“Come one step closer and I’ll get you,” I said, as menacingly as I could.
Ilyan placed the mac and cheese on the counter before over-dramatically stepping toward me. I froze, the look in his eyes stopping all thought. I let one nervous chuckle escape me as he continued to come closer.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice laced with honey, “you will do what, now?”
I opened my mouth to retort, my rebuttal paused when the light to the kitchen flashed on.
“What’s going on in here?” The old man’s voice was loud and stern, shaking just enough to show that he was scared.
His yell combined with the sudden appearance of the light startled me. My magic surged through my hands and into the flour, causing the whole thing to explode in my face. The old man took one look in my direction, froze, and turned down the hall screaming and swearing as he went.
“He could see me, couldn’t he?” I asked.
“Well, not you,” Ilyan said through a smile as he moved to wipe the flour from my face with the palm of his hand. “But he could see the flour. So you were essentially a floating face.”
I stared at Ilyan for a minute before joining in with his laughter, the ridiculousness of what had happened hitting me.
“So much for getting a shower tonight,” I said through my giggles.
“True. But you do make one great ghost,” Ilyan said lightly before pressing his lips against my forehead.
My laughter stopped. I hadn’t been prepared for the gentle swoop my stomach experienced at his touch.
Thirteen
One night without the dreams had changed something about them. Now, the trees were taller, darker, and more sinister. The singular growling I had previously heard was all around me, the one voice changing to many voices. Each new tone warned me of their impending arrival.
I stayed glued to the spot in the middle of the large clearing, waiting to know what else had changed, what I should do, which way to run. I spun in place as I tried to find the culprits of the noise, trying to figure out if I should attack or if I should run. The dreams had never felt so real before, the change was frightening.
My chest heaved as I breathed in and out, my nerves coursing wildly as the growling grew, figures forming amongst the trees. Their black shapes shifted around the tall trunks of the forest. They melded into the grey night only to disappear a moment later. They shifted and moved around me until they took on real substance, the figures forming a wide circle, trapping me.
The growls deepened, and the shifting of the shapes increased. I stood still, waiting for the dream to tell me what to do. I felt my magic moving under my skin, but it wasn’t a normal surge of energy I felt in preparation for an attack. This was the surge of a pull, the pull I felt in Santa Fe when Ryland was around. Ryland was close. My mind reeled in a desperate attempt to figure out what was going on.
I knew this was a dream, but something was different, something was off. I stood still, showing feigned strength, even though I was desperate to hide.
All at once the growling stopped, the shapes disappeared and I was alone. I stopped spinning. I stopped searching. I felt the pull of my magic again and tried to ignore the desperation my heart felt at its call.
I closed my eyes and tried to wipe the feeling from me, preparing myself for the battle I knew was coming. It wasn’t fair for my haunted dreams to make me fight Ryland again so soon.
And then I heard it, the one growl that had always begun the dreams. I listened intently, trying to decide if it would be Cail, Ryland, or Timothy. It was always one of the three.
“So, I bet you thought you were free. Free of these nightly terrors.” I spun at the voice, my insides tensing at seeing Edmund standing at the edge of the tree line, Cail standing next to him protectively.
Edmund moved out of the trees, Cail following, as the dark shapes that I had thought to have vanished materialized again, dozens of Trpaslíks emerging from the woods. Cail stood apart from those around him, his dark eyes dancing with menacing joy. I shrunk away from him instinctively, waiting for him to pounce at Edmund’s command.
“Do you really think you are safe?” Edmund asked again, my insides freezing over at the wicked sound. He didn’t sound as if he was enjoying himself anymore, he was simply angry now.
“I am safe.” I pushed my voice out as strong as I could make it, the sound bouncing around us. Cail smiled at my response, while Edmund seemed to fume more, his large frame becoming even more menacing.
“Safe with your Protector? Safe with Ilyan?” Edmund spoke his name like acid. It was the polar opposite to how he spoke to Ilyan. The two-faced nature of this man was unsurprising, but still unsettling.
I didn’t challenge him with a response. I simply faced him, my eyes never daring to move away.
“He would rather hide you than face us,” Edmund sneered. “Hide like a coward. Is that what you are, a coward?”