Thrall (20 page)

Getting into a lucid dream wasn’t as hard as I expected. Dad had dragged his desk chair into my room and talked me through a relaxation exercise Hale had suggested. As I focused on relaxing each part of my body, a soft numbness came over me. It was peaceful, just listening to Dad’s voice and focusing on my breathing. When I was right on the edge of sleep, I heard him settle back into his chair.

“Okay, Braedyn. Tell yourself you’re going to have a lucid dream.”

My mind drifted as I held onto this thought. I was vaguely aware of a shifting sensation as sleep claimed me. I opened my eyes, and I was back in the field of white roses. I sat up, scared. But I was alone.

I looked around. If Hale was right, this dream was my private haven. I examined my dream world closely for the first time. The first thing that struck me was the strange nature of light here. The sky was dim, like the sky at evening after the sun has dipped beyond the horizon. But the roses gleamed, almost as if they themselves generated illumination. I reached out and touched one of the roses. It felt substantial, soft and cool. I shifted my gaze to the ground.

Karayan had mentioned something about other people’s dreams. I remembered the dark water she’d summoned, full of the glowing pinpoints of light. She’d done something to the ground. I tried to mimic what I remembered her doing. I touched the ground. It was solid, like the earth. Yet somehow Karayan had managed to draw a pool out of the dirt. If I wanted to break free of this dream, I’d have to figure out exactly what she’d done.

I tried. I tried everything I could think of. I tried digging. I tried ordering a pool of liquid to form, standing there and shouting down at the ground. Nothing worked. Instinct? If I’d been a newborn depending on that first breath, I’d be dead by now.

Someone touched my shoulder. I jerked--

--And opened my eyes. Sunlight streamed into my bedroom. An entire night had passed, but in the dream it had only felt like an hour.

Dad was leaning over me, shaking my shoulder. “Honey, it’s time to get ready for school.” He read the disappointment on my face. “So... no luck?”

“No.”

“I’ll tell Hale. We can try again tonight.”

I nodded, unhappy. As I stepped into the shower, I felt totally lost. Maybe I should have taken Karayan up on that lesson after all.

Dressing for school, I ended up wearing another tank top under another too-tight shirt, covered by the sweater vest. Looking at the clothes brought on an unwelcome rush of emotion. I’d had such simple plans for the weekend. I should have gone shopping. I should have finished my term paper.

“Getting attacked by a demon really trashes your schedule,” I muttered.
And that,
a small voice inside me added,
is only if you’re lucky enough to survive.
I glanced out of my window. Lucas’ curtains were drawn tightly closed. The memory of our last conversation was vivid in my mind. I opened a dresser drawer and pulled Lucas’ note from it’s hiding place beneath some clothes. Just holding it made me feel warmer.

Dad knocked on my open bedroom door. “How do you feel about waffles?”

I tucked the note out of sight and turned, smiling. “With or without the carbon scoring?”

“Cute. Maybe I’ll try my hand at some scrambled eggs instead.” He started to leave.

“Dad?” I asked. He turned back to face me, waiting. “Gretchen...” But I wasn’t ready to tell him what she’d said before we’d left her house yesterday. “Are you sure we’re safe here?”

Dad saw the angel cameo around my neck and was quiet for a long time. “You’re my little girl. My gut’s still telling me to take you and run as far away from this as I can. But the truth is, you’re probably safer here than anywhere else.”

I bit my lip. “What if I can’t find Ais? I spent all night trying and I couldn’t even break out of my own dream.”

“The important point is, you tried.” His face creased with concern when I shook my head. “Honey. Honey. No one’s going to ask you to do anything you can’t handle.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’ll make sure they don’t.” He said this with such conviction that I actually felt calmer.

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “So what happens now?”

“Right now?” Dad smiled. “You’re on toast duty.”

When I got to school, I spotted Cassie and Royal on the quad. They were watching a group of teachers huddled together. One of the teachers covered her mouth, horrified. Large signs on the front doors directed students to ASSEMBLY. Groups of students collected across the quad, full of questions. I felt a stone in my stomach. I knew what the assembly was for. Fiedler had to tell everyone that Derek was dead.

Royal saw me first. His eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn’t ready to forgive me. I let out a long breath, straightened my shoulders and walked over. Cassie glanced up as I came to a stop beside them.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi,” Cassie answered. After a moment, she elbowed Royal. He grunted noncommittally.

“About the party.” But the party seemed so trivial compared to everything else. As I struggled to find the right words, Royal gave me a look that was distinctly hostile. Pressure started building up in my eyes. “I’m so sorry,” was all I managed to choke out. Cassie had her arms wrapped around me in two seconds. My side gave a small twinge of protest but I didn’t pull away.

“So,” Royal said stiffly. “She remembers her friends after all.”

Cassie spotted something over my shoulder and let out a strangled gasp. I saw Royal’s eyes widen in surprise and turned.

Lucas walked toward us, head down. Even wearing sunglasses, the livid patchwork of purple and yellow bruises on his face was clearly visible. He’d replaced the gauze dressing on his hand with an ace-bandage to keep the stitches covered. He joined us, and took my hand in his good hand wordlessly. I felt something lighten in my chest, and the day became a little easier to bear.

“What happened?” Royal said, sounding shaken.

“Lucas.” Cassie managed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not the one with the broken ribs,” he said, glancing at me.

“What...?” Cassie and Royal turned back to me, eyes searching my face.

Ms. Davies approached us, her eyes red and puffy. “Excuse me, kids. Everyone’s meeting in the gym for assembly. Morning classes have been cancelled.” She moved on to another group of students a little ways away. Others were already migrating toward the gym.

“Lucas,” I breathed. Lucas gave me a worried look, squeezing my hand.

Royal watched us closely.

Cassie started walking toward the gym. “What do you suppose it is?” Lucas and I didn’t move. She glanced back after a few steps, confused. “You’re not going to assembly?”

“Everyone is going to assembly,” Headmaster Fiedler said, approaching behind us. “Assembly is required.” But when we turned to face him, he blanched. “Ms. Murphy. Mr. Mitchell.” He looked lost for words. “I didn’t expect to see you back at school so soon.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” I whispered. The tears I’d struggled to hold back spilled down my cheek. I hurried to wipe them away, but I could feel Royal and Cassie staring.

Fiedler glanced at the gym and softened. “I’ll let the faculty know you’re sitting this out. Just don’t leave campus.”

I nodded gratefully.

Curiosity burned in Royal and Cassie’s eyes, but Fiedler herded them toward the gym with a stern, “Come along, you two.” I watched them walking down to the gym.

“Oh, man,” Lucas murmured. I turned to him, my question dying on my lips. Amber crooked her finger at Lucas, demanding he join her with the gesture. Lucas turned his back on her. “I can’t deal with Amber right now,” he sighed.

“I don’t think you have a choice.” I gestured with my head and Lucas turned. Amber walked straight for us, eyeing daggers at me.

“What happened to your face?” she asked. Lucas’ eyes cut to me. Amber frowned. “Tell me inside. Parker’s saving seats for us.”

“Go ahead,” Lucas said. “I’m sitting this one out.”

“Very funny. Assembly is mandatory. So let’s move before we end up stuck in the nosebleeds with the freshmen.”

Lucas sighed. “Amber, I don’t think this is working out.”

“Excuse me?” Amber blinked.

“I’m not the right guy for you,” Lucas said, quite a bit nicer than I would have been able to manage in his position. Amber opened her mouth to argue, but Lucas cut her off. “And you’re not the right girl for me.”

Her eyes dropped, noticing our hands twined together for the first time. “You might want to reconsider,” she snapped. “I think you’re forgetting: all your friends are my friends. You eat lunch with us. You hang out with us. If you want to walk away...” Amber shrugged and her meaning was clear; if Lucas left her, she’d torpedo his social life at Coronado Prep.

“I’m done being your arm candy,” Lucas said simply.

Amber stared at him for one terrible moment. Then she turned and walked to the gym.

Lucas let out a sigh. “At least that’s over.”

We walked down to the soccer field behind the gym. With everyone at assembly, the campus seemed strangely deserted. Lucas led me up the bleachers and we sat together in the empty stands. It was as much privacy as we’d ever had.

Lucas released my hand and lifted his good hand to touch my face.

“Wait,” I said, pulling back.

“Hale talked to you, too, didn’t he?” Lucas asked.

“What did he say to you?” I asked faintly.

“That if I ever wanted to be in the Guard, I should spend more time thinking about training and less time thinking about girls.” Lucas shook his head angrily. “It’s not like dating is going to turn our brains to mush.”

“Does that mean...?” I started to ask the question, but chickened out.

In answer, Lucas rested his forehead against mine. “It means I don’t care what they say.” For a long moment we held each other’s gaze, then Lucas moved, brushing my lips with his. I pulled back, trying to find the strength to resist.

Lucas caught my hand, pleading with his eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “If you still feel...” he swallowed. “If what you told me the night of your party is still true, then I’m not going to let anything keep us apart.” He lowered his eyes. “Is it?”

“Yes,” I murmured. I brushed my fingers across his uninjured cheek. He leaned into my hand. With my heart hammering in my chest, I kissed him. It was a slow, sweet kiss, and it filled me with a sense of peace. When it was over, Lucas took my hand again. We looked out over campus, waiting. The morning weighed heavily on us both.

I bit my lip. “Cassie and Royal... they’re my best friends and I can’t tell them anything.”

“Sometimes it’s kinder to let people believe what they already think is true,” Lucas said softly.

“Wouldn’t you want to know if a demon was sitting right next to you?” As I said this, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, as if warning me to shut up.

“If I couldn’t do anything about it?” Lucas searched my eyes for a long moment. “No, I don’t think I would want to know. And if I remember correctly, you weren’t too keen on hearing the truth for the first time, either.”

I dropped my eyes. “I’m starting to hate secrets.”

“You and me both. Something’s going on, but the Guard won’t tell me what it is.” Lucas’ eyes crinkled in frustration. “I could help them, but they still treat me like a child.” He sighed. “After this weekend, I’ll be lucky if they even let me continue training. Gretchen... every time she sees my face she gets freaked out all over again.” He kicked a pinecone off the edge of the metal seat in front of us, turning to me with a bittersweet smile. “Well, at least I have a partner in ignorance.” I looked up too quickly. Lucas, watching my face, faltered. “Oh. Right. Being Murphy’s daughter would come with some advantages.”

I only hesitated for a second. “A Lilitu named Ais is trying to break through the Wall that separates our worlds.”

Lucas stared at me, stunned.

“Hale thinks whatever she’s doing is going to happen on Winter Solstice. December twenty-first,” I explained. “That gives us about a month to figure out how to stop her.”

“Wow.” A wind came up behind us. Lucas absently brushed his hair out of his face, not taking his eyes off of me. “No wonder everyone’s freaking out.”