“You know about me?” I asked with surprise.
“Yes. You’re the next leader of the Tydes. I’ve heard Nadia talk about you,” she glanced down at her hands and then back at me through her lashes, as if afraid she’d anger me. “She’s not very fond of you and she doesn’t want you to fulfill your destiny.”
“I’ve definitely gathered that, I just can’t figure out why.” I rubbed a hand over my face in frustration.
“I was a Siren,” she whispered.
“What?” I looked up at her with astonishment.
“I was a Siren,” she repeated tentatively, “I never knew anyone in the other Orders. Your friends? They’re Tydes too?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, and she smiled shyly again.
“Can I be your friend?”
“Of course you can, Bianca. You’ll always be my friend.”
Chapter 20
My alarm clock was in the process of burning a blue 2:13am into my retinas as I wondered for the hundredth time how I was going to coax myself into falling asleep. After Bianca left, I crawled under my covers and tried to pretend that all was right with the world and I had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I wasn’t good at lying to others and I was especially not good at lying to myself. To ward off the blue glare of the clock, I reached over and turned on the small lamp sitting on my nightstand. Not sleeping for the next week was not an option, so I needed to think this through.
Although my journey was in one week, I liked to think that the first part of the journey was all falling into place. I felt pretty good about it, all in all. It was the part where I had to aimlessly wander around the Underworld by myself that was chewing at my conscious. Several things were reinforcing that fear. The fact that neither Priscilla (nor any other Siren for that matter) had made a threatening appearance or tried to slash my throat in the middle of the night was at the forefront of my mind.
Something about their absence was extremely unsettling. I knew that Priscilla hadn’t forgotten about me or my journey, and regardless of Keto’s warning, Priscilla wasn’t the type to just sit back and watch. I was afraid she still had her hand in this somehow.
The other issue weighing on my mind was Nadia. She shows up out of the blue, crashes the séance, haunts my nightmares and steals the souls of innocents on the side. What did she have against me? What difference did it make to her if I fulfilled my destiny or not? Finn’s speculative comments sounded in my mind. She was possibly the next leader of the Nymphs. Was she power hungry? Did she not want an equal to compete with? I was definitely still missing something. I just wished I wasn’t stuck in my bedroom, allowing my thoughts to make laps inside my head. And then it dawned on me.
Reveries. I wasn’t stuck! I had learned how to control them! Instead of being the sitting duck, waiting helplessly for Nadia to turn up again, I could go find her. I could seek her out.
Adrenaline began to shoot through my already alert system as I considered what I was about to attempt. Could I do it? What if something happened? Finn wouldn’t be there to save me or wake me up. But I couldn’t always depend on him to fix my messes. I needed to practice on my own, too. And what better way to practice than to go searching for my arch nemesis? I mean, what could go wrong?
Well…besides everything.
Before I had the chance to talk myself out of it, I turned over on my back and closed my eyes. Without Finn to run his fingers through my hair, I decided to listen to my own breathing instead. I took deep and slow breaths, listening to the sound of the air rushing in and out of my lungs; all the while willing my soul to separate from my body. It took longer than it did on the island, but eventually the numbness shadowed my mind. I turned my focus inward and immediately felt the dizziness. I fought the urge to steady myself and open my eyes. Instead, I concentrated on the spinning and the freedom that I felt. I began sinking, sinking, sinking…and then I stopped.
I peeked out, careful not to move. Inches away from my ceiling, I immediately yelped with surprise, then giggled at myself. I did it! I glanced down at the unsettling picture of my own body lying motionless in my bed and then felt a rush of excitement at what I had done. Suddenly I was on the other side of the room. And then right back to the other side. I was a ping pong ball, bouncing around my room without a single ounce of control. I had to get this figured out before I broke something. Ignoring each wall I bounced off of, I suppressed the excitement and tried to focus on the task at hand. Nadia.
I pictured her face. Her clothes. The smoky tendrils lifting and swirling off her skin. And I began to move. Through the wall (yes through the wall - talk about strange) and out of Maren completely. The night air caught me and I felt myself riding on the breeze. I continued to picture Nadia, as well as attempting to zero in on her evil energy. Somehow it seemed that the wind itself was carrying me to where I needed to go. An image of a leaf floating down from a tree popped into my mind, and I relaxed and let it take me.
When I opened my eyes, I immediately fell to the floor in a heap. Apparently the landings were going to need a bit more work. Movement on the other side of the room caught me by surprise and I leapt up; flattening myself against the wall. Realizing that a lamp was shining directly on me, I groaned inwardly and moved several feet to the right and out of the bulb’s illumination. I had a bad feeling that The Reaper of souls would be able to see my soul as clear as day. A woman with long blonde hair shut the window on the opposite wall, and wrapped her arms around her body as if warding off the cold. She sauntered over to a large stone fireplace in a ruffled blouse snugly tucked into a black pencil skirt, and leaned down stiffly to turn up the gas a notch; sending the bright flames dancing higher.
As the dim light caught her face I gasped. It wasn’t Nadia. I had somehow brought myself to none other than Priscilla’s house! Too bad GPS didn’t work in reveries. My sense of direction was greatly amiss. I was about to begin concentrating on Nadia again, when a knock came at the door.
Priscilla briskly made her way to the other side of the room and swung open the door. I slapped my hand over my mouth to squelch any sound that might try to seep out.
“Nadia! So nice to see you again!” Priscilla cooed, instantly reminding me of Lexi. Nadia slid into the light of the fire dressed in a deep purple silk blouse and black skinny jeans, topped off with zebra print peep toe shoes. Her dark hair was braided down her back, and the disparaging look on her face did nothing to help slow my pulse.
“Priscilla,” she greeted her; annoyance heavy in her tone.
“Sit down, sit down…” Priscilla suggested cordially, but Nadia ignored the offer.
“I’m only going to ask this once. Does she know?” Nadia stated; boiling madness stalking just below the surface of her calm façade. I immediately assumed that they were talking about me and held my breath.
“I’m working on it, but I haven’t been able to-“
“Answer the question,” Nadia gritted through her teeth, but then laughed. “For a second there I forgot who I was talking to. Let me try again.” Her features darkened and twisted into something terrifying. I pressed against the wall at my back as she pointed at Priscilla. “Give me a straight answer or I will end your pathetic, useless life.”