Someone bumped into her from behind, but Dania was having such a good time, she barely noticed. Music thumped through the air, its rhythmic beat echoing in her chest as she bobbed her head in time and wound her way through the press of bodies. Some of them pressed back, a clear invitation to join them in gyrating together on what passed for a dance floor at the Sigma Kappa Gamma house. In any other house, it would have been a beautiful showplace of a living room, with the wide glass doors that opened onto the back patio with the pool.

Shame it's a fraternity house, Dania thought. This place would be gorgeous if someone, you know, took care of it.

The crowd opened up in front of her for a split second, allowing her to glimpse a set of stairs leading upward. Had she been heading that way? She thought so, so she lifted the red solo cup she hadn't realized she'd been holding higher, and continued to weave through the alcohol-laden swirl of college kids toward her goal.

My goal. What is my goal? What am I doing here?

"Dani!" Berto called out as he stepped out of the crowd, wrapping one arm around her waist and hauling her in close to him. The move startled her, and she blinked up at him before grinning.

"Berto!" she laughed. "Are you drunk? What are you doing at a college party? You're way too old to be here!"

"You wanted to see me, so I came." Berto did a good job of not slurring his words, despite the obvious scent of tequila on his breath. He grinned at her, and then swooped in to capture her mouth in a hard, surprisingly intense kiss.

"Whoa!" Dani backed away and pushed against his chest. "Berto, what are you doing? We're friends!"

"Why can't we be more, Dani? I always wanted to ask you that."

"Why—? Berto. Are you serious? You've never wanted me like that."

"Psssshhhh. You know that's not true. I'm just good at hiding it."

"Berto—" The music changed, and two scantily dressed coeds came running down the stairs, giggling as they tried to keep their drinks from spilling. Dania barely managed to dodge the second one by twisting her body to the side, and when she turned back, Berto was gone.

"Berto?" she called out, looking around. "Berto, where did you go? We gotta talk about this!" The last thing she wanted was for something like this to come between them. Berto was a good friend; they'd looked out for each other in the Army, and now they continued to look out for each other. She'd been trying to reach him to ask about…

Something.

What was it? Frustration jolted through her like lightning. If only this stupid music wasn't so loud, and if only these college kids would back off and give her some space.

What am I even doing here anyway? I haven't been to a college party in years. Not since Kaylee died and—

Jake.

The moment she thought his name, Jake rounded the corner and appeared on the landing at the top of the stairs.

"Dani?"

"Jake! Oh thank all the gods!" She charged up the stairs, heedless of the young couple making out on the riser about halfway up. She wrapped Jake up in a hug as memory and awareness flooded back in.

"Where are we? Is this a party?"

"It's a dream, I think," Dania said. "We're in the first floor—

"Of the dream dungeon!" Excitement spiked through Jake's voice. "That's right! I remember! So… are we supposed to fight all of these people?"

"I hope not." Dania touched her chest, only to realize that her deck was already out. She just hadn't noticed while she was lost in the illusion of the dream. "But you may want to get ready, just in case."

"I am always ready," Machairi said from a step behind Jake. Dania would have sworn he wasn't there a minute ago, but then, this was a dream, so what did she know?

"Only because I just played you," Jake shot back to the card. He sounded exactly like a kid his age should when messing with a best friend, and Dania didn't know whether to be happy or disturbed by that.

"Is Hush with you?" Dania asked, looking around and deliberately trying to turn her thoughts to something more productive. More than one of the partygoers had turned to look at their little group on the landing. The music still thumped through the place, but she started to pick up a susurrus of muttering and whispers as more and more eyes turned their way.

"He goes where he wills," Machairi said, and Dania spared him an irritated glance. How was that helpful? But she had bigger worries on her mind, as several strapping young men started to push through the crowd toward them.

"Upstairs," she hissed. "Quickly, maybe we can find another way out."

Jake turned without argument and began to run up the second flight to the long, narrow hallway at the top. Dania followed close on his heels, just as the music cut out with a stereotypical needle screech.

Are they using a turntable? the back corner of her mind wondered while most of her brain focused on trying to open the doors that lined the hallway and hoping she didn't burst in on any conjugal activities in the process.

No sex, and also a balcony would be nice, she thought with no small amount of sarcasm as she twisted the handle of the fourth door on the right. To her mingled surprise and dread, the handle turned, and the door swung open. Behind and below, the sounds of muffled shouts and booted feet drifted up to them.

"Jake! Inside!" she hissed, waving him forward. "And close your eyes," she added as she followed him in, pulling the door closed behind her and turning to lock it.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was already locked.

"Why close my eyes?" Jake asked. "That seems really stupid! We don't know what we're walking into."

"Exactly," Dania said, turning around and bracing herself to see…

An empty room, with a large, brass bed in the center of the room, and a pair of half-open French doors, whose white sheer curtains fluttered in the night breeze.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the secret achievement: Lucid Dreamer. You have earned 100 experience points. You have leveled up! You are now level eight!

"Dani!" Jake said excitedly, "Look!" He pointed to the shadow under the bed, and as Dania watched, a long-taloned hand stretched forth, followed by another, and a featureless face with burning black eyes and a wide shark-toothed grin as Hush pulled himself out from under the bed.

"Welll done, Nyxxx'ss Chossenn," Hush said. "I coulllld noot joinnn youuu untilll youuu willled it. You annddd my deckbearrrer have unlloccked theee secrrrrret tooo thisss flooor. It isss a luccciddd drrrreaaam."

"What does that mean?" Jake turned questioning eyes to Dania.

"It means… I think we're in charge," Dania said. "Or at least, we can change things within the dream."

"Are we in control, Hush?" Jake asked.

"Youuu arrre in contrrrrolll offf youuu. Therrre arrre otherrrsss drrreaming herrre."

"Other deckbearers?" Dania's spine stiffened.

"Onnnccee, perrrhaps."

Before Dania could get clarification on Hush's ever-more cryptic statements, something heavy slammed into the door, rattling it against its hinges and cracking the door frame. Dania spun back to face the door, angling to put her body between Jake and whoever was on the other side.

BAM!

They aren't going to be on the other side for long, Dania thought, as another dark crack appeared above the door's latch and snaked its way up the doorframe.

"Jake, can you pull your mantle?" She muttered softly, looking at her own cards. She hadn't pulled her Tar Pit, but maybe her Dire Wolf Best Beta could buy her some time…

"Already done," Jake said. "And I have an idea."

Dania glanced over her shoulder to see Jake touch one of the black-edged cards that floated in front of his chest. Instead of spiraling to the ground, however, the black light spun itself into a needle point and arrowed right for the space between Dania's shoulder blades. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came from her mouth.

The moonlight that spilled in through the French doors suddenly dimmed, and what little color she could see on the filthy rug in front of the bed leached away. She looked down at her hands to see that they'd become insubstantial, like smoke on a shadow.

"I played Become Shadow on you," Jake said, his voice low and fast. "You're immune to all non-Light effects and attacks. And it should make it easier for you to hide. If they come in here looking for a kid and a woman and don't find us, maybe they'll stop looking!"

Dania wanted to argue, but another loud bang reverberated through the room, followed by a distinct cracking noise. As she watched, Jake—now looking like a grown man with his mantle on—squared his shoulders and stepped in front of the door. For lack of any better option, she crouched down behind the bed, joining the shadows there.

The door slammed open, and a trio of apparently drunken fraternity brothers stumbled in.

"Why," Jake said, his voice low and dangerous, "have you broken into my room, brothers?"

That startled the lead brother. He blinked owlishly at Jake, swaying on his feet. "Someone's not 'upposed to be here. Uninitiated. S'a private party."

"Then you should go and find them," Jake said smoothly.

"But who're you?"

"I'm an alumnus," Jake said. "Visiting. See?" He reached inside the neck of his shirt and pulled out a chain with Greek letters prominently stamped on a pendant. "Checking on you for the national council. We're evaluating your performance this semester, and this party is part of your test."

How the fuck does Jake know so much about fraternities? Dania wondered. But then that thought slipped away as she caught sight of Machairi moving silently toward the battered door.

"S'a private party," the lead brother insisted. "Not 'upposed to be here."

The light from the window bloomed, making Dania blink as she regained her usual corporeal state. Before any of the drunken brothers could react, Machairi slammed the door behind them and leapt to the attack.

There's a lock on that door! Dania thought. And sure enough, when she looked again, she could see a metal padlock securing a hinged latch that extended to the wall itself.

Then she threw out her Best Beta, and the fight was on.

For all their leaders' bluster, the three brothers went down fairly easily. Machairi got one with his first attack, and her Best Beta tore the throat out of a second before assisting Jake's Shadow Goblin with the leader.

The leader didn't appear to notice either the hulking Dire Wolf Beta or the Shadow Goblin that darted around behind him. He threw a horribly telegraphed punch at Jake, who easily sidestepped and watched as the leader stumbled forward to trip on the rug and land on his face.

As soon as he impacted, the lead brother dissipated into wisps of purplish-black smoke, as did his two henchmen. In their place lay three black edged cards.

Congratulations. You have defeated the Drunken Frat Bros. You have received 75 experience points! You have leveled up. You are now level nine!

"Grab those, Jake," Dania said, pointing to the cards as she dismissed the notification. "And let's get the hell out of this stupid fraternity house."

"Howww willl youuu leave?" Hush asked. Dania glanced over at him.

"Hey, welcome back. Nice of you to chime in when the fight's over."

"Youuu did not neeeed myyy asssistance. But howww willll youuu leave?"

"Um—oh!" Dania said as she caught on. This is a lucid dream. I have to change my environment to make it work. "We will use the balcony and…the fire escape leading down from it?"

Hush's terrifying grin widened. "Excelllllent."

And that was what they did. As soon as she stepped out onto the balcony, Dania could see the rickety stairs leading down the side of the fraternity house to a narrow, overgrown side yard dotted with empty beer bottles and various other bits of trash.

Is there any rule that says fraternities need to be gross? Dania wondered as she climbed down. But she let that thought slip away as soon as her feet touched the grass below.

"Where do we go now?" Jake whispered as he came up next to her. His mantle had dissipated back into his deck, and so he was back to his usual fourteen-year old self. Dania was so grateful he had such a powerful defensive mantle, but she had to admit that the darkly intimidating adult aspect it gave Jake was more than a little unsettling.

"Um… out to the street, I guess?" Dania said with a shrug. Jake returned the gesture, and they set out, picking their way through the grass.

I should have lucid dreamed a manicured lawn, Dania thought, but by that time they'd made it to the sidewalk that fronted the street. She glanced back over her shoulder at the shadowy bulk of the gorgeous old mansion that had been turned into a fraternity house. The windows blazed with light, and music once again thumped from inside. Despite herself, the sight of it made Dania smile.

"I guess an eternal fraternity party must be someone's dream," she said, slinging an arm around Jake's shoulders. Gods above and below, he's nearly as tall as me! When the fuck did that happen?

"I can think of worse things," Jake said with a grin.

"So can I. And really, we didn't do too badly in there."

"We might be a bit OP for the first floor," Jake said with a half shrug. "I mean, since we got 75 experience each for three enemies and we're level eight, they were likely level four, half ours—so fifty experience per enemy, since an on-level enemy is 100 xp. In this case, it'd be multiplied by three, then divided by the two of us. Plus, the first test wasn't even a fight—just figure the trick out for a free level. It definitely feels like a starter level. I bet things get harder as we go along."

"I'm sure you're right. Still, we can take the win, right?"

"Absolutely."

She pulled him into a quick side hug, and then let go and stepped into the street.

"You have reached the waking point for this floor," the voice that was somehow everywhere and nowhere said. "Do you wish to wake, or continue on your journey into the Shadow of the Mind?"

Dania looked at Jake, her eyebrows raised. He nodded enthusiastically, and she rolled her shoulders back.

"We will continue," she said.

Once again, she fell.