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Dreamwalking. What can I say? It’s like melting from the outside in. From the toes up to the top of the head. Everything begins to dissolve and it’s easy to lose the sense of separation between self and everything that surrounds. Fingers and toes blur into legs, and arms blur into a nebulous energy as the lines of distinction vanish. Within a blink, I become part of the bedspread, part of the bed, part of the air and the floor. Breathing stops, and the fight-orflight reflex kicks in, but then—after a moment when the body realizes it no longer needs to breathe—there is calm . . . and then, the dreamwalking begins.
I opened my eyes and sat up, drifting lightly on the slipstream. Kaylin was beside me, and now I could tell just how much the demon’s awakening had affected him. His aura, which had been brilliant and strong before, was now glowing like a neon-infused Slurpee. He was supercharged. Not sure how that would translate over to practical application, I decided to pass on mentioning it until later. The first time he’d taken me dreamwalking, I’d been petrified and almost panicked myself into a frenzy. This time, I’d been prepared.
After a few minutes, my own shadowy form came into view and I was able to move around without feeling like I was going to float off. My room looked nebulous, but over on my dresser, where my magical tools lay, a haze of energy surrounded them—sparkling and crisp and clean.
Let’s move. Kaylin motioned to me and I followed him. I wasn’t sure how we’d get out of the building, but for us, the house didn’t fully exist and we were able to drift through the sparkling atoms that made up the physical form of the Veil House. As we reached the snow and hovered lightly over it, I turned.
The Veil House. Oh, the Veil House. Superimposed over the material structure was a web of energy that was threaded so intricately I almost couldn’t see the house for the lines. And a channel ran right below it, and a crosschannel. The Veil House stood on two ley lines that crossed paths. Powerful, old, ancient as the hills, the land beneath our house was like a reactor.
I gasped, but no air hit my lungs and once again, I startled. Kaylin’s hand rested on my shoulder, blending into my energy and calming me down.
The land here . . . the land is a powerhouse . . .
The land, but not the house. However, that’s not what I want you to see. However, it doesn’t hurt to know that you’re sitting on top of one of the strongest nexus points in this region. But come—we have much distance to travel. We can sweep there in no time, but take my hand or you might get lost in the astral turbulence.
I took his hand. Last time I was on the astral I’d almost gotten lost to the dreambeast’s appetite. But this wasn’t the same plane—this wasn’t the Court of Dreams, and I had Kaylin with me. As my hand touched his, our fingers blended together and we were off, sudden and swift, flying through the night, running through tree and wood and snow without leaving a mark.
I caught a glimpse of several Shadow Hunters, seeking prey, but they didn’t notice us and I wondered if any of them were Grieve. But then all thoughts of Myst and her people fell away because we were in a clearing, a clearing I’d never seen before. It seemed outside the barrier of the Golden Wood, but for the life of me, I had no clue as to where we were.
In the clearing, in the midst of the snow, a statue rose well over twenty feet. The statue of an owl, carved from marble. And around the statue, a group of men and women danced around a slab of stone to which was tied one of the Shadow Hunters . . . but he was not fully of the Indigo Court. He was also one of the Cambyra Fae—I knew it with the core of my body and heart.
The dancers were Uwilahsidhe. My people. And leading them was my father—Wrath, the King of Rivers and Rushes. As he danced wildly around the marble slab to a hail of pounding drumbeats, his followers matched every move. Standing to the side, I caught sight of Geoffrey and Lainule, standing silent, watching.
And Grieve, tied to the slab, looked terrified, in fear of his life.
Chapter 19
Grieve! My first instinct was to leap forward, but I managed to stop myself. I held back, waiting, watching. My wolf didn’t seem in any pain, and though Grieve looked terrified, the wolf wasn’t whimpering. Perhaps he had given up. Or perhaps his subconscious sensed they weren’t going to hurt him. At least I hoped that was what it meant.
And truthfully, they didn’t seem to be focused on killing him. Nobody carried a weapon that I could see. All the while, Geoffrey’s invitation rang in my head. The fact that he was here led me to believe this was what it was about. They’d caught Grieve, that was obvious, and they were doing something to him.
I motioned for Kaylin to wait, and then I began looking around. As I tried to gauge where we were, I realized that we’d passed through a portal while dreamwalking. This was part of the Golden Wood, yes, but nothing the Shadow Hunters could see or touch.
As I relaxed, trying to focus on seeing through to the physical, I began to notice something behind the owl statue. It was a figure, hidden in the shadows of the night. Not a Shadow Hunter . . . no, this was too . . . corporeal for one of the Vampiric Fae.
I moved closer to get a better view and gasped, motioning for Kaylin to join me. Behind the statue, hiding himself so he could not be seen, was Lannan Altos.
What the fuck is he doing here? And if he’s supposed to be here, why is he cloaking his presence?
A sudden swell of danger rose up on the slipstream and I tensed. The dancers were raging now, wild and filling the air with their chants. Geoffrey held up a needle and walked into their center, leaning over Grieve.
The antidote. He was going to try the antidote.
Grieve looked up at him, at the syringe, and clarity filled his face. He stopped struggling and I could hear his words through the music, through the dancing and drumming. On the slipstream they flew, from his lips to my ears.
Whatever happens, I love you. Whatever they’re doing to me, I sense you near and I will love you forever, Cicely.
There was no recrimination in his voice, no sense of fear, only brilliant love. And I fell into his heart, tumbling head over heels. If Grieve died from this, so would I, and I wanted to live, but I wanted him with me.
Geoffrey jerked his head up, looking directly at me.
He can’t see us, can he? Vampires don’t have the natural ability to see out on the plane of shadow and smoke, do they?
Kaylin’s fingers rested gently on my shoulder, blending with my own essence. No, he cannot see us, but he seems to know something’s up. Perhaps he heard Grieve talking?
That must be it. And if he’d heard Grieve talking, either he would think it delirium or he’d know I was prowling around out here. Either way, I chose to remain right where I was.
And so we watched, as Geoffrey finally lowered his head back to Grieve and leaned over my suffering prince. He held up the syringe, almost as though he wanted me to see it, and brought it down toward Grieve’s arm.
