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"Why didn't you show up?" she asked as soon as I answered. I felt relieved. She'd gone to the park. That explained the lack of contact since there was no signal out there.
"I tried! Mrs. Weathers wouldn't let me out. You forgot to give me permission."
"I most certainly didn't. . . ." Her words trailed off uncertainly. "That is, I thought I did. . . ."
"It's okay" I said. "You've had a lot on your mind."
"It's not okay." She sounded angry but it was at herself, not me. "I need to be on top of this."
"Well, you can call Mrs. Weathers now," I said.
"Too late. I'm already back home. We'll have to attempt this again another time."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I tried."
Ms. Terwilliger sighed. "I know you did. It's not your fault. It's mine. I'm letting all of this wear me down, and now I'm getting sloppy. I've already taken too many risks at your expense, and it's put Veronica on your trail. I can't let her get any farther."
A chill ran through me as I thought of those comatose girls - and the possibility of me joining them. I'd been able to stay cool and collected while investigating, but last night's dream had driven home the dangers I faced. That image of the girl in the newspaper hovered in my mind as I held the phone and paced my room. I stopped in front of a mirror and tried to picture myself like that, aged before my time. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away. I couldn't let that happen to me. I just couldn't, and I needed Ms. Terwilliger if I was going to stay safe. Maybe I was a prodigy, but I was nowhere near being able to take on someone like her sister.
"Get some rest, ma'am," I said at last. "You sound like you need it."
"I'll try. And you be careful, Miss Melbourne."
"I will."
Being careful was the only thing I could do on my own for now. I just hoped it would be enough.
When we got off the phone, I didn't want to sleep again. I was afraid to, and it wasn't just because of the sheer terror I'd felt in last night's dream. Ms. Terwilliger had explained there was a type of searching spell that sought people in their sleep, and I worried that if Veronica reached out to me again, she might get a fix on my location. The problem was that after last night's sketchy sleep, I was now even more exhausted. My usual coffee and distraction tricks failed, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
I don't know how much time passed before I dreamed. One moment I was lost in the oblivion of sleep. The next, I found myself standing in the room that had hosted Sonya and Mikhail's reception. It looked exactly the same: flowers everywhere, tables covered in white linen and crystal glasses . . . The only difference was that the room was empty and silent. It was eerie, seeing all that richness and glamour with no one to enjoy it. I could've been in a ghost town. I looked down and saw that I wore the same dress from that evening as well.
"I could've made it red, you know. That's a better color for you - not that blue looks bad on you."
Adrian strode toward me, dressed in the same dark blue suit. Understanding hit me. I was in a spirit dream. It was another of that element's incredible feats, the ability for a spirit user to intrude on someone's dreams. No - not intrude. The user was actually able to create the dream itself, controlling every detail.
"It's been a long time since you pulled me into one of these," I said.
"And look at the progress you've made. Last time you were kicking and screaming." He held out a hand. "Want to dance?"
"No music," I said, not that I had any intention of dancing. He had a point about my reaction, though. I hadn't exactly been kicking and screaming, but I had kind of freaked out. I'd been in full possession of all my fears about vampires and magic, and being surrounded in a world completely constructed of that magic had left me frightened and unhinged. And now? Now I had apparently become so comfortable that my biggest concern was that he'd put me in this dress. I gestured to it.
"Can you change me out of this?"
"You can change yourself out of it," he said. "I'm letting go of the control. Just picture yourself the way you are in reality."
I did exactly that, and a moment later, I wore jeans and a pale blue knit top. This obviously disappointed him. "That's what you sleep in?"
"No." I laughed. "I was trying not to sleep at all. It didn't work. Why'd you bring me here?"
He strolled around and picked up one of the crystal goblets, nodding in approval as though he were some sort of glassmaking expert. "Exactly that reason. I saw how much that dream bothered you. I figured if I pulled you into one of these, it'd keep you from one of Veronica's."
I'd never thought of that. Vampire magic was certainly preferable to hers. Looking around, I gained a new appreciation for the room. It became a sanctuary, a place where she couldn't reach me. At least, I hoped not. We really didn't know how her magic would work against Adrian's. For all I knew, she might come walking through the door, carrying Sonya's bouquet.
"Thank you," I said. I sat down at one of the tables. "That was nice of you." It was another one of those incredible moments when Adrian had had the insight to guess my thoughts - or in this case, my fears.
"Well, it was also selfish. I wanted to see you in the dress." He reconsidered. "Actually, I wanted to see you in that red Halloween dress again, but I figured that would be pushing my luck."
I looked away as an image of that dress returned to me. Lia DiStefano had created the costume for me. She'd loosely based it on an ancient Greek dress and ended up with a gauzy confection of red and gold. That was when Adrian had said I was the most beautiful creature walking the earth. It had happened before he expressed his feelings for me, but even then, his words had undone me. I thought about what he was doing for me now and decided to give him a small compensation. I focused again on my clothes, and the blue dress returned.
"Better?" I asked.
His face lit up in a way that made me smile in return. "Yes."
Hoping I wasn't setting myself up for some suggestive answer, I asked, "So what are we going to do?"
"You sure you don't want to dance? I can make some music." My silence spoke for me. "Fine, fine. I don't know. We could play a game. Monopoly? Life? Battleship? Twister? Whatever we do, I am not playing Scrabble with you."
We warmed up with Battleship - I won - and then moved on to Monopoly. That took a little work to set up because Adrian could only create things that he could imagine. He couldn't remember all the streets and cards, so we made our best attempt to re-create them. Neither of us could remember one of the yellow streets, so he named it Jet Way.
