Morning Rising (12 page)

Using all her concentration, Kara lifted the
rock. She brought it hurtling towards Kade. For a half second, Kara
thought she might miss, but there was a great crack as the stone
slammed into the side of Kade’s skull. His fingers slipped from
Dylan’s arm as he fell to the floor, out cold. Kara hoped he was
dead, but she didn’t think they were that lucky. She was tired and
already drained from the fight. She didn’t think she had pulled the
rock with enough force to kill Kade. Kara pulled Dylan out the
door. The street just outside the club was a jumble of fighting
bodies, almost as crowded as inside.

“Kara!” Baron appeared from the crowd. Kara
almost grinned, relieved to see him and happy for the help. He was
in rough shape, with his clean shirt now torn and bloody. A long
gash tore down the side of his arm, but it was already healing.

“We have to get out of here, all of us,” Kara
insisted, looking around to see if she could spot the others.

“Ivy’s already gone, and the others will be
fine. Lockler went back to get Fay. He’ll get her out of here.”
Baron clamped his hands over Kara and Dylan’s wrists. “Just hold
her tight, keeping you two safe is our prime objective.”

“They won’t survive this,” Kara said, trying
to pull free.

“They will.” Baron looked her right in the
eyes, his grip still firm. “Hold Morning tight and let’s go.”

Seeing no other option, Kara hugged Dylan to
her. Dylan’s arms snaked loosely around Kara, her face full of
fear. In a moment they were topside, standing near an entrance to
the subway. Kara started for the entrance, but Baron pulled her
back.

“It’s not safe now,” he explained as he
pulled her onto a side street. His torn shirt and blood-covered
face were receiving a few looks. “Kade’s lost Morning. Demitar will
have this city up in arms as soon as he knows. And everyone knows
what she looks like.”

“So where do we go?” Kara asked, still
holding tightly to Dylan’s hand. Dylan’s hand was limp. She allowed
Kara to pull her along like a child, responding to every slight tug
of her hand. She appeared to be too shocked to pay attention to
much besides the crazy world around them. On the side street, a few
people passed by. Some gave them curious looks.

“We go back to the professor’s,” Baron said.
He started walking faster. “We’ll have to do it on foot and run as
much as we can. Tomorrow, this all becomes harder.”

Baron broke into a fast jog, and Kara did the
same. Dylan had no choice but to keep up even though she was in
high heeled boots and in no condition to run. Kara knew Dylan
wouldn’t be able to run far, but with the recent battle fresh in
her mind she wanted to put as much distance between herself and
Kade as possible.

Chapter 8

Kara winced as Baron dabbed ointment onto the
cut across her brow. She didn’t remember how or when it happened,
but it was painful. The cut where her cheek had split open when
Kade hit her hurt worse, but Baron assured her it was only
superficial. Baron’s wounds had already healed leaving two faint
scars on his arm and cheek. He tried his best to be gentle with the
bandage, but she still winced as he wrapped it tight. Kara wished
she could heal herself the way he could.

Alster was off in his room again. One look at
Dylan and he had started grinning like a boy on Christmas.
Supposedly, he was searching for the best way for them to escape
from Inbetween, though something about the greedy way he looked at
Dylan made Kara nervous. With her wounds bandaged, Kara moved off
to stare out onto the city. It was in upheaval at the loss of
Dylan. Minutes after they arrived at the apartment, the sound of
gongs echoed over the city. Every TV screen in the city came to
life with a message from Demitar. He promised a reward to anyone
who brought Morning back to him.

The results were immediate. Anyone who
thought they could find Dylan was out with their best weapons
scouring the streets. Two back-to-back explosions rocked the city.
They set the night sky alight, and now a dozen fires burned down
below. The night air was thick with smoke and the almost tangible
taste of fear. The usual half light of the city was now dark with
smoke. Two dinosaur-like monsters passed the building. Their
leathery skin was dark red and their beady eyes were set deep in
their head. They were only fifteen feet tall, but the thin, needle
sharp teeth overflowing from their mouths were enough to convince
Kara she wanted nothing to do with them.

Baron assured her over and over again that
they were in the safest place they could be. No one could get past
the enchantments on the building, unless they knew the correct
counter charms. Even then, each apartment offered its own set of
defenses specific to the owners.

Kara tensed as raiding parties passed by. She
watched from the picture windows as they chased innocent people
through the streets, or fell into brawls against one another. Kara
wanted to turn from the window, but couldn’t as the horror unfolded
in the streets below.

Kara couldn't help but be glad Dylan wasn’t
witnessing the unfolding chaos. Just the run home had left her
exhausted and overwhelmed. Dylan had leaned heavily on Kara as Kara
led her into the building. Even if Dylan hadn’t been leaning on
Kara for support, Kara would have stayed close to her as they
entered the apartment. Alster was waiting on the couch and stood
when the door opened. His eyes lit up to see Dylan. It made Kara
hold her closer. Once Alster took his look at Dylan, Kara insisted
on putting her to bed. Dylan let Kara tuck her into bed with all
the compliance of a sleepy child. Since then, she’d been fast
asleep in the bedroom with no idea what was going on outside.

“Shouldn’t she be awake by now?” Kara asked.
She glanced anxiously towards the bedroom door for the third time
in five minutes. Dylan had fallen asleep hours ago, such deep sleep
that Kara worried she might never wake. A roar came from outside,
and Kara looked out to see another of the dinosaur-like things
walking by. She stepped back from the window.

“No.” Baron shook his head. “In fact, I think
we should both be asleep as well, it’s the middle of the night.” He
fell back on the couch and yawned loudly before running a hand over
his short hair and shaking his head. He looked exhausted, his face
tight and pale.

“You expect me to sleep after all that?” Kara
raised an eyebrow and gave him a half smile.

Kara’s pulse jumped, as she remembered the
fight. Her body wasn’t able to stop producing adrenaline, no matter
how weary she was. Having Dylan near didn’t help any. Her heart
seemed to skip a beat whenever she thought of the tender way Dylan
touched her jaw in the Mission. It was such a simple gesture, but
it had been filled with all the love Kara always longed to feel
from Dylan.

“And with everything that's going on
outside?” Kara added. She motioned to the chaos below. “I really
don’t think I can sleep through that.”

“Maybe not quite yet,” Baron allowed, with a
small smile of his own. “But you forget Dylan has been kept in a
drug fog for the past few days. I don’t think she even realized
where she was until she saw you. The poor girl is probably
overwhelmed. A good night’s rest to sleep off the effects of the
bramble wine and the thorn will do her good. Things will be strange
enough with a clear head. We’re lucky, it doesn’t seem as if she’s
had too much thorn. She may come through this with minimal
scarring.”

“How do you know?” Kara asked, sparing
another worried glance at the bedroom door. “We have no way of
telling what they did to her.”

“Trust me,” Baron said. “I’ve seen people
coming down from thorn overdose. It’s not pretty. By this time
she’d be shaking for another shot if she was too strung out. She
just needs time to adjust to everything.”

“I know,” Kara said. She was still freaked
out by it all. Just like Dylan, Kara had been thrown into the
middle of something she had no understanding of. But she had Dylan
to think of. If it hadn’t been for the goal of saving Dylan, she
probably would have been crying in a corner the first night.

“Is she ever going to be the same?” Kara
asked. She sat on the couch beside Baron and hugged a throw pillow
to her chest, anxious now that she had voiced her worries. Dylan
seemed so broken, following them like a lost dog. She wasn't the
Dylan that Kara knew. In the human world, Dylan was headstrong and
quick tempered. Like a live wire, sparking and glowing beside the
paleness of everything else in Kara’s life. Now she was a shadow of
who she used to be.

“She will be herself again,” Baron said. He
reached out and squeezed Kara’s hand. “She’ll be a better Dylan
than the one you know. The human world was bad enough for her, but
right now she is only a shell of herself. Her memories have been
taken from her. It’s only because your connection to her runs so
deeply that you were able to pull her out at all. Anyone else would
have failed.”

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to
when we were in the Mission,” Kara admitted with a shake of her
head. “She didn’t know what was going on. I could tell she wanted
to do what Kade told her to. I'm still not sure how I pulled her
away.”

“His power over her was strong,” Baron said,
noddin g his head. “But he only had power over her while he kept
giving her the drugs. The real Dylan will see the truth, and her
loyalty to you will only grow stronger.”

“Will she be able to handle an awakening
stone?” Kara asked. She thought it might break what was left of
Dylan’s mind and the thought terrified her.

“I think she will,” Baron said, after a
moment’s thought. “You’ll have to guide her, help ease the memories
back into place.”

“I’ll do anything for her,” Kara assured him.
She didn’t worry that it might cause her pain. “I just want her to
be herself again.”

“That’s all that matters,” Baron said with a
nod. They were both silent, thinking through things.

Kara covered her mouth as she yawned. Despite
all the stress and excitement, her nerves were wearing thin and her
brain was finally growing sleepy. Baron smiled before yawning as
well.

“Sorry.” Kara let out a nervous laugh. She
stood up and stretched her arms above her head. “Guess I’m more
tired than I thought.”

“Go to bed,” Baron said. “Sleep next to
Dylan, be there for her when she wakes up. You’re the only thing
she knows for sure. To be honest, I’m sure she doesn’t even
understand that connection entirely. Make her feel safe.”

“Okay,” Kara said. The idea of sharing a bed
with Dylan again was inviting. With one last nod of encouragement
from Baron, Kara headed to the bedroom.

Kara shut the door with a soft click and
leaned against it. She looked down at Dylan. She was sprawled
across the bed, hair half covering her face. Kara had almost
thought she was going to have to help Dylan change when she put her
to bed that night. Dylan tugged off the skirt like she was
sleepwalking. She’d lost weight since coming to Inbetween. Kara
bristled as she wondered if Kade or any of the others remembered to
feed Dylan while they kept her. Lying there on the bed with her
head turned to the side and her thumb near her mouth, Dylan looked
vulnerable. Kara’s heart swelled looking at her.

Dylan was everything Kara was missing in her
life. Now that Kara knew the truth, the feelings made sense. It
justified the irrational feelings Kara had felt for Dylan from the
start. From the beginning Kara knew she would do anything to make
Dylan happy. She never felt whole before she met Dylan.

Dylan never said as much to Kara, never told
her if she felt the same way. Her actions said it a thousand times
over. It was in the way she tilted her head to touch Kara’s, or the
soft smile she gave her in a private moment. Now Kara knew for
sure. Their fates were tied together. Looking at Dylan in that
moment, Kara knew she couldn’t survive without her.

Taking a deep breath, Kara stepped into the
room. She was surprised how nervous she felt to be near Dylan
again. It had been the same at the beginning of their friendship.
Back then, she feared Dylan would disappear from her life at any
moment. Kara leaned down and pulled off her sneakers. Quietly, she
padded across the room and eased herself down onto the bed, trying
not to wake Dylan. She shouldn’t have worried. With a soft mumble,
Dylan rolled away from her, curling up in a ball as she faced the
wall.

Kara smiled as she lay down behind Dylan. She
pressed herself close to Dylan’s back, breathing in the scent of
her. She smelled like flowers, smoke, and wine. It was familiar and
exciting at the same time. Kara tucked her arm around Dylan’s
waist. After a moment, she shut her eyes. Her heart beat wildly,
and she thought sleep would never come.

Chapter 9

Dylan woke with a start and squirmed out from
under Kara’s arm. Kara’s eyes fluttered open as Dylan crawled over
her to get out of the bed. Dylan looked frantic to get away as she
stumbled to her feet. She stood in the center of the room, hugging
her bare arms tight around herself and shivering slightly as she
looked around with wide eyes.

“Are you cold?” Kara asked softly. Dylan’s
eyes jerked to her. After a moment, she nodded.

“Here.” Kara pulled off the hooded sweatshirt
Baron gave her the night before and held it out to Dylan.

Dylan eyed the sweatshirt with all the
wariness of a feral cat. Kara waited for Dylan to feel safe enough
to take it. Slowly, Dylan reached over, leaning so she could reach
the sweatshirt without actually moving closer to Kara. She twisted
her fingers into the fabric and jerked the sweatshirt towards
her.

Dylan pulled the sweatshirt on, but didn’t
zip it up, merely hugged it around herself. It had been big on Kara
and was absolutely huge on Dylan, who looked like a four-year-old
playing dress up. Kara adjusted slowly so that she was sitting on
the edge of the bed. Dylan looked ready to bolt, and Kara didn’t
want any sudden movements making her do so.