I rocket upright. “What?” I whisper, instantly on edge.
From out of the darkness materializes a boy, a short dagger in hand. He waves it in my direction. “First or friend?”
Bodog stands and raises his big knobby hands. His ears twitch and his body turns glow-in-the-dark white. And why not? I’ve always believed nothing says nonthreatening like a vertically challenged, facially unattractive albino dude.
If ever I’ve met a kid who would stab me in my back while I slept, this boy is him. Messy hair, dirt-encrusted skin, ragged clothes, and a glower that could kill on contact if he had the magic to back it up, which I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. And I thought I had trust issues. I’m cartoon-character friendly compared to this kid.
“Why does it have to be one or the other?”
“I ain’t stupid. Drop your weapons.” The kid has balls, but his high-pitched command kind of ruins the scary effect.
“I don’t disarm for anyone. Besides, if I want you dead, I don’t need a weapon to do it. Trust me on that.”
I guess he does, because he doesn’t repeat his demand. “I’ve been following you for a while. You lost?”
“Not exactly. I think we’re looking for you and your friends.”
“I don’t have any friends.”
I believe him.
Bodog begins that obnoxious muttering as he leans heavily on his stick, and the boy’s frown deepens. “Who are you and what do you want?” His stance tightens like a string holding a kite. One wrong move and he’ll snap.
“Listen, we don’t want any trouble. Have you seen Kera of Teag?”
A smug smile tilted his lips. “All the Keras around here are from Teag.”
I’m losing my patience fast. “She’s from a nearby village. Her father is Lord Hadrain.”
“You refer to Kera from Ainsbury Cross.”
“Yeah. I think that’s the village. We were told one of the tainted knows where she is. I need to find her.”
His smug expression disappears. “We don’t use that word. What do you want with Kera?”
“I’m her friend. Her good friend. Dylan.”
The boy’s stance instantly relaxes and he slides his gaze over me. “You are the heir to Teag?”
He didn’t have to sound so disappointed. “Yeah, whatever. All I want is to find Kera and take her home.”
“Last I heard, she went back to the human realm. Maybe you should look there.”
“She was kidnapped. Brought back to Teag by some monstrous flying bird/lizard thing. Looks right out of the Jurassic age.” His eyebrows do a very adult “you’re crazy” arch at me, and I shake my head. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. Bodog’s dead friends said you all know where she is. I just need to find her. It’s that simple.”
“Doesn’t sound simple to me. Sounds like you’re thick in the head and love-bit. That happens to your kind.”
“Love-bit?” Like my soul has been infected with love? It fits how I feel. Only Kera’s love makes me feel whole. “I guess that’s it. So, are you going to help me?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
Not what I wanted to hear. Why is everyone around here ignorant of what’s happening? I twist away and start pacing, and grumbling. “Innocent people get killed in your backyard…isn’t it a lovely day? Dark souls tear up your village…let’s have a cup of tea and all will be fine. Kera’s kidnapped by a gigantic flying dinosaur…oh look, the sunflowers are blooming.” They’re all freakin’ ostriches with their heads buried shoulder-deep in the sand.
“You always talk to yourself?”
“Nope, it’s new.” This place is making me as crazy as Mom.
The boy’s face changes from irritated to slightly annoyed. He stashes his dagger and says, “I don’t know where she is, but I think I know someone who does.”
Not Alone
Darkness pressed in on Kera. Her limbs struggled to move. She tried to shift, but something prevented her. Even her eyelids resisted the command to open. A soft voice sang, lulling her into a portal where dreams floated by. All she needed to do was touch one, which she did, and she spiraled into the dream with a speed that left her breathless.
When her head stopped spinning, she opened her eyes to find herself in a large, mirrored ballroom. Dozens of her reflections filled her vision. She was dressed in an exquisitely made ball gown of deep blue, though her corset fit so tightly, she couldn’t take a deep breath.
Before her stretched a table, beautifully laid and groaning with food. A softly painted fresco depicting various birds and flowers covered each wall. Colonnades supported an arched ceiling. Lively music filled the air, and a court of men and women danced on a polished marble floor at the opposite side of the room. Tiny lights overhead and meticulously shaped greenery decorated the room, giving the impression they were outside in a perfectly groomed garden underneath a star-studded night sky. The vision should have made her smile. It didn’t. She didn’t know this place. She didn’t know these people.
She spied a door along the side wall. Nothing stood in her way but the table and one lone man. He lounged in an ornate chair at the head of the table, his silver vest, elaborately tied ascot, dark jacket, and trousers fitting him to perfection. He was handsome, in that brooding way that reminded her of Dylan. As she moved along the table, she peeked in his direction and noticed his attention never wavered from her.
Rounding the table, she faced him and he raised his hand, a gesture that bespoke authority. She hoped he was signaling someone else, but no one else stood nearby. The man smiled and waved her closer.
She eyed the door. What if she sprinted to it? Would anyone stop her? No one seemed interested in what she was doing except the man at the head of the table. She turned to find the man in front of her, a hairbreadth away. “Please stay, Kera. There is no reason to run off.”
“Who are you?”
“You may call me Baun.”
So that was the reason he seemed so familiar. “Are you Dylan’s father?”
“Yes.”
“But you are imprisoned.” She looked again at their surroundings. It was then she noticed the couples dancing. They literally floated, their translucent wings fluttering as they moved. The pux like she had never seen them before. “How…?”
Baun took her hand and led her to his chair, where another magically appeared. “Truly beautiful in the size you’ve envisioned them, and if you knew them like I do, it is slightly terrifying. In dreams, anything is possible.”
She was dreaming? Then none of this was real. “Why am I here?”
“You tell me. Dreams are funny that way. No rhyme or reason to them. Please sit.”
Kera wished he’d let go of her hand, but he held fast. Smiling, he nodded to the chair. “Please, sit with me. I ask only for a moment. Then you can do whatever you wish.”
A ribbon of doubt hovered, but she had little choice. Turning, she sat, glad to have her hand back, and smoothed her gown. It felt like running her hands over water.
He sat, though his body didn’t relax. “I sense your conflict. You have the abilities you’ve always dreamed of, but they are only temporary.”
He wasn’t making sense. “How so?”
“Did Dylan not tell you?” A sadness peaked his eyebrows. “Both you and he cannot possess the same magic. It’s never been done.”
Her father had shared his magic with her for years to keep others from finding out she had none…though it was never permanent. Her chin inched up. “Just because it has never been done does not mean it is impossible.”
“I fear you give too much weight to chance. Let me speak frankly. Dylan will take your powers from you. He must. They are his.”