Aspen and the Dream Walkers (14 page)

Miriam glared at him as he walked past her
and out through the door.

Watching his tall, lean frame leave the
house, Aspen had to fight the anger from whipping through her body
again. Her stepsister had forced Dylan to go after he’d been so
kind to her. She conjured up a small, marble-sized ball of energy
and rolled it steadily between her fingers under the table while
her mother began to make food. It was warm and tingled in her
palm.

Miriam was clearly impressed that she’d made
him leave and gave her stepsister a self-satisfied look before
flouncing out of the kitchen.

Aspen fumed as she helped her mother wash the
dishes.

Witches and Lions

“Hey, Princess.” Ginny flashed a smile as Aspen
appeared next to her and Sandy.

She’d fallen asleep minutes earlier and had
woken up in Lanta. A week had passed since she’d last seen Dylan,
and no matter where she’d searched, she couldn’t find him.

Even though she was burning to ask about his
whereabouts, she didn’t want to raise Ginny or Sandy’s suspicions,
but she was at her wit’s end. If only she could call his phone. The
sound of his voice would make her feel better. She’d need a valid
excuse to call him, though, and she couldn’t think of one. Texting
wouldn’t help as she didn’t own a cell phone for fear of breaking
it. The leather strap had stopped all that, but she would need to
work during Spring Break in order to afford one now.

“Hey, Gin, how are you doing?”

The sisters were dressed in khaki pants and
black T-shirts. Sandy’s fair hair was braided in cornrows, and both
girls looked ready for battle. A group of five boys loitered around
them in a circle. She recognized most of them; they were all Power
clan members. The lake glistened invitingly next to them, and the
trees swayed in the hot, dry air as butterflies danced on white
daisies nearby. It was a perfect day.

She waved at the clan members.

“Hey, Aspen,” they said in a chorus.

“What are you guys doing?” she asked.

“We were just about to go hunting,” Sandy
replied. “Wanna join us?”

“Yeah.” She laughed and rubbed her dream
catcher. “I think that’s just what I need right now.”

“That’s great. Dylan couldn’t make it, so
we’re a team member short.” Sandy didn’t elaborate, and Aspen
refused to ask why he couldn’t be there.

He hadn’t called her the entire week, and she
hadn’t seen him in Lanta at all. Ray still spent time with her at
school and she’d seen Ruby once, although she wanted to avoid her
as much as possible.

If Aspen could find out where Dylan was
without asking directly, she would, but she kept quiet as the boys
walked along the water’s edge. She tagged along with the girls
behind them.

Sandy gave Aspen a band for her hair, and she
swept it up in a ponytail high on her head as they walked. For
once, she’d been transported in a pair of jeans and soft boots
instead of the usual long skirt, and she felt ready for action.

The lake was fed from a river uphill,
spilling into another smaller stream farther down the incline. They
followed the water until it became choppy as it was forced by
gravity through a narrow passage.

Aspen recognized the place she’d seen when
she first arrived in Lanta. Willow trees draped over the gurgling
water, and the pebbles looked like gemstones beneath the surface of
the stream.

“I remember this place,” she said. A small
rock on the ground caught her attention, and she bent to pick it
up. The sky changed to lavender moments later, and her skin
prickled from a fresh blast of cool air.

“That’s odd, this is a favorite Chancellor
casting place. What were you doing here?” Ginny asked. Her blond
braid whipped against her back as she walked up to her friend.

“I don’t know. I woke up near this place and
had the worst experience ever.” Aspen sighed.

“I think something bad is going to happen
again,” Sandy shouted from behind them. “Take cover, it’s a
witch!”

Aspen ducked as a bolt blasted into the
ground next to her feet. Soil shot up and gritted in her eyes, and
she was blinded for a second. With a cry, she rubbed the sand from
her face and spat out tiny particles of mud that had formed in her
mouth. Turning around, she found an ugly old woman with pitted skin
and a pointy black hat standing behind her. Matted hair hung limply
on a cloak draped over her shoulders, and Aspen gasped to realize
the woman was the embodiment of the witches she’d read about in
fairy tales. Before she could move, the crone raised a bony arm to
fire another blast at Aspen.

The bolt hit Aspen’s dream catcher with
pinpoint accuracy, causing the string to snap and the necklace to
fall to the ground next to her. A roar sounded above her as she
bent to pick up the charm, and a rush of air streamed along her
bare skin as something large flew over her.

She screamed as a monstrous lion jumped over
her head and landed with a thud before her. It opened huge jaws and
roared. Rancid breath hit her nostrils, and its amber eyes locked
on her. Behind her, she could hear the screams and shouts of her
friends as Chancellors spilled out—much like the spiders had done
in her dream previously—along the raging river. The water was no
longer calm, forming waves that hissed as they slammed against the
rocks next to her.

The sky was really dark but she could only
think of the angry beast that faced her. She had to ignore the
witch to face the immediate threat. The lion’s eyes focused on her,
and she sensed it was about to pounce. The mane around its neck was
thick and matted, and the muscles in its hind legs bunched together
as it crouched, ready to jump on her and rip her to shreds.

Aspen threw her hand up and hurled as much
energy as she could at the growling beast. She couldn’t use both
hands for fear of losing the dream catcher, and she prayed that the
power was enough to save her.

The earth rocked as her bolt hit the lion.
The huge beast disappeared in an instant, leaving a gaping hole in
the ground. Smoke spiraled from the blast site.

It took a second for her to realize that the
beast was gone, before she grabbed at the strings of suede on her
dream catcher. Her fingers shook as she tied the shortened string
around her wrist so that she had both hands free. Without the charm
she was vulnerable, but she needed to use both hands to be
effective.

Someone screamed and she spun around. The
other Dream Walkers must have taken care of the witch because there
was only a smoldering spot left where she’d been standing
before.

Ginny was far ahead of her, being dragged
away by three strong Chancellors. They’d wrapped rope around her
arms, and she couldn’t lift her hands to fight them. One of them
smacked her jaw and she collapsed into a limp heap. He picked her
up as though she weighed nothing and swung her over his broad
shoulders.

Sandy was a few feet behind her, fighting
Chancellors. Aspen turned to her and screamed, “They’ve got Ginny,
help her!”

Sandy risked a glance over her shoulder, but
she was under attack by the Chancellors in front of her. They
swarmed everywhere with their black eyes and scary pale faces.

Aspen was the only one free so she ran after
Ginny. Electric balls of energy shot from her hands as she darted
along the riverbank and chased the Chancellors. Her power was new
and she didn’t have enough control to risk hurting Ginny with a
direct blast, so she followed them and waited for the right
opportunity to help.

The Chancellors held on to Ginny and ran
toward a small mound of earth near the last of the willow trees. As
she watched, they disappeared behind the mound. She was astounded.
It was impossible for them to vanish so quickly.

“Ginny!” she cried out.

As she wailed, the sky began to change. The
deep lavender color lightened and a pale lemon light brought a warm
breeze with it. The remaining Chancellors rushed toward the mound
of earth and disappeared in a heartbeat.

People lay on the ground moaning around her,
and she stared at them in shock. Realization hit her after a few
seconds, and she cried out, “They’ve got Ginny!”

She ran to the pile of earth behind the
willow trees. A glint of metal caught her eye, and she found
Ginny’s dream catcher and the chain it was suspended from wrapped
on a bush nearby.

Sandy rushed up to her. Her T-shirt was torn
and dirt was smeared over one cheek. “Where is she? Did they take
her?”

Aspen nodded her head slowly and held Sandy
as she sobbed and collapsed against her chest. “Shh, we’ll find
her, don’t worry. Let’s get everyone together and get help. My
uncle will know what to do.”

The rest of the Power clan gathered around
the two girls as their dream catchers glowed brightly. A yellow
light traveled from the charms over their bodies, mending each
scratch and cut before her eyes. After the glow had subsided, Aspen
jerked forward and grabbed Sandy’s hand.

“Come on, we haven’t got any time to lose,
we’ve got to get back to the village.” Shouting loudly, she raced
toward the cottages.

Dogs barked and geese cackled in fright as
they entered the village, and smoke from campfires trailed lazily
in the air. Leeman walked onto the small veranda of his wooden
house to see what had happened. At the sight of the bedraggled
group, he ran down the steps and folded Aspen into his arms as she
flung herself at him.

“Uncle Leeman, help us please,” she
cried.

“What is it, Princess, what happened?” He
pulled her tiny frame away from his body.

“They took Ginny!”

“Who took her?”

“Th-the Chancellors,” she stuttered.

“How did that happen?”

Sandy spoke urgently. “There was a witch who
knew we’d be defenseless without our dream catchers, so she broke
Ginny’s. She couldn’t defend herself without it.”

“Where did this take place and when?”
Leeman’s eyes glinted coldly. Demothi, the conjurer, stood behind
the leader and chanted softly as he listened to their tale.

“Just now . . . at the first turn
in the river.” Sandy was shaking and Aspen held on to her arm.

“Gather the warriors! Wait here—I’ll be
back,” Leeman commanded. He ran up the steps of his cottage and
motioned to a young boy, who rang a bronze bell that hung from a
rope in a wooden structure close by. It had a muffled clang, but
the noise carried across the village. The smell of smoke was even
more noticeable in the air around them, and dogs continued to bark
in excitement.

“What are they going to do?” Aspen asked
Sandy.

The girl’s face was ashen. “We have to get to
Ginny before they take her to the castle. We’ll never see her again
if they reach their home base.”

Demothi chanted softly in the background, but
his intonation grew louder and soon he shouted in a strange
language.

Aspen gasped as a herd of snow-white horses
charged into the village. Their hooves sounded like thunder, and
she stepped back in case they got too close.

The horses slowed to a trot and snorted.
Throwing their heads back, they flicked their tails and one by one,
came to a halt in front of Demothi.

Leeman exited his cottage. He had a strange
gadget strapped to his hip and clutched a leather whip tightly in
his hand. The gadget looked like a huge G-clamp with a blue head
and a short black handle.

“He’s taken the Gimler,” Sandy whispered.

“What’s that?”

“That blue object around his waist. It’s the
most powerful weapon we have.”

A flowing white cape covered his broad
shoulders, and he wore black pants and a loose white shirt. The
largest horse walked up to him and lowered its head. Aspen watched
in awe as it stood still and allowed Leeman to mount it in one
smooth move. Warriors slipped out of the cottages, dressed in
similar garb. Each one mounted a white horse and joined Leeman,
awaiting his orders.

Aspen raced up to her uncle’s horse. “Wait,
we have to come with you. We can show you where it happened.”

Leeman stared impatiently at his niece. His
eyes glowed, and for a moment she was sorry that she’d called him
back.

“I’ll take the girls. I’ll look after them. I
promise!” Dylan shouted from behind them and ran up to the group.
Aspen turned to stare at him in shock. He’d been nowhere to be
found all week, and now he stood before them as though he’d never
left.

Leeman took a moment to decide. “Protect them
with your life.”

Demothi started to chant again and nodded his
head as three more horses galloped into the village. With a wave at
the warriors in the circle around him, Leeman jerked his horse
forward and they all thundered through the village in a cloud of
dust.

“Where’ve you been? I’ve been looking for you
everywhere.” Aspen stared accusingly at Dylan.

“I’ve been busy. I heard the sound of the
alarm and knew there was trouble somewhere. Quick, mount your horse
and we’ll leave.”

This was not what she wanted to hear, and she
placed her hand against the horse’s flank. “I’ve never ridden by
myself before.”

“These are magical horses. Demothi made them
for us and we’ll know how to ride them. Trust me.”

Aspen hesitated for a second before hauling
herself up into the saddle. Ginny was in trouble and she wasn’t
going to be much help if she couldn’t reach her.

Before she knew what had happened, she was
seated on the large animal’s back. Digging her knees gently into
its side, she let the horse canter after the rest of the herd. It
felt as though she’d been riding for years, and she relaxed and let
the animal guide her. There were about twenty riders, all strong
Power clan men, and her horse hurried to join them as they galloped
up ahead.

Sandy and Dylan rode up next to her, and she
leaned into the wind as the horse’s mane whipped in her face. Her
ponytail slapped against her arm and her clothes fluttered in the
warm wind.