Aspen threw her hand up and hurled as much energy as she could at the growling beast. She couldn’t use both hands for fear of losing the dream catcher, and she prayed that the power was enough to save her.
The earth rocked as her bolt hit the lion. The huge beast disappeared in an instant, leaving a gaping hole in the ground. Smoke spiraled from the blast site.
It took a second for her to realize that the beast was gone, before she grabbed at the strings of suede on her dream catcher. Her fingers shook as she tied the shortened string around her wrist so that she had both hands free. Without the charm she was vulnerable, but she needed to use both hands to be effective.
Someone screamed and she spun around. The other Dream Walkers must have taken care of the witch because there was only a smoldering spot left where she’d been standing before.
Ginny was far ahead of her, being dragged away by three strong Chancellors. They’d wrapped rope around her arms, and she couldn’t lift her hands to fight them. One of them smacked her jaw and she collapsed into a limp heap. He picked her up as though she weighed nothing and swung her over his broad shoulders.
Sandy was a few feet behind her, fighting Chancellors. Aspen turned to her and screamed, “They’ve got Ginny, help her!”
Sandy risked a glance over her shoulder, but she was under attack by the Chancellors in front of her. They swarmed everywhere with their black eyes and scary pale faces.
Aspen was the only one free so she ran after Ginny. Electric balls of energy shot from her hands as she darted along the riverbank and chased the Chancellors. Her power was new and she didn’t have enough control to risk hurting Ginny with a direct blast, so she followed them and waited for the right opportunity to help.
The Chancellors held on to Ginny and ran toward a small mound of earth near the last of the willow trees. As she watched, they disappeared behind the mound. She was astounded. It was impossible for them to vanish so quickly.
“Ginny!” she cried out.
As she wailed, the sky began to change. The deep lavender color lightened and a pale lemon light brought a warm breeze with it. The remaining Chancellors rushed toward the mound of earth and disappeared in a heartbeat.
People lay on the ground moaning around her, and she stared at them in shock. Realization hit her after a few seconds, and she cried out, “They’ve got Ginny!”
She ran to the pile of earth behind the willow trees. A glint of metal caught her eye, and she found Ginny’s dream catcher and the chain it was suspended from wrapped on a bush nearby.
Sandy rushed up to her. Her T-shirt was torn and dirt was smeared over one cheek. “Where is she? Did they take her?”
Aspen nodded her head slowly and held Sandy as she sobbed and collapsed against her chest. “Shh, we’ll find her, don’t worry. Let’s get everyone together and get help. My uncle will know what to do.”
The rest of the Power clan gathered around the two girls as their dream catchers glowed brightly. A yellow light traveled from the charms over their bodies, mending each scratch and cut before her eyes. After the glow had subsided, Aspen jerked forward and grabbed Sandy’s hand.
“Come on, we haven’t got any time to lose, we’ve got to get back to the village.” Shouting loudly, she raced toward the cottages.
Dogs barked and geese cackled in fright as they entered the village, and smoke from campfires trailed lazily in the air. Leeman walked onto the small veranda of his wooden house to see what had happened. At the sight of the bedraggled group, he ran down the steps and folded Aspen into his arms as she flung herself at him.
“Uncle Leeman, help us please,” she cried.
“What is it, Princess, what happened?” He pulled her tiny frame away from his body.
“They took Ginny!”
“Who took her?”
“Th-the Chancellors,” she stuttered.
“How did that happen?”
Sandy spoke urgently. “There was a witch who knew we’d be defenseless without our dream catchers, so she broke Ginny’s. She couldn’t defend herself without it.”
“Where did this take place and when?” Leeman’s eyes glinted coldly. Demothi, the conjurer, stood behind the leader and chanted softly as he listened to their tale.
“Just now . . . at the first turn in the river.” Sandy was shaking and Aspen held on to her arm.
“Gather the warriors! Wait here—I’ll be back,” Leeman commanded. He ran up the steps of his cottage and motioned to a young boy, who rang a bronze bell that hung from a rope in a wooden structure close by. It had a muffled clang, but the noise carried across the village. The smell of smoke was even more noticeable in the air around them, and dogs continued to bark in excitement.
“What are they going to do?” Aspen asked Sandy.
The girl’s face was ashen. “We have to get to Ginny before they take her to the castle. We’ll never see her again if they reach their home base.”