’s boundaries. ”
“Ye’re not haunting in Mystic Hollow.”
“Keep your feathers unruffled, wizard.” Dorian chuckled at Lachlan’s face. “Still don’t like the word, do you?”
“I can banish yer arse before ye can say ‘whisky, imp.”
“Possibly. But then you’d have to explain why you did such a harsh and unnecessary thing to the Dreamscape Tribunal, and I’m sure you’re aware of how much of a pain that is. We’re not haunting anyone, by the way.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a puzzling thing, really. My Dream Devils can’t access her subconscious and help her. She went through a divorce last year, that much we know, but we can’t see the entire picture from the Dream Plane. She’s... locked in.”
“Have ye tried?”
“While I’m touched by your faith in me, I must admit defeat. Since she’s unreachable from my side, and we can’t stalk, I need to understand what’s going on with her from here. Figure a way in.” Dorian shook his head. “A puzzling woman, indeed.”
Lachlan leaned forward. “Ye’re telling me ye want to stay here, meet this woman, and do what exactly? Ye can’t probe her mind in the Physical Plane while she’s awake; it’s against the law.”
“Technically, only manipulating her mind is against the law. Telepathy is not. Which is what I need to do.”
“Did ye run this with the Dreamscape Division?”
“I came to you, hoping to avoid paperwork for both of us.”
Lachlan sat back, running a hand through his hair. “No magic.”
“None that’s against the law.”
“Are ye going incognito?”
“In a way. You should know I can’t quite walk up to her and tell her who I am or why I’m here. But I can’t pretend I’m human either.”
Lachlan nodded. “How long will ye be here for?”
“The shortest possible time.”
Lachlan rolled his eyes. “I guess I don’t have enough grounds to say no to ye.”
“My entire existence is a means to an end. I’m here to help her.”
“Right, and I’m the King of England. Ye’re here because ye can’t get through her, and it’s driving you mad.”
Dorian shrugged. “It still doesn’t take away from helping her.”
“Alright.” Lachlan released a long, pained breath. “Be as it must. But the first demon’s shite ye pull, ye’re out.”
“I will be nothing but a gentleman. Or gentledemon.”