Denouncement

by E A Foley

  “Up two flights, then a noise, and up a third flight,” Iris reminded herself of what happened next in the dream.

  She let herself into the stairwell. Paused to listen. Ascended one flight. Paused to listen again. Ascended the second flight. Hurried footfalls moved toward the stairwell one floor below her. She continued up to the fourth floor and exited the stairwell. The footfalls weren’t far behind her.

  Iris turned doorknobs. The first three on the left were locked. Voices echoed up the stairs. Panic welled inside her. She tried the fourth, it turned, but Iris moved on. This wasn’t the right room. She moved down to the fifth. It didn’t budge. The voices were too close. She made it back to the fourth room as someone pushed the stairwell door open.

  Iris scurried inside and shut the door behind her. She locked it and hoped no one heard the click over the noise of a dozen feet exiting the stairwell. The darkness of the room made it difficult for her to maneuver through it. She stumbled over the corner of a large piece of furniture, fell, and caught herself on something that crashed to the floor.

  The voices that had gone past the room she hid in turned to investigate. Perhaps they hadn’t been after her before, but they would be now. Iris scanned the room. The only way out was the window. She threw it wide, climbed onto the large ledge, and pulled the window shut behind her.

  Iris dangled by her hands as she lowered herself toward the window ledge below her. Her dream hadn’t gone past this point. She hoped it wasn’t because she fell to the ground level. Thoughts of her death and captured tried to break her concentration. She shoved them to the side. Refused to believe she died here. Iris released a breath. Realized she had no other option. Let go.

  Her feet hit the third-floor window’s ledge a second later. She leaned forward and hugged the wall to keep from tumbling backward to what would assuredly be her death. Lights flicked on in the room above her. Iris squatted down and pulled on the window. It didn’t budge. She lowered herself once more and dropped to the second floor. The window opened and she scrambled inside.

  She didn’t wait to see if the window on the fourth floor opened in search of her. Instead, Iris searched the room for a place to hide. Couches, a table, and chairs were her only options. She scanned the room again. Slower. Her eyes focused on the walls. There was a door on the left wall. It opened into a room she bet was a mirror image to the one she just vacated.

  “Now what, Iris,” she asked herself. “Think it through. You need to go up, but you’re not sure where to. That’s not true. You know you need to be on the fourth floor and that rooms one through four on the north side aren’t right.” Iris tried to recall her dreams as best as possible for any clues.

  “It’s the sixth room. Something tells me it’s the sixth room. That’s how I felt in the dreams. Which means I just need to go up two floors and over one room. Wish I knew how to rock climb. Window or door?”

  Iris looked from one possibility to the other. The door held the potential of running into one of the magic users in the building. The window could lead to a fall and death. A door opened in the hallway.

  “I swear she’s here. Eve heard something fall in one of the rooms on the fourth floor,” a male voice said.

  “We would have felt her arrive. Seen her. There have been people watching for her,” a second voice responded. Iris wasn’t positive, but it might have been Brett.

  “Not if she followed you here using the residual link your bridge left when you came through.”

  “The only way that would have happened is if she were using magic at the same time. She doesn’t use magic in Davis, so it’s not possible. Someone would have needed to tell her something was happening. It’s not her. But you’d better check every room to be safe.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  A single set of footsteps carried one of the two men toward the stairwell on the left. Iris remained stationary, waiting for the second person to move.

  “Where are you, Iris Faye?”

  A dull ache at the back of her neck told Iris two things. One, it was Brett in the hallway and two, he was using magic. If he tracked her, she was screwed. Iris moved toward the window. Silently she hoped Brett would search for her in the Davis area first.

  Iris slipped out the window once more. The lights from several windows now dappled the pristine grass below. They were concentrated around the stairwell, but moving inward. Up was her only option. Iris wiped her hands as dry as possible on her pants, counted to three and jumped. Her fingers found and slid off the windowsill above her. She landed with more noise than she could afford.

  Lights flashed on in the windows on both sides of her. Iris wiped her hands off once more, knelt, and jumped. Her hands stuck. She struggled but managed to pull herself up and onto the third-floor ledge, cursing herself for not being better at pull-ups the whole time.

  “One more, Iris, one more. You’ve got this,” she encouraged herself.

  Time wasn’t on her side. A column of light spanned the mansion on both sides of her. A single pool of light came from the window above her. Iris readied her mind to accept the flows of power surrounding her. Pain exploded at the nape of her neck. Brett knew she was here. She filled with power. Used it to aid her ascent to the next window and let herself in. Commotion engulfed the mansion.

  Her eyes swept the room as she created a barrier around her body. A door on the left wall would let her into the sixth room. She unlocked it with magic. Threw the door wide. Zarina sat in a chair, unconscious. Iris rushed to her side.

  “Zarina!” She tapped her friend’s cheek. “Zarina, wake up!”

  Zarina turned her head and groaned. She opened her eyes.

  “Iris?”

  Heavy footfalls flooded the hallway from both ends. “Time to go,” Iris told her. She created a doorway to the living room in her apartment, shoved Zarina through, closed the door, and thought about the first floor where she’d entered the building. Iris opened the door again and stepped through herself. Without waiting, she ran for the tall grains at the edge of the grass.

  Searchlights flashed on. Iris’s shadow proceeded her stride for stride across the lawn. The pain in her neck doubled. A wall of air slammed into her back. Iris rolled forward, grateful for the martial arts training she’d received, and came to a stop steps from the tall cover. She dove forward and fell amongst the grasses. They crushed around her. Iris scrambled to her feet and plunged forward.

  Brett followed her magically. Like he’d linked to her. Iris released all the magic she held. The pain at the back of her neck lessened but remained. He could still track her. She filled with power once more and placed a shield behind her. Air rushed past her, but she remained upright.

  She was trapped. If she released all the power she held, she was vulnerable to attacks and Brett could track her. If she formed a doorway, he’d follow her in an instant. There was nowhere she could go. Panic welled in her chest. She was lost in a field of tall grains with a dozen magic users pursuing her.

  Iris stumbled. Her panic increased. Another wall of air prompted a hurried rise. Her legs burned as she ran. Breathing became difficult. She had to do something. Needed to be small enough for him not to trace her. Iris remembered how Brett and his father couldn’t find her when she was a faerie. Doubt filled her. She pushed it away. This was her only choice.

  Iris slowed her pace and concentrated on the image on her door in the Gallery. She pulled more power into her. Focused on herself. Turned the flows she held inward and released everything into the request to become a five-inch tall faerie. The ground felt like it rushed up to meet her. Iris stopped. She released all the power she held. The pain at the back of her neck disappeared. A grin spread across her face.

  Her chest heaved. She bent forward to place her hands on her knees as she wheezed for more air. It took Iris a few moments to realize the pounding she heard wasn’t her heart but rather people running toward her. She stumbled forward and off to her left before remembering she had wings. Iris tripled her progress. W
hen voices started shouting to each other around where she had been, Iris stopped. She pulled a trickle of power into her being and opened a doorway to her room.

  The glorious sounds of her roommates’ voices filled the air as they clamored around Zarina. Iris released all flows she held and closed her mind off from accepting more. She counted to twenty. Assured no one followed her. When she was satisfied they weren’t coming after her, Iris made to leave her room. The doorknob was several feet above her head. She took a moment to compose herself. Concentrated on becoming her human self once more and released a trickle of power into the request. Iris walked out of her room to join her roommates.

  Chapter 34

  “Iris! What the hell happened?” Rozlynd noticed her enter the room first.

  Iris ignored her. “Are you all right, Zarina?” she asked instead.

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Someone grabbed me from behind as I was unlocking my door. I tried to use magic, but they put something over my mouth and I got all foggy. I went to the Gallery. That’s the last thing I remember before you woke me up and shoved me through a doorway.” Zarina rubbed her head. She still seemed off to Iris despite her statement of being fine.

  “Talk,” Aerianna told Iris before she clammed up.

  “My mansion dream came true. Almost every detail of it. Turns out the person I was looking for was you,” she motioned at Zarina.

  “But your dream never finished, did it?” Violet asked.

  “No. It didn’t.”

  “Why didn’t you come back with Zarina?”

  “Because Brett was tracking my movements. I thought it’d be safer to get Zarina out and have them chase me—”

  “Them?” Rozlynd demanded.

  “Yeah. There were at least a dozen magic users in that mansion.”

  “I think we should get everyone over here in case those bastards show up,” Aerianna announced.

  “No need. I’m watching out for Brett. He’s not in Davis right now.”

  “But he could show up any minute with a dozen cohorts according to you.”

  “If it’ll make you all feel better, then sure. But I think it may be easier to head to the guys’ apartment instead. Brett is a lot more familiar with this complex than theirs.”

  Aerianna, Violet, and Zarina nodded their agreement. Rozlynd simply opened a doorway to the guys’ living room without a second thought. Iris hoped they didn’t have any guests over tonight.

  “Hey, baby doll . . . what’s wrong?” Rowen’s voice drifted through the still open doorway.

  Iris stepped through last. By the time she was in the living room, Jaden had Zarina wrapped in his arms as he led her down the hall and toward his room.

  “Uh, hi?” Thorin asked Iris.

  Iris shook her head. She had no desire to talk about it. She had half a mind to head back to her place and wait for Brett to come after her, but Rozlynd was already telling the guys what just happened. There was no escape now. Iris flopped onto the couch and told her story. Minus a few details here and there.

  “Should we get everyone else over here and let them know what happened?” Violet asked no one in particular after Iris finished her story.

  “Be my guest, but can someone else fill them in? I’d really like to go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

  “I don’t think we should sleep at home tonight.”

  “You know, I think Rozlynd’s got a point,” Violet agreed.

  “That’s nice. You both have beds you can sleep in here.”

  “I’m with them,” Aerianna told Iris. “Can I crash on the couch?”

  “Sure thing,” Thorin said without hesitation. “Iris, you can crash in my room. I have a sleeping bag and mat.”

  “Thanks but no thanks. I’d rather sleep in a real bed. I’m going home, guys. Night.” Iris didn’t wait for a response before putting actions to words.

  She was too tired and really wanted to be alone. Needed to be alone. It was her fault. Things she never imagined would happen were coming to fruition. One of her friends had been abducted in order to get to her. Her dream manifested into reality. Brett had more followers. She was a danger to those she cared the most about. She needed to leave in order to protect them.

  Iris moved to her closet to dislodge her suitcase. Thorin arrived before she could get it out.

  “I don’t care what you say, you’re spending the night at my place and that’s final. I’ll even help you carry your mattress if that’ll make you shut up and do the smart thing for once in your goddamn life.”

  Iris opened her mouth to retort, thought better of it, and nodded. If she left, who would be there to keep Brett and his minions at bay? Besides, there was nowhere she could go where he couldn’t find her. He knew she had to use magic to maintain her control on it. If he came to her place with backup while she was alone, she may not have enough strength to defend herself. Having more magic users around her tonight was probably the smart move. For herself and her friends.

  “We have an air mattress in the hall closet. You grab that and I’ll grab pillows,” Iris acquiesced.

  “Thank you.”

  They were back at Thorin’s a few moments later. Cirrus, Violet, and Aerianna were talking on the couch. Rozlynd and Rowen were nowhere to be seen. Iris assumed they’d gone to Rowen’s room. Jaden and Zarina were still sequestered in his room.

  “Are you guys going to be up much longer?” Iris asked the three on the couch.

  “Probably. We were thinking about playing some Mario Kart or Party like old times,” Violet grinned at her. “Want to play?”

  “No thanks.” She was drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. All she wanted was a bed.

  “Come on, Iris. I’ll set you up in my room so you can go to sleep now.”

  Iris sighed and nodded. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to spend the night in Thorin’s room, but she really didn’t want to. Perhaps it was because she still had feelings for him. She followed him down the hall and found herself in his arms as soon as the door closed behind her. He was warm. She wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face in his chest.

  “Are you all right? Truly all right? Not just saying you’re all right to keep us from asking questions?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. No injuries. He didn’t catch me. Zarina seems all right. I’m fine.”

  “Physically, yes. What about mentally? Emotionally? You break sometimes, you know.”

  She pushed off his chest and shook her head. Thorin had an uncanny way of knowing what was going on in her brain. “I feel guilty. It’s my fault Brett abducted Zarina tonight just as it’s been my fault with anything magic or Brett related. I seem to attract power obsessed psychopaths and drag you guys into the mess.”

  “Is that what you think you’re doing? Dragging us into some kind of mess you didn’t create in the first place? Stop giving yourself so much credit. We chose to learn this stuff and to keep learning it. You’ve offered us ample opportunities to quit and not one of us has. We like it too much. Like you too much.” Thorin smiled softly at her.

  Iris couldn’t keep the left corner of her mouth from twitching up. She’d missed that smile. He really did have a way of making her feel better.

  “Do we need to set this thing up?” He gestured to the air mattress.

  And a way of pissing her off. “Thorin—”

  “Nothing like that. We’ve shared smaller sleeping spaces on away trips,” he said quickly as he threw his hands up, palms out, in an attempt to stem Iris’s verbal berating.

  “Yeah, all right. We don’t have to set it up. Got any sweats I can borrow?”

  A pounding on a door woke Iris some unknown number of hours later. She stumbled to Thorin’s bedroom door, but there was no one there. The pounding came a second time. Her brain kicked into gear. The noise came from the Gallery of Doors. Iris sent her little self to see what the commotion was. Jaden waited for her.

  “How could you let this happen? And you didn’t tell me! Or anyone else! Or ask for help
for that matter. What if you’d been caught. I may never have seen Zarina again. When will you get it through your thick skull that you’re not in this alone? If you go down, you’ll take all of us with you. Hell, we’ll all probably fall first because you insisted you could save us by yourself. Grow up, Iris!”

  Jaden turned and was gone before Iris could get a word in. She stumbled back to Thorin’s bed. Iris snuggled closer to him and let tears stream down her cheeks in silence. Jaden was right. She needed to end this. She just wasn’t sure how.

  Acknowledgments

  A book is much more than a combination of words, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. It’s the compilation of ideas, experiences, and love that creates a story one can get lost in. And it’s not accomplished alone.

  Thank you to the members of my long-term writing group: Earl T. Roske, Megan E. O’Keefe, and Trish Henry for the hundreds of hours we’ve spent together refining our craft and the hundreds of more hours to come. Thank you for your guidance and honesty for both the creative and business sides of self-publishing. And thank you to Alexa’s Proofreading Services for catching all the mistakes I missed.

  Thank you to my friends and family for all the wonderful adventures you’ve provided me. Inspiration comes from so many different experiences—positive and negative ones—and I cherish them all.

  Thank you to my sister, Caroline, for your continued feedback and help on cover art and support throughout this whole process. A huge thank you to my husband, Roy, for all your love and support.

  And thank you, the reader, for joining me on this journey. I hope you will continue to follow Iris on her journey in book 3, Desperation, and beyond.

  Sneak Peek — Desperation

  A Through Dreams and Doorways Novel — Book 3

  Chapter 1

  Iris clamped her mouth shut to keep from screaming. Her heart raced. Breath was shallow. She wasn’t in her bed. Her eyes darted about the room. Sunlight crept around the sides of blinds. In between poorly shut slats. The room seemed familiar. Iris calmed the frantic notions running through her mind.