The Cardinal Gate

by Amy Cissell

  “Where are we?”

  Isaac walked toward me. “We’re at a campground in Idaho.” He gestured behind him at the tent. “You slept a long time, and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it here when you started smoking near Boise. Once we got you outside, though, you simmered down.”

  I giggled. Simmer down.

  Finn was eyeing me suspiciously.

  “What?” I demanded. I looked myself over. Everything appeared fine.

  “Nothing. You’re not usually a giggler.”

  I tried to tamp it down. To simmer down. Another giggle escaped. “I’m a dragon. It’s giggle or lose my mind.” I shrugged to show my complete nonchalance and lack of borderline hysteria.

  Finn approached but stopped much further away from me than Isaac had. “A dragon? I guess that would explain the smoking.”

  “And you thought I’d quit years ago!” I dissolved into giggles again.

  Isaac and Finn watched me until I managed to pull myself together again. “Are you okay, Ellie?” Finn asked.

  “Absolutely. I’m starving, though.”

  “Dinner will be ready in less than ten minutes,” Isaac said.

  I stood up slowly. It was odd to have only two legs and such a weak upper body. Walking without a tail was throwing off my balance, too. I wondered if I could be a dragon here, or if it was only in my dreams.

  I sat down at the nearby picnic table, and Isaac handed me a beer. The icy cold bottle felt so good, and I pressed it to my forehead. I was still so hot.

  “Did I do any damage to my truck?” I asked.

  Isaac got out his wallet and handed a twenty to Finn.

  “What was that?”

  “I told him you’d ask about your truck before anything else.”

  I stuck my tongue out at them. “What did you think I’d ask about first, Isaac?”

  “I thought you’d make sure you hadn’t damaged us.”

  “Shit. I probably should’ve. In my defense, though, I can see you both, and you appear okay. I can’t see the interior of my truck from here.”

  “We’re fine, thanks for asking,” Finn said. I aimed a kick at him, but he moved out of the way.

  “This is the third time I’ve had this dream. Each time, I’m apparently smoking in my sleep.”

  “The last couple times involved floating,” Finn added.

  “I was floating in the truck? How does that work?”

  “Not well,” Finn replied. “The seatbelt mostly held you down.”

  “That would explain my sore shoulder. What’s happening?”

  Finn looked me over before he responded. “It’s possible that the dreams are a symbol of another power manifesting. You’ve already shown a great affinity for earth magic. You can affect the growth of all sorts of plants. The flying dreams could be a sign that you’ve got some air powers coming online. The floating is you manipulating the air.”

  “So, I’m not turning into a dragon?” I squelched the hint of disappointment.

  “It doesn’t seem likely.”

  I frowned. Something in Finn’s voice didn’t sound quite right. I decided not to dwell on it now and thought about how air worked. Was it less solid than the ground we were sitting on or were the molecules further apart? I couldn’t remember from my high school science classes. I reached for my beer, and when my fingers closed around nothing, I looked and saw that I was hovering a few inches above the picnic bench. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I crashed back down, bruising my tailbone.

  “That is some freaky shit,” I said.

  “You’re not kidding,” Isaac agreed.

  “Maybe we should stay here for a few days to work on incorporating this new aspect of your power so you don’t start flying off whenever you’re concentrating on something else. It’d be nice if you didn’t randomly start smoking every time you have a bad dream,” Finn said.

  “Oh, it wasn’t bad,” I whispered and flexed my claws…errr…fingers. My fingers. I looked down to verify. Yep. Still fingers.

  “It’d be better for everyone if you didn’t turn into a Fourth of July party favor whenever you fell asleep,” Finn said.

  “How do I do that?”

  “Until we figure out why you’re smoking in your dreams, we’ll keep a bucket nearby to extinguish and wake you up if it happens again.”

  “Sounds uncomfortable but necessary. I don’t want to burn down the tent. How will you know in time, though?”

  Finn shifted uncomfortably. “You’ll have to share a tent with me so I can keep an eye on you.”

  I looked at Isaac before I could stop myself. He was staring at Finn, but his expression gave nothing away. I glanced back at Finn in time to catch a flash of hurt before his face went carefully blank.

  “It’s a nice night. Why don’t we sleep out under the stars? I won’t burn down the tent and no one has to share the tiny space.”

  “What about the floating?” Isaac asked. He was still eying Finn speculatively.

  “You could tie me up.” I grinned at him.

  He winked at me. “I could do that. I’m a fair hand at knot work.”

  “I’ll set up my sleeping bag under the picnic table. One of you would hopefully wake up before I’ve smoked enough to set the table on fire. It looks like it’s in pretty good shape. And if I start floating, I’ll hit the table before floating off, and hopefully wake up.”

  “Sounds like a great plan,” Isaac agreed.

  “Finn?” I prompted.

  “Good plan. Tomorrow, we’ll work on grounding and centering. I know a little about air powers, so I can help you find your center and add a few more tools to your metaphysical arsenal. Once you can manipulate air at will, we’ll move on.”

  “Do we have to stay here? It’s not nice.”

  Isaac examined the sparse campsite. “What do you mean it’s not nice?”

  “I was hoping for more trees, or mountains, or water, or scenery. This is barren.”

  “One more day here,” Finn said. “Then, we’ll move on if you want and set up camp in Yellowstone.”

  “That sounds perfect.” I yawned. “I can’t believe I’m tired. I’ve done nothing but sleep for the past twenty-four hours, but I am. I’m getting ready for bed.”

  I grabbed my overnight bag out of the truck and headed to the small bathroom. Its only saving grace was that it had running water. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. When I got back to the campsite, it had been cleaned up and three sleeping bags were sitting on the ground next to some skinny bedrolls. Finn was nowhere in sight.

  “He’s in the bathroom,” Isaac said, correctly interpreting my glance. I shrugged and grabbed my sleeping bag, pillow, and bedroll and arranged them under the picnic table. I had to scoot in awkwardly as there wasn’t much clearance. I fluffed up my pillow and tried to wiggle into some semblance of comfort.

  I heard Finn come back and there were shuffling movements in the growing dark. A flashlight flicked on and muffled curses came from my right side. A couple minutes later, the light disappeared.

  “Goodnight, Ellie,” Finn said.

  “Goodnight, Princess,” Isaac echoed.

  “Goodnight, Isaac. Goodnight, Finn. Goodnight, John Boy.” No one laughed. Apparently, I still wasn’t funny. I sighed, rolled onto my side, and resolutely closed my eyes.

  I woke with a start and sat up, smashing my head on the metal frame on the underside of the picnic table.

  “Motherfucker!”

  “Good morning, Princess,” Isaac said. “Don’t forget you slept under the picnic table.”

  “Go to hell,” I muttered.

  “Oh, you are cheerful in the morning. There’s coffee waiting for you on top of that table, if you didn’t spill it when you attempted to karate chop the table with your skull.”

  I muttered curses under my breath while I extricated myself. The cup of coffee waiting for me was prodigiously large. I savored the coffee and the smell of crisp, cool morning air while waiting for my breakfast. A few
minutes later, Isaac set a plate of bacon, eggs, and biscuits in front of me. I looked up at him and smiled. “I am impressed.”

  “Glad to be of use. Finn says you’re hopeless in the kitchen.”

  “Hey! I can cook. I’m great with cocktails, coffee, and sandwiches.”

  “I’m not sure any of those things qualifies a cooking.”

  “Sometimes I cook sandwiches on the grill to melt the cheese. That’s cooking.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Eleanor. You sound like a master chef. I can only hope that someday you’ll grace me with one of your culinary masterpieces.” He walked away laughing. I flipped him off behind his back.

  Finn sat down across from me with his own plate. “Not bad, right?”

  “It’s nice that you’re both handy in the kitchen. You can take turns and not get sick of it.”

  “Are you planning on joining that rotation?””

  “Since you’ve already shared that I’m hopeless in the kitchen, I’m sure I’ll be doing you a favor if I stay out of it.”

  Isaac called over, “She can make the sandwiches. I hear she’s a pro.”

  Finn joined Isaac’s laughter. I couldn’t decide if I was pissed off or amused, so I ate my breakfast in silence.

  When breakfast was done and the morning chores were out of the way, it was time to address why were still here. “Where do we start, Finn?”

  Finn led me a little ways away from the campsite and instructed me to sit. I did so, full of optimism that everything was going to be easy now that my powers had been awakened and I’d been flooded with magic.

  “Find your center,” Finn ordered.

  I closed my eyes and reached into the solid part that was me. It glowed and pulsed with light and energy. “Got it.”

  “Reach down into the earth and connect your center with the Earth’s. You’ll know when it happens. It’ll snap into place.”

  I reached down and found the part of the earth that corresponded with me. For a brief shining second, we were joined, and I could feel every bit of life for miles around. Then, I lost the connection and my balance and toppled over.

  “Try again.”

  This time, I didn’t even manage to find my grounding place before losing my concentration.

  “Again.”

  Over and over, Finn barked out the same command. I managed to center and ground less than a half dozen times, but I couldn’t hold onto it. A dull pain was beginning to pulse in the center of my forehead. I opened my eyes and looked at Finn. “I need a break.”

  “Not yet. Try again.”

  I growled in frustration and closed my eyes. I hadn’t even tried to find my center when the breeze turned into a gale and whipped up a maelstrom of dust and sand.

  “Lock it down, Princess!” Isaac yelled.

  I pulled all the power back into me, and the wind stopped as suddenly as it had started.

  “You need to be more careful,” Finn said.

  “I need to eat. My concentration is completely gone.”

  After lunch, I tried again. And again. Finally, by late afternoon, I could hold my center, stay grounded, and raise and tamp down a slight breeze on command while managing to keep random plants from sprouting. I pulled the power to me and felt…balanced. For the first time in my almost thirty-five years, I felt whole.

  I opened my eyes, looked at Finn in triumph, and then lost it all. A gust of wind knocked us all over. When I opened my eyes after the sand stopped blowing around, I found that I was about four feet off the ground. Not floating this time. I was perched on top of a tree that hadn’t existed five minutes ago.

  “Well, shit.”

  Finn and Isaac were staring at me.

  “Don’t just stand there, help me down.”

  Isaac moved first. His body was shaking with barely contained laughter. I glared. He lost it and started laughing out loud. He reached up and grabbed me by the hips to lift me out of the branches.

  “This is going to confuse the hell out of the park rangers,” Finn said. His voice was too neutral, and I knew he was a hair’s breadth from losing control.

  I started laughing. I was embarrassed and a little angry at myself, but the humor of the situation overrode those other emotions. Finn cracked a grin and then we were all howling like idiots.

  “I was so close.”

  “You were,” Finn agreed. “It’ll be easier next time.”

  Chapter Eight

  I TOOK THE first driving shift and pulled over frequently at every scenic overlook. After a couple of hours, I traded with Isaac.

  Now that I wasn’t being mentally taxed with magic practice, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dragon dream. I knew I shouldn’t dwell on it too much if I didn’t want to lose control, but hoped that if I didn’t think about flying too hard, we’d all be safe.

  No one talked. At all. It was awkward. I didn’t know if it was the silence that was bugging me or if there was some subtext that I could feel but not understand. When we stopped at a small diner for lunch, I decided it was time to address it.

  “Hey, guys!” I said, too loudly. They both jumped. “What’s up?”

  “What do you mean?” Finn asked. “We’re going to Yellowstone.”

  I sighed. “I know that dumbass. I mean, what’s going on in your heads? We’ve all been so quiet today that it’s starting to drive me crazy.”

  “Oh.” Finn was silent for moment before continuing. “I’ve been thinking about air magic and what I can teach you and whether or not I’d be able to find someone who could be a better instructor than me. I was thinking that there might be practical applications. You should be able to form nearly invisible barriers to prevent eavesdroppers—both mental ones and the more traditional sort.”

  “Oooh…that’ll be useful once I actually can figure out how to do it!” I turned to my other companion. “And what’s on your mind, Isaac?”

  He grinned. “I don’t think everyone here wants to know what I’ve been thinking about.”

  He winked at me. Finn got up and walked away.

  “Are you two…” he hesitated, looking for the right word, “involved? I thought you were unattached.”

  “We’ve hooked up in the past,” I admitted, “but more of a friends with benefits thing than anything serious.”

  “Are you sure you’re in agreement on that?” Isaac asked.

  I looked at Finn’s back where he was leaning against my truck in the parking lot. “No. But for my part, I’m available.” That had been pretty blatant.

  “I don’t want to stir shit up,” Isaac said, “but you know I’m interested.”

  I bit my lip and looked at him, unsure of how to say what needed to be said. “The three of us are in this together. Finn’s been my best friend for six years, and until recently, I thought that’s all we were. Recent events have led me to believe that he feels more for me than I feel for him. I don’t want to hurt him, but he will never be more than a friend to me.” I heard a loud noise from the parking lot and looked out the window, certain there’d been a fender bender. I didn’t see anything, so looked back at Isaac. This next part was going to make me a bit more vulnerable than I preferred, but I was thirty-fucking-four years old, and there was no point in beating around the bush.

  “I like you. I don’t know you well, but I’d like to. I’m not interested in a friends with benefits arrangement with you, though, so if you’re looking for an easy lay, I’m not your girl.”

  “I’d like you to be,” he said, his voice low and growly. Heat curled in my lower abdomen.

  “Like me to be what? An easy lay?”

  He reached across the table and took my hand, “My girl. My girl who’s an easy lay.”

  I laughed; the tension eased. I squeezed his hand in mine. “I’ve no objections to that.”

  “What will you tell your friend?”

  “The truth. He’s my bestie and besides, I can’t lie.”

  Isaac dropped some cash on the table and we slid out of the boo
th. He pulled me close for a brief kiss. I deepened it. He broke from me before we got too involved for a public diner; we were both breathing fast. “I’d like to explore that a little more,” he said, pulling me back for a hug. I could feel his interest pressing against me, and my mouth watered at the idea of getting another glimpse of the heat he was packing in his oh-so-tight jeans.

  “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, Princess, I’m going to get us permanently banned from the entire town of Pocatello.” I smiled and stepped back. I gave him a slow and thorough once-over before turning and exiting the restaurant. There was a dent in the front fender of my truck and I stopped to fuss over it. Maybe I had heard a fender bender after all—a hit and run. I looked around for Finn—he must have seen what had happened.

  He was standing at the edge of the parking lot. “Finn!” I called. “Did you see someone hit my car? There’s a dent!”

  He turned and walked back towards us. “I didn’t see another car near yours,” he said.

  “Dammit!”

  “It’s not like we can stick around to get it fixed anyway,” Isaac pointed out. “Dents add character.” I glared at him. It wasn’t his car that was damaged.

  “Let’s go,” Finn called before he climbed into the driver’s seat.

  By the time we pulled into our campsite, I was short-tempered and fidgety. I bounded out of the truck almost before it had rolled to a stop and looked around. It was beautiful and the air was cool and crisp and smelled of pine. It did nothing to alleviate my funk.

  “I need to go for a run. Anyone want to come with me?”

  “I’m game, as long as you don’t mind if I run on four feet instead of two.”

  “I’m in, but I am not keeping up with a giant wolf.”

  I grabbed my bag and headed into the nearby bathroom to change into a sports bra and spandex. We ran easy for a while. Finn stayed right behind me. Right behind me. I kept having to fight the urge to stop suddenly to see if he’d run into me. I could see occasional flashes of red and cream fur ahead of me off the trail. Isaac had opted to stay out of sight in case we ran into anyone else.

  Finn’s closeness and my own restlessness made me want to push it a bit, so I did. Finn fell behind me, breathing heavily, but I could tell Isaac was keeping pace. I had a feeling that I didn’t have nearly enough speed or stamina to outpace his wolf.