The Nightmare Charade (28 page)

The accusation slid right by me, my fear too slippery for anything to dislodge it. “How can she be missing?”

“She's just not there. I don't know how. At one check the cell was full, at the next empty.” Lady Elaine turned her gaze onto Bollinger who was hovering nearby and listening intently. “But this is a conversation that requires privacy.” She stood up and smoothed the front of her khakis. “Go on, Dusty. We can use the rec room.”

I started toward the door, but froze as Lady Elaine said, “Not you, Mr. Booker. You will stay here. You should be ashamed of yourself after the promise you made me.”

I turned back in time to see Eli stiffen and his face go red. My stomach did a backflip.
What promise?
But I could only guess.

“And you”—Lady Elaine swung toward Bollinger—“will no longer be assigned this duty. Clearly, you are unfit for the post.”

Bollinger's nostrils flared, and I braced, waiting for the fireworks to start. But Bollinger only pressed her lips together and nodded. So she might be a horrible person, but not a stupid one.
Go figure.

“Go on, Dusty,” Lady Elaine said, shooing me.

“Please,” Eli's voice cut through the air. I turned to look at him again, but his eyes were fixed on Lady Elaine. “Please don't do this.”

Do what?
I thought
,
wishing he could hear it.

“It's too late,” said Lady Elaine. “You knew the consequences.”

Then with that, she physically pushed me toward the door. I fought in vain to read some warning in Eli's expression, but he dropped his gaze to the floor, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Fear thrummed inside me with each step I took down the stairs. I had never been inside the rec room of Flint Hall, but I had no trouble finding it. I passed by it every night that I came to a dream-session. When I tried to open the door, I found it locked.

Lady Elaine brushed me aside and then opened the door with a single wave of her hand. I stepped inside first, blinking in the sudden brightness. The room was large and perfectly square, full of armchairs, several ottomans, one careworn sofa, and numerous small tables. A single pinball machine occupied the far corner, its red and blue lights twinkling against the wall. Across from it was a pool table, the green velvet top ratty and faded near to yellow.

“You two can wait out here,” Lady Elaine said to the Will Guards who had followed us down from Eli's room. Of Bollinger, there was no sign.

Lady Elaine slammed the door closed and swung to face me. “Sit down,” she said.

I dropped into the nearest armchair and waited while she sealed the room against eavesdroppers. When she finished she took the armchair opposite mine. It dwarfed her small body, making her look like a very old doll. Her thin, spindly legs dangled several inches above the floor. Her massive purse sat beside her like some loyal pet.

“Tell me about my mom,” I said, before she had a chance to steer the conversation anywhere else.

Lady Elaine folded her arms over her concave chest. “I'm afraid there's little else to say. She has disappeared as mysteriously as Bethany Grey and in much the same circumstances.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth. “But Valentine thought my mom had kidnapped Bethany.”

Lady Elaine tsked. “We both know that was never true. Just as we both know your mother did not kill Titus.”

Relief made me feel weightless for a moment. It didn't last long. My mom's innocence hardly mattered with her missing. A chill inched across my neck as I remembered the scythe. “Her disappearance is about the Death's Heart, isn't it? Whoever stole it plans to use it on her.”

“Why do you say that?” Lady Elaine tilted her head. Her silver hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and long, golden earrings hung from her drooping lobes.

“The scythe my mom was holding in Eli's dream,” I said, guessing she would remember the description from my dream journal. “It's a symbol of the Grim Reaper, and that ties it to the Death's Heart, which is made from the heart of a Grim Reaper.”

Lady Elaine cleared her throat, and a humorless smile flitted across her lips. “The Dream Team astounds again.”

I didn't smile in return, taking no pride in the discovery. I couldn't with my fear worsening by the second. “But why use the Death's Heart on my mother, on Bethany? Is it because they're both Nightmares?”

“Who can say?” Lady Elaine rubbed her temples. “Nightmares are powerful and a rarer form of magickind perhaps, but to my knowledge that makes no difference to the Death's Heart. Maybe they were kidnapped for a more personal reason. Like revenge.”

“Against them both?” I gaped. “But they hated each other. How could they have a common enemy?”

“They didn't always hate each other,” Lady Elaine said, crossing one leg over the other. “When they were your age, they were friends, as close as you and Selene Rivers are now.”

I stared, wide-eyed, unable to imagine it. I wondered briefly what had come between them, but then the contents of Eli's latest dream soared into the forefront of my mind. “This is about Marrow. The Death's Heart, my mother, all of it.”

Lady Elaine waved me off. “There's no reason to jump to that conclusion.”

“Yes there is.” I leaned forward. “The black phoenix was in Eli's dream tonight. We were on the barge again, the same one where we saw my mother with the scythe, and the black phoenix was there.”

Lady Elaine visibly paled. “That's … that's disturbing news.”

Silence descended around us, broken only by the chirp and whirring of the pinball machine.

Drawing a deep breath, Lady Elaine sat up straighter and fixed her gaze on me. “Disturbing yes, but also not your concern.”

“Excuse me?” I sat up straighter, too, ready to get to my feet and start pacing. “My mom is missing, kidnapped by either Marrow or someone working for him, most likely. How is that not my concern?”

“Because,” Lady Elaine said, “your primary concern needs to be keeping that object around your wrist hidden and safe. If Marrow is back—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. He'll be coming for it.” Wrapping my arms around myself, I fell back against the cushions. “But I don't see how doing nothing is going to help.”

“Don't do nothing. Stay focused on the dream and stay safe. Go to classes, do your homework, and don't wander anywhere out of the norm. Not for anything or any
one
.”

I braced at her words, fear surging through me again. I didn't have to be psychic to know what was coming next.

“And even more important than that,” Lady Elaine continued, her eyes narrowing. “you must stop these romantic interactions with Eli. I thought he would have self-control enough for the both of you, but after what I walked in on tonight, clearly not.”

My face heated, but my insides turned cold. “I'm old enough to have romantic interactions with any boy I want. And you're not my mother. You have no right to try to stop me. There's nothing wrong about my relationship with Eli.”

Lady Elaine did not react to my outburst, her voice calm, almost a whisper as she said, “There is plenty wrong with it when you're a dream-seer.”

Thrusting out my chin, I said, “I don't believe in the curse.”

Lady Elaine sighed and shook her head, her expression more sad than angry. “You don't have to. It's real and coming for you whether you believe or not.”

I inhaled, all the bad dreams swimming into my mind. It couldn't be true. It couldn't. Our feelings for each other were in our control, our choice. No curse, no magic could change that.

“But you're right,” Lady Elaine continued, her tone now diplomatic. “I can't stop you from pursuing a relationship with Eli.”

I stared at her, distrustful of the sudden switch.

She waved a hand at me. “Oh, don't look so shocked. I've known from the beginning all I could do was slow you down. You are Moira's daughter, after all, and nothing can stop you from going after what you want but yourself.”

I bit my lip unsure if I should take this as a compliment or not. “Does this mean you're going to call off the Will Guard?”

Lady Elaine scowled. “Of course not. A deterrent is still a deterrent. No—” She stopped and drew a deep breath. “I'm just going to share with you my vision of your future.”

The world seemed to pitch sideways for a second. “I don't want to see it.”

“Yes, I know. But it's well past time. I've only held off this long because Eli begged me to, and because he swore that he would be the one to keep things distant between you.” She made a disgusted noise deep in her throat as she pulled her purse onto her lap and reached inside it.

The purse was so large she could have any number of things stowed in there—the entire contents of her makeup drawer, a portable DVD player, an Uzi. She withdrew a round object wrapped in thick black velvet. She pulled back the cloth to reveal a mirror the size of a dinner plate. Golden filigree framed the edge. For a moment I thought it was elaborate decoration, but then I realized those swirls and hard lines were rune marks, similar to the ones etched onto my eTab.

“What is that?” I said, my voice strangely tremulous. The mirror held undeniable magic. The entire room seemed to vibrate with it.

“It's a scrying mirror. It helps focus my visions.” Lady Elaine paused, her gaze penetrating as she turned it on me. “And to share them.”

I gulped, fear constricting my throat. Whatever she was about to show me was going to be bad. Eli had seen it already, and it had bothered him enough that he'd spent months trying to deny his feelings for me afterward. Would the same happen to me? I didn't think so. I'd seen visions of the future before, all the time in Eli's dreams.

Not like this.

No, not like this. This was a vision about
my
future. And it wasn't dreams and symbols.

Across from me, Lady Elaine summoned a table with her magic, setting it down right in front of me. Then she gently placed the mirror face up on the table. My gaze was drawn to the glass surface. A faint glow seemed to emanate out of the glass. With an effort I forced my eyes back to Lady Elaine.

“I don't want to see this. I don't care what you show me. It's not going to change my mind.”

“Maybe not,” Lady Elaine said. “Then again, maybe it will. I can only hope.”

My stomach clenched. I could sense the magic growing in the room. The mirror's surface no longer looked solid, but liquid, like I could plunge my hands into it. “This isn't fair. All I want is to be free to kiss my boyfriend without having to hide like some kind of criminal.”

“Yes, it's not fair, and yet it is,” Lady Elaine said, her voice becoming almost a chant. She laid her palms against the mirror's edge, her fingers splayed. “You have been given a great power. But no power comes without a price. That is how magic works. How the universe works. All things kept in balance.”

Hurt squeezed my chest, making my words come out breathless. “I didn't ask for this power. What if I give it up? What if I never visit Eli's dreams again? Then we can be together without anybody caring.”

Lady Elaine's eyes flashed. “Is that really what you would choose? A boy over the ability to foresee and stop great evil?”

Shame heated my skin. No, of course I wouldn't. But—“Mr. Corvus says no magic exists within a vacuum. If I give up my dream-seer power it will go to someone else eventually, right?”

Lady Elaine shook her head. “It won't just transfer elsewhere. No, if you give up your power our enemies will gain power. They will grow stronger, the world out of balance.”

I clenched my teeth, struggling to resist the pull of the mirror, which was even stronger now.

“Look at it,” Lady Elaine commanded. “Your vision awaits.”

At her words, my resistance broke, and I leaned forward, gazing fully into the mirror for the first time. For a moment, nothing but my reflection stared back at me.

In the next, I was pulled into the vision as if descending into a dream. Only, it wasn't like a dream at all. It was like watching a movie in 3-D. I could only observe, nothing more. I couldn't act or scream or protest. I could only watch as the horror unfolded.

I saw Eli, and I saw myself. We were standing across from each other, our stances one of anger—of hate. We looked exactly as we did now, no older. This could be tomorrow or the next day.

We were about to fight. Eli had his hand clenched around his wand, raised and pointed at me. Clutched in my hands was Bellanax, free of the glamour—three feet of naked steel, honed and sharp and pulsating with magic.

Just as I saw, I also felt. I was in the head of this future me, sharing her thoughts, her feelings like they were my own. Hatred burned in my guts; my heart quivered with it. I wanted him dead. I wanted it more than I'd ever wanted anything before. That want was a living thing, a will, a force, acting inside me, through me.

Eli felt it, too. I could see it burning in his eyes.

We fought. Spell after spell, curse after curse. He parried and I countered. I struck, and he blocked. But in the end a Conductor was no match for a Nightmare, and his pitiful wand was little more than a twig next to Bellanax.

Finally, one of my spells struck him in the head, and he reeled backward, falling down in a lifeless heap. Only he wasn't dead. Not yet. With rage and hatred burning like lit gasoline inside me, I strode over to him, Bellanax raised.

Don't,
I wanted to scream but couldn't. I had no voice here. Even worse, I wanted to do it. I was two people at the same time, my current self and my future self—two wants, two desires so fundamentally opposed, but nevertheless present.

The future-self won, the vision marching onward. I stopped before Eli's prone body. He was lying on his back, his eyes looking up at me, pleading. I raised the sword, turning the blade down as I raised the hilt high. And then with one quick, downward thrust, I drove the blade through Eli's chest.