by I. T. Lucas
“A lot. He was huge.” She lifted her hand as high as it would go. “Tall, almost like Yamanu, but twice as wide, and he had a crooked nose that looked like it had been broken once or twice, and scars. And the back of his head was flat.” She chuckled and patted the back of her own head. “Like Frankenstein’s monster. But he was nice to me. I know he was only following Gorchenco’s orders, but he could’ve been grumpy about it, or mean. He wasn’t. Misha always had a smile for me.”
As a tear slid down her cheek, she wiped it away with the sleeve of her hoodie. “I hate not knowing what happened to him and having no way of finding out.”
It dawned on Julian then that Ella was holding in a lot, and not all of it was about enduring Gorchenco. What he wondered, though, was whether she was putting on a brave face just for others or for herself as well.
At some point, the dam was going to break, and all those suppressed emotions were going to burst out to the surface. It wasn’t a question of if, but of when.
Poor girl.
And her ordeal wasn’t over yet.
What did that fucking Doomer want with her?
Had he suspected that she was a Dormant and was planning on getting his hands on her?
Did he want to use her to find the village?
What if there was more to this compulsion, and he’d planted a command in her head to contact him with information about her location?
But that didn’t make sense.
When Lokan had met Ella, she had known nothing about the clan or who the people organizing her rescue were. So even if that Doomer had thralled her and scanned her memories, he would’ve found nothing of interest there.
Nothing other than her telepathic ability. But that could only make him suspect that Ella was a Dormant, not her connection to the clan.
Unless Vivian hadn’t followed their instructions and had revealed something to Ella that had given Lokan a clue.
When Ella’s step faltered once more, Julian lifted her into his arms. “We are almost at your house, and there is no one around.”
“Thank you. I was about to ask you to carry me.” She chuckled. “No matter what, I’m never drinking one of Merlin's potions again.”
Unexpectedly, his heart sank a little when she said that. What if they wanted a child sometime in the future? Without help, that future might be very distant.
But that was a silly thought and way too premature. They hadn’t even had sex yet, and Merlin’s fertility potions might not work. In fact, Julian was pretty sure they wouldn’t. He had more faith in the human fertility treatments that had been proven to work. Those, if adapted to immortals, might actually be successful.
As Julian took the steps up to the front porch, the door opened and Vivian came out.
“What happened?”
“It’s the potion. Apparently, Ella is very sensitive to it.”
“Hi, Mom.” Ella waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I just feel like I’m drunk. It will pass.”
Vivian kissed her cheek. “Will coffee help?”
“I already had some. I think that it’s best for me to sleep it off.”
“As you wish, sweetie.” Vivian led the way to Ella’s bedroom and opened the door. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will, Mom. I love you.”
“Love you too.” Vivian closed the door, leaving them alone.
Since Ella was dressed in street clothes, he put her down on top of the comforter. “Do you want to get undressed before I tuck you in?”
“No. I’ll just take a short nap. My clothes are clean.”
“As you wish. Let me take your shoes off.”
She toed her sneakers off before he had a chance to get to them. “All done.”
Leaning, he kissed her forehead. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”
“Yes.” Closing her eyes, she tucked her hands under the pillow, and a moment later her breathing became deep and even.
Adorable.
When he left Ella’s room, Julian closed the door quietly behind him and then strode to the living room where her family was waiting for him.
“Did it work?” Magnus asked.
Julian shook his head. “She still couldn't tell us anything.”
Magnus’s eyes began glowing. “I hope that son of a bitch is not planning anything.”
In the corner, Scarlet whimpered.
Julian lowered his voice so as not to scare the dog. “I was thinking about it on the way here. Lokan had no way of knowing that Ella would end up with the clan. When she met him, she didn’t know about us, so he couldn’t have thralled the information out of her. The only thing I can think of is that he guessed she was a Dormant and wanted her for himself. The question is how he’s planning to do it. Did he plant a secret command in her head to contact him?”
“If he did, she would’ve done it already,” Vivian said. “Why wait so long?”
It wasn’t long at all, but still.
“We have to assume that he pulled the rescue plan out of her head. So he knew there was a chance she’d get free. Planting a command like that would’ve made sense. There is one more possibility, though.” Julian pinned Vivian with a hard stare. “If he knew who the people rescuing her were, he might have planted a different command in her head. To disclose the village’s location to him.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. “But how? Ella didn’t know anything about the clan until you told her the story after the rescue when she was already on the plane.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you let something slip during your telepathic conversations?”
“I did not. I was very careful not to reveal anything about the clan. Turner warned me not to.”
“Yes, I know he did. But sometimes people blurt things out accidentally.”
Even without the immortal glow, Vivian’s eyes blazed with anger. “You can ask me the same question in a hundred different ways, Julian, but my answer will still be the same. I didn’t tell Ella anything about the clan or about immortals, and I didn’t let anything slip either.”
5
Ella
After Julian had left, Ella tried to nap, breathing slow and steady and counting sheep floating on fluffy clouds, but it was no use. She felt too nauseous to fall asleep.
It was like having a hangover combined with an upset stomach.
Merlin’s potion was vile, and it went beyond the taste. Maybe she was having a reaction to it?
It wasn’t like over the counter medications that she could get in the supermarket. Those had been tested and approved, while the things Merlin was cooking in his kitchen hadn’t been checked by anyone other than the loony doctor, and he’d probably tested them only on other immortals.
Hopefully, the effects would dissipate soon because she had things to do. Like figuring out how to circumvent Logan’s compulsion so she could tell Kian and the others about his dream intrusions.
Just thinking about it made her head hurt, but it was probably the concoction’s fault and not the compulsion’s. Propping herself up on a pile of pillows, Ella closed her eyes and once again tried to deep-breathe the headache away. Sometimes it worked, though that was when the headache was stress related, which could have been the case now, but she had a feeling that this one had been caused by the potion.
When deep breathing didn’t help, she got up, padded to the bathroom, and pulled out a container of Motrin. Popping three capsules into her mouth, she washed them down with tap water.
The next weapon in her arsenal of natural remedies was a shower. There was something rejuvenating and relaxing about the heat and the moisture, and it was very effective for headaches.
On second thought, though, a bath would be better. It was more conducive to thinking.
It took a good five minutes for the tub to get full, and when it did, Ella got in and sighed with pleasure. This was such a nice, big tub. She could actually lie flat in it and submerge her body completely. The bathroom she used to share with Parker in the old house had only a basic tub that
doubled as a shower, and even though Ella was small, she couldn’t get comfortable in it. Even worse, it hadn’t had a working lock, and her mother had refused to fix it, claiming it wasn’t safe.
Not safe from a little brother, that was for sure. Ella had had to prop a chair against the door to prevent him from accidentally barging in.
Her mom was such a worrywart. Vivian would go into a full panic mode if she entered the room and didn’t find Ella right away, and only then think of checking the bathroom.
Opening the channel, Ella sent her mother a quick message. In case you’re looking for me, I’m soaking in the tub.
Are you okay? How are you feeling?
I’m fine. A headache started, so I took three pills.
Can you keep the channel open? I worry about you being in the tub when you don’t feel well. I’ve heard of people drowning in shallow bath water because they fainted.
Ella rolled her eyes. I can’t keep it open because it’s draining my energy. But I can talk to you every five minutes. Okay?
Don't forget, or I’ll have to come in.
The door is locked.
As if I can't open those locks. I don’t know why you even bother. Parker knows how to do it too.
Which means that I need a better lock.
Ella closed the channel before a new argument started. She loved her mother, and she even tried to be understanding about the super-charged protective streak Vivian had developed, but it was annoying.
Thank God for her mental barriers. If her mother could enter her mind whenever she wanted, it would be awful.
Hey, maybe telling her mother about Logan via their private channel would work? What if only speaking about him out loud was a problem?
Mom. And that was it. She couldn’t send anything about Logan or her dreams.
What is it, sweetheart? It hasn't been even five minutes yet.
Oh, then never mind. I love you.
Love you too, sweetie.
Well, that was a bust.
Perhaps she could try to write it down and then let Kian read it.
No, she shouldn't think about showing it, just about writing it down. Logan had said not to tell anyone about him, and the command was literal. As long as she tried to communicate information about him to others, she was going to get blocked. But what if she wrote it in her personal journal?
Not that she had one. But it was never too late to start.
Excited about her new idea, Ella got out of the tub, pulled her bathrobe on, and padded back to her room.
I’m out of the tub, so you can stop worrying, she sent to her mom.
Do you want me to bring you something to eat or drink?
Just thinking about food makes me want to barf, but I’d appreciate some black coffee.
Coming up.
You're the best, Mom.
Pulling out a notepad and a pencil, Ella started writing. To get herself going and forget about the purpose of it, she decided to start by making a list of things worth putting in a journal.
What was her first memory of telepathic communication with her mom?
There had been so many of them.
She would think of it later. For now, she was just jotting down major turning points in her life, like Parker’s birth and her father’s death. Again, she didn’t want to start writing about it because once she did, she would never stop. Almost twelve years later, she still missed her dad and thought about him nearly every day.
Wiping away a tear, she continued to her graduation from high school, the prom that had been such an underwhelming event, her job at the diner…
Meeting freaking Romeo. Stupidly falling for his fake charm and false declarations of love. She’d been such a painfully naive idiot.
Damn, it was hard to keep writing with a hand that shook, and once again she decided to only put down bullet points. Falling for Romeo, lying to her mother and going with him to New York for what she’d thought would be a fun weekend, meeting the scumbag’s uncle and realizing that she’d been lured into a trap. The auction house, getting bought by the Russian and what that had entailed, and then she got to meeting Logan.
Now it was time for putting down details.
Ella wrote about going to lunch with the Russian, his handsome lunch guest, hearing them talk about weapons and then about some island Gorchenco used to vacation at.
So far so good.
Dreaming about…
And that was it.
She couldn’t continue, and the headache that assaulted her was so bad that Ella felt like vomiting.
Crap, crap, and triple crap...
Throwing the pencil across the room, she got up and rushed into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink, she cranked the faucet open and splashed cold water on her face.
It helped with the nausea, but not the headache.
Except, the headache was what had caused the nausea, so she needed to eradicate it too.
Simple, everyday thoughts, that was what she needed. Like planning to go shopping for shoes online. She needed a pair of pumps that weren’t as high-heeled as the ones she’d borrowed from her mother.
The longer Ella distracted herself with mundane, unfocused thoughts, the more the headache subsided, until she felt safe to return to her room and not barf all over the carpet.
Her mother entered with a coffee mug. “Are you okay? You look pale.”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks for the coffee.” Ella took the mug.
Thankfully, her mother had gotten the hint. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. I know you're nauseous, but if you feel better, I’m making soup and salad for lunch.”
Ella shook her head. “Maybe later.”
When Vivian left, Ella started pacing. What else could she try?
Her laptop caught her eye.
It was probably a stupid idea, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Snatching it off her desk, she sat on her bed and opened a new note.
This time she skipped the preamble and went straight to the point, but decided not to mention the name. She typed: Dreaming about Mr. D.
D for Doomer and for dream-walker.
Without letting herself get carried away by the small success, she wrote: Mr. D can enter my dreams. He calls his ability dream walking.
Ella’s relief was so monumental that she felt dizzy, but for a good reason this time. Her first instinct was to run out and show Vivian her laptop, but her mother could miss the reference and start asking questions that would bring the headache back.
Having Julian around, filling in the missing pieces, would work better.
Instead of texting like she would normally do, she called him. “Are you very busy?”
“Not at all. What’s up?”
“I need you to come over. There is something I want to show you.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t tell you. You need to see it.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Thanks.”
To make it in such a short time, Julian would have to jog, not walk…
Crap. She was still in her bathrobe.
Rushing into her closet, she pulled on a pair of panties, skipped the bra and grabbed a sweatshirt off the shelf. A pair of leggings and her house slippers went on next.
She looked like a hobo, with mismatched clothes and wet pink hair that was sticking out in all directions because she hadn’t brushed it after getting out of the bathtub.
Finger combing would have to do.
6
Julian
Ella hadn’t sounded scared. She’d sounded excited. Still, Julian dropped the stack of estimates he’d gotten for the remodeling of the halfway house and then ran all the way to her place as if his tail was on fire.
“Hi, Vivian,” he said as she opened the door. “Ella called me. She wants to show me something.”
“Come on in.” Vivian threw the door open. “She’s in her room.”
“Thanks.” He headed down the corridor.
“C
an you stay for lunch?” Vivian called after him. “It’s nothing fancy. I made soup and salad, but we would love for you to join us.”
“Thank you. I would be happy to.”
“I’ll tell Ella to open the door.”
He stopped with his knuckles an inch away from it. With Ella’s human hearing, she might not hear him knocking on the soundproof door.
As she opened it, looking like she’d gotten dressed in the dark and with her pink hair in disarray, he wanted to pick her up and kiss her.
Adorable.
But it was apparent that Ella was pumped about something that she couldn’t wait to share with him.
“That was fast. Come in. You have to see this.” She pointed at the laptop propped on a cushion on her bed.
Sitting down, Julian lifted it and put it on his knees. There were only two lines of text on the screen.
Dreaming about Mr. D.
Mr. D can enter my dreams. He calls his ability dream walking.
“Who is Mr. D?”
Rolling her eyes, Ella affected a stern and haughty expression, lifted her chin, and turned her face slightly to the side as if posing for a portrait.
Did she mean Lokan? But why Mr. D and not Mr. L?
“Is the D for Doomer?”
She nodded enthusiastically and pointed to the word dream.
“And for dream walker?”
Jumping up and down, Ella squealed and clapped her hands.
“You found a way around the compulsion?”
She nodded again, then snatched the laptop from his hands, put it on her desk, and started typing.
It seemed like Ella was afraid to say anything out loud. Even a yes.
When she was done, she handed him the laptop. The third line said: I need to know how to block Mr. D from visiting my dreams.
“This is big. We should tell Kian. I’ve never heard of an ability like that.”
He reached for her hand and pulled her into his lap. “I’m so glad you found a way to let us know what’s going on. I knew it had to be more than just one lunch meeting. Now it all makes sense. He didn’t want you to talk about his dream visits. What does he want from you?”
