Chapter 1
“Hannah, you must go to Furth im Wald, you must find Nathan Luther. He is the only one that can save you.”
As Hannah reached for her mother, she started to float away; always near but never close enough to touch. Why couldn’t she ever reach her mother? Straining to reach her, pushing against the incredible weight that seemed to hold her down, Hannah stretched her arm out until she was sure it would dislocate if she went any further.
“Nathan Luther, Hannah. Nathan Luther.” As her mother finally floated away into the ether Hannah woke from the dream that had been plaguing her ever since her mother passed away. Pushing her black hair back from her face she looked around her dark room.
“Seriously, Mum. This is how you haunt me? Why are you still haunting me, anyway? You’ve been dead for three months now! I have no idea who Nathan Luther is. The internet has no idea who Nathan Luther is. If the internet says they don’t exist, well then, they must not exist!” She spoke out loud, knowing that if her mother had actually been present she’d have never spoken to her that way. Hannah wasn’t actually sure if her mother really was haunting her. Perhaps it was her own psyche, her own thoughts harassing her while she slept, leftover guilt for not being there when her mother slipped away in her sleep.
She was starting to think the dream wasn’t going to leave her alone. Not until she went there. Going to her mobile phone, she flicked through screens until she found her banking application. Logging in she saw that her balance was finally in the positive. Her small inheritance from her mother wasn’t enough that she could term herself as rich, but at least she wasn’t going to starve for a while.
Curious, she looked up flights to the nearest airport to Furth im Wald and saw that she could get a hotel and a flight for less than some of her friends spent on a weekend out to the city. Making a snap decision, she booked the flight and the hotel and suddenly realized she wasn’t even sure which date the flight was for. Looking at her mobile again she saw she had less than 24 hours to pack and get ready. She thought about her best friend, Annie, as she started going through her clothes.
“She’s going to be so chuffed I’m going on an adventure on my own! Or in a mood. One of the two, but oh well, I’m going” she said as she giggled to herself.
“You are going to Germany in a few hours? On your own? With all of those hot guys, the even hotter women and without me? You little cow!”
“I take it that means you’re just a little shocked?” Hannah replied to Annie. They were sitting in a pub not far from Hannah’s apartment, having a pint before Hannah left for her trip to the airport. Hannah smiled at her blonde haired friend. Annie’s brown eyes had lit up when Hannah told her what was happening and she seemed really happy, adding to Hannah’s own sense of excitement.
“Just a bit, love. Just a bit. What brought this on?” Annie asked, taking a sip of her drink.
“You’ll laugh, you really will. That or send me away.” Hannah said with a laugh but growing serious, thinking about how to word what was happening. “I’ve been dreaming about Mum a lot. She’s the one that told me to go to Germany. I’d never even heard of Furth im Wald until I started dreaming about her. So I looked it up, it’s famous for dragons apparently. I dismissed it but I keep having the dream over and over, every night so I finally gave in.”
“Ah, right, I see why you’re rushing off then. A bit creepy but it seems that either your dear old Mum or your brain is telling you to go. Just make sure you call me every day!” Annie looked at Hannah sternly, but her face brightened as she cracked a smile. “How are you getting there? Do you want me to drive you down?”
“That would be great actually. I was just going to take the train but that takes ages doesn’t it? Thank you so much and thank you for supporting me! I really do appreciate it!” Hannah smiled at her friend. For the first time she was starting to feel nervous about her decision. Some friends of Annie’s came in and Hannah drifted into her own quiet world, imagining scenarios of what might happen when she got to Germany, wondering if there’d be pitchforks and burning torches in her future. Dismissing the thought, Hannah reminded herself Germany no longer lived in the Dark Ages. They didn’t burn witches anymore.
Hannah’s flight went well and she checked into her room without any problems. She loved the town, combining old world and new to create a unique culture that Hannah adored. She took a quick nap before heading out to explore, only to wake up panting because, yet again, her mum had been in the dream. This time, she’d been telling Hannah to go to the Dragon’s Inn.
“Great,” she said to herself, “at least Mum’s saying something different now I suppose.”
Hannah had spent most of the flight asking herself just exactly what she was doing. Losing her mind she suspected, but she’d resolved to pay attention to what was going on in her dreams since they’d brought her here. Going down to the front desk she asked if anybody knew how to get to the Dragon’s Inn. One of the girl’s there looked a bit confused that Hannah had asked for directions, but gave her what she asked for.
Dismissing the odd looks, Hannah left the hotel and went out in search of the place that she at least knew existed. Taking her time, she wandered the streets she’d been directed to go down and finally reached her destination. She understood the looks now; it was the German equivalent of a biker bar in America. Shiny chrome and black motorcycles lined the front, loud music seemed to roll out of the inside and loud voices seemed to be roaring over each other.
Hannah looked down at the white linen dress she had on, the sandals that were serviceable for walking but still pretty and wondered, once again, if she’d lost her mind. She wasn’t really going to go in there? Hannah pulled her shoulders back, took a deep breath and thought that this is where her mother wanted her to go; she must have a reason for it. Taking one more breath Hannah tucked her handbag against her side and walked in. Everybody in the place went quiet, staring at her. Lovely, one of those places.