“My intuition’s what got me into trouble last time.”
“No. Seth manipulated you in a way none of us anticipated.” Dad gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t let him make you doubt yourself.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Dad caught me in a big bear hug. I tucked my head tight against his chest, letting him hold me for a moment. Then I pulled back.
“Not to put a damper on the father-daughter bonding thing, but shouldn’t we get going?” I glanced at the mountain before us. “I mean, this is number one on a list of what, 300 more caves we have to check?”
“I suppose you’re right.” Dad smiled and gestured toward the ridge. “I mean, not about the list. That thing’s got at least 400 caves on it now, and Ian keeps adding new ones. Good thing we’ve still got six and a half months before the solstice.”
“Yay.” I sighed, picturing a long summer of us poking our heads into one small cave after another. “Onwards and upwards.” I led the way up into the mountains.
It was a wasted trip. The cave was small enough that we could see the entire thing from ten steps inside. No sloping hallways. No altar. This cave was not the Temple of Lilith. Neither was the next cave we checked, or the one after that. Three caves, all busts. We returned home close to sunset.
Lucas and Gretchen pulled up around the same time we did. They hadn’t had any luck with their search, either.
“Five caves down,” I muttered. “That only leaves 395 to go.”
About a week after school let out, Lucas and I got a pass for the day from searching more caves. By this point, Dad and I had searched another 15 caves, while Lucas and Gretchen had searched close to 20. That would have made me feel pretty good—if Ian hadn’t added another 38 caves to the list of need-to-be-searched.
Regardless, Lucas and I were so relieved to be spared another day of dusty hikes and cramped caverns that we didn’t even care the reason was so we could take the practice SAT. We’d met up with Cassie and Royal the night before to run through some practice questions from a pile of books Royal’s SAT tutor had given him, but there wasn’t much more we could do to prepare. Spirits were high; even though we faced one more huge test, it was the last thing separating us from a long, uninterrupted summer before our senior year began.
When the day of the test arrived, Dad made Lucas and I some tomato-and-avocado omelets along with bacon, toast, and hash browns. “Brain food,” he called it. We ate, and then I drove Lucas to school. I saw Royal getting out of his car as Lucas and I pulled into the parking lot. I beeped my horn and Royal looked up. Something was wrong—his face was ashen, with deep circles under his eyes again.
“Braedyn?” Lucas had spotted Royal, too. His eyes narrowed in concern.
“I see him.”
We got out of the car and hurried to meet Royal at the edge of campus.
“What happened?” I searched Royal’s eyes for the telltale sign of another Lilitu attack—but his pupils were responsive, constricting against the light of the morning.
“Just another nightmare,” Royal said.
“Seth?” I gripped my school bag so tightly I could feel my fingernails digging into my palm.
“It—it felt like a warning,” Royal said slowly.
Lucas glanced at me. Anger surged through my head, drowning out the sounds of the morning around me. For a moment, my sight grew clouded—rage dialing down my peripheral vision to almost nothing.
“Hey, guys. Ready to shred this thing?” Cassie bounded up to us. But as Royal turned to face her, her cheerful smile vanished. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Royal forced a smile for Cassie’s benefit. “Let’s focus on the test, I’ll tell you all the boring details after.”
When Cassie hesitated, Royal made a little shoo gesture at her. “This is an important day in your academic career, young lady,” he said. “Scholarships are on the line. So get a move on. Chop, chop!”
Cassie gave him a smile. “Okay, sheesh.”
As Cassie led the way to the dining hall, I met Royal’s eyes. He knew, as well as I did, that Cassie would need some good scholarships to cover her education. He smiled faintly, but I could see his bravado fading.
We crowded into the cafeteria. It had been transformed, with large cardboard dividers set up on each dining table to screen each students’ work from the others. It felt weird to be back at school this soon after finals. As we arrived, we were each escorted to one divided cubicle of a table and given a booklet and a test that we were forbidden to turn over until the start of the exam.
Waiting for the proctor to announce the start, I couldn’t banish the look on Royal’s face from my thoughts. Had we done something new to spark Seth’s vengeance? Were we getting close to finding the temple? Had he somehow discovered Cassie was one of the three acolytes Idris was grooming? No—if that were the case, we’d know. Sitting there, I had to face the possibility that the only reason Seth had hurt Royal again was because he could. The thought sickened me.
“Alright, everyone. Good luck. You can begin now.” The proctor hit a button, and a large digital clock started counting down. We’d have three hours to finish the test. Which meant three long hours sitting and waiting for the full story from Royal, while my imagination spooled out a variety of nightmare scenarios Seth might have subjected him to.
Enough. With cold resolve, I decided Seth would never have another chance to hurt Royal in a dream. I’d find a way to protect Royal. And I’d find it tonight.
The test was a blur. I was only half-paying attention as I stumbled through the questions. When the proctor called time, I leapt out of my seat and was one of the first to drop my test off in the official collection box.
I waited outside for my friends, pacing in the warm June sun.
Amber left the dining hall as I turned, bringing us face to face. She let her eyes flick over me, but brushed past without a word. I turned to watch her go, irritated. We’d spent most afternoons together training for the last four months. You’d think that would have counted for something. But Amber was just as prickly toward me as ever. I dismissed her from my mind as Cassie and Royal emerged from the dining hall.
Lucas joined us a few moments later, stretching his arms up and over his head. “So glad that is over,” he mumbled.
“Listen,” I said, steamrolling the post-test grumbles from my friends. “I think I’ve got an idea of how I can keep Seth out of your mind.”
“Didn’t you already try that?” Royal eyed me, worried. “I mean, not that I doubt you, but what if you try and it doesn’t work—and it just ends up pissing him off even more?”
I shook my head, grim. “This will work. It has to.”
Lucas glanced at Royal. “I’d let her do it, man. Worst-case scenario, Seth keeps messing with your head. Best-case scenario? You never hear from that little prick again.”
Royal considered this for a moment. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. What do you need from me?”
“Just get to bed on time. I’ll take it from there.”
What I really needed was an example. A perfect shield. Something without any loose knots, or chinks, or weak spots. I knew it was possible. I’d come across a perfect shield around a human’s dream last year.
Mr. Hart, the new drama teacher, had drawn my suspicions early in the semester. Seth, knowing I’d started to wonder if Hart was the incubus we were searching for, had shielded his dreams to make it impossible for me to identify him as human. Somehow, Seth had created a shield around Mr. Hart’s dream—a shield so strong I hadn’t been able to even sense Mr. Hart beyond it.
As I knelt in my dream garden that night, summoning the strength for what I needed to do, I let my thoughts draw Mr. Hart’s dream to me. It rose to the surface of the silvery pool. I closed my hand around it, expecting to find the nothingness of the shield as I had before.
And yet… something had changed. It was as though the shield had started to degrade. It wasn’t the perfect, impenetrable surface I�
�d last encountered. There was a stress around the edges of the shield. I followed the contours with my mind until I found a small tear. Ever so gently, I slipped into the dream.
Mr. Hart was there, absorbed in the weird logic of his dream. It looked like he was preparing for a role in some kind of elaborate production—but he didn’t know his lines, he had no costume to wear, and he wasn’t sure of his blocking. Anxiety swirled almost palpably around him, but I wasn’t here for Mr. Hart.
I ignored him, keeping myself out of his way. He didn’t even bat an eye in my direction, too absorbed with is own dilemma to notice me. I turned my thoughts to the shield around his dream, tracing it once more with my mind.
It was amazing.
From inside the dream, the shield was a complicated knot of energy. There were twists and turns I hadn’t sensed from outside. I followed the pattern over and over again, until I started to see how it was constructed. And as I began to understand it, I also sensed how it might be repaired. I let my thoughts search out the frayed edges of the shield and—when I located them—I nudged them back into the pattern, in effect retying the parts of the knot that had worked themselves loose. I repaired the last knot and felt a tightening in the dream world around me.
As the knot slipped into place, I was expelled from the dream like a bullet fired from a pistol. The force of the expulsion left me shaken, and I reeled in the formless void of the universal dream for many long moments.
But—slowly—my shock transformed into triumph.
I didn’t even bother returning to my dream to summon Royal. I focused my thoughts on him and pulled. Instead of drawing his dreaming mind toward me, I felt my consciousness rocketing across the dreamscape. Royal’s dream rushed up to meet me, and before I could slow my momentum—
I was standing inside his dream.
He looked up at me as I entered, and once again the dream around us faded to a medium gray.
“So—?” He glanced at me, hope warring with fear on his face.
“I know what to do,” I said.
Royal’s face lit up. “You mean, you can keep him out of my head? For real?”
“It’s called a shield. And yes, it’ll keep him out of your head. It will keep everyone out of your head. I won’t be able to visit your dreams again. Not for a long time.”
Royal closed his eyes. His smile was so beautiful, so peaceful, I wanted to hug him. Then he opened his eyes, giving me an expectant look. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
“Right.” I lowered my eyes, focusing on the dream around me. As I held it inside my mind, I could feel the edges of this dream, the boundary that separated Royal from the universal dream. Carefully, I began to form the shield knot. It was a long process, but as the knot grew in complexity, the pattern started to manage itself. I poured my attention and energy into it, feeding it the strength it needed to grow and contort back over itself, again and again. The knot spread along the borders of Royal’s dream, growing in density until it was as hard and smooth as granite.
There was only one chink in the shield—the hole through which my consciousness had entered this dream. I turned my attention to it, doubling my efforts. The knot seemed to fall into this hole, as though sucked into a vortex. I concentrated, urging the knot to grow and contort faster. It worked—even though the vortex seemed bent on swallowing the knot, the knot was growing just fast enough to edge ahead. Finally, the knot twisted together into a plug strong enough to close the hole—
And I was expelled outside the dream once more.
It was disorienting, being this close to Royal’s dream—unable to sense even the faintest glimmer of his personality. I swept over the surface of his dream, searching for any imperfection that might be leveraged into an opening. There was nothing. Triumph flared in my head. I’d done it. As the weight of this accomplishment sank in, I paused. A shield like this would be extremely valuable for the Guard. Dad, Hale, Lucas—I could protect their sleeping minds. But as I pictured Lucas’s face, I felt a twinge. I could shield his sleeping mind, yes, but then he would be shielded from all Lilitu, myself included. We wouldn’t be able to share any more dreams together. I felt guilt for even hesitating to protect him, but I wasn’t ready to give up our nights together. I decided to save the moral questions for another day.
Exhausted, I let myself fall into a dreamless sleep. As my consciousness unspooled into the larger dream, one last thought floated through my mind.
At least no one will bother Royal’s dreams again. He is safe. He is finally safe.
Chapter 13
I floated back to consciousness late the next morning. Sensations returned piecemeal; the weight of sheets across my body, the warmth of the sun on my shoulder, the faint sound of birds singing their greeting to the new day. I stretched, luxuriating in the peace of the moment.
When I finally opened my eyes, my bedside clock read 10:15—Dad and I would be heading out for another day of pseudo-spelunking in an hour or so. I swung my feet off the side of the bed and rummaged through my dresser for something tough enough to weather climbing over boulders, but summery enough for the warmth of the day ahead.
Downstairs, I found Karayan humming to herself in the kitchen. She was scrambling some eggs in a skillet along with cubed potatoes, onions, and green chilies. My mouth started watering.
“Don’t suppose there’s more than one helping in there?” I pulled a stool out from the kitchen island and sat, eyeing the sizzling eggs on the stove.
Karayan turned. She flashed me a mischievous grin. “And she returns to the land of the living.” Karayan hefted the skillet off the stove and gave it a jerk. The eggs flipped neatly over, sizzling as they reconnected with the hot surface. “Grab a plate.”
I hopped off the stool to rummage through the cupboard. Karayan met me at the island and scooped a healthy portion of eggs onto my plate.
“Yum.” I started to sit, preparing to dig in.
“Ah, ah, ah!” Karayan returned with a bowl of shredded cheddar cheese. “The finishing touch.” She sprinkled my plate with the cheese. It started to melt as soon as it made contact with the steaming eggs.
“This is what happiness smells like.” I closed my eyes and breathed in the aroma.
“Well, eat your happiness before it gets cold.” Karayan sat beside me, sprinkling a second serving of her creation with cheese.
“Since when do you cook?” I shoved a spoonful of eggs into my mouth. So. Awesome. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Long day ahead. I need the energy.” She shrugged, hiding a small smile with a bite of food.
“Yeah?” I glanced at Karayan, curious.
The doorbell rang, and Karayan’s eyes shifted over my shoulder eagerly.
“Ooo. Gotta go.” She bounced off her stool and made a beeline for the front door. She’d left her phone on the island. I shoveled another bite of eggs into my mouth, then picked it up.
“Hey, you forgot your phone—” I froze at the threshold between the dining room and the foyer.
Karayan had opened the door. Hale stood on the threshold, clutching a magnificent bouquet of bluebells in one hand. Dozens of slender stalks arched from his grip, each supporting a collection of vibrant, purple-blue blossoms.
Karayan gave a little squeal of delight. “For me?” But then she hesitated, her eyes snagging on the blossoms. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Hale’s face. He wasn’t smiling. The color drained out of Karayan’s face as realization struck her. He knew.
“So it’s true?” Hale lowered the bouquet. It hung, forgotten, by his side. “You’ve been coming to my dreams? Pretending to be my wife?”
Karayan opened her mouth to answer, but no words came.
Hale studied her, his grief transforming slowly to anger. “I wondered about all the bluebells, showing up night after night. It’s one of the things they train us to watch out for in the Guard, unusual repetition of objects or symbols.”
“I can explain.” Karayan lifted a hand toward him, but he jerk
ed away from her touch, letting the bluebells drop to the ground beside him.
“Don’t bother.”
“Hale, I was just—”
“I know what you were doing.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. I could see the tension gathering in his shoulders.
Karayan stared at Hale, stricken. “I thought—I thought we—”
“We what?” Hale’s face could have been carved from stone. “We’d get a happily ever after? End up playing house together somewhere?”
Crimson shame flooded Karayan’s cheeks, but she tried to shrug it off. “Please. I’m not some vapid teenager with her eyes full of stars.”
Hale’s voice dropped to a low growl. “You betrayed our friendship, Karayan.”
Karayan looked stung, but—struggling to gather the last shreds of her pride—she forced herself to shrug. “That seems a little dramatic, even for a Guardsman. As I remember it, you had a good time in those dreams, too.”
“Don’t provoke me, Karayan.” Something in Hale’s glare made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
“Ah yes. And now we come to the threatening portion of the morning’s chat.” Karayan crossed her arms, but she couldn’t completely sell her feigned indifference. “Let me guess, you’re kicking me out of the Guard.”
“No. You’re too useful to our cause. I’m not going to tell the others what you’ve done; that would generate unnecessary friction.”
I saw Karayan’s shoulders ease slightly.
Hale wasn’t finished. “You and I will never work together again. Stay away from me, Karayan. I mean it.” Without taking his eyes off of Karayan, Hale barked at me, “Braedyn. Grab your things. You’re on duty.”
“But—I’m supposed to search more caves with Dad today—”
Hale’s eyes shifted to my face, silencing my objections instantly. Two minutes later, I was following him out the door to his car, a hastily packed lunch shoved into my backpack.
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