Night Myst (26 page)

“I look like . . . wow . . . I’m not sure what.” A cutout of a paper doll? My shadow, run off by its lonesome?

“You look fine—you’re exactly as you should be.”

Kaylin’s words were more distinct. I wasn’t hearing them—not with my ears—but they felt less intermingled with my own thoughts now. I looked around and there in the shadows next to me, I saw Kaylin—or rather, Kaylin’s shadow.

A thought struck me. If I could see
him
, maybe that meant . . . I slowly turned to my right. There, in a cloud of mist and sparkles—faint cerulean with diamond dust sparkling in the midst—swirled Ulean. She was not female per se, but a vague bipedal form caught in the middle of an ever-spinning vortex.

My gods, you’re beautiful!
I couldn’t stop staring at her.

“We’d better get going,” Kaylin said, and I realized he’d missed my exchange with the Elemental. So even here, he couldn’t hear her. But . . .

“Can you see Ulean?” I motioned toward the mist and vapor that was my wind Elemental.

He stared for a moment, then slowly inclined his head. “Faintly, but there’s static. Perhaps it’s because I’m not attuned to the wind.”

“Got it.” I figured the answer worked for both of them. “What now?”

Kaylin pointed ahead. I followed his gesture and there saw a pair of what looked like beacons, lit up brighter than the Space Needle on New Year’s. As I gazed at them, the shapes began to sink through and I realized what they were.

“The Twin Oaks!”

“Yes. If they were just ordinary trees, you wouldn’t be seeing them nearly so well. They’d be lit up, yes, as with the auras of all living things, but not like this. Look around. Really try to focus because so much out here depends on learning to open your mind in order to see more than one dimension at once.”

Once again I tried to breathe and panicked briefly as no air flowed into or out of my lungs. I caught myself and let my fear settle.

“What am I looking for?”

“Think of Rhiannon and Leo. Then look for them.”

I brought Rhiannon’s face to mind. Her smile, her red braid, the sparkle in her eyes . . . then I thought of Leo and—

“Whoa . . . there they are!”

Not two yards from where we stood, I could see them, vague and indistinct but their auras shone like the neon of a bar sign. Leo’s was green, steady and brilliant. But Rhiannon’s aura crackled, her energy looking tight—as if she had clamped restraints on it. Flaring like sunspots, it tried to break free time and again and was yanked back to meld again into her body. The tension was palpable, as if she were wrestling with a nest of writhing snakes.

“Shit . . . she’s going to explode someday and it’s not going to be long. Look at that—she’s got so much repressed energy that it will eat her alive if she doesn’t do something soon.”

Kaylin nodded. “We have to take her in hand, help her overcome her fear of the fire. She could burn up with that much repressed force.”

Spontaneous combustion.
The thought ran through my head with alarming clarity and I could so easily see her setting herself up for it. Surely she could feel the power shifting, though? Or had she blocked any natural connection out of fear she’d misuse it again? One way or another, we had to help her find balance.

“How are you doing? Think you’re ready to go check on the Barrow, or do you need another moment to adjust?” Kaylin—or the inky black shape that passed for him—leaned against a splotch that I finally realized was a boulder back in the physical plane.

I gauged my comfort level. I still felt misty and oddly at loose ends, but I had gotten over my fear of not breathing, and the shapes on the astral were becoming clearer and more defined to my new eyes.

“I think I’m ready. What do we do? And how will we know if they see us?” I tested out my footing on the ground. Dreamwalking felt kind of what I always imagined bouncing around on the surface of the moon might feel like.

“If we fall into a field that negates the magic, we’ll know all too well. The question is: Will they have any seers capable of ferreting out astral entities? Essentially, psychic spies? That’s our biggest worry, providing the magic holds. Just keep your eyes and ears open. Focus on the person you want to hear and tune in that way.”

He motioned to me and we headed toward the Twin Oaks. A nervousness settled in my solar plexus. It was odd not to feel my body. Was this what it felt like to be an Elemental? Never solid, but instead made of shadow-stuff?

We neared the oaks and the energy between them crackled, lightning bolts in miniature flaring between the trunks. The trees were ancient, with swirling rings in their aura. They were old past counting and their roots ran deep into the world, their veins glowing beneath the surface. They burrowed down—foot after foot the sparkling anchors delved through the soil. They had been alive and growing long before my ancestors set foot on this land.

The energy flowing between the trunks set up a grid of sparkling lines through which we had to pass. I sucked in my breath and wondered if the portal would knock us off the astral, or if it was simply a gateway.

Kaylin paused. “Let me go first. If something happens, then you run like hell and ask your Elemental to escort you to the nearest dreamwalker to see if they will take you back over to the physical side.”

“Won’t this just wear off?” I blinked. “I thought there was a time limit on the spell?”

“Theoretically. In practice, I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Here goes nothing. I’ll cross over, then return for you if everything’s okay.” Before I could say a word, he passed through the portal—and in the glare of smoke and mirrors was gone from sight.

I waited, watching the portal. If I’d been able to breathe, I would have been holding my breath but barring that, I counted seconds. Of course, on the astral—as in the realm of Fae—time ran differently. We could be out here for days and only minutes would pass in the physical world, or vice versa. Still no sign of Kaylin. Where the fuck was he, and what was I going to do if he didn’t come back?

I was about ready to follow him—he didn’t really think I was going to run off and leave him there if something happened, did he?—when there was a shimmer between the oaks and he reappeared, motioning to me.

I hurried over to his side, Ulean following me in her cloud of starstuff.

“Is it safe?”

Kaylin nodded. “For now, at least. But we were right to worry. There’s a group of the Indigo Court Fae near the mound. I don’t think they can see us. Let’s get our butts over there before that changes.”

He grabbed my hand and the smoke of his hand mingled together with mine to form an odd merging of our bodies. It was as if we were conjoined twins, bound by our fingers.

“Hold on to me when we go through the portal. It’s a little freaky.”

Without any further warning, he dragged me between the Twin Oaks, and I went flying along behind him as he leapt through. The crackle of energy rattled me, disrupting my entire system.

“Crap! Is this what it feels like to be a live wire?” The words jolted out of my mouth as we exited the other side.

“Hush,” Kaylin whispered. “We can’t be seen, except as a fleeting shadow here or there, but if they have anybody who has clairaudience, or who can hear the wind like you can, they might be able to pick up on us.”

I squinted, trying to focus on the physical. The astral was superimposed over the swath of trees, but if I kept my attention on the forest, it became clearer, more distinct.

We emerged into what looked to be a large, circular glade. The forest was lit up like a pack of matches, the energy racing through the trees, flaring with deadly brilliance. Everything was swathed in a sparkle of silver, in tones of deep indigo. The trees were barren, their branches weaving a latticework of silver webs across the sky.

You’re right.
Ulean was drifting along behind us and I was relieved to see that she’d made it through the barrier okay. I hung back, letting Kaylin lead.

The Marburry Barrow was huge—the entire New Forest Conservatory campus could have fit inside—and it looked like an overgrown bump in the ground. A number of figures wandered around the outskirts and from here, I could see a shimmer against the lower edge. No doubt an opening.

The Barrow looked as though it had been built on a circular platform raised some fifteen feet above the ground. Steps along one side led up to the top of the mound itself, and at least two figures were lounging on the snow atop the dome.

I scanned the figures. All had a particular tint to their auras, and I began to understand why they were called the Indigo Court. The energy swirled, indigo and deep purple and black and silver—the colors of night and of shadow. Incredibly beautiful, their energy was magnetic and seductive and I longed to edge closer to the group, to bask in their presence.

Kaylin hissed. Startled, I slipped out of my reverie and looked at him with a grateful nod. I raised my hands to assure him that I was okay.

We watched for a few minutes as I tried to memorize the spot of shimmer that I was sure was a doorway. If we were able to sneak back on the physical, we’d know where to go without having to scout around for the entrance.

And then, it happened. The shimmering door parted for a moment and a contingent of the Indigo Court came out with two figures between them. Two figures who weren’t of the Vampiric Fae. Both whose auras read as being of the magic-born, one weaker than the other in power.

Your aunt and your friend.
Ulean was right behind me.

“Heather! Peyton!” I jerked away from Kaylin, heading for Heather.

“No! Cicely, come back!” Kaylin was on my heels, reaching for my arm. He managed to catch me before I’d gone more than a few yards, but then Heather swiveled in our direction and I caught her little cry on the wind.

At that moment, one of the Indigo Court turned toward us and shouted something, waving in our direction.

Shit! We’d been spotted.

“Run, run as fast as you can, we have to get out of here and off the astral!” Kaylin spun around, dragging me behind him on a breakneck race for the portal.

“But we haven’t rescued them—”

“They’ll kill us if they catch us!” He yanked me between the oaks and the jolt stilled the protest lodged on my tongue. We headed toward Rhiannon and Leo.

“We don’t have time to come off the astral easy,” Kaylin said. “This may hurt so get ready!”

He threw his arms around me and there was a numbing flash as we tumbled, bodies solidifying, the smoke of our shadows dissipating. It was like flying, then being yanked out of the sky by an anchor of flesh.

I blinked hard as I tripped and went sprawling in front of Leo, who hurried to help me up. Kaylin, right behind me, was motioning toward the path.

“We have to get out of here. They spotted us!”

“Oh shit.” Leo grabbed up our packs and tossed them to us while Rhiannon headed toward the path.

But it was too late. There was a noise from behind us, from between the Twin Oaks, and three men jumped from the portal. They had pale skin and a cerulean cast to their countenance.
Vampiric Fae. Shadow Hunters.

I started to run, but in my heart I knew they were faster than we were. They’d catch us and they’d feed on us and that would be the end of everything.

“No!” Rhiannon’s voice echoed through the air. She stopped, turning.

“What are you doing? Run!” I reached for her but she waved me off.

“I won’t let them hurt us . . . I won’t let them take us like they took my mother!” Her eyes flared dangerously and sunbursts writhed around her, struggling to free themselves as she pulled out one of the firebombs.

The men slowed, staring at her warily, but still heading in our direction. They glanced at the rest of us and I could tell they were trying to figure out just what the hell we were up to.

“Don’t come any closer. I’m warning you!” Rhiannon’s voice was close to breaking. And then, tears running down her face, she raised her arms. “I told you to
stop . . .
”

The next few seconds were a blur. She tossed the firespark in the air, held out her hands, and screamed one word—I couldn’t catch what—and a wall of flame came writhing out of her palms. Green and gold and red, a beautiful, deadly burst of fire aimed in their direction, exploding the bomb into a shock wave of flame.

The men shouted and turned to run as the jets licked at their clothing, catching their gossamer tunics alight. The bushes around the portal began to smoke as sparks flew off, sizzling against the snow.