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‘I think she’s in as much danger as he is,’ he said grimly, which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
‘Can’t you wake her up?’ I asked desperately.
‘It’s too risky, even if I could,’ he said. ‘I don’t know where she is right now, or what’s happening to her. If I pulled her from a particular memory it could have a lasting impact on her. I’m not prepared to take that chance.’
‘So what do we do?’ I felt helpless, watching them both staring unseeingly at each other in this creepy way.
‘We wait.’ Hector settled himself on the end of the bed and motioned to me to join him. ‘There’s nothing else we can do right now. We wait and see what happens, and we’re there for them when this finally breaks.’
He glanced at the plate of sandwiches on the floor then reached down to place it gently between us on the bed.
‘Celeste will need to eat something when she comes back,’ he said. ‘It saps her energy when this happens.’
‘Does it happen often?’ I asked curiously.
‘Not too often, thank goodness. She hates it. It would help if she could choose when and where it happens, but she can’t. It does seem to be getting stronger, though.’ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I wonder…’
‘What?’ I asked eagerly. ‘What do you wonder?’ Had he figured out a way to break the trance?
‘I’m just thinking that it’s a heck of a coincidence that it’s Blaise she’s connected to right now. I wonder if she’s—’ He shook his head. ‘No. She wouldn’t.’
‘Wouldn’t what?’ I narrowed my eyes. ‘Wait, are you saying you think she might have done this deliberately?’
‘I’m not saying that exactly,’ he said. ‘Like I already explained, she can’t pick and choose when this happens. But I can’t help wondering if she at least tried to make it happen. She wanted to know if he was telling the truth about how much he remembered. Well, this is the way to find out. Usually, she’s trying very hard not to have these experiences as she feels they’re intrusive. If this time she tried very hard to have one, well who knows?’
I glanced at Celeste. She looked dreadful. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to experience whatever it was she was experiencing.
‘How long has it been?’ Hector whispered.
I shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. Maybe ten minutes or so?’
He frowned. ‘That’s a long time. They should be back by now.’ He took Celeste’s wrist, feeling for her pulse. ‘She’s weakening. I need to get her back.’
‘But how? You said it would be dangerous to wake her up,’ I said, alarmed.
‘I can’t wake her up, but I can go to her and lead her out of there,’ he said.
I gasped. ‘You can join her? In John’s memories?’
He gave me a grim look. ‘I’ve done it before. Whatever you do, Romy, don’t touch us. Any of us. Just keep still and wait.’
‘What if you don’t come back either?’ I asked, my voice shrill with fear. ‘What do I do? How long do I wait before I get help? Who would be able to help me?’
He gave me a compassionate but firm look. ‘I will come back,’ he promised. ‘And I’ll bring Celeste back with me. Once she’s home, John will be fine. Don’t worry.’
I nodded. There was something so calm and reassuring about him that I had to believe him.
He placed his hands either side of Celeste’s face and closed his eyes, then his head tilted forward. I leaned across and peered up at him, but I knew already that he’d gone to wherever Celeste was. It was amazing to witness.
I watched John’s face anxiously to see if any of this was affecting him, but he remained frozen, his pupils dilated and his breathing shallow.
I wanted to reach for his hand, but Hector had warned me not to touch any of them and I wasn’t going to disobey the orders of a Guardian.
One day, I realised, even Hector would obey the orders of my brother. Lowen would become Wulfram, the Great Guardian. If Hector could do things like this, what might Wulfram be capable of?
I shivered, remembering the hostilities from some of the congregation in the chapel when the subject of the Pendragon triplets came up. There hadn’t been the respect for Lowen that I’d anticipated. Well, most of the people seemed to have some for him, but there were definitely a few who poured scorn on the idea of him becoming the next Arthur.
All this talk of finding the Sword of Feidhlim was, I realised, more than just idle speculation. Without it, many in the magical community wouldn’t accept him. I had a sudden strong conviction that this was exactly what Lowen and Emrick were discussing right now. Finding the sword had become a priority. But where could it be? And what was mine and Trinity’s role in all this?
