Why wouldn’t he stop insulting her? Now he was saying that her hair looked bad. Aspen was so furious that she couldn’t speak. Before she could stop herself, she’d lifted Dylan’s shirt away from his waist and placed her whole hand on his bare skin. She wanted to shock him and make it hurt as badly as he’d hurt her.
Her body trembled as her fingers came into contact with his smooth skin. Electricity danced through her fingertips, and Dylan inhaled suddenly, as though she’d touched him with an ice block. Instead of hurting him, her blood sang, and all the pent-up electricity was absorbed like water in a sponge into his hard body. The current was sucked right out of her veins and then returned in a wave of warmth that glowed through her limbs. It left her winded. All the anger she’d felt was soaked up and given back in a calming charge of power. It was so good that she relaxed her chest weakly against his back.
Dylan released a deep breath. “Does that feel better?”
“What did you do to me?” Aspen’s cheek touched his T-shirt as she spoke against his back.
“We can discharge power this way instead of hurting others. Power Walkers use this to calm down. I can absorb your overload and give it back safely, so you don’t lose the power. You’ll be able to do the same with a bit of practice.”
Aspen dragged her chest away from his back and gazed around. They’d reached the river and Ruby sat ramrod straight in front of Caden. It looked as though they were arguing.
The two were clearly in a heated discussion, and she swung a dainty foot over the saddle and slid down onto the ground. Caden mouthed something at her and then turned his horse away from the group. He dug his heels into the animal’s side and galloped off angrily. Ruby was visibly upset and her shoulders shook as Ray jumped off his horse to speak to her. As he consoled his sister, the sky darkened and changed to lavender. The sticky sweet smell that Aspen hated permeated the air.
Four Chancellors appeared from behind the tree trunks, but Dylan had his back to them and couldn’t see them. Aspen tugged at his shirt and pointed them out. They were tall and skinny, their skin as pale as their blond hair.
Without warning, Dylan pulled her from the horse and aimed a bolt of energy at the Chancellors, but they had an invisible force field protecting them. It was dome-shaped and the current struck it and ran like blue liquid down the sides.
The Chancellors turned to face the Dream Walkers and raised their hands as they chanted. Aspen shouted as the gentle brook reared up into a giant wave next to them. Five slippery fingers of water took shape before them, and a huge watery hand sloped downward and plucked Ruby from the group.
Ruby screamed and tried to strike the wet hand with fire, but water splashed over her and killed the flames. Within seconds, her long red hair had been plastered to her face and body, and she spluttered as water backed up in her throat. If someone didn’t help her, Ruby would drown. The eerie hand held her in a firm grip and then submerged her under gallons of water.
Aspen knew that the only way to stop the nightmare would be to stop the Chancellors. If Caden had been with them, he would have controlled the water, but the Fire and Power Walkers were the only ones who could attack the Chancellors now. Ashley and Cole sprayed the force field with fire, and Dylan shot bolts of current as fast as he could. He tried his best to wear the bubble down.
“Help me, Aspen!” he cried.
There was no time to think. The smell of smoke hung in the air, and water misted against her skin. Shuddering as energy curled through her body, she lifted her arms and aimed for the bubble. Dylan did the same, and together they blasted the invisible shield.
It creaked and groaned, then exploded like a giant mirror that had cracked. The four Chancellors looked around in complete shock. Aiming her outstretched hands, she disintegrated them in a blast of electricity. The ground erupted, leaving a crater where they’d been a moment before.
Just as suddenly, the watery hand evaporated and Ruby was dropped into the river. Stunned, she flailed in the water and gasped for air. Dylan jumped in and dragged her out onto the riverbank. Almost tenderly, he pushed strands of hair from her face. She looked so frail in his arms.
Caden’s horse thundered into the clearing. He jumped from the saddle before the animal had time to stop and pulled Ruby from Dylan’s arms, pressing her against his chest.
As everyone huddled around the soaked girl, Aspen decided it was time to leave. She grabbed her dream catcher and sent a small zap of power through it.
Seconds later, she found herself back in Leeman’s house.
? ? ?
The smell of meat stew hung appetizingly in the air as Aspen wandered into the kitchen. Her mother was busy at the stove, and she replaced a lid on a steaming pot and turned to face Aspen.