by Helen Harper
I pivot and leap upwards, pressing my palms against my graffiti. ‘I cast the Department out,’ I mutter. I fall back down, jarring my knee as I drop.
The effect is almost instantaneous. Thunder roars and the dark sky is filled with lightning bolts. People scream and dash for cover. There is a strange scorched smell. Suddenly all of them have gone – Larry, Moe, Curly and the other Department pricks. Dante has vanished. So has Esme. The only thing that seems out of place is the Chairman, sitting in the middle of the square with a piece of paper dangling from his mouth. He chews thoughtfully for a moment and then drops it, sauntering away into a beam of sunlight that suddenly shatters the clouds.
‘It worked.’ Bron coughs and tries to stand up. ‘It actually worked.’
‘Here,’ I say grimly. ‘But now Dante is awake and I’m vulnerable. I need to go.’ Without another word, I disapparate.
I open my eyes to the sound of splintering wood. Dante is shoving his shoulder against the bathroom door again and again. ‘What have you done? Zoe, bloody hell! What have you done?’
I scramble to my feet as he bursts through but before he grabs me there are shouts and the sound of pounding feet downstairs. Dante freezes, stunned beyond action, while Ingold and various uniformed police officers – Rawlins included – suddenly appear.
She takes in the scene in one swift glance. ‘You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Zoe Lydon.’
Dante’s mouth drops open. ‘I didn’t touch her! Zoe, tell them!’
‘If you didn’t touch her,’ Ingold says, ‘why are those marks around her neck?’
I gingerly touch my skin. It’s very tender and sore but I’ll live. ‘He did that,’ I admit.
‘Yes, but...’ Dante holds up his hands. ‘It happened in a dream! It wasn’t real!’ He swings his head towards Ingold. ‘Wait. I know you! You were in a dream too. I saw you there.’
Before Dante can say anything else, Rawlins interrupts him. ‘I think we need to section this gentleman,’ she says. ‘He’s clearly psychotic and hallucinating.’
‘I agree,’ Ingold says. ‘Dreams?’ He shakes his head. ‘Dear me. That’s crazy talk.’
Chapter Seventeen
Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.
Robert H. Schuller
I meet Ashley and Bron in the Dreamlands pub. A lot of people are casting glances in my direction, nudging each other and whispering. Maybe it’s not me they’re discussing; the Chairman has perched in the centre of our table and is surveying the place as if he owns it.
‘It seems like they’re really gone,’ Bron says, taking a gulp of his lager. ‘Even the building has vanished. And not just from here. We’ve heard from other zones and all traces of the Department have disappeared.’ He shakes his head in awe. ‘It’s as if they never existed.’
‘Did you know that was going to work?’ Ashley asks. ‘Using their names to exile them all?’
‘No,’ I admit. ‘Obviously I hoped it would but there were no guarantees.’
‘Then why didn’t you do it before? Why wait until there was a showdown? Until there was a chance we could actually get hurt?’ There’s the faintest hint of accusation in her voice. I don’t blame her.
‘Because I needed to give them the opportunity to realise that they had no moves left. They know who you are in real life, Ashley. They know plenty of other Travellers too. They know me. There was every possibility that they’d come after me – or anyone else they could get their grubby hands on – in revenge. I tried to deal with a Department guy before, a Danish man. He promised he’d leave me alone but he didn’t. The only way they can be stopped completely is if they believe that we know who they really are. That if they make any kind of move in the real world we won’t let them escape.’
‘So that list is real?’
‘Completely fake but I needed Dante to believe I had it. I knew he’d alert the Department that they were in danger if he thought I had their names.’
Bron whistles. ‘That was smart.’
It almost ended in disaster. I reach out and tickle the Chairman’s chin. ‘I’m sorry for everything,’ I say softly. I look at Ashley. ‘Especially for everything that happened to you.’
‘All’s well that ends well,’ she murmurs. Then she gives me a slight smile and I know everything will be alright between us. It might take time but I think we can be friends again.
The door to the pub opens and everyone falls silent. Lilith glides over and stops at our table. ‘You did well, Zoe from the Quiet Lands. Peace is restored.’
Bron and Ashley stare at her. I get to my feet. ‘Thank you for your help, Lilith.’
She inclines her head. ‘Do you have any more young men I can visit? I exhausted that friend of yours, Adam, rather quickly.’
I purse my lips. ‘I think from now on you’ll probably have to find your own victims.’
She wrinkles her nose. ‘So be it.’
‘Will you be staying around here?’
She shrugs languidly. ‘I might hang around the Badlands for a while. Some of those fiends are quite remarkable. I’d forgotten how much fun one can have when creating nightmares.’ For a moment she bares her teeth and I suppress a shudder. She can be quite frightening when she wants to be.
‘You know there are rules in place…’
Lilith throws me a sour look. ‘I do. There are rules in place for you, too, weaver. Or there should be.’
I acknowledge her words. ‘I’m not going to upset the balance. Nothing more will be changed without good reason.’ I glance at Ashley and Bron. ‘Or consultation.’
‘So you’re going to stay around here? Take charge?’
I laugh. ‘No, I don’t think so. I can help people. My dreamweaving skills can do a lot of good in this world but only for people who are happy to accept that help. I’m not going to invade anyone’s mind or manipulate their subconscious. There’s been enough of that.’ I smile. ‘I like the sunshine, not the clouds.’
‘Amen to that,’ Ashley murmurs.
I drain the last of my drink and stand up. ‘I should be going. I’ll pop in from time to time, make sure everything’s okay and that no one’s lurking in the forest and making evil plans.’ My tone is jokey but there’s an underlying seriousness to my words.
I turn to go but Bron catches my wrist. ‘You shouldn’t feel bad, Zoe. Despite everything, I think Dante really did love you. In his own way.’
I don’t trust myself to answer.
‘What will happen to him?’
‘He’s safely under lock and key – for now, anyway. He won’t ever be able to return here.’ The infinite sadness that I feel about the way things turned out with Dante will remain with me forever. He could have been so much but he couldn’t see that; from the moment he colluded with the Department to abduct Ashley, he turned away from the right path, never to return.
I sigh heavily and disapparate.
***
The curtains in my cul-de-sac are twitching more than ever. I ignore them and lift my face up to the sky, enjoying the sensation of the faint drizzle on my skin.
Ingold looks at me. ‘You know what I’m going to say.’
I meet his gaze. ‘You want me to work for you. For Interpol and the … Dream Team.’
He doesn’t waver. ‘Together we can do a lot of good, even if you can’t find a way to bring us into the Dreamlands.’
I don’t doubt he believes that. Ingold is a good guy and he has good intentions. So does Interpol. Probably. But Dante thought his intentions were pure, even if he acknowledged that his way of achieving them left something to be desired. Good intentions aren’t enough for me, not any more.
‘How long,’ I say softly, ‘until you want me to peek inside the head of some President or Prime Minister because you’re concerned about what they’re up to?’
‘When we’re concerned, we usually have good reason.’
‘That doesn’t mean poking around in someone’s head is right. Some
things should remain private. You’ll end up using me. Or the next guy will. There’s no way this can have a happy ending.’
‘You don’t know that.’
I answer quietly. ‘Yes, I do.’
His eyes drop. ‘Yeah,’ he admits. ‘Okay.’
I pass him a scrap of paper. ‘That’s my email address. If you need me, send a message and I’ll get back to you when I can. But,’ my voice hardens, ‘I won’t be used. Not by anyone.’
‘I understand.’ He examines the paper for a moment then tucks it away. ‘What will you do? Are you going to stay here?’
I lift my chin and look over his shoulder at the road leading out from my little house. ‘I’ve spent enough time at home. There’s a whole world out there.’ I hold up my passport, the one that actually says Zoe Lydon. ‘I’m going to travel. See what there is to see and learn what I can.’
The corner of Ingold’s mouth crooks up. ‘Take each day as it comes?’
I smile back. ‘Exactly.’
His eyes hold mine. ‘Then maybe we can meet up again soon somewhere.’ He holds up his hands. ‘Not because I want to pressure you about the Dreamlands but because I want to talk to you. Get to know you better, I mean.’ For a moment he actually looks awkward. ‘Maybe we can grab a drink somewhere. I’ve got some holiday time coming up. We could share a cocktail on a tropical beach.’
‘I’d like that,’ I tell him quietly. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. He flushes pink. I smile slightly then leave him and move to Rawlins. ‘It’s been fun.’
‘No, it’s not.’
I laugh. ‘You’re right. It’s been horrific.’
She gives me a tight hug. ‘You’ll look after yourself?’
I nod and bite my lip. ‘I will.’
‘Good,’ she says gruffly. ‘Because if you get into trouble, leave me out of it. I’m looking forward to getting back to complaints about stolen garden gnomes. I don’t need dream terrorists or alleged terrorists or fake passports or real shootings or…’ She looks at me. ‘Too much?’
‘Kind of.’
She grins and thumps my arm. ‘Take care, Zoe.’
I press my lips together tightly and crouch down by Adam’s wheelchair. ‘How are you feeling?’ I ask.
‘I’m good. And I have a hell of a story to tell the guys down the pub next time I see them.’
I laugh. He’d better not say a word. ‘You’re heading home too?’
‘Yeah.’ He flicks a sidelong look at Rawlins; there is considerable warmth in his expression. ‘I’d quite like to be on the right side of the law.’
I raise my eyebrows. ‘You and Rawlins?’
‘Do you think she’ll have me?’
I smile. ‘You’ll have to ask.’ Somehow I don’t think she’s going to turn him down.
Before I can say anything else, my mother clears her throat loudly and all but shoves Adam’s wheelchair out of the way. ‘Darling! Are you really going to leave?’
‘Yeah, I really am. I need to stretch my wings. Besides, there are many different time zones out there and a lot of places to explore. Both real and imaginary.’
‘Well, make sure you don’t go talking to any strange man who are too handsome for their own good.’
‘Nope.’
‘And don’t let anyone push you around.’
‘No chance.’
‘And definitely don’t become a terrorist again. I’m not sure my constitution can take it.’
‘Mother!’
She smiles and hugs me. ‘I’m going to miss you so much, Zoe,’ she whispers. ‘You’ll come back, won’t you?’
I blink back tears. ‘Always.’
She sniffs. ‘I can take the Chairman,’ she offers.
I glance down at his carrier. From behind the metal bars, he blinks up at me, yawns and blithely starts washing his face. ‘Nah. I think the two of us are going to have some fun adventures together. Besides,’ I grin, ‘he’s got my back.’
‘Amen to that.’
I step back and look at them all. ‘I owe you so much. I’m so sorry your lives were turned upside down by all this. I promise to leave your dreams undisturbed from now on.’
‘You can tread through my dreams whenever you want to,’ Rawlins says. ‘And I mean that.’
Adam raises his eyebrows. ‘Just tread softly.’
I grin. ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on, after all.’
I turn away from them and scan the sky. In the distance, I can make out Esme’s figure waiting patiently beside a battered-looking Volkswagen Beetle. I raise my hand to her and wave to indicate that I’m on my way. I’m not scared. Not any more. I’m ready to meet the world head on.
About the Author
After teaching English literature in the UK, Japan and Malaysia, Helen Harper left behind the world of education following the worldwide success of her Blood Destiny series of books. She is a professional member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and writes full time, thanking her lucky stars every day that's she lucky enough to do so!
Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland.
She currently lives in Devon in the UK with far too many cats – not to mention the dragons, fairies, demons, wizards and vampires that seem to keep appearing from nowhere.
You can find out more - and learn how to get a FREE copy of Corrigan Fire - by visiting Helen's website: http://helenharper.co.uk
Other titles by Helen Harper
The complete Blood Destiny series
Bloodfire
Bloodmagic
Bloodrage
Blood Politics
Bloodlust
Blood Destiny Box Set (The complete series: Books 1 – 5)
Also
- Corrigan Fire
- Corrigan Magic
- Corrigan Rage
-Corrigan Politics
-Corrigan Lust
The complete Bo Blackman series
Dire Straits
New Order
High Stakes
Red Angel
Vigilante Vampire
Dark Tomorrow
The complete Highland Magicseries
Gifted Thief
Honour Bound
Veiled Threat
Last Wish
The Dreamweaver series
Night Shade
Night Terrors
Night Lights
Olympiana stand - alone
Eros