“Of course, I’m sorry. What can I do?”
“Take this.” Demothi leaned forward in the saddle, holding out a smooth black wand.
Aspen looked nervously at the diminutive man. His face was wrinkled, and his eyes were as dark as the night. Taking the shiny stick from him, she jerked as raw power latched onto her hand. Her palm felt like it had been clamped in the jaws of a powerful dog that hadn’t bitten, but was waiting for the slightest move to do so. She couldn’t drop the wand even if she tried.
Demothi’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “I knew she’d be able to hold it.” He beamed at her. “Her bloodline is royal. Only royalty can handle the magic the wand contains.”
Leeman seemed to be pleased, and she smiled weakly back at him.
“We have a spell to call the wild horses of Arcadia. They are bound to the wand, and will be released and returned after chanting magical words,” Demothi continued. “When we get outside the castle, I’ll give you the wand and tell you which words to say to return the horses to Arcadia. As soon as we are ready to leave, you can summon them for us.”
“Why can’t you do it?” she asked. The wand gripped her hand tightly.
Leeman stared carefully at her, as if taking her measure. “If we have a problem and can’t get out, I’ll need you to be prepared to summon the horses and get our people away as fast as possible. We’ll be too close to the castle for the cloaking spell to work.”
Although his meaning was clear, she reminded herself again that this wasn’t the time to worry about his safety, and she sat up with the wand raised in the air.
“You’ll be coming back, I don’t doubt that at all, but I’ll learn how to do the spell just in case.” Aspen sat ramrod straight in the saddle and smiled at her uncle.
“Good girl, keep the wand in this pouch. Demothi has given you his spare. It’s a bit difficult to hold for too long,” he said with a grin.
She sighed with relief as she took the slim pouch and slid the wand safely into it. “That was intense.”
Ginny and Sandy trotted up to her on their beautiful white horses. Her uncle nudged his horse and left with Demothi after he’d given her hand a squeeze, and she turned in the saddle to face her friends. They were both dressed in black jeans and long-sleeved sweatshirts. Sandy wore her trademark bangles, and they tinkled softly with each movement of her arm.
“Well, Ruby is in top form today.” Ginny chuckled. “When she wants someone, she pulls out all the stops.”
Aspen turned back to look at Dylan, and her face crumpled as she saw Ruby’s crimson fingernails wrapped around his bicep.
“Ginny, shut up.” Sandy’s eyes were as sharp as daggers as she glared at her sister.
“What? What did I say?” Ginny lifted her palms in the air.
“It’s okay. I think Dylan’s the only one who doesn’t know that I like him by now.” A forlorn smile crossed Aspen’s mouth.
“Honey, she wasn’t talking about Dylan. Besides, he’s stupid if he can’t see what he’s got in you.” Sandy rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “He should have realized you liked him when you told him he makes you feel good.”
A ghost of a smile reached Aspen’s lips.
“Cheer up, girl,” Sandy said. “There are plenty of ways to make him notice you. You don’t need to worry about Ruby. She’s flirting like that to make Caden jealous.” Both of them turned to look at Dylan and Ruby again.
“Caden? The good-looking Water Walker? Why would she do that?”
“It’s a long story, and I’ll save it for another day. We’re going to fight the Chancellors now and I need you to focus. Think you can do that?” With a smile, Sandy reached out to touch Aspen’s chin.
She exhaled. “You’re right, time for payback.”
Within a few minutes, the sky had lightened enough for the group to continue. Aspen ignored Dylan and rode alongside her friends for the next forty-five minutes.
Parts of the castle became visible through a break in the tree line as they neared their destination. Circular towers constructed of white brick with black conical spires reached out to the sky. They were so tall that small clouds touched their black tips. She wondered how they would they ever find any Dream Walkers in such a huge complex.
Leeman motioned for the riders to halt and gather around him. Horses snorted and flicked their heads as they tried to still their heaving flanks.
“Listen up. Power Walkers, leave your rides here. The Fire Walkers need to create a diversion as soon as Lavendula starts.” He pointed to the left. “I need you to operate from that side. Come back as soon as Lavendula ends. We’ll be leaving as quickly as we can.”
There was no doubt that Aspen’s uncle was ready for a fight, and his hands gestured wildly as his silver eyes sparked with excitement.