Aspen and the Dream Walkers (25 page)

“Listen up. Power Walkers, leave your rides
here. The Fire Walkers need to create a diversion as soon as
Lavendula starts.” He pointed to the left. “I need you to operate
from that side. Come back as soon as Lavendula ends. We’ll be
leaving as quickly as we can.”

There was no doubt that Aspen’s uncle was
ready for a fight, and his hands gestured wildly as his silver eyes
sparked with excitement.

“We’ll be going on foot as soon as Lemona
ends, so good luck, everyone. Fire Walkers, take up your positions
now.”

The group split up. Aspen watched Ruby wave
at Dylan as her team trotted behind her. Caden followed Ruby, and
Aspen had to admit that he didn’t look too pleased. Ray looked
embarrassed but smiled at her as he left behind his sister.

After they had left, Leeman commanded the
team again. “You can dismount now.”

Everyone sprang from their horses and removed
the items they needed from their saddlebags.

Aspen was about to dismount when Dylan held
out his hands to help her down. Her heart skipped a beat. He had
such a handsome face, with his windswept hair and glittering blue
eyes. The look he gave her was different from any she’d seen
before. It was heated and raw, and it made her stomach flip
nervously.

No, she wasn’t going to give in to him. He
hadn’t defended her when Ruby called her a Halfling, and she
couldn’t forgive him for that. She ignored his hand and slid from
the big animal as quickly as she could. Without looking at him, she
marched over to Demothi and withdrew the wand from the pouch.

“I’m ready, Demothi. Show me how to use your
magic.” The aching bite of power in the wand made her shudder as it
gripped her firmly.

Demothi raised rheumy eyes
to watch her, and the lines around his mouth crinkled as he began
to chant. “
Sun ka wa kan
iyaya
,
sun ka wa
kan iyaya
. Say it with me.”

She chanted in time with
the old man, “
Sun ka wa kan
iyaya
,
sun ka wa
kan iyaya
.” The short stick waved from
left to right, and power was absorbed from her fingers into the
wand in a body-shaking rush that left her feeling slightly
dizzy.

Within seconds, the horses of Arcadia
disappeared. Aspen stared openmouthed around her. Warriors crept
forward with Leeman, not worried that the huge animals had left
their presence. They’d probably witnessed this before but it was
novel for her, and she blinked her eyes to make sure it wasn’t a
dream.

“You need to say
‘
Sun ka wa kan hiyu
’ in order for them to return,” Demothi added.

“
Sun ka wa kan hiyu
?” she
repeated.

“Yes, take this paper. I’ve written the words
down for you in case you don’t remember.” He pressed a small note
into her hands.

“Thank you, and good luck. Please be careful
and look after my uncle.” Her eyes welled up with tears.

Demothi hugged her against his chest. “Don’t
worry, I’ll look after him with my life,” he promised. Once the old
man had released her, he walked toward the rest of the team.

After everyone had left, Aspen wiped her eyes
and looked around to study the area. Leeman had chosen a perfect
spot amongst a large grouping of trees. A few boulders were
scattered here and there, and she could barely see the walls of the
castle through the thick foliage.

The three girls and Dylan were the only ones
left behind. As the sky changed, the air cooled rapidly, and Dylan
called out to her.

“Aspen, come back here—we need to hide behind
the boulders. It’s not safe where we are. The Chancellors outnumber
us, and I don’t want to take any chances.”

Although she wanted to ignore him, a huge
explosion rocked the ground, and she scrambled to his side.

Shouts and screams echoed in the distance,
and Aspen stood as close as she could to Dylan without touching
him. He laced his fingers through hers and smiled encouragingly at
her. The warmth of his power snaked up her arm and rushed through
her body, calming and exciting her at the same time.

When Sandy grinned at her knowingly, Aspen
blushed and tried to release her fingers, but he wouldn’t let go
and only firmed his grip.

The sky lit up with a stream of fireworks and
the ground shook again. Magic was definitely being used. Only
Demothi could create such an elaborate display.

“I wonder what’s happening?” Ginny asked. She
clutched her sister’s arm and peered around a boulder. Her thick
blond hair hung forward over her shoulder as she tried to see
through the trees. The smell of smoke reached their nostrils, and
Aspen wondered how Ray and Ruby were. Clearly, they’d started a
fire, and the distraction was working.

“Wait here,” Dylan said. “I’m going to climb
that tree to see what’s going on.”

As soon as Dylan released her hand, she
missed his warmth and wished he would come back again. He picked a
thick trunk and swiftly climbed to the highest large branch.

Glancing at his retreating figure, she
stepped out from the safety of the boulder and watched nervously to
make sure he didn’t fall. This is stupid, she thought. He could do
that power thing with his hands if he needed to save himself.

Just as she was about to move back, a
Chancellor appeared in front of her. He was so close that his empty
black eyes and pale skin made her panic, and she was glued to the
spot. Suddenly a blast of power hit him and she screamed. Dylan had
aimed from the tree, and the Chancellor’s skin shriveled in front
of her. The ball of power seemed to consume him until all that was
left was a pile of ashes that smoldered on the ground.

Aspen was too shocked to move. The ground
shook as she stared at the remains of her enemy, and she screamed
again as a huge arm lifted her from the ground. A band of steel
wrapped around her waist, and she turned frightened eyes toward the
creature that had her in its grip. One look at her captor made her
scream even louder. A grotesque monster with yellow fangs and a
huge horn centered between narrow eyes had lifted her in its clawed
hand. Saliva dripped from its open mouth and a scarlet tongue
flicked around its lips in anticipation.

Dylan shouted at her, “Use your power. Shoot
him!” He’d climbed down from the tree and stood below her, firing
power balls in quick succession at the huge beast.

Ginny and Sandy joined him on the ground.
They aimed their blasts at the monster, but its scaly skin repelled
their attack. The creature held one of her arms in his hand and
tried to rip it from her body. Pain exploded in her chest, and she
screeched like a banshee.

“Shoot the thing. Kill it!” Dylan screamed at
her and used a power stream to fly up to the giant’s face. Blue
electricity trailed in a thick current between the ground and his
hand.

If she didn’t do something quickly, she would
die. The monster wanted to kill her. Even though the pain was
excruciating, she concentrated hard and blasted it with all the
power she possessed.

Dylan aimed a ball of electricity at the huge
horn in the center of the monster’s forehead, and Ginny and Sandy
aimed at the beast’s knees.

The combined power was too much for the
creature, and its thick skin shriveled in the same way as the
Chancellor’s had. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Dylan
scooped her up and clutched her to his chest with one hand. He
lowered the two of them to the ground.

The monster’s body dissolved into a massive
pile of ash that fell to the earth with a loud plop.

Aspen sobbed as they reached the ground. Her
arm felt as if it had already been torn off. Dylan hugged her to
his body and knelt on the ground. Smoke surrounded them in thick
clouds, and Sandy and Ginny raced to her side.

“Are you okay? Talk to me! Are you all
right?” Sandy tried frantically to speak to her, but Aspen’s head
spun and black spots flashed behind her eyelids.

“Where’s her dream catcher?” Dylan shouted at
Sandy. “Mine’s next to the tree, get it quickly so I can heal her.”
As he spoke, the sky changed around them.

“Thank goodness it’s Lemona. The others will
come back now.” Sandy retrieved his dream catcher from the ground
and ran back to give it to him. Apparently he’d broken its cord in
his haste to leave the tree. The two girls searched the area for
Aspen’s dream catcher. Her charm had been ripped from her neck in
the attack and was nowhere to be seen.

As Dylan held on to the necklace, power
spread over her body. Her tissue knitted quickly and her bones
popped back into place. The charm glowed brightly and heat covered
her limbs. Carefully, he held her head against his chest and rested
her body on the ground. There wasn’t enough energy in her arms to
hold his hand, and she lay back listlessly in his embrace. She was
as weak as a kitten and wondered why his dream catcher hadn’t
healed her completely.

“I hear the soldiers. They’re on their way
back.” Ginny jumped up and ran toward the edge of the trees. The
fire had spread and smoke was already clouding the air around them.
The undergrowth crackled as the hungry flames approached them.

“Can you call the horses, baby?” Dylan
whispered against Aspen’s cheek. He hugged her tightly, and the
glow of the necklace and the rush of power his touch always
produced made her feel so much better. With a nod of her head, she
used her good hand to reach for the wand that protruded from her
jeans pocket. Sandy and Ginny jumped behind her.

The wand bit into her hand and she grimaced
as it drained the small amount of power she’d regained. After
murmuring the words of the spell, she waved the wand from side to
side.

Within seconds, the powerful white horses of
Arcadia leaped in front of her and thundered on the ground, away
from the wand and those behind her.

Voices came from the bushes, and she
struggled to see through the black smoke. Dylan allowed her to turn
her head against his chest so she could watch the Power Walkers as
they made their way back.

The large figure of her uncle appeared
through the trees, but he was dragging someone with him. A tall,
thin man clung to him, and Leeman held on with an arm around his
waist and a hand on his shoulder. The man was obviously weak and
very bedraggled.

Aspen wondered if her uncle had actually
found a prisoner. Even though she wanted to get up and greet her
uncle, a wave of dizziness swamped her. Her eyes fluttered shut and
she slumped into unconsciousness in Dylan’s arms.

Bolt from the Blue

Tiny beams of sunlight danced on Aspen’s eyelids, and
she yawned and stretched languidly. She opened her eyes and pulled
the quilt in front of the offending sun. It took a few second for
her to remember the events from the previous night, and she felt
her arms to see if they were still bruised. Her body was uninjured,
so she hopped out of bed.

A soft knock on her door made her turn around
to see her mother poke her head around it.

“Ah, are you awake?”

“Hi, Mom. Yeah, I’m awake. How did I get
back?”

“Dylan brought you back. He said you were
very tired.”

“Oh.” She looked down and noticed she still
wore her T-shirt from the previous night, but her jeans were folded
over the chair opposite the bed. Her dream catcher was lying on top
of the jeans, so her friends must have found it and returned
it.

“How did I get into bed?” she asked
hesitantly.

“Dylan carried you upstairs and put you to
bed. You were exhausted.”

“What about Uncle Leeman?”

“He said he would be home later. They found a
prisoner and he’s looking after him. He said you should go to
school today.”

“Great. I almost forgot about that. Am I
late?” she squealed.

“No, sweetie, I’m taking you there so we’ll
make it in time. Have a shower quickly, you smell like smoke. I’ve
made something to eat that you can take to school.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Norma smiled and left the room. Aspen rushed
through the shower and towel-dried her long hair before slipping
into a pair of white shorts and a lilac T-shirt. She grabbed a pair
of cork sandals and her dream catcher, and rushed downstairs with
her backpack over her shoulder.

After her mom dropped her off at school, she
searched for Sandy and Dylan without success. With Miriam being
expelled, she didn’t need to worry about being confronted by anyone
during classes.

Once the last bell of the day had rung, she
picked up her backpack and walked outside.

Norma waited in the Honda outside the school
gates, and Aspen opened the passenger door and slumped into the
black leather passenger seat.

“Any word?” she asked.

“No. Nothing. How was school?” Her mom smiled
brightly. With a bit of makeup and a sleek new hairstyle, she was
looking much better. Aspen studied her mother’s face carefully. She
was actually a very pretty woman.

“School was okay. I didn’t see Sandy or
Dylan, and I’m dying to know what happened last night.”

“Why don’t you use your dream catcher and
visit Lanta?”

“I’ll probably do that if they aren’t back
soon. I’ve got some homework to do before I can go.” She leaned her
head against the headrest as Norma maneuvered into traffic.

They drove through the tree-lined streets for
a short while and turned into the driveway of Leeman’s house. The
gate was closed, and Aspen jumped out to open it so her mom could
park the car.

Once Aspen had settled in her room, she
tackled an English essay first and then studied for a physics test.
Norma had changed the television to a music channel and hits of the
nineties played downstairs. Not too loud to interfere while she
studied, but loud enough for her to sing along with as she turned
the pages of her books.