Ascension - Dream Realms Trilogy_Book 4 - Sophia Sharp

Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One End of Book Bonus: Excerpt from Chosen, Book 1 of the Seeker Saga. Book Description: Chapter One – A New Life Chapter Two – A Rocky Start Chapter Three – Traven Island Chapter Four – A Bit of History Chapter Five – Exploration Chapter Six – An Unexpected Welcome Chapter Seven – A New Meeting

Chapter Eight – An Invitation Chapter Nine – A Blue Light

Ascension (Book 3, Part 2 – Dream Realms Trilogy) By Sophia Sharp (Graced Part II)

Copyright © 2012 by Sophia Sharp This entire book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, persons – living, dead, undead, or vampire – are entirely coincidental. All right reserved. January 2012

Chapter One ~A Bitter Mood~ A dry wind blew sand across the plain. Laura had to shield her eyes to avoid getting stung. That only helped a little. The thin cloth handkerchief that hung around her neck was not much protection against the gusts, no matter what the locals said. Still, it allowed her to breathe the arid air a little easier. It was not until she got here did she realize just how pure the air back home had been. After her transformation, and the sensory magnifications that came with it, she should have been more attune to it. But, for some reason, she had never really noticed. It was only here, in Egypt, did she start to appreciate how pure the air was in North America. There was a lot more she preferred about North America, too. Maybe it was just because of her transformation, but once she stepped off the plane onto the small, hidden airfield that Jacob somehow got access to did the assault on her senses begin. The air here scratched her throat and dried her skin. Within minutes of exposure, she felt more uncomfortable than she ever had in her life. It was the dry climate that did it, coupled with the monstrous heat. As a Vassiz, she would have thought herself less susceptible to such irritations than before, but apparently that wasn’t the case. At least she wasn’t alone. All the others with her had the same reaction. Alexander and Madison, Logan and Jacob, they all complained of the same ailments. The dry air was just not meant for a Vassiz. Yet here was where they had been since stepping foot on the parched land nearly three weeks ago. Here, in Egypt, where Rafael had told them the repository of torrial might be. And where the angels later confirmed it was. But, since the last meeting in the dream realm between Alexander, Madison, Rafael, and the angels, the angels had cut off all communication. Something had happened between them and Rafael that time. Because of it, the angels were of no help. It was only once they found the repository would the angels deign to meet with them again. It was a frustrating predicament for Laura. And searching for the repository, with absolutely no hints to its whereabouts, was becoming a fool’s errand. It could be anywhere in this blasted country. Despite looking

nonstop, day and night, for the better part of three weeks, she and her companions were no closer to discovering it than they were the first day. Which was perhaps why she felt so much on edge, now. Laura picked her way across the sand dunes, angling toward the makeshift tent she now lived in. A lack of progress toward finding the repository, coupled with a dwindling hope that it would even be possible to find it put her in a sour mood. At least the sun’s rays had abated slightly since their peak a few hours ago. She was not looking forward to returning to the tent. It was no larger than her room at home had been once. She wouldn’t have minded it so much, were it not for the fact that the entire space was shared by four other people. Four other Vassiz, as it were. Alexander, Madison, Logan, and Jacob. The only solace she could find in that situation was that Jacob was not always there. After bringing them here, he flew back home so as not to arouse suspicion. But after hearing of their troubles, he returned to lend a hand. He thought he could help, and Madison seemed to trust him. Because of that, they all had to trust him, and so far, he had done nothing to betray that trust. Still, Laura felt a little uneasy discussing things in the open with him listening. She had thought the search would have been simple when she first made the trip. Well, maybe not simple, but entirely less frustrating than it was turning out to be. She had naively imagined they would just show up in Egypt, look around a bit, and find the repository all in the space of a few days. She snorted. It was almost comedic how far that was from the truth. They had been searching fruitlessly for weeks. And as each day slowly stretched by, Laura’s feeling of apprehension about the whole endeavor grew stronger and stronger. They could not hide from the elders forever, and staying in one spot made them more vulnerable. If they didn’t find the repository soon, they would be discovered. Staying in place guaranteed that. That was why they had set up the tent miles away from any form of civilization, with nothing but sand stretching in all direction. If they could avoid notice, perhaps they could stretch their luck a little further. It wouldn’t have been that bad, Laura thought laconically, if they at least knew the repository were close by. As it were, all they had to go on was Rafael’s vague

description of where it might be. They were near Cairo, and have been searching the swelling city day and night. But as far as they knew, the repository could be in any other of the hundred towns and cities in Egypt. Laura suppressed an angry growl as a speck of sand flew into her eye. She blinked it out. More often than not, she had found herself feeling that way recently. Angry. A lack of tangible progress made it so, worsened only by the fact that she felt like she was hanging everyone out to dry, waiting for the elders to come along and find them. Logan followed her because he loved her. And she loved him back, but they had had precious little time to themselves these last three weeks. Alexander and Madison had followed her, because… well, she wasn’t sure why, exactly. And it wasn’t that she didn’t feel thankful for the presence; rather, she felt a horrible feeling of responsibility toward them should anything go wrong. Which was somewhat ridiculous, considering how much older and more experienced they were than her. It had been their decision to come along, to tie themselves onto her in her mission against the elders, after all. Still, she was their leader. That thought sounded ridiculous as well. Although she thought she had started adapting to the role fairly well before they left, now her command of it was slowly slipping away. Doubt crept in instead. What kind of leader brought her followers into something so hopeless, so utterly insane? If she had been smart, she should have left everyone in Washington and gone at it alone. At least that way she wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt should anything go wrong. Or maybe not. She wasn’t even sure anymore. If she came here by herself, the chances of finding the repository would have been slim to none. And the others wanted to come with her. She did not think she could have stopped them if she tried. That did not help the fear she felt for their wellbeing. The only thing she knew for certain, though, was that the longer they stayed here, the more vulnerable they became. Which was why finding the repository was so important. Without it, they would have no chance against the elders, who, by the way, were still actively pooling all their resources and searching for them. Laura couldn’t hide here forever. Neither could those with her. It was only a sense of duty that kept her here. She

had promised Gabrielle and the angels that she would seek revenge against the elders for what they did to them. Not only that, but destroying the elders was also the only way to ensure she could live the rest of her life in peace. Looking for the repository was an absolute necessity, and she would search every rock, structure, and alley here by herself if that’s what it took. Yet no matter how necessary she knew this all to be, the sheer frustration of the process left her on edge. She had no way of telling when they would find the repository, or even if they were looking in the right place. Or even if they would ever find it. No! She shook her head. They would find it, because doing so would be the only way to release the elders’ maniacal grip of power over other Vassiz. She was set to lead, and the others would not be here were it not for her. So she had to lead them well. She stopped to shield her face as another gust of wind blew sand into the air. The sooner they found the repository, the sooner she could get out of this god forsaken land. She noticed the tent in the distance and picked up her pace. Maybe somebody else would have better news than she. She was tired of wasted days. As she approached, she could start to make out the sound of voices inside. Despite her augmented hearing, she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying against the wind. Well, she’d find out soon enough. Laura quickly covered the remaining distance and opened the tent flap. Three faces turned to her. Logan smiled when he saw her, although the expression did not reach his eyes. He was just as stressed as she was. Alexander nodded curtly at her. He looked tired and drawn out. Madison was the only one who had been able to remain composed, although the way she had taken to speaking recently, with short, clipped sentences, betrayed the act. “Any news?” Laura asked as she sat down beside Logan. He moved to put an arm around her, but she shrugged him away. She was in no mood for displays of affection right now. “None,” Alexander replied sourly. “I only got back a few minutes ago.” “Nothing for me, either,” Logan sighed. His eyes tightened. “And I’ve tried everything I can.”

“Well, I have made some progress,” Madison said. “Although not on the torrial front.” In addition to searching, Madison had been charged with finding out if there was some way to use the herbs they had picked up from the two hunters, Serkhol and Borrak. The mixture had been able to knock a Vassiz out cold, though Madison was trying to figure out if they could use those properties for something else. Since taking blood, neither Laura nor Logan could fall asleep, and so neither could access the dream realm. It was another roadblock they had to overcome: to make use of the angels’ help, they had to fight the elders in the dream realm. But unless Madison could figure out how to use the herbs to help Laura and Logan fall asleep, without sapping either of them of their powers, there was no telling when the effects of taking blood would fade away. Moreover, Laura’s first feeding had been on Vassiz blood, which was much stronger, and much more potent, than regular human blood. So it was expected that it would take much longer for the effects of her feeding to wear off compared to the effects of Logan’s. “Well?” Laura asked. “What is it?” In the past week, Madison frequently suggested to have made some vague sort of progress. Twice she had thought that she had perfected the formula, and twice, upon taking it, Laura discovered she had not. The first time, the thick syrup made all of Laura’s Vassiz senses fade away, but, unlike when Serkhol and Borrak administered it, it did not make her pass out. Instead, a wave of paranoia gripped her, and she spent the better part of two days convinced every shadow moving in the distance was the elders coming for her. The second time, Laura’s senses did not fade away, but she fell instantly into a deep and troubled sleep. Nightmares haunted her mind, more vivid than she could believe, but the dream realm remained inaccessible. At least that time, she had only lost a few hours when she was asleep. “I think,” Madison said slowly, “that I know what went wrong last time.” “That’s it?” Laura snapped. “That’s all you have for your progress?” “Do not be so quick to dismiss it,” Madison said with an icy calm. “Without subjects to test it on, it takes days to figure out even the simplest thing.” “You’re right,” Laura sighed. “I’m sorry. I know

you’ve been working hard.” “We all have,” Alexander noted. “I know. It’s just we’ve been here so long, and we haven’t actually accomplished anything…” “Getting here was an accomplishment by itself,” Madison said. “I know. But now that we have, I just… I don’t know, I would have thought the search for the repository would have gone smoother, that’s all.” “Even if we found it earlier, Laura,” Logan put in gently, “it wouldn’t have mattered before Madison formulated the potion.” “I know,” Laura sighed. “It just feels like we’re sitting ducks here, waiting for the elders to strike.” “They’ll have a hard time finding us in this desert,” Alexander said. “We’ve all been careful not to give ourselves away when going to town.” “But is that enough? What if somebody recognizes one of us?” “Out here?” Alexander barked a cruel laugh. “That’d be quite a feat. There are Vassiz worldwide, yes, but none that we would know. And besides, the disguises…” “Right.” The disguises. They weren’t much, but they made quite a difference. Her own hair was now a streaked blond, rather than the dark brown she was used to. Every time she caught a look of herself in a mirror, or some other reflective surface, she was startled at how much different she looked. Couple that with the physical changes that came about following her transformation, and almost nobody else would pin her as the same girl the elders had shown to the other Vassiz. “So, Madison, what was it that went wrong?” “Too strong a mixture,” Madison answered. “Contaminated with impure ingredients. Only the purest will work, I fear.” “Will you be able to find them here?” “I think I’ll be able to,” she said coyly. “And once I do, the formula will be ready.” “That’s good,” Laura said. “If it works, that means we’ll be ready as soon as we find the repository.” “It’ll work,” Madison confirmed. “I’m sure of it.” “Good. Now then, has anyone heard from Jacob?” He had left that morning without a word, presumably to go look for the repository on his own. “No,” Logan shook his head. Alexander made the

same gesture. Even Madison shrugged. Laura dug her nails into the palm of her hand. She was always the last one to get back to the tent after a day of searching. That was what they agreed upon, because if the elders found the tent it afforded her the best chance of getting away. But now that Jacob had arrived, he had taken to staying out all day and nearly all night before returning to report his progress. None of them knew exactly where he went, either. It put Laura on edge. “Well, nothing we can do but wait, then,” Laura said in a tight voice. They had all agreed to come back to the tent twice in every twenty-four hour period, once at dawn and once at dusk, to report whatever progress they’d made. And none of them ventured out again before seeing the others. “He’ll be here,” Madison promised. “Soon.”

Chapter Two ~Progress~ They waited for Jacob in the tent. After an hour had passed, Laura had had enough. They could not just waste time like that, while the elders were still out there looking for them. Every minute spend still was a minute wasted. And yet, she knew that she couldn’t go out again before seeing Jacob. They had to coordinate their efforts before and after every search. The small tent was stifling. Madison and Alexander were talking off to the side in low tones, but nothing they said concerned her. Logan had tried speaking to her a few times, but she just wasn’t in a talkative mood. Nothing was going right, and it was all her fault. An inkling of a plan began to form in her mind, and she was sure it was one the others would not like. Still, they were all her responsibility, and she had to ensure they stayed safe. After the fifth or sixth time Laura brushed Logan aside, he got up and stalked out into the night. She hadn’t meant to upset him, but she really had too much on her mind at the moment. What would happen if she failed? She didn’t want to even begin thinking of the consequences, but she could not avoid it. Every day that went by without so much as a hint to the whereabouts of the repository brought her closer and closer to failure. There were so many others relying on her. The angels, for one. They had been wrongfully imprisoned by the elders long ago, and she swore to take revenge based on that. Her family, as well. They must still be wondering what happened to her since she just disappeared from school what seemed like so long ago. Although she knew she could never see them again, she still wanted to make sure they were safe. And of course, Madison, Alexander, and Logan, all relied on her to ensure they succeeded. But it wasn’t just them. She had been able to get a lot of thinking done these past few weeks, and come to a startling conclusion. If the elders were taken down, not only would the other Vassiz stop chasing her, but they would also become, for the first time in their whole existence, free. Free from answering to some higher council, and free from living in fear of the elders’ wrath. Free to be who they wanted. Despite what the packs did to her, chasing her from her home, and uprooting her from her simple life, she couldn’t believe that they were all bad. Alexander and

Madison, and even Jacob, proved otherwise. Logan too, of course, but he was so different from the rest that it barely counted. He was of course unlike any of the others. But the other Vassiz had only chased after her on the orders of their superiors. Because of that, she held no grudge against them. It was not like any of them could have rejected the orders. At least, not without consequence. None of them really had a choice. But if the elders were taken down, the Vassiz worldwide would become free to make choices of their own. Laura only hoped that the kindness she saw from Alexander, Madison, Logan, Jacob, and Rafael would in the end supersede the manipulative, dark demeanor of Vassiz that she had been told to expect. A hand on her shoulder startled her from her thoughts. She looked over, and found Madison standing beside her. “Logan’s been out for quite some time,” she said softly. “Maybe you should go check on him.” “He’s fine,” Laura said curtly. Madison tsked. “You may be intelligent, Laura, but you’re also young.” She smiled to show she meant no harm. “That’s your man out there, and you’ve been ignoring him all day. I’d bet all I have he’s feeling pretty dejected right now.” “What?” Logan was strong, and he wasn’t one to be so prone to emotions. Was he? “He knows better than that.” “So it might seem to you. But inside, we’re all running on the same emotions. Each one of us is frustrated, Laura, but these are the times we need to stick together the most. Besides, I know you two haven’t had much time alone recently.” “No,” Laura admitted. “Well, now may be the best opportunity you get, while we’re waiting for Jacob to return.” Madison smiled. “There’s no harm in it, in either case.” “No, I guess not,” Laura mumbled, and stood up. Madison went back to Alexander, and Laura lifted the flap to go outside. It was dark, but she could see through the night as well as if it were day. However, she did not see Logan anywhere. She looked down to the ground, and found his footsteps leading away into the desert. The imprints were light, and barely visible. But they were enough for Laura to figure out where Logan went.

She followed the trail away from the tent. At night, the wind seemed to always subside, and the heat wasn’t so bad as during the day. Here, nighttime was the only time Laura felt comfortable. She followed Logan’s footsteps up toward a sand dune, at which point they disappeared. She felt a small breeze against her skin. It must have swept over the trail he made. She walked on, topping the rise. Then, on the other side, she found Logan, sitting on the ground and looking away from her. She had been quiet following him, and didn’t think he knew she was there. Laura just watched him for a few moments. His dark hair had grown out quite a bit since she first met him. It looked almost like a mane, now. He stared out into the distance, not moving. While she couldn’t see his face, she could tell from the way his shoulders slumped down that he must be feeling just as discouraged with their current situation as she was. He turned his head back abruptly, right toward her. His eyes caught the full glare of the moon, and shone like diamonds in the dark. Laura nearly stumbled back in surprise. “How’d you know I was here?” she asked, picking her way down toward him. She was sure she made no noise. “You breathe as loudly as a cow,” he said plainly, and despite the insult, Laura smiled. At least he could still joke around. “And you walk heavy as an elephant,” she said. “Even a human child could have followed you here from the tent.” “Maybe I wanted to be followed.” “That’s what Madison said.” Laura knelt down behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders. His back was tense. She started massaging it gently with her thumbs. Logan let his head fall forward. “I guess this isn’t quite what you expected when you made the choice to come out here, huh?” he asked gently. “No,” Laura admitted. “I did not think it would be this hard.” “Things are always hard, Laura. Nothing about what we’re doing is going to be easy.” “But it’s not even that,” she said. “It’s worse. You know how I feel. Every day that goes by without progress is a day lost. We can’t expect to remain here forever. And

while we’re searching, the elders are getting stronger. And closer to finding us. We have to strike at them before they find us, but I’m afraid…” “Yes?” “I’m afraid we won’t find the repository in time. I’m afraid the elders will find us, first, and we’ll be helpless against them.” Logan turned around and caught her hands in his. He looked at her deeply. “You’ll never be helpless with me by your side.” She smiled weakly. “I know. But what happens when we face all the elders? What if they come at us, together? All of us – me, you, Madison, Alexander – were nearly bested by two of their hunters. And there are eight of them! Unless we find the repository soon, and have the angels on our side, we’ll be outnumbered by the most powerful of the Vassiz. And I don’t know how much our courage can do for us then.” Logan frowned. “When did you become so pensive?” “I’ve just been thinking a lot recently,” Laura answered. “About what we’re doing, about how we’re doing it. About everything.” “You’re not changing your mind about any of this, are you?” Logan said dangerously. “What? No! But I sometimes wonder if we’re going about it the right way.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, look. The elders are after me, and me only, right? They don’t know about Madison or Alexander. They definitely don’t know about Jacob. And they might not even know about you.” “They know about me,” Logan said. “Fine. So they—” “I’m tied to you, you know.” Laura smiled weakly again. “I know. Thank you.” “And no matter what happens, I will never let them do anything to you.” He took her head between his hands and knelt his forehead to touch hers. “I’m here for you, Laura, and you can’t forget that. Everything we do, we do together. There’s no turning back. And the only way forward – the only way any of us will get to live our lives as we want – is to keep going forward.” “That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? Trying to go forward? But we never know if we’re actually succeeding

or not. Three weeks of searching have yielded nothing. Are we really moving forward? Or are we just running in place?” “You can’t give up hope now. We’ve accomplished so much together—” “And yet done so little. We’ve managed to run away, Logan, and nothing more. We’ve delayed the inevitable, maybe. But who am I to think I can somehow influence the structure of power within the Vassiz?” “It’s been prophesized.” “I know. But that hasn’t been enough. Has it? I’m prophesized to bring down the elders. Or am I? Maybe we’ve misunderstood it all along. Maybe it’s speaking of someone else. Maybe—” “It speaks of you, Laura,” Logan said with immense conviction. “I am sure of it. You are the one who will lead us against the elders.” Laura nodded. “I hope so. But it’s just…” “A little overwhelming?” Laura nodded, and Logan laughed. “I know. You’re not going at it alone, you know. We’re all here with you. We’re all doing our best.” “But what if our best isn’t good enough? What if we never find the repository? What then?” “Then we will think of something else,” Logan replied. “And if that doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else yet again. We can never back down. You swore to the angels to seek revenge. There’s no turning back for us after that.” “For me, there isn’t,” Laura corrected. Then she added softly, “For you, there might be.” Logan stared up at her. “…What are you talking about?” “I’ve just been thinking. It’s me the elders are looking for, not any of you. If you leave now, maybe all of you can get to safety.” “You’re not serious?” “I swear it.” Laura took a deep breath. This is what she’d been dreading to say, but it was time for it to come out for Logan to hear. “You’re only linked to me because you’ve been seen with me, Logan. The elders aren’t worried about you. It’s me they’re after, and every day you stay here is another day for you to get caught. For any of us to get caught. I just don’t… I don’t want to see anybody get hurt because of me. If you leave, and take Madison and

Alexander with you, I can keep searching here. But at least that way, I’ll know all of you are safe. You can get on with your life, and forget about me. If the elders do find me, then I’ll be the only one to suffer. But if I am really the one prophecy spoke of, what difference will it make if I go at it alone or not? If I’m destined to succeed, I will do it anyway, and if we’re all wrong about the prophecy, well, at least that way I’m the only one who gets hurt. I will feel better knowing you’re safe.” “Laura,” Logan said gravely, “if you’re taken away from me… I will suffer. I don’t know what’s gotten in your mind lately, but I am not leaving you. No matter what you say. Madison and Alexander will feel the same way.” “I thought that’s what you’d say,” Laura said. “But think! If—” “No. Laura, do you understand me? No. I will not leave you here alone. None of us will. We’re all in this together. And nothing you can say will change that.” “I just thought—” “No! I’m not leaving you. Can’t you get that through your thick skull? I am staying here with you. I love you, Laura.” Laura smiled sadly. “And I you, Logan, but…” “Just stop thinking,” he said simply. “Come here.” He took her in his arms and brought her close. Being held like that, Laura felt safe. Uncertain about the future, yes, but still safe. “At what point do we decide we’ve searched long enough?” Laura asked after a few minutes of silence. “Maybe the repository isn’t even here. Maybe we’re just wasting our time.” “That could be a possibility,” Logan said slowly, “but I do not believe it to be the case. I think we’re getting closer every day.” “To me, it seems like we’re going around in circles.” “That’s not true. Today, I—” “Found nothing, just like the rest of us.” “No, that’s not true. I think… I may be getting closer.” “You are?” Laura exclaimed. “Why didn’t you mention anything?” “I did not want to raise false hopes until I was sure.” “Oh.” “And I can’t be sure until I see the repository with my own eyes. But I’ve heard some of the locals say the same thing too many times for it to be a coincidence. They all

mention a building… that has stood in place for the entirety of their memory.” “You think that might be it?” “It may,” Logan said carefully. “Rafael would not lead us astray. This is where he believed it to be. So, despite how little progress you may think we’ve made so far, I think we’re getting closer.” “What you found makes you believe that?” “Yes. I’m going there again as soon as Jacob returns.” “I’ll go with you.” “No.” Laura was taken aback by the harshness of his reply. “No? Why not?” “It is too dangerous.” “Too dangerous? What are you talking about? I’ve faced everything with you, Logan, and proven my worth. I’m not afraid of what we might find there.” “It’s not that, Laura.” “Then what is it?” “If we go together, we can attract unwanted attention. Especially if the building is something many of the locals know about. I remember what you told me about Selaine. How she kept guard over the archive? Perhaps there are similar people watching here. And we don’t want to raise any suspicions. If I go along, I can stake out the building, maybe even get inside, unseen. And while I don’t doubt your ability, or willingness, it’s something that is just easier for me to do on my own.” “Fine,” Laura grumbled. “But be careful. You’ll go tonight?” “That’s the plan. And then if I find anything, I’ll be back to report it in the morning.”

Chapter Three ~A Little Drink~ Jacob hadn’t returned by the time Laura and Logan got back to the tent. While that was somewhat worrying, Laura was thinking more about Logan’s potential discovery. What if the building he found actually contained the repository? All the weeks of frustration and futile searching would be made worthwhile. And they would know as soon as the morning. Despite the rule of waiting for everybody to return before setting out again, Laura let Logan go before Jacob came back. There was no point in waiting now that they may have found the repository. Either way, the sooner they knew definitively whether or not that was the case, the better. A few minutes after Logan left, Laura nearly succumbed to her desire to trail after him. It didn’t matter that he made her promise not to do it – for her, the anxiety of not knowing was too much. But, after a watchful look from Madison, Laura thought better of it, and remained in place. So it was her, Madison, and Alexander together in the tent, waiting for Jacob to return. Usually, such inactivity would have driven Laura crazy, but she knew that Logan was on the best lead they’ve had since getting here. If anybody could find the repository by himself, it would be him. Laura wondered what would be in the repository. Based on what Rafael said, there would be torrial there. Torrial, the mystical devices that drew upon the powers of the dream realm to grant the user supernatural power. Laura had used one herself, before she even knew what it was, when she opened the vault door together with Alexander in the mines. It was only later, when Rafael showed them his single torrial, did she realize the danger that came with using them unguided. The torrial formed a connection with its user, but if something untoward happened, whoever was using it risked losing their mind forever. It was not a pleasant thing to think about. But using the torrial was essential. Without the devices, Laura knew they would have no chance against the elders. With the devices in hand, they stood a chance at victory. A small chance, but it was there.

The uncertainty, of course, was in not knowing what kind of torrial they would find. What kind, or how many. It was entirely plausible that even if Logan found the repository, none of the torrial inside would be of use. Or, even worse, nobody would know just how to use them, or what for. They were searching for a mystical weapon that might not even exist. But the repository did exist – Laura was now sure of it. If it didn’t, why would the angels insist on holding off meetings in the dream realm before the repository was found? In fact, the angels seemed to know where it was, but, alas, could not bring any of them to its location in the dream realm. To travel wide distances like that, one had to know the destination perfectly, and since none in her group had ever been to the repository, travelling it in the dream realm would have been impossible. Although, Laura sometimes wondered if they wouldn’t have been better served by conducting the search in the dream realm itself. Time flowed differently there, and it would have eased the pressure she felt by taking advantage of that quality. A week’s search in the dream realm may have only resulted in a day’s passage in the real world. Of course, that option was outside the realm of possibility for both her and Logan. Madison and Alexander could have done it, but Laura would not have felt right leaving them both asleep, and vulnerable, while she and Logan continued the search in the human world. No, the way they had gone about things was the right way, Laura knew. It was just the frustrations of the past three weeks getting to her that made her question herself. But, now that they were potentially so much closer, Laura could wait. There was nothing else to do. So she sat in the tent patiently, waiting for both Logan and Jacob to return. The sun had started to climb out from the horizon when Laura’s ears picked up the sound of someone approaching. She sprang out the tent in an instant. In the distance, she could see two shapes approaching. One looked like Logan, and the other… Jacob? But he was leaning over strangely, using Logan’s shoulder for support. “What do you see?” Alexander asked beside her. He had come out right after her, but his vision was not as sharp as hers. Neither was Madison’s. Laura had the best eyesight, and the most highly tuned senses, because of her recent feeding.

“It’s Logan,” she said. “And Jacob’s with him. But it doesn’t look like he can walk on his own.” “Is he hurt?” Madison asked, worry filling her voice. Jacob had been like a father to her once, which is why she trusted him with her life. She also cared deeply for him. “No, it’s not that,” Laura said slowly. Now that the two figures had gotten closer, Laura thought she had a better understanding of what was going on. Jacob was leaning on Logan for support, yes, but the way he walked was not like somebody injured. Rather, it was like… like somebody drunk! Jacob stumbled from side to side, and could barely keep his head up. He kept motioning with his free hand at something in the distance, and Logan looked like he was struggling to keep Jacob on course. “He looks like he’s had too much to drink!” Alexander stepped beside Laura. “Yes, I think you’re right.” He squinted once, looked over to Madison, and gave a curt nod. “Yes, that’s definitely Jacob. I would recognize him in that condition anywhere.” And with that, he turned around and promptly entered the tent. “What was that about?” Laura asked curiously. “Never mind,” Madison said. “Come on, Logan looks like he could use some help.” Madison hurried over to meet the two men, and Laura followed after her. When they were within earshot, Logan gave a cruel laugh. “I found this one getting drunk in the pits,” he said. “The damn fool could have given us away!” “I… away?” Jacob muttered. “Ha! I would not… either if I… wanted could… to you!” Logan rolled his eyes, and hefted Jacob onto Madison’s shoulders. “He’s been talking about you the whole way back. Figured you might want to see him.” Madison snorted. “In this condition? Hardly!” But despite what she said, she put her arm carefully around Jacob’s side and helped him forward. He was big, so he nearly toppled her over, but she steadied herself quickly. “Come on, Jacob, you’ve got to sober up.” Jacob looked at her, but didn’t seem to recognize what she said. Instead, he started going on about where he’d been. Madison led him away as Laura stood back with Logan. Once Madison and Jacob were a safe distance away, Laura turned to Logan. “So?” she asked. Logan raised his eyebrows in mock indignation.

“So? That’s all you have to say? I rescued our dear friend over there, and I don’t even get thanks?” “You can ask Madison for the accolades,” Laura said. “You’ll only get them from me if you found what you thought you would.” “Well, then you’d better get ready to start singing my praises,” Logan countered. “Because right before stumbling upon Jacob, I had a chance to check the building out.” “And…?” “And I think it’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.” Laura gasped. They had been trying for so long, and so hard, without any success, that to finally have found it… it was beyond comprehension. “That’s amazing! So you... went inside? Checked it out? What was it like?” “No, no, nothing like that,” Logan said quickly. “The building is locked up. I could have gotten in, but it would have been impossible to do it without attracting attention.” “Then how do you know it houses the repository?” “Precisely because of the fact it was locked up,” Logan said. “It’s in the middle of the slums. A really dirty part of town, filled with vagrants and cutpurses. All the buildings there are falling apart, but that one more than any other. However, it was the only one out of all of them with a lock on the front door. Not only that, but the windows were all boarded up. I snapped the padlock on the front door easily, but behind it was another set of heavy, concrete doors. I couldn’t get past those by myself. From the looks of it, nobody had been there for generations, and yet, it was still heavily protected. Why? Who would lock up a dilapidated old building in the middle of the worst part of the city? No, there’s definitely something inside, and I would bet apples to gold that the repository is it.” “That’s great,” Laura said. Her enthusiasm had dropped only slightly when she realized that Logan wasn’t one hundred percent sure that the building was the right one. Still, it put them in a better position than they were in yesterday, or any time before. “When can we go see?” “We can go right now, if you want,” Logan said. “Although I think we should let the others know, first.” “Of course,” Laura said quickly. “That’s what I meant.” They walked briskly to the tent, catching up to Madison and Jacob before reaching the entrance. Laura held the flaps open while Madison brought Jacob through.

Logan came in next. “As I expected,” Alexander said unkindly when he saw Jacob. “See, Madison, that is why I did not want to involve him!” “Yes, so he can sometimes have too much to drink,” Madison said exasperatedly, “but that does not mean he’s given us away.” “I didn’t say that,” Alexander said levelly. “Just that the potential for him to do so is there.” “Of course it was there,” Madison snapped, “just like it’s there for you, or me, or any of us! What matters is that he didn’t do it.” “You can’t be sure of that,” Alexander replied coolly. “I am! I trust him. He wouldn’t give us away!” “Nobody can guarantee what comes out of a man’s mouth when he’s had too much to drink.” “And nobody should raise false suspicions!” Laura had had enough. “Stop it!” she yelled out. “Can we get away from the petty fighting? Please? Logan has made a breakthrough!” Alexander and Madison both stopped and looked at Logan. “Have you?” Madison asked. In a flash her face become pure composure. “Is it what you thought, then?” Logan nodded. “I believe it is. I managed to get close enough to the building to inspect it.” “And?” Alexander asked. Jacob was slouched over on the floor, leaning against one of the tent’s poles. “What did you find?” “I believe what we are looking for is inside,” Logan said. “Although the building is well secured. It will take a few of us to break in.” Alexander whistled through his teeth. “Three weeks of searching, and out of the blue, you come up with this? Remarkable!” He clapped Logan on the back. “Well done!” He turned and looked at Laura. “When shall we go?” “Right away,” Laura replied without pause. She had been waiting for this moment for an excruciatingly long time, and wouldn’t let anything delay her. “I do not think Jacob is in the proper condition right now,” Madison put in. “You can stay with him,” Laura said. She thought Madison raised a questioning eyebrow in response, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Perhaps she imagined it. She was the one who was supposed to lead them, after all.

“Alexander, you will come with Logan and me. Madison, you’ll stay here and make sure Jacob is alright. How long do you think until he recovers?” “Vassiz blood is strong,” Madison said with a grin. “It’s nothing like human blood. I’d say the effects of the alcohol will wear off completely in an hour. Two, at worst.” “Good. We should be back by then.” She looked at Logan to see if he agreed with her estimate, and he gave her a confirmatory nod. “If not, I don’t want you to go come for us. Stay here. If we’re not back before nightfall, you’ll know something is wrong. I want you to take Jacob and get out of.” “I will not stand by while you let this rotten fool risk his life for you,” Madison said emphatically, with a glare at Alexander. Despite the words, her tone held a tiny bit of… mirth. “Neither will I run and hide should you find unexpected danger. We are in this together Laura, and our wellbeing is our own responsibility, not yours.” She shook her head. “No, I will not leave with Jacob. I will wait till nightfall as you want, but should you not return, we will both go after you.” “Do not be foolish,” Alexander began, but Madison rose right over him. “You would do the same for me, would you not? There is no honor in cowering in the shadows.” “Fine,” Laura agreed quickly, not wanting to spark another of their congenial disagreements. “You can go if we don’t return by nightfall. But I doubt very much things will take that long. Right?” “As long as we can get into the building,” Logan agreed, “we can get back out. We’ll find what we need as soon as we’re through the front doors. And if the repository turns out not to be there…” “Let’s not plan for that,” Laura said. “Right.” Logan grinned. “After three weeks of searching, it’s hard to be anything but pessimistic, yet this might just be it.” “We’ll see soon enough,” Laura agreed. The anticipation she felt was killer.

Chapter Four ~A Crooked Building~ Laura walked beside Logan down the narrow street. Alexander was far behind them, watching from a distance in case they should stumble upon any trouble. Laura didn’t think that was going to be likely. The street they were on was one of the back alleys of a very poor neighborhood. The buildings that lined them on either side were broken and old, and the few windows that overlooked the street were devoid of glass. The outside façade of many of the structures was covered in ancient graffiti, and the ground was littered with trash. Logan told Laura that the main streets would be busy at this time, and, to avoid attracting attention, led her and Alexander on a winding, circuitous path that kept them as far away from prying eyes as possible. One of the first things Laura noticed on entering this part of the city was the horrible stench of the place. She had gotten somewhat used to the very defining and poignant smells of a city, bustling with human life, over the last three weeks, but this area was unlike any she’d yet encountered. The scents that violated her nose were sharp and stinging, dank and corrupt, all in one. They were the scents of decay, of a dying part of civilization. Few who lived in this part of town seemed to care anymore, and their apathy was reflected in the crumbling buildings and dirty streets. Despite Logan’s best attempts to avoid notice, they still passed a few people along the way. Most were male, although Laura noticed a few women from the corner of her eye. The females tended to stay away from strangers. Unfortunately, that was not the way of the males. The first person who spotted them, a cocky middleaged man with bad facial hair, made no effort to hide his excitement. Strangers were unexpected around these parts, and two teenagers wandering together were easy targets. He got up from the side and stood to block their path. “Just where d’ya think yer goin’?” he asked casually, pulling back the side of his jacket to reveal a large, evillooking knife. He smiled unkindly and stepped toward them. “You aren’t welcome around these parts.” “Let me handle this,” Logan whispered under his breath, so softly that only Laura’s ears could have picked it

up. She nodded imperceptible and stood to the side. Logan stepped forward. “Friend,” Logan began grandly, spreading his arms, “we mean you no harm. Let us pass, and we will not trouble you.” The man’s face contorted into a wicked smile. Then he started to laugh. “You? Trouble me? That won’t be the case here, boy. Y’know, I find yer smug attitude insultin’. How ‘bout you give me whatcha got in that wallet of yers, and the girl. Then I’ll let you be on yer way.” He mocked a bow. “I don’t want any trouble,” Logan said. “And I will not give you the girl. But my wallet should more than make up for it.” He reached his hand slowly into his pocket to produce a leather wallet. He tossed it onto the ground in front of him. “There. Take a look inside, I’m sure it’s more than what you need.” The man grinned and threw himself at the wallet. Logan made no attempt to move. Scooping the wallet up in one hand, the man greedily ripped it open. His smile quickly faded. “Why, this is empty! You lyin’, deceitful son of a bitch!” He grabbed the knife buckled to his belt. “I’m gonna make you pay for that. I’m gonna kill you, and the girl too!” He lunged at Logan with the knife. Logan, of course, stepped smoothly to one side to avoid the blow. He caught the man’s wrist and swept it upwards, using the man’s momentum to lift him high into the air. Logan kicked his foot out, and the man’s feet went out from under him. In one easy move, Logan had the man flat on his back. The knife rebounded from the man’s hand toward Laura. The man reached out for it, but Logan had him pinned. “Laura?” Logan beckoned, extending one arm toward her. “The knife, please?” Laura picked it up and handed it to him. She didn’t like the grimy feel of the hilt, nor the dirt on the blade. The knife had been used many times before, it seemed. “Thank you. Now, then.” Logan had one knee on the man’s chest, who was squirming ineffectively under the pressure. Logan took the knife and brought it close to the man’s face, so the sun’s rays reflected off the blade into his eyes. “I don’t want you threatening any more passersby like you did us, got it?” Logan began in a menacing tone. “Do

you have any more weapons on you?” The man shook his head vigorously. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “Good. This is your only one?” Without waiting for the man to answer, Logan lifted the knife high above him and thrust it at the man’s forehead. Laura didn’t even have time to gasp. The man cried out in fear. Logan’s extraordinary reflexes showed as the blade stopped just a hair’s breadth away from the man’s skin. The man’s eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed, and he fainted. Logan stepped off him and grimaced. “A loud mouth and no courage. Men like him disgust me.” “You didn’t mean to kill him, did you?” “Out here?” Logan laughed. “Absolutely not. No matter what he might have done, killing in daylight is a surefire way to attract unwanted attention. Besides, I don’t kill needlessly. You know that. Only… to feed.” “That’s what I thought,” Laura replied breathlessly. “We’ve got to figure out what to do with him,” Logan said, motioning toward the still body. “We can’t just leave him here for anyone to find.” “Maybe we could make it look like he passed out from the sun?” “A good idea, actually,” Logan said. “Come on, let’s move him back to his corner.” Laura helped Logan pick the man up and carry him back to where he was before. Close up, he reeked of dirt and human sweat. Despite what she was, the smells disgusted Laura. She would not have taken his blood if he was the last human left alive and she hadn’t fed in years. They propped him up against a wall. Laura looked around as they were doing so, and was relieved to see that still, there was nobody around. Next, Logan returned to the spot where the short-lived fight had occurred and retrieved the man’s blade. “You’re not going to leave it with him, are you?” Laura asked. “If I don’t,” Logan said, “he will just find another one. And what happened today won’t even make him think twice. However…” he took the blade between his fingers, and began to curl it onto itself. Laura would have expected the metal to snap, but Logan did it with a natural dexterity. It took him a few minutes, but in the end, the blade was warped beyond recognition. Logan tossed it to the man’s side. “Let him try to use that against somebody. It’ll serve

as a warning. If he even so much as thinks as robbing someone again, he’ll remember what happened this time. And how he was lucky I was feeling generous.” Laura smiled. Logan had a fascinating way of thinking about things. She didn’t know how much of a deterrent the blade would be, but she hoped Logan was right. And she was proud of him at how he handled the situation. Logan winked at her as if he had read her thoughts. “Come on. If we don’t get out of the shadows, Alexander might think something happened to us.” They went back to the middle of the street, and sure enough, when Laura looked back, she spotted Alexander’s shape in the distance, much closer than he would have been if he wasn’t concerned. She rose her arm to let him know that everything was okay, and he immediately turned onto a side street. There was no point in him trailing them if he were visible to their enemies. They continued the rest of the way without incident. Logan led her down small, narrow streets that were always behind the main road. They passed a few more vagrants on the way, but Laura had learned her lesson earlier, and each time shot them such a look of danger that they shied away. “I hope you never use that look on me,” Logan quipped after the third time it had happened. Laura laughed. Despite the hot, dry air and the uncomfortable environment, not to mention the perpetual threat of danger, spending time with Logan like this, one on one, was very enjoyable. It’s something she hadn’t had nearly enough time to do since getting here. After another twenty or thirty minutes of walking, Logan slowed down, and pointed to the skyline. Laura looked up. There, looming over the two- or three-storey buildings that made up most of the shantytown, was a lone gray tower. It stood maybe six or seven stories in height, and had a single window peeking out on every level. Even the ones that Laura could see from where they stood, the ones that were completely out of reach from anybody on the ground, were boarded up and nailed shut. “Is that it?” Laura asked. Logan nodded. “That’s it. We have to be careful now – the area may be guarded.” “Guarded? By whom?” “Street gangs run this town,” Logan replied. “And I

think the tower marks one of their key strategic holds. They’re very territorial.” “But as far as they know, we’re just tourists walking by,” Laura said. “They shouldn’t trouble us.” “A dangerous assumption. What would tourists be doing here?” “Well, even if they decide to trouble us, they don’t really pose a threat.” “No? Thirty armed men with guns don’t seem like a threat to you? We’re Vassiz, Laura, not invincible.” “Well, when you say it that way…” “Trust me,” Logan said. “It’s best for us to be careful. That was your mantra this whole trip, wasn’t it?” Laura nodded. “You’re right. What do you think is the best way of getting closer, then?” “Let’s wait for Alexander first. “We’ll need to coordinate with him.” “Sure,” Laura replied. “Now, I’ve already been there,” Logan continued. “So I know the area a little bit. One of the things to watch out for is that the tower stands in front of a five-way intersection. The streets line up before it to open up somewhat like a town square. And the tower itself is at the very end of a triangular block, overlooking the juncture. The only way to get to it without being seen is down either of the two streets that line its block.” “There’s going to be three of us,” Laura said. “Does that mean two go together?” Logan shook his head. “No. I think it’s best if we all go separately, and all go down a different route. One of us is going to have to pass through the square in front of the building.” “Is that so problematic?” Logan bit his lip, considering. “I’m hoping it’s not, but I’m afraid it might be. Anybody watching the tower will instantly recognize three strangers coming toward it. Especially when we’re so obviously not from around here.” “Do you think there would be anyone watching it?” “One of the gangs, potentially. We don’t want to cause a stir. And if we’re unlucky, there might even be… something else.” “Something else?” Logan nodded. “Yea. I’ve been thinking about what we know of the repository. The torrial were put there because they were too dangerous to be left accessible to

anybody who wanted them. I’m sure the decision to put them away was not taken lightly. I’m sure, in fact, that there was disagreement between the deciding parties. It would have been foolish for whoever stowed them away not to put any defenses up.” “Defenses?” Laura asked. “Like that?” “I don’t know. All I know is that we have to be careful. Expect the unexpected. We don’t know what any of the torrial can do. If the repository really is in that tower, who’s to say that there aren’t some sort of torrial set up that activate only when a Vassiz is near, and not a human?” “You’re right,” Laura said. “We’ll have to be very careful.”

Chapter Five ~Watchers~ Once Alexander had caught up to them, Logan explained the plan, as well as the potential danger. Alexander took it all in stride, and even made the suggestion that he should be first to go since he was not being directly looked for by the elders. Laura dismissed the idea. Logan was the one who would go first, since he had already been there, and would see if he could find a way in. Then he would return, letting both Laura and Alexander know whether or not he’d been successful. If he had, they would all go on different routes, staggering their times so they would arrive at the tower one after the other. And if not, well, then they would have to reassess their plans. When Logan left, Alexander and Laura both agreed to stake out the surroundings for any danger. If they were careful, Laura thought they could avoid running into trouble, and perhaps prevent it in the future. Laura set off on a small path to the right, while Alexander went left. The street Laura was on curved widely, and then straightened into a narrow bend. Small alleyways and back passages stood behind nearly every building on either side. Most of them were tight and littered with discarded trash, but Laura thought that in a pinch she could be able to get through. She kept her eye constantly on the tower, making sure that she circled around it without getting much closer or further away. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, exactly – just that anything suspicious needed to be regarded with the right amount of caution. She kept to the sides of the street, using her speed to zip past any people who may have given her unwanted attention. As she was looking around, she noticed one peculiarity about the area. The buildings everywhere were marked with graffiti, though there was no consistency to any of it. Except for one thing. Every three of four buildings, she saw the same marking, repeated over and over again. Compared to the rest of the tags, it was fresh, and painted with a superior hand. It was a stylized marking of a fist, clutching two ends of a spear. Although when looked at from a different perspective, it could have easily been two fangs ensnared by a serpent. For some reason, that second interpretation made Laura uneasy.

She returned to her starting point to find Alexander already waiting for her. “Where’s Logan?” she asked. “Not here yet,” Alexander replied. “Oh. Well, did you see anything?” “A few things,” he answered. “First, I’m now sure Logan was right about this being gang territory.” “How come?” “There was a marking,” he said. “Over and over. A snake, wrapped around two fangs.” “I saw it too,” Laura said. “What do you think it means?” “Probably just the signage of a gang,” Alexander replied thoughtfully, “although something about it raised my hackles.” “You felt it too?” Laura asked. “I thought it was just my imagination getting the better of me.” Alexander shook his head. “Too much of a coincidence to be imagined. If Logan’s right, and the repository really is in the tower, I’m sure the gang that rules here knows something about it.” “So what do we do?” “Try to attract as little attention to ourselves as possible.” “Do you think… the fangs… have something to with the Vassiz?” Alexander exhaled. “It could very well be. Remember, there are Vassiz everywhere. Many of them integrate themselves into normal human society. Perhaps there are Vassiz in this very gang. Maybe the gang is a pack. Who knows? But we best be wary.” A noise behind her made Laura whip around. She relaxed when she saw it was just Logan. But then tensed again when she noticed the strain around his eyes. “What is it?” she asked, running up to him. “Are you alright?” “Fine,” he said, but betrayed himself by looking over his shoulder. “Come, we need to get away from here.” “What? Why? Did you find an entrance into the tower?” “I did,” he nodded. Then he hissed, “Not now. We need to move, quick.” “Wha—?” Laura began, but was cut off when Logan grabbed her wrist harshly and pulled her forward. After stumbling the first step, she caught her feet and went after

him. “Come, Alexander,” Logan said as he passed him. “Quickly!” He released his grip on Laura’s arm and start to jog in the direction opposite the tower. The jog turned into a run, and soon after he was using his full Vassiz speed to move away. Laura didn’t understand what was going on, but she followed after him, as did Alexander. They ran full speed through the streets, until they came upon an unremarkable intersection. Once they crossed it, Logan just stopped. “What was that?” Laura demanded. “Logan, what’s going on?” “That was unprecedented,” Alexander agreed angrily. “Running like that could have given us away to Vassiz nearby. If they didn’t know we were here before, they do now. And it doesn’t matter if they know who we are or not – three Vassiz from a different pack are bound to raise questions.” “Laura,” Logan said quickly, “do you trust me?” “What? Of course I do, but—” “And you, Alexander?” After a bit of a pause, Alexander nodded. “Yes, I do. We’re all in this together.” “Then don’t call me crazy,” Logan said. “But back there, when I got right to the tower, I felt… someone watching me.” “Watching you?” Laura asked. “What do you mean?” Logan shrugged uneasily. “I… do not know. I first noticed them on the roofs, out of the corner of my eye. They were looking down at me. But every time I looked back, no matter how quickly, they were gone.” “But what could be faster than your reflexes?” Laura wondered out loud. “Exactly,” Logan said. “Which is why it sounds crazy. Even to me. But I know what I felt. It was the most uncanny sensation. Somebody was looking at me, and I felt like... they knew why I was there.” “That’s ridiculous,” Alexander said, but not unkindly. “There’s nobody here who knows who we are, much less what we’re after.” “I know,” Logan said. “That’s what I thought, too. But, what I felt…” “Logan, you didn’t actually see anyone, did you?”

Laura asked. “You just thought someone was there?” “Yes,” Logan nodded. “I only noticed them out of the corner of my eye. But my senses don’t play tricks on me. Even if they were gone when I looked, I’m sure I was being watched.” “And that’s why we just ran?” “Yes,” Logan confirmed. “The feeling stayed with me until we crossed a threshold four blocks back. I wanted to get farther away before stopping, to be sure it was gone.” “So you’re positive somebody was there?” Alexander asked. Logan nodded. “Somebody was watching me.” “And they weren’t here last time you came?” Laura asked. “No,” Logan shook his head. “It’s crazy, I know. But you have to believe me.” “Of course I do,” Laura said, taking his hands in his. “This isn’t something you would lie about.” She looked at Alexander. “What do we do now? We have to go back if the repository is in the building.” “It’s up to you, Laura,” Alexander said. “Personally, I think we have a few options. One, we go back right now. We risk getting caught, or at least noticed, by Logan’s watchers. I don’t think any of us are eager to find out who they are. Two, we stay until nightfall and try again. Logan’s first time here was at night, and he didn’t notice the watchers then. Three, we go back, and look for the repository elsewhere. There’s a chance it’s not even in the building. But I fear that isn’t much of an option for us.” “No,” Laura agreed. “We can’t go back emptyhanded. Logan, you said you found a way into the tower? Where?” “There’s a window on the third storey that I noticed wasn’t secured as tightly as the others,” Logan answered. “If we could scale the building without being seen, I think that could be our ticket in.” “But we can’t do it in broad daylight, can we?” Laura asked. “No,” Logan answered. “We have to get up there, but in the day somebody is bound to notice. Even if there are no watchers.” “Wait a minute,” Laura said, suddenly coming up with an idea. “You said the watchers were on the roofs, right?”

“That’s right.” “Well, what if we go on the roofs, too? We’ll be on the same playing field as them, and I have to think that three Vassiz would have an advantage. Moreover, nobody would notice us from the ground. And Logan, the window – does it face one of the buildings on a different block?” “It does,” Logan said, starting to understand what Laura wanted to do. “You mean to try jumping to the window, don’t you?” “That’s right,” Laura replied. “We don’t have to worry about how we’re going to scale the side of the building, and we’ll be safe from prying eyes on the ground. And the watchers – whoever or whatever they are – won’t be able to hide there any longer.” “A brilliant idea,” Alexander said enthusiastically. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it!” “There’s just one problem,” Logan said. “And that has to do with the noise. If we do this at night, the sound of us crashing through the boarded window will alert everybody within fifty miles to our presence.” “I don’t mean to do it at night,” Laura said. “I mean to do it right now, during the day. It’ll make it easy for us to spot the watchers, too, if they’re really there.” Logan grimaced. “I’m telling you, there was something… unnatural… about what I felt.” “Realistically, what’s the worse it can be?” Laura asked. “Another Vassiz or two? We’ll be careful.” “What about the noise?” Logan asked. “That’s still a very real problem. Even if we manage to avoid anybody who might be up there, the sound of us crashing through the window will echo through the whole neighborhood.” “Firecrackers,” Laura answered. “Firecrackers?” “You said this is gang territory, right? I say we light a bunch of firecrackers just before we jump. To distract anybody paying attention. If we get enough, it might even sound like gunfire. Amid the confusion, nobody should see us.” “I have to admit, that does make sense,” Alexander said. “But where are we going to get firecrackers on such short notice?” Laura smiled. “You leave that to me.”

Chapter Six ~The Repository~ Laura stood on the roof of an old three-storey building. She could see the city spread all around her. It stretched out far into the distance, and the tower before her was the only structure standing out amongst the uniformity. The tops of nearly all the buildings around her were flat. Here and there, a few balconies had been built, but it looked like they had not been used for generations. Laura wondered absently how many people still lived in this region. It could be a lot, or it could be very little, and she couldn’t tell the difference. People gathered on the large streets during the day, some selling wares and others idling, but she knew the majority of the population stayed inside. It was a dangerous neighborhood. Somewhere close by, the cries of a baby broke out. After a few moments, she heard a man yell in a language she did not understand, and the baby went quiet. This was definitely a rough part of town. In her left hand, she held a bundle of Chinese firecrackers. She had spotted a vendor on one of her earlier expeditions, in fact, she had quizzed him about what he knew of the repository back then, and he was happy to see the “girl with hair like the sun” return for another visit. He was even happier when she offered to buy his loudest, most expensive firecrackers, and offered to pay with American dollars. She had gotten those thanks to Alexander. So, supplies in hand, Laura stood on the roof, waiting for Logan and Alexander to return. She could see them in the distance, jumping from building to building, checking the surroundings to make sure everything was safe. They were circling around the tower, checking every single rooftop for a threat. The watchers were gone, or at least, weren’t visible. Laura wasn’t even sure if they ever existed, but judging by how relieved Logan had been to find them missing, he shared none of her doubt. “Ready?” Logan said behind her, and Laura jumped. She had been so entrenched in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him approach. She looked back, and right beside him was Alexander. “Ready,” Laura confirmed. “Let’s do it then,” Alexander said.

Laura nodded, and in a second had a lighter in her hand. She lit the fuse to the firecrackers, and threw them high into the air. They flew over a row of buildings and fell onto a nearby street. “GO!” Logan screamed behind her. Laura ran. A blast sounded from where the firecrackers had fallen, and then they started going off in turn, like dozens of gunshots being fired at once. Laura was impressed at how loud they were. The sound would be heard from hundreds of yards away. Perfect. She gathered speed, racing toward the tower. They only had a few seconds in which to jump. She was the first, as she had insisted. Logan had showed her which window it was, and it actually lined up perfectly to the buildings surrounding it. With enough speed, it would be easy to clear the distance to get inside. As she got closer, Laura realized that the outer wall of the tower may have been white mortar once, but had accumulated so much dirt over the years that it had become an unpleasant grey. That was the last thought that ran through her mind before she leapt off the side of the building, and flew toward the tower. The window was nailed shut, but it was by a flimsy board. Laura went feet-first into it. The panel shattered, and she was through. The landing was trickier. She had been expecting a solid floor, but instead was greeted by a stone staircase. She tried to right herself in time, to land accordingly, but it was too late. Before she knew it, she was crashing down the stairs. Instinctively, she made her body go limp so she wouldn’t break anything. She landed with a heavy thud at the bottom of the stairs. It felt like she had been beaten with a hundred clubs. Groggily, she picked herself up. The pain itself was not unexpected; rather, it was the severity of it that surprised her. She remembered being thrown into stone walls and picking herself up without any pain. Perhaps the effects of her feeding were finally wearing off. She looked up, and saw a shape against the light now streaming through the window. It was Alexander. Unlike her, he managed to catch himself before falling down the stairs. He stepped aside quickly to leave room for Logan. The light was shielded again, and Logan came through. Alexander caught him by the shoulders before he had a chance to repeat Laura’s mistake.

“Laura,” Alexander called down, “are you alright?” “I think so,” she answered, starting up the stairs. “I didn’t expect these stairs to be here, though.” “You have to be careful,” Logan said gravely when she arrived. “We don’t know what might be in here.” “I know,” Laura said. Light streamed in from behind them. “We should cover the window. I don’t want anybody outside noticing that the board is broken.” “Good idea,” Alexander replied. “But with what?” Laura looked around her. The window they came through opened to a hallway, with the stairs leading down to a lower level. A thick coat of dust covered the floor, and Laura could see the impression she made in it when she fell down the stairs. But otherwise, the entire space was barren of anything useful. “We’ll need to look for something suitable.” Logan went a few paces down the hall. He turned to a doorway, and Laura heard a piercing groan as he ripped the door from its frame. “That’ll do,” Laura said sardonically as Logan came back carrying the door. He placed it over the window, blocking most of the light that came from outside. Some still streamed in on the sides. “It won’t fool an attentive eye from the ground,” Logan said, “but I doubt there’s going to be anybody looking up here anyway.” “And besides,” Laura added, “you said all the entrances are barricaded off. Even if somebody did notice, it’s not like they could do anything.” “Unless they had the keys,” Logan said. “But we should be safe for now.” Laura noticed Alexander shifting his weight on his feet. He looked… uncomfortable. “Is everything alright?” she asked him. Alexander looked at her. “Something about this place is off.” “Off? What do you mean?” “I don’t know. But I can’t shake the feeling that our entrance has been… noted.” He glanced at Logan. “Let’s hope it doesn’t have anything to do with your watchers.” He barked an uneasy laugh. “Maybe it’s just my imagination getting the better of me.” “No,” Laura replied. “It’s too much of a coincidence for that. We’d better hurry.” Alexander nodded. “If we split up, we can search

the building faster.” “But if we stay together, we’re stronger,” Logan said. “In case anything happens.” Alexander frowned. “What do you think, Laura?” “We stay together,” she said. “I don’t want to take any unnecessary risk.” “Alright,” Alexander agreed. “Together it is.” “Let’s start on the lower level and work our way up,” Laura said. “We’ll need to check every room. If the repository is in here it’ll probably be hidden or locked away.” Laura started down the stairs, but Logan stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Let me be the one to go first this time,” he said simply. Laura nodded, and fell in behind him. They followed the stairs all the way to the bottom level. There, they began their search. The entire building was dirty and old. Rats and other vermin left trails that still showed in the dust on the floor, even though the animals had long since disappeared. Laura knew that since she couldn’t hear any of them in between the walls or under the floors. Usually, her hearing was sharp enough to pick out sounds like that. They went from room to room methodically, tracing out every square inch so that nothing would be overlooked. Most of the rooms were empty. The ones that weren’t, however, were mostly filled with old, rotting pieces of furniture covered by musty fabric. Laura wondered what purpose this building had served before. There was nothing to suggest that it was ever inhabited as a home. Maybe it had been a storehouse or something of the like. There was nothing on the first level, or the second, or the third. As they got higher and higher up, the air became thicker, and, for some reason, dustier. The heat from the powerful sun penetrated the walls and warmed the air more and more as they got higher, making Laura less and less comfortable. There was something uncanny about the way the dust irritated her airways. Together with the increasing heat, it made for an uncomfortable search. Some of the doors they encountered were barred with locks, but, unlike the ones on the outside of the building, these locks had grown frail and brittle with age. It didn’t take much force to open any of them. Each time they found a door like that, Laura’s heart skipped a beat, because a part of her hoped to find the repository on the

other side. Each time, however, she was bitterly disappointed. It was only on the fourth level that they encountered something that didn’t fall into the category of old furniture or discarded rubbish. At the end of a long, narrow room, stood a single wooden chest. The rest of the room was empty, as if to emphasize the chest’s presence. Laura walked up to it carefully. She was conscious of the age of the building. There had already been a few incidents where the weight of one of her steps caused the wood beneath her feet to groan and nearly give. Alexander and Logan both experienced the same thing. “Do you think this might be it?” Laura asked as she stood before the chest. “The way Rafael made it sound, I was expecting an entire storeroom full of torrial.” “It could be,” Logan said, “and it could be not. Let’s be careful opening it either way. We don’t know what any of these devices can do.” “Alright,” Laura agreed. She bent down to the chest, but, again, Logan stopped her. “Let me do it,” he said. The conviction he held in his voice told Laura not to argue. She stepped back, and Logan came up to the chest. He bent down to one knee and began to examine it. From what Laura could see, it was solidly built. It was about the size of an oven, and made of heavy oak. Two iron handles jutted out from either side, and a large iron latch was bolted on the front. There was no lock on it. Logan lifted the latch, glanced back at her and Alexander, and then opened the top. Inside was… nothing. Only a black emptiness. “Dammit,” Logan growled. He stood up. “The thing is empty!” “We still have—” Laura started, and then stopped short. A dark shadow caught her eye. It was balled up inside the chest, and just then slipped out over the edge. It slid toward a corner and disappeared. The whole sequence happened so quickly that Laura wasn’t sure if she was seeing things. “Did anybody see that?” “See what?” Logan asked. “When you stood up, I could have sworn…” she came up to the chest to look inside. The inside was empty. “I thought I saw something inside.” Logan walked over to her and peered down. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s gone now, but—” “I don’t see anything either, Laura,” Alexander said. He frowned at the chest. “Since there was no lock, I doubt there ever was anything inside.” “Neither of you saw anything?” Laura questioned. “I thought I saw a… shadow… come out of the chest. It was just a spot in my vision, darker than the rest. It slid out over the edge and toward that wall.” Laura pointed where she thought it had gone. “Or did I imagine it?” “I didn’t see anything, Laura,” Logan repeated. “Nor I,” Alexander said, but he sounded concerned. “Still, that’s no reason to doubt your—” “I’m not even sure if I really did see it, though,” Laura admitted. “Either way. Like I said when we got in: this place makes me uneasy. Let’s finish the search on the upper levels and be gone.” Laura nodded. “Alright. Let’s hope the repository is up there.” They left the room, and continued their search along the other parts of the fourth storey. Finding nothing, they made their way up to the fifth. Every single room on that level was littered with junk, to a degree more so than anything they had encountered earlier. Old furniture and china, abandoned clothes and personal belongings, yellowing books and other discarded paraphernalia. One room contained nothing but old grandfather clocks, all ticking but showing different times. The noises they made nearly drove Laura mad. She had to let the others search that room without her. The finished their scope of the fifth level with the same result as before, and moved on to the sixth. This was the second-to-last storey of the building, and Laura was starting to lose hope. Maybe Logan had been mistaken – maybe the repository wasn’t in this building at all. But then, what was the explanation for all the uncanny happenings that had occurred around here? Logan’s watchers, Alexander’s feeling of disquietude, and her own apparently imagined shadow? She had thought they were all linked, and somehow signaled the presence of the repository. But perhaps that was the wrong conclusion. The air on the sixth level was absolutely stifling. Every time Laura moved the dust swirled around her like a fog. It wreaked havoc on her senses. Logan and Alexander didn’t share her troubles to the same degree.

Or, at least, they were better at covering them up. While they continued the search, methodically moving from room to room, Laura was constantly on the lookout for the dark shadow. She didn’t know if it was just paranoia of being in this place too long, but she wanted to make sure that shadow didn’t return. Or, if it did, that it wouldn’t catch her by surprise. “Nothing,” Logan exclaimed sourly, breaking her out of her thoughts. “We’ve scavenged the entire floor, and found nothing!” “We can’t give up hope yet,” Laura said with a confidence she did not feel. “There’s one more level to go.” “And what if it’s not there?” Logan demanded dejectedly. “What if we’ve been wasting our time this whole expedition?” “Then we go back and regroup at the tent with Madison and Jacob,” Laura said levelly. “And go from there.” She prayed desperately that that wouldn’t be the case. They had wasted too much time in Egypt searching fruitlessly for the repository, and it would absolutely crush her morale if they didn’t find it now. She shook her head roughly. No use thinking about an uncertain future when the present wasn’t yet defined. “Let’s go up.” They did, and began looking on the seventh and final storey. Light streamed in through cracks in the ceiling mortar. Thankfully, that alleviated some of the feeling of stuffiness that bothered Laura so much before. They went from room to room slowly, checking the walls for hidden enclaves, knocking on the floorboards for a hint of a storage space, all to no avail. As they entered each new room, Laura’s dread about the expedition grew. Every room they found empty was another failure. It not only reflected on her abilities as a leader, she thought, but also made the entire purpose of her mission to take down the elders seem more and more forlorn. They opened the door to the final, unsearched room, and immediately Laura’s heart dropped to her knees. The space was empty. “I’m sorry, Laura,” Logan said gently at her side. “I was so sure…” “It’s not your fault,” Laura said. She could feel tears swelling up in her eyes, and blinked them away angrily. She had been so foolish to hope! They were never going to find the repository now. The elders would surely discover them soon, and they all would have to face the

consequences for what she did. For who she was. She was sure the real reason the elders began the pursuit after her was because they knew the prophecy, and not because Logan showed her the dream realm while she was still human. They lived to annihilate any perceived threat to their power. She was just that, thanks to the prophecy. But now, she had failed, and everybody who had aided her would suffer! She took a deep breath. The only way of salvaging the situation – if she could call it that – would be to turn herself into the elders. Maybe that way the others wouldn’t be hurt. Maybe if the elders found her alone, Logan and Alexander and Madison and Jacob could still survive. If she was going to found, she couldn’t let those she cared about be hurt alongside her. “Hold on a second,” Alexander said slowly. He walked into the room, all the way up to the far wall. He turned around, walked back to them, then went to the wall again, counting the steps under his breath. “What is it?” Laura asked. “This wall here,” Alexander said. “I don’t think it ends where the one in the neighboring room begins.” “A hidden space?” Laura asked. Energy returned to her voice. If Alexander was right, there was still a tiny sliver of hope… “Yes, I believe so. Logan, go into the other room. Come up to this wall, approximately where I’m standing, and knock three times. If I hear you, I’ll knock right back.” Logan nodded, and raced down the hallway into the other room. Laura watched from the doorway. Alexander stood by the wall, examining it for any faults, and waiting for Logan. After a few moments, Logan came running back. “I knocked,” he said. “You didn’t hear anything?” “I heard it faintly,” Alexander said, “but not at all like I should if you were on the other side.” “So something’s in there,” Laura said. Alexander nodded. “Yes. Cleverly hidden into the architecture. Come out into the hallway. I have a feeling we’ll find a way in out there.” Laura stepped aside to let Alexander pass, and followed him and Logan into the hall. Alexander counted his steps again, stopped, then turned to face the wall. He motioned toward it. “Right here,” he said, “is where the first room ends.” He took a few paces further, and again pointed to the wall.

“And here,” he said, “is where the second one begins.” He took a step back to look at the space he had marked. It was about six or seven feet in length. “We’ll have to tear down the wall.” “Yes,” Logan agreed. “Do we have any tools?” Laura asked. “Don’t need tools when we’ve got our hands,” Logan said slyly. He stepped beside Alexander, and placed a powerful punch right into the wall. The building shook, and dust came showering down from above. Logan stepped back and did it again. Once more, his fist sent a shockwave through the entire structure. Cracks spread across the mortared wall. Logan punched it again, and cracks erupted all over. Bits of mortar fell off. “Very smooth,” Laura said laconically. Logan shrugged and grinned. “This way we can grip the edges of the wall.” He reached for one and ripped it off. Underneath, Laura saw a dark metal surface. Quickly, she stepped beside Logan and began to help. Alexander joined in too, and it wasn’t long until three of them had torn down the entire mortared wall. Underneath the plaster was a heavy iron vault-like edifice. It rose from floor to ceiling, and its front covered the entire space they had excavated. There was a single, solid door that was carved onto the front, and around it was a bizarre frame of angular shapes. Laura took a step closer, and what she saw erased any doubt about the nature of the vault from her mind. Inscribed in between those shapes in a tiny, thin hand, were symbols she recognized. They were the same symbols – or at least, of the same type – as the ones that had been on the vault entrance down in the mines. This was it! They had found the repository! She gave a happy squeal and wrapped her arms around Logan then Alexander in turn. “We did it!” Laura exclaimed. “Logan, you did it! You found the repository!” “Let’s not celebrate quite yet,” Alexander said in a bemused tone. “We don’t know how we’re going to open that.” He nodded at the thick door. “It shouldn’t be that hard, should it?” Laura asked, coming up to the door. “We just pull—” “Stop!” Logan commanded gravely. Laura froze. “What is it?” she asked. “I recognize the symbols. It’s angelic script. And I think… I think it’s a warning. Alexander, will you look at this?”

Laura stepped aside as Alexander and Logan moved closer. Carefully, Logan traced his fingers along the shape of the doorframe. “Right here,” he said, tapping his fingers against a particular inscription. “I don’t know exactly what it means, but I think it signifies danger.” “I believe you’re right,” Alexander said slowly, once he’d had a chance to examine the marking. “It’s a warning against opening the vault.” “But we have to go inside,” Laura said. “We need to get the torrial in there.” Alexander turned around. “Are you sure? Perhaps just knowing where this is will be enough. We can meet the angels here in the dream realm.” “And then what?” Laura asked. “We need access to the torrial, both out here and in the dream realm.” “But, the warning,” Logan began. “Of course there’s going to be a warning,” Laura cut in over him. “The torrial were sealed away because of their danger, remember? We need them, though. Do you think if the elders had access to them, they would shy away at the last moment?” “Absolutely not,” Logan said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to rush head-first into it. We don’t know what’s inside.” “Torrial are inside,” Laura said. “Step aside. If you two aren’t going to do it, I will.” She pushed through Logan and Alexander and placed her hands on the handle. She knew she was being rash, but it was beyond time to get to the torrial. They did not have forever. She lifted the handle, and pulled. Nothing happened. She tried again, summoning all her strength. The door remained in place. “It’s locked,” Alexander said coyly, “but I do not see a keyhole anywhere.” “How is that possible?” Laura asked. Alexander came over to examine the handle. “You’re sure you want to open it right now?” “Yes!” Laura said. “Fine. Let me try.” Laura moved away to give Alexander space. He lifted the handle much as she had done, and tried to pull it. Again, brute force did not budge the door. He knelt down, looking at the handle carefully. He tried twisting it side to side, and moving it up and down, but there was no mechanism that Laura could see to make the

door open. Alexander tried pulling again, all to the same result. “Strength is not the answer here,” he said finally. “I believe the door has been locked from the inside.” “From the inside?” Laura exclaimed. “How? Why?” “Most likely,” Logan said, “to keep everyone out.” “But there must be a way to open it, right?” Laura asked. “I mean, why would they put the door onto it in the first place, otherwise? Alexander, do you think we can access the lock somehow?” He shook his head. “Only from within.” “Then what do we do?” “I don’t know,” Logan said. “We can’t just come so close and then leave!” Laura exclaimed. Pushing by Logan and Alexander, she tried the handle again. But no matter how hard she pulled, the door would not budge. Logan tried after her, and then Alexander went again. No matter what they did, though, they could not pull it open. They sat back, exhausted by their efforts. Nothing they tried managed to move the door in any way. The vault stood there, mocking them. Laura did not think it was fair. They were Vassiz, possessing supernatural strength. If the door was locked, they should have been able to force it open through sheer strength! But that was not the case. Laura slumped against the opposite wall. She stared at the vault angrily. They had come this far, searched for three weeks, only to have failed at the very moment they found the repository? She wouldn’t believe it. There was some way to open it, and she wouldn’t leave her until she figured it out. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted that same dark shadow from the chest. It was crawling on the edge of the floor, slinking toward her. This time, she definitely was not imagining it. She started to get up, to alert the others to its presence – but something told her not to. Instead, she sat still and watched it move. It slid along the floor, never altering speed, moving as an amorphous blob. Laura watched, fascinated. It came all the way down the hall before stopping right in front of her. For a splitsecond, Laura felt like it was the shadow that was commanding her to remain quiet. Before she had a chance to do anything, it zipped to the locked vault and slipped into it under the crack of the door. Laura heard a distinctive click.

She looked at Alexander and Logan, who had their heads pressed together in conversation beside her. They appeared not to have noticed. Laura stood up slowly, as if moving underwater. She walked toward the vault door, placed her hand on the handle, and pulled toward her. The door came open.

Chapter Seven ~A Shadowed Threat~ Logan was the first to notice. “What did you do?” he exclaimed. “How did you get it open?” Laura didn’t hear him. She was completely entranced with what she saw. The inside of the vault was lined wall-to-wall with all types of artifacts. They ranged in size from as big as her pinky finger to larger than the chest they encountered before. And they were truly diverse. Here was a stout metal goblet rimmed with red rubies; there was an oddly curved walking stick, the handle ending in a carved impression of a boar. There was a chair unlike any Laura had seen far on the other side, with a seat that seemed to sag down to the very floor. Along the other wall was a series of small figurines, each depicting a ballet dancer in various stages of flight. Many of the items she saw were decorated with rubies and precious stones. Some, she could not distinguish at all: for example, an interlocking grid of metal braces that made a cage around three fist-sized concentric spheres. And yet, from the moment she laid eyes on all these things, she knew them for what they were. Torrial. “Laura?” Logan called out behind her. She could hear him starting toward her, but didn’t pay him any mind. She had just uncovered an absolute treasure. She couldn’t let anyone else have it. She felt a commanding pull come from the far corner of the vault. There, she recognized the dark shape from before. The shadow was beckoning her inside, enticing her to cross the threshold and step into the repository. She didn’t want to share the treasures with anyone. She stepped inside, and before Logan or Alexander could do anything, shut the door behind her. She heard the click of the mechanism as it locked into place. A pounding noise began on the other side, but it was muted. Neither Logan nor Alexander would get in. The treasure was hers, all hers. She stepped dreamily toward the first row of artifacts. She could feel the shadow’s presence lurking near the rear of the vault, but she was unafraid. Or rather, unconcerned – all she could think about were the torrial that lay in front of her. The pounding noise drifted away as Laura reached out to pick up the nearest torrial…

A wicked shadow flashed in front of her vision, momentarily blinding her. She staggered back. The shadow darted in front of her again, racing over the row of torrial. It moved back and forth, back and forth, and every time it did, it left pieces of black over the items. The black pieces grew like a coat of paint, encompassing each torrial in turn. Laura felt a stab of fear in her stomach, and realized what she had just done. Somehow, the shadow had lured her in here – and separated her from the others. She moved quickly to unlock the vault door, but when she turned all she could see was black. She took an uncertain step toward the door and reached out. Her hands should have met the cold iron, but instead, they felt… nothing. A noise behind her startled her, and she whipped around. What she saw made her feel true terror for the first time in her life. Everything that had been there before was gone. The torrial were not there. All she could see was neverending darkness, extending indefinitely in all dimensions. Every now and then the darkness shimmered, creating a type of black enclosure much the same size as the vault had been. The black walls waxed and waned dizzyingly, though, and morphed in shape and size like in some kind of bad dream. And there, standing right before her, in a black deeper than should be possible, was the figure of a single man. He had no eyes, but Laura knew he was watching her. The ends of his arms and legs trailed off in wispy ends, connecting him to the darkness that surrounded everything. She knew he – or it – was what the shadow had been. He was what lured her here. His arm morphed into the scythe of a blade, and he lunged at her. She jumped out of the way, but the man – the creature, the shadow, whatever it was – was impossibly fast. A part of its blade caught the edge of her shirt, causing the fabric to hiss and burn. If Laura had been just a split second slower, her arm would have been sliced right through. Before she even had a chance to regain her balance, the creature lunged at her again. It moved with the deadly grace of a snake. Laura backpedaled out of the way desperately. The walls continued to shrink and expand, playing tricks on her mind and on her assessment of distance. In stroke of pure luck, she realized that she

had believed the man-shaped shadow to be closer than it actually was. The small difference was enough for Laura to avoid the second blow and scramble to her feet. The walls pulsed menacingly in on her. Laura barely had enough time to orient herself before the shadow struck again. It aimed right for her head. Laura jumped back, narrowly avoiding the vile blade. She felt the rush of air from the swipe on her face. Desperately, she felt out for something she could defend herself with. Something, anything would be better than her bare hands. Instinctively, she knew that if she let the shadowed blade touch her, she would be worse than dead. And she knew that unless she could find an advantage soon, she stood little chance. The shadow seemed to be made for killing, and it was more than a match for her. It was the first thing she ever encountered that moved faster than a Vassiz. Her empty hands grabbed at air, finding nothing. Where there should have been the torrial there was nothing. Where there should have been the walls, there was nothing. Laura was sure this was not the human world anymore. She suspected that somehow, the shadow had pulled her into some sort of vortex. A vortex that, potentially, existed between the real world and the dream realm. There was nothing here except her and the creature. The man-shaped shadow did not strike at her immediately after the last miss. Instead, it had taken to slowly circling her. It was almost like it was teasing Laura, daring her to fight back. Knowing that she could not. The shadow made a move toward her. Laura jousted to one side. The strike did not come – the creature was just playing with her. It pulled back, and stepped to one side. Laura could feel its unyielding eyes on her. It made another abrupt move toward her, but this time Laura didn’t flinch. Again, the actual strike didn’t come. Laura wouldn’t be caught entertaining this thing like that. If she had to fight, let it be on her own terms. Laura felt the shadow tense, angry, and take a slow, agonizing step toward her. Suddenly Laura noticed a glitter of something near the creature’s chest. It wasn’t there all the time, but when the shadow moved… she caught a peak of it again. The darkness that made up the creature swirled and fogged around it to give it shape, but every so often the barest hint

of the glimmer would come up. What was it? The creature lunged for her, not faking it this time. Laura waited for the last moment and sidestepped the attack. It was close, though – she felt the air rush past her along with the shadow. She knew that the creature wasn’t going at full speed. She saw the glimmer of light again. It looked like there was a… gem, or something like that, embedded into the shadow’s chest. As the dark shape turned back, Laura caught another glimpse of it. It seemed to be glowing, but the shine was swallowed up by the greater shadow. It seemed familiar, somehow. The creature had turned back, slowly. She felt hate radiate from it, directed purely at her. It was done playing games. The next time it struck, it wouldn’t miss. Suddenly Laura realized what the glow was. It was the same light of every active torrial she had ever seen. Was that how the shadow was operating? Maybe if she could separate the jewel from the shadow… It was her only chance. The shadow vaulted at her. She ran back, but then pretended to stumble and lose her footing. The creature fell for it. It streamed toward her with a maniacal intensity. At the very last moment, Laura caught herself and whipped around. She dove right at the creature’s chest – right at the gemstone. The sudden move caught the shadow off-guard. It froze for the barest hint of a second. It was just the hesitation Laura needed. She flew through the air, arms extended, and met the shadow’s torso. Her fingers wrapped around the precious stone and she swept through, splitting the shadow as if it were mere mist. Just as she was about to fall through to the other side, the heel of her foot caught something sharp. Horrendous agony radiated from the spot. Laura fell to the floor, caught herself in a roll, and landed on her feet. Another jolt of pain from her heel nearly fell her, but she remained steady. She held the gemstone in one hand. She didn’t know if taking it had done anything. She turned back, expecting the worst. But what she found instead gave her hope. The shadow was frozen in place where Laura grabbed the jewel. She looked at her hand, and saw the light fading from the stone. She looked back. There was a gaping

hole in the shadow’s chest where she had gone through. But then she realized the creature’s blade had a small red spot on it. Her blood. All at once, the darkness that surrounded her started to swirl menacingly. She heard a cry of pain, of anguish, and the next thing she knew the shadow creature had compressed into a tight ball. The darkness swirled into it. The very fabric of reality in this place was wavering, and the black that coated the walls, the surroundings, everything, got sucked into the compressed ball, leaving wavering trails of black fog. The ground started to shake, and there was a brilliant flash of white. Laura shielded her eyes instinctively against it. When she opened them, she was back in the vault. The pain from her foot crashed into being, and she staggered forward. She looked down, and saw blood staining her boot. The shadow’s blade had reached flesh. Agony of the worst sort radiated from the spot, and it was completely out of proportion with the actual wound. Laura shifted her weight gingerly onto the foot. And cried out in pain when her foot touched the floor. She heard pounding from the other side of the door. Logan and Alexander. She limped toward the door, moved the mechanism in place, and pushed it open. Then she fell to the floor. Logan was the first to her. He knelt down beside her. “What happened? Are you alright?” He framed her face with his strong hands. “Laura, what’s going on? Why did you lock us out?” “The shadow,” Laura said, in a voice weaker than she expected. “It lured me inside. It… tried to kill me.” She held out the gem she still had in her hand. “It used a torrial to take on the shape of a man. I managed to rip it from away, and it disappeared.” “You’re safe now,” Logan said. He cradled her head in between his arms. “You shouldn’t have done that, but you’re safe now.” “Her foot,” Alexander said solemnly. Logan looked down, and gasped. “What is that?” he demanded. “What happened?” “A small cut,” Laura said, trying to dismiss it as nothing. She didn’t know why she felt so sapped of strength. Or why the cut was so painful. “The shadow nicked me with its blade.” “You should not be bleeding like that,” Logan said

seriously. “Let me see.” Laura tried to kick him away as he took her foot in his hands, but he did not waver. He pulled her shoe off. Gently, delicately, he rolled her sock down to expose the wound. Both he and Alexander inhaled sharply at what they saw. “Laura, this isn’t an ordinary cut,” Logan said gravely. “The wound is festering,” Alexander put in right behind him. “So?” Laura demanded. She didn’t like feeling weak, especially in front of Logan. Feeling or appearing weak. “It’s a small cut. It’ll heal.” “Is it very painful?” Logan asked. “No,” Laura lied. Alexander considered her. “If that’s the truth… well, we can’t do anything about it now. We’ll need to wrap it tightly to contain the blood flow. Laura, this was not done by an ordinary blade.” “Of course I know that!” she snapped. Alexander tsked. “The point is, that it may be dangerous for you. You have to watch for any symptoms, and let us know immediately what you feel.” Logan nodded in agreement. “We’ll do the best we can. Can you walk?” “Of course I can—” Laura had to bite off the end of the sentence as Logan applied pressure to the cut. Pain such as she’d never felt before pulsed through her entire body. She willed herself not to show it. “—walk,” she finished sourly. Logan nodded, not really listening, and tore a piece of fabric from the sleeve of his shirt. He used it to bandage Laura’s foot. Laura winced and looked away, determined not to let them see her pain. “There,” Logan said finally. “That’s the best I can do right now. Do you need a hand up?” “No!” she said irritably. Logan frowned at her response, and Laura forced herself to be gentle. Why was she so irritable now? “I mean, no, I’m fine,” she said in a softer tone. “Thank you for taking care of my foot.” “It’s nothing,” Logan said. Then, in a half-whisper, added, “I should have been the one to go in first.” Laura stood up, and Logan rose beside her. For the first time, he looked beyond her to see the repository in all its glory. “Wow,” he breathed, “this is it, huh?”

“Yes,” Laura said. Her foot was crying out in pain, but she forced herself to ignore it. “You did it, Logan. You found it for us.” Alexander stepped between them and came up to the first row of items. He bent down, brushing his fingers gently over the artifacts. “These torrial have the power to destroy the world,” he said to himself. “What is it that we’re meddling with? We are nothing but children, clueless to the real power and blind to the danger of any of them. But yet, we need them. It is the only way to attack the elders.” He rose and turned around. “I’ll go get Madison.”

Chapter Eight ~Madison’s Breakthrough~ Alexander returned with Madison before nightfall. Laura and Logan dared not touch any of the torrial while they waited, for fear of what they might do, but jammed the door to the vault to make sure it did not close on them. “Where’s Jacob?” Laura asked when she saw Madison coming up the stairs. The cut on her foot still hurt, but she had learned to ignore the pain. Well, maybe not ignore, but she could cope with it better. “Still recovering in the tent,” Madison said coyly. “Even though he’s helped us this far, I thought it a bad idea to introduce another Vassiz to the angels after what happened with Rafael.” “The angels? Does that mean the tonic you’ve been working on is ready?” “Yes,” Madison said. “You and Logan will both be able to enter the dream realm again.” “That’s unbelievable!” Laura exclaimed. She got up, biting down the pain, and staggered over to embrace Madison in a hug. “Everything is finally coming together.” “Quite,” Madison said. “Now, the only thing we have to worry about is finding the angels in the dream realm.” “What do you mean?” Logan asked. “Didn’t they say they were going to meet us at the repository once we found it?” “Yes,” Madison said, “but how will they know when that is?” “I’m sure they’ve been monitoring it,” Laura said assuredly. “Or us. It was their suggestion, after all. Perhaps they’re able to sense when one of us enters the dream realm.” “Let’s hope so,” came Madison’s reply. She pulled out a vial from her pocket. “Here’s your ticket there.” She tossed the vial to Logan, who caught it easily. Logan examined the container, which was maybe half the length of hiss pinky finger and was less than a quarter full. “There’s enough here for the both of us?” “It’s a very delicate balance,” Madison said. “Very potent, too. One drop and either of you will be out in minutes.” “How do you know this will take us to the dream realm?” Logan asked. “And not… what happened last

time.”

Last time was the previous time Madison had claimed to have perfected the mixture. Logan had been the one to try it, then, and ended up passed out for the better part of three days. When he finally awoke, he had no recollection of what had happened the entire previous week. Needless to say, he had been unable to enter the dream realm under the concoction’s influence. “For one, like I said before, I finally got the pure ingredients I needed,” Madison answered. “And two, while you all left to find the repository, and I was back in the tent with Jacob, I had time to test it on myself. It worked.” “And you were able to wake up when you wanted to?” Laura asked. “You were in full control?” “That’s right,” Madison said. “Like I told you, everything’s ready. It turned out to be great timing, don’t you think?” “Absolutely,” Laura agreed. What were the odds that they would find the repository on the same day that Madison finally perfected the herbal mixture? It looked like the last three weeks had not been wasted, after all. If any of them had found the repository earlier, they would not have been able to make use of it before Madison finished her task, anyway. The rapid succession of successes made Laura more optimistic about the task at hand than she felt in weeks. “So show me the vault you found,” Madison said, “and we won’t waste any more time. We can go into the dream realm immediately.” “Of course,” Laura said. “Alexander, you want to take her there? After she’s seen it, come back here, and we’ll go meet the angels.” Alexander agreed and started leading Madison up the stairs to the highest level. Just before she left, though, Madison turned around. “You should probably take a drop of the mixture now,” she told Laura and Logan. “The effects take a few minutes to kick in, and about ten before you’re actually asleep. That’s more than enough time for me to see everything.” “One drop for both of us?” Logan asked. “One for Laura, and half for you. Like I said, it’s potent. Since Laura fed more recently, she’ll need a higher dose.” “Alright,” Logan agreed, and Alexander led Madison

away. When they were gone, Laura looked at Logan. “This is finally it, huh?” she said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet,” Logan answered. “This is just the first step. Who knows what we’ll have to do next.” “But it was our biggest roadblock for so long,” Laura said. “I can’t believe we’ve finally made it here. To have the repository before us, and the angels on our side… I feel like we can take on the world, Logan. The elders won’t stand a chance before us!” “Maybe,” Logan said thoughtfully. “Maybe?” Laura frowned. “What do you mean, maybe? This is what we planned to do, and we’re finally here. We’re finally ready to take on the elders once and for all!” “I mean, I’m glad you’re enthused, Laura. I am too, of course. But you don’t know the elders like I do. They’re strong. And cunning. It’s best not to underestimate them. We’re talking about the most powerful Vassiz in existence, Laura. No matter what advantage we may have, it’s always better to expect them to be able to counter it full-force.” “That wasn’t your opinion before,” Laura said sourly. “It was always my opinion,” Logan said. “Not before you pushed me into doing this! Not before you agreed to doing it!” “I’m just saying that we need to be cautious,” Logan countered. “And come on. You know as well as I do that our chances of success were always low. All we can do is pray that somehow, someway, it’ll be enough.” “But you don’t think so anymore,” Laura said. “Why? You weren’t so pessimistic before.” “Seeing the repository for the first time made it so much more real for me,” Logan admitted. “When we were looking for the torrial, our path wasn’t yet defined for us. I mean, yes, we were all striving to find them so that we can take the next steps, but I guess… I guess there was a part of me that was holding out hope that we wouldn’t. It’s stupid. We all know what we were getting ourselves into. And now it’s real. Now it’s there. Before we found the repository, it was just off, somewhere in the future…” he waved a hand absently. “But now we have to face it head on.” “At least we’re doing it together,” Laura said gently, touching his arm.

Logan smiled at her. “Yes. Together. You are the reason I’m here. Never forget that.” “I won’t,” Laura said. She moved closer to him, and placed her head on his shoulder. He brought his arm around and held her tight. “No matter what happens,” Logan whispered, “I’ll always be here for you.” “I know you will,” Laura sighed. What happened next would determine their fate for their entire lives; for the entire future. If they succeeded, she could finally live in peace. Together with Logan. And if they failed… well, Logan’s candor made that possibility seem much more likely. If they failed, at least they would do it together. It was a somber thought, but oddly comforting. “Shall we?” Logan asked, rotating Madison’s vial in his hands. Laura nodded, and he popped the top open. Laura stuck her tongue out, and he placed a drop carefully onto it. Then he opened his mouth and swallowed the remainder of the mixture. “Five minutes, right?” “Something like that.” “Then we have enough time…” Laura trailed off, and traced her finger gently along Logan’s jaw. His eyes lit up, and he moved his head toward hers. He ran his hand up along her arm, and then down her body. She gasped, and then pulled his face close to hers to kiss him. That’s when she heard Alexander bounding down the stairs. Logan cursed, and pulled away from her. Laura let him go sadly. At this rate, they wouldn’t get a moment alone until after they faced the elders. If they got out of the confrontation alive. “Madison’s found something,” Alexander exclaimed. “Come. Quickly.” “What is it,” Laura started to say, but he was already gone. Logan pushed himself up. “Better check it out,” he said. He started to help her up, but she shrugged him off. She could do fine by herself. They went up the stairs to the highest level, where the vault stood open. Alexander was already inside. Laura followed Logan in. Inside, standing at the far end of the vault, she saw Madison. She was staring at something hidden from view. “What’s going on?” Laura asked.

“Come, look at this,” Madison said. She spoke as if in a trance. Laura started toward her, but Logan held her back. “Let me go first.” Laura hesitated, then nodded. Logan approached Madison slowly. “What is it?” he said. “That.” Madison was pointing to something on the floor. Laura got closer, and saw a solid sphere. It was about the size of a large watermelon. The outside was made of thick, heavy-looking glass, dark and nearly impenetrable by the light. Laura blinked. For a second, she thought that she could see past the surface, into the very heart of the sphere. There were dark, angry clouds toiling there. When she blinked again, they were gone. “What is it?” Laura asked. “A torrial of immense power,” Madison answered. “I recognized it the moment I saw it. From my pack’s history.” “I didn’t know packs have a history?” Laura said. “Some do. Some are more cultured than others.” She shot a look at Alexander, who shrugged. “Mine did. They spoke of a device like this one, both feared and revered in the past for what it could do. It was passed down from pack leader to pack leader before the elders came to power. That was when it disappeared. To… end up here.” “When the elders came to power?” Laura asked. “How is that possible? I thought the torrial were hidden away before that happened.” “Perhaps it means the elders know of the repository,” Logan said tightly. “Which means we’ve just walked into a trap,” Alexander said behind them. “It might,” Madison said, “and it might not. The shadowed being that Laura fought off may have been the only thing protecting the repository.” “So what does this torrial do?” Laura asked. Madison looked at her gravely. “With it, you can bring anyone into the dream realm. From absolutely anywhere in the world. And you are in complete control of what happens to them there.” Laura yawned despite herself. She had no idea where the need to do so came from. “Why was it feared?” she asked. “Dreams are a private thing, Laura,” Madison answered. “To be able to bring someone into the dream realm, it allows you to see into their mind. It gives you the

power to have absolute control over someone else. That type of power is dangerous in the wrong hands.” “Wait, so can’t we…” Laura started, but paused when she had to suppress another yawn. Her eyes started closing, and she fought them open. “Can’t we use it to bring the elders into the dream realm? That seems…” she yawned again, “…perfect for us.” “Let’s see what the angels say,” Madison replied. Laura nodded, and just at that moment a wave of drowsiness washed over her. She had to grip onto the wall to avoid falling over. Lowering herself down slowly, she hit the ground and instantly fell asleep.

Chapter Nine ~The Dream Realm~ Laura jerked to herself. She had to blink a few times to realize where she was. She had awoken in the same spot she had been before, but she was the only one there. Madison’s mixture had worked – she had gotten into the dream realm! Laura looked around to get a sense of her surroundings. For some reason, focusing on anything around her proved… difficult. The walls of the vault, the ground and the ceiling, and the very air around her shimmered and distorted itself in odd patterns. She was reminded a bit of the darkness that surrounded her when she fought the shadow. Suddenly Logan popped in beside her. He blinked a few times, dazed, but when his eyes rested on her he smiled. “You made it,” he said. A second later Alexander came to them, and then Madison. Their transition into the dream realm was much smoother than hers or Logan’s had been – Laura suspected it was because they didn’t need to use the potion. Laura stood up to try to clear her head. It didn’t help. When she looked at Logan or Madison or Alexander, their bodies were constantly twisting and shimmering, like she was looking at them through a body of water. Logan must have picked up on her unease. “Are you alright?” he asked. “Sure,” she lied. The cut on her heel started to throb, shooting waves of pain up and down her leg. She clenched her jaw to avoid showing discomfort. The world continued to swirl before her. “Okay,” Logan said, unconvinced. He turned his attention to the torrial behind him. When Laura tried to look there, things became even more… hazy. It was like looking at them through a heavily magnified lens that blurred out all but the most prominent features. But she could see one thing. Flowing into each of the torrial was a bright blue… essence. It was the same colored light she attributed to an active torrial before. She couldn’t follow it to its source directly, but she could see every torrial lit up by the light. It was like looking at an array of bright blue Christmas lights. “Can you see that?” Laura asked Logan. “See what?” he asked, frowning at her. “The

torrial?” “No. The light activating them. The flow of power into each one.” Laura knew that was what it was. The blue light was the same essence the torrial tapped whenever they were activated. The light was the ether that gave torrial their power in the human world. Logan looked at her oddly. “No, I don’t see anything.” Was it just her? “Madison? Alexander? Can either of you see it?” Madison shook her head after a moment. “Perhaps an effect of the circumstances of your feeding,” she suggested. “Maybe,” Laura said, but she was less sure. As strange as it was, it felt like it had something to do with how she saw the world around her shifting. It was almost like she could see the flow of ether that made up the dream realm. You have found it. Laura spun around. The voice rang in her head like the chiming of bells. At the door of the vault, she saw the angels for the first time since meeting them in the intersection between the two realms. To her, they were clearer than the other components of the dream realm. The air around them still shifted, but their representation was unmarred by whatever ailed her. She recognized Gabrielle standing in front, and the five others standing behind him. As before, she was struck by their sheer physical beauty. Each of the angels had a slightly different appearance, but each was still perfect, in their own way, and more beautiful than the last.

Welcome back to the world of dreams, Laura Cubus. Laura couldn’t help but smile with delight. Gabrielle’s majestic voice in her head made her feel like she could do anything. Suddenly, the air around the angels ceased shimmering. The nausea she felt looking at other parts of the world disappeared. She glanced back, and could see the torrial clearly. It was like the angel’s presence stabilized everything for her. But now, the blue ether touching the torrial was gone. “Gabrielle,” Laura exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you!”

We have been watching your dreams for a long time, Laura. Waiting for you to come.

“It took us time to find the repository,” Laura said. “If you knew where it was, why didn’t you tell us?”

Our description would have been meaningless to you. For us, physical structures are not as they look to you. We know the world of dreams; we can even imagine the same representation in the human world. But we see things as a part of the whole; as a small element of the ether of this world. Distance and space is meaningless to us here. Locations and places exist in constant flux in relation to the rest of this world, and to each other. What is close one moment is far the next. What little we could have told you would not have helped. “But we are finally here,” Laura said. “Ready, and willing to take on the elders. It is time to make them pay for what they did to you. To make them pay for the despicable way they treat their own kind.”

You have grown eager in your time away, Laura. Good. We are ready to do what we must. “And we are ready to listen,” Laura said. “Tell us what we need to do and it shall be done.” There was an… uncertainty… that Laura felt within her head. A hesitation, that came from Gabrielle. We take

command from you, Laura. You are the one who must guide us. In the time since we last met, we have grown stronger. Strong enough to aid you. We are beginning to realize the powers that have been taken away from us, but we are far from complete. The eternity we have spent in the pool has sapped us of our strength, and it will take time yet to get it back. “But you are strong enough to fight now?”

Yes. We are strong enough to assist you. But you are the one who must guide us. “Okay,” Laura said slowly. She hadn’t thought about this before. She had thought, since the angels’ domain of being was the dream realm, they would know instinctively what to do. Apparently that wasn’t quite the case. “Well, we have the torrial now. Do you know which ones may be useful?” In reply, Gabrielle moved toward her. He did not walk; rather, it was as if he shifted the entirety of the dream realm to propel him forward. But it was different from what she or Logan, or any of the other Vassiz, could do. Reality was mutable here, yes, but Gabrielle and the angels seemed to exist outside of that reality. Or, at least, on a

different level of it. Laura realized belatedly why that was after a second of thought. She was only here as a projection of herself, as were Logan, Madison, Alexander, and any of the other Vassiz who visited this world. Her real body was back in the world of humans. And while she had immense power over the formulation of her own perception of the dream realm, she could not alter the fabric of this world permanently. Gabrielle and the angels, however, were different. Their entire being existed in this dimension. They had no equal representation in the human world, nor were they able to access it the same way Laura could access the dream realm. That was why the way they perceived this world, and lived in it, was so much different. The dream realm was all they knew, and they knew it in its purest form. They existed here in their purest form. They were a permanent part of the dream, not mere tourists like Laura and others who came from the human world. Gabrielle drifted past her, toward the remainder of t he torrial in the vault. Laura saw that everybody was watching him. Logan and Alexander and Madison all had their eyes glued to what he was doing. He came to a stop before the first row of artifacts, and began to examine them carefully. He picked them up, one by one, to look at closely. Some he brought to his ear, as if trying to hear something, while others he hefted in his hand as if judging the weight. Most he put back in their place, but a few he set aside. Laura glanced behind her to see what the other angels were doing. She felt a wave of goose bumps run along her skin when she realized they all had their eyes on her. Their faces were the picture of serenity, but each pair of dark eyes were glued to her like she was their only salvation. She didn’t even know their names. Gabrielle was the only one to have spoken to her. She turned back, uncomfortably conscious of the weight of those eyes on her. Her foot continued to throb horribly. The angels were expecting something from her, of course. She had been the one who saved them from their eternal trap, the one who promised revenge against the ones who did that to them. She was also the one prophesized to do it all. That was what they expected out of her, and they were all ready to follow into whatever she might lead them to. It was odd, how beings so majestic – so clearly and obviously superior to her – were willing to

follow her at her merest suggestion. Maybe it was a type of loyalty that arouse from how she had saved them, but it was a loyalty she did not feel she deserved. Gabrielle had worked his way to the back of the room. He had cleared out a space in the middle of all the different torrial, and had placed a few select ones there. Laura recognized the three dancing figurines she noticed before in the pile. There was also a gold bracelet ring, an ivory sword hilt, and what looked to be a murky wine bottle. Everything else Gabrielle discarded or put away. He continued that way until he reached the very end of the room, where Madison was standing. She was nodding her head at him, and Laura suspected he was speaking to her in her mind. Madison pointed to the sphere that was at her feet, and Gabrielle moved swiftly to pick it up. He examined it for a moment. Then he turned around and rose it triumphantly above his head.

This is it, Laura! Elation like she’d never felt before filled her mind. It was not just coming from Gabrielle, but from all the angels together. The globe in Gabrielle’s hands darkened for a moment, and then rebounded the other way and became completely transparent. For the second time, Laura saw the swirling clouds inside. They roiled and churned, leaving dizzying streaks of dark reds and violent oranges in their wake. And then the entire room started to twist. The walls shifted angrily in rhythm to the swirling clouds. The ceiling contracted and expanded, threatening to consume her. Alexander, Madison, Logan, Gabrielle, and all the other angels flickered in and out of being. The only thing that did not change was the sphere. The shifting reality made Laura nauseous. She put her hand out, to try to get a grip on the wall, but misjudged the distance to it. Her hand grasped at empty air and she stumbled in the direction, dizzy and uncoordinated. The colors of the room swirled around her angrily. They threatened to consume her. She closed her eyes to try to get away. Instead, the swirling shapes and menacing colors penetrated her mind. With her eyes closed, they became even worse. They became more vivid. She felt lost in a maelstrom. She could feel her grip on herself slipping. She was floating in a dark abyss, and the only thing she was sure of was the piercing pain in her foot. The

wound she had taken seemed to feed on the uncertainty. The pain she felt became more and more terrible, gripping her with a horrible intensity. It became too much, and she blacked out. ~~ “Laura? Laura, what’s wrong?” Laura opened her eyes weakly. She was surprised when she could see straight. Logan was leaning over her, his face lined with concern. “How long was I out?” she asked. “Out? Laura, you fell just now. I ran over. Are you alright?” “I… think so,” she said. She had thought she had been lying there for hours. She didn’t know if it was frightening or comforting that it had only been a few seconds. “It’s the cut,” Alexander said gravely. “I will bet my livelihood on it. It is not an ordinary wound. When the shadowed being cut you, it must have transferred some kind of poison into your body. Some kind of vileness.” “I can fight it off,” Laura said stubbornly. She started to push herself up, but Logan stopped her. “Stay down,” he said. “We need to figure this out.” Shadowed being? Gabrielle interjected. Laura, is

this true? Tell me what happened. Laura sighed, and relayed the story in its entirety to Gabrielle. He listened solemnly, and when she finished, drifted over to her. He knelt by her side, and placed a hand onto her leg.

This should help. Laura gasped as a cold spread from beneath his fingers. It traveled down her leg toward the wound. The cold concentrated there, numbing the pain she felt to nothingness. Exhaustion she did not know she felt ebbed out of her like water running out a spout, leaving only a fading memory of the pain. The cold spread through her entire foot, gripping it in its icy hold, and then vanished. Laura’s eyes widened in wonder. Gabrielle drew his hand away. How do you feel? “Much… better.” Laura moved her wounded foot left and right, twirled it in a circle. The pain that should have been there was gone. “What did you do?”

I did not heal you, if that’s what you’re asking. But I

was able to restrict the severity of the cut. Alexander was right – there is a vileness to the wound that wants to overtake your whole body. You fought it off well. What I did should give you more time before it returns. “It’s going to come back?”

You will need it attended in the human world, where your body lies. The healing must be done in the same realm you took the wound. “Do you know what it was that I fought?”

I… recognized part of what you said. The shadow is a type of creature that exists in the planes between the dream realm and the human world. It preys on people’s dreams. I have never heard of it appearing in the human world, however. But what you said about fighting it off, and t h e torrial gem you found… it may have been what allowed the shadow to cross into your world. I am certain it was put there to guard the repository. Laura stood up. “Thank you,” she said. Gabrielle had given her enough strength to stand and fight. Laura, Gabrielle said. I will not tell the others of this

unless you ask me to. But you need to hear it. I believe the wound you took will be fatal . The pain in suppressed here, but in the human world your body is fighting it. You will lose. I fear you may not survive the trip back to the human world when it is time to return. Laura froze. Her eyes widened and a sudden constriction gripped her chest. She was going to die?

The only way for you to live is if one of us comes there to heal your body. “But you cannot survive in the human world,” Laura whispered.

You have sacrificed for us, as we will sacrifice for you. The voice that filled her head was not just Gabrielle’s, but a choir of all the angels. Laura was overwhelmed with emotion. “We will kill the elders,” she said icily.

Chapter Ten ~Need~

And this is how we’re going to do it. Laura knew that at that moment, Gabrielle was speaking not just to her, but to all of them. He went back to pick up the spherical torrial and placed it on the ground before Laura. Everyone else circled around her. The five angels who were standing outside came in and made a wall of bodies to one side. “You recognized it,” Laura said. “What is it? Madison knew of it, also.” This is one of the most powerful torrial ever created. It is what the elders used to imprison us. “How?” Laura asked. This torrial allows the user to pull anybody into the

dream realm. Anybody, in any state, from anywhere in the world. It grants immense power, for in the dream realm, as you well know, you control your reality. This torrial takes away that control from whoever is pulled in. Laura’s eyes widened with understanding. “That means we can pull the elders in, and destroy them here!” “Yes,” Madison answered. “That is what I suspected we would do as well. But it will not be so easy.” Someone has to operate the torrial, Gabrielle said. And it can only pull in one person at a time. “The elders stay apart from one another,” Alexander mused, “but they would know immediately if one of their comrades has fallen. If they even start to suspect that they face a threat from a torrial like this one, they will ward their minds.” “There are eight of them,” Logan put in. Laura turned to him. “We cannot just do it one-by-one. We might bring them here, yes, but they still remain powerful. And cunning. After the first falls, the others will be prepared. No, this will not do. One of our advantages is the element of surprise, one of our only advantages, but we throw it to the wind if we proceed this way.” There is… another way. Laura spun to face Gabrielle again. “What is it?” A slightly modified use of the torrial. Instead of

pulling the elders into the dream realm, we can use it to propel ourselves into their dreams. “Isn’t that more dangerous?” Laura asked. “If we’re

in their dreams, they hold all control. Right?” Not if the torrial is being used. This way, it can

negate the extra control the elders would have over their dreams. It puts us on even ground with them. “But what’s the advantage of doing it that way?” Laura asked.

You can all go at once. Laura blinked. If they all went at once, it meant they could strike at the elders simultaneously. “How many do you need to control the torrial?” Me and one other. A female angel drifted toward Gabrielle and stood beside him. Yes. She will do. The

remainder will go with you to fight. Laura did a quick count in her head. “So then there are eight elders, and eight of us. Is the idea for each one of us to attack an elder separately? By ourselves?”

That is correct. Laura frowned. She looked at Logan. “Are we strong enough to do that?” She could feel the time starting to tick away. Back in the human world, her body was slowly being killed by the venom from the cut. The fight against the elders would have to be now or never. Logan considered for a moment. “A unified attack on all of them at once? It sounds preposterous, but it may work. If Gabrielle is right, and the torrial negates the advantage the elders have in their dreams, then the only thing that will determine the victor is sheer strength and will.” “The elders are strong,” Madison said, “but they have not faced a direct threat in a long time. They may have grown complacent. If we surprise them at once, we may have a chance yet to overtake them. It will take a tremendous amount of luck, but…” “But we need to do it,” Laura confirmed. “Right. Gabrielle, that is how we’re going to proceed.”

Excellent. We need time to prepare. ~~ The preparations for the fight took less than an hour. All the torrial in the room had to be taken away, except for the sphere. Gabrielle said that having too many torrial in close vicinity could cause the main one to malfunction, and that was not a risk they were willing to take. So, they all

carried the torrial as far as they could in the building, down to the lowest level. All the while, Laura couldn’t stop thinking about how close they were to the end. Once Gabrielle and the other angel activated the torrial, they would all go to face the battle of their lives. And they would each be doing it alone. It is not how Laura imagined things would be when this all began. What if she survived, but Logan didn’t? Could she live with herself after that? Then again, the whole expedition was nothing more than a glorified suicide mission: if but one of them failed against the elders, all would be lost. It had to be a unified strike, everyone had to succeed, and it had to happen fast. Laura did not know what she would find in the elders’ dreams. She knew how corrupt the Vassiz were, how scathing and manipulative the majority of the race was. Even if, thanks to the torrial, the elders did not have full control of their dreams, they still would know the landscape better than any of them. How much of an advantage was it, really, to have the torrial on their side? Of course, Laura knew that without it, their slim hope of success would have wilted away to nothing. The torrial was essential, and yet not even she understood how it worked. Madison said it had been both feared and revered in her pack’s histories. Was it because it annihilated the control one had over their dreams? Because it could suck others into the dream realm and leave them there, helpless? Or was there an even more sinister side to it? What if, no matter Gabrielle’s best intentions, the torrial malfunctioned, and brought them into the elders’ dreams but left the elders’ powers unchanged? A swift death would be the best outcome. But that was not within the realm of reality. Laura knew the elders would squeeze every drop of life out of her, and then string her out as an example to all Vassiz of what happens to those who do not conform. She couldn’t let that happen. She had her whole life yet to live. She wouldn’t let it be cut short on somebody else’s watch. There was so much she hadn’t done, hadn’t seen, hadn’t experienced… and there was only one way to ensure that she could do those things. Win. Laura climbed the final flight of stairs leading to the vault. It was only a matter of minutes, now, before they would begin their inconceivable fight against the elders. She looked around. The room was quiet, and everybody looked solemn. Gabrielle was sitting crosslegged on the floor by the torrial, eyes closed, focusing on

it. The female angel he had chosen as his partner in activating the torrial was across from him. She was just as focused. It was the first time Laura had seen any of the angels not standing up. The other angels were off to one side as a group. Their bodies were still, but their eyes flashed from one another rapidly. Laura wondered if it was a way of communicating. Madison and Alexander and Logan were standing around the small collection of torrial that Gabrielle had picked out. Laura went to them. Logan noticed her, and squatted down on his heels. He reached over to pick up a torrial – one of the three dancing figurines. Seeing them for the first time close up, Laura realized that the depictions were not clothed. But, the way their hands and hair streamed around their bodies made them look exactly as they were meant to me. Free. Free in expression and in flight. “Gabrielle said that one of these allows you greater control over the dream,” Logan said. “All three, and there will be nothing that can touch you. We spoke—” he motioned around himself to Madison and Alexander, “— and want you to have them.” “All three?” Laura asked. “What about you?” “You are the least experienced of us,” Alexander explained. Then he added quickly, “No disrespect. You may be the strongest, due to the circumstances of your feeding, but we know the dream realm far better than you.” “Not only that, but you are important to us,” Madison added. “Without you, the prophecy fails.” “And I need you to be safe,” Logan said earnestly. “These won’t guarantee it, but they can help.” “No,” Laura said calmly. “The three of you should take them. One for each. Like Alexander said, I am the strongest. You need them more than I.” “It’s already been decided,” Logan said strongly. “You will take all three.” “Well un-decide it. None of us will succeed if another fails. If I take all of them, it’ll be like—” Laura cut off as Logan rose to loom over her. His dark eyes shone with a fervent intensity. For the first time in a long time, Laura actually felt small. “You will take them, Laura. You promised me that you would let me guard your wellbeing. If we’re going to be separated out of necessity, this is the best I can do!”

Laura had not seen such intensity from Logan in a long time. She was about to open her mouth to refuse, when she found a hand placed gently on her shoulder. It was Madison’s. “We all agreed it’s for the best,” Madison said soothingly. “Logan means no harm. He cares for you – we all do.” Laura looked at Madison, and then back to Logan. With a sigh, she nodded. “If that’s what you’ve decided,” she relented. Logan smiled, and picked up the other two torrial to hand to her. “Trust me, this is for the best.” “Thank you,” Laura said, managing a weak smile. Alexander nodded with approval. “Anyway,” Madison added once Laura held the three torrial, “there are other torrial Gabrielle put aside.” She motioned to the gold bracelet, the ivory sword handle, and the dark glass bottle. “Do you know what they do?” Laura asked. “The bracelet is supposed to be a way of linking two people together,” Alexander said. “One person puts it on, and his mind is linked to the person who was closest to him when the bracelet settled onto his wrist. Gabrielle says it will be a way for us to stay in touch with him. The sword hilt can make you move faster. But only for a few moments. And it takes a lot out of you. The wine bottle? There’s supposedly something inside that is very precious, but Gabrielle is unsure of what it is. And the glass itself is not glass but Allurvai, so it is impossible to break open. ” “So who gets what, then?” Laura asked. “Gabrielle will wear the bracelet himself,” Alexander answered. “The sword hilt, we had thought to give to you, but I doubt you will want it after the way you reacted.” He chuckled. “Which is to say, I don’t know.” “You should take it,” Laura said without hesitation. “Your shoulder still bares traces of the wound.” “She’s right,” Madison said earnestly. “The angels healed it, but you never know if the elders will find some way to exploit it nonetheless.” “That’s fine by me,” Logan added. Alexander looked uneasily from Laura to Logan to Madison. Now he knows how I felt, Laura thought sarcastically. Finally, he nodded, and picked up the ivory handle. Laura. It is time.

Gabrielle’s voice rang in her head like a hammer striking an anvil. She spun around on the spot. She noticed, in her peripherals, the others doing the same. Gabrielle had stood up from where he was standing. The dark glass of the spherical torrial before him was no longer opaque. It was transparent as the clearest glass, and inside Laura could see a dizzying array of thousands upon thousands of tiny white dots, bathed in a pale blue light. The light was characteristic of torrial. In between each of the dots was a darkness that even Laura’s Vassiz eyes could not see through. The darkness did not just swallow the light from the dots. It simply rejected it. There was nothing that existed in between the dots; nothing that could penetrate the dark or be within it. The female angel who had worked with Gabrielle was still sitting on the floor, concentrating on the torrial before her. The other angels had all moved closer, and none looked uneasy anymore. They were prepared. Laura wished she could say the same about herself. While she thought she gave out the appearance of being ready, her insides were bubbling with uncertainty and emotion. What if she would never see any of the others again? Was this the final goodbye? Would stepping through the torrial and into the elders’ dreams be the first step to her death? To all their deaths? Logan stepped beside her, gave her a quick smile, and took her hand. She locked her fingers between his and held on tight. T h i s torrial represents rebirth for us, Gabrielle began. With it, we will be able to usher in a new age writ

forth by prophecy. We have come full circle, from being trapped by the elders in their mad use of this device to using it against them. It is a poetic type of justice when the device used to imprison us will turn out to be the same one leading to their downfall. The origins of this new age began when we were freed from our eternal prison by the one destined to do so. Laura Cubus. It is thanks to her that we have gotten this far, and to her we owe our freedom. For that, we are forever in her debt. Laura knew Gabrielle was not just speaking to her, but to all of them. He was a natural leader, and Laura stood in awe of what he was doing. Of how he was doing it. Let the activation of the torrial represent our first

foray into the quittance of our debt. Nothing we may do

shall ever match our gratitude, but it will not be so for a lack of effort. And so, Laura Cubus, we offer to you first use of the device, so you may begin what you were prophesied to do. Gabrielle inclined his head toward Laura. All the other angels did the same. She felt oddly uncomfortable with the gesture – she hadn’t even accomplished anything yet! All the same, she acknowledged it with a tight smile. “Thank you, Gabrielle,” she said. “Thank you, to everyone for coming this far with me. None of you had any obligation to do so—” she looked back at Madison and Alexander to let them know she especially meant them, “— but yet you did. It is not something I will ever forget.” “I would not leave you for the world,” Logan whispered beside her. Laura started to blush, but forced it down. Good. Gabrielle rose his head. Laura, who should be the first to enter the torrial? “I will,” Laura answered. She was their leader, and she had to lead. No leader would ever gain the confidence of her followers by shying away at the most important time. “I will be the first to go.” “Laura, no,” she heard Logan say beside her, but she had already made up her mind. Unlinking her fingers from his – which, she had to admit, was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done – she stepped forward. “What do I need to do, Gabrielle?” Gabrielle smiled and drifted over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently led her forward. Positioning her in front of the torrial, he stepped back. Laura, he said, you are the only one who can hear me now. I will tell you how to use the torrial to achieve

what you want. Listen well, for it is imperative that nothing go wrong. Laura gave a curt nod to acknowledge him.

Look into the sphere, Laura. Do you see the lights? Each of those lights is a representation of every living body in existence. Everyone is there; there are none omitted. Laura came closer, and could see deeper into the

torrial. Whereas before she thought all the lights were contained within the sphere, now she knew different. The lights appeared to extend out forever. There was no other side to the globe when she looked in. It just extended

indefinitely. It made her dizzy just thinking about it.

Every star is the representation of a single person. The light you see given off is their life energy. It is what makes them who they are, what allows them to feel pain and happiness, sadness and pleasure. It is what gives them life. The torrial allows us to see all the people of the world represented at once. And it allows us to enter their minds – their dreams – or bring them into our own. It is what we will use to find the elders. Do you see the black surrounding the stars? That is the sub-ethereal matrix, the nothingness that exists to give structure to our world and to all of life. Without it, nothing could exist. But at the same time, there is nothing that exists within it. It is bleak and barren and devoid of life, and yet gives rise to the physical dimensions of our worlds. That matrix is where the torrial will take you, Laura. When you’re inside, you will see the billions of stars that represent every living body on the earth. Time and space become meaningless there. You will find the elders’ stars, and go into the first one. “But how can I possibly pick out the right star?” The torrial operates on need, Laura. It will take you

to where you need to be more than anything in the world. Feel the need, and the torrial will respond in kind. Do you understand? “I… yes, I think so.”

You have to be sure, Laura. Are you sure that your need to find the elders is stronger than anything else on your mind? That your desire to see justice done, to ensure that you can live your life in peace, supersedes everything else? “Yes,” Laura answered strongly.

That your anger for what the elders have put you through makes you want to seek revenge? That your passion for seeing it done fuels the very fires of your heart? “Yes!”

Then your need is the right one. Close your eyes. Laura did so. She felt reality distort around her. It was as if a cleave had been made right through the air, opening into nothingness. She felt a pull from it, and was plunged inside.

Chapter Eleven ~A Reunion~ Laura was floating through the darkness. She knew she was above ground, but could not feel her body. In fact, she could not even tell which way was up, and which was down. She floated, like a leaf travelling down a meandering creek. She did not know where she was going, only that she was in motion. She opened her eyes. Darkness filled them. It was overpowering, fighting to swallow her up. She was an intruder, and not welcome here. But she was here. How did she get here? She fought to remember, but catching a memory was like grasping at water. It was like trying to recall a dream of a dream. Slowly, ever so slowly, the darkness receded. In its place Laura saw shapes forming. Small shapes, and all far in the distance. The darkness still existed in the interval, but where the shapes were, it did not. A thousand years seemed to pass as the darkness continued to ebb away, revealing the intricate shapes that surrounded her. They were everywhere, now. Close and far, left and right, down and up. Every one of the shapes was different, but every one was perfect in its own right. Laura could see the lines that made up the shapes like bars of streaming light. The shapes all called to her, all demanded her attention. There were so many of them it would take a thousand lifetimes just to get started. But Laura did not want to wait. She reached out toward one, but it scampered away. She tried again, extending herself toward another. It reacted the same way. She was like a drop of oil floating in a pool of water. Skimming at the top, but repelling everything around her. Laura blinked, and the shapes changed. What were previously angular figures became glowing balls of light. And the darkness ebbed away. Paradoxically, it threatened to swallow everything up. The little spheres around her fought back, shining with increased fervor, and the darkness did not advance. An equilibrium had been reached. Laura moved forward, and the equilibrium shifted. The darkness became more powerful. The little lights contracted. She felt a pulse of terror come out from all of them. She stopped in place. Had she done that? Had she

upset the balance somehow? Carefully, she shifted herself back. The lights expanded outward instantly, and the darkness shrunk in on itself. She had done it! But why? And how? What did any of it mean? She felt like she should know, like she should recognize the place she was at, but her memories were fuzzy. Thinking of anything in her past was fuzzy. She felt an itch between her shoulder blades, as if she were being watched. She turned around, careful not to disturb the delicate balance of the place. And for a heartbeat, she saw the panel of glass that separated the abyss she was in from the outside world. On the other side, she spotted Gabrielle, towering a thousand times larger than her. The image lasted for a second, and was gone. She was alone in the darkness. But the momentary viewing awoke all the memories she had lost. She knew where she was again, and knew the orbs of light around her were ethereal representations of all humanity. She was here to find the orbs that belonged to the elders. How could she do it? She could see millions of lights all around her, and any movement she made seemed to threaten to upset the balance that held them in place. Picking the right ones out of the mass would be more difficult that finding Atlantis in the ocean. But Gabrielle had told her she could do it based on need. If she felt the need, the right spheres should reveal themselves to her. She closed her eyes tightly. Need. Swish. She opened her eyes, and knew instantly she had been transported thousands of miles away. Space was meaningless here, but she felt the spatial difference of where she was. The stars shining around her were different from the ones before. There was no order to them, neither here nor earlier, but Laura could tell they were arranged in a different array. There were still millions of them everywhere she looked. She closed her eyes again. Need. Swish. This time, she opened her eyes before the movement took place. It was not movement, really – one second she was in one place, and the next, another one far away. It was as if she had not bothered with the intervening space. With her eyes open, she saw the blurring of the stars as they sped away and were replaced by new ones. This time, the stars around here were a little sparser. She

could still see millions of them, of course, but now the spaces between them were a little bigger, a little broader. Was she getting closer? Not bothering to close her eyes, she did what she did before. She felt need. Swish. The stars did not blur as they sped away this time. Instead, Laura was pushed forward with the force of a tidal wave. She plunged deeper in one direction, where stars became even sparser. Over to her right, a cluster of them shone with a slightly different intensity than the rest. She knew that was where she needed to go. Need. Swish. The movement of the stars brought her face to face with that cluster. There were eight stars in total. They did not share the same bright blue light of the others. Instead, they were yellowing, and shone only weakly. Yet the darkness stayed away from them. Out of respect or fear Laura could not say, but she knew that if any other stars were so weak as these they would have long since disappeared. And she knew instinctively that those eight stars belonged to the elders. So, she had found them. But how to get inside? She reached out, and immediately the stars scurried away. Much as the last time she had tried to move. Darkness moved in, becoming more menacing and looming all at once. And while it did not move closer to the cluster of eight stars, it had no reservations about pressing in on her. That was the wrong way to proceed. Why would she change the method that had got her here already? Need was what brought her here, and need would be what let her cross the final distance. She closed her eyes and focused. Need. Swish. She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself out of the darkness… and was surprised when she was not. The cluster of stars that she had been by earlier were nowhere to be found. Alarm started to grip her. Had she messed up her chance? Had she done something wrong? She closed her eyes and focused with all her might.

NEED! Swish. The darkness around her shifted, changing into something… softer. Less menacing. She looked around, but couldn’t find the cluster anywhere. But despite that, she felt oddly at ease. She was comfortable where she was.

The stars around here were few and far between, but none were close enough to distinguish themselves. Curiosity got the better of her. Where was the torrial taking her? She would find out soon. Need. Swish. She came face-to-face with a peculiar star. It was larger than the others, much heavier, but at the same time, its glow was much gentler. She could feel its pull tugging at her. Surely this was not one of the elders’ stars? No, of course not – she would not feel this way if it were. From this one came all sorts of happy emotions. Love and caring, compassion and companionship. This was not the star of a regular Vassiz, much less the corrupt leaders that led the entire race. Something tickled the back of Laura’s mind. It was as if she should be able to recognize the star. Looking at it, she did notice it was familiar, in a way. But what that way was, and how it was connected to her, she could not place. She closed her eyes again. Need. Swish. She was back in the denser area of stars. Back from where she had come from. Why was she taken to that strange, larger star in the first place? Then she noticed a pull from behind her, and looked there. The heavy, peculiar star was right behind her – it had followed her here! And while that alone should have alarmed her, she felt no threat from it. In fact, Laura thought that it afforded her protection, somehow. She closed her eyes again. Need. Swish. She arrived smack in the middle of the elders’ cluster of decaying stars. Their light pulsed sickeningly, waxing and waning like something rotten. She looked to either side, around and behind her, and realized the larger star had followed her here as well. She had not seen any of the other stars move like that. Why was it trailing her? What was it – and whose was it? She had to find out before entering the elders’ dreams. Need. Swish. Laura came back face-to-face with the larger star again. She did not move far this time, as there was no need. The star had followed her all this way. She felt the good emotions flowing out from it. She had to find out what it was. But, how? Could she peer inside somehow? Need.

This time, there was no swish. The star simply opened up to her. She did not get closer, nor did the star get any bigger, but somehow what she saw now took up her entire field of vision. She was skimming on the surface of the light, looking down into the aura of the being who existed there. She saw trees. Thick, dense, trees in a green forest. Looming evergreens and mountainous ranges extended as far as her eye could see. It reminded her of the forest back home. She did a double take. It was the forest from back home! The one that she and Logan had traveled across. But she was sure this wasn’t Logan’s star. The earth below her zoomed closer, so that she could see the ground through the trees. She spotted a group of men moving through the forest. They picked their way forth carefully, but aside from their movement, Laura could not see them very well. They were… blurry. She could not tell who they were. Suddenly a loud gunshot blast shattered the silence. The earth sped one way. When it stopped, Laura was directly above the source of the blast. A cry of pain rang out. A tortured, wailing cry of pure agony. It was coming from right below her. The earth shifted even closer and she was looking down from the top of the trees. She saw another blurry shape below. She could tell it was a man, big and wide. Before him lay the still-breathing body of an enormous bear. Her fur was matted with blood, and her breathing was labored. Every once in a while another cry of pain escaped her throat, each one weaker than the last. But that was not what held her attention. Behind the bear, off to the side and almost invisible in the canopy, was a tiny cub with splotchy silver fur. It stared up at her with big, scared eyes. She would have recognized the cub anywhere. It was Gray! At that thought the whole image below her blurred. The colors streaked away, and the lines that made up the shapes dissipated into nothingness. The colors and lines fled to the edge of her vision, leaving a dark gaping hole in the middle. And then, ever so slowly, like the painting of a master work of art, the colors and shapes began to stream back. But they were streaming back to form different shapes. Laura watched, entranced by the entire process. Slowly, she saw the formation of a large, furry leg, and then another one, and another, and another. The legs

connected to the bottom of an enormous body, and it was unmistakable whose it was. Gray’s. The remainder of his body formed slowly, built up by the colors and lines that came in from the edge of Laura’s vision. As the process occurred, Laura found herself amazed at how much Gray had changed. Even since she had left him in the woods three weeks ago, he had grown. He was so much larger now, so much more mature. Finally, when the entirety of his body was formed, a light zoomed in from the side to give life to his eyes. He opened them, and look at her. Laura couldn’t help but gasp. There was such knowledge in those eyes. Gray moved forward, unrestrained now, and tilted his head toward her. Laura reached out. But, just as her hand was about to touch his forehead, it went right through, as if moving through mist. Laura nearly staggered forward. She yearned to form the connection with Gray, the mind-link that they shared thanks to her unique vampire ability. But he was not really here – or perhaps, she was not. It was an illusion created by the torrial. She was not really inside his dream, but looking in from behind a barrier. Gray turned around in a tight circle, showing off his matured body. He really was stunning. His fur was luscious and thick, and the heavy muscles of his back and legs danced as he moved. The eloquent grace that he had before had been enhanced even further, so that every move he made looked as if it were perfectly choreographed. Laura had been sure he was done growing when they said goodbye, but that certainty was now being proven wrong. Gray tilted his head to one side, looking at her. It was a peculiar, questioning gaze – but one that Laura had seen from him many times before. Unfortunately, without being able to form the link, there was no way for her to know exactly what he wanted. He moved toward her, and Laura started to shake her head, to remind him that they could not physically reach each other. Then she realized that was not what he was doing. He came by her, and sat at her side. Then he turned his head and looked at her expectantly. He wanted to communicate something. That he was there for her? At that thought, everything around her began to swirl. She felt affirmation come in from all directions. Was that confirmation of what Gray wanted to say? The colors and lines that made him up swirled and mashed together,

leaving nothing in their wake. Swish. Suddenly, Laura was back inside the dark matrix of the globe torrial. Gray’s star shone brightly before her. She could not see into it anymore. She turned, and saw the elders’ stars shimmering sickly there. The torrial operated on need, and it had brought her to Gray before bringing her to the elders. Or maybe Gray had called out to her somehow. Either way, they had been reunited. No wonder she felt all those emotions coming from the larger star. She and Gray were linked by an unassailable bond, and nothing would ever sever it. She could not waste any more time. Now, with Gray beside her, she was ready to face the elders. There were eight of their stars visible in total. Laura did not know which one she should attack. But then again, it was not like she had a choice. Every time she tried to move by herself the balance between the darkness and the stars shifted. The torrial itself would decide which elder’s star she would go within. She closed her eyes, and focused intensely on what she had to do. Need. Swish.

Chapter Twelve ~A Twisted Land~ Laura opened her eyes, and found herself in a barren world. She looked down at herself. Her body had formed again. A dull ache echoed from her heel, where the shadow had cut her. Gabrielle’s healing had removed the pain completely before she entered the torrial, but now it was back, though not quite as bad as before. She wondered if it meant her body in the human world was succumbing to the poison. If so, it meant time was not on her side. She had to hurry. She looked around. She was standing in a gray, dusty valley situated before an enormous mountain. The mountain’s peak reached high past the clouds above. It was the only thing that stood out in an otherwise flat land. The shadow it made extended far into the distance, and Laura could not see where it ended. The earth around her was harsh and bare. There was not a single sign of life anywhere. Nothing green grew here, and no living beings would call this place home. It was eerily devoid of life. Even in the desert, she had seen cacti and other resilient plants grow. Here, there was nothing but rock. Laura looked at the mountain. There, solidified rivers of lava ran down its side, long since crusted over in an unforgiving black. The mountain had erupted once, very long ago, and since that time the earth had not recovered. LAURA. Laura jerked around. She heard the voice in her head. Gabrielle was speaking to her. But, how? Could he reach her when she was inside the dreams of an elder? LAURA. It sounded like Gabrielle was shouting, straining to be heard over a great distance. LAURA, YOU HAVE ARRIVED IN THE DREAM . HEED MY WORDS, FOR THEY MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE. His voice echoed strangely, creating an uncomfortable dissonance in her head. EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS FALSE. NOTHING

CAN BE TRUSTED. REMEMBER THAT, AND YOU WILL BE SAFE. SAFE… His voice trailed off, dying away to silence. Laura was sure that speaking to her here took a lot out of him. She fingered the figurines inside her pocket. Everything that she saw was false? She was not sure what that

meant. But she did not have to think twice about the other thing Gabrielle said. She wouldn’t trust anything here if her life depended on it. She looked around again. The land was eerily quiet. Not only was there no life here, other than her, but there was also no movement. She could not feel the wind on her face, nor the sun’s warmth on her skin. The whole thing was like being in a sealed vacuum. It just didn’t feel right. Now that she was here, though, what was she to do? Find the elder whose dream this was, of course, but how? She had no idea where she was, or where he would be. When the torrial brought her into his dream, it transported him here as well. Of course he would know somebody was coming. Even so, it was only her and him in this barren land. And, thanks to the torrial, she had the upper hand. She set out to search. The only landmark visible was the mountain. Surely, if the torrial brought her to this exact location, there was reason for it. It was painfully obvious the mountain was where she needed to go. She turned toward it, and ran. She ran over the hard earth as fast as her Vassizenhanced speed would take her. Every time her left heel struck the ground, a dull wave of pain shot up through her leg. She ignored it. Now was not the time for self-pity. Now was the time for action, and haste. Every second that ticked away was a second lost. She ran toward the mountain at full speed, but it did not seem to get any closer. In fact, the distance to it appeared to stretch out before her, lengthening the harder she ran. She picked up speed, going faster, and the mountain moved even farther away. She stopped. What she was doing was like a dog trying to catch its own tail. She could not get to the mountain this way. But how, then? And, why was the mountain behaving that way? She was the one who was supposed to have control over the world, not be subject to its whims. Running would get her nowhere. Maybe it was like back in the ethereal matrix – physically moving disturbed the balance holding everything in place. She had to take advantage of the properties of the dream, now, not fight against them. She closed her eyes, and willed the mountain to move closer to her. She opened them. The mountain was in the same place, far in the distance, mocking her. Why didn’t it

working? Before, in the dream realm, all she had to do was will something to happen and it did. But this was not the pure dream realm that she knew; rather, it was some elemental piece of it that existed within an elder’s mind. Perhaps that made it behave differently. Well, if she could not move the mountain closer, perhaps she could prevent it from moving further away. She focused her eyes onto it, and seared the image in her mind. She took a step forward. The mountain did not move. She took another step. Again, the mountain did not move away. She took a series of steps, unable to run because of the focus required to keep the mountain in place. Thankfully, the landmark did not move away. She relaxed a little, easing her focus, and instantly the mountain propelled itself farther. She growled irritably. Was the balance here so precarious she could not lose focus, even for an instant, to get to the mountain? Suddenly she remembered the three torrial in her pocket. Alexander had said they afforded the user better control over this place. Control was what she needed. She reached in and pulled the figurines out. She looked at them. She did not know how to use them, how to activate any of them. Perhaps simply holding them was enough? She tried, but could not see the blue light that was characteristic of torrial. There was something else that triggered them. She examined the three figurines. All were depictions of females dancing. But there was something more to them. The way the arms and legs extended on all of them, it looked as if the three were made to be linked. Laura squatted to the ground and laid them out. She picked up two, and brought them together so the arms touched. Immediately, they clicked into place, as if there were tiny but strong magnets within the extremities. The two figurines made up two-thirds of a circle. Laura took the third torrial and linked it to the others. It also clicked into place. And as soon as that happened, an unearthly blue aura appeared around the shape. Laura picked up the newly-formed circle. Its circumference was no larger than the palm of her hand, and the figurines blended seamlessly into one another. The aura it gave off shone with the light she was expecting. She turned her attention back to the mountain before her. The jagged shape of the huge slab of rock reminded her somewhat of an upside down fang. She hadn’t notice it

before, but there was a certain curve to the side of the mountain unlike any she had ever seen. The mountains that surrounded her old Washington home were all hard slopes and angles. This one, however, had that peculiar curve. She wondered why that was, and if it meant anything. It didn’t matter now. She had to reach that mountain, and fast. Time was ticking away. Feeding off the power emitted by the torrial, she cemented the image of the mountain in her mind. Then she imagined it staying in place, rooted to the ground that was linked to her. If the mountain moved, so would the earth she stood on. It would not be able to outrun her this time. She took a few steps forward, and the mountain did not move away. That was to be expected – she had managed as much without the help of the torrial. The trickier bit was what came next. If she walked the entire way to the mountain, it might take her hours; if she ran, she would be there in mere minutes. But she could not focus on the mountain staying in place if she ran. Slowly, tentatively, she relaxed her focus. She felt the power flowing outward from the torrial, enhancing whatever she did. Bit by bit, she eased her concentration. And took a few steps toward the mountain. At the first hint of the giant slab of rock beginning to slip away, she stopped and refocused at the previous level. She focused less and less, walking toward the mountain, until the impression of it in her mind was almost an afterthought. Without the torrial, even a single lapse in her concentration would send the mountain jetting away. But with it, it seemed, she had exponentially more control. She barely even had to think about the mountain to keep it there. She started to run. The concentration level required for her to keep the mountain still was miniscule. So much so that she did not even need to find the lower limit anymore. She could run toward it with the level she was currently at. She picked up speed, feeling the torrial feeding her control from the palm of her hand. The mountain did not move away. She ran faster, skimming over the dark and desolate rocks of the plain. Not even boulders stood here, in the barren land surrounding the mountain. It was just dark, parched stone. Laura ran over it all, racing toward the mountain’s bottom. As she got closer, the sheer size of the mountain

began to dawn on her. For one, it was much farther than she expected, which meant that it was much taller than she thought. It looked like the part that extended past the clouds would be at least as tall as the part leading from the earth to the clouds. And for another, she was becoming less sure of how she was going to scale that rock. From far away, she had assumed she would be able to simply climb up. The angle of the slope was steep, yes, but not so steep as to give her no way up. As she was getting closer, she began to realize that the mountain was not made of angular slopes. Instead, it was a fortress of solid, vertical slabs of stone. Each one of them was as wide as a football field and at least three times as tall. There was no way she would be able to get up that. She ran even faster. The only way she could think of was to follow the solidified rivers of lava up. Except that, she could now see, the lava had not cut through any of the enormous slabs of stone. Instead, it had pooled to the edge and then fell right off, vertically like a waterfall. She hoped the tuff would be porous enough for her to scale. Finally, she arrived at the bottom of the mountain. The torrial allowed her to reach it, and she silently thanked Logan and the others for giving her the three figurines. They had been right about her lack of experience – she doubted any of them would have had problems keeping the mountain in place. She stopped, and looked around. The enormous slabs of rock jutted out right from the ground. They connected to each other in such a way that there was no break in the façade, no space between them Laura could use to climb the mountain. She glanced up. The peak of the mountain wasn’t even visible from where she stood. It extended to a dizzying height in the sky. White wisps of cloud swirled around the mountain, giving the impression of an eddy. The sun that shone overhead provided neither warmth nor life. Absently, she wondered why Gray had not followed her here, or even if he would. Then she shook her head. She couldn’t waste time wishing for things that didn’t exist. Laura considered her options. She could try to scale each one of the rock slabs individually, providing the overflowed volcanic rock gave her enough grip to climb. But doing so would take entirely too long, especially when she did not know how high the mountain extended above

her. She knew she could not jump nearly high enough, either. Then, abruptly, she remembered something Logan had done the first time that he brought her to the dream realm. When they were sitting on the hood of his car, with her still unaware they were even in the dream realm, he had pushed himself off and… floated… through the air. Laura hadn’t had much experience in the dream realm since then. How had he done that again? He said the trick was not to make yourself gravitate, but rather to push the entire rest of the world down. Laura traced her fingers over the torrial in her hand. With that, she had been able to keep the mountain in place. Surely it would be enough for her to do what she needed? Logan had only managed to lift himself a few feet off the ground. She would need much more than that. She backed away from the mountain. At the very least, she would have a running start. After she had given herself enough distance, she gripped the torrial tightly. It would be the only way she could get to the mountain’s top. She sprinted toward the mountain, and leapt. At the same time, she focused all her energy on pushing the world around her down, through the torrial. The world moved with such unexpected force that Laura found herself hundreds of feet in the air, arms and legs flailing, falling quickly toward the ground. Quickly, she relented on the force she was sending through the torrial, and caught herself in the air just as the mountainside the opposite way to meet her. She landed forcefully, and with less grace than she hoped, sending a jolt of pain through her entire body. Her injured leg cried out in protest. It took her a few moments to ward off the pain in her leg. When it subsided, slightly, she hobbled to the edge and looked down. Laura marveled at the sight. She had made it up not just onto the first enormous slab of rock, but onto the third one. No wonder the landing hurt. She looked around her. The top of the slab was much like the side: bare, dark rock. The angles of it were so perfectly straight that it looked like it had been carved by a human hand, rather than created by forces of nature. But Laura knew that the dream realm mirrored the real world, and so this mountain must have been formed naturally. She had a higher vantage point now than before, and saw that the entire land around the mountain was flat

and bare. It extended in all directions as far as she could see, ending only at the horizon. Scaling the mountain seemed to have been the right choice: it was the only thing around here for miles. And, of course, there must have been a reason the torrial brought her before it. She turned and looked up. The mountain continued on as high as she could see, connecting the enormous slabs of rock to one another in a pyramid that rose higher and higher. Now more in tune with how strongly the figurine torrial magnified her power, Laura ran forward, jumped, and pushed the world down. This time, her control was better. She went up into the air just high enough to land deftly on the next highest peak. She smiled. The verticality she achieved with the torrial was thrilling. Scaling the mountain like this was actually fun. She ran toward the next rock, jumped, and pushed the world down again. Once more, she timed it all to land perfectly on the next peak. Not wasting any time, she ran at the next slab, jumped, and pushed the world down. She landed and kept moving, running toward the next slab and jumping up, pushing the world down, and landing gracefully. Over and over she repeated the process, until she had reached the first level of clouds.

Chapter Thirteen ~A Cabin~ That was when Laura stopped and did a double take. The mountain that she was sure extended high into the sky simply stopped. It was as if the upper half of it had been cleaved right off. She looked back over the edge, and couldn’t see anything below the cloud. She was becoming less sure that this mountain was a natural formation. It cut off right when the clouds, and not an inch lower or higher. From the ground, anybody would be right to assume that the menacing mountain would just keep going up. But it did not. Instead, it plateaued strangely. Laura took a step forward. Here, the mountain was shrouded in cloud, and the misty fog made it difficult to see very far. Was this it? Had she arrived where she needed to go? That would make sense, except that there was nothing there. Well, nothing that she could see immediately, anyway. The fog from the clouds prevented her from seeing farther than twenty feet away. She picked her way forward carefully. She might have expected there to be howling winds up here, but there was absolutely nothing. The air was still, keeping the clouds at bay. Why was it that she thought she saw them swirling before, when she was on the ground? Nothing about this place made much sense. The top of the mountain might have been anywhere from a few miles to a few hundred feet in diameter, and Laura would not have known the difference. Once she stepped away from the edge, misty cloud just swallowed everything up. She proceeded forward carefully. She was acutely aware that this was not just any random place in the dream realm; no, this was one of the Vassiz elder’s dreams. How much influence did he have over this place? She did not know. But she knew she had to find the elder before he did her. It was eerie how quiet it was up here. Not a single sound penetrated the white barrier of the cloud. Laura could barely even hear her own footsteps against the rock. There could be anything lurking beside her, and she would not even know of it until it was right on her. Laura kept walking until she saw a dark shape

ahead. Instinctively, she froze. The shape did not move. She counted ten breaths to see if the shape moved at all. It did not. It was about the height of a man, although significantly wider than any she had seen. Laura crept forward carefully. She was on edge; she did not know what the shape belonged to. She came a little bit closer. The shape still did not move. In fact, from where Laura stood, it looked more like an upright rock than the figure of a man. She relaxed slightly. Hopefully, there was nothing to worry about. She walked even closer, until she was a mere ten feet away. The foggy cloud still obscured her eyesight, but she could now tell that the shape was no ordinary rock. It was the carving of an unclothed man, and he towered over her. His back was to her, but she could see the heavy muscles running from his shoulders to his waist. She came closer, and started to circle around to look at him from the front when her foot caught on something. She nearly stumbled, but caught herself in time to avoid falling over. She looked down. There, carved into the ground, was an odd hollow that extended from the statue at her side out until it was hidden by the clouds. She couldn’t see where it led. But she noticed that it curved inward slightly, in the direction the man was facing. Laura turned her attention back to the carving of the man. She saw now, from up close, that the features of his face had washed away over time. The carving was probably ancient. Cracks ran along parts of the rock that made up the man’s torso. In one hand, he held a long spear, fixed sturdily to the ground. In the other, a circular shield, although the lower half of it had broken off a long time ago. It was nowhere to be seen. Laura wondered what the statue was for, and why it was here. She looked up at the face again. At one point, the eyes would have stared straight over her into the distance. At what? The carving reminded her of a guard, a sentry of some sort. She wondered what it was protecting. The curving hollow caught her eye again. Even though Laura could not see far, the way it angled inwards made her feel like it was part of a larger circle. She decided to investigate. Laura walked away from the statue until it was lost in the fog behind her. She followed the path of the hollow, staying to one side of it. It was about the width of her wrist, and maybe an inch or two deep. It made her think of a river

bed, although what its purpose possibly was, she could not say. She was right about the curve of the hollow. It never strayed from its circular angle. Laura continued walking along the hollow, wondering where it led, when she spotted another shape in the distance. This one had the familiar form of the previous sentry. She walked up to it, unafraid, and found that it was a replica of the carving she had seen earlier. The wear on the rock was different, of course, and this one had his whole shield intact. Laura traced her path back. By her estimate, this statue was about a quarter of the way along the hollow. This statue’s gaze was also directed inward. She wondered what was there. That was where she would go, she decided, but first she wanted to see if there were other statues along the circle. She walked quickly, and found another sculpture, exactly like the ones before, standing exactly a quarter of the way from the last one. If she were a betting woman, she would have guessed there would be a fourth statue another quarter of the way away, at the halfway point between this one and the first one. She walked on, and after a while found the last carving. She went right past it, following the hollow all the way back to the first statue. Sure enough, the hollow made a complete circle. It was almost as if it was some kind of warding. Laura could not see far, but she felt sure there was something in the middle. Perhaps even what she came here for. She ventured forward slowly. She had an uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched. She strained her ears, listening for the tiniest noise that would give away the watcher. None came. Everything around her was quiet, blanketed by the discomforting fog. There could be somebody twenty feet away, and she wouldn’t know at all. She did not like how helpless the fog made her feel. It was almost an unnatural creation. And, it seemed to grow thicker the deeper she went into the circle. She tried willing it away, making it dissipate using her control over the dream realm. Nothing happened. She frowned to herself. That was supposed to be a simple thing. Perhaps she needed more control? She reached through the torrial, using it to influence the world… again, nothing happened. The blue aura around the three figurines sprung to life, but Laura couldn’t manage to do anything with it.

Suddenly she noticed a pale light breaking through the fog. It came from in front of her. She went toward it carefully, aware of how vulnerable she was right now. Any attacker who knew the land would have her at his mercy. By her estimate, the light came from somewhere near the middle of the circle. However, it was impossible to tell without a clear view. Laura wandered closer, and abruptly the sky overhead darkened. She heard a roll of thunder in the distance and froze. The noise was the first to break the barrier of cloud. It sounded ominous. She looked ahead. In the darkened landscape, the light before her was more prevalent. She felt uneasy. She did not like how the sun just disappeared. It was as if it had been swallowed up by some beast. She went to the light, and as she got closer, a shape revealed itself to her. It surrounded the light. It was hard to see through the mist, so Laura went even closer. She was ten feet away when she finally saw the source of the light. There, in the middle of the circular clearing, stood a small wooden cabin. It was completely at odds with this place. The walls were made of freshly lacquered wood, and the roof of tile bricks. Unlike the statues that surrounded it, the cabin showed no signs of wear. In fact, none of it matched what was here. It looked like it had just dropped out of the sky. There was one window on the side facing Laura. That was the source of the light. She saw now, from the flickering shadows dancing on the ground before her, that the light came from some sort of fire. Laura approached the cabin carefully, and held on tightly to the three torrial in her pocket. Just because they afforded her greater control did not mean she could be stupid. The elders were more experienced, more sinister, and that undoubtedly gave them the advantage. Even with the torrial, she knew that her odds of matching one of them were slim to none. Still, she had to try. She circled the cabin, keeping one eye on it and the other on the fog around her. The window that she had seen was the only one. The only other feature that broke the uniform outer façade was a medium-sized door, just tall enough for her to fit through. She completed one circle, and, seeing nothing else, proceeded toward the cabin. She came to the door and stopped. What if this was some sort of trap? Surely the elder knew she was here by now. What if the cabin was a

set-up, a way of getting Laura to put herself in some vulnerable position? But, at the same time, she couldn’t shy away now. The torrial that Gabrielle used had brought her here for a reason. Specifically here, to this barren land, right before the mountain. There was something here for her, and it was based on her need to kill the elders. She put her hand on the door and gently pushed it open. It swung easily on freshly-oiled hinges. The interior revealed itself to her. The cabin was empty except for a single bed and a roaring fireplace on the opposing wall. The flames gave no heat. But that wasn’t what held her attention. Seated on the bed, facing away from her, was a dark-haired man. He had his head between his hands, and by the way his body shook Laura thought he was sobbing. His hair was tied back in a ponytail. Laura crept into the cabin, careful to not make a noise. She felt a… pull… toward the man, and knew she had to be cautious. Could he be one of the elders? For some reason, she had always imagined them as frail, aging men, with hair as white as snow and skin leathery from too many years of living. Yet even from behind, Laura could tell the man before her was middle-aged and in possession of good health. Just as Laura was about to step in front of him, the man looked up. And Laura saw that he had not been sobbing. He had been laughing. Upon seeing his face Laura’s estimate was confirmed. The man was right in his middle-years, and some might say in the prime of his life. He had a strong if not handsome face, and a full beard that reached half-way down his chest. The clothes he wore were expensive. Laura had not seen luxuriant robes before, but the ones he had on gave no doubt to their worth. The seams were lined with threads of gold, and the outside lapels had magnificent animal stitched into them. A boar, a wolf, and a snake, among others that Laura did not recognized, twisted all the way around the collar of his jacket. A sinister smile distorted his face as his black eyes bore into her. That gaze was unearthly. Laura froze where she stood. The smile came and went, but the man made no move toward her. Neither did he relent on that gaze. His eyes did not shift from her face. Laura did not know what to do. If this was who she thought it was, he should be

attacking her, or her him, right at this moment. Neither of those things came to pass. Instead, Laura just stood there, unable to move a muscle, as the man continued to examine her. A long minute passed, and Laura felt like she was stuck in some sort of limbo. She could not move her eyes from his face, either. “It is true,” he said finally, muttering the words as if in disbelief. “You are here.” On hearing his voice, Laura jerked backwards, ending the spell. His voice was smooth and rich, but possessed a subtle menacing overtone. Laura backpedalled until she hit the wall. That voice had an uncanny resemblance to Logan’s. “Do you know where you are, girl?” the man asked, not moving from his seat. “Do you know where you’ve brought me?” “Who are you?” Laura asked. Her voice trembled. She knew that with the torrial she had, she should be able to face anyone here. Yet, the man still frightened her. It felt like she had gone to war with nothing more than a toothpick. The man smiled again, then threw his head back and laughed. It was a rich, full laugh, and the sound filled the small space of the cabin until Laura felt like suffocating. He did not stop before he ran out of breath, and even then, when he returned his attention to her, Laura could hear the echoes of his laughter in her mind. “Do not ask stupid questions that you already know the answers to,” came the man’s reply. He said it with such scorn that Laura had to flinch. His answer confirmed who he was. He looked at her, and frowned. “What I would like to know,” he said slowly, “is how someone like you found the strength to bring me here.” Laura could find no words. Her resolve to see justice done against the elders did not give her the courage she expected. It was not that she was frightened when she looked at the man, per se, but rather that his very presence made her feel less sure of herself. And she had never felt that way, not since her Vassiz transformation. The closest thing she could think of was a pupil facing her master. “You’re not one for talking, hmm?” the man mused after a few moments. “Very well.” He thrust his arm toward Laura, and she felt an invisible force wrap itself tightly around her arms, her legs. She tried to resist, but whatever the elder did had her stuck in place. The force extended upwards, wrapping itself around her neck like a collar, and

pulling in tight. She couldn’t even squirm. Instantly, her mind flashed back to being imprisoned by Borrak and Serkhol. She could not face that again. No. She squeezed her eyes shut, and willed the force to go away. She had control over this place. She strained… and nothing happened. Her pulse quickened, and her breathing increased. The elder had her trapped because she had been so absolutely careless! Anger seethed inside of her, anger at herself for walking into such a dangerous situation and not being prepared. She tried again, imagining the force dissipating, calling on her control over the dream to make it so. Nothing happened. The confines of the force pressed against her wrists and ankles, latching her tightly to the wall. The collar around her neck tightened, making it difficult to breathe. Control! She had it here, she could make this go away. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened. Laughter interrupted her efforts. Laura opened her eyes. The man had not moved from the bed, and neither did he lower the hand that was extended toward her. But he was shaking with laughter. It was not the gregarious laugh from before; no, this was a cruel, sinister laugh. The laugh of someone who knew he had absolute advantage. “You thought it would be simple, didn’t you?” came the mocking voice from the bed. “That you could just come here, with all the experience of a newborn calf, and expect to challenge me?” The constraint around Laura’s neck tightened, until each breathe became a rasping struggle for life. “You know not a fifth of the nature of this place. Not a hundredth! You are naïve, girl, to think that you alone could stand up to the elders. Do not gape. I know who you are, but more importantly, I know what you are here for. Did you truly believe we did not anticipate this threat from you? We knew the moment our twisted half-brothers were freed from their prison.” He paused for effect, then slowly pushed himself up, off the bed. The hand he directed at Laura did not waver. “What interests me more, however,” he continued, turning toward her, “is how you managed to bring me here without my consent. There is only once device in the entire world with the power to do so. But how could you find access it? Where? Answers to that are worth more to me than anything else. More than life itself. More than you.” Laura tried to move, but could not. Her mind worked furiously, desperately trying to find the control necessary to free herself of the bonds. Nothing worked.

The man – the elder – walked closer to her, and fire raged in his eyes. “I will get answers to these questions, Laura, whether you will it or not.” In one smooth motion, he brought his other hand up and wrapped it around her neck. Crudely, he forced Laura’s head up, so that she looked at him. And without warning, he reached into her mind. A searing pain exploded from behind her temples. She saw a flash of red, and felt her memories being ripped out of her. She tried to fight back, to stop it from happening, but could not. A stream of all her memories became a river, then a flood. The elder was invading her most private thoughts, and she could do nothing to stop it. She felt the drain of her thoughts escaping her and flowing to him. He was sucking her mind dry, much as she had sucked the blood out of the listless Vassiz woman at her first feeding. If she let it continue, there would soon be nothing left… If she… The flow cut off, and the pain ceased. The elder still held his hand around her throat, but his eyes were closed, as if savoring the taste of her defeat. Laura was left gaping. She was now empty and hollow. She had not been able to hold anything back. She knew that he had taken everything she had. From the location of the repository, to the plans that she and the angels laid out, to the identity of all those who had helped her, she had given it all away. Remorse and sadness filled her. After the elder was done with her, everyone she knew would suffer. Alexander’s and Madison’s identity was now known, as would Jacob’s. And of course Logan’s. All because she was too weak to resist whatever the elder had done. She felt tears of hopelessness rise up within her, but forced them down. Whatever happened, she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. The man released his grip, and with that, all the bonds that held her dissolved. Laura fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. She could breathe again, and gulped down the sweet, precious air. She expected a blow to come, and readied her body. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, she looked up. The man had stepped away from her, and was now looking out the window on the other side of the cabin. The fire in the hearth continued to flare, illuminating the whole room with its wicked, heatless flame. The man had his back to her – that was how much he considered her a threat! Laura felt the torrial she still held

in her hand. If it did not help her now, it never would. She closed her eyes, starting to focus… “I would not do that if I were you.” The casualness of the elder’s voice startled Laura. She looked up. He had still not turned away from the window, and his hands were clasped behind his back. “Do you think I don’t know of the torrial you hold? Try, if you dare, to use it against me. But I must warn you that you will not like the repercussions.” Laura paused. Surely if the elder knew of the torrial she had, he would take it away? But perhaps it was not as valuable against him as she thought. Perhaps he was much more powerful than she thought. “You do not need to fear me, Laura. At least, not yet.” He chuckled again. “The knowledge you hold is valuable; you yourself are valuable. As a council of elders, we recognized the threat you posed to us. And we acknowledged that something must be done about it. The only thing we could agree to, unfortunately, was to see you killed.” He turned and looked at her. “But you must understand that it was not an ideal solution. For you, least of all.” He turned away. “What do you mean?” Laura asked. She had managed to stand up, but still felt weak. She had to hold on to something, and used the wall behind her for support. Her voice shook. “What I am saying, Laura, is that I am not like some of the others. I pride myself on being able to see the bigger picture more often than they. I always thought that the proposed method of dealing with you was… wasteful. Surely, someone with as much ability as yourself might prove useful in the future?” “What do you mean?” Laura repeated. Was he trying to reason with her? Why? What did he want? “Let’s not mince words. You know the prophecy as well as I do. When darkness comes, and hope is lost, a

shimmering star shall be revealed. And she will free the fallen ones, restoring order to the rule of man. Are those not the words you know? The ones that brought you to me?” “…They are,” Laura admitted uncertainly. “But there is more to it that drives you, isn’t there? I know what Gabrielle told you.” He spat the name, as if it were of a hated rival. “He said you were a human child, taken in the dream, and ripped to reality. Did he not?” “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because of what I can offer you, Laura. I can grant you understanding. Of who you are. Of your birth. Do not look at me like I am a fool! Of you true birth.” “Why… why would you do that?” “Because I am not so narrow-minded as the rest. We should not be fighting prophecy but embracing it. If you bring change, so be it. But I do not want to lose power after it.” “No!” Laura cried out. She would not agree to anything that would keep the elders, any of them, in control of the Vassiz. The race needed to be free. And in the back of Laura’s mind, a voice cried out with all the warnings she’d heard about the elders. That they lie. That they deceit. Without discretion, and without mercy. “No?” The elder turned and smiled cruelly. “I could crush you like the ant you are with the blink of an eye. You are lucky I am the one you brought here. The others… they would not be so kind, nor so forgiving. But do not forget yourself before me!” Something struck the back of Laura’s knee, causing it to buckle. She fell onto the floor harshly. “Ah. Much better. You will bow before me, and show the respect that you owe! If you can manage that, I might let you live.” “What do you want?” Laura asked through strained teeth. All her strength felt sapped away. She tried standing, but the force that held her before was back, and it was laced around both her ankles. Her upper body was free, but she could not shift from the subservient position. “A truce, of sorts.” The force holding Laura disappeared. “You may stand now, if you wish. I will be frank with you. Your hatred of the elders… is understandable. To be honest, I share much of your distaste about my colleagues. The string of events that led me to my current position were merely one unfortunate circumstance after another, and… well, I believe I might help you.” “Help me? How?” Laura did not move from where she was. Even though the bonds were gone, she did not want to appear irreverent. Not now. “I could help you with your quest. You have precious little control over this world, while I, much more.” As if to illustrate his point, the fire burning beside them flared wildly. Its flames licked around the man’s face, and came close to Laura, but she could feel no heat. “I could help you

destroy the others. All that I ask in return is that you pledge allegiance to me. Bow before me as your true master. Help me seize control of the others. Then, I will spare your life.” Laura’s eyes widened. Was he telling the truth? Could he possibly be willing help her? But, she knew she could not trust him. A thing that Madison said once rang through her mind. The elders would destroy each other if given the chance, only in search of greater power. She was in a dangerous game. If she could convince him that she would do so, and then use him to kill the others, only to turn on him at the very end… but he would anticipate something like that, would he not? “Do not try to lie to me either, Laura. I will know if you are truthful or not.” “How can I trust you?” Laura asked finally. She had to buy herself more time to think. She was also becoming more aware of the wound she had taken in the human world. A dull pain had started to resonate in her heel. Wait – that was it. If the elder knew her memories, he knew of the wound. And he knew that without the proper attention, she would die. He was planning on using her to destroy his competition, and then let her rot away while he inherited all the power of the elder council! That was the only explanation for his offer. “I can see the scheming in your eyes,” he said as he turned to her. “You think you can use me to kill the others, and then kill me when my back is turned. And you think we are the corrupt ones? Look at yourself in the mirror, Laura! Are you truly so pure as you claim to be? Your whole quest is precipitated on the idea that the elders do ill to the Vassiz. You are a fool! We keep order to the species so that we may continue to survive in a world not suited for us. And you wish to uproot that, simply because you heard of some prophecy? You trust too much, and think too little!” “You lie!” Laura hissed. “I will never help you!” The elder looked at her and smiled sadly. “So that is your choice, then? You will not aid me?” He shook his head regretfully. “Then your fate is sealed.” A sudden blast from the fireplace shook the whole cabin. And the next thing Laura knew, the entire cabin was engulfed in flames. Laughter filled her head, laughter from the man before her. He stood there, his head thrown back in a hideous laugh, as the fire raged toward her. Laura felt no heat, but knew instinctively the flame was dangerous. It

would still burn if it touched her. She started to run to the door, but her feet would not move. The elder had her bound again! The flames from the fire pressed toward her. Laura needed to get free. She drew on the torrial, willing the flames to go away… and nothing happened. She tried again, to the same result. Why could she not control what was happening here? The fire circled around her, burning the walls and the floor. She could no longer see the elder through the flames. It would only take a few more seconds for her to be engulfed in it, and… Another crash sounded, and a draft of air beat down the flames. Laura looked to her side, and saw the door had smashed open. A familiar figure stood there, outlined only by the light of the fire. Gray! How did he get here? That didn’t matter now. He was here for her. Gray roared, and the sound reverberated through the cabin. The flames licked the edges of the doorway, but Gray didn’t seem to notice. His eyes locked on the elder, and he charged him. The elder seemed just as surprised as Laura to see the bear there, but masked that quickly as he ducked out of the way. Gray’s vicious swipe just missed the elder’s side. Gray let out another roar, and quickly turned back, throwing himself at the man again. But the elder was not concerned with fighting back. Instead, he bolted out the cabin. As soon as he was gone, the bonds holding Laura disappeared. And the flames died back. Laura ran to Gray and embraced him with all her strength. Twice now, he had saved her life. On contact, the connection between them formed instantly. It wasn’t as strong as she remembered, but it was there. Through it, Laura sent her deepest appreciation to Gray. Instead of her looking out for him, as she had thought would be the case when she picked him up as a cub, he was the one looking after her. Laura turned to the open door. The elder was nowhere to be seen. But Laura could have pointed to him with her eyes closed. Something he had done, in that moment he ravaged through her mind, had linked him to her. And her to him. Laura stepped out from the cabin. It was time to repay the elder for all he had done. She went after him.

Chapter Fourteen ~The Black Forest~ Laura could feel the elder running just on the edge of her mind. He had gone far in such a short time, but no matter where he went she could find him. He had reached the bottom of the mountain already, and was moving rapidly away. Why? Why did he run? She didn’t know. But she had to go after him. She was conscious of Gray beside her. Even if she could tell where to go through the thick fog, he could not. He had to be able to see. Laura reached through her figurine torrial and willed the cloud to go away, knowing it was pointless but wanting to try, like she had many times before. To her surprise, the mist lifted. And the entire top of the mountain was revealed. She blinked in amazement. Why was she able to do it now but not before? The only difference was that the elder was gone. Was he holding it in place earlier, like he had held Laura’s bonds? It seemed plausible. She scanned the earth before her. The ground was dry and cracked, fissured in places, but otherwise completely flat. She saw the four statues circling the cabin, each looking directly at it. She had a feeling they had something to do with the strength the elder exhibited over her. Maybe outside their band, she would be able to control the dream realm like she was used to. Like she was supposed to, with the figurine torrial. She hoped that was the case, because if the elder could manhandle her again like he had in the cabin, she would have no chance, Gray or not. It was time to find out. The elder was moving fast, but toward what, Laura could not say. She ran to the brink of the mountaintop and looked out. Far in the distance, moving on the ground with immense speed, was a tiny black dot. The elder. She looked farther, and found a change in landscape in front of him. Thick trees created a solidified edge there, and continued on as far as Laura could see. A forest, but unlike any Laura had ever seen. That she could make out each individual tree from this distance told her just how enormous they really were. The trunks would have stood wide as city blocks, and the tops higher than the world’s tallest skyscrapers. That forest was where the elder was going. She had to follow. Gray came beside her. He was also looking out, in

the same direction she was. She knew his eyesight was not as good as hers, but the bond that existed between them could overcome that. Laura reached out and placed a hand on his back, and the wavering connection between them hefted into place. It was not very strong, not here in the dream realm, but just enough to allow Laura to transfer to Gray what she saw. She felt affirmation shoot back to her, and knew that Gray understood where to go. The trouble was that he could not move as fast as her, and she needed to follow the elder immediately. But as long as Gray understood the direction he could follow her. “I’ll see you soon,” Laura whispered, and started down the mountain much the same way as she had come up. She jumped, and pulled through the torrial to shift the ground up toward her. The movement of the earth would not affect Gray or the elder, not the way she did it. It was only from her perspective that the ground moved up to meet her – anybody watching would only see her flying down through the air with enormous speed. Laura reached the bottom of the mountain in less than a minute. She looked out toward the elder. She could not see him now, not when she was on the same level as him, but could have pointed in his direction like a compass pointing north. Taking one look back at the mountain, and imagining Gray making his way down somewhere near the top, Laura sped in the elder’s direction. The ground was barren and dry, which gave her perfect traction for the run. Soon, she was moving so fast that her side vision streaked, blurring the land and rocks into indistinguishable shapes and shadows. The sun had not yet returned from its concealment, but that did not affect Laura’s speed. She could see just as well in the dark as in light, especially when she wasn’t stymied by an unnatural fog. One thing she could not see straight away, however, was the forest where the elder was headed. It was so far ahead that the curve of the earth blocked it from her line of sight. Had she not seen it form the top of the mountain, she would have never guessed it to be there. She ran over the flat land, sometimes swerving left or right to avoid an unexpected boulder in her way. She could feel the elder in her mind. He was running with the same speed she was. She ground her teeth in frustration. At this rate, she would not be able to catch up. Then, abruptly, the elder stopped. Laura felt him turn

and look back, right at her. And then he vanished. Laura missed a step and went flying to the ground. She caught herself just before making contact, ducking her shoulder to roll deftly over it. Panic gripped her when she stood. The elder must have known about the connection, and somehow he had shielded himself from her. Did that go both ways? If she could not feel him, did that mean he could not feel her? Because otherwise, if only he was hidden from her, and she remained visible to him… well, it meant that going forward would be as good as walking into a lion’s den blindfolded. Yet there was something about that turn back, that motion the elder made… It felt as if he were saying, come and get me. Laura fixed the spot where he disappeared in her mind. And she started for it. Not long after, the first line of trees appeared over the horizon. They were even bigger that Laura expected. Their trunks were not as wide as a city block, but rather the size of three or four blocks combined. Enormous, bushy branches extended down from the top, and the smallest leaf was the size of a family minivan. These trees were definitely not a natural formation – they were only something possible only in dream. Laura ran toward them. The dark seemed to magnify itself beyond the first row of trees, becoming thicker and even more menacing. And based on the spot the elder disappeared in her mind, Laura still had quite a way to go. She slowed as she came before the forest. The dark trees loomed high over her, their thick branches and leaves creating a canopy above that no light could penetrate. She heard no sound, which made it all the more uncanny. There was always sound around living things like trees, either of the wind rustling through the branches, or small animals running to and fro. But here, there was nothing. Laura went to the first row of trees cautiously. The space between each trunk was massive, of course, but when Laura looked deeper into the woods she saw how shrouded everything really was. Not a single stream of light penetrated the thick barrier. She felt tiny, like an ant, lost in something much bigger than herself. Yet the elder was somewhere in there. Why had he chosen this precise location to go to? Laura was sure

there was something less than pleasant waiting for her within. But she had no choice except to go forward. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the forest. The air around her shimmered momentarily and then broke with a loud pop. And instantly, the entire illusion of the trees was gone. What stood in their place were strange, twisted rocks that curved in unnatural formations. They were tall, yes, but no more so than a two- or threestory house. They were definitely not the same height as the trees. Laura stopped and looked around. So the trees were nothing more than some trick created by the elder to confuse her. But, why? And what was the significance of the rocks that now stood in their place? The rocks did match the landscape a lot more than the trees had before. And there were many of them, extending as far forward as Laura could see. She had never seen a formation like this before. But she didn’t have time to gape over things like that. The elder was still inside, somewhere in front of her. She focused on the spot he had disappeared in her mind, and started toward it. There was still a long way to go. She didn’t take even ten steps forward before an uncanny rumbling shook the ground. Dust and sand from the rocks around her rained down. A low, menacing groan sounded together with the rumbling. Then both noises cut off at the same time. Laura froze and looked around. What was that? The way the rocks were spaced, less densely than the trees had been earlier, meant that she could see pretty well in any direction. She scanned the area around her for a threat. She saw nothing except the strange, twisting rocks. But she couldn’t simply ignore that noise. Something had caused it. She knew she had to be careful going in. She started forward again, in the direction of the elder. Or rather, where the elder had last been. She did not run anymore, though. There was no point rushing headfirst into danger. She knew it would find her eventually. She walked on slowly, and kept her eyes open for anything unusual around her. She had the gifts of the Vassiz, including her augmented senses, and was keen on not letting them go to waste. She strained her ears for the barest hint of noise, but found nothing. Her eyes pierced the darkness ahead, and to the sides, but saw nothing.

Even her sense of smell found nothing in the dry air. She went ahead carefully. Every step she took could be a step into some unexpected danger. She wondered what all these rocks really were. And how they had formed. The trees she saw before were an illusion, and as such could only have existed here, but everything else had some basis on reality. These rocks were only here because they were a reflection of something similar in the human world. She was about halfway to the spot where the elder disappeared when that rumbling came again. It was stronger this time, though, and accompanied by an overwhelmingly loud groaning that echoed from all around her. The ground shook beneath her feet. Laura whipped her head from side to side, trying to find the source. She could not. The noise came from everywhere at once, surrounding her and distorting her senses. It was so loud, and so low, like a mega subwoofer. She did not know whether it was the sound that caused the rumbling, or the rumbling that caused the sound. But she knew it was something dangerous. The rumbling grew stronger, until the entire earth shook with the tremors. Laura had to fight to stay on her feet. Small fragments of stone rained down all around her, breaking free from the unstable rocks. Cracks started to run across the ground, small at first, but they quickly grew to fissures as large as her wrist. For the briefest flash of a moment, she felt the elder again. There. Her eyes darted in his direction. He had moved, had come closer to her, and circled around to a new spot. Did he become visible to her so he could sense where she was? That was the only explanation for the momentary lapse. The shielding, however he did it, must work both ways. And he was making sure she followed. An especially strong tremor caught her feet and she could no longer keep her balance. She fell to the side, catching herself on one of those rocks. Her eyes, however, did not leave direction the elder was. As abruptly as it started, the rumbling stopped. The low noise cut off, and everything was still. Laura looked around with wide eyes. In the aftermath of that, her beating heart seemed to drum so loud that anybody in a ten-mile radius would hear. The small rocks and dust that had been upended in the shaking slowly settled to the ground. Everything was quiet.

Laura pushed herself off the rock suspiciously. Something was going on. Somethi— Her thoughts were cut off as the ground a hundred feet away erupted in a massive shower of rock and earth. For a second, Laura thought a bomb had gone off. But then she saw what really caused it. Bursting out of the ground was a snake of unbelievable proportions. Its head could have easily have been the size of a small house. Large, dark eyes were framed by scaly skin, creating the appearance of eyebrows where there were none. A tongue slithered in and out of its enormous mouth. The rest of its body – at least, however much of it was above ground – was colored in vicious slashes of red and yellow. Laura had never seen such a beast before. Time seemed to slow for Laura as the snake looked around, searching the ground. Then its eyes found her, and it whipped forward. Laura barely had enough time to think before she found herself running for her life. Thank god she could move quickly. The snake came right after her, barreling over the ground and through the rocks as if they weren’t even there. Every single one of the odd-shaped boulders was smashed to bits, leaving only mayhem and devastation in their wake. Laura ran hard, not daring to glance back more than every few seconds. The snake was right on her, and each time she looked, seemed to be getting closer. The ground shook with the immense weight of the beast, and the air was filled with sounds of destruction. Nothing stood in the way of the snake’s enormous body. Laura knew even she could not fight off something like that. The snake was a monster. She tried the torrial, willing the snake to disappear, to dissipate, to light on fire, to shrivel up and die, but none of those things worked. She c o u l d feel the strain of the dream realm as it accommodated the nightmarish creature. She knew, because the torrial was not working, that the elder was control the snake. Much as he was in control when he held her in his cabin with those invisible bonds. The torrial did not seem to give her control over things that somebody else had created in this world. The snake chased after her, and Laura ran for her life. She did not want to think what would happen if the snake managed to catch up to her. She was fast, yes, but the snake was even faster. It

was a monstrosity, and Laura was sure it was only moving forward at a leisurely pace. She was its prey, and the beast was enjoying the hunt. Whenever it so choose, it would increase its speed and catch her easily. Laura glanced back again. Right when she did, the snake whipped its tongue out and flogged it side to side. The tongue darted toward her, going for her foot. Laura jumped up at the last possible moment, and the snake missed. She had an unpleasant flashback to fighting the daemon, to the way it used its own tongue to catch her. Laura landed and sped forward, with as much speed as she could muster, fleeing for dear life.

Chapter Fifteen ~A Shining Cord~ The chase continued for the better part of an hour. Laura ran and ran, unwavering in direction or speed. The snake continued just behind her, always a hair’s breadth from catching her but never close enough. That, at least, was a relief – she could not believe that the snake would chase her for so long if it could have already gotten her. But Laura was tiring. She could feel the dull ache in her foot from the injury she sustained in the human world. She knew she could not run forever. But what else was there to do? She did not have the power or the size to face the monstrosity behind her. The strain she felt on the dream realm also grew. The snake was not a natural formation, and the elder must be drawing enormous amounts of power to keep it present. Creatures like this could be accommodated for short bursts of time, like when they were formed in somebody’s regular nightmare, but an existence for an length like this was difficult for this world to sustain. Laura had an abrupt, dangerous thought. Could the snake be an illusion, much like the giant forest had been earlier? But that idea was quickly wiped away as the sound of yet more rocks shattering boomed from behind her. No illusion could destroy its environment that way. Laura dared to glance back. And, to her surprise, found the snake a tiny bit farther away than she remembered. Was the beast also tiring? Was the strain of keeping it here starting to wear on the elder? For a moment, she caught the beast’s eyes in hers. They showed only one thing. Hatred. Laura turned and continued to run forward. If she didn’t think of something fast, she would be a goner. But what could she do? She had to know where the elder was. That way, instead of running in a random direction, she could at least head toward him. Perhaps that way the snake could turn on its master, if it saw that she was not the only prey here. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all she had. But how could she do that? The elder had camouflaged the connection, making it invisible to both him and her. Yet she knew that in the dream realm, there was always a small possibility… She felt the connection to him in her mind, imagining

it as it should be. Then, drawing on the power of the torrial still in her hand, she willed it to appear. To her immense surprise, it did. Apparently the elder was just as shocked as she was, because she felt a flash of a astonishment along the connection. She held the connection in place, utilizing the control of the torrial, for just the few moments it took her to locate the elder. And she felt another sense of shock as she realized he was right behind her, elevated as if he were somehow riding the snake. She looked back. The snake had regained the distance it had earlier lost. But if the elder was back there, it meant she should be able to see him – if she got high enough. She ran forward, angling toward a slanted rock. In two steps she bound onto it and leapt off, lifting herself into the air. She knew the move would let the snake get closer, but she had to do it. While in the air, she turned backwards and looked down. Her jump had elevated herself above the snake, and she could see the entire twisting body all the way to its tail. And, sure enough, about halfway along the snake’s body, she found the elder. He was straddled on in an unusual harness and appeared to be, somehow, controlling the snake. Both his eyes were closed, but his hands worked before him as if handling reins. For the briefest glimmer of a moment, Laura saw three shining, iridescent cords connecting into the elder’s back. Each one of them extended far into the distance, so that Laura could not see their source. But only one of the cords continued on, through the elder, linking his chest to the snake’s head. That cord was what his hands were manipulating. Laura landed with a grunt and ran onward. What had she just seen? What were those cords? She didn’t know, but she would bet that they had something to do with how the elder was controlling the snake. An idea formed in her head. It was dangerous, and if she gambled and lost she would pay with her life. But if she did not even try, her life would be forfeit anyway. That made up her mind. She needed something sharp. She scanned the ground in front of her, and found it littered only with those peculiar rocks. There was nothing there that could help her. The torrial! Perhaps it could help her form what she needed. After all, the elder managed to form the enormous snake. A simple knife or sharp blade should not be particularly difficult. She should even be able to do it

without the torrial’s help. Just to be safe, however, she drew on the figurine torrial to create what she needed. The first object to appear in her mind was the large knife the pickpocket had threatened her and Logan with. Without any further thought, the knife appeared in her hand. It was larger now, however, and its blade was razor sharp. She looked at it for a moment. The circular figurine torrial had attached to it for some reason, forming the top of the hilt. Laura did not know why, but that gave her confidence in what she had to do. The torrial attaching itself to the blade was surely a sign of good fortune. Stranger things have happened here before. She kept running. She did not need to turn back to know the snake was on her tail – the terrible sounds it made as it crashed through the earth told her as much. She wished she had had the foresight to run toward the mountain when the snake first came after her. That way, at least, she could have had some sort of terrain advantage against the beast. Cursing her lack of forward thinking, she continued on. Even with weapon in hand, her plan was crude at best. She was hoping that she could sever the shining cord that linked the elder to the snake. To cut it with the knife she held. But that meant she had to elevate herself above the level of the beast. And if she so much as stopped to turn once more, the snake would be right on her, crushing her under its immense weight. No, Laura needed to do something else. No matter how quick and agile she might be, she could not just turn and leap above the snake. She had too much momentum carrying her the other way. She worked her mind desperately. The ache in her foot was growing stronger, and she knew she could not keep running forever. She did not have the endurance for it. Unless she did something now, the snake behind her would catch up, and the elder would have beaten her. Suddenly she got an idea. The whole time the snake had been chasing her, she had run in more or less a straight path. But the body of the beast was long. What if she curved in a semi-circle, angling herself backwards so that she would meet the body of the snake? If the circle was tight enough, and the snake wound itself to follow her, she would have the opportunity to use her forward momentum to jump over its body. But she could not veer off

too sharply, because then the creature could just snap its head to one side and catch her in its jaws. And she only had one chance to do it. If she missed, or the blade didn’t cut the cord, or something else went wrong, she would be a goner as soon as she landed. It was her one chance. Her only opportunity. It was life or death, and Laura wasn’t ready to face her end just yet. She veered left. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to notice the snake’s huge head snapping in her direction. She parried out of the way to avoid it. A brief sense of relief washed over her when she realized she was still alive. She had misestimated the snake’s dexterity – it was more agile than she thought. The near miss only added to the adrenaline pumping through her body. Her heart was beating so loudly that she thought it might rip through her chest. She put her head down and picked up speed, continuing to curve the same way. The snake was right behind her, but already, she could see a part of its slithering body in her peripherals. She ran and ran, going as fast as her feet would take her, until she saw the enormous scaly bulk of the snake directly in front of her. But her curve had not been tight enough. The elder was closer to the snake’s head than where she was headed. In a split-second, Laura made the decision to curl in even tighter. It meant she would have absolutely no escape if she failed. But the only way to sever the cord was if she were in front of the elder. If she went for one of the three that stretched behind the elder, she would have no way of guaranteeing she got the right one. And if she missed, the snake would still be alive to take her in the aftermath. She went in closer. The snake snapped at her viciously, but again Laura sidestepped the attack. She picked up speed, angling herself toward the portion of the snake’s body in front of the elder. She could see him from where she was, sitting atop that saddle with both eyes closed, his hands continuing to manipulate the nowinvisible cord. He was controlling the snake, and Laura would bet anything that he saw though the snake’s eyes. The hatred that shone in those eyes could belong to nobody else. Laura ran faster, going in toward the body. She would have to leap at just the right moment to ensure that

she came close enough to make the jump and yet not too close to soar over. She had to trust her instincts for that. There could be no other way. She ran forward, and jumped. Just at that moment, she heard an enormous roar from behind her, and felt a barrage of dirt and rocks smash against her back. The snake had gone underground just before hitting its own body! This was it. Laura sailed over. When she was right above the snake, she reached down with one arm and slashed violently where she though the now-invisible cord would be. The blade in her hand cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. She felt no resistance. Did she miss? Panic gripped her as she fell toward the ground. Another great explosion erupted right before her, sending a new shower of earth and dirt in all directions. Time slowed when Laura saw what was there. The snake’s great head appeared from underground, and it was right where Laura was going to land. The snake opened its jaws wide, and Laura could smell the poisonous venom contained in its mouth. Laura was going to fall right into the enormous mouth. There was no way for her to change direction. There was nothing she could do. She had missed the cord, and the snake was still alive, and now she was going to be killed by the beast. Laura knew it was pointless, but still extended her feet out in front of her in a flying kick. It would make no difference, but on some level Laura wanted to go down fighting. The last thing she would do was cower before death. Her feet made contact with the tongue. Immediately, the great jaws snapped down on her. They moved so fast that Laura did not have time to react. She felt the rush of wind as they clamped down, about to extinguish her very life… The surface she stood on shifted, and suddenly Laura found herself falling downwards, through the snake’s body. She was so disoriented that she didn’t even have time to catch herself as she fell. She landed with a grunt on the hard ground, and looked up in amazement. The snake shimmered. Its entire body began to oscillate from transparent to opaque. Gaping holes appeared in its skin, filled with a beaming light, and were closed up again. A cry of terrifying pain echoed from its jaws, but it was not the voice of the snake. It was the cry of the elder. The snake’s body waxed and waned, wavering

back and forth unsteadily. Parts folded in on themselves, before coming back at impossible angles. The body thrashed about, but it didn’t have the solidity to affect its surroundings anymore. It went through earth and rock without touching either. Then, abruptly, the entire spectacle ceased. The snake collapsed lifelessly onto the ground. Laura watched with amazement as more holes filled with shining light burst forth along its skin. Each one added to the already blinding brightness radiating from the body. The light illuminated the surroundings with the power of a thousand suns, and more and more of those gaping holes appeared, until they completely overpowered the remains of the snake. For half a second, the entire snake was nothing more than an elongated ball of light. And then it collapsed in on itself before winking out with a spectacular flash. The flash burned a hole in Laura’s vision. It took a few seconds for her to blink it away. When her eyesight was restored, she found the elder collapsed on the ground not two hundred feet away from her. He looked… older, somehow. More frail. The edges of his hair were now tinged with gray, and there were lines on his face that were not there before. His eyes were closed, but Laura saw his eyelids flicker. He was still alive. Yet Laura had defeated the snake. Elation gripped her, but was quickly cut off when the elder stirred. Laura dared not approach – not yet, and not without knowing what had happened to him. It could be another ruse, in his attempt to lure her closer. She would not fall for it again. Slowly, the elder picked himself up. As he moved, Laura saw that his body shook weakly. And his movements looked frail. It was as if a portion of the years he had lived had started to catch up with him. From his hands and knees, the elder opened his eyes. As soon as he did that, the link to him in Laura’s mind cemented into being. Fear washed over his face temporarily, but was instantly hidden by an unreadable mask. The elder got up and fled.

Chapter Sixteen ~A Terrible Favor~ Laura watched him go, but did not follow immediately. She felt him trying to shield the connection that linked them together, but she held it in place with help of the torrial. It seemed easy now, compared to the strength she had to use to force it into being before. Cutting off the elder’s connection to the snake seemed to have made him less strong. But was she ready to follow him? The episode with the snake proved just how much more experienced he was than her. If she went after him, was she just rushing to some other threat? The whole expedition was pure madness, teetering not far from the edge of a glorified suicide mission. But she had only one thing she could focus on now. Kill the man that was in the dream with her. She would have to be more careful this time. Severing one of the three cords that pulsed into the elder had weakened him. And she had seen him after it was done. He looked less of the man she first met. Those cords, whatever they were, seemed to provide a life energy to him that he feasted upon. If she managed to sever the remaining two, would that be enough to kill him? But there was another problem, of course. When she saw the cords the first time, they shimmered with a lustrous light. But the next time she looked, they had become completely transparent, rendering themselves invisible to her. They may as well have been gone, and she wouldn’t have known the difference. But, she took the chance and slashed at one. That move saved her life. It was also incredibly dangerous and foolish. When she found the elder next time, how could she be sure that the cords would be there? What if they remained transparent? That would put her at a distinct disadvantage. And what were they connected to, so far in the distance? Yet, seeing those cords gave her hope. Hope that she win. Laura fixed the image of him riding the snake in her mind. She remembered exactly where the three cords connected to his back were. Even if the two that were left were invisible to her when she caught up to him, she could still slash them if she got close enough. She shivered despite herself. Close enough meant within arms-reach of the elder. Her instincts were good,

and they warned her of the danger coming so close would entail. There was another problem, of course. And that was that the elder now knew that she knew of the cords. If they were as vital to his existence as Laura suspected, he would do everything to keep them safe. It would come down to a battle of the wits, not of pure strength, and the best strategy would win out in the end. But was she smart enough to go head-to-head with someone who’s had the experience of a hundred lifetimes? Of someone who had elevated himself to the very top of an already manipulative, cunning race? She had no choice but to try. After all, she was already here. She— A sudden shift in the connection interrupted her thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the elder had crossed a great distance. What? How? One second Laura felt him in one place, running from her, and the next, he was dozens of miles farther. It was not just that he was using his Vassiz speed. She thought that he had actually manipulated the world around him. Laura felt what he had done through the connection, very faintly, like the delicate taste you imagine exists when you smell a delectable aroma. He had shifted reality in one direction while going the other. No, that was not quite it – she had done as much when scaling the mountain. It was something stronger, something that moved him over a distance she could not have followed easily. She prodded at the connection gently, trying to catch the wisp of a shadow that could clue her in to what he did. It was like trying to figure out a word that was caught on the tip of your tongue. She grasped at it and missed, catching nothing. Frustration boiled up inside of her. She tried again, and missed. It was like catching smoke with her hands. The process was maddening. She tried again, and missed. She tried once more, and missed again. A growl sounded in her throat. She tried again, and caught absolutely nothing. Then, just when she was about to give up, the process revealed itself to her. And the elegance of it was so simple that Laura felt ashamed she had not thought of it herself. The elder did not shift reality in one direction to make the jump. Rather, he folded it in front of him so that

one step forward would take him many miles away. Laura knew she could do the same. With the torrial’s help, perhaps she could even do it to a greater degree than the elder. It would make the chase much easier. Laura stood up, and in that moment, she realized something that gave her immense confidence. The elder was no longer the one chasing after her. She was no longer the one running. Now, here, in the dream, she was the hunter, and the elder was her prey. She had found his weakness, and shown herself equal to even the greatest nightmare that he could muster. She set out after him. ~~ Laura followed as the elder fled. She drew on the

torrial and pinched reality together in front of her. Then she stepped through the fold. One step took her many miles away. The elder must have sensed her coming, for he started running with ever greater haste. She felt him folding reality before him, transporting himself over great distances in the blink of an eye. But she was more than his equal for that. Suddenly she stopped, remembering Gray. Was he still looking for her? He must be. Would he know where to go, now? That was unlikely. Not with the way she was travelling. But could she in good conscience bring him along with her to more danger? Then again, if he were looking for her where she said she would be, and was unable to find her, that would distress him even more. She turned her attention away from the elder momentarily. She had to get Gray. In her mind, she imagined the same connection forming between her and Gray that existed between her and the elder. It would allow her to know where he was, and vice-versa. She focused, willing it into place. And it snapped to existence easily. Without any trouble, she knew exactly where he was. He was much closer than she expected. In fact, it felt like he was less than a mile to the northeast – much closer than he should have been if he could only travel on his feet. It seemed like he had some control over this place too, and used it to go toward her. Laura turned toward him, ran forward, and drew on the torrial to fold the land in front of her. It happened

instantly. In the flash of an eye, the landscape before her simply cut off and became another, with no transition between the two. Laura stepped over the edge and let go. She felt the world rebound back to its former shape, and when she looked back, she saw new land behind her. Land she had not crossed, but skipped over. There, not a hundred feet away, was Gray. And he was barreling toward her with all the speed he could muster. Laura ran to him. He nearly knocked her over when they met, standing on his hind legs to allow her to embrace his tummy. On contact, the connection between their minds formed. Not the one that told Laura where he was, but the special one that allowed them to share thoughts and emotions, images and memories. It was not as strong here as it would have been in the real world, but it was enough to communicate. Laura felt elation stream in from him, tinged only slightly with the barest hint of worry. She smiled. Gray was just happy to see her, with no thought to his own wellbeing or anything that had happened before. There was no anger for her inadvertently misleading him, no distrust from coming to the forest and not finding her there. Just happiness at seeing her. Even the hint of worry that seeped in originally was now gone. “You came here for me,” Laura told him, “and I won’t forget that. You saved my life many times before. Where I have to go, you may have to do so again. Or I may need to do it for you. But whatever we face, we’ll do it together, won’t we?” Gray roared loudly in reply, and then, in complete contrast, reached over and grasped Laura’s shoulder gently in his jaws in a display of affection. Laura smiled, and patted his head. “I don’t think you can keep up with me,” she said, thinking out loud, “but I do know of a way we can get to where I need to go together. Stand still for a second, and don’t be alarmed.” She sent the same sentiment through the connection between them, and waited for understanding to come back through. Once it did, she closed her eyes and drew on the torrial. When she opened them, there was a saddle tied onto Gray’s back. She laughed with delight. Seeing the elder on the snake was what had given her the idea. It was just like the harness he had used, except modified slightly to fit Gray’s size. Gray twisted back to look at it uncertainly,

then gave his great body a violent shake. The harness did not move an inch. He looked at her and tilted his head questioningly. Laura smiled, and patted his cheek. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Look at this.” In one move, she swung herself around the side and up onto the saddle. It was a perfect fit. She held onto the handle with one hand, while using the other to reach down and re-form the connection with Gray once more. “No matter how fast you are, you can’t keep up when I run at full speed,” she explained, supplementing the words with images through the connection. “But with the new way I can travel, we don’t need to run at all. You’ll be the one who takes me there, and I’ll manipulate the path in front of us to make sure we go faster than I could running.” Laura pointed to the side, in the direction of the elder. “That’s where we need to go.” Gray snapped at the air once, then set off at full speed. Laura laughed with joy as she felt the air stream across her face. Gray was fast, and the burden of carrying her and the harness did not seem to slow him at all. Together, they would find the elder. Together, they would see justice done. Laura focused on the connection that existed between her and the elder. He had gone far, but had slowed recently. Perhaps because he thought she was not following anymore. While the connection would soon tell him otherwise, let him think so for the moment. It was a small advantage she’d be happy to exploit. Gray kept running forward, and Laura reached through the torrial to bend the world. Reality shimmered in front of her, and then the terrain they were on ended and another began. Gray jumped through without hesitation. She felt the elder start to move away, faster than he had been going recently. Already, he had picked up that she was coming. And already, he was running. From her. Laura used the torrial again to change the landscape in front of her. Gray remained unfazed. Together, they jumped from place to place, each time getting closer and closer to the elder. It wasn’t long before they left the bleak terrain that marked the place she had arrived and entered one more vibrant. They went over rivers, across mountains, and through valleys. They were running, they were chasing. They were hunting. The elder did not move in a straight line, but Laura always knew where he was. She directed Gray the proper

way each time the path altered. The rush of chasing somebody, something, was not lost on her. She felt her hunting instincts kicking in for the first time since her feeding. This was what being a Vassiz was all about. The elation of the hunt, the thrill of the chase. Now, she was the hunter, not the elder. Their roles had been reversed. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, and her eyes focused squarely ahead, the ache in Laura’s foot did not even register. She was wholly focused on getting the elder. Again and again she bent reality to go where she needed, compressing vast stretches of land into folded tapestries that she and Gray burst through. There was only one thing on Laura’s mind, and that was finding the elder. And finishing him off. A stray thought entered her mind, and she found herself wondering how the others were doing. Even if she managed to kill this elder, all her plans would be useless if but one of her friends failed. She shook her head, and put that notion out of mind. She couldn’t think about things she had no control over. In an instant, she was back in the moment, chasing the elder across the land with Gray at her side. In an instant, she was the hunter again. They followed as the elder jumped from place to place. When Laura drew on the torrial, and she and Gray went through the border she created, entire landscapes streaked by their side in a heartbeat. She had not dreamed of such control over this world. And, even better, by what she collected from the connection, the torrial allowed her to cross greater distances than the elder could unaided. Bit by bit, they were catching up. The elder had a head start, but Laura had the torrial. Soon, they would meet. And then Laura would kill him. Out of nowhere, the elder stopped. She and Gray were only one more fold from catching him. A strange kind of interference appeared on her connection with him. Laura slowed, pulling Gray to a halt. She could still feel the elder, but telling his precise location was like trying to make out the image on a grainy television channel. “He did something,” Laura said out loud. “We’ll have to be careful.” Gray emitted a deep rumbling sound from his throat as if in understanding. “Alright.” Laura drew on the torrial and created the

final ripple needed to bring them to him. She was wary, though, and so made it stop a good distance away from the elder’s exact location. Gray stepped through the border, and suddenly they were in the depths of a dense evergreen forest. The interference on Laura’s connection with the elder increased exponentially, but she could still tell he had not moved. But from so close, the interference was enough to mask his location. “He’s hiding,” Laura whispered to Gray. “He knows we’re here. We have to be careful.” Quickly, she slid out the saddle and onto her feet. She allowed the harness to disappear, which made Gray look at her thankfully. Despite her best efforts to make it comfortable for him, it still must have still been an annoyance. Not that he would ever admit as much. Laura tried to draw on the connection to find the elder, but the interference was too much. She used the torrial to get rid of the interference, but nothing changed. The connection was as obscure as ever. It wasn’t quite camouflaged like it had been once before, and Laura would know if the elder moved, but it was enough to block her from finding the elder exactly. She knew he was somewhere in front of her. But that spanned a radius of nearly sixty degrees. If he hid well, she could walk right by him in these woods and not realize it. She couldn’t rely on the connection anymore. Now, it was up to her to use her instinctual senses. She pushed the fuzzy connection to one corner of her mind. It would only be a hindrance. She put her hand on Gray’s head to form the connection to him once more. “Stay back,” she told him. “You can follow, but only do so from a distance.” She felt affirmation shoot back through the link, telling her he understood. With that, she set forward. She had not gone a hundred feet when a strangled cry broke through the air. Somebody was in pain. But it was not the elder’s voice. Was somebody else here? Laura sensed her connection to the elder, making sure he wasn’t where the cry had come from. As best as she could tell, he was not. The sound had come from her left, whereas the elder was still ahead. She turned in the direction of the noise. The cry came again, more dire this time. Laura’s heart missed a beat when she realized who’s voice it was.

Logan’s. But how did he get here? She ran through the trees, racing toward the voice. Another cry of pain spurred her onward. She burst through a row of trees, and her eyes fell on a horrific sight. Logan was there, slumped against the thick trunk of a tree. A deep red gnash ran along one arm, from shoulder to elbow, exposing raw muscle and bone. His shirt was off, and he had used it to try to contain the wound, but blood still streamed out of it. The entire cloth was stained red. Laura nearly vomited when she saw the scene. But that was not all. Logan lay there awkwardly, with his legs twisted horribly underneath him. His face was a mask of pure agony. He was breathing hard, and the three scars along his torso pulsed wickedly, threatening to break free at any moment. His eyes were shut. Not a second after Laura first saw him, Logan opened his left eye feebly. The small movement made him seem even more weak. He saw her, and for a brief moment the agony in his face was gone. Then it returned, greater than ever. Laura rushed to him. Hundreds of unanswered questions raced through her mind. How did he get here? What happened to him? How could he possibly be in a condition like that? Anxiety gripped her. The whole scene, all of it, was just so surreal. Laura was breathing hard by the time she got to him. She also felt dizzy. Seeing Logan like that made it feel like her entire world had been turned upside down. “Oh my god, Logan,” she whispered at his side. “Logan, what happened to you?” Using the torrial, Laura made a fabric bandage appear, and set about wrapping it around Logan’s arm to stem the bleeding. He winced at every touch. “I came… to find you,” Logan said weakly. “To… help.” “To help? With what?” “Your… battle. The… elder…” Laura shook her head. Tears started to fill the edges of her eyes. She refused to believe this was happening. She had never seen anybody so badly hurt. The blood kept pouring out of the nasty wound, and Laura pressed the bandage even tighter to close the gap. It helped only a little. “What happened to you?” Laura demanded as she continued working at the bandage, but concern softened

the severity of her tone. She couldn’t even think straight. She was furious at Logan for letting this happen to him. Enraged at him for thinking she needed help. But, most of all, worried sick about his condition. She was stuck in pure disbelief that something like this could even happen. It had never been on her list of possibilities. “…Fell,” he explained weakly. He looked up. “From the sky.” “From the sky?” Laura repeated. “What?” Logan shifted his good arm slightly to point upwards. Laura followed the direction with her eyes. She looked above, and gasped. Directly above her, in the canopy of branches, was a gaping opening, where something had come crashing down. Something, or, rather, someone. She looked around, and for the first time saw the broken branches and leaves littering the ground around Logan. He had fallen right through. “From where?” Laura asked. She finished with the bandages. It wasn’t much, but it was better than before It seemed to slow the bleeding a bit. “High,” came Logan’s reply. Laura looked up again, then down at Logan. And then the horrible positioning of his legs made sense to her. As the realization dawned, she let out a horrific sob. “No, no, no, no,” Laura repeated, over and over again. Her chest constricted until she could barely breathe. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening! “My legs… are broken,” Logan said. His teeth were gritted, and he was doing his best to look away. “No! That can’t be true! How? Logan, how?” “I tried… to follow you… after I was done. Gabrielle… told us to go… straight back. I couldn’t. Couldn’t… leave you. Found where you were… used the torrial. Came here. It did not want to let me… but I fought… to find you. Entered the dream, and…” Logan’s head fell with the effort of speaking. Laura caught it in her hands instantly. She brought him close to her, and started stroking his hair gently. “My poor Logan,” she cooed. “My sweet, poor Logan…” “The torrial… did not want to bring me here,” Logan continued after a few moments. “I thought I could control it… was wrong. Appeared here… high in the sky. Nothing but forest far below. I fell for so long. So long. Did not think I would make it.”

“No!” Laura gasped. “Logan, you’re here now! You’re here with me. You made it. No matter how far you fell, you’re still alive!” “No,” Logan whispered slowly. He took a moment to brace himself, and then, using his good arm, put it on Laura’s shoulder to push her away. Laura moved without understanding. “No? What do you mean, no?” “Laura,” Logan said gravely. “Not only my legs are broken. My back is, too. From… the fall. I can’t even feel… my legs. And I’ve lost blood. More… than I can survive. Laura. I’m… not… going to make it.” Laura’s eyes widened, and the cry that was ripped out of her throat dwarfed every sound she had ever made. She pushed Logan’s arm aside and threw herself at him. Her arms shook as she wrapped them around Logan’s torso and pulled him in. She held him so tight that she would never let go. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and she couldn’t keep them in anymore. She started sobbing against his chest, pulling him in closer to her, holding him for dear life. She would never let go. After a few moments, Logan caught her hand in his. Laura pulled away slowly, and looked at him through wet lashes. He was looking past her shoulder, somewhere in the distance. He would not make eye contact with her. When he spoke, his voice was somber. “Laura, I’m not going to make it,” he repeated. “No,” Laura said, shaking her head. “No. You cannot say that! The angels can heal you! They healed Alexander before. They can do the same for you!” “Nobody can fix what has happened to me,” Logan said in a fatalistic tone. Hearing him say that ripped Laura’s heart in two. It was like he had already accepted his death. “You can’t say that!” Laura screamed at him. “No! I won’t let you go! You can’t do this to me!” “Laura, listen,” Logan said in a low but calm voice. Every word that escaped his lips was a terrible struggle, but he was able to form full sentences without pausing now. Surely, that was an improvement? “My back is broken. I’ve lost a lot of blood, and losing even more, fast. Even a Vassiz cannot survive such injuries. I’m going to die.” “No!” Laura screamed again. Tears streamed down her face. “No, you cannot!” She grabbed his face with her hands and pulled him into her. Every bit of resolve she had

about finding the elder vanished. Everything she had thought she needed to do disappeared in the wake of seeing Logan like this. “It’s okay,” Logan whispered beneath her. She let him go, and framed his cheeks with her hands. He looked so weak now. So very fragile. “Laura, I’ve come to terms with it. You are… the last person I wanted to see.” “No! You can’t say that! No!” “Laura. There’s something… I need you to do for me. Please?” “Anything.” The word flew out of her mouth. “I’ll do anything you want. So long as you don’t go.” “The pain is unbearable,” Logan whispered, “but it’s been worth it to see your face again.” He brought his good hand up to her cheek and traced the outline of her jaw. He strained even to complete that movement. Then his hand fell back down. “Laura, I’m going to die. I need you… to set me free.” Laura blinked. “What do you mean?” Then understanding of what he was asking dawned on her, and her eyes widened. She held in a gasp. Surely, he couldn’t mean— “Laura,” Logan repeated, stronger this time. “I cannot walk. I’m going to die. Slowly, and in agony. You need to end it. Put me out of my misery. Please.” Laura drew away. She was completely taken aback. “No, you can’t ask that! No, I can’t!” “Laura you must,” Logan repeated. “Use the torrial. Bring the knife to you again. Only with that can you set me free.” “I won’t do it!” Laura screamed at him, and as if to emphasize her words, took a large step back from him. The loss of blood must be playing tricks with his mind. He couldn’t possibly be asking for what she thought he was asking if he were sane. How did he know about the knife? Laura heard movement behind her, and whipped her head back. She had been half-expecting the elder, and would have even perhaps welcomed his presence at this very moment. But it was just Gray. He was looking at her oddly, but stayed at the edge of the clearing. Laura paid him no further mind. She turned her attention back to Logan. Logan still couldn’t meet her eyes. He was looking somewhere far in the distance. His face had already taken on an absent look, as if he were not fully there. Laura felt

his pain acutely. She could not even begin to imagine what he was going through. To ask her to do such a horrific thing… it was madness! “Laura,” Logan said again. “Please. You need to do it. Do you not love me?” How could he question that, at this very moment? “Of course I do,” Laura said, and half-took a step forward, but then stopped herself. Logan was delusional, and if she came closer he might think that she had acquiesced to his request. “Then I beg of you, please, please kill me. You are the only thing left living for, and now that I have seen you, there is nothing left. My death will surely come, but without your help, my last moments will be spent in sheer agony. I will be at peace if I die at your hand. Please. For our love.” Laura shook her head wildly. A torrent of tears was streaming down her cheeks. No matter what Logan said, she could not kill him! How could he even ask for such a thing? “You will not do it?” Logan asked. His voice had taken on a harsher edge. “I lie here in agony because of you! I came here for you, and I am in this condition because of you. I’m going to die because of you! Either way, you will be the one responsible for my death! It will hang forever on your conscience, unless you kill me now!” He spat the last bit. Then the rage that hit him seemed to simmer down, and he took a deep breath. “Please, Laura. Please, I beg of you. Just set me free.” Laura heard Gray growl behind her. She didn’t pay him any mind. All her focus was on Logan. Slowly, as if walking underwater, she went to him. Her mind went blank. She did not know what she would do. What she could do. As she came closer, Logan looked up at her, and his eyes met hers for the first time since his request. They were red, dark, deep. Poisonous. Not Logan’s eyes. Suddenly Laura remembered what Gabrielle said when she first entered this place. Nothing can be trusted. Everything you see is false. Gray’s growling got louder behind her, as if in warning. She looked down at Logan, and the illusion broke.

Chapter Seventeen ~The Second Cord~ It was not Logan lying there, but a representation of him, and a rather bad one at that. It was as if it had been pieced together by fuzzy memories. For a split-second, Laura saw the shining cord running out of this Logan’s back and twisting through the trees deeper into the woods. Logan snarled viciously and lunged at her with a knife. The same knife he asked her to create with the torrial. Laura jumped aside just in time. All the sadness and emotions she had felt washed away, replaced by a irreconcilable anger. At the elder, for tricking her like that. At herself, for falling so easily to the deception. The real Logan she knew would never have acted like that. It was the direness of the situation that had so thrown her off. Her parry to the left caused Logan to stumble slightly, and that gave her just enough time to create more distance between her and him. Well, it wasn’t him. Not really. Just a representation created by the elder to confuse her. Much like the snake had been. Laura sought the connection in her mind, and felt that the elder was still some distance away. But the shining cord she had seen extend from Logan’s back left no doubt he could see through his eyes. Logan stood, and tossed the knife provocatively from hand to hand. He was only looking at her, now. And when Laura looked into his eyes, all she saw were the evil, vile eyes of the elder. Tainted with poison. “So you are smarter than you appear,” Logan said. Except now, the voice that escaped those lips was not Logan’s, but the elder’s. “You would have made a great ally, girl, if you only made the right choice. But now, you leave me no choice but to kill you.” Logan rushed at her again, but Laura was ready. She took two steps toward him and leapt through the air, catapulting herself over him and to the other side. She used the torrial to make the knife appear in her hand, and slashed at the air where she thought the cord must be. She flipped and landed on her feet, and spun around to see the result of her attack. Logan just stood there, not ten feet away, smiling at her. There was a glimmer in his dark eyes. Laura tensed. She must have missed. Suddenly, a great roar of laughter

erupted from Logan’s throat, and continued for what seemed like eternity. “You fool!” the elder spat through Logan’s lips. “Did you really think I would be so careless twice in a row? Maybe I was wrong about you. You’re not smart at all. You just got lucky!” And out of nowhere, Logan dashed right at her. Maybe it was the laugher, or maybe it was the mockery, but something threw her off, and Laura wasn’t ready for the attack. Logan crashed into her with his shoulder, sending her toppling backwards. As they fell to the ground, he tried to slash at her with the knife. Laura caught his wrist just in time, leaving the blade mere inches from her neck. Logan snarled, and again Laura saw the elder in his eyes. She struggled to keep the blade away from her. Her other hand was pinned down by Logan, rendering her own version of the blade useless. No matter what, though, this representation of Logan was stronger than she was. She felt her strength quickly fading, her grip on his wrist slowly slipping. If she lost hold, the sharp edge of the blade would implant itself into her bare skin. She focused on keeping it away from her, but Logan had the advantage, here. He was on top, while she was nearly helpless in a defensive position. The feel of his body against hers repulsed Laura. It was just as bad as if the elder were holding himself against her. Suddenly Logan let out a piercing shriek and threw himself off. Laura gasped, not understanding what happened. Another few moments, and her grip would have surely failed. That was when she spotted Gray. He was right beside her, his hulking mass moving with heavy breath. Laura looked over, and saw a deep red gnash along Logan’s side. That was where Gray’s claws had fallen. Logan was hunched over, rubbing his hands over the wound. This was her moment! Laura picked herself up, and was just about to launch herself at Logan, another deep laugh erupted from his throat. It sounded sick, twisted. It was the elder’s laugh again, but it was different from before. Logan straightened, and the most amazing thing happened. The wound Gray had afflicted healed right before Laura’s eyes. New skin sealed the gaping wound, stopping the outward flow of blood. Laura watched, entranced, as the whole wound

closed, like something out of the X-Men. The only thing that would say anything had been there before was the bloodstain that lingered on the skin. Logan looked at her, and smiled cruelly. “Did you really think it would be so easy?” he laughed. “I am in control of this world, not you! Only I know the true dimensions of its fabric, and only I can pull the strings that shape reality. I would not have left myself so vulnerable to your meager attacks! And now, Laura, it is time to move beyond games. You must die!” The last sentence turned into a full-throated scream as Logan threw himself at her. She was expecting it this time, and managed to sidestep the attack. Her mind worked furiously. Gray had saved her. But the elder had not realized he was there. Logan turned and slashed at Laura’s midsection with his blade, but Laura parried back to avoid the blow. Logan’s – the elder’s – entire attention was on her. None of it was on Gray. Logan slashed at her again, and Laura used her own blade to deflect the blow. Did he not know Gray was there? Either Madison or Alexander had told her once that most Vassiz were not able to notice animals even if they were inches from their face. She had never had such problems. Logan missed a step, stumbling for a moment, and Laura went at him with her knife. He threw aside her blow and returned to his feet. Laura knew the elder claimed he had the upper hand, but if he truly had that power, he would have finished her by now. As if to emphasize that point, Logan jabbed the knife at Laura, but was a touch slow. She twisted sideways to avoid the attack, and at the same time pierced her own blade forward. It caught Logan right in the shoulder. She felt it go through muscle to plant into bone. Logan jerked backwards, and the tip came out, stained completely red. Blood pulsed out of the wound as if from a fountain. Logan shied back, and brought his other hand up to his shoulder. He snarled at her as he rubbed the wound once, twice. Laura watched from a distance. Just like before, the cut started to close itself. But the healing seemed to go a touch slower now. Maybe the regeneration took more out of the elder than he let on. The only way she could win was to sever the cord that connected this caricature of Logan to the elder. Any

wound she gave him would heal. And she did not have the same advantage. Fighting him this way, she was bound to lose. It would only take one slip on her part for Logan’s knife to find her flesh. Out of the corner of her eye, Laura saw Gray charge at Logan. “No!” she screamed. The bear halted as if understanding her words perfectly. But it also drew Logan’s attention. Logan looked in Gray’s direction, and his eyes widened as if seeing him for the first time. Chances were, he was seeing him for the first time. Logan snarled again, a primal, vicious noise, and launched himself at the animal. Laura had no time to think. Armed with the knife, Logan was more than a match for Gray. Gray could not fight him off. Laura launched herself toward them, but she was too far away. She watched in horror as Logan closed the distance to the bear. Laura moved her legs as fast as she could, but she was still not fast enough. Logan was going to get to Gray before she could stop him. Without thinking, Laura drew on the torrial, and created a ripple in reality. The gap closed in front of her. She jumped through and tackled Logan just before he could reach Gray. A look of bewilderment flashed across his face, but was quickly suppressed. He rolled together with Laura, and used his feet to fling her off him. Thankfully, the collision had knocked the knife out of his hand. That gave her a chance. But that was not the only thing she noticed. When she passed through the fold, for a split second, the shining cord became visible to her. Somehow, the elder had shifted its location, and it now flowed from the back of Logan’s knee. No wonder she missed when she slashed at it before. She did not think he realized what she now knew. She had to capitalize. She righted herself in the air and landed on her feet. Logan darted right for her. Laura turned, and ran back. She knew where the cord was. It was the only weakness she could exploit. She ran, thinking wildly. How could she get to the other side of Logan, to where she needed, and cut the cord? Something tickled her memory. An idea formed in her mind. It was something that she had done before, and had served her well. She ran onward, then pretended to have her foot catch on an upturned root. She fell heavily

onto her hands. Out of the corner of one eye, she saw Logan sneer. The next second, he was on her, about to slam his body into hers…

Now! Laura spun back, wielding the blade, and slashed the air behind Logan’s knee. She did not miss. Logan’s body crashed into hers, but, much like with the snake, he went right through. A dumb look of fascination briefly twisted Logan’s face. Then he opened his mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream. The scream filled the forest air. It was the voice of the elder. Logan fell to his knees and clutched at his head. Before her eyes, Laura watched as those gaping holes of light started to take over his entire body. She had to look away. Agony of the most perfect sort marred the features on his face, and even though Laura knew this was not the real Logan, even though she knew this was just a puppet of the elder, she could not force herself to watch. She turned as the screams got louder behind her, cries of disbelief and immense pain. The light pulsed from Logan’s body in all directions, illuminating the forest. Her back was turned, but she could imagine what was happening behind her. The elder’s screams filled the air as the light intensified, pooling closer and closer together. The screams cut off as Logan’s whole body was consumed by the light. Laura turned her head slightly, and saw the shining shape that was left. It was a glowing ball of light, exactly as the snake had been. Laura took a step away, toward Gray. She had bested the elder twice. But the light behind her did not dissipate like last time. It was still there, lighting the forest like a miniature sun. Laura turned to look again. Had she done something wrong? Had she— She cut off as the amorphous shape suddenly streamed toward her. It moved so fast that she did not even have time to blink, much less get out of the way. The ball of light slammed into her, paralyzing her for a moment. Intense cold such as she’d never felt weaved its way through her body, leaving nothing untouched. It was the cold of a thousand blizzards, the cold of the arctic tundra concentrated into one spot. It was the cold that could freeze time, the cold that could turn the hottest of the stars into ice. The cold travelled through her body, seeping into every joint and every ligament, every bone and every blood

vessel. It encompassed her whole being until not even her mind was safe. She felt the cold reaching for the connection she held with the elder in her mind. She could not resist. The cold settled onto the connection. A wave of shivers rocked Laura’s body, and the sensation was gone. In its place was something Laura could never expect. The connection she had with the elder had magnified. She now saw a perfect representation of him in her mind. She felt his fear, his uncertainty. And she knew that now, he was no longer in control. She had killed two of his creations. Now, there was only a single cord left that gave him life. He was frail now, and he was frightened. Laura saw him not as he projected himself to the world, but as he existed beneath the façade. He was an old man, his bones brittle and his muscles weak. His hair had become a ghastly white, and the skin that had recently been tight on a handsome face was now sagging and dotted with liver spots. He had lived far longer than even the Vassiz were supposed to, and had somehow covered up who he really was. But Laura now saw it crystal-clear in her mind. She felt the evil dankness of his thoughts, sensed the rottenness of his soul that made her insides crawl. And he knew she was there. He looked over his shoulder, one way, then the other. He knew he was being watched. Perhaps he did not know how, but he was on edge. Laura knew exactly where he was. When she severed the second cord, she inherited all the power of this world. The power he once held. Now, the dream was truly at her command. She could see the shining, pulsing cord extending from the elder’s back. No longer would it be hidden from her. She could also see where the other two cords had once been. The remaining cord pulsed and twisted wickedly. She felt the elder drawing on it. He was drawing as much energy as he could, as much of that precious life force that gave him sustenance. But the capacity of the cord was at its limit. Whereas before there were three avenues for the elder to draw what he needed to survive, now there was only one. He was weak. It past time for Laura to end this. She took a step in his direction, and he bolted. His gait was pathetic and slow, now. Laura almost pitied the man. But after everything he’d done in his life, and

everything he’d done to her, even the most compassionate parts of her heart could find no sympathy for him. But no matter how hard he ran, he would not get away. She knew exactly where he was. She felt him trying to draw through the remaining cord to create a ripple in reality, to skim somewhere farther away, and she stopped him. She did not know how she did it, exactly, only that the connection between them allowed her to block anything he did. She felt panic rise up in the elder’s thoughts. Desperately, he tried again, and once more Laura crushed the attempt. Uncertainty and fear swelled through the connection, so strongly that some of it almost rubbed off on her. She stopped the flow of emotions ruthlessly. She was the one in control. She took another step in his direction, but then stopped. Why chase him if he could come to her? A smile formed on Laura’s face. She would let him run, but he would run right into her arms. The elder was still frantically trying to form that ripple that would allow him to get further away. Laura could feel the feeble beating of his attempts against the shield she had put up. She let the shield go. Hope surged through the connection, stronger than any emotion Laura could expect from him. She smiled cruelly. Let him have that little bit of hope for now. It would make it all the more sweet when she dashed it out from under him. He had dared play with her emotions, creating the apparition of Logan to bring her into a vulnerable state. She would do the same to him. She could be just as calculating, just as cruel, as he had been. He shifted reality before him, and moved a great distance away in the blink of an eye. She let him go. No matter how far he went, her connection with him would not waver. She could still see him clearly in her mind’s eye. The hope that Laura felt was now replaced by relief. The smile on her face grew. That relief would make everything so much sweeter when the elder realized she was only toying with him. The elder drew through the cord again, and again compressed a large swath of land before him to jump through. The relief within him grew stronger. Laura also felt a new sense of confidence erupt within the man. He genuinely thought he was getting away. Well, let him. The surprise he came to at the end would make everything so

much more satisfying. Laura watched through the connection as the elder created ripples in reality, again and again. Each time he thought he was getting farther away from her. The confidence in him grew, and the fear and uncertainty faded. He thought he was still in control. Laura nodded to herself. It was time to correct that perception. The elder used the strength of the cord and shifted reality again. But just as he stepped through the portal, Laura drew on both her torrial and the connection with him to alter the destination to something he could not possibly expect. She brought him to her. She saw a flash of light in front of her. The air shimmered, wavered, and solidified into an elderly man with a triumphant smile on his face. The smile disappeared and his eyes went wide when he realized where he was. Laura felt overwhelming panic pulse through the connection. The elder tried to use his fading power to move himself away, but Laura stomped down on that, hard. She reenacted the shield that blocked him from accessing the lifeline given by the cord. His mouth worked, but no words came out. Laura simply looked at him. He was a pathetic excuse of a man. All the pomp and glamour that he displayed when Laura first met him in the cabin was gone. In its stead was rotting skin and a decaying body. The natural air of confidence he had once assumed had disappeared. He stood there in front of her, a shell of the man he once was. No – this was who he actually was. Everything else Laura had seen was nothing more than an illusion. It was nothing more than a sham. In one last, desperate attempt to get away, the elder turned and ran. Laura watched as he went into the woods. Then, when he was just out of sight, she sprang the invisible shackles he had once used to confine her. She did not know how she did it, only that doing so was both natural and instinctive. He fell to the ground, struggling against them, but it was no use. They had him bound tighter than the strongest chains. Laura pulled, and the elder came tumbling back, bouncing hard against the ground. When he stopped, sitting slumped over not ten feet away from her, he was beyond pathetic. Laura felt hatred course through the connection with him. He shot a vile look at Gray, who was lying leisurely to Laura’s side. There was no more fear, however. The elder

knew he had been caught, knew he had been bested. He seemed to have accepted the fact, and that surprised Laura. “So, girl, you think this is it, do you?” the elder sneered. It was almost a shock to Laura to hear him speak so clearly. His voice had not changed at all, and the strength of it came at stark contrast to the rest of him. “You think you’ve got me beat, don’t you? That your despicable attempt to alter a world you know nothing about has succeeded?” “Has it not?” Laura asked calmly. “Have I not gone against two of your creations, and beaten both? Do I not have you chained right in front of me, created prisoner by the methods you once used against me?” “That may be so,” the elder said, “but you’re a long way from accomplishing your true goals. I am one of eight. Do you truly believe that all your pathetic friends will find the same success? If but one of us survives, everybody will be alerted to what you have done. All the Vassiz in the world will come after you. You think the packs that came for you before were bad? Those were the lowest of the low. We did not recruit our strongest, nor out best. They will come for you, and they will destroy you.” “Your time of power is up, elder,” Laura said harshly. “The lies and deceit with which you spun your web of command will be revealed. What you did to the angels will be revealed. All the crimes against your own race will be revealed. The histories you hid will not remain covered up. The Vassiz will know of their true past, and of your role in eroding their race. The era of repression you oversaw is over!” To her surprise, the elder looked at her, and started to laugh. It was an infuriating gesture, because it was so much at odds with the fear the elder felt earlier. It was the laugh of a man at ease, of a man who has the upper hand. In her mind, Laura double- and triple-checked to make sure the elder could not squirm out of the bonds that held him, nor draw on whatever power came through the cord attached to him. As far as she could tell, there was no threat of that. But then, why was he laughing like that? “My era of oppression?” the elder finally sneered. “You truly think your intentions are noble, don’t you? That all the Vassiz will readily accept the change that you bring to them? That now, because you killed off the leaders they’ve had for centuries, they will embrace you with open arms?”

“Of course not!” Laura defended, but she felt an uncomfortable bit of uncertainty start to form in the back of her mind. She shut it away. “But anything I give them will be better than how they lived under you.” “You say that as if it has already been decided,” the elder said sadly. “You are so young. You have so much potential. Why risk it all for a race you barely know? For a people you cannot possibly represent?” “I don’t want to represent them,” Laura said, “only free them.” Why was she defending her actions before someone like him? His entire existence was marred with lies and deceit. He was despicable! Yet, for some reason, she felt compelled to let him say what he had to. “Free them, and in the process, free yourself? Is that not it, Laura? Is that not what you are truly after?” He paused, letting his words sink in. “I saw your mind, girl. I know your thoughts. There is nothing you can hide from me. I know what drives you, and I know what motivates you. I know that in your heart of hearts you are just as selfish as any of us. You are, in a true sense of the word, a Vassiz. You spin the purpose of your words to suit your needs, to align with your conscience, whereas in reality you are guided by nothing more than selfish self-interest. You’re vapid and completely bland. Anybody with even the hint of intelligence could spot the stupidity of your ways.” Laura felt anger bubble up within her. The elder was not in a position to make such accusations. She tightened the bonds that held him. Strain became clear on his face, and pain radiated through the connection. But he did not let up. “You pretend to be chasing after some greater good, some higher purpose,” he continued in a voice that did not display any of his discomfort. “Revenge for what the elders supposedly did to the angels? Or for what you heard we suffered upon the Vassiz? Those ideals live within you only as a way of defending your true desires. You want to be free of us all, do you not? To live your life with your precious Logan.” He spat the name. “And to not worry about turning your head every time you hear the wind blow in the distance?” “You make baseless accusations,” Laura said strongly. “Is there anything so wrong about desiring a life of peace with the one I love?” She did not know why she was defending herself in front of the elder, only that there was something compelling her to do so. The small seed of

doubt that had sprouted in the back of her mind had to be eliminated. She had to have a clear conscience if she were to kill the elder in cold blood. “If that is your true desire, girl,” the elder said with a hint of satisfaction, “I would be remiss if I did not tell you that such a thing is not in the cards.” “What are you talking about?” Laura asked suspiciously. “Only that there is more to the prophecy that you believe guides you. Oh, don’t look so surprised, girl. I’m sure the omission was one that Gabrielle sorely regrets.” “What omission?” Laura asked. She tested her hold on the elders bonds, and kept them tight. “No more riddles. Tell me the truth.” “That is all I propose to do,” the elder said, and for the first time, the strain he felt entered his voice. Good. Let it. “But first, a rhetorical question. Why do you find it so easy to trust the angels? Was it true benevolence that guides them – and you – or is it something else? All beings yearn for power, Laura. And all will cheat and lie to achieve it. The angels you hold in such high regard are no different from you and I. Think! Your search for the repository took weeks, yet could have gone so much faster had they simply revealed the location to you. What was the point of the delay? A vague dispute they had with Rafael? You still do not know what that was about, do you?” “How do you know all this?” Laura demanded. Why had the angels not shown them the repository earlier? Gabrielle’s justification of it was vague at best. “I see things in your memories that you cannot understand,” the elder said. “Nobody can ever be trusted. Everything has to be questioned. Remember those two universal truths, and they will serve you well in the future.” “What are you talking about?” Laura repeated. She tested the bonds once more in her mind, just to make sure the elder had no chance of slithering away. He did not. “One thing at a time. I can see you’re questioning the trust you put into Gabrielle. Good. Such suspicion is good.” “Get on with it,” Laura growled, and tightened the bond around the elder’s neck, temporarily cutting off his air supply. His breathing became rasping, and he gagged for air. Laura kept him like that for a few moments before easing her hold. She did not like what he was forcing her to do, but she had to show she was the one in control.

“I mean only this,” the elder said in ragged breath once Laura released her hold. “The prophecy Gabrielle told you is not the full one. He only told you of one half.” “One half? What is the rest?” The elder met her eye, and, in a truly repulsive gesture, winked at her. “I would tell you, Laura, but I’m afraid the bond that holds me has sapped me of my strength.” He frowned. “I don’t take you for a fool, so I do not expect you to let me go, but an easing of my shackles would go a long way in encouraging my tongue.” Laura grimaced unhappily but complied. Somehow, the elder had her entranced with his words. But she was confident she still held the upper hand, if only by the amount of power she had in this world. The elder smiled as his bonds loosened. Laura allowed him a certain amount of flexibility in his arms, which he took advantage of by rubbing his wrists where the force Laura commanded had been particularly harsh. She still held both his legs tightly to the ground, lest he attempt to surprise her with an attack. “Well?” Laura demanded. “Get on with it!” “I will,” the elder said. “You see, there is more to the prophecy than Gabrielle told you. The part he omitted is one I doubt very much you’ll like to hear. But of course, I’m sure it just a simple slip of the mind on his part.” The smile he formed showed that he did not think so at all. “‘When

darkness comes, and hope is lost, a shimmering star shall be revealed. And she will free the fallen ones, restoring order to the rule of man.’ That is what Gabrielle told you, is it not?” “It is,” Laura said slowly. “Well, there is more to it than that. In fact, there was a whole clause he omitted for you. Right in the middle of what he said. The true prophecy goes like this: ‘When

darkness comes, and hope is lost, a shimmering star shall be revealed. Born of flame and darkness, her screams will pierce the deep of the night, for they are screams of the destruction she wrought. An equilibrium held for centuries will shatter before her coming, and with it, she will free the fallen ones, restoring order to the rule of man.’” “You lie,” Laura said defensively. But that small inkling of doubt in her mind grabbed onto the elder’s words and held them tight. “Do not be a fool!” the elder spat. The sudden

outburst frightened Laura, and instinctively she tightened the bonds holding him again. He stiffened on the spot. “What I mean to say,” the elder said through clenched teeth, “is that there is a darker side of the prophecy. One you knew – know – nothing about.” “If that’s true,” Laura said, “why would Gabrielle tell me nothing of it?” She could not believe that she was conversing with the elder, but that lingering doubt forced her to. She had to be sure what she was doing was right! The elder looked shocked at her question. “You truly understand nothing, do you?” he asked. “If Gabrielle told you that, would you have continued on the path that led you here today? He has a stake in all this, as do the other angels. I told you earlier all beings yearn for power. The angels you hold in such high regard are no different. They are flawed, like you and me. They are blinded by ambition and greed, spurred on by a ridiculous sense of revenge against my kind, the Vassiz.” “Your kind, the elders,” Laura corrected. “The angels have nothing against the Vassiz. It was you who imprisoned them.” “How can you be sure?” the elder asked. “Why are you so easy to trust them, but not others? Is it from some archetypical representation you hold of them in your mind? From what you were taught in school, or by your parents? That they are the bearers of peace and good?” He spat on the ground beside him. “Bah! You are as blind to the propaganda they seeded within humans as you are to the true nature of your quest.” “Why should I believe anything you say?” Laura asked. “You’re a prisoner. I could – and should – kill you with a flick of the wrist. If for nothing more but the attempts on my life you made today. And the attempts you orchestrated after I first visited the dream realm.” “Then do it, Laura! Kill me here and now!” He glared up at her defiantly. Laura did not move. “Ahh,” he cooed, “you cannot do it yet, can you? For whatever you might say, your heart knows that you may be mistaken yet. You search for truth.” He shook his head. “The pieces are in play. It is too late to correct what you have started, yet now you have new doubt. If but one of my brethren survives, your whole plan will fail. But if we all die, as you intend, perhaps the outcome will not be what you had in mind.” Laura had had enough. The man was trying to worm his way into her heart, to slither into her mind with his

poisonous words. Everything she knew about the elders said they deceived and corrupted. That they were cunning and manipulative. Who was to say he wasn’t trying to do something of the sort right now? How could she believe any of his words? No – she could not. She saw the true nature of the man before her through the bond. His heart was black, and his thoughts were churned by madness. But why did she not feel any hint of deceit come through the bond when he spoke to her now? Laura stepped toward him. “Elder, I will not believe your lies.” She drew on the torrial, and willed the knife to appear in her hand. She modified it, though, so that the blade stretched farther outward, much like a sword. “Your attempts on my life belie anything you have to say. The era of oppression you and your brethren inflicted onto the Vassiz is over.” She eyed the cord that came out of his back. It was pulsing wickedly now. “ Your era is over. Your time is up, and the race you betrayed will be set free!” She stepped around him, and shifted the sword high overhead. “Wait!” the elder strained. “Who do you think guided you here, girl? Remember, it was Selaine who—” His voice cut off in a scream as Laura’s downward slash cut through the pulsing cord. “It is ended!” she exclaimed. The cord snapped back, whipping over the earth like an elastic band breaking after too much strain. The elder screamed. Laura looked down at him in disgust. She released the bonds that held him, and the creature that she saw before her now looked nothing like the man she first met. When she cut the cord, the last part of the illusion broke. She saw the skin stretched tight over his skull, completely devoid of hair. She saw the hollowness of his cheeks, like those of an emaciated dog. She saw the blotchiness of his complexion, the fraying ends of hair that hung lifelessly from his chin in cruel resemblance of his once handsome beard. The garments he wore so proudly now swallowed up his body, at least three times too big. His scream pulsed on and on, while his hands desperately searched for reprieve. He curled in on himself, writhing on the floor in immense pain. Laura felt no pity. Everything he had done in his life had brought him to this point, and it was past time to see justice done. She prayed the others had had the same success. Laura was expecting that light to burst out of his

skin, to overtake his body as it had his previous two creations. That did not happen. Instead, the man started to decay right in front of her. It was as if all the years of extra life he had bestowed upon himself were now catching up. His sagging skin began to shrivel and harden. His mouth continued to work, but his voice had given out. A sickly complexion overtook him as the muscles in his arms and legs melted away, leaving nothing but bone and blotchy skin. Laura forced herself to watch. This was the price he paid for what he had done. This was what Laura had come so far to do. Bit by bit, the elder’s movements slowed. He gave one last feeble kick, and was still. What remained was nothing more than the frail, pathetic skeleton of a man, swallowed up by his once-great clothes. Laura turned to Gray. Surprisingly, she did not feel particularly elated or happy at the outcome. She had come far to accomplish it, yes, but the way the elder went was not very… satisfying. At least, not nearly as much as she had imagined. Maybe it was the fact that success depended on the uncertain fate of her seven other allies. Or, maybe it was that some of the things the elder said before his death had made her think. In any case, it was not the triumphant victory she had been expecting. Not yet, anyway. She had no way of knowing how the others were faring. If they were successful… if, only then could she celebrate. At least she was done here. Although she wasn’t sure what would happen now. With the elder dead, all that was left for her was to return to Gabrielle. But she didn’t know how to do that. And why did the elder mention Selaine, of all people, right before— Laura’s thoughts were interrupted as an enormous tremor shook the earth, hard enough to knock her off her feet. She landed on her back ungracefully, and was immediately tossed up again. A loud groaning sound bellowed beneath her. She caught herself in the air this time to land in a crouch. She looked at Gray, who was not standing on the ground anymore, but rather, floating a good foot above it. The tremors didn’t touch him, but Laura wasn’t sure if he was really here anymore. His reflection wavered, turning to mist and back, and he didn’t seem to be seeing anything around him. Suddenly, his whole being winked out of existence. That was the breeze that started the avalanche. As

soon as Gray disappeared, the whole world began to shake. And it wasn’t just the tremor of the earth that contributed to it. Every single part of the environment, from the sky to the air to the trees, started to shake violently. Tree trunks split in two and then rebounded back. The air pushed down on Laura’s shoulders and retreated threateningly. And the sky itself began to fall. Laura had never seen anything like it. She watched, entranced and terrified at the same time, as pieces of the sky fell toward the earth. They fell in chunks, like old paint chipping off a surface. And behind them, the pure darkness of the ethereal matrix was revealed. One of the pieces rocketed toward Laura. She started to run. As she did, the shaking around her only got worse. Pieces of the earth fell away, leaving a black abyss in their wake. Laura ran, and everything crumbled around her. Gaps formed in the ground before her. The terrible booming of destruction continued all around. She had to run, because she did not know what else to do. The forest behind her erupted upwards and then sunk into the ground. Dirt and earth sprayed her from all sides, but she kept running. She took a step, and narrowly avoided falling into a newly-formed gap as the earth gave way. She jumped, barely managing to clear the gaping hole. More and more pieces of the world started to break. A crevice rippled across the ground in front of her and tore open the earth. The horrible sounds continued all around her. She turned to avoid the gulf and kept going. In front of her, behind her, and all around her, more sections of earth gave way. When they fell, there was only darkness left. An enormous crash sounded just to her side, and Laura whipped her head that way. The first of the enormous pieces of sky had hit the earth, leaving a chasm beyond comprehension. Laura ran for her life. All around her, the world was being swallowed up. Laura knew that if she fell into one of those holes, there would be no escape. It was not just darkness that prevailed there, but also a red, ominous aura that radiated menacingly. She did not want to think of what it was. In mere moments, Laura found herself jumping from island to island. The ground was not connected anymore, so she could not just run across. It was like trying to navigate a churning river of ice without falling into the water below.

Even worse, the islands of land that remained were dropping into the abyss by the second. Laura could do nothing but run. Destruction wreaked havoc all around her. She reached the edge of the land she was on, and jumped to the next island. Just as she landed, though, the earth beneath her crumpled away. Arms flailing, she grabbed desperately at a small rock that was still solid before her. Her fingers caught, but the impact flung the figurine torrial out of her hand. She glanced down to see it fall into the abyss and disappear in the darkness. A sickening bulge of red ballooned out toward her, and she scrambled up, desperate to get away. She ran, but could see the remaining islands falling to the black, one by one. She did not know what to do. Gabrielle was supposed to be watching over her. He was the one supposed to bring her back. She’d already done what she came here to do! “Gabrielle!” Laura screamed at the top of her lungs. “Get me out of here!” Her voice was swallowed up by the cataclysmic sounds all around her. There was absolutely no indication that Gabrielle heard her. The destruction raged on. The sky fell away, and sunk into the abyss. Laura ran and jumped, ran and jumped, driven by fear and the instinctual need to survive. The remaining pieces of land were getting sparse, and Laura knew she could not avoid the looming abyss much longer. The air began to shimmer in violent slashes of red and black. This world was dying, and Laura had no idea how she was to get out. The elder’s death precipitated the death of this world. She yelled for Gabrielle again, and again the sound she made was swallowed up by the cacophony around her. She felt desperation rise up within her. Islands all around her were crumbling away into nothingness. She did not know which would go next. She felt hers start to sink, and raced to the edge to jump to the next one. The gap was wide, but Laura propelled herself just enough to make it. Just as she was about to land, the island before her turned to dust and crumbled away. Laura fell.

Chapter Eighteen ~A Return~ Laura fell through darkness. She fell, without knowing which way was up or which was down. Time became irrelevant as she fell, forever through the black. The air around her solidified and melted. She fell through darkness, and the world started to whirl around her. Slowly, the faint light of the stars Laura remembered started to appear around her, the representation of all the living beings in this ethereal realm. Their familiarity afforded her a measure of comfort. She couldn’t control where she was going, though. She continued to fall, and the stars sped by, blurring into streaking lights. Suddenly, she hit an elastic sort of resistance, rebounded back, and was flung unceremoniously out of the torrial. She hit the back wall of the repository and crumpled down. The pain in her foot seared into being. She felt it here so much stronger than in the elder’s dream, which worried her about how bad it must now be in the real world. But it was only a momentary thought. What she saw in front of her was much more alarming. Gabrielle stood sagged over the torrial. He looked weary. The female angel across from him did not look any better. They were both haggard, tired. Exhaustion crossed their faces. And their angelic grace was gone. “Welcome back, Laura.” The voice startled her. It was Gabrielle’s, but it was not in her mind as she was used to. He was actually speaking, using his mouth, just like anybody else would. She could hear the fatigue in his voice. “You’re speaking,” Laura said, amazed. “Why? How? Why did you not before?” “It takes a certain strength to communicate through the mind.” Gabrielle did not shift his gaze from the torrial. “Strength I cannot spare anymore.” Laura looked around, and for the first time realized the repository was empty. Aside from Gabrielle and his unnamed companion, she was the only one there! “Where are the others?” “You are the first to return,” Gabrielle answered. “The first?” Laura was shocked. “But I was there for so long!” “Success came to you easier than it comes to the

others.” “So everyone’s still there? What can you see? How are they doing?” “Not… well,” came Gabrielle’s reply. He looked like a man, and a tired one at that. None of the grace he possessed from before remained. Controlling the torrial had taken all that out of him. “We are trying to assist them as much as we can, but our powers are spread thin. There’s only so much we can do from here. The elders are strong. They will not fold easily.” “Is there anything I can do?” Laura asked. She had succeeded, but that did not matter if the others did not. Logan was in there, going through his own battles. As were Madison and Alexander, and four other angels who were doing all this for her. The lies the elder told her in a desperate attempt to save his life meant nothing to her anymore. The doubt he tried to instill in her about Gabrielle’s intentions was gone. Her friends were in there, her love was in there, and she couldn’t let them face everything alone. She had to help. “I was not about to ask, given what you went through. But if you are willing…” “Yes! Of course, yes!” She ignored the sharp pain in her foot. “Anything I can do, I will.” Gabrielle exhaled heavily. “Believe me, I would not ask you to do this were there any other choice. But there isn’t. Time is running short.” “I will do whatever is required!” Laura insisted. “Very well. You need to go back into the torrial, Laura. You will see the stars of the elders once in there, as you did before. You need to destroy them, all at once! But you cannot go into their dreams. You have to do it from the outside.” Laura’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “How… how can I do that?” “You are the prophesied one, Laura. You will see the way when it is revealed to you.” “That’s so vague.” Laura shook her head. “So you don’t know how I can do what you just asked?” “Not in any way that can guide you,” Gabrielle admitted. “I know it can be done, though. The torrial gives you enough power. You will need to… to sap the life energies from all the elders’ stars. All at once, and without being detected.” Laura shivered as she remembered the threatening

nature of that undefined space within the torrial. Just trying to move there, it felt like she could lose herself for eternity. How would the abyss react to her trying to alter its very fabric? “What about all the others?” Laura asked. “They’re inside the elders’ stars, aren’t they? Wouldn’t this be dangerous to them?” “We will alert them to your coming,” Gabrielle said solemnly. “If they can get out in time will be up to them.” “If?” Laura demanded. “What do you mean, if?” “We cannot pull them out ourselves. Only they have the power to do that. But if they leave too early, it will gives the elders time to escape.” “So there’s a chance,” Laura began, thinking, “that, assuming all this works, when I somehow destroy the elders’ stars, everyone we know may get caught in there as well?” “A very real possibility,” Gabrielle said slowly. “Are you still willing to go forward? This is a last resort, because I… I cannot see any other way.” Laura thought. If the situation was as dire as Gabrielle suggested, none of them would survive anyway. But the way to victory was lined with pits of snakes. Venomous, enormous snakes. Would any of it be worth it if Logan got trapped in there, and wasn’t able to get out in time as she destroyed the stars? Or Madison, or Alexander? Or any of the angels? “The clock is ticking,” Gabrielle said. “You must chose, Laura. I will not have the strength to transport you into the torrial for much longer.” Laura gritted her teeth. Either way she chose, her friends could all die. But if this one way enhanced their chances of survival slightly… “I’ll do it,” Laura said through gritted teeth. “Then come over, and hurry!” Gabrielle urged. Laura stood up, and limped over to the torrial. She was glad neither of the angels in the room were looking at her to see that. The pain in her foot had become worse, so that even the slightest touch of pressure felt like a thousand needles piercing her skin. But she could not pity herself now. For the first time since she’d gotten back, Gabrielle lifted his eyes from the torrial to glance at her. It only lasted a second, but in that sliver of time she understood even more just how much the torrial was taking out of him. His eyes, which had always shone with a lustrous intensity,

were now red and tired. Even his eyelids were drooping. She knew he could not hold onto the torrial for much longer. That was the real reason for the urgency. If his control slipped, everyone she knew would likely be trapped in there forever. Trapped in the elders’ drams, with no hope of escape. She could not let that happen. “Ready?” Gabrielle asked. Laura inclined her head slightly. “Yes.” Gabrielle moved his hands over the torrial, looked across to his partner – who, from close up, looked to be in even worse shape than he – and extended an arm to Laura. “Just like last time, now. Close your eyes.” Laura did so. Again, she felt that strange distortion occur in front of her. She felt a pull start to form, but it took more time to build up than before. “One more thing,” Laura asked quickly, suddenly remembering. “I never found out what happened to Rafael.” To her surprise, she heard a chuckle. “I will tell you that when you get back.” The pull increased, and Laura fell inside. ~~ Laura spun through an inescapable void. She knew where she was, this time, and knew what to expect. She slowed herself, coming to a stop in mid-air. Darkness surrounded her, broken weakly by hundreds of pale little lights. She reached out for the lights, pulling them closer. The darkness receded, and in a flash all the millions of stars representing every living being sprang into shape. Laura knew how to navigate, and this time, there was no uncertainty. She closed her eyes, and felt all the need she could summon within her. Swish. The darkness shifted away, the stars going with it. Laura opened her eyes, looking around. There, far in the distance, she recognized a familiar cluster of stars. They were the ones that belonged to the elders. But even from afar, Laura could tell they were different from last time. One was missing, first of all, but she could easily attribute that to what she had done. The real difference was that all of them looked weaker. The darkness did not shy away from them anymore. She did not repeat the mistake of floating toward them as she had the first time. Instead, she closed her

eyes, and felt the same need that drove her here. The need to see her friends safe, to see the elders wiped out, and to see revenge exacted for the angels. The need that made her sacrifice everything for the smallest chance of success. Swish. Opening her eyes, Laura found herself face-to-face with the cluster of stars. She could – if she had hands, here – reach out and touch them. However, despite the proximity, she was unable to see within them, as she thought she might. They were just the round glowing shapes she remembered from before. Though the glow was duller. She was close enough to reach them, but now what? Gabrielle had given her no hints. She could not enter any of them. That would not help. Somehow, from where she was, she had to direct enough energy at them to destroy them. Only where that energy would come from, or even what shape it would take, Laura had no idea. There were unseen rules to this place, and overstepping even one might have horrible consequences. Laura racked her brain for ideas. Here she was, outside the stars, able to see all of them at once. Yet she did not have the physical presence to do anything about it. She could not touch them, she could not hit them, she could not bind them. She had no body, not in the same way as she did in the outside worlds, and would have to rely entirely on her mind. She shifted her gaze around her. All the other stars she could see meshed with the darkness quite well. There was an equilibrium here, she remembered. A delicate one, and it could be upset by the smallest thing. And yet the cluster of the elders’ stars somehow seemed to exist outside it. The darkness shied away from them, though definitely not as much as before. Still, it seemed to Laura that the elders’ stars were not… welcome… here to the same extent that others were. In fact, there was more to it than that. It was like the elders’ stars had carved out this space by themselves. It was not given to them naturally, as it had been to everyone else. They forced their way into it. Maybe that was the key to the whole thing. If the elders’ stars were not wanted here, perhaps this entire realm, or abyss, or whatever it was, could aid her somehow.

She took another look around, and her eyes stopped on the darkness that tried to surround the elders’ stars but couldn’t. What if she could strengthen it, somehow? That way, she wouldn’t be fighting against the equilibrium, but rather enhancing it. It was worth a shot. She had to go fast, too. She didn’t know how time flowed here, but suspected it did not align with the dream realm or the human world. Seconds here could be hours for Gabrielle. She concentrated on the darkness. The edges by the cluster looked like they were stretched thin. She could not pull them in further. Rather, she had to build on them. But, how? Always, she had to be careful of the equilibrium. She did not think she could make more of the darkness form by itself, but if she added from somewhere else… She reached out with her mind, stretching as far away as she dared, and picked off a speck of darkness from some distant place. It was a tiny speck, and it came with her easily. She brought it back, placed it on the edge of the cluster, and waited. Nothing happened. The world didn’t explode, the equilibrium didn’t tip, and she didn’t die. Instead, everything was as it were before. Except that the darkness was now a sliver closer to reaching the cluster of stars. That was it! In a flash, Laura started working as quickly as she dared. She reached out and brought tiny pieces of darkness from far away to her. She pulled from different places, bit by bit, in tiny amounts that would never be noticed as missing. And yet, together they would add up to make an immeasurable difference here. She reached in all directions, as far as she could, and built upon the darkness. Little by little, she closed in on the elders’ cluster. Their glow was suppressed even more, and the darkness came closer and closer to overwhelming them. And then, the most magnificent thing happened. It was like this realm had noticed what she was doing, and decided to help. She saw flashes of black moving through the air and settling to augment the dark around the stars, all without her help. She kept going, picking up the tiniest specks of dark, from places she didn’t even know exist, from the deepest nooks and crannies within the torrial, and placing it on the edge, building it up like a brick wall. And the realm around her kept going too, adding to her momentum, until the darkness started moving

toward the elders’ stars much like a rising tide. The cluster of stars tried to fight back. Their shine doubled, tripled, but the wave of black was too much. It did not retreat under that glow. Laura kept building, and the realm kept assisting her, pressing in on the light of the stars. Laura did not know what would happen when the black finally reached the very surface of the stars, but suspected it would be very bad. For the elders. Abruptly the shine from the stars vanished, like a popped balloon. And Laura could see through the translucent surface that made up each of the stars. She kept building, but at the same time peered into those stars. It was like looking at individual tiny planets. The details were very small from afar, but Laura could see representations of land and water and other terrain elements that made up the elders’ representation of the dream. The darkness was getting very close to the stars. Laura prayed that Gabrielle had warned the others by now. She did not think that she’d be able to see their representation out here as they fled, so there was no way to be sure they left. They needed to get out in time. If she destroyed the elders’ stars from the outside, and anybody that she knew was caught inside… Laura was abruptly overcome by a terrible feeling that something was very wrong. The feeling first began when the stars became transparent, but now, as the darkness was getting closer and closer to overtaking them, roared into something so large Laura could not ignore. She stopped what she was doing. But the building of the black continued by the elements of this realm. The feeling of wrongness did not go away. Laura panicked, and tied to stop the flow of darkness. She felt resistance against her, and the darkness pulsed around her, pushing in on her, threatening to overtake her as well as the elders’ stars. She fought against it, and just when she thought she was going to lose herself, ripped free from it. The building stopped. But the darkness did not retreat. The feeling that had alarmed her did not go away. And Laura knew that here, of all places, feelings were of the utmost importance. Had she done something wrong? Was building the darkness toward the stars the wrong action? Laura looked at the stars again. For the first time, she really looked at them. None were distinguishable from

the others, save for one. That was the one that was farthest away from her, all the way across the cluster. For some reason, she felt a draw to it. But that particular star had always been on the other side of the cluster from her. As if it were hiding. But, why? Laura tried to move closer, and everything shifted in protest. She jolted back to where she was. Things came back into place. She couldn’t get any closer like that, and she should have known so. But the strange feeling that was radiating from that star compelled her to try. She realized that if she focused, she could see enough of the star from where she was. She concentrated on it. And to her immense surprise, realized that she recognized it. It was like seeing somebody you swear you’ve seen before, yet not knowing where or when. It was the most uncomfortable feeling, and it didn’t make any sense. Yet she was sure she knew that star. She focused on it any more. And abruptly, she realized why she recognized that star. Because it belonged to Logan. Her head spun. That made no sense! But she knew, just by looking at the star, that it was true. Much the same way as she had known Gray’s star was his after he revealed himself to her. But, what was Logan’s star doing here? Why was it in this bunch? Had the torrial malfunctioned when Logan came in somehow? She couldn’t take any chances. She made sure the swell of darkness had ceased. It had. She could not destroy the cluster, not like this. Not if Logan’s own star was caught in there. She had to find out what it was doing there. Against Gabrielle’s warning, she threw herself at it.

Chapter Nineteen ~Succubus~ Laura shut her eyes. The need to figure out what Logan’s star was doing here superseded everything else. She felt it intensely in her mind. Need. Swi— Something else yanked at her. From another direction. Laura thought she would be entering Logan’s star, but instead she found herself being stretched thin beyond hope. Part of her was already inside, but another part was being pulled elsewhere. She did not know if she could handle the pressure. She was thin, frail, fragile. And getting thinner by the second She was going to snap in two. She was— Laura blinked, and found herself inside a dark but familiar room. She stood up cautiously, feeling her body with her hands. She was whole, and still alive. What was the interference she felt, and how did she end up here, of all places? She looked around. The room was in exactly the same state she remembered it. It was small and still barren. A few tables and shelves stood in various places, but all were empty. Their contents had all mysteriously disappeared overnight, in a time that felt so very long ago. Laura was in the room that used to be the second floor of Selaine’s shop. But it wasn’t that long ago. And, as far as she knew, Logan had never been here. So if she entered his star, if she was now within his dreams, how could she possibly have ended up here? How could— “You are wondering what you’re doing here, girl?” Laura spun on her heels. She hadn’t heard anyone approaching. But sure enough, out from the corner stepped Selaine. Laura’s jaw dropped open. She didn’t know what to think. She had always suspected there had been more to the elderly woman than she let on, but she never thought it would manifest itself like this. “Selaine…?” Laura gasped. “What are you doing here? What is this?” Suddenly Laura noticed a swirling glass globe on the table. She didn’t know how she possibly overlooked it before. It was just like the one Gabrielle used. But there was only one of those in existence…? “I brought you here,” Selaine said simply. She

motioned idly to the globe. Then, she turned her head to look back around the corner. “Come on,” she said to somebody there. “You can come out. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Laura heard footsteps against the wood floor, and a figure emerged slowly from behind Selaine. Laura gasped when she saw who it was. Logan was there. At least, she thought it was him. She had been tricked in the dream before. His head was down, and his long hair covered most of his face. Briefly, he rose his eyes to meet hers, and Laura felt an explosive surge of emotion rise within her. Those eyes could not be faked. It was him! She started to him, but Logan recoiled as if hit on her first step. Laura stopped. Logan’s eyes were glued to the floor. He wouldn’t look at her. “Logan…” Laura began uncertainly, “…what’s going on? What are you doing here?” “I wanted to tell you,” he said in a tight voice. “But I could not. I had to lie to you. It was the only way.” Still, he didn’t raise his head. Selaine had stepped back, and was watching Logan with arms crossed. How did they know each other? “Lie to me?” Laura repeated. “About what? It was the only way for what? Logan, what are you talking about?” Selaine had shifted her gaze, and was now looking squarely at Laura. Laura could feel her eyes on her. Judging, and weighing. “In time,” Selaine said smoothly, “all will be revealed. I’ll address your most pressing concerns first. Yes, Logan and I know each other. We have for a long time – don’t gape girl, the look doesn’t suit you. There’s plenty more you don’t know yet, but that is the reason I brought you here. To explain it all.” “Who are you?” Laura asked. Logan had retreated behind Selaine again, almost as if he were using her as a shield. He held a definite deference to her. Laura did not know what to think of that. But she knew one thing. The old woman was a lot more than she let on. “I’m afraid I was not entirely truthful with you either, girl, when we first met,” Selaine said. “I don’t understand what’s going on,” Laura said again. She felt… not helpless, but confused. Some of those things the elder told her started circling in the back of her mind once more. She knew them for lies, but…

“Well, let’s start at the beginning,” Selaine said simply. “You may sit if you wish. This could take a long time.” “I’m fine, thank you,” Laura said curtly. “Very well. The first thing you should know is that I know who you are, Laura. I know what you are.” “Well, I kind of figured that, at this point.” Selaine tsked in annoyance. “I don’t mean simply that you are Vassiz, Laura. Rather, I mean that I know of the prophecy, and I have for a long time.” Laura blinked. “The prophecy? How? Who are you?” Selaine ignored the question. “I also know what you’ve been trying to do. Your vendetta against the elders has not gone unnoticed.” “How could you know about that?” “You think the elders are the ones who pull the strings. That’s what you’ve been told. That they are the ones who lead the Vassiz race. Isn’t that right? It’s what everyone believes.” “I don’t understand how you know that,” Laura muttered. “Are you Vassiz too?” If that was the case, why did Selaine have that distinctly human scent when Laura first met her? “There are more powers at work in our worlds than you know, Laura.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, my dear, that not everything you know about the elders is accurate.” She inclined her head toward Logan. “He would be the first to tell you so.” Laura stared at Logan, who had fixated his attention to something on the floor. He seemed to cringe when Selaine motioned to him, but did not move otherwise. Selaine waved it away. “You can ask him later, then. What I’m telling you is that the elders are not the ones with the final say over what happens to the Vassiz. Even they answer to a higher master.” Laura’s eyes widened. She had thought the elders were the pinnacle of the Vassiz race. She had thought they were the ones responsible for imprisoning the angels, for chasing after her, and for corrupting the whole population of Vassiz. But there was somebody above them? Somebody that… gave them orders? That changed everything. Could it mean that what she’d been doing had been wrong? Had she made some

terrible mistake in her effort to see justice served? Had she mistakenly focused on the wrong enemy? Suddenly, the elder’s last words exploded in her mind. He spoke of Selaine, of all people. But, why…? “Who?” Laura asked. “Girl, you’re looking at her.” The casualness of Selaine’s answer caught Laura off-guard. Selaine was the one who ruled over the elders? If that was true… but of course it had to be true. Nobody would be mad enough to make something like that up. But then, did it mean that Selaine was the cause of all of Laura’s problems? That she was the one Laura should have focused on? Laura felt her body instinctively tense. If Selaine was the one in power, it meant that she was the enemy. But she had helped Laura once before! None of it was making any sense. And what was Logan’s role in all this? He said just now he had lied to her. About what? Was he in on it too? There was no shock on his face when Selaine revealed herself. All of it was adding up to something Laura did not want to fathom. Laura thought she could make out the hint of a smile form behind Selaine’s ancient lips. Despite the revelation, Laura did not feel threatened by Selaine. But if she were the one in control, the one in power, Laura should very definitely have felt that. Something about the entire situation was off. “Of course,” Selaine said after pausing for a moment, “that is the way it is supposed to be. In truth, the elders have not paid heed to the hierarchy for generations. They have grown rebellious, and I supposed I have gotten soft.” “What?” Laura shook her head. The shock had just worn off. But nothing was making any sense! Selaine was the one oversaw the elders? How? Who was she, to inherit such power? “How do I know this isn’t another lie?” “I know it’s a lot to take, but do try to follow along, Laura,” Selaine said in a tone that was suited for lecturing a small child. Laura ground her teeth in frustration. Selaine was not answering any of her question! “The Vassiz are an ancient race,” the old woman continued, “and the elders’ power goes back a long time. There are many things you don’t know about them, of course. But I have lived through the histories, have been there at their very creation. I have

seen too much of this world, and of its inhabitants, to not be jaded about the future. Perhaps that is why I have let things spiral to their current state.” “What are you talking about?” Laura demanded. “You’re speaking in riddles! How old are you? Why is Logan here? What does he have to do with anything?” “He should be the one to tell you that, not I,” Selaine said, waving the matter aside. “I will, however, tell you of the path that led you here. Nothing that has happened to you has been coincidence, Laura. It all began a very long time ago.” “What are you talking about? Who are you?” “Just listen! I will start at the beginning. There are not many alive today who still remember who I am. None but the elders, in fact. I believe some of they may even think me dead.” She barked a laugh. “Of course, that is not the case. Ancient Vassiz lore speaks of a single ruler of the race. A succubus, as it were. She is the one responsible for the delicate balance that exists between humans and vampires. That is who I was; who I am. “I was not the first, nor will I be the last. I inherited the position from one before me. I do not know how many others there have been. What I do know, and what I can tell you, in answer to your question, is that I am the oldest being that walks in our worlds. In both the dream realm and the human realm.” “Are you saying you’re older than the angels?” Laura asked. She had gotten used to long lifespans since Logan revealed his real age to her, but it seemed Selaine was suggesting… that she had lived not hundreds of years, but thousands! “Much older than the surviving ones, yes,” Selaine said. “The ones you know – Gabrielle, and the others – are not the first generation.” “Just who a r e you?” Laura asked again. She thought she should have felt fear, but all she knew was wonder. Wonder that Selaine was telling her this. And wonder at herself for not feeling scared. “Were you there when the angels were imprisoned? When the elders locked them up?” “I was, yes,” Selaine said softly, and Laura thought she could hear a touch of bitterness in her voice. “I had become sufficiently distanced by then. The trials of our worlds did not matter to me, much less the worries of the inhabitants.”

“But that was your responsibility,” Laura said. “You said as much! To rule over the Vassiz, to preserve the balance of the race?” “With humans, child, not with angels. Apathy had taken hold of me by then. The elders did what they wanted, and I did not interfere.” “Why? You could have prevented it from happening! You could have seen justice done. Why didn’t you do anything?” “I was always watching, but the desire for action escaped me. As long as the balance between humans and Vassiz was maintained, I was untroubled. But recently, I noticed an alarming trend to the elders’ actions. They have become not only irreverent of their positions, but entirely out of control. When they first went after you, that was when I knew I could not stand by any longer.” “You know about what they did to me?” “I know everything about you, Laura. As I do about all Vassiz, and all Vassiz-to-be. I know how Logan first showed you the dream realm. I know how you were forced out of your home by the zealous elders. I know how you were chased, and I know the entire journey that led you to meet me in Nakusp. I know your fears, your hopes, your dreams.” Laura frowned. “How?” she asked softly. “You’re not… some type of god?” “No, no,” Selaine said, waving the suggestion away. “You have more smarts than to believe something like that. What I am, is someone who has very many connections to the outside world. I may have refrained from acting, but not once did I cease watching. There are people who tell me things they see, and others who see things they tell me.” She winked. “I can enter anyone’s dreams undetected, and glean from there the entire workings of their mind. Or so I like to say.” “You invade people’s dreams?” Laura asked, abashed. “You’ve been in mine?” She felt violated. “Why? How?” “To better understand what the elders were attempting,” Selaine said. “That is why I brought you here, just now.” She motioned to the torrial on the table again. “With that, of course.” Laura looked from Selaine to Logan. He still hadn’t moved. In fact, it was almost eerie how still he was. “What do you want from me?”

“When I… disappeared,” Selaine explained, “my extended absence sparked a rebellious attitude within the elders. They started to believe they ruled the world, not me. But they were cunning enough to not count me out entirely. They knew of the prophecy that spoke of you, and thought they could use you against me to solidify their powers. They thought that if they held you in their grasp, they could be rid of me forever, and truly rule the world as they saw fit. “They have intentions of enslaving and eradicating humanity. They see themselves as the superior race. Why hide from humans, goes their line of thought, when they could simply overtake the world? But they could not do that unless they were sure I was dead. None had such proof. And I, in truth, had simply retreated. But that did not stop them from planning the succession.” “But… they could not do it without me?” Laura asked. “Why? Why was the prophecy so important?” “Because it says you will bring a new order to the world,” Selaine explained. “With you in their grasp, they hoped it would be in their vision.” “But… why me?” Laura asked. “Why is there a prophecy about me? What have I done to prompt anything?” She had accepted herself as being the one prophecy spoke of when Gabrielle told her, but only because she had seen him as something akin to an omnipresent being. Now that she knew that Selaine was e ve n older, and was truly omnipresent, in a sense, Gabrielle’s proclamation seemed to deserve more scrutiny. She could not just blindly accept it anymore. “The prophecy is about you, my dear,” Selaine said shrewdly, “because you are the next succubus.”

Chapter Twenty ~Revelations~ Laura’s jaw dropped open. Her mouth worked, but no words came out. She was speechless. “Cat got your tongue?” Selaine joked, and barked a laugh. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know you were special.” “Yes, but how… I mean, when…?” Laura trailed off, unable to even finish her sentence. The news was too much. Logan looked up, and, for only the second time, met her eyes. Laura had an uncanny déjà vu of what happened in the dream, when the elder’s representation of Logan looked at her. But this was the real Logan. She knew his eyes. She could see into them. They were the deep eyes she had lost herself in so many times before. Logan was in on it. He knew of who she was. Laura was sure of it. Otherwise, why would he be here? That simple fact threatened to drastically change everything she knew – or thought she knew – about him. Had he planned this the whole time, from the moment he first met her? Did he lead her all this way, secretly knowing what her fate really was? The Vassiz are a corrupt and manipulative race. The words she had learned from Alexander kept swirling in her head. Was she being used by him the whole time? She couldn’t believe it – he was so different! – and yet, all these things were adding up… Who could she trust? There were too many secrets in all of this. She felt like a pawn in a grand chess match. And Selaine just calmly stood there, watching her. The damn woman hadn’t reacted in the slightest after telling Laura the news! Why was Logan acting like a tame kitten next to her? Laura had never seen him so meek! “The prophecy,” Laura finally managed. “Did you orchestrate everything about it? Just to get me here?” “Not at all,” Selaine said. “You had to do that yourself. But I can’t say you didn’t have any guidance.” She glanced at Logan, then back at Laura, and winked. Laura stared at Logan. He was in on it! It felt like her entire world was ready to collapse around her. Everything she thought true was a lie. “Logan,” Laura said slowly. Deliberately. “Tell me the truth. What did you know?” “He knew everything he had to and not one bit more,” Selaine put in smoothly. “And that’s the way I—”

“No,” Laura interrupted vehemently. “I want him to tell me. No more games. Logan: what did you know when you met me?” “I knew you were special,” he answered stiffly. He kept glancing at Selaine out of the corner of one eye, who stared at him disapprovingly. “I knew – of the prophecy. I knew I had to show you the dream realm.” Laura’s eyes widened. So it was all a lie! Everything he had done for her, with her, had been an act to get her here! She felt betrayed and angry at the same time. But most of all, she felt lost. Logan was the guiding force in her life. Without him, none of what she was doing had any meaning. To find out it had just been an act, to find out that what he really cared about was getting her here… it was a crushing blow. A devastating loss. Laura felt faint. She couldn’t help but sag against the rear wall. Maybe it was the emotion on her face, or maybe it was the way she fell back, but in an instant, the expression on Logan’s face changed. The act broke. She could see him struggling to contain himself. And then something got the better of him. Shooting a defiant look at Selaine, he rushed to Laura. She tried to shy away from him, but he was too fast. He caught her hands in an iron grip and bent to one knee to look up at her. “Laura,” he said desperately, “you have to understand that nothing changes between us. Nothing changes! Not once did I lie to you except when I had to. Everything I said I wanted I still want. Everything I said I feel, I still feel! You mean the world to me, Laura. That’s the truth. But you have to understand that I couldn’t tell you of things earlier. I couldn’t! Every night I spent with you I fought my conscience. Every night, I came closer and closer to the breaking point. But I was afraid. I was afraid that if you knew, you could turn your back on me.” He took a deep breath, and continued in a rush. “Yes, our meeting did not happen by chance. And yes, I had some part to play in guiding you here. But everything else that happened, everything in the interim, that was real, Laura! That was real to me. You must… you must believe me.” He trailed off, but did not release her hands. He looked up at her through large, glistening eyes. Laura did not know what to think. It was true, everything that happened between him and her… everything that made him mean so much to her… had felt real. But was it? Could she bring herself to trust a person who had just

admitted to lying to her, since the very moment they met? She looked down at him. His eyes were pleading. For the first time since Laura met him, he looked to be at a breaking point. He could not possibly be lying to her. Not now. Not like this. “You hurt me just now,” Laura said finally. “You broke my trust. That is not something I can take lightly.” “I know,” Logan begged, “but I had no choice. Nothing else is different. Nothing else changes! Everything I feel about you… everything you may have felt for me… all that is still there! Laura, I still love you. None of that was a lie!” “But you deceived me. How do I know you won’t do it again?” “Bah! Enough of this pitter-patter!” Selaine exclaimed. Laura hadn’t noticed her walking over. Selaine reached down to grab Logan by the shoulder, and jerked him upright. “He did what he had to do girl, and nothing more. I can tell you right now he’s being sincere. My word should be enough to quell your doubt.” Laura looked at Selaine, and then back to Logan. She had never seen him so upset. Did she really mean so much to him? She knew he still meant the world to her, despite what she just found out. She could not just turn her back on him. Laura fixed her gaze on Logan. “You betrayed me,” she began. “I didn’t—” “Just listen!” Laura insisted. “You betrayed me, betrayed my trust, but I can’t lie. I do have feelings for you. I love you, Logan. No matter how stupid or how foolish that may be, I can’t erase the feeling. I know, that based on what you said, I should, but…” Laura trailed off, and a hint of a smile began to form on her lips. “But… it doesn’t. I accept your apology.” Logan’s face lit up like a lantern. In a single step, he came to her, and embraced her in his arms. Laura breathed deeply to inhale his musky scent. She felt safe again. Sheltered. Protected. For a long moment, nothing else existed… An obnoxious tap-tap-tap broke her out of the spell. Laura looked up, past Logan’s shoulder, and saw Selaine glaring at them, hands crossed, tapping one foot impatiently on the ground. “If you’re quite done,” she growled, “there’s more we still have to do.” “Yes?” Laura asked. Logan curled off to stand

beside her. He took her hand in his. “Despite what I’ve told you, what you have to do does not change. You still have to kill the elders, Laura. They have spiraled out of control. It is the way to announce your coming to the entire race. It is in the best interest of all Vassiz.” “Why have me do it?” Laura asked. “Why can’t you do it yourself? Why set me up as a puppet for your own gain?” “It was never my place to act,” Selaine said. “Only to watch, and observe. But my responsibilities are nearing their end. It’s time for somebody else to take over. It’s time for you, Laura.” “To become the next succubus?” “Yes.” “I… I don’t want any of that! All I want is reprieve. Peace. That’s all I ever strove for.” “Destiny is hard to run from, dear,” Selaine said. “Soon, you will ascend the simple desires of everyday life to take on a new role. A role that you have inherited by your birth.” “A role I never asked for!” “That may be true – but did you ask for any of this? You did not ask to meet Logan, nor to be taken away from your family. You did not ask to be uprooted from your home. This is just the final step in a long list of things you did not ask for. Even more importantly: Do you regret anything that has happened to you? Some things may not have been ideal, but you would not go back and change anything if you could. Would you?” Laura thought hard. Changing things would mean never meeting Logan. It meant never finding Gray, and never making friends with Alexander and Madison. Her life would have been completely different if none of it had happened. It would have been… ordinary. “No,” Laura said finally. “Then it’s up to you to finish it. You must wipe out the old regime. You have to kill the elders. And you have to do it by destroying their stars. Only you have the ability to do so, Laura. I am too old – too weak – to even contemplate such a thing. But that does not mean I will not help you. Logan and I will both be there.” Suddenly Laura remembered something very important. Something that she did not understand at all. “When I was in the torrial,” she began, “I saw the

elders’ cluster of stars. They were all together, but then there was one more. Logan’s star…?” she trailed off, unable to finish the question. “Ah,” Selaine said. “Yes. Of course. That is not my place to explain. Logan?” Laura turned her head to look at Logan. He seemed to be having another internal battle with himself. Finally, he met her eyes, and spoke. “I am… one of them,” he admitted. Laura pushed away from him. “What?” He looked ashamed and devastated all at once. “Not by choice,” he insisted. “Not anymore! Once, it was so, but that was a very long time ago. The elders betray each other as easily as they betray anyone else! I was one of them, but I have long since renounced their council. Laura, I am not like any of them. Not at all. You remember the story about Maria, don’t you?” “Yes,” Laura said cautiously. Maria was Logan’s first love. She was the one he said the elders killed. “Well, she wanted the Vassiz to reveal themselves, and to live side-by-side with humans. In the open. I agreed with her. I championed her suggestion to the other elders. I tried to persuade them that it was time to lead the Vassiz in a new direction. To a life outside of fear, and without uncertainty. Some supported me, and some did not. I thought we would do it, though. In the end…” he trailed off, shutting his eyes. He shuddered in memory. “In the end, Maria took a knife in the back. A poison blade. One of the elders commissioned her death. But I did not know who – and none would speak of it after. They are cowards!” “That was when he came to me,” Selaine said. “Or, rather, I came to him. I watched what happened, and knew it was not right. We both knew of the prophecy—” “And that was when you decided to use me!” Laura exploded. She shot a baleful look at Logan. “I can’t believe any of this! Logan, you are an elder?” She did not know whether to feel repulsed or disgusted. Or maybe both. He was everything that she despised. She had thought she had forgiven him for lying to her just minutes ago, but now there was this? “And you just pulled me along, as a way of getting revenge for Maria?” She knew he had lied to her, but never could have expected it to be this bad. She was furious. She was seething. But… despite all that, when she looked at him – no matter how hard it was to admit – nothing changed. He was still… the Logan she knew. He

was still the man she loved. How could he, of all people, have such a poisonous past? “Laura, that’s not true!” Logan said. “Sure, at first, before I knew you, it may have been. I’m not perfect! But once I met you… once I fell for you… that was when everything changed. I would give my life for you, Laura. Whether you want it or not. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: nothing changes. I have my past, and you have yours. But that does not alter what we’ve gone through together. It doesn’t change how I feel for you.” Laura exhaled. Could she come to terms with who Logan was? Who he had been? He said himself he renounced that past. And Laura knew he was different. She knew it! A title he had had once should not stop her from seeing him as he was now. She knew him, even if he didn’t share everything about his past. Besides, she was already here. There was no going back to her. There was nothing to do but move forward. “It doesn’t change the way I feel about you, either,” Laura said finally as she exhaled. She shot him an unsteady smile. “Although since we’re putting everything out in the open, is there anything else you want to tell me? Some other thing you’ve kept hidden all this time?” “No.” Logan shook his head. “You know everything now.” Laura looked to Selaine. She had an unreadable look on her face. “So, now what happens?” Laura asked. “We have to help your friends,” Selaine answered. “Success for them comes less easy than it did for you.” “How?” Laura asked. “You need to go back into the torrial.” Selaine motioned to the one on the table. “You have to destroy the elders’ cluster of stars from the outside.” “But the stars are linked together,” Laura said. “Logan’s is in there. Can we free it from the cluster?” “No,” Selaine answered. “But there is something else we can do.” “If you let me,” Logan explained, “I can make the jump.” “What jump?” Laura asked. “From my star to yours.” “What do you mean?” Laura asked. “The stars you see in the torrial, Laura, belong to all the living beings on this earth,” Selaine explained. “You know that. But it is not so simple. Each star exists,

coincidentally, in both the human realm and the dream realm. So each being actually has two stars. Whenever you enter the dream realm, or go back to the human world, you’re making the jump from one star to the other. That is why the passage sometimes feels so ghastly. You’re skimming through the void – the same blackness within the torrial – to go from one star to the other. “Now. There’s more to it than that. A person cannot exist without their stars. At any moment, you are either in one of your stars or the other. But, no star can hold more than one sentient, living being. At least, not permanently. That is why what you did for the elders – entering their dreams in the manner you did – necessitates the use of the torrial. “Unfortunately, both the stars that belong to a being mirror each other. If one is destroyed, the other is, too. That is what makes the attack on the elders possible. But it is also what makes Logan vulnerable.” “So if you let me,” Logan broke in, “I can enter one of your stars. Occupy it, as it were. Make it my own. I can make the jump, at the critical moment just before you destroy mine. And the other elders’. But it would be a permanent move.” “You would go into my… unoccupied one?” Laura asked. “That will let you survive the destruction of your own star?” “Yes,” Logan answered. “Then of course!” Laura said. “Why would I ever protest to that?” “Because,” Selaine answered, “it would mean forsaking your own access to the human world.” “What?” “If Logan hops into your empty star, it will become his own,” Selaine said. “And because you’re currently using the star in the dream realm – as we all are – it would be the human one he takes over. You will not be able to transition back in the human world ever again.” “But it means Logan will live?” Laura asked. “Yes,” Selaine answered. “You both will. But you will exist in the dream realm only. And he in the human world.” “Then how will we see each other?” “The same way the elders forced their stars to exist for so long in the ether,” Logan said, “I can use to move my new star – your human star – to the dream realm. We would be here together.”

“So that’s the choice?” Laura asked. “To forsake the living world? To become like the angels?” “Like the angels,” Selaine said shrewdly, “and, like me.” “What?” Laura exclaimed, surprised. “What do you mean, like you?” “I exist purely in the dream realm. It is the way of the succubus.” “But that’s not true,” Laura said. “You met me in the human world. I saw you there.” Selaine waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing more than an illusion, and one you will learn to use as well. You will have to use it, if you want to see anyone you know again. There are many things I will have to teach you. You will take my place, soon, but before then you will need guidance. Despite my appearance, I do not intend to wither away and die the moment you take over. The transition will take time.” “And I will stay beside you forever, if you let me,” Logan said. “What do you say?” Laura looked at him. He was exactly the man she knew. Except he had a past that he had hidden from her. And he had good reason for it. “For you,” Laura said, “I will do it.” She felt a brief regret about the implications of her choice. It meant she could never see her family, never revisit her old life. But this was truly a new beginning for her. In a new world. Together with Logan. “Good!” Selaine exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “I did not expect anything less. Now, you need to go back into the void of the torrial. Come, come, we don’t have much time.” Selaine shuffled over to the table where the globe was. Inside the glass, dark swirling clouds obscured the millions of tiny stars. Laura came over with Logan at her side. “I don’t understand one thing, Selaine,” Laura said. “Mmm?” Selaine intoned. Her attention had shifted to the torrial, and she started moving her hands over it in similar fashion to what Gabrielle had done. “Where are we right now?” Selaine looked up briefly to meet Laura’s eye. “Why, isn’t it obvious? We’re inside your dream. This is your star, Laura.” Laura’s eyes widened. “But, you were both here

before me. How?” “In the moments you exist in the void,” Selaine explained, “both your stars become vacant. After you killed the elder, returned to Gabrielle, and went back into the torrial, I brought Logan here using this.” She motioned to the globe lying before her. “As for me… well, I can enter dreams on my own. Another thing I will have to teach you in time. Right now, you need to focus on what you will have to do.” “Alright,” Laura nodded. “First, I need to return Logan to his star. He will only be able to make the jump to yours from there.” Logan gave Laura’s hand a squeeze and stepped toward Selaine. And before Laura could blink, he was sucked into the torrial right before her eyes. Selaine grunted as he went in. Laura saw a miniscule dark shape bolt through the swirling colors and disappear among the stars. After a few moments, Selaine looked up. “He’s returned.” “My turn?” “Yes. You will enter the void alone, Laura. I cannot accompany you. Once you’re there, I will not be able to guide you, either. You will need to manipulate what you can to destroy the elders’ cluster of stars at once.” “I tried to use the darkness before,” Laura said. “To build it up so that it overtook the cluster. I stopped just before you brought me here. Is that the right way?” Selaine frowned. “I would not have done so myself, no.” “There is another way?” “You need to create a type of black hole, Laura. A special kind of emptiness, even greater than the void itself. You will need to do it in the middle of the cluster, so the elders’ stars collapse towards it. It has to be big enough to swallow the cluster, but not so large to disturb the delicate balance within the torrial.” “How?” “You will know when you get there.” “That’s not very helpful.” “It’s all I can tell you. I’m afraid the void behaves differently for different people. Any advice I give you based on my own experience will be of little use.” “So I have to go at it alone?” “I’m afraid so. You need to have faith in yourself.” “I do,” Laura said. She took a deep breath.

“Alright. I’m ready.” “Close your eyes.” Laura did so. She felt an opening form in front of her. “Take care,” Selaine said. “What you do now will influence the state of the world for generations to come.” No pressure, Laura thought to herself wryly, and the next second was jolted through the opening. The sudden jerking motion caused her to gasp and open her eyes, but her body had already dissipated. She was floating, empty and free, in the dark river of black nothingness that stretched between the stars. Slowly, the stars around her ebbed into being. Laura recognized immediately where she was. Selaine had brought her right to the edge of the elders’ cluster. But things were different now. The wall of black she had built before had retreated slightly, and the elders’ stars had started to shine again. Without her there to strengthen the darkness, those stars were reclaiming their place in the void. She wondered if Gabrielle had had time to extricate the others from the elders’ dreams. She prayed he had. When she began what she needed to do, it would likely be too late. Create a black hole, Selaine had told her. How? Laura didn’t know. Perhaps she could move the cluster in some way. She concentrated on it. She focused her mind on the stars, on their place in the void, and on their manner of existence. To her surprise, she realized that she could… feel them. It was like her Vassiz gifts had followed her into the void. Except that it wasn’t like that before. Was it something Selaine did? She saw the stars not only as they existed in front of her, but as clear representations of the elders in her mind’s eye. She felt their perpetual struggle against the black, the uncanny and unnatural existence that gave them sustenance. And, right in the middle of them, she felt a deeper sort of void. It was like the black that cloaked everything else simply did not exist there. There was no perceptible difference between that area and any other that she could see, but with her newfound sensitivity she knew there was a difference. That difference was key to everything. Laura knew

that if she could push the stars toward that one empty spot, it would create the black hole Selaine had spoken of. Logan’s star was there, though. She was very conscious of that. How would he make the jump to hers? How would he know when to do it? She had to trust that he knew what he was doing. Laura felt out, and reached toward Logan’s star. Her mind wrapped around it, and she embraced it.

Laura? Is that you? Logan’s voice came out of nowhere to invade her mind. She panicked, and lost the connection she had formed. The cluster of stars flickered and waned. It was like they were readying for an assault. All of them did it, except for Logan’s. It shone effortlessly, its light unchanging. It looked like to be the only one at peace. Laura felt out again, and again embraced Logan’s star. This time, she was prepared for the connection that came along with it. It was something akin to what she experienced with the elder when she fought against him. Laura, Logan shouted out, there isn’t much time.

You must do it now! “Will you know when to jump?” Laura screamed back. Her own voice filled her head. Yes, Logan shouted. But you need to do it. Do it

now! Laura focused on the cluster. She felt each individual star in its own place in the void, felt how they fed off each other. Felt how they fought against the black. She felt the empty spot in their center. And with a flick of her mind, she tore that spot open. The cluster of stars started to spin, slowly at first, like leaves caught in an eddy. Bit by bit, they picked up speed. They were swirling around, but not getting any closer to the middle. Laura forced them to come together. It didn’t work. She tried again, this time using the darkness around them to push against them. This time, they started to move. Logan screamed in her head, frightening Laura. It was a scream of pain. Before she could stop, his voice invaded her mind. YOU’RE… AAHHH!!... DOING IT! Laura pushed the cluster closer together, tighter, tighter. Logan’s screams continued in her head. She braced herself and kept going. She was determined the see an end to the elders, but Logan’s screams frightened her. Yet, what she had started could not be stopped.

The stars were spinning quickly now, blurring into a single streaking light. “Logan, you have jump!” Laura screamed.

TOO EARLY! AAHHHH! His bellows of pain continued. Laura did not know if he was going to make it. The movement of the stars became more violent. Laura couldn’t control it anymore. The stars spun rapidly, and were quickly progressing to the middle. It was out of her hands. Something dark shot out of the spinning stars and flew into the void like a bullet. A heartbeat later a second object was spat out the same way. And then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth. Laura couldn’t say why, but she was sure those were the representations of Alexander, of Madison, and of the four angels. Relief filled her. They had gotten out. Logan was still in there, though. His screams burned through her head, threatening to overtake her in their terror. If it were anybody else, Laura would have severed the connection long ago. But this was Logan. The darkness pressed in on the stars, pushing them toward the apex. They were almost there. If Logan didn’t jump now, Laura did not know if he would make it. “Logan, you have to jump! Do it now!” Laura screamed.

TOO SOON! LATCH ON! AHHH!

AAHHHH! OTHERS… MIGHT

“There isn’t any time! You have to do it now!” His screams were the only thing that answered her. Laura watched, terrified, as the stars came closer and closer together. She could not let go of her connection to Logan. She felt the darkness pressing in on the stars. They were at the tipping point. One second more and they would collapse into the hole. Ka-boom! A giant explosion rocked the world. White, streaming light knocked Laura backwards, and she lost consciousness.

Chapter Twenty-One ~Just a Dream~ Laura woke up in a dream. She was in the forest outside her home. How did she get here? She wasn’t sure. Her thoughts were… hazy. The sun shone down from the clouds above her. Everything had an ethereal glow, a type of celestial shine. The air shimmered slightly wherever she looked, but it was peaceful. Laura felt whole. She got up slowly. She recognized the path in the forest. It was one she had run along many times as a child. She wasn’t far from home. She started down the winding dirt path. In the distance, she could hear birds singing. Despite the shimmer to the air, it smelled clean. Pure. Laura walked along the path. Her mind was blank, but her senses active. She felt the soft ground beneath her feet, the slight breeze against her face. The sun overhead gave just enough warmth for her to be comfortable. Laura did not remember what happened to bring her here. But she felt at peace. She wandered slowly to the end of the woods. The forest opened up to reveal a familiar, peaceful street. She had to think hard to conjure the memory, but found it in time. This was the street she had grown up on. She began down the sidewalk. Everything was in place. She could see no cars, no people. Yet, everything was in peace. In time, she found herself in front of her old house. Her old home. A light was on inside. Laura walked closer and peeked through the window. Inside, she found her mother sitting at the dinner table. Beside her was her father, and her little sister. The family dog was curled up on the floor. Everybody looked happy. But there was one empty spot at the table. Her old spot. Laura looked over to the wall, and found her high school picture there. It stood by itself inside a dark wooden frame. She had not been forgotten. A tear formed in her eye, but she did not feel sadness. Her family was at peace, and that was all that mattered. Laura turned away and started down the short path to the school. That was where all this began. All this? All what? It was a stray thought, and Laura paid it no mind.

Around her, the sun cast peaceful halos upon everything. The world shone gently with a calming glow. Laura felt happy, content. At peace. There was no more pressure on her. The burdens that had troubled her before were all gone. Laura wandered through the abandoned streets, stopping every once in a while to admire the calm serenity of the place. She let her feet guide her while her mind remained empty. Every step she took was blissful. Another stray thought bubbled up in her head, something about an injury she sustained, but she paid it no mind. Her entire body felt perfect. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she found herself at the lake. All she knew was the sun had not yet moved from its spot in the sky. She did not even know how she had gotten there – she thought back and could not remember the walk. She existed only in the present moment. She saw the spot where she and Logan… wait. Logan? She was not sure who that was. But thinking of the name made her feel all fuzzy inside. She looked up, and there he was. Standing at the edge of the lake, overlooking the water. He did not know she was here. She saw him in all his perfection. His straight back, his perfectly shaped shoulders. His dark hair that ran down his neck. She knew he was waiting for her. She stepped toward him, and he turned his head. A smile lit up his entire face. The sun shining down created a majestic aura about him. Slowly, as if moving underwater, he extended his arm to her. She came and took it, and he pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms. He did not say anything. “Did you do it?” Laura asked. Her voice was a whimper. She did not know what ‘it’ was, only that the words felt right. “Yes,” Logan answered softly. “I’m here now. With you. Forever.” “Good.” Laura smiled. “That’s all I ever wanted.” ~~

The End.

End of Book Bonus: Excerpt from Chosen, Book 1 of the Seeker Saga.

Chosen Book 1 – The Seeker Saga By Sophia Sharp, writing as Sarah Swan

Book Description: Could you live your whole life feeling empty? A New Life Seventeen-year-old Tracy Bachman feels that something is missing in life. Despite a normal upbringing, she can't help but yearn for more. That is why she decides to transfer to a new boarding school, in a move that takes her all the way across the country.

An Unforgettable Adventure When Tracy arrives at her new school, she expects an ordinary enough life. But what she finds there instead changes her in ways she could never expect.

A love interest she did not ask for. A power she does not know she holds. And a clique of mysterious, popular girls hell-bent on entangling Tracy in their affairs. A Hidden Purpose The girls Tracy meets all know she is different. Beneath their easy smiles lies a friendship laced with dark intentions. Will Tracy understand what they want in time to protect herself? Or will she find herself hopelessly ensnared in their web of secrets?

A Forbidden Romance A suggestive glance. A secret rendezvous. In the midst of everything else, Tracy finds temptation in the very boy she is prohibited from speaking to. But as she pushes herself away, she falls right into the arms of another...

A Mystical World Slowly, Tracy starts to understand that beneath her school's veneer of splendor lies a dangerous, secretive world

brimming with supernatural powers. And before she knows it, she finds herself deep in the heart of that cryptic, mystifying world. All expectations are thrown to the wind as Tracy struggles to balance love, friendship, adventure - and her newfound power. But will she be perceptive enough to realize that there are those who would use her for that power, lurking closer than she can believe? --

Chosen is the first book of The Seeker Saga, a new YA paranormal series. Look for the second book, Forbidden, to be available March 2012.

Chapter One – A New Life September 23 is the first day of fall. I know this not because I have some bizarre fascination with the changing of the seasons, or with watching the days of the calendar slowly creep by, but rather because this year, September 23 happened to fall on a Friday. This is ironic to me, since that day of the week is typically reserved for marking the end of things, such as the working week, than signaling the start of something new. But for me, September 23 marked not only the transition into a less prosperous season, when the last rays of sunshine from a glorious summer are taken away, leaving only memories of those warm, lustful days, but also the end of my previous life. I guess, from an even more pessimistic perspective, one would be justified in saying that September 23 is also the end of the three most peaceful months of the year, a time when the entire western world shifts away from a recess of lounging and relaxing into a more high-octane way of thinking. New stresses and pressures begin to show themselves and become painfully rediscovered. At least, this is the way of things for adults, as I’ve come to figure out in my relatively short sixteen years on this planet. For a student like me, fall marks the beginning of a new school year. This is a time of great fascination and palpable excitement – about seeing old friends, and meeting new ones, and about discovering yourself for the umpteenth time in the first semester of school. But, this year, that beginning was slightly different for me. Thinking back, September 23 was more than just the start of a new season. For me, it signified the beginning of a new life, one which would typically be thrown off as interesting and eventful only in the shallow minds of teenagers and (to be frank) the miniscule world they inhabit. But, my story is far from typical. While it may begin in a familiar setting, I can see now, in hindsight, that where it takes me is a place far and away outside the realm of familiarity. But I digress. The beginning of this story takes place in the backseat of a very cramped early 1990s Oldsmobile Bravada. If the make of the car doesn’t ring a bell, I wouldn’t blame you – the entire line was phased out of production sometime in the mid-2000s. But with my dad’s constant insistence that his car was just as good today as the day he bought it, only a few weeks after I was born, it was the only vehicle available to us for the cross-country trip that my family was just completing. After spending the better part of a week squeezed between boxes of nearly all my belongings, even my patience was starting to wear thin. And that’s fairly impressive, because, as you’ll soon see, I pride myself on being a very patient and tolerant person. I’m kidding. That was just a lie I made up to make myself feel better about my impatience at the gnawing and very distracting feeling of being restricted to nothing more than a very small, very hard backseat in this rickety ride. “Look honey!” my mom exclaimed in her usual-but-completely-baffling cheery voice. “The sign outside says we’ve only got twenty miles to go!” She turned around from her copilot seat up front with a wide grin on her face. That quickly turned into a frown. “Tracy! How many times do I have to tell you to stop chewing your nails?” Abashedly, I jerked my hand away from my mouth. That was a habit I had been meaning to break for, oh, over two years now. I was actually feeling proud of myself for not succumbing to the temptation even once on this long road trip. But I guess it had become so ingrained that I sometimes did it without thinking. I resolved right there and then that this would be the absolute last time I allowed myself to do that. What better time, really, than the day before joining an entirely new school? “Sorry,” I replied cheekily, “I guess my mind just wandered.” My mom waved me away. “It’s for your own good, you know. There aren’t many boys who will like a chomper.” “Mom!” I exclaimed, feeling unusually embarrassed. “Can we not talk about that? Not right now?” “I’m just saying…” my mom replied, turning back around. “Isn’t that right, Dave?” Dave, of course, was my father, who snuck a surreptitious wink at me when mom wasn’t looking. “Of course, dear,” he replied with only the barest hint of sarcasm. “Although, I have a feeling that Tracy’s going to do just fine with the boys no matter what her habits are.” I smiled to myself. Dad always had a very inflated opinion of his one and only daughter. If he knew just how much of a struggle it was for me to be able to say two coherent words to a boy that I liked, well… shell-shocked wouldn’t be too strong of a word. Still, he always had a way of making me feel better every time I came home after school with any type of problem, big or small. That would be one thing I would definitely miss at my new home. I shook my head. It was strange thinking of this place I was going to, this seemingly

otherworldly institute located far from my Washington home as could possibly be, as, well, home. But that faraway place would be home for the next two years of my life. I was headed for a very small, very prestigious, private school, located on a small island just off the coast of Maine. I emphasize the word prestigious because, while it is not something I would ever use, it is what nearly everybody else said about the place when they found out I had been accepted. Truth be told, I had had my sights set on the boarding school – Oliver Academy – for a very long time. It had been my goal ever since I had finished elementary school and took my first class in the neighboring high school, actually. I wanted to get into a good college. Doing so from a no-name junior high in the back hills of Tacoma would have been a herculean task. I’m not sure exactly where the desire to go to university came from, but I had a pretty strong suspicion it was because my dad once attended Harvard as an undergrad. And I say “attended” because he was one of those students who never graduated. It is quite a romantic story, actually, and perhaps worth its own in-depth look at a later time, but I’d be remiss if I failed to give the bullet points now. Essentially, in the summer between his junior and senior year, my father decided to backpack through the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies. Somewhere along the way, he stumbled upon a girl: a girl he liked very much, actually, and one to whom he proposed after having known her for only a few weeks. She said yes, of course, and the rest, as they say, is history. Because she was studying to be a doctor at a fairly obscure Canadian school, my dad dropped everything he had to move in with her, putting his own studies on hold. A few years later, I was born, and this Oldsmobile came soon after. And now, I was staring at the back of that girl’s frizzled sun-colored hair while she looked on through the side window at the trees passing us on the side of the road. I sighed, and tried to wiggle into a more comfortable position on the hard seat. Both my legs were beyond asleep at this point. Try as I would I couldn’t actually feel my toes. The entire lower half of me, in fact, was absolutely numb – which was why I was so surprised at how cheerful my mother sounded earlier. She had been in this car as long as I had, and while the front seat was a little more spacious, it could hardly be called comfortable. I tried to drown out my thoughts in the midst of the alt-rock tunes playing softly from the radio. Over a week of travelling, a family road trip, and – as my mom just told me – it was twenty miles from finally coming to an end. Even after being cooped up with both my parents for the better part of seven days, I realized just now how much I would miss seeing them. It was a strange sensation, leaving behind a fairly full life of family and friends and moving away from the place you grew up in and called home. But it was what I wanted to do, and I knew it was exactly what I expected from the moment I filled out that first blank line in the application papers. To say I was excited when I found out I had gotten in would be an understatement. I was absolutely ecstatic. I felt like I was on top of the world, in a place where nothing could get in my way. But now, I was caught up in those sad emotions that always came with saying good-bye. They temporarily eclipsed my excitement over the upcoming year. At least, I hoped this melancholy feeling was temporary. I assumed my regrets would all fade soon after I said the final goodbye to my parents and watched them drive back home from the yard outside my new room. “I’m going to miss you, honey,” I heard my mom say softly, and realized with a start that her voice was quivering. She wasn’t crying, was she? No – I knew she was stronger than that. “The house is going to feel so empty without you.” She was crying! Although she was obviously trying her best to cover it up. “Don’t worry,” I said quickly, trying to get a grasp of my new role as emotional psychologist, “I’ll be back before you know it. Winter break is over a month here, and everybody goes home then. You’ll see me soon.” “I know,” my mom answered, “but I’m still going to miss you.” She reached back with her hand to squeeze my knee lovingly, and then took it away. I smiled sadly. We weren’t even saying goodbye yet, and already I was feeling a little rough. “I’ll miss you too, kiddo,” my dad said in a much less grave tone than my mom had just used, “but we’re not saying goodbye quite yet, are we?” Again, he looked back to shoot me a quick smile. “After all, we’ve got to get to the school, first. And besides, this is an exciting time for you—and for us, too, really. Our only daughter, entering an entirely new stage of her life, and we won’t even be around to see it…” he trailed off, then shook his head roughly, “…er, that’s not how it was meant to come out.” My mom reached over and put a hand on my dad’s shoulder. They both turned and smiled at one another. I let the familiar melody from the stereo drift soothingly into my head, replacing my jumbled thoughts. The rest of the drive was spent in silence. I must have drifted off, because I didn’t realize we were off the main road until the car suddenly skidded to a halt, sending me flying forward unceremoniously. Only the seatbelt wrapped around my shoulder, saved my face from being mashed right into the back of my mom’s seat. Before I had the time to orient myself to my surroundings, I heard my dad speak. “Something’s wrong,” he said seriously. “What is it?” I asked, jerking myself to full attention. I looked through the windshield to find us stopped in a vacant and somewhat creepy looking parking lot. About forty feet ahead, the asphalt abruptly gave way to a roiling body of water. A deep fog stood as solid as a wall. It was impossible to see through, and impossible to see how far the water extended. “This is the ferry terminal we’re supposed to be at,” he said slowly, “but I don’t see any

ferry big enough to have a loading dock for cars.” I frowned slightly, not immediately understanding the implication of his words. Oliver Academy was on its own private island, a few miles off the coast of Maine. The only way to get there was by ferry, which is what we were supposed to do. Scanning the edge of the water, I saw a small, decrepit-looking ship – more like a tugboat, actually –bobbing roughly on the waves. I thought there was a light inside the main cabin, although it was difficult to tell since there was still enough sunlight to dim out the effect. I looked past that boat, to either side. The rest of the terminal was empty. We were the only ones there. My eyes returned to the single, floating boat. Right on cue, the door to the main cabin swung open. Out stepped the most peculiar man I had ever seen. He was short, likely no higher than my shoulder (and I was not ever known as particularly tall), and had a belly that seemed as wide as he was tall jutting out from the splitting seems of a dark trench coat. A thick, curly beard hid half his face. This contrasted strangely with the top of his bald head. I watched, strangely entranced, as the man scanned the area in front of him. His eyes settling on our car, he jumped onto the plank and started walking toward us. “Um, dad…?” I began unsteadily. “That man is walking right to us!” My dad nodded in reply. “Maybe he can tell us where we need to go. The directions I have told me to come here for the ferry over. Perhaps I misread one of the road signs on the way.” “He doesn’t look very friendly, dad.” My dad barked a laugh. “What, you’re not intimidated by him now, are you? Come now! He’s half your size!” He laughed again, although I thought he sounded like he was trying to convince himself that there was nothing to fear. My dad started the engine, and put the car in reverse. Backing up a few dozen feet, he turned the wheel so he could angle the front of the car toward the man who was still walking right at us. My dad shifted gears, and drove up slowly toward him. A look of recognition dawned on the sailor’s face when we started moving toward him. He stopped and waved us over. The next thing I knew, we had driven up right beside the strange man, and my dad was rolling down the window. “Excuse me,” my dad began, “but we were looking for a ferry terminal that can take us to Traven Island?” Traven Island was the small island owned by my new boarding school, and was where the entire campus was stationed. “I followed the directions I was given, but it seems I must have taken a wrong turn, somewhere. Could you direct us?” The man looked at my father for a second, seeming to consider him. From close up, I realized he had a single toothpick stuck between his teeth. He shifted it in his mouth with his tongue. Finally, he jerked a thumb toward the back of the car – toward me. “That yer girl back there?” he asked in a very rough, very crude foreign accent. He sounded like he was eastern European, maybe, or even Russian. “Yes,” my dad replied slowly, surely as confused as I was about why the man was asking that. I heard the locks on the doors click shut, and saw my mom’s hand on the control for that. “Tracy?” the man asked my dad. “Tracy Bachman?” “That’s right,” my dad replied cautiously, and my jaw dropped open. How did this man know my name? “Ah. Good. Well, I’d been expectin’ her fer quite some time.” “Excuse me?” My mother spoke up this time, and she sounded absolutely incredulous. “What do you mean?” “She be the one goin’ to Oliver Academy,” he said. “Ain’t that right?” “That’s right,” my dad answered. “…and you are?” “Name’s Vlad,” the man said unceremoniously, “and I’m the captain of that there boat. Now, if you don’t mind me rushin’, we’d better hurry up and get Miss Tracy on board. We were supposed’t sail half an hour ago.” “Wait a minute,” my dad broke in. “Are you telling me you’re the one who’s going to be taking us to Oliver Academy today?” Vlad frowned, and hefted the pick in his mouth from side to side. Then he looked back at my dad. “I beg yer pardon, but nobody said anything about you comin’. All I was told was to expect one.” He shrugged, as if he couldn’t care less about the implications of what he was saying. “I was told one, and that means I’ll only take one. That’s all I’ve got room fer, anyway.” My mom instantly looked back at me. She looked just as much at a loss for words as I was. My dad had no such problem, however. “What do you mean you’ll only take one?” he roared, loud enough to cause Vlad to jump back. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he swung the door open, got out, and slammed it shut. But Vlad had had enough time to regroup. He now looked completely unfazed. “I was told I’d be takin’ one over,” I heard him say, “and that’s all I’m supposed t’do. Can’t have whole families making the trip, else everybody’s family would want to be there.” The way his tone inflected as he said that made it seem as if he thought that was the most ludicrous thing in the entire world. “I just do what I’m told, and, meanin’ no disrespect, it’s the only way things ‘ave ever been done ‘round here. Now, I don’t know where yer from, exactly. To be honest, I don’t much care. You brought yer girl here late, and it’s going to be me who takes the blame at Oliver Academy. So you’d better help get your girl’s stuff on board so we can set sail.” “Nobody’s setting sail without me,” my dad said evenly. “Who’s in charge of this place? I’d like to talk to them.”

“That’d be me,” Vlad replied, sticking a thumb to his chest, “and I know exactly what yer goin’ t’say. But rules is rules. I can’t make exceptions.” “Well, then who’s in charge of you?” my dad asked. “At Oliver Academy, or wherever your supervisor is.” “That’d be the headmaster,” Vlad said, and shifted his weight back to his heels. After that momentary spurt of emotion, he looked completely nonplussed. “You’d be free to call ‘im up, though I’m not sure how much good it’d do you.” “That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” my dad said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. He turned his head toward me for a brief moment and gave me a reassuring smile. I realized just then that my heart was beating loudly in my chest – louder than it should in most circumstances, louder than it should right now. The implications of what Vlad was saying had finally struck home. If nothing changed, I’d be boarding that ship alone. Yet, somehow, I felt that my dad would make it all better. “What’s the number?” Vlad recited a number I didn’t quite catch, and my dad punched it quickly into the phone. He brought the phone up to his ear, and while he waited for the ringtone to start looked back at me again and smiled. I smiled back, trying my best not to look as petrified as I felt. I wondered why we were just finding out now that I was the only one Vlad was supposed to take over to Traven Island. None of the information I had received in the acceptance package mentioned that. It was something so simple, so presumably ordinary, that I think my parents and I all just assumed it wasn’t even worthy of mention in the papers we received. “Yes, hello? This is Dave Bachman, father of…” I twisted around in my seat just in time to see my dad start to move away from the car, phone held at his ear. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, because he had taken to pacing some distance away from the car. Arms crossed above his protruding belly, Vlad was alternating looks from my dad, to the car, and back to my dad. “Don’t you worry, honey,” my mom soothed. “Your dad will make this all better. You’ll see.” She smiled encouragingly. But I could see the worry in her eyes. I sighed and hoped what she said was true. I turned my attention back to my dad. He was speaking right into the phone and he was pretty animated about it. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but by the way his brow furrowed I doubted that the conversation was going well. Suddenly he started shaking his head. His lips were pressed tight. He obviously didn’t like what he was hearing. He kept shaking his head, the movement growing stronger and stronger with each shake. Finally, in what seemed like complete exasperation, he started to open his mouth to say something – and stopped in mid-sentence. He took the phone away from his ear, and looked at it in shock. I saw him mouth the word, “Hello?” as if in question. The light on his phone had already gone out. Whoever he had been speaking to had hung up. Frowning, my dad twisted the phone in his hand a few times, not taking his eyes away from it. Then, slowly, he looked up to me, and, with an unreadable expression, started walking over. “It doesn’t look good, mom,” I said as my dad approached us. “Don’t be ridiculous,” my mom replied briskly. But there was an edge to her voice that betrayed her show of confidence. “Does that look like someone who’s coming over with good news?” I quipped, immediately regretting my words. I remembered that my mom was in an unusually fragile mood today. I didn’t want to upset her even more by starting a fight. “I mean, let’s just see what he says, right?” “Right.” Instead of coming right to us, however, my dad angled toward Vlad. When he was close, he said something too low for me to hear. The short man nodded gruffly and started off toward his boat. A feeling of dread and apprehension washed over me. My dad walked the short distance to the car, and came over to open the rear door. Bending in, he moved one of the boxes so that I could see his face. “So?” I asked him. “What did the headmaster tell you?” “I’m afraid it’s not what any of us wanted to hear, Tracy,” my dad said solemnly. I gaped. “Do you mean…?” He nodded. “Yes. What Vlad told us earlier was true. Apparently, your Oliver Academy has very strict rules about any visitors, especially parents.” “But you’re not visiting!” I protested quickly. “You’re coming to help me move in!” “That’s exactly what I said as well, honey. But the headmaster… he said that there was no leniency in the policy. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing I could do.” “Well, there must be something!” my mother exclaimed. “They can’t just expect us to leave our daughter with some creepy looking captain to take her to her new home!” “Mom,” I said slowly, building up the strength to say what I needed to say, “I don’t think it will be that bad. I’m sure there will be people to welcome me there. And besides, we spent the entire last week together.” As much as I wanted my parents to come with me, I could tell that things were lining up in such a way as to make that impossible at this point. There was only one possible resolution. I would have to continue from here without my parents. I nodded to my dad. “I’m ready.” “You’re not just going to let that man take her there by herself, are you?” my mom interjected, in a voice that was both terrified and incredulous. “Not my little girl?” “I… I don’t know what to tell you. I talked to the headmaster on the phone, and he made it

very clear,” my father stumbled. “Let me talk to him,” my mom burst in. “I can’t believe that this is an actual issue. Dropping our daughter off – we shouldn’t be barred from seeing her go!” “It’s okay, mom…” I began. But she shook her head gruffly. “No, it’s not! I can’t believe they just expect us to abandon you here, like some sort of unwanted dog! Our daughter deserves better than that, Dave, and you know it.” “I can’t think of what to tell you,” dad said. My mom thrust her hand out toward him. “Give me the phone,” she said, “I’ll talk to the headmaster myself.” My dad gave her a look as if to warn her that it wouldn’t do any good. Then he seemed to think better of it and handed her the phone. She wrapped her fingers around it quickly and started working the keypad, presumably redialing the last number my dad had called. While she was doing that, my dad looked over to me. “Come outside,” he said. “You’ll at least get to stretch your legs.” I nodded, and jimmied my way out of the stuffed back seat of the car. When my feet hit the ground outside, I wobbled for a moment before muscle memory kicked in and helped me catch my balance. I had completely forgotten how entirely stiff my body was from the ride. I rolled my head from side to side, stretching my neck. Then, with a big yawn usually reserved for the morning after a good night’s sleep, I reached my arms out to the side to feel them move. It was good to be out of the backseat. I took my first deep breath of the ocean air. It was wonderful, a pleasant mixture of humidity coupled with the faintest hint of sea salt. It was strange to think, that from now on, every breath I would take at my new school would be of the same, tangy air – especially after having grown used to the relatively dry environment of my home town. “So,” my dad said, breaking me out my spell. I turned toward him, and found him standing right behind me. “It looks like this is where we’ll be saying our goodbyes…” “But mom’s talking to the headmaster,” I protested. He shook his head. “I doubt it’s going to do any good. I talked to him already.” “What did he tell you?” “Just like I said. He explained how it’s the school’s policy not to allow anybody but the students onto Traven Island.” “But why?” My dad shrugged. “Beats me. Although I suspect it has something to do with their sense of liabilities over the students’ welfare.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I think it has to do with the way they run the school. It’s on a very small island, after all. If there were tourists or visitors always coming to check out the school grounds, well, it might take away from the students’ experience.” “But you’re not tourists!” I emphasized. “You’re my parents.” “Even more to the point,” my dad replied stiffly. “If they were to make an exception for us, well, they’d have to start making exceptions for everyone’s parents. And pretty soon, the entire island would be overrun—especially during move-in week. At least, that’s what the headmaster told me.” “And you couldn’t tell him anything to change his mind?” “Trust me, honey. I tried. But, he was set on not allowing a single exception.” “That’s why Vlad ran back to the boat, isn’t it?” I asked, that sinking feeling in my stomach returning. “He’s starting the engines now,” dad said. “That’s why I don’t think anything your mother says or does is going to influence the way things are turning out.” “Although you have to applaud her for trying,” I said somewhat awkwardly, in a stiff attempt to make a joke. My dad must have sensed my unease, because right at that moment he took a step forward and put his arms around me in a big hug. “I’m going to miss you when you go, Tracy.” “I know, dad.”

Chapter Two – A Rocky Start I stood at the back of the boat, my hands gripping the cold, metal railing. In the distance were the shapes of both my parents, huddled against the outside of the car, waving enthusiastically to me. For a few seconds, the uniform trail of the boat’s wake caught my eye. When I looked back, my parents were gone, hidden by the cloud of fog that we had just steered into. I shivered, and not because of the cold. Leaving my parents at the shore was not how I expected to start my new life. And yet here I was, more or less completely alone on an unfamiliar – not to mention rocky – boat. I turned around to take in my surroundings. The boat I was on was small, yes, but it was also old. Every heave through the waves caused the entire hull to groan under the pressure. It wasn’t a particularly reassuring sound. Moreover, the way the thick fog blanketed everything more than twenty feet away did not help calm my nerves. Vlad was inside the main cabin, steering the small boat toward Traven Island. At least, that’s where I hoped he was going. In this thick fog, I didn’t doubt that one could get very lost in these waters, especially if he didn’t know precisely where he was going. But Vlad had apparently made this trip dozens of times, as he informed me, rather brusquely, when he was directing me where to put my luggage when I first climbed onboard. I sighed, and walked the short distance to the cabin. Opening the door, I slipped inside. It was a small room. A single light bulb hung from an otherwise bare ceiling, and two round windows were built into the side walls. A circular staircase in one corner led to the second level, where all the steering equipment was. From where I stood, I could hear the faint but staticky sounds of an AM radio talk show through the ceiling. I couldn’t make out what the host was saying, but I had a slight suspicion that the host might be speaking in a different language. It didn’t matter. All that I wanted to focus on was getting to school, where I could settle in and forget about the misadventure that was the start of my new school year. The boat heaved heavily to one side. I yelped in surprise and nearly lost my footing. Thankfully, I was able to catch a hold of the wall to prevent myself from falling over. The boat leaned the other way, then righted itself slowly and kept moving forward. I stared wide-eyed around the room. If I had been outside, close to the railing, when that happened… Shaking my head, I made my way cautiously to the plastic seats bolted to the side wall and sat down. They were sturdy enough, and felt like they were built to withstand anything this small boat might steer into. Glumly, I looked at the two suitcases strapped to the handrail of the circular staircase. After stuffing an SUV full with my belongings, those two suitcases were all I had been able to bring. Vlad was in a hurry, and pointed out that, whatever I brought on board, I’d have to bring off board by myself, without any additional help, when we got to Oliver Academy. And so, the idea of bringing even a quarter of everything that my parents and I had packed into the old car quickly fizzled out, to be replaced by the harsh reality that I could only take with me an amount equal to what I would pack for a two-day sleepover. So, those two suitcases represented everything I now possessed of my past life. Inside were clothes, mostly, yet not enough for even a full week. My laptop was also somewhere in there, as was my trusty iPod, which had been with me for more than five years. Everything else I wanted to bring – sheets, pillows, notebooks, scrapbooks, pens, drawings, journals, books, posters, rugs, and whatever else I had deemed essential – was still in my parents’ car, waiting to make the long drive back home. I sighed. This was definitely not the auspicious start to a new school year that I had been hoping for. “Little girl!” I heard Vlad yell from upstairs in his harsh accent. That was what he had taken to calling me, for whatever reason, from the moment the boat left its mooring. Not Tracy, not Miss Bachman, not anything else, but little girl. It was patronizing and demeaning at the same time. “Little girl, do you like some food?” “Oh! Uh… No, thank you,” I replied, caught off-guard by the unexpected question. “What?” Vlad yelled back down. “Speak up! I barely hear ye from up here!” “I said, no thank you!” I called back to him, louder this time. I didn’t hear anything back for a few moments, and started to wonder if he had heard me at all… “Suit yerself!” he called down to me. “I’m jus’ the captain, and all I’m to do is bring ye there in one piece. Not my fault if you starve before we get there.” Starve? It’s not like we were taking a trip across the Atlantic, for crying out loud. At that moment, however, my stomach rumbled loudly, almost as if it were mocking me for rejecting Vlad’s offer of nourishment. “How much longer until we get to shore?” I called up. Again, I had to wait a few moments before his response. “What? I can’t hear ye, girl. You best come up here if you be makin’ conversation!” I sighed, and pushed myself up. I wanted to know how long I would have to endure the nauseating rocking of the boat. Sitting by myself waiting for it to end seemed like one of the worst ways to spend my time. If I knew how long this trip was, at least then I could start counting down the minutes to my arrival. Carefully, using the walls for support, I edged my way over to the bottom of the staircase. The boat hadn’t tilted harshly since the first time it nearly threw me off my feet, but I didn’t want to take my chances, either. I reached the stairs, and, holding onto the metal rail

tightly, climbed up to the second level. There, I found Vlad standing behind the panel of a wide, complicated looking control counter. It stretched from wall to wall. All along it were literally hundreds of knobs and switches and lights—none of which I recognized. I noticed a dark radar screen off to one side. A fluorescent green line swept across it in a circular motion every few seconds, updating the display. Vlad must have heard me coming up, because right as I climbed up the final step, he turned around to look back. The entire upper cabin smelled like smoke, and I saw now that it was because he had a thick cigar clenched between his teeth. “Ahh, the little girl decide to come up. Yes?” he asked in a way I thought might be friendly, for him. “Well, come on here and look outside. Yer sure to get a better view than fightin’ the fog down below.” I followed his gaze out through the main window in front of him, and was surprised to see the rays of the sun showing through the cloud of mist. While it didn’t mean that visibility was any better than it was on the lower level, seeing the sun’s rays made the whole ship feel slightly less depressing. “I was just wondering,” I began, “how long the trip to Traven Island is going to take?” “Ah, feeling a little seasick, are we?” Vlad asked with a mocking edge to his voice. “No!” I defended. “I feel fine. I just wanted to know how far away the island is from mainland, that’s all.” “Oh, well if that’s all ye want…” Vlad looked back at me and raised an eyebrow, and, when he saw that I didn’t shift, continued on, “…I tell you the trip’ll take no more than another two hour.” “Two hours?” I exclaimed, feeling completely incredulous. From what I had seen on the maps, the island was definitely closer to shore than that. “How can it take so long? There’s no way it should take that long! The island’s only a few miles from the coast!” “Ah, in a straight path, maybe,” Vlad answered ominously, “but these be rocky waters. And in this fog, there be no telling exactly where we is. Best be careful, that’s how I like to steer. We be takin’ the long way around.” “The long way?” “Aye. Around the rocks, away from the shallow sea. You want to get there in one piece, don’t ye?” “Well, yes…” “Then the long way’s all ye can expect from me. I promis’d ‘em I’d get ye there in one piece, and that’s what I intend t’do.” He nodded triumphantly to himself. “Truth be told, there ain’t nobody who should be sailin’ out in this fog. There’s no telling where you be, even with the most sophisticated equipment.” He tapped the screen of the radar with one finger, and drew another puff from his cigarette. “This thing be all but useless to me right now. It doesn’t tell where the dangerous zones are. Not at all. Right now, the only way to steer is t’follow yer instinct.” I gulped. “Your instinct?” That definitely wasn’t the most reassuring thing he could have said. “You mean, the way you’re steering the boat right now, is just based on your—” “My instinct.” Vlad nodded at me. “That be the only way to get you there on time, but to do it we gotta take the long way around. So that’s what it’ll be.” “Well… I should probably get going then,” I said, feeling quite unnerved by what I’d just been told. “I wouldn’t want to distract you from your work.” “Nonsense!” Vlad interjected. “It’s good fer me t’have some company up here.” He smiled stupidly at me. Just at that moment an enormous wave crashed into the side of the boat. The whole cabin lurched violently to one side, and I cried out as I was flung into the air. Desperately, I tried to shield myself from the oncoming impact. But I was moving too fast. My head hit the edge of something, and I blacked out. ~~ I was lying somewhere hard. The surface was absolutely frigid, and the cold seeped through my jeans and jacket like they weren’t even there. I tried to open my eyes, but the light that rushed in sent piercing pain across my temples. I groaned. My head hurt, and my body felt as if it had thawed after spending half a century cryogenically frozen. “She’s up!” someone whispered excitedly to my left. I heard the shuffling of feet, and a door open and close, as the person left. The draft that came through the doorway in that brief moment chilled me even more. Where amI? Getting an orientation on things was difficult, especially when all my senses were being overloaded like one of those science-fair toothpick buildings straining under too much weight. Just an ounce more, and the whole thing would collapse. That’s kind of how I felt. Any more stimulation, and I would fade back into the abyss of darkness from which I just emerged. I took a slow, deep breath. Surprisingly, the salty air I had been expecting was gone. In its place was a very flat, very sterile smell. I was somewhere else, then… somewhere inside. Away from the coast. I tried to open my eyes again under the bright overhead lights. This time – being prepared for the shock of the pain – I was surprised when there wasn’t any. The piercing that shot across my skull the last time, had vanished. I smiled laconically. At least that was an improvement. It still took a few moments for my eyes to focus on the surroundings. The first thing I

saw was the ceiling overhead. And, surprisingly, there was no spotlight shining down on me – as I had believed the first time I had opened my eyes. The room was quite dim. A single floor lamp standing in the corner provided the only illumination. I wondered how badly I had been concussed to have experienced such hypersensitivity when I first awoke. Twisting my head from side to side, I saw that I was in a small, tightly crammed room. To my left, less than four feet away, was a short row of three hard plastic seats which ended at the doorway. To my right, less than a foot away, was a wall with a single window carved into it. The drapes were wide open, and it was pitch black outside. From where I lay, I could see the reflection of my legs in the dark glass. Remarkably, they were covered with a thick blanket. Despite the weight of the cloth, it felt like there was nothing there. My body was cold. Apparently, no amount of layers could alleviate that discomfort. The door beside the row of chairs swung open, and a bright flood of light from outside shone in on me. I squinted and turned away instinctively. I heard somebody come in. “Miss Bachman?” a strong voice asked. “My name is Doctor John Frame. I have been watching over your condition since you arrived.” I moved my arms to cover my ears – He was speaking so loudly! – but stopped halfway. There was something about his voice that caught my attention. After taking a second to process it, I realized that he was whispering – which meant he was likely well aware of my sensitivity to sound. But there was more to it than that. His voice was smooth, calming… therapeutic, even. I turned my head to look over at him – and had to forcibly suppress a gasp. The doctor was young. Not young like early-forties or mid-thirties, but young like freshout-of-med-school young. And he was also absolutely handsome. His straight, black hair lay haphazardly on his head as if he hadn’t had the time to tame it this morning. Dark, heavy-set eyes of indistinguishable color gave him the look of someone very trustworthy. In them was a wisdom that belied his youth. His jaw wasn’t particularly heavy or deep-set, as is usually the case with very handsome men, but rather somewhat delicate. A light brush of stubble on his cheeks and chin made his face more rugged. His mouth sat squared perfectly under an elegant nose. “Miss Bachman?” he asked hesitantly. “Are you alright?” “Ah… it’s the light,” I stumbled, trying vainly to cover up the fact that I had been gaping at him. “It hurt my head a bit. I’m not used to it.” Doctor Frame smiled, and gently closed the door. I felt my heartbeat increase. It was now just me and him in the small room. “Is that better?” he asked softly. “Should I turn down the lamp?” “No, that’s fine.” “Good, then. How are you feeling?” “I’m… alright,” I said, not wanting to lie to the doctor but not willing to alarm him, either. “My head kind of hurts, and light… and any noise… makes it all worse.” “Hmm,” Doctor Frame intoned, taking a step closer to my bed. “Well, you did suffer quite a severe concussion. Those symptoms are to be expected.” “Severe? How bad is it?” “Nothing that you won’t recover from in the next few days, I don’t think. But we have to keep you in the clinic until then.” “Is that where I am? I thought this was a hospital.” To my surprise, the doctor laughed. I was taken aback, at first, but then realized that he was laughing gregariously, rather than derisively. “No, we don’t have any hospitals on the island. The closest one is back on the mainland.” He smiled reassuringly at me. “But don’t worry. I’ve seen to it that you’ve gotten all the proper care here.” “Wait a minute,” I said slowly, trying to think back to what happened. My last memories were of saying goodbye to my parents by the car. There was nothing after that. I wasn’t even quite sure where it was I said goodbye. “You said we’re on an island?” Doctor Frame nodded. “That’s right. Traven Island.” A flood of memories rushed back to me. I had said goodbye to my parents near the ferry dock, when we found out they couldn’t come with me to my new school. And the ferry I had boarded in the deep fog was little more than a boat, captained by a small, not particularly competent looking man. Then there was a storm, and a wave crashed into the side of the boat, at which point I slammed my head… “I’m at school!” I exclaimed, and tried to push myself up. For some reason, though, my body didn’t want to cooperate. All my limbs felt tired, as if I had just run a twenty-four-hour marathon. And I was still cold. My effort to sit up in bed amounted to little more than some weak squirming. It was pitiful. I felt warmth on my hand, and looked to see that the doctor had placed his hand reassuringly over mine. My heart skipped a beat. “Yes, you’re at school,” he reassured me. “I need you to relax. The injuries you suffered weren’t at all minor, and you’ll need to rest to recover your strength.” He withdrew his hand, and I felt the momentary pang of loss. “Do my parents know what happened?” I asked. I would have expected them to be here in this little room if they did. Doctor Frame frowned, looked down at his notepad absently, and traced his finger along the side of the page. “Ah… it says here that they haven’t been contacted yet. The school has a very firm privacy policy when it comes to student welfare and wellbeing. In your case, since the injuries you sustained weren’t life-threatening, it’s your discretion whether your parents should be contacted or not.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a very empowering policy.” “Would you like me to get one of the staff members to reach out to them?” “Uhm… no, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” They should both be driving home, and I didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily. Although, that rose another question… “How long have I been here?” It felt like it could have been days – weeks, even. And that would have meant that I’d already missed the start of the school year. This, in turn, meant that I would be far behind everybody else in terms of making friends and getting acquainted with the place. It would be terrifying trying to break into already-formed social circles, especially when most of the other kids (I assumed) had been going here since freshman year. Doctor Frame smiled at me. “Just overnight. Don’t worry. You haven’t missed anything. I know how nerve-wracking it is coming to any new environment, not to mention a new high school. But you can relax knowing that most of the other students aren’t even on campus yet.” “They’re not?” “Not for another four or five days.” He raked a hand through his hair, maybe in an effort to smooth it, but all it did was add to the mess. For some reason, I found this a very appealing gesture. “Which means you have plenty of time to rest and recover. Opening days here are pretty hectic. You’ll want to be at your best when they roll around.” “Opening days?” I asked. “What’s that?” “A bunch of ceremonies and events put together by the administration here to welcome all the new students. It’s tailored for freshmen, mostly, but everybody participates. It’s a good way for you to get to know your classmates and everybody else you’ll be spending your time with at the school.” “Sounds exciting,” I said drily. In my experience, anything put together by anybody with a connection to administration ended up being completely moronic and lame. “You sound less than impressed,” the doctor quickly added with an equal amount of sarcasm. “Trust me, it’s not that bad. I’d know. They were doing the same thing when I was a student here.” “You went here?” I asked disbelievingly. “Yeah, why not?” he laughed. “The school’s been around for a long time, and it’s not like I’m that old.” “I just…” “…can’t picture me going to high school?” “That’s right.” “Well, I was a lot different back then anyway. You would have never recognized me. I had thick, round glasses covering half my face.” He connected the forefinger and thumb on both hands in a circle and raised them create make-shift goggles on his eyes. He looked so goofy doing it I couldn’t help but laugh. “And I had hair down to my shoulders that I hadn’t cut for years. In fact, by the time I graduated, I don’t think it was much shorter than yours. And there was this one video game I was absolutely obsessed with… Diablo, I think it was. Ever hear of it? Everybody called me ‘Diablo Boy’ because all I would do was play that game.” I frowned in disbelief, but he kept going. “I’d spend ten, maybe twelve hours every day in front of the computer just playing that one silly game.” He smile to himself at the memory. “I never once thought I’d end up back here, much less as a doctor, back then.” “So how’d it happen then?” “Long story. I might tell you some other time, if you remember to ask.” I excitedly made a mental note. He had just given me a free pass to come talk to him again in the future. I still couldn’t believe how young he was, or how handsome. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here, is it? I’ve got to make sure you’re healthy and feeling better before school really starts.” “That’s right,” I nodded, hiding my disappointment that the brief laughter we had shared was now over. “Well, one thing I’m sure of is that you’re already doing much better than when I came into the room.” “What do you mean?” “Look around.” I was surprised to find the room was brightly lit. I hadn’t noticed the lamp being turned on. The pain from being exposed to the brightness was gone. Doctor Frame noted my surprise, and smiled. “A timer I switched on before coming in,” he explained. “In a case like yours, the sensitivity to light occurs only at the start of your recovery. And only when large contrasts in the amount of light occur. If the light increases slowly, there’s a good chance you can acclimatize to it. In the future, the sensitivity and pain disappear.” “Wow, I had no idea.” “Even better, the fact that you didn’t notice the increase means that your concussion was less severe than I originally thought. Still, we have to run some baseline tests…” I waited patiently as he checked everything. He shone a light into my pupils, watching them dilate and contract. He gave me a few strings of different words to remember and recite to him backwards. He checked my pulse, my blood pressure, and a dozen other things I didn’t even know could be checked. In the end, the prognosis was good. I would be better in time for opening days, although I would still have to spend the remainder of the night in the clinic. Throughout the entire procedure, Doctor Frame continued to joke around with me, making me feel at ease. He was easy to talk to, and I was glad to have gotten at least one potential friendship

started already. Finally, as he turned to leave the room, I mustered the courage to ask him a question that had been on my mind from the moment I had first seen him. “Wait,” I said quickly, “if you don’t mind me asking – how old are you?” He chuckled, and turned back to me. Against the glow of the outside hallway, and to my light-sensitive eyes, there seemed to be a halo around him. I blinked, and it was gone. “Well, how old do you think I am?” he asked. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that his tone bordered on flirtatious. “Um…” I stalled, trying to think of what to say without offending him. He was a doctor, and likely didn’t think of himself as that young. But the smooth features of his face said otherwise. “I don’t know. Definitely less than thirty. Uh… twenty-eight?” This time, the chuckle that came from his throat quickly turned into a full–blown laugh. “You think I’m that old?” He shook his head in mirth. “I certainly don’t look that old, do I?” “Well, I… err…” I stumbled. “I’m twenty-three.” “What? “I finished my undergrad in a year and a half and med school in three.” He winked at me. Then, before I could say anything, he turned around and closed the door. I stared after him for a long time, while my mind worked slowly. How could a doctor be so young? If he was twenty-three, that meant – after my birthday next month – that we were only six years apart! He was practically my peer! Of course, I knew that a thought like that was ridiculous – he was obviously very well accomplished in life to have finished his studies so quickly, and nonetheless probably had a girlfriend. What would he possibly want with someone just starting her junior year in high school, of all things? Then again, there was that tone he sometimes used when we were both laughing at something. In any other case, and in any other circumstance, it would definitely have been called flirtatious. I sighed. Maybe I was just imagining things. A love interest? With a doctor? Mom would definitely call me crazy. I lay back on my pillow and closed my eyes. The lights in the room had started to dim as soon as Doctor Frame left. I could feel myself getting drowsy.

Chapter Three – Traven Island

The next two days passed uneventfully. To my great disappointment, Doctor Frame came to check in on me only once. It was such a brief and awkwardly formal meeting that I began to doubt there was anything between us before. I was taken care of by the nurse, which really just meant that she very strictly made sure I didn’t leave the clinic. My suitcases had been brought into the room, thank god, and that at least meant that I had access to my laptop. I used it to chat with my friends from home. I called my parents from my cellphone, telling them everything was perfect and covering up the fact I was in a makeshift hospital. I didn’t want them to suddenly abort all plans and turn around to find me when I was going to be better in a very short time. Still, by the end of the second day there, I was dying of boredom and counting down the time to my release. Thankfully, that came on the third day. I woke up in the morning to the nurse opening the blinds and thrusting a bagged bundle into my hands. “Your clothes,” she said brusquely, “washed and ready for you.” My breath caught in excitement. “You mean I can finally leave?” “Personally, I’d have you here for another week, but the doc said as long as your condition didn’t deteriorate, you could go today—that is, unless you’ve suddenly taken a turn for the worse.” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “So? How are you feeling today? Any recurring symptoms?” “Nope!” I exclaimed happily. “Everything’s much better.” The nurse craned her neck to one side and looked at my quizzically. “Are you sure? Maybe I should run the tests again before your discharge…” “No, really! I’m much better,” I protested. All I could think about was finally getting a chance to look at the school and escaping this tightly cramped room. I sprang out of the bed in my robe and raised my arms triumphantly to the side. “See? No problems with dizziness, or sensitivity to light, or anything!” I assured her. “Humph!” she grunted, crossing her arms. “I still don’t like it. But, it’s not my choice.” “So, I can go?” I begged. “Yes, yes. Just make sure you schedule a follow-up examination with the receptionist for a month from now.” “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I jumped up to her and threw my arms around her neck in an embrace. After a moment, I realized what I’d done, and backed hastily away. “Sorry,” I muttered, keeping my head down. “Quite alright,” she said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her straining to suppress a smile. She dug into a pocket, and emerged with a small yellow envelope. “Here,” she said, handing it to me. “Your room key and information about your assigned dorm. I was told to give it to you when you left.” I took the package and hefted it in my hands. It was light, but I could feel a key in there —and maybe a few sheets of paper. The nurse turned to leave, but I stopped her. “Hold on. I don’t even know where the dorms are!” This time, a true smile definitely appeared on her face, although I wasn’t sure if it was a mocking one or not. “You’ll find yours. It’s a small school, and there’s not much chance of you getting lost.” She barked a laugh. “Anyway, there’s a little map in the envelope should you have any trouble.” With that, she turned and left, swinging the door shut behind her. As soon as she was gone, I ran into the adjacent bathroom and took a hurried shower. Then, with my hair still dripping wet, I pulled out the clothes she had given me and inspected them. It was the outfit I had worn when I got onto the ferry. Not bothering to dig through my bags for something better, I hurriedly put the clothes on. I was anxious to get out of this room. I grabbed my two bags, and, opening the door with my hip, rolled them out behind me as I made my way to the front desk. I felt like a wrongfully convicted prisoner finally being set free. The hallway to the front desk was long and narrow, with doors lined tightly on either side. In the back of my mind, I held out a small hope that Doctor Frame would come through one of those doors and surreptitiously bump into me. But, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The receptionist at the front desk was a young woman with frizzy blonde hair. She reminded me a little of my mother. She was friendly and bubbly in sharp contrast to the demeanor of nearly everyone else here. She booked my next appointment quickly, and gave me a card with the time and date written down so I wouldn’t forget. Even her elongated, wide letters reflected her cheerful manner. I asked about the dorm, and she pointed me in the right direction. Rolling my bags behind me, I stepped outside for the first time. I was immediately struck by the sheer beauty of the place. The clinic stood on top of a small hill. A path zigzagged down from it amongst the grass. Right in front of the clinic was a luxurious rose garden, its scent tantalizing. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. The fog had lifted, affording a crystal, clear view of the entire island and the surrounding water. To my left, a little in the distance, past the hill, I could see a pristine, untouched forest growing thickly. Straight in front of me a series of cliffs overlooked a beautiful expanse of water. Every so often, the tangy smell of the ocean air wafted up to meet me. My eyes followed the curve of the path down the hill, and then to the right. There, the grassy hills continued, and the path went over and around them. From my vantage point, I could see a small cluster of buildings over in that direction. This was exactly the location where the receptionist told me I would find my dorm. I sighed. This place was absolutely perfect.

To be sure of the way, though, I decided to consult the map that was included in my package. At that moment, a slight breeze ruffled my clothes, causing goose bumps to crawl up the back of my neck. I shivered. It was still early morning, so despite the sun shine, it was still a bit chilly. Mildew hung on the petals of the flowers around me. I could tell that it was going to be a hot day. Ripping open the envelope, I pulled out the papers and began to flip through them. There was an information package welcoming new students that I could look at later, a small calendar of opening days’ activities, a letter from the headmaster, contact information for all the various departments at the school, and, finally, a black and white printed map of the island. I was disappointed to find that the detail on it was very much lacking. It had the general shape of the island, and the markings of a few landmarks. But past that, it was impossible to tell what was where. I guessed it was more a novelty than anything else. Thankfully, the island didn’t seem nearly big enough to get lost in—especially if I didn’t wander into the forest. Picking out the key that still lay at the bottom of the envelope, I set off toward the small cluster of buildings to my right. Surprisingly, the way there took longer than expected. The path was well maintained, and curved down to run by the side of the cliffs overlooking the ocean, so there was no trouble rolling my bags. But from outside the clinic, the cluster of buildings looked to be maybe ten, fifteen minutes away. Instead, it took me a good half hour before I reached the main part of campus. But it wasn’t like I was complaining. The walk over was lovely, and even if the island seemed a little abandoned (I didn’t see a single person along the way), it was still beautiful. Every few yards, I would stop to inhale deeply. The fresh, clean scent of the greenery was tinged slightly by the saltiness of the ocean. The water today was calm. But, once in a while, I could still hear a larger wave crash into the side of the cliffs. One day soon, I promised myself, I’d get around to exploring the bottom of those cliffs, if for no other reason than to see what was there. First, of course, I’d have to get settled into life on the habitable part of the island. I finally reached the cluster of buildings, and for the first time, I saw life on the island. There weren’t many people around, but enough to notice. Mostly, they were older professors and staff members walking along the streets from one building to the next. There definitely didn’t seem to be anyone my age around yet. The path I was on shifted to cobblestone as I came closer. There were buildings all around me. Little streets and alleys ran alongside each one. The odd thing, I noticed, was that the style of nearly every building was completely different from the last. All were very well maintained and looked sparkling new, but the styles differed so greatly it would have been jarring in any other context. There was a building to my left built in a Mexican style, and right beside it stood another made of red brick. Some were Gothic, while others were Georgian, and others still some type of mish-mash in between. Yet somehow, all of them blended together seamlessly, so that no single building looked out of place. The path led into the heart of this part of campus where a wide, open area had been left undeveloped. Various buildings rimmed the empty space, which I took to be a type of town square on the island. In the middle was a large, flowing fountain with replicas of Greek statues elevated from the base in its center. I smiled. This place had a very homey feel to it. I had to cross behind the main row of buildings and walk for another ten or fifteen minutes before I saw the dormitories. They were tucked away to one side, in a little space of their own. And they looked lovely. A set of four stood around a private courtyard, the windows to the rooms tall and wide. The four dorms were the only set of matching buildings I’d seen on campus. Each was built in a Georgian style, with red bricks and tall arches framing the main points of the structures. Picking up my pace, I hurried over to the second one from the right. From what I knew, Oliver Academy housed students by their grade level, and if the arrangement went left-to-right, then all the juniors would be in that dorm. I checked through the papers given to me to figure out which room I had. Not finding anything about a room assignment in any of the sheets, I frowned in confusion. Then I remembered the key. Picking it out of my pocket, I turned it over in my hand and found the inscription on the base: Room 34. I hoped my room looked out toward the courtyard. It looked like the rooms rimmed the outside of each building, meaning that half the rooms would be overlooking the area behind the courtyard. There didn’t look to be much there except some forested hills. Well, there was really not much point in wondering about such things when I could find the answer shortly. Grabbing my two bags, I started toward the third building, excited to finally really be starting my new life. I had a bit of trouble hauling my bags up the six steps that led to the wide stone porch. Still, after only a little bit of a struggle, I managed to get everything up to the front door. I looked around, noting again how quiet everything was over here, and put my hand on the main door to pull it open. It didn’t budge. I frowned and tried again, pulling with more force. Nothing happened. Maybe it was locked? I looked around for a keyhole, conscious of the fact that I had only been given the single key, presumably to my room. But maybe it unlocked the front door to the building as well? That, at least, would make some sense—if there had been a keyhole anywhere! I looked up and down the entire face of the door, and the frame as well, and, not finding anything, repeated the examination. Again, I didn’t spot a keyhole. An uncomfortable feeling blossomed in the pit of my stomach. Maybe the dorms weren’t open yet? I hoped that

wasn’t the case. But, if the other students weren’t due to arrive until tomorrow… Suddenly, the door burst open, nearly smacking me square in the face. Only the fact that I had already started turning away saved me from a return trip to the clinic. In the doorway stood a boy about my age, looking at me in surprise. I stared back, equally unnerved. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here yet. “Having trouble with the door?” His quick smile erased the look of surprise on his face. “Uh… yeah,” I managed, trying to regain my composure. The boy in front of me wasn’t particularly good looking. A clump of dark hair perched atop his head. His nose was too small for his slanted face. But, there was something very disarming about his smile. It made me feel welcome; at ease, even. I smiled back at him, and at the same time ran a hand self-consciously through my tousled hair. “I was trying to figure it out before you burst out of there.” “I know,” he said, “I saw you through the camera.” “Camera? What are you talking about?” He pointed up to a darkened corner, and I realized there was a small security camera aimed right at the door. But how did he have access to it? “The security guard asked me to keep watch while he went off to lunch,” the boy explained as if reading my mind. “He said he was expecting someone, but I didn’t think it’d be a girl as pretty as you.” His eyes went wide, and color crept into his cheeks. He broke eye contact with me and stared at the floor. “I mean… err… sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” “Don’t worry,” I laughed, “that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me since I got here.” “Really?” he sneaked a glance up, and then looked back down. He was still blushing wildly. “Really,” I said, and laughed. “Thank you, in fact. I haven’t heard anyone say something like that for… well, let’s just say it’s been a long time.” I stuck my hand out. “My name’s Tracy.” He looked up again, and, seeing that I was being sincere, quickly smiled and took my hand. “I’m Chris,” he said. “I take it you’re new here?” “How’d you know?” I asked coyly. “Well, the luggage was a dead giveaway. Anyone who’s been here before has learned to store most of their things in the basements over the summer. And, of course, the whole fiasco with the door didn’t help.” “Very observant,” I deadpanned. He laughed, and instantly the color in his cheeks was gone. “That’s okay,” he said. “I was new here once, too.” “I’d bet.” “Anyway, the reason you couldn’t open the door was because you didn’t use your student card.” I frowned “Student card?” “You mean you don’t have one yet?” “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” “Hmm. Well, no worries. We can fix that later. Everyone here has a student card. It’s the only way to get around. There’s a small chip in the back of it that interfaces with all the buildings on campus. It’s some type of new technology they put in a few years ago. Anyway, at the front of every building is a wireless scanner that picks up on the chip in your card, and unlocks the door for you.” “Automatically?” I asked. “Yeah. Exactly,” he said cheerfully. “ It’s pretty cool, actually. You just walk up to a set of doors and they open for you, each time. That way, you never have to fumble around for a set of keys or anything like that. Really helpful when we get into storm season over here.” “Storm season? What’s that?” I asked, puzzled. Chris’s eyes widened again. But this time, he made no effort to look away. In fact, he looked to be completely surprised. “You mean you don’t know?” “Know what?” I asked again. “About ‘storm season?’ No, I have no idea. I’ve never even heard of it.” He whistled through his teeth. “Wow! You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” “It’s not my fault,” I defended stubbornly. “It’s not like anyone’s given me a tour of the place yet.” “A tour! That’s a great idea. I’d totally be happy to show you around.” He gave me that disarming smile. “Well, I’ve got to get unpacked first…” I began, but he quickly broke in. “Of course! Here, I’ll help you get your things.” Running around behind me, he grabbed both of my bags in his hands. “What floor are you on?” “My key says 34…” “Third floor. Got it. Follow me.” Chris went inside the building, and I trailed after him. As soon as I crossed the doorway, I stared wide-eyed at the lobby. It was ridiculously extravagant. Everything I could see was polished marble. The floor tiles made a crisscross pattern of dark and light colors across the room. In the middle, a few lounge-like sofas had been arranged, each one of them a rich black leather. Looking around, I realized I had been right earlier: the actual rooms of the dorm all rimmed the outer wall of the rectangular building. Which meant that in the middle of the building was a completely open space. From where I stood, you could look up and see the balusters running along the hallways of each floor, and the doors leading into the individual rooms as well,

something like a hotel. High above me, in the roof of the building, were three spectacular skylights. They were all made of clear glass, and gave a perfect view into the sky above. “Are you coming?” Chris called from across the atrium. Already, he had started lugging my bags up a flight of stairs. Quickening my pace, I ran up to him and tried to take one of the bags, but he pulled it away. “I got them,” he told me. I rolled my eyes. He was clearly struggling carrying both of them up the stairs at once. Yet, obviously, he didn’t want me to notice. “It’ll be faster if I help,” I said. “No way,” he grunted. Each step he took up, the suitcases banged loudly against each other. “I got it.” “No, you don’t,” I interjected, and before he could protest again, pulled one of the bags out of his hand. Just for good measure, I took a couple steps up, carrying the heavy bag behind me, to show him I was just fine handling one of them. Glancing back, I saw that he had started moving faster. I increased my own pace, and raced to the top. I heard him moving right behind me, trying to match my speed. But, I had the advantage of a head start. I got to the top, and flashed a triumphant smile as he came up beside me. “Told you,” I said with a wink. “There’s no point protesting when I’m clearly in the right.” “We’ll see about that…” Chris said, trailing off before he could finish the empty threat. He smiled at me again, though. “You’re tougher than you look.” “You should have seen what I went through to get here,” I said, thinking back to the disaster with Vlad’s small boat. To my surprise, Chris barked a laugh. “I take it you’ve met Vlad, then.” “How did you know?” “That’s the only way you could have gotten to the island this early,” he explained. “It’s quite a journey with him, isn’t it?” “You don’t even know half of it,” I replied in a tone that said I did not want to talk about it. “Anyway, I take it we’re only on the first floor, now?” The first door I could see down the hall was marked with a large 10 right above the peephole. Chris nodded. “That means we’ve got two more flights of stairs to go?” He nodded again. “Let’s go do it then. I’m getting anxious to see my room and have a chance to unpack.” Then, noticing the hopeful way Chris was eyeing the bag I was carrying, quickly added, “Not that I’m complaining about the stairs, of course.” “Of course,” Chris replied, and tilted his head to the left. “It’s this way. Believe it or not, your room is on the same floor as mine.” “Really?” For some reason, I had been under the impression that the floors were arranged by gender. “Yup. What are the odds, huh?” “No kidding. Is it nice?” “What?” “The room.” “Oh… well, you’ll see,” he said mysteriously. And before I could decode the meaning of that, he jumped forward. “This time, I’m not letting you beat me to the top.” “Hey!” I protested, but he was already racing down the hall. I ran after him, laughing at the pure craziness of it all. He took the first flight of stairs two at a time. When I tried to do the same, I nearly fell flat on my face. Unwavering, I pressed on, but I could already see Chris turning the corner that led to the last flight of stairs. And so, by the time I got all the way to the third floor, red-faced and huffing, Chris was the one staring triumphantly at me in front of a small door marked 34. “Home sweet home,” he announced, cheerfully smiling at me, tapping the door behind him. “This is where you’re going to be spending the year.” “I’m excited,” I said genuinely, pushing a stray bit of hair out of my face. “Well, come on then,” he urged. “Get your key! I want to see your first impression of the room.” I eyed him curiously. Did he mean that the rooms were bad, or that they were good? He stared blankly at me, his expression inscrutable. I knew I wasn’t going to get anything out of him. Not that it really mattered, since I was literally a foot away from the door. If the way the lobby and interior of this building were set up was any guide, my room should be very nice. But then again, sometimes lavish outside appearances were there only to cover up lackluster interiors. Taking a deep breath in, I turned the key in the lock. The door slowly opened. Before me lay the single most amazing room I had ever seen. “Oh… my god!” I exclaimed, running inside. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The room was absolutely huge—preposterously monstrous. And it was fully furnished. In the middle of the room was a brand new, circular rug, still in its plastic packaging. Beyond it, by the far window, was a dark oak desk with a lavish office chair. Off to one side was an enormous queen-sized bed. I noted with delight that the mattress was also brand new. Beside the bed, installed right into the wall, was a full-length mirror and a nightstand. I turned around. On the other side of the room, standing along the wall, was a sturdy shelf and a beautiful antique cabinet. There was another door right by the shelf. When I opened it, I found a private bathroom, complete with a sink, toilet, and extra-large tub. I couldn’t believe my eyes. At any other school, there would be at least six kids stuffed into a space this size. But here, it was all for me. “Does everyone have rooms like this?” I asked Chris. He had diligently brought both suitcases inside while I had been admiring my new living quarters.

“Freshman year they’re really crappy,” he replied. “Sophomore year they’re a little better. This year, they become really nice. And when you’re a senior, they’re even better.” “I can’t even imagine how you could do better than this…” I said wonderingly. “Private kitchens,” Chris explained, “within a room about twice this size. Separated into a living room – TV included – and a bedroom.” “Wow,” I breathed. “Still, this is amazing. I guess I lucked out coming here junior year, huh?” “You wouldn’t believe the horror stories about freshman housing,” Chris said. “Well, I’m going to let you get settled. I’ll be nearby– Room 39. Just bang on my door when you’re ready to go out, and I’ll show you the lay of the land. And we can get you your student card, as well, so you don’t walk around like a babe in the woods anymore.” “Hey!” I protested, but he was already halfway out the room. “Oh yeah,” he added just before closing the door, “don’t forget to ask me about storm season.”

Chapter Four – A Bit of History Getting settled into the room was easy enough. After the first rush of excitement faded, I set out to check my room out quickly before heading out. After all, I still had an entire campus to explore. Still, I was amazed at the luxury of it all. My room was fully furnished, and about as big as an entire floor of my three-storey house back home. There were no roommates to share it with, nor a need to fight for a common shower. Everything I needed was already in the room, more or less. The first thing I did was collapse on my bed, and discovered that it was soft as a cloud. I had to fight the urge to fall asleep right there. Pushing myself up, I went over to peel away the plastic cover of the rug, and tossed the packaging to one side. I went through the drawers of the wardrobe, making mental notes of where I wanted to unpack my things later that night. I rolled both pieces of luggage into the closet, opening one quickly only to pull out my laptop, and set it up and its charger on the desk. Then, satisfied that everything was in good enough shape for now, I inspected myself in front of the mirror. My hair was a bit frizzy from the race up the stairs, and I didn’t have any makeup on, but overall the girl staring back at me didn’t look too bad. Definitely good enough to go out without the need for any more preparation. I started to the door, but then realized that in my excitement, I hadn’t even looked out the windows to check out the view. I went across the room quickly, and smiled when I saw what was outside. Sure enough, just as I’d hoped, my room overlooked the courtyard. Farther down, I could see all the buildings of the main campus, along with the open area of the town square. I also noticed a tall tower in the distance, away from that main cluster of buildings. In fact, its peak edged out over a thick row of evergreens. From what I could see, there wasn’t a direct path to it. I wondered absently what it was. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Before I could open it, I heard Chris’s voice through the wall. “Tracy!” he called out. “Tracy, you ready?” I opened the door. “I thought you said you’d give me enough time,” I said. He laughed. “That was the plan at first, but I just checked with the security guard, and he said that the administrative office is closing in half an hour.” “And… what does that have to do with me?” “You need your student card. Remember?” He looked at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You won’t be able to get in or out anywhere without it. And the only place to get it is there.” “Oh! Well, where is it?” “Not far from here. It’s in the main yard.” “The main yard?” “Yeah. That’s what the group of all those different buildings is called.” “I didn’t know that.” “Now you do. Anyway, we’ve got to hurry if you want to get your card today.” “But it’s not that far…?” I asked. “Yeah,” he added, “but they have to take your picture and do a bunch of other stuff. Unless we get there quickly, they won’t even do it today.” “Yeah, that’s fine. Let me get my shoes and I’ll be right out.” A few minutes later, I was walking down the path away from the dorms with Chris. The day had started to warm up, and a light breeze had brought the salty air from the sea right to us. I walked slightly behind him, admiring the pristine serenity of the island. Chris kept trying to hurry me forward to make sure we got there in time. “So, what’s the school really like?” I asked suddenly. Chris looked back and frowned. “What do you mean?” “I mean, this place is absolutely beautiful. Our dorm is amazing. The rooms are extravagant. Everything looks so well maintained. But… there’s got to be a reason for all that. Right? I mean, not everything can be that perfect here, can it?” “Actually, what you see is pretty much what you get. A few years back – ten or so, I think – an alum gave a crazy large donation to the school, and told them to spend it on renovating the place. What you see is what they ended up doing with the money.” “Lucky for us,” I replied. Chris smiled slyly at me. “You’ll see that there’s more to it than initial appearances, though. Not everything is going to be as rosy as it might seem this first week.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, everything might seem fresh and exciting to you. But after a few months here, things start to become pretty monotonous. You might say a lot of the kids get pretty tired of the island, fast.” “How can you ever get tired of something so pretty?” I asked. Chris laughed. “Hard to believe, right? But stay in one place long enough, and things start to become mundane. Ordinary.” “Is that how you feel about this place?” “I did, before we met,” he laughed.

“What do you mean?” “It’s always good to meet somebody new,” he smiled. Inexplicably, I found myself smiling back. My original assessment of Chris still stood. He wasn’t very attractive, but that smile was absolutely disarming. I was happy to have met someone like him this early in my stay. He seemed like he could be a good friend. “So, what’s the social life like?” I asked after a few moments of silence. To my surprise, his smile quickly faded. He frowned at me. “I wouldn’t really know,” he said slowly. “To be honest, I’m not the most popular kid here.” “Really?” I said, surprised. He seemed friendly enough, and I thought he had a good grounding of where things were and what was going on. “Yeah. I’m just not that into the whole party scene that everybody else seems to dig here.” “Is it a big part of the culture at the school?” “There’s something going on almost every night of the week,” he admitted. “Although, I rarely know what or where it is. Like I said, it’s just not my scene.” “I mean, I’m sure there’s a lot more to do here than just party,” I offered, trying to console him somewhat. From the way his voice dropped and became sapped of energy, I could tell this wasn’t a particularly comfortable topic for him. “You’d be surprised,” he said with a weak chuckle. “Sometimes it seems like that’s all there is to do here.” “Well, I’ll tell you what,” I began, trying to perk him up, “if I’m going to be totally honest with you, the party scene isn’t my favorite thing in the world, either. So if you’re interested, I’m sure the two of us can find other things to do.” His entire face lit up. “Really? I mean yeah, sure. I’d love to do that.” He glanced at me from the corner of one eye. “Thanks, Tracy. I don’t have that many friends here.” “Well, neither do I,” I said with a laugh. “Looks like we’re both in the same boat.” “Hah,” he laughed. Then, glancing at his watch, he immediately hastened his step. “Whoa! It’s later than I thought. We’ve got to get going if you’re going to get your student card today!” And with that, he took off at a half-jog down the path, leaving me to follow. We got down to the main yard in a few minutes. I was surprised to find it a lot busier than before. Almost everywhere around me, walking along the small cobblestone streets and in front of the buildings, were bunches of sharply dressed middle-aged men and women. “Professors and administrators,” Chris explained over his shoulder to me. “Mostly on their lunch break. The only places to get food on this whole island are around here, which is why it’s so busy now.” “I’m surprised there’s nobody else our age,” I said to him. “Most kids try to make the most of their summer. It’s the only time they get away from Traven Island, other than winter break. And to be honest, the school doesn’t really like having to open its doors earlier than needed.” “They told me that I could arrive any time between a week ago and now,” I said quizzically. “I guess that’s for the new kids,” he shrugged. “And the transfers.” “But I haven’t seen anybody else yet,” I commented. “You could be the only one this year.” “Really?” I didn’t know what to make of that. I had assumed that Oliver Academy had at least a few students join their ranks every year. If I had known I’d be the only new kid in the entire school… well, maybe I would have been slightly more apprehensive about coming. Suddenly, I was a lot more thankful for having met Chris. “Admission is mostly offered to freshmen,” he explained. “To be honest, I was pretty surprised when I found you in front of our dorm.” “You mean when you spied on me using the camera,” I countered. He laughed. “Yeah. Exactly that. I didn’t know who to expect when the guard told me to keep watch.” “Well, why are you here, then?” I asked. “Oh. That’s a… long story,” he replied vaguely. “I’ve got time,” I said. “In fact, I’ve got all day.” Chris glanced at his watch, and again seemed startled by what he saw. “Uh, no you don’t! Not now, anyway. Quick, we’ve got to run if we’re going to make it.” With that, he dropped into a dead gallop down the street. “Come on!” he hollered over one shoulder. “We’re not far, but they’re closing soon!” I had no choice but to run after him. Looking around to make sure nobody was watching – I was always self-conscious about my running – I started off after him. I followed as he led us down a long, narrow side street which then turned into a small alley. From there, we popped back out onto a main walkway, went left, and a few hundred yards later stopped in front of a dark building. “Here we are,” Chris said in between breaths. He was huffing from the run, and so was I. “In there is where you’ll want to go.” I looked at the building, really seeing it for the first time. It was a monstrosity. It looked as if the architect responsible for it had a prison in mind when he designed it. It stood three stories tall and was all dark, gray concrete. Four tiny windows showed on each level. The door at the bottom was carved into a foreboding enclave that was cloaked in shadows. Just knowing that I would be going inside sent shivers down my spine. “Great stuff, huh?” Chris offered at my side. “It’s probably the ugliest building on campus, and the most ominous. It’s the only piece of architecture that remains on the island

from before this place was converted into a school.” “I didn’t know there was anything here before,” I said. “Really?” Chris looked at me, again in surprise. “It’s a wonder nobody told you.” “Well, you’re the first person I’ve really met here,” I said, purposefully omitting Dr. Frame. “What was here before?” “You really don’t know?” I shook my head. “Wow. Well, the school’s only been here maybe fifty years or so. Before then, Traven Island was a prison.” “A prison?” “That’s right. But not just any prison. For more than two hundred years, the most criminally dangerous and insane inmates were sent here to serve their life sentences. The only way on the island was via boat, and the only way off? Well, I don’t think there was such a thing. Everybody who came here was here for life. It was a way to separate the criminals from the rest of society. But there are stories you might hear…” he trailed off, looking at me strangely. “Stories? What stories?” “I mean, they’re more like myths and ghost stories than anything else, told to keep freshmen in line.” “What are you talking about?” Chris looked both ways, and then again at me, before lowering his voice. “They say Traven Island wasn’t just a prison. It was an insane asylum, a place where certain… liberties… were taken with the prisoners. A place where the most horrendous and horrible psychological experiments took place. They say the wardens and those in charge were just as deranged as the criminals. Every once in a while, kids might stumble upon certain, uh, remains from that time out in the woods, and most often it isn’t pretty.” “What do you mean?” “Misshapen skulls, old twisted bones,” he started slowly. “Strange, completely inexplicable torture devices. That sort of thing. That’s why the north part of the island is off limits.” “What’s up there?” “When the prison shut down, the island was put up for sale by the government for pennies an acre. It was tainted land, or so everyone said, and there weren’t any takers. Eventually, however, a foreign businessman, Jacob Oliver, thought it was a great idea to buy the land and convert it into a school. That’s where the place gets its name. After he bought it, he made a point of tearing everything down and rebuilding the whole place from scratch. The main parts of the prison system were down here, on the southern half of the island. And there was nothing in the north save for untamed land… or so they thought. After the school was up and running, people began to… find things… in the north.” “Like what?” “Well, apparently there are a bunch of cliffs there along the coast. I’ve never been, but I know some kids who have. The cliffs are said to open into a network of caves, and that’s where the worst experiments took place. Up there, far away from the rest of the island, where nobody could hear the screams.” I shivered. It seemed my little paradise had taken on a hidden, malevolent past. It made me uneasy about the place. I knew it was a long time ago, and that the school had been around for ages, but still… “So, why would they keep this building?” I asked. “When Jacob Oliver bought the land, he created a charter for the school he was about to found. One of the clauses was for a piece of history to always remain. He didn’t want anybody to forget the origins of this place, for whatever reason. So, they elected to keep a single building from that time, and to use it as the main administrative office. Don’t ask me why.” “Spooky,” I said, suddenly feeling a lot more uncertain about my assessment of the school. “Isn’t it?” Chris offered, shooting me a smile. “Don’t get too unnerved, though. All that stuff was a long time ago. For most of us – and definitely for the people working inside – keeping this building here is a bit of a joke. But,” he shrugged, “the alums who fund the endowment of the school protest like crazy every time there’s talk about tearing the old building down. So it remains here.” “Why wouldn’t they want to get rid of it?” I wondered aloud. “Beats me. But you’ve got to get going if you want to get your student card today.” He nodded toward the entrance. “You mean you aren’t coming?” I wasn’t looking forward to going inside this creepy stone edifice by myself. “Nah,” he said dismissively. “I want to grab some food from the caf before it closes down. I’ll meet you there?” Before I could ask him where it was, much less confirm, he was strolling away from me. I frowned after him. Maybe what he said about not having many friends was understandable. He did have somewhat of an eccentric manner. I turned back to the administrative building, took a deep breath, and went inside.

Chapter Five – Exploration Finding the cafeteria where Chris was turned out to be relatively easy. However, by the time I got there, at just after two o’clock, the main part of it had closed, meaning that I couldn’t get anything for myself to eat. Chris was sitting at a far table by himself, nibbling on half a sandwich. There were only two other people there – both much older than me – sitting with their heads pressed together at a small table off to the side. I came up to Chris, and flashed my new student card at him. “You got it?” he beamed. “That’s good. Now, you won’t look so much like a tourist when you’re walking around.” “That’s what I’m most looking forward to,” I said drily. In spite of everything Chris had prepared me for, getting the student card turned out to be extremely easy. All I had to do was get my picture taken, and the thing was printed off instantly. In short, it was a much more pleasurable experience than I had been expecting. The inside of the administrative building was completely at odds with the outside. It was full of warm colors and plush furnishings, almost as if the people working there were trying to fight off the dreariness of the outside. “Grab a seat, if you want,” Chris said, motioning across from him. “Or keep standing, I don’t know. Whatever suits you, I guess.” “Well, are you almost done?” Most of the sandwich was already gone, and there only looked to be a bite or two remaining. “Yeah,” he said, mouthing the remaining piece. Then he stood up. “You want to head out, then?” “Where to?” I asked. “And there wouldn’t happen to be any other place to get food on campus, would there? I haven’t eaten all day.” Actually, that was an understatement. Back in the clinic, I could barely stomach the disgusting porridge-like food they tried feeding me three times a day. I doubted I gotten more than two spoons of it in my system at each meal. I was ravenous. “There’s a small pizza shop on the way back to the dorms,” Chris said thoughtfully, “although, I’m not sure if they’re open yet. And any of the other places are definitely closed until after the first week, at least.” “Well, let’s go over there and see, at least,” I suggested. “Why not,” he shrugged. I turned toward the door, checking once to make sure he followed. Outside, the sun was shining and the day felt toasty. The beautiful, cloudless skies from this morning remained. On a day like this, it was hard to believe that this island had such a twisted past. “So what’s storm season?” I asked once we were outside. I remembered Chris mentioning it briefly. “Oh!” he exclaimed, appearing strangely energized. “That.” “Yes, that,” I mimicked. “What is it? And why were you talking about it so ominously before?” The corner of his lip twitched up in a half smile. “Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Stormseason. Every fall, the weather here goes crazy. It lasts at least a month. Any day, you could find yourself stuck outside in a flash rainstorm. Waves crash into shore, and even the river starts to flood.” “There’s a river?” “Yeah. Where do you think we get our fresh water? It’s up north, in the forest. Anyway, two weeks into storm season, every walkway is flooded halfway to your knees. Whenever you’re outside you have to watch for falling branches – or even whole trees. Every year, at least one unlucky kid finds himself under one of those. Surprisingly, there’s never been a casualty. But, it’s been close.” “So you mean classes keep going during all this?” “Oh, classes never stop here. No matter what. One year, the week before winter break, we had a snowstorm that piled up the powder to your waist, and classes still kept going. A walk that might take ten minutes in normal weather became a forty-minute nightmare.” “Yikes.” “You’ll see why when it all starts. The teachers here are all very strict.” “Really?” “It’s a boarding school. What do you expect? They’re stuck right here on the island like the rest of us, except for them, it’s years they’ve been seeing the same thing every day. If the island starts to feel monotonous to the students after only a few months, imagine what they feel like.” “I guess,” I said slowly. It was hard for me to see how anybody could grow tired of this place – once they got over its unusual past. “So a lot of the time, they take it out on the students,” Chris laughed. “But if you keep your head up, it’s not that bad. You get a little leeway since you get to choose your own classes. I can tell you what teachers to absolutely avoid.” “Thanks.” “No problem. It’s what friends do. Right?” Before I could answer, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Damn,” he said harshly, “it looks like the pizza place is closed.” I looked up, and saw that we were standing in front of a dark storefront. The sign above said Pinocchio’s in large red letters, and there was a small symbol of a pizza slice beside it. I

looked down to a note on the door. It said, “Open the Second Week of Class.” “Great,” I said humorlessly. “Is there anything else?” “Nothing before the cafeteria opens up again,” Chris replied thoughtfully. “That’s actually one of the first things that gets on your nerves about this place. There are so few food options, for anybody.” My stomach growled loudly. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days—which wasn’t far from the truth. Chris apparently heard it, because he laughed out loud. “That hungry, huh? Well, there are some vending machines in the basement of our dorm, if you want something before the cafeteria opens up again.” “Definitely,” I said. “That sounds a lot better than waiting.” We turned and walked briskly toward the dorm. All I could think about was getting some sort of snack to tide me over until the cafeteria opened up for supper. I walked ahead of Chris most of the way, spurred on by my hunger. When I got to the front of the dorm, I heard a mechanical click, and a whirring noise. The next thing I knew the door was opening for me. “Looks like your student card works,” Chris said happily. “A good thing, too. I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to chaperoning you all over campus.” “Don’t kid yourself,” I retorted. “You’d have loved that.” He laughed. “Which way to the basement?” “There’s a door at the end of the hall. I’ll show you.” I followed him to an area that definitely hadn’t seen any recent renovations. On the walls, old layers of paint were peeling, and cracks crawled across the cement floor. A row of washing machines stood to one side, and dryers on the other. It was quite a contrast to the condition of the rest of the dorm. “It’s just around the corner,” Chris said, looking back to make sure I was following. I was right on his heels. My stomach had started to knot itself in hunger. We turned the corner, and right there, just in front of me, stood a freshly-stocked vending machine. I doubted I had ever seen a more beautiful sight. I ran up to it, not caring that Chris saw my eagerness. I was hungry. Reaching into my pocket hastily, I pulled out my wallet. And to my horror, I saw that I had absolutely no dollar bills in it. “Do you have any money?” I asked Chris cheekily. He frowned at me, but took out his own wallet and handed me a few dollar bills. I fed them into the machine quickly, and selected the two largest bags of chips they had available. “Thanks so much,” I said as I reached down to grab my makeshift lunch. Ripping one of the bags open, I stuffed a handful of chips into my mouth. They were delicious, and I swallowed them with great satisfaction. “Really hungry, huh?” Chris quipped. I nodded. “Like I said, I haven’t eaten all day.” He laughed. “You know, I’ve never seen anyone attack a bag of chips with such fervor.” “I didn’t eat most of yesterday, either,” I admitted. Now that the food was settling comfortably in my stomach, I could finally think about other things. “I don’t know if you have anything else to do, but I’ve got the entire rest of the day to hang out, if you want.” “Yeah, that sounds good,” Chris said. “Great. I remember you said you could show me around campus…?” “Oh yeah,” he recalled. “Is that what you want to do?” “Being inside on a day like this seems like a sin.” “Good point. What do you want to see first?” I shrugged, and reached into the bag of chips before realizing it was empty. Opening the other one, I grabbed another handful. “Whatever you think I need to know about. I’m pretty much down to explore the whole island.” Chris tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Well, you’ve already been to the main yard, and there’s really nothing interesting going on there right now. That’s where all our classes are, so you’ll get plenty of time to look around once school starts, anyway. As for anything else you might find interesting… Hmm. I don’t know. To be honest, the island is kind of dull.” “Is there an athletic facility?” I asked. “A pool, maybe?” “Uh… oh! There’s a great little beach hidden away along the coast. Of course, there’s also the bigger beach that everybody goes to when the weather’s like this. Not many know about the other one. But I don’t know if that’s something you’d be interested in, though.” “Are you kidding? I love the outdoors. What are we waiting for? Let’s get over there!” Ten minutes later, I was walking along a beautiful sandy beach, holding a shoe in either hand. The tiny sand pebbles, warmed by the sun, felt absolutely luxurious between my toes. “So this is the main beach,” Chris explained. “Everyone tends to hang out here during the day while the weather’s good. Kids do their homework, or play catch, or anything at all. You’ll see tomorrow. When everyone else shows up, this place will be completely packed. But not many people venture past the rocks.” He pointed ahead, where the sand abruptly shifted into large, well-worn boulders. The water lapped around them, and little waves crashed into the sides. “And past there,” he said, climbing up onto the first boulder and offering a hand to help me up, “is where you really want to go.” I followed him as he showed the way along the boulders. Some of the rocks slanted

unevenly, while others were still slippery from high tide. Some were spaced so far apart that we had to jump to get across. Chris moved with the surefootedness of someone who’d done this many times before, while I had to focus on simply staying up. Once, a large wave came out of absolutely nowhere and smashed against the rocks, spraying us with cool water. I stood in shock for a second, trying to comprehend where the water had come from. Then, after noticing Chris standing there like a wet chicken, I burst out laughing. He took one look at me, and started laughing just as hard. “Good thing it’s a sunny day!” he called out. “Right,” I echoed. “How far away is this little beach of yours? I wouldn’t mind sitting down and soaking in the rays.” “And getting a little drier?” he laughed. “It’s just ahead. Not much farther.” ‘Not much farther’ turned out to be nearly a quarter of a mile. But, when we finally got there, I saw why Chris had wanted me to see it. The beach was maybe five hundred feet wide. But it was positioned on natural curve of the island so that it jutted out into the water. From the bend, all you could see was the pristine blue ocean all the way to the horizon. Right behind the beach was a dense thicket of woods, completely pure and untouched by humanity. Nobody would have guessed there was a whole community not far away. “This is beautiful,” I said in awe. “How’d you find it?” “Well, I’ve spent a long time on Traven Island, and had more chances than most to explore.” “What do you mean?” “Well, remember when you asked me why I was here early? And how I said it was a long story?” I nodded. “I’ve been wondering about that.” “Well, the truth is, I never actually left.” “Huh? What do you mean?” “For summer break. I never left the island.” “How come? I thought you said that everybody has to leave?” “Things are slightly different when you’re the son of one of the tenured professors here.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “One of your parents teaches here?” “My dad. I don’t actually know my mom.” “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” “It’s okay,” he shrugged. “She died just after I was born. I never knew her.” “I’m sorry,” I said again, more sincerely. “I can’t imagine what that would be like.” “Sometimes it’s kind of rough,” Chris admitted, “but I’ve learned to deal with it. What I have trouble dealing with sometimes though is this island.” “How do you mean?” “Well, my dad moved to teach here right after my mom died. I think it was a way for him to get away from the rest of the world. He dedicated himself pretty thoroughly to his work, so much so that he never really had any time to take a break from it and do anything else. So I spent my whole life here. I never went to elementary school, or anything like that, and my dad got some of his colleagues to home-school me during those years. When it came time to go to high school, Oliver Academy was the only choice.” “Did you want to go somewhere else?” “I never knew anybody my age growing up… because there was nobody my age around. Some of the other professors here looked out for me. Some even feel something like family, but I always yearned to get off the island, to see a regular city, to go to a regular high school.” “Wait a minute,” I said, holding up my hands, “do you mean you’ve never been off the island?” “My dad took me with him to a conference in Arizona, once, when I was thirteen, but other than that… not really, no.” “Wow,” I breathed. I couldn’t imagine spending my whole life somewhere like this. The island was beautiful, yes, but if I were to be here for more than a few years… well, I imagined it would quickly become completely stifling. “So you spent your whole life here?” “Pretty much.” “Is that how you know about all the history of the island?” He shrugged. “I guess. You tend to figure some things out about a place you’ve called home your entire life.” “I can’t imagine being in one place for so long,” I said. He barked an awkward laugh. “I know! Right? But at the same time, it’s all I’ve ever known.” “So you must be pretty excited about graduation, huh?” He laughed again. “Like you wouldn’t believe! I’ve been counting down the days since I was ten. The problem with that mindset, I’ve found, is that while everyone else is excited to be here and focused on the current moment, I’m always looking forward to the next step in my life.” “I know how that can feel,” I said. Ever since I got my admission letter, the only thing I could think about was coming to Oliver Academy, so much so that nothing that was going on at home really interested me anymore. Even the going away party that my friends hosted for me right before I left felt a little contrived, since I was so excited to be starting a new stage of my life. “So I guess that’s why I haven’t really felt the need to make a lot of friends here. Going

to Oliver always felt like something so transitory to me, like the last checkmark I needed to fill in before starting the rest of my life.” “Well, we can work on that,” I smiled at him. “You do have two years left.” “Don’t remind me,” he said laconically, but I could hear a little bit of excitement in his voice. Chris was a good guy, and I wouldn’t mind helping him find a bit more fun here. Assuming, of course, I could make the right friends. “The first thing we need to do, then,” I said, settling down into the warm sand, “is change your whole attitude about this place.”

Chapter Six – An Unexpected Welcome When I woke up the next morning, I could already feel the excitement in the air. From outside my window, I heard the bustle of activity. I looked down to find the entire courtyard absolutely swarming with students. There were girls and guys my age everywhere, and they all had wide smiles on their faces. Some were standing in groups talking, while others ran up to embrace friends in exaggerated greetings after a long summer away. Here and there, kids were carrying large moving boxes or assorted pieces of luggage. Others were offering help or just saying hi. Everybody looked happy doing whatever they were doing. The enthusiasm for the start of a new year was palpable. There was an undeniable energy, mixed with a tinge of uncertainty that always ushered in the first days of school. For me, however, this was the first time I found myself looking in from the outside. Every single year before, the first day of school meant seeing friends who had been on extended vacations during the summer, gossiping about who had changed over the months away, finding new boys to obsess over, and getting excited about new classes and teachers. This time it was different, but in many ways the same. I didn’t know anyone yet, except Chris. Yet, I was still very excited. I was positive it was the uncertainty of it all that made the first few weeks so deliciously exciting, foreboding, and thrilling all at once. I wanted to be out of my room as soon as possible. I promised Chris I would meet him for breakfast today. But, what I really wanted to do was get a first look at my new classmates. What would they be like? Were they all from around here, or had some, like me, come from far away? What were they like compared to the kids I knew back home? It was those commonalities, and potential differences, that made me so excited to meet them. I hoped, somewhat vainly, down there might be the first guy I could make a real romantic connection with. I showered as quickly as I could, but by the time I came out, I saw from my window that the commotion outside had died down considerably. There were still kids out, but they were mostly walking in groups either to or from the dorms. I thought I could hear people talking in the hall outside my room. I was still excited to get outside. Hurriedly, I got dressed and swung open my door – and nearly ran into a tall blonde girl who looked totally surprised to see me. She had one hand raised, with the knuckles facing me, as if she had been about to knock on my door. Then the look of surprise faded, instantly replaced by a generous smile. And the next thing I knew, I was being embraced in an impossibly tight hug. “Oh my god!” the girl squealed, “You must be Tracy!” I reciprocated by putting my arms around her somewhat awkwardly, while in my mind wondering just who she was or how she knew my name. When she finally released me, I had to gasp a ragged breath. “Sorry,” the girl giggled, “but it’s not every day we get somebody new here!” “So I gather,” I said, rubbing my side where her grip had been particularly tight. “And thanks for the welcome. How did you know my name?” “Oh! I can’t believe my manners. I’m Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Liz.” She had a definitive southern accent, and her high voice made every word out of her mouth seem a lot friendlier than it really was. “I’m president of the student council, err, vice president, actually, but that’ll change by the end of the month. Anyway, it’s pretty much my job to know everybody in our grade.” She was pretty. Really pretty. Her blue sundress showed off her long, shapely legs well above her knees. “The student council?” “Don’t worry! It’s not nearly as nerdy as it sounds. Basically, a few years back, the school realized that sometimes the social life here can be a bit lackluster. So they put together the student council, and gave us tons of money to host ‘cultural events’ and ‘weekly study breaks’ and things like that. But, to be honest…” her voice dropped to a mere whisper and she bent close to me, “…we mostly just use the money to buy booze for real parties.” Then she straightened again. “The school realizes that, of course. They’re not totally stupid. But they turn a blind eye because it keeps the students happy. And we don’t cause them too much trouble that way, either.” I stared at Liz. The administration here basically bought alcohol for the students? That was unbelievable. I’ve never heard of such a thing, and didn’t even know what to begin to think. “Anyway,” Liz continued, “I’ll be pretty much your best friend here from now on. Who knows? If you turn out to be cool, I might even invite you to some of the real parties.” She winked at me in a way that said that was definitely what I wanted. “Oooh my god, but you’re so pretty!” she squealed, and jumped in for another hug, which I was more ready for this time. Just as quickly as she had embraced me, she let me go, and twirled around to walk down the hall. “Come to breakfast?” she called over one shoulder. “Uh… yeah, sure,” I said quickly, closing the door behind me. “Great! I’ll introduce you to all my friends there. Oh, they’re definitely going to like you,” she cooed. “I think I already do!” It felt like a whirlwind with her. I barely had time to get a word in so far, and she’d already made up her mind about me? Well, at least it was a positive impression. “You know, I think we really lucked out,” she said as I caught up to her at the end of the hall. From over the railing, I could see the foyer below bustling with activity. At the same time, most of the doors I passed on this floor were wide open, with kids I didn’t know yet inside. Music

sounded from a few of them, and it varied from the top-40 to hardcore rap to good old fashioned rock. The only door that was closed, I realized, was Chris’s. “Oh yeah? How so?” I asked. “I was expecting you to be some dorky kid, but you seem totally normal.” “Um… thanks? But why would you expect anything else?” “I…” she started, but then cut off just as quickly. “Hey, Ashley!” Down the hall, at the base of the stairs, a girl with beautiful raven hair was climbing the last few steps with a heavy looking backpack slung over her shoulders. On hearing Liz, she looked up, and her face instantly lit up in recognition. She dropped the bag, and ran right for us. Liz ran toward her, and they embraced each other in a giddy hug midway. “…and you look amazing,” I heard Liz say as I came closer to the girls. “Oh my god, and so do you!” the other girl exclaimed with equal enthusiasm. “I missed you so much!” “Me too!” The other girl – Ashley – looked friendly enough. She was also pretty, although not a natural beauty like Liz. She was closer to my height, and, judging by the amount of makeup she wore, definitely took a keen interest in her appearance. She wore a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a tight sleeveless black top that looked more like an undershirt than anything else. I stood by at the side and waited for the introduction I assumed was coming. That was when Ashley seemed to first notice me. “Who’s that?” she asked Liz. “This,” Liz said triumphantly, moving over to place an arm over my shoulder, “is Tracy. She transferred here this year. And she’s super cool.” Ashley looked me up and down slowly. While she did so, she stuck her hip out to one side and put a fist on it, as if examining some sort of vagrant. I could feel her eyes on me, weighing and considering, and didn’t really know what to do. So I waited awkwardly, starting to feel my cheeks grow warm. Finally, Ashley broke the silence. “That’s the new kid?” she smirked. “I didn’t know they let creepers in the school.” Before I could even think of a reply, she pushed herself past us, and continued down the hall. I took back my original assessment of her. She was totally bitchy! I frowned at Liz. “What was that?” “Oh, don’t let her get to you,” Liz said dismissively. “She’s always like that to anyone she just meets.” She started walking toward the stairs, and I kept up. “What did she call me?” I asked as we passed Ashley’s forgotten bag on the stairs. “A creeper?” Liz just shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You guys will get to know each other soon enough, and I have a feeling you’ll get along just great.” Somehow, I doubted that. Where had her hostility come from? I didn’t really want to make a bad impression on anyone here, but it looked as if I’d already done so… somehow. “You guys are friends?” I asked. “Oh, definitely,” Liz replied. “We were best friends all through elementary school. And freshman year, too, and last year. This summer though, she went away to travel through Europe, and this is the first time I’ve seen her since the end of school.” “Oh… well, maybe that’s why she didn’t like me? Maybe she wanted to catch up with you?” “Nah! We’ll have plenty of time for that later. My priority is showing you around.” Liz beamed at me again. “Seriously though, don’t worry about it,” she confided, “I can talk to her later if you want. But for as long as I’ve known her, Ashley’s always had a dislike for anyone she didn’t yet know.” “No, you don’t need to do that,” I replied. “I’ll see if I can catch her later, maybe, and have a chance to patch things up…” “That’s the spirit!” Liz exclaimed. “Anyway, you’re going to love the girls I’m going to introduce you to at breakfast. They’re all friendly, like me! And they’re all going to love you, too.” “I hope so,” I said, sidestepping two guys carrying a futon up the stairs. “So what were you saying earlier, about expecting me to be someone else?” “Oh, that. Not much, really. Just that, in the past, most of the transfers here always ended up kind of weird.” She made a face, and stuck her tongue out. “I don’t know why, that’s just been the track record. But I can tell you’re definitely not like that.” “Your friend doesn’t seem to think so,” I said under my breath without thinking. Luckily, Liz didn’t seem to notice. I really hoped that her other friends were friendlier than Ashley had been. “So what’s your story?” Liz asked just as we exited the building. The outside air was warm, warmer than yesterday morning. Again, the sky was absolutely perfect. There was not a cloud to be seen anywhere. The sun was shining brightly from its perch about halfway up the sky. I took a deep breath before answering. All I could smell was the scent of fresh, clean air mixed with a tiny hint of the ocean. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Oh, you know,” Liz shrugged. “All the boring, awkward stuff: Where you’re from; why you’re here, so on. Anything you can tell me that’ll make introducing you easier?” “Well, I’m originally from Washington,” I began, then, seeing the look on Liz’s face, corrected myself. “The state, not the capital. I’m the only daughter of two parents. What else… uh, my dad went to Harvard, but never graduated from there because he got married to

my mom instead. And I came here because I know this is a great prep school for getting into the good colleges.” Liz raised her eyebrows. “I’m impressed! The daughter of a Harvard grad? You must be super smart!” “Well, he never actually graduated…” I began, but Liz cut me off. “That doesn’t matter. Just saying that should get you some serious cred. There are tons of wannabe Ivy League types here anyway. Very few of them actually have parents that went to the schools. They’ll all worship you instantly.” “I doubt that,” I chortled. “Anyway, now that the boring stuff is out of the way,” Liz said with a glimmer in her eye, “let’s get to the juicy stuff. Do you have a boyfriend?” “What? You mean right now?” Liz nodded. “No, I mean, I just got here…” “I meant from Washington, silly!” “Oh. Then no to that, as well.” “Great!” Liz exclaimed. “You wouldn’t want to keep up a long distance relationship anyway. It’s a nightmare. Trust me, I know.” “Do you have a boyfriend from far away?” I asked her. Liz shook her head. “Nope. Although I did freshman year. Let me tell you, you miss out on all the fun that goes on around here.” “Hmm. I mean, I guess that makes sense.” “You’ll see soon enough. But now you gotta tell me – have you ever had a boyfriend?” “Not really,” I admitted after a bit. “My high school was tiny, and there was nobody that —” “—really interested you?” Liz burst in, and I nodded. “Yeah.” “Well, you won’t have that problem here. We’ve got some of the hottest guys on the East Coast coming to Oliver Academy.” “Sounds great,” I said half-heartedly, all of a sudden becoming very conscious of the lie I had just told Liz. The truth was, there were guys I was interested in at home. But every time I tried to talk to them, I ended up stumbling over my words and making a complete fool of myself. None of my friends ever really had that problem. It seemed like I was the only one with that deficiency, for whatever reason. Back when I had applied to Oliver, a small part of me hoped that I could leave that all behind–that starting fresh would help me find a guy I really liked. “You don’t sound too enthused,” Liz said. “I just haven’t seen any yet,” I replied quickly. “Ooh, so you’re one of those ‘see-it-to-believe-it’ girls, are you?” Liz teased. “That’s perfectly understandable. And you’ll see soon enough. What I told you about the guy population here is no exaggeration. But you totally have to tell me: have you ever… kissed a boy?” she mouthed the last words in a mere whisper. “Of course!” I answered quickly. “It’s not like I’ve been locked in a tower my whole life.” “Oh, good,” Liz said, looking visibly relieved. “Just checking. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to get you started from scratch.” Then, looking around, she added in a hushed voice, “What about… the other thing?” “What do you mea—oh!” I blushed scarlet. “Uh, no. I’m… still a virgin.” Liz looked at me in surprise. “That’s not what I meant—” she began, then changed what she was going to say and quickly wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Me too,” she whispered in my ear. “But don’t tell anyone!” “My lips are sealed,” I assured her. “As long as yours are, too.” “Of course!” Liz replied. By now, we had reached the main yard, which was much busier than the last time I’d been here. There were students walking along the pathways and sitting in groups on the grass outside the buildings. Here and there, I saw a few wide-eyed freshmen, walking about and gaping at the structures all around them, probably looking much like I had yesterday. There were a few couples walking hand-in-hand. Far away, a group of scary-looking Goths were standing around in a private circle. There were a lot of older people, too. Again, I assumed most of them to be the professors or faculty of the school. “The cafeteria’s just up this way,” Liz said, leading me by the hand. “It’s where everybody comes to eat. It’s also one of the main places we all hang out when the weather gets crappy. The building’s open 24/7, and on the roof there’s a great little private courtyard with an amazing view of the whole island. You need a key to get up there, but as part of the student council…” she winked at me, “…I’ve got that covered. So, once you meet that special guy, taking him up there is more or less a necessity.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” I laughed. “Thanks.” “No problem. You’ll see. Being friends with me has a ton of benefits.” I wouldn’t doubt it, I thought. But in the back of my mind, a small voice asked me exactly why Liz was being so friendly toward me. It seemed totally random. It’s not like we knew each other very well yet. I pushed that voice away. Suddenly, I remembered that I had promised to meet Chris for breakfast. He was probably already in the cafeteria waiting for me, wondering what was taking so long. Then again, it wasn’t like meeting Liz had been that long a detour. At the same time, I knew that Liz wanted to introduce me to her friends. That meant I’d probably have to invite Chris to eat with us. I wasn’t sure if he would want to, if what he said about not having many friends was true. Liz had already

told me pretty explicitly that she liked to party, and Chris mentioned that that wasn’t his scene. I had a suspicion they wouldn’t get along. Thankfully, that turned out to be a non-issue. When Liz and I walked into the cafeteria, I scanned the room quickly, but didn’t see Chris anywhere. Liz, on the other hand, instantly spotted her friends, sitting at a big table in the middle, and waved enthusiastically to them. They all waved back. There were five girls that I could count. Liz hand signaled that she was going to get some food before joining them. She pulled me toward the start of the line. “Those are all the girls I want you to meet,” she told me cheerily. She picked up a tray and put it in my hands. “They’re all cool, but it’s been a long time since we’ve had anyone else join our group. We’ve all been best friends since our first day here. I think all of them will like you, but don’t take it the wrong way if you don’t get along with each of them right away. It might take some time but everyone will like you. “Except for Ashley,” I muttered. “What was that? Never mind. Anyway, like I said, they’re cool and all, and you seem to be as well, so far. But, you have to promise me one thing.” “What’s that?” “Don’t embarrass me.” She said the three words so gravely it felt like they came from a different person. “Um, okay? I’ll try?” “Nuh-uh,” Liz said sternly. “Not good enough. You have to promise.” I didn’t even know what I could do to embarrass her. Still, she seemed to be taking the potential for it pretty seriously. The way we were getting along so far, I didn’t want to jeopardize our budding friendship. “Sure Liz, I promise.” “Good!” In an instant, she was back to her bubbly self. “Not that I expect you to, of course, but it’s good to make sure.” “Of course,” I said. The line to the buffet had moved quickly, and we were already at the front. Liz scooped up a small serving of scrambled eggs and half a bagel, while I opted for a grapefruit and some oats. Liz frowned at my selection, but didn’t make any comment. Once we had both shown our student cards to “pay” for our food. Everything was included in the yearly tuition, but apparently they still wanted to scan your card to keep track of how much you ate. Then we headed back to the middle table. “That’s Ann and Jo on the left,” Liz told me over her shoulder, “and Eve, Madison, and Zoe on the other side. Don’t worry if you can’t keep up. You’ll get to know all of them sooner or later.” As soon as we came close enough to be noticed, one of the girls – Madison, I thought, though it may have been Zoe or Eve – noticed us and quickly said something to the rest of the table. Then, next thing I knew, Liz and I were being swarmed by all of them at once. “Liz, there you are!” one of them said enthusiastically. “We’ve been waiting all morning!” “It’s so good to see you!” another one of them cried out, drawing Liz in for a hug. “I missed you over the summer!” “Oh my god! You won’t believe what happened to Zoe,” a third one said, shooting a glance at the first girl who spoke. I assumed that one had been Zoe. “She met a guy, and fell in love, and it all ended in heartbreak – all in the span of three weeks!” “Is that so?” Liz asked quizzically. Zoe shot an evil glance at the third girl who spoke, but nodded her head. “I’m so over it by now. But it was an exciting time.” “And who’s this?” one of the two girls who hadn’t yet spoken asked, looking at me. Her blond hair was cut a touch shorter than Liz’s. Other than that, the two girls might have been twins. “My name’s Tracy,” I said, smiling at her. “I met Liz this morning, and she invited me to come meet you guys.” “Oh, so you’re the newbie,” Zoe said, smiling at me warmly. “I’m Zoe, Liz’s roommate.” She offered me her hand, and I took it in a firm shake. Zoe had brown hair a few shades lighter than mine, and a delicate face that made her look almost like a porcelain doll. But there was a spark in her eyes that said she was anything but. “Nice to meet you,” I said, then glanced at Liz. “I didn’t know you had a roommate!” “What? You didn’t tell her about me?” Zoe teased, jabbing Liz in the ribs. Liz gasped, looking superficially admonished, then laughed and tried to hit Zoe back. Zoe dodged her efforts easily. “I’m not really her roommate,” she admitted. “But I spend so much time in her room I might as well be.” “I’m Madison,” the blonde girl who could have been Liz’s twin said. “It’s nice to meet you.” “You too,” I answered, shaking her hand. She flashed a smile that revealed perfect, white teeth. “Come on! Come sit down,” Madison said, pulling me to the table. “You’ve got to tell us everything about yourself!” “Where do I begin?” I laughed. “We haven’t even got through all the introductions yet!” “Well, my name’s Eve,” a dark-haired girl said as she sat down beside me. Her hair was cut short like a boy’s, and she had a small tattoo running down the side of her neck. But, with her thick lashes and delicate face, there was no way anyone would mistake her for one. “How’d you meet Liz?” “Actually, she—” “I ran into Tracy this morning,” Liz butted in as she sat down, “looking totally lost and clueless. She needed help just getting to her room.”

“Not true!” I protested, and Liz laughed. “Fine,” she admitted, “I actually had to introduce myself to her this morning. You know, student council duties.” “Oh. So it’s all a sham?” I asked in mock indignation. “Totally,” Liz replied with a gleam in her eye. “Our entire friendship is built on a lie.” “You didn’t have to be so obvious about it,” I laughed. “No! But she’s cool,” Liz said to her friends. “You know how I was worried the new kid would be a total weirdo?” The question was met with nods around the table. “Well, Tracy’s anything but. I’ve got a good feeling about her.” “Me too,” Eve said beside me. “She seems… normal.” She flashed a smile. “Oh!” Liz exclaimed suddenly. “How rude of me – I haven’t introduced you to Ann or Jo yet.” The two girls who had just sat down beside Liz both smiled at me. “I’m Jo,” the one on the left said. She had fiery red hair and pale skin, but a very selfassured manner. She seemed to be the most composed one of the group. “And my name is Ann,” the girl to Liz’s right said. She extended her hand across the table, and I shook it. Ann had straw colored hair, but other than that had no particularly defining characteristic or striking features. In fact, she seemed to be the most reserved and shy one of the girls. “Nice to meet you both,” I said in turn. The introductions had all flown so quickly that I doubted I’d be able to remember most of the girls’ names the first time around. But, if I was going to be hanging out with them, I was sure I’d pick them up quickly. “So, where are you from?” Madison asked. “And how did you end up here?” “Long story,” I replied. “Do you want the short version, or the long version?” “I’ve already heard it,” Liz said, “so go for the quick one. It should be good enough for now.” “All right. I’m from a small town you’ve probably never heard of in Washington state. It’s called Somerville. The population is less than two thousand people, and we’re so far out in the mountains that most people don’t even know we exist. The only contact we get with the outside world, really, comes from truckers bringing up groceries and supplies for the stores. As for coming here? Well, I heard of the school one day, and thought that it would be a great place to come to before applying to college. So, I sent in my admission app, and the rest is history.” “Tell them about your dad,” Liz instructed in a stage whisper. “My dad? What about him?” “Tell them why you wanted to come here,” Liz replied. “Oh.” I didn’t want to seem a braggart, and was a little uncomfortable telling them about my dad’s alma mater already. “Go on,” Liz urged. “Oh, all right. The reason I wanted to come here, originally, was because of my dad. You see, he went to a really good college back in the day—” “He went to Harvard,” Liz piped in, looking around the table with raised eyebrows. “Right,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed. But, apparently, the name had an effect on the other girls. Instantly, they started looking at me with a new respect. “Anyway, that’s where he went, and I… kind of wanted to try to get into a similar school. But, I knew I couldn’t do it from a no-name high school on the west coast. That’s why I’m now at Oliver.” “Is that really true?” Eve asked at my elbow. “I’ve always heard of kids wanting to go to Harvard, but never of anyone who’s had relatives who went there.” “Yeah,” I said. This wasn’t really what I wanted to talk about, and looked for a way to change the course of conversation. Luckily, just then I saw my way out. At the other end of the cafeteria, I noticed Chris standing alone, glaring at our table. We made eye contact briefly, and immediately he turned away. “Excuse me for a second,” I said, pushing myself up from the table quickly, “I just saw a friend…” I walked around the table, keeping my eyes on Chris’s dark hoody as he stalked away. Suddenly, a hand on my upper arm stopped me in my tracks. I looked over, and saw Liz holding me. “Is your friend Chris?” she asked, pulling me back. She put a shocking amount of vehemence in the name. “Yes,” I answered quickly. He was quickly getting away, and I was afraid I’d lose him in the crowd. “How’d you know?” She made a face. “Oh Tracy, you don’t want to be seen talking to him,” she said in disgust. “What? Why?” I asked, confused. “Trust me on this one. You’re new here. So, I’ll give you a pass this time, but just between us…” she moved closer to whisper in my ear, “…he’s not somebody you want to be associated with. Ever!” “What are you talking about…?” I began, trying to pull away. I wanted to make my own decisions about my friends, not be told by someone I just met – and barely knew! – who I could talk to. I looked back at Chris. But, he was already lost in the crowd. Why had he run away like that? I turned back to the table. “Good choice,” Liz said. “You’ll fit in with us in no time.”

Chapter Seven – A New Meeting “Who was your friend?” Madison asked as I sat down. I started to answer, but Liz gave me such a strong look that I had to change what I was going to say. “Nobody,” I admitted, shaking my head. “I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was mistaken.” “Oh,” Madison said. Liz gave me a tight, approving smile. I didn’t like the way she seemed to think I needed her approval. But, at the same time, I knew that I had to tread carefully if I wanted to become part of her circle of friends. Whether I really wanted that or not, I wasn’t sure yet. I didn’t want to preclude myself from the possibility by a few rash, ill thought out decisions. “Oh my god, Liz! Look who it is!” Eve exclaimed excitedly. Too excitedly. She pointed with one finger to a crowd of kids behind Liz, who spun around in her chair quickly. “No, no! Don’t look!” Eve warned her quickly, and Liz turned back. “It’s R-O-B,” she mouthed. “Oh!” Liz exclaimed. For the first time since I’ve known her, she looked flustered. Instinctively, she started stroking a hand through her hair. “How do I look?” she asked eagerly, and with a touch of anxiety. “How’s my hair? My makeup? Oh my god, I haven’t seen him since last year!” she gushed. “Liz,” Madison said reassuringly, taking her hand, “you look fine. Just take a deep breath, and try to stay calm.” “Calm. Right. Calm. Oh my god! Do you think he saw me?” “Why else would he be coming over?” Zoe said with that twinkle in her eye. Liz snuck a peek back, squawked, and jumped back around. All the while, I was trying to figure out just who the girls were so excited about. There were other guys everywhere. I couldn’t pick anyone out who seemed to be walking toward us. Somebody named Rob? I frowned. There were literally hundreds of guys all around us, and at least the same number of girls. The cafeteria was large. But the influx of students for breakfast had it filled completely to the brim. “Liz,” a strong voice said. It took me a second to find its owner. But when I did, I could see why the girls were so excited. Standing at the side of the table, off to my left, was one of the most impressive guys I had ever seen. He was tall – six-foot-two or -three, at least. He wore a tight, black turtleneck that, on anybody else, would have looked completely nerdy. But on him, it looked fabulous – because it showed off his body. Every inch of him was pure muscle. His body had the most beautiful shape I had ever seen. His chest stood out and his arms were strong and lean. His entire torso was shaped like a perfect “V”. A trim waist built up to impressive shoulders. The sleeves of his sweater were rolled halfway up his forearms to reveal perfectly striated muscle fibers that danced as he rolled his wrists. His soot-black hair emphasized his dark facial features, which stood out under the cafeteria lights. Liz turned around slowly, dignified enough to be a queen. All trace of her excitement from before had disappeared. She had assumed an icy calm. But, as soon as her eyes landed on the guy, every part of the illusion shattered. Her resolve broke. She grinned wildly, squealed out “Rob!”, and rocked right out of her seat to wrap her arms around him in a hug. He picked her up, spun her around once, and set her down. “It’s good to see you, too,” he said as her feet touched the ground. I was sure the single spin hadn’t been enough to make her dizzy, but that was exactly how she looked. And all she could do was smile stupidly up at him. Without even asking for permission, he took her seat at the table, and patted his lap. Liz jumped onto him quickly, and draped her arms around his neck. Despite the intimacy, though, I could see some sort of… restraint… that she seemed to be fighting. “It’s good to see all of you, too,” he said to the table, eyeing each girl in turn. Then his eyes landed on me, and time seemed to stand still. I didn’t realize it before, but he had the clearest green eyes I had ever seen. Next to them, every other one of his features became completely secondary. He could have been fifty pounds overweight and balding, and those eyes would still have held anybody entranced. And that is how I felt at the moment. With those eyes, he seemed to peer right into my soul, past all the insecurities and all the pretensions. Somehow, he seemed to be looking right at me – the most unadulterated, most pure, most intimate and whole version of me I could ever imagine. His gaze aroused a version of me I didn’t even know existed. His eyes stood out against tanned, olive skin. Their effect on me only grew as the seconds slowly ticked past. I felt afraid and delighted, confident and uncertain, scared and elated, all at the same time. Abruptly, I became all too aware of all the other eyes on me. All the girls were staring, and Liz looked like she could have cut my throat right there. I cleared my throat uncomfortably and looked down. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Even a memory of that gaze made me flustered. “What was that?” I asked softly. I seemed to remember that a question had been asked of me, vaguely, in those few moments that time stood still. “He asked,” Liz repeated, in a tight voice, “who the new girl was.” The way she said ‘new girl’ matched the way she had emphasized Chris’s name, earlier. “Oh. I’m Tracy,” I said shyly, only now daring to look back up. To my utter chagrin, the guy still hadn’t looked away. He seemed to be completely oblivious to all the other girls.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said slowly, and very smoothly. He extended his hand across the table, and I had no choice but to take it. His grip was strong, and felt a perfect complement to my own lackluster shake. “My name is Rob.” “Rob,” I repeated quietly, letting the name roll off my tongue. It was a simple name; a good name. For those few seconds he had looked at me, every worry in the world seemed to disappear from my mind. That was the only time I had ever felt so at ease. At the same time, it was the only time in recent memory I had felt so utterly discomfited. It was a crazy contrast, and one that made me feel completely unsure of what had happened. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this much in my own head. “Well, I’ve got to go catch my friends,” Rob said suddenly, standing up from the table and nearly dropping Liz in the process. “Liz, it was good to see you. Same for everyone else. And it was very good to meet you, Tracy.” I only looked up once I was sure he had left, but my estimate had been unfortunately off. In fact, the moment I raised my eyes was exactly the time Rob had decided to take one last glance over his shoulder, back at… back at me. As our eyes met again, he flashed me a knowing grin, and disappeared in the crowd. Instantly, I became aware of every girl’s eyes on me. None of them looked happy. “What was that?” Eve asked admonishingly. Six pairs of eyes dug into me. There was no doubting their intentions. Anger. “What was what?” I defended meekly, but I knew I was outmatched. Great. In less than a minute, I had completely blown all my chances of being friends with a group of girls who seemed to be at the center of social life here. At least, now I could make my own decisions about who to be friends with, I thought humorlessly. Liz stared at me in disbelief and opened her mouth to say something. But then she stopped, took a deep breath, and visibly tried to compose herself. It failed. “Listen,” she said with unconditional vehemence. “I know you’re new. I know you don’t know us yet, or our friends. That gives you one chance. And, when I first met you, you seemed to be pretty cool. That gives you a second chance. And while I want to be friends with you – I think we all do – there has to be a mutual understanding between us. And that understanding is this: If you ever do something like that again, we will all turn on you faster than you can believe. Got it? If you don’t watch your behavior in the future, all of us – all six of us – will work to make your entire stay at Oliver a living nightmare. Understand? So. It’s up to you. We can be either your best friends, or your absolute worst enemies. And trust me, you don’t want any of us as your enemies. Take this as your final warning: You will not—I repeat, not— ever speak to Rob by yourself again. Do I make myself clear?” I nodded weakly. It wasn’t fair. It’s not like I even did anything! But all these girls seemed to think I had. I barely even said a word to the guy. But, somehow, they had already decided I was a threat to Liz’s relationship with him! Whatever that relationship was – I was sure they weren’t girlfriend-boyfriend at this point, based least of all on what Liz told me during the walk to breakfast. She just seemed a ditzy, little girl, jumping all around him, trying to win his affections. But, then again, I admitted grudgingly, it’s not like I would act any differently, given the chance. “So?” Eve asked provocatively. “What’ll it be?” I looked at her, and forced a smile. “I don’t want to interfere,” I said genuinely. “And I do want to be friends with you guys. I’m sorry for what just happened. I’ll make sure it doesn’t occur again.” “Great!” Madison exclaimed, and the pressure seemed to disperse instantly. “We want to be friends with you, too.” All the other girls broke into smiles, nodding their heads and agreeing. Even Liz, who looked most reluctant, cracked a smile. “See that it doesn’t,” she said, “and you’ll have a great time here.” I walked back to the dorm by myself. All the other girls had decided to go hang out for a bit at the beach, and while they pressed me to come, I excused myself early. I had some things to think about. The first thing I wanted to do, because I had broken a promise, was patch things up with Chris. I was unsure why he had stormed away like that after seeing me, and I wanted to get the story from him. After the warning Liz issued me about Rob, I didn’t want to press my luck and ask her about Chris. Apparently, there was some sort of animosity between him and the girls I had just met. I wanted to get his side of events. At the same time – no matter what I promised the others – I just couldn’t get Rob out of my mind. Who was he, to spark such a protective and jealous response from the others? Was he older than me, younger, the same age? Rob definitely seemed at least as old as we were, if not older. Maybe he was an athlete. Where did he come from? How long had he known Liz? Just what was the history of their relationship? But… more importantly: Why had he looked at me like that? That was the thing that weighed most on my mind. If he had some sort of relationship with Liz, why would he so blatantly stare at me? Maybe that was his way with people. Then again, from the extremely jealous reaction that he provoked, maybe there was no history with Liz. Maybe she just became threatened by the most innocuous thing. It wasn’t even my fault! I didn’t provoke him in any way. Even if I did lose myself in his eyes… well, nobody was safe from that mysterious gaze! I didn’t want to do anything that might cross Liz – or any of the other girls. Like I told

them, I did want to be friends with them, and despite the blunder with Rob and their subsequent reaction, they all seemed like fun, exciting girls to be around. They were definitely the ones in the know at this school, and I didn’t want to fumble away my chance to become ingrained with them before I even got to know them. If, over time, it turned out they were nothing like me… well, I would deal with that when I got there. But again, there was the question of Rob. Why oh why had he stared at me like that? Who was I to him? I felt chills run down my spine. When was the last time I had spent so much time thinking about a boy – and a forbidden one, at that? I shook my head. Never, of course, which is what made it all so exciting and uncertain and new. Rob was an enigma. And he was one that I was determined to solve. The door to the dorm clicked open as my student card came within range, and I hurried up the stairs to my room. I was so entrenched in my thoughts that I barely noticed Ashley storming down the stairs, coming right at me. At the last possible moment, I jumped out of the way, and her shoulder brushed mine unkindly. If I hadn’t glanced up at that last moment, she would have slammed right into me – as if I didn’t even exist! I looked after her. Just what was her problem? I reached the third floor and looked around. A few doors were still open. I could hear somebody playing music from a higher storey. Chris’s door was closed. I knew the chances of him coming back to his room right after what happened in the cafeteria were low, but it was the only place I knew to look for him. I knocked on his door once, and waited. Nothing happened. I counted to ten, and knocked again, louder this time. Still, there was no response. I sighed. I knew the odds of him being here right now were low, but I had still hoped that maybe… I heard movement on the other side of the door. It was hushed, though, as if the owner didn’t want anyone to know he was there. “Chris!” I said loudly. “Chris, it’s me. I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier. Please open the door!” Nothing. There was not another sound on the other side of the door. Perhaps I’d imagined it? I knocked again. “Chris, I’m sorry if you’re mad! I don’t know what happened in the cafeteria, and I wanted to talk to you about it. Are you there?” Again, nothing. Maybe he really wasn’t there. And I didn’t feel like yelling a whole apology through the door loud enough for the entire floor to hear. Suddenly, I got a great idea. I went over to my room, fumbled through my pocket for the key, and opened the door. Then, I went to my desk, where I had halfway started unpacking my belongings. I grabbed a pen, and ripped a piece of paper out of a notebook. I wrote a short note on it: Chris, Sorry about missing breakfast. I’ve got the rest of the day free. Give me a call! 617-8819490. Tracy There. At least now, if he wanted to talk, he would have my cell. Speaking of which, I saw that it had finally charged, and picked it up from my bed. Flipping it open, I saw that I had nearly a hundred unread messages. I started scrolling through them. The first two were from my mom, telling me she loved me and wishing me a good stay, but the rest all came from Kyla, my best friend back home. I chuckled as I read through them. They got more and more frantic as I got toward the end, asking – no, demanding – that I call as soon as possible. Smiling at the memory of home, I sent her a brief message saying that I’d been super busy but would finally call later today. Before the phone was even halfway to my pocket, it buzzed with a new notification. I opened it again, and looked at the message: Don’t skimp on me this time! And get ready to dish! XOXO K PS: I’mstill your best friend ;) Hah. That made me smile again. I put the phone in my pocket, and left my room, taking the note with me. I slid it under Chris’s door as I passed by, and hoped he would get in touch sooner rather than later. I thought I had dealt with him as best I could, at least for now, and could switch focus to the other things swirling through my mind. I went down the stairs, passing by a few kids on their way up, and came out the front door. It wasn’t yet noon, but the courtyard in front of the dorms was already busy. In the middle, a group of guys were playing ultimate Frisbee. Most of the benches at the sides were filled with kids reading or talking in groups. I saw one girl strumming a guitar under the shade of a nearby tree. Beside her, a couple was sitting cozily in each other’s arms. For some reason, that made me think of Rob. I pushed the thought away and hurried on. I had promised the girls that I wouldn’t talk to him unless they were around, and I expected to keep that promise. There was no point in jeopardizing the friendships with them over a single guy – and one who I barely even knew, at that. Liz had told me earlier the school was chock-full of good looking guys. So, I knew rationally there was no point in getting strung up over just one. And yet… the fact that I was forbidden to get to know him made him all the more alluring. It was crazy, and it made me feel out of control. I also had a sneaking suspicion that the reason why all this had me so unnerved was because of my conspicuous lack of experience with guys. I didn’t know exactly where I was going. But, I soon found myself angling toward the

beach. The girls had said they would be there, and if I wanted to be friends with them I should probably be hanging out there, too. Besides, from what Chris told me yesterday, I knew the beach was among the more popular places to be. I wanted to see that for myself. However, I wasn’t totally convinced that I wanted to see the other girls just yet. Whatever was going on with Rob weighed on my mind. Maybe being alone for a little bit more before meeting them was the better choice. I knew, at the very least, that I had to clear my mind. Suddenly I had a great idea! What about the little beach that Chris had shown me? It was private, and it seemed a great place to get some serious thinking done. Perhaps Chris would show up there later, if he wasn’t already there. That made up my mind. Going to the private beach seemed the best of both worlds. I would have to pass by the main beach to get there. In the process I’d probably see Liz’s group of girls. And I could see just how packed the main beach was, now that everyone was here. Then I would be free to go and just relax at the private beach and consider everything that had happened this morning. The walk wasn’t far, and the scenery still struck me as if seeing it for the first time. The island was absolutely beautiful, and now that it had been re-populated after summer, it seemed more like a holiday getaway than a boarding school. The scent of evergreens mixed with that delectable tint of sea salt. As I neared the beach, the salty smell increased, as did the noise of many people. I topped a small hill, and immediately saw what Chris meant about the beach being a popular hangout spot. Despite the sun being hidden away by a few clouds, every square foot of the beach was packed with people. It was even busier than the cafeteria had been earlier today. It seemed like everybody who arrived at Oliver today was already down there. I looked around, but couldn’t see Liz or the other girls anywhere. I went along the single path leading to the water, propelled by the stream of other kids heading the same way. Down there, I looked around again, but still wasn’t able to find any of the girls I had met before. Maybe they had already left? I wasn’t sure I would be able to pick them out among the sea of people. At the same time, it was a bit of relief not to see any of them yet. I still had too much on my mind. Getting my thoughts in order would happen only in the serenity of the private beach. I edged myself through all the people, and was just about to get to the part where the sand shifted to rocks when I heard a shrill voice behind me. “Tracy!” I looked back, and saw Madison running toward me. Somehow, she had found time to change since leaving the cafeteria, and was now wearing a tiny white skirt and an equally skimpy top. Her hair hung freely around her shoulders. Again, I was struck by just how much she resembled Liz. “Hey!” she said as she came up to me. “I thought you would come eventually. Wait! Where were you going?” “Oh, hey,” I greeted her with a casualness I did not feel. “Just over this way, I was uh, looking for you guys.” “Well, we’re back over there,” she said, pointing in the opposite direction. “No wonder you missed us! You were looking in the wrong place.” “Yeah,” I answered half-heartedly. I was looking forward to getting some time to myself. Now the possibility had disappeared. “Anyway, we were actually just about to leave, when I saw you,” Madison continued. “It was nice here, but way too busy.” “Oh,” I said, instantly feeling a flood of relief. Maybe I’d get the time to myself after all. “Where are you going?” “Don’t know yet, but somewhere less busy. I actually might go back to my room. I haven’t had a chance to unpack yet, and I know the other girls have to do so as well.” “Oh, so you guys aren’t all hanging out then?” Madison shook her head. “Probably not for much longer. Otherwise, I’d ask you to come along.” “That’s fine. I actually wanted to take a look around the island for a bit, and I don’t think you guys would be interested in that anyway.” Madison made a face. “Nah, we’ve all seen pretty much all there is to see here. But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” “Oh? Why then?” “Actually, Liz asked me to tell you about a party going on tonight. Sort of a welcome back thing to kick off the new year. You in?” “Uh, maybe,” I answered. The way Madison emphasized the word ‘party’ made it seem like it was going to be the highlight of the year. There was also something… sinister… about the way she said it. “Maybe?” Madison looked scandalized. “That’s not good enough. You have to come. Otherwise, you’re totally going to miss everything that goes on here! Anyone who’s anyone is going to be there. Trust me. That’s where you need to be to fit in on campus.” “Sure, alright,” I agreed. “Great! The party starts at ten. But, we’ll come by your room at eight to make sure you’re ready. Give me your phone number, just in case plans change.” I did. Madison punched it into her phone and skipped off. I turned and continued toward my intended destination. The party tonight was just another thing I’d need to mull over.

Chapter Eight – An Invitation I was in my room, and the feeling of anxiety in the pit of my stomach grew as the minutes ticked closer and closer to 8:00 p.m. I still hadn’t heard anything from Madison, or anybody else, about the party tonight. What Madison said earlier about the party being important started to weigh on me. I didn’t want to start the year off behind in the social scene. Apparently that would be the inevitable outcome if I missed tonight. I flipped open my phone for what seemed like the hundredth time, only to find exactly the same thing as before: nothing. Although I knew all the girls – and everyone in my grade – lived in this building, I didn’t know which particular rooms any of them were in. So, it wasn’t like I could walk down the hall and meet all of them just like that. I leaned back on my bed, my anxiety and uncertainty increasing. What was taking Madison so long? Maybe she’d forgotten about inviting me? I hoped that wasn’t the case. And what would the party be like, anyway? Who would be there? Would Rob? The only solace was that the party apparently wasn’t supposed to start until 10:00 p.m.. But at the same time, if none of the girls I met earlier today showed up to take me there, it wouldn’t matter at all when it began. The minutes stretched by slowly. What made it worse was that I had nothing to do but sit and wait. I had already showered and dressed in a fresh outfit: a pair of new jeans with a bit of glitter down the sides and a bluish-black, matching blouse. I didn’t know what people wore to parties over here, so I elected to choose something relatively conservative, but sufficiently dressy for the night. Where was everyone? Outside my window, I could hear kids walking along the courtyard. Every once in a while, I caught a whoop or a shout. That only served to increase my anxiety. People out there were having fun. Why wasn’t I? Of course, the answer to that was that I was waiting to go somewhere that would apparently be fun. Or, it might not be at all, but it still seemed like something I shouldn’t miss. Least of all after Madison’s warning. I flipped over, and looked at the time on my phone. It blinked 8:02 p.m. Madison was late and not responding to my texts. I had nothing to do but lie back and wait. A part of me wished I was still at that little private beach. The sun would be going down shortly, and its rays on the horizon would be quite a sight. I had stayed there for nearly the entire day today, feeling completely at ease in the tranquility of the space. It was one of the most relaxing, most therapeutic, extended moments of my life. Chris wasn’t there, and didn’t show up at any point. I had been hoping he might, but I would have still gone there again in a heartbeat knowing that. Staying there gave me time to think, about Chris, about Rob, about Liz and the other girls, about my feelings regarding this new school, and a whole bunch of other things that needed to be figured out. One of the most important revelations I made had to do with Liz and her friends. I had decided, pretty unequivocally, that I wanted to do my best to be accepted as one of them. Not least of all because if I wasn’t, as they made clear, my life had the potential to become a living hell. I didn’t want to find out what that would be like. Of course, it wasn’t like I was being pressured into friendship. The threat had only come up after I had seemingly infringed on some type of girl code. Before that, they were all pretty much ready to become fast friends. So really, the choice was obvious: stay clear of Rob and become good friends with the popular girls in my grade, or, mess that up and make six powerful enemies for the rest of high school. It was an easy choice for me. No matter how callous and unexpected that threat from Liz had been, the girls were all people I wanted to get to know. Besides, they seemed to like me, aside from that strange occurrence with Rob. And I liked them. The one thing I had to do, then, to ensure there wouldn’t be any more unfortunate incidences, was talk to Rob and clear things up with him. I wanted to make sure he didn’t get the wrong impression about me. To do so, I thought I had to tell him straight up that I wasn’t interested in him. Except that it wasn’t true. I wanted to get to know Rob, to figure out just why he looked at me like that. But if I wanted to maintain the friendship with the girls, that was out of the question. It was a great predicament to be in. A knock on my door jolted me out of my musing. My mind had drifted, and it took a few seconds for me to process what had happened. As soon as I did, though, I sprang out of my bed and made a beeline for the door. I had my hand on the knob when I stopped, realizing I probably looked a mess after lying on the bed. I took a few seconds to smooth the front of my blouse, and then, feeling more composed, opened the door. I was expecting Madison, or Liz, or maybe the whole group of girls. Instead, outside my door, I found… nobody. I poked my head into the hall, and looked both ways. It was empty. There was nobody there! I frowned. Had I imagined hearing the knock? I didn’t think I was that jumpy. No, somebody had definitely been there. But now they were gone. Who was it? Slowly, a sinking realization started to invade the pit of my stomach. Maybe Madison’s invitation had just been a ruse, a way to get my hopes up and then dashing them. Maybe it was some sort of cruel justice those girls thought was appropriate after what had happened in the cafeteria. I felt betrayed and alone. I didn’t like being taken advantage of that way. I began to close the door, but then a small piece of white caught my eye. I looked down,

and to my surprise found a sealed envelope on the floor. I picked it up. On one side, in a flowing, elegant hand, was my name. Tracy Bachman. I closed the door with my hip, and held the small envelope carefully. I didn’t know what it contained. Something about it felt both ominous and exciting at the same time. The paper was thick and heavy. I sat down on my bed, and opened it. Inside was a folded piece of paper. I pulled it out and read: Dear Ms. Bachman, Your presence is cordially requested at 86 Brattle Street at 10:30 p.m., tonight. Please adhere to a formal-casual dress code. The message was written in the same hand as my name had been outside the envelope. At the bottom, instead of a name or any indicator of who it was from, was a small wax emblem. I brought it close to get a better look. It was some sort of sigil, although nothing I could distinguish. A single triangular shape was overlaid by a series of three wavy lines. I had no idea what it represented, or what it meant. But, I did know one thing: This was my invitation to the party. At least, that’s what I thought it was. The timing coincided with what Madison had told me, and I could see no other explanation. But, why the mysterious delivery? What was up with the dress code? Formal-casual? What did that even mean? I looked at my phone. 8:22 p.m. That was good, at least. It meant I had enough time to change into something more suitable, and figure out exactly where it was I had to go. I hadn’t heard of Brattle Street before, but assumed it was somewhere in the main yard. That was the only area on the island that actually had labeled streets. I wondered curiously about the location. When Madison told me about the party – assuming it was the same party – I thought it would be in somebody’s dorm. But there were no dorms in the main yard, only that arrangement of assorted buildings. And what was up with that wax emblem? Was it something I should recognize? Perhaps it represented some sort of club or secret society? But this was just a random boarding school. From what I knew, those types of places were limited to the elite universities of the country. Well, I’d find out soon. The first thing to do, then, was figure out exactly where it was I needed to go. I pulled out the little map that had come with my welcome package. Unfortunately, the lack of detail meant that none of the streets were labeled. Blah. Well, the main yard wasn’t that large anyway, and only had a few main streets. I would just have to leave early to find the place. The next thing proved slightly more difficult. I hadn’t the slightest clue what ‘formalcasual’ meant. Besides, I had had to leave most of my clothes behind when I was forced to take that tiny ferry over. After agonizing for at least half an hour, pulling out what few clothes I had here and comparing them to each other, then trying them on in turn, the final outfit I settled on was unfortunately familiar. It was the same thing I had on when I first got the invitation. I saw on my phone that it was already 9:40 p.m. That gave me less than an hour to find the place. It was an uncomfortably short amount of time. So, grabbing my phone and the invitation, I ran hastily out of the room. I could hear people in the foyer below. As I passed them on my way out, I thought I caught a glimpse of Chris, but when I turned my head to double check, he was gone. He still hadn’t gotten in touch with me. I absently hoped that he wasn’t still mad. But that wasn’t the priority right now. The courtyard outside the dorms was surprisingly busy. There were groups of people walking about, or hanging out under the trees, or even throwing a Frisbee around. That surprised me. The Frisbee was glow-in-the-dark, something I hadn’t seen before. I hurried past, angling toward the main yard. There were no streetlamps along the path. The only source of luminance came from the courtyard behind me. Less than halfway there, the light had faded enough to make it difficult to see where I was going. The moon above provided precious little light since it was mostly hidden by a thick crop of clouds. I shivered, and not from the cold. There was nobody else on the path, in front or behind me. I felt acutely vulnerable. Who knew what wildlife populated the island at night? I doubted there was any crime within such a small community. But still, a girl walking by herself in the dark would be an attractive target. I quickened my step. Coming over the hill just before the main yard, I was relieved to see that some of the lights in the buildings were on. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to eliminate the feeling of gloom and danger that crept up in the dark. I looked at my phone. It was 10:01 p.m. Hopefully, there was time to find Brattle Street yet. I wandered down to the first row of buildings, and was struck by the sheer quiet of the place. Even once the lights had faded from the dorms, I could still hear some of the sounds of the courtyard most of the way along the path. Here, everything was absolutely silent. My steps on the cobblestone were the only sounds that broke the night. The lack of any noise – no wind rustling, no animals chirping, and no hum of people anywhere – created an unnerving atmosphere dripping with dread and anxiety. I became very aware of just how loud my steps sounded against the ground, and made a conscious effort to suppress the clatter. I didn’t want to draw undue attention to myself in the dark. At the first intersection, I looked up to read the street names. Neither was Brattle. I looked around, unsure of where to go. I could continue down the main street, checking each

intersection in turn, or I could take my chances and veer off to the side, toward the smaller streets. Would the party, or whatever it was, be held in a building on the main street? I had no idea. I looked to the side, and realized that the back streets were completely unlit. Only the streetlamps on the main street emitted any light. That sealed my decision. I continued forward. The next street I passed wasn’t Brattle, and neither was the one after it. I started checking the clock on my phone more and more often, becoming conscious of the minutes creeping by. The last thing I wanted was to show up late. I kept going forward, reading the street names in the dim light, until I got to the circular town square. The fountain in the middle wasn’t flowing, which only amplified the eerie silence. There were five different streets leading away from the square. I had no idea which one to take. I started walking around in a counter clockwise direction, checking the names of the streets in turn. The first was Auburn, then Longwood, then Merger, and then… Brattle! A wave of relief flooded over me. Not only would I actually be able to find the place now, but I would also get out of the uncanny quiet. I started down Brattle Street, reading the building numbers on either side of me. They started in the low teens, and went up by two. Looking at my phone, I saw it blink 10:23 p.m. I walked faster. I realized quickly that Brattle Street wasn’t straight. It curved sharply a quarter of the way down. The view past the curve was restricted. I hurried toward it. None of the buildings close by would be number 86. As soon as I crossed the bend, I saw it. Down near the very end of the street, just before the transition from the main yard to the wilderness beyond, stood a brightly lit house. It was large and extravagant. Sparkling, white columns towered in front. The building stood three stories high. A low, long staircase prefaced the front, where two massive doors were tightly shut. The windows on the first two levels were dark, but the ones on the top flashed with strobing, multi-colored lights. As I came closer, I could hear the music playing from that level, as well as the familiar sounds of a busy house party. It meant I was already late. I rushed forward, taking the stairs two at a time. I thought everybody was already inside, but at the top I nearly banged heads with a tall, burly looking girl dressed in pure black. I had no idea where she had come from. I hadn’t noticed her on the way up. She looked me up and down disapprovingly. “Just where do you think you’re going?” she asked in a deep, rasping voice. “Um, inside?” I countered. “I got an invitation to an event here tonight.” “Is that so?” the girl asked in a disbelieving tone. “Well, how come I’ve never seen you before?” “I’m new,” I said. “I transferred to the school this year.” “Sure you did,” the girl answered, crossing her thick arms. She was the image of intimidation. “That’s what everybody says when they want to get in.” “Well, it’s true!” I said, trying to peer around her. “Just who are you, anyway?” “I’m the one that makes sure only the right people are allowed to come in. Get it? And you, I’ve never seen before. Besides,” she scoffed, “I doubt you’d make the cut.” I blinked. ‘Make the cut?’ Was this really such an exclusive event, where they would let only certain people in? Luckily, I had the invitation still in my pocket. I pulled it out, and handed it to her. “See?” I said triumphantly. “There’s my invitation. Now move aside and let me in.” “Hmm…” the girl said thoughtfully, considering the piece of paper in her hands. “That is what it says, but…” I saw a mischievous glimmer in her eye, and suddenly the invitation was being crumpled up between her hands. “No!” I yelped. But, it was too late. She had crushed the piece of paper into a tight ball, and tossed it to the ground. “Looks fake,” she told me with a malevolent glare. And she pushed me roughly back. “Get out of here, before you stir up any more trouble.” “But—” I changed what I was going to say. Just who did this girl think she was? The invitation was real, and just because she didn’t see it didn’t mean she could bar me from entry. I felt anger bubbling up inside, and stepped up to her. “Now listen to me,” I began, matching the burly girl glare for glare. “That invitation was real, and I don’t care what you say. Ask whoever you want inside. I was invited here. And I am new, not someone pretending to be just to get into some party. I don’t know who you are, but clearly, since you’re out here, you haven’t been invited in either.” I could see from the look on her face that I had struck a nerve, so I pressed on. “Maybe you think this is some way for you to prove yourself to the people inside, by minding the door. But, once they hear what you did to my invitation, they’ll dismiss you faster than you would think possible. I’m friends with the girls who invited me here, which is more than you can say, I’d bet. So either you let me in, or I’ll come in by myself. But once I do, I’ll be sure to tell everybody of the way you treated me.” The girl stared at me for a second, dumbstruck by my outburst. But then she took a single step forward, and towered over me. The resolve I had felt just seconds ago evaporated. “Is that so?” she growled menacingly. In my head, I quickly sized her up again. She must have been a good four inches taller and easily fifty pounds heavier. If the dispute became physical any time soon, I would be quickly outmatched. Still, I couldn’t just back down after what I had said – even if most of it had been a bluff. I was sure she was used to intimidating others around her, but I wouldn’t cower that easily.

Thankfully, just at that moment, the doors behind the girl opened, and a familiar head peaked out. For a second, I thought that it was Liz, but then saw it was actually Madison. “Tracy, there you are!” she exclaimed happily. “I thought I heard your voice out here. I wasn’t sure you were coming!” The burly girl stepped away from me, looking absolutely speechless. “You… know her?” she asked Madison in the barest whisper. “Of course I do! You didn’t give her any trouble out here, did you?” “I… well, I, uh…” “No trouble at all,” I spoke up, flashing the big girl a knowing grin as I stepped around her. “She was just telling me about all the wonderful people inside.” “Uh… yeah, right,” the girl nodded, and quickly bent down to pick up my crumpled invitation. She smoothed it hastily against her thigh, and gave it to me. “I was just helping her with her invite. It, uh, got a little bit disheveled in her pocket on the way over, and—” “Thanks,” I said, taking it from her hand. Folding the invitation with as much dignity as I could muster, I placed it in my back pocket. “Come on, then!” Madison said eagerly, taking my hand and pulling me in. She was bouncing up and down with excitement. “You’re missing an epic party!” “So what is this place?” I asked once we were inside the doors. The first level of the building was cloaked in darkness, but the central staircase that wound up to the higher floors was faintly illuminated. All the sounds of the party were coming from the highest level. “Oh, Liz didn’t tell you?” Madison asked in surprise as she led me up the stairs. “This is the only building on campus not owned by the school. Every once in a while, the secr—err, the student council, I mean—hosts some awesome parties in here.” “No, Liz never told me,” I answered. I looked at Madison suspiciously. What was that she was going to say before she changed it to student council? “Who owns it?” I asked. “Not important,” Madison said, brushing my question away. “What is important is that this is one of the most exclusive parties of the year, and you’ve been invited!” “I’m thrilled,” I told her genuinely. “But, why all the secrecy? And what was up with the invitation?” “Invitation?” Madison looked at me, not understanding. “What do you mean?” “The letter in the envelope I found outside my door,” I told her. “That was from you, right?” “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Madison said, frowning. “I tried texting you a dozen times, but you never replied. That’s why I thought you weren’t coming.” “What? I never got any messages from you.” “Really? That’s weird.” “Are you sure you had the right number?” “Yeah. You texted me at the beach. Remember?” “Right,” I replied. Then I shrugged. “Well, at least I’m here now.” “That’s right,” Madison said, smiling broadly. “And now, you’re going to see what a party at Oliver Academy is really like.”

Chapter Nine – A Blue Light Madison opened a pair of doors on the third level. Instantly, a blast of noise and lights overwhelmed my senses. She pulled me in, and closed the doors. We were inside what looked like a former ballroom – except that it had been totally transformed for the party. Hanging from the sides of the room were strobe lights, each a different color. They flashed in time to the music, which was pumping from a sound system that consisted of enormous speakers placed at the sides of the room. Every now and then, a stream of laser lights showered down across the room, illuminating all the people inside. While it wasn’t packed, the party was busy. In the middle of the room, a type of dance floor had been carved out. A bunch of girls and guys were having fun to the music. Along the sides stood a series of couches and sofas, half of which were already taken – mostly by liplocked couples. As soon as I stepped into the room, I immediately noticed the stifling heat. For some reason, none of the windows were open. It made for a stuffy, murky type of environment. I asked Madison about that. “Oh, that’s so that the neighbors don’t complain about the noise,” she explained quickly. “Neighbors?” “Professors, staff members… basically all the adults who work here. They live in many of the buildings close by.” “Oh. I didn’t know that.” “Yeah, so as long as we don’t make too much noise at one of these parties, they turn a blind eye to the alcohol.” She flashed a grin. “Speaking of which, you want a drink?” Then, before I had a chance to answer, she handed me an empty solo cup. “Of course you do. Our bar’s over there.” She pointed across the room. “Go get yourself something, and I’ll be right there.” “Where are you going?” I asked. “Oh, I have to just check in on something,” she replied quickly. “Don’t worry. Everyone’s going to be excited to meet you. I’ll introduce you to a bunch of people in a second.” “Okay. But where—” I stopped. She had already disappeared into the crowd. What I wanted to ask her was where the other girls were, so I could go say hi and see what they were doing. It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable by myself at a party. It’s just that I preferred, obviously, to be with people I knew. I looked around to see if I could spot them. Seeing none of the girls, I started making my way across the floor to the bar that Madison mentioned. While I didn’t usually like to drink liquor, the unbearable heat of the room made me extremely thirsty. Besides, it’s not like one drink could hurt. Everybody around me already had their red plastic cups full. As I got closer to the other side, I had to edge my way around people more forcefully. The crowd seemed to get denser closer to the bar. Ten feet away, my progress ground to a halt. I tried more forcefully pushing myself around people, and to my surprise the technique worked. Before long, I was standing in front of a long wooden table covered with empty bottles and half-finished drinks. A guy with brown curly hair flashed me a friendly smile from the other side. He nodded toward my empty cup, spreading an arm grandly over the table. “What’ll it be?” he shouted over the noise. “Whatever you have left,” I told him, eying the empty bottles. “But don’t make it that strong!” He laughed, and bent down under the table to scoop some ice into my cup. Standing back up, he took a nondescript bottle and poured something vibrantly red into my cup. As he handed it back to me, he winked. “What is it?” I asked. “A very girly drink,” he replied. “Not that strong, just as you asked.” I took a sip, and nearly gagged. The drink was sweet – very sweet. So sweet it was almost like drinking pure syrup mix. And it had only the barest hint of alcohol although I supposed something so sweet could mask a lot of liquor. I made a face at the guy. “You might have to wait for the ice to melt a bit,” he laughed. I started to say something back – the guy was friendly, and good looking. But, he already turned his attention to the next person in line. “Hey, keep moving!” somebody called out from behind. “Don’t keep the whole line waiting!” I glanced back, and realized that I was in line. Or rather, I was at the start of the line, and I was keeping everybody else back. Bringing the cup to my lips for another sip – it was so hot! – I moved forward, away from the table. I decided to see if I could find Madison or any of the others. I started looking through the crowd, but the ebb and flow of people kept pushing me off my feet. Near the middle of the room, the music was loud. It was dark, and nearly everybody was sweaty. I decided I had a better chance of finding the other girls if I were at the side of the room, instead of square in the middle. I veered off toward the side wall, where it was noticeably less crowded. And I was more than halfway there when, suddenly, through the cacophony of the crowd, I heard my name. “Tracy!” My heart froze. The voice was low and strong. It was powerful. I gulped. There was only

one person who had a voice like that. Rob. Ever so slowly, I turned around, desperately trying to think of what to do. I had wanted to see Rob before, yes, and had even planned on what I was going to say to him. But, I wasn’t ready to do it now! Liz and the others could be anywhere among the people around me. If they saw me talking to him without their permission… it would end terribly for me. My eyes found Rob instantly. Even in the dark, he stood out. In fact, he did more than stand out. He dominated. As he walked toward me, the people in front of him seemed to flow out of the way. He towered over nearly everyone, and even if someone was taller, they could not match his sheer presence. Quickly, I scanned the room again, to see if I could spot Liz, or Madison, or any of the others anywhere. Thankfully, they were nowhere to be seen. And, even better, nobody that I could see was paying any attention. Rob smiled as he walked toward me. All I could do was stare dumbly at him. I knew I should move, or say something, or do anything. But neither my body nor my mind wanted to respond. “I’m happy you’re here,” Rob said in a way that almost made me feel he had been waiting for my arrival. But that couldn’t possibly be the case. Surely he had other, prettier girls he was interested in – and were interested in him. Liz came to mind, for one. Before I knew it, he bent down to pull me in for a hug. I wanted to resist, at first, lest any of the other girls see. But, that resolve quickly melted. His arms wrapped around me made me feel safe; sheltered, even. It was as if his presence could erase all my simple worries, and shield me from the evil and dangers of the outside world. Nothing could touch me. There was nothing to fear. The moment lasted a precious second, though. I instantly felt the loss as he straightened. “I…” I started to say, wanting to tell him that he shouldn’t be talking to me, that Liz was the one he should be around, but couldn’t find the words. Not with those eyes staring down at me. In the low light, he looked as good as ever. He had the same dark sweater on as when I’d met him earlier. Made of that paper-thin fabric, it clung to his body like a second skin. He felt good, too, as I knew from that split second when he embraced me. “Yes?” he asked, the corner of his mouth curving up in a knowing smirk. It’s like he knew of his effect on me, and knew of the trouble it had caused me, but did not care. I almost felt like he was daring me to tell him to go away, just so he could rebuff me by saying he wouldn’t do that. I knew that was ridiculous, of course – just a made-up fantasy created by my over-active imagination. I was just so struck by him, popping up completely out of the blue, that I couldn’t think straight. And his eyes were back on me. Even in the dark of the party, they seemed to soak up and reflect what little light there was. The effect of his strong gaze was strengthened by the fact that he hadn’t looked away once since calling out my name. He was looking at me expectantly now, waiting for an answer, but I couldn’t even begin to think of the proper thing to say. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks, and was glad that in the low light he wouldn’t be able to see me blush. I opened my mouth… and closed it again. I was completely frozen. This always happened when I was around a guy I liked, but with Rob the effect was magnified a hundredfold. I couldn’t look away. Those beautiful eyes had me mesmerized. Suddenly, Rob laughed, breaking my trance. He had a rich, deep laugh that echoed throughout the room. I only hoped Liz wouldn’t recognize it from wherever she was and come to investigate. “A ‘hello’ would be nice,” he said, eyes shining with mischief. “Aren’t you glad to see me?” “Yes,” I answered without thinking. Then, realizing what a horrible blunder I’d made, tried to correct myself. “I mean, it’s quite a surprise to see you here.” I looked away. “Is it?” He reached over to gently turn my head back toward him. I nearly died. The feel of his fingers on my chin made me even woozier than before. Whatever advantage I had recovered by tearing my head away from him was now lost. I was back at square one. He looked at me, and didn’t say anything. I could feel the seconds ticking by, but couldn’t figure out what to tell him. This was not a normal reaction I was having. There was no way a single guy could have such a strong effect on me. Nobody should ever be so helpless around a member of the opposite sex. And yet, no matter how hard I tried to rationalize, my emotions held me at their whim. “I mean no,” I said after the long pause. “I would have thought you’d be with Liz tonight, not by yourself. She is here, right?” “She’s off somewhere in the crowd,” he said dismissively, waving a hand toward the middle of the room. “But, uh… why aren’t you with her?” He chuckled, and took my free hand in his. Bringing it up so it was chest-high between us, he locked his fingers between mine. As much as I knew I shouldn’t let him do that, I was completely enthralled. “Listen,” he began strongly, “I don’t know what Liz told you, but there is nothing between us. Nothing.” He looked at me with brows furrowed, as if asking me if I understand. I nodded shyly. “Besides…” he said, taking a step toward me so that our hands were pressed against our bodies, “…I have my eye on somebody else.” I couldn’t look away. My heart was beating wildly in my chest, and I knew my palms were already sweaty. What was I to do? The warning Liz had given me seemed insignificant compared to the moment right now. “And,” he continued elegantly, “I was hoping that maybe she—” In the middle of his sentence, everything just stopped. Like a paused video. All the noise

of the party was vanished. An eerie blue light showered the entire room. The moment lingered… and then fluttered back to normal. I was jolted into myself again. It felt as if… as if reality was catching up. The light was gone. Rob blinked and looked at me. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Did you see that?” “See what?” “The light!” “What light?” He looked around uncertainly. The strobe lights were flashing over the dance floor, but the effects of them weren’t strong enough to reach us. “What are you talking about?” I frowned. Maybe I had imagined it? “Never mi…” I started to say, but then it happened again. More strongly this time. The sounds of the party cut off as if I had turned deaf. The contrast left a strange ringing in my ears. But that wasn’t the scariest part. The neon light was back. I could see everybody coated in it. And, at the same time, I realized that everything simply stopped. Rob was in front of me, his mouth open in mid-sentence. He looked like a statue covered in the blue light. My eyes darted to the left. There, a girl who had jumped up at the moment the light came on was suspended in the air. Both her feet were frozen in space, her hair in wild disarray above her head. My eyes moved to the right. There, a group of guys stood in a circle. The one in the middle was holding a funnel above his mouth, and somebody else was pouring a beer into it. I could see the foamy pale liquid stream out of the can, except that it wasn’t moving. The beer had stopped in mid-air. I looked back at Rob standing in front of me. He hadn’t moved. That blue light had him completely enveloped. He was frozen. Everything was frozen. Time had stopped. The blue light covered everything. Behind Rob, at the far wall, I noticed a single door. It was closed, but through the cracks around the edges that blue light streamed out with more intensity than anywhere else. The room was the source of the light. I tried to move toward it, but found that my legs wouldn’t respond. That’s strange, I thought vaguely. Except I couldn’t say why it was strange. My thoughts were vague, fuzzy even. They felt like somebody else’s thoughts. I tried to move my head, to crane my neck around Rob, but it wouldn’t respond, either. I felt a very distant sort of panic bubble up inside. It wasn’t my panic. It was someone else’s. I tried moving my arms. But, they wouldn’t go anywhere, either. Focusing all my energy on the hand with the solo cup, I willed it to come up. It wouldn’t respond. Time had stopped, for everyone and everything – except my mind.

End of Book Preview. Chosen is available now for Kindle on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B006L4C066

Table of Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One End of Book Bonus: Excerpt from Chosen, Book 1 of the Seeker Saga. Book Description: Chapter One – A New Life Chapter Two – A Rocky Start Chapter Three – Traven Island Chapter Four – A Bit of History Chapter Five – Exploration Chapter Six – An Unexpected Welcome Chapter Seven – A New Meeting Chapter Eight – An Invitation Chapter Nine – A Blue Light