by Kaitlyn Hoyt
“How mad is everyone?” I bite my lip and anticipate his response. If they are mad, I have a lot of apologizing to do when I wake up.
“They’re not mad. Well not very mad.”
“What? That’s not possible. They’re always mad when I do something by myself. You are usually mad.”
With a sigh, Liam lies down on his back. Turning his head toward me, he says, “Speaking for myself, I understand why you did it. It would have been more difficult to take on Natasha if you were trying to keep a shield around everyone while they were moving. We just don’t like seeing you get hurt. Having to just watch and not be able to do anything is really hard.”
“I didn’t want her to use her power on anyone. Believe me, it’s not a fun experience.”
“I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” I lie down on my back and look at the sky too. “Colton may be another story.”
I grimace and ask, “Is he really mad?”
“He’s trying not to be. He keeps going invisible,” Liam chuckles and continues. “Negative emotions make his magic stronger.”
“So, do you think that when I wake up he’ll be fine? He won’t start yelling at me again? That’s really annoying.”
“No, I think you’ll be fine.” That’s a good thing. I hate when he is upset with me. “He doesn’t like being mad at you any more than you do. You just know the right buttons to push to elicit that response.”
“It’s one of my powers. I should come with a warning. Warning: May Push Buttons,” I laugh. “I should get that made into a t-shirt.”
“You’re going to be a handful for someone. You know that, right?”
“Of course I am, and I take pride in that.” We descend into a comfortable silence. I glance over at Liam once. He’s staring up at the sky watching the clouds. How is this place so real if it is only a dream? “Liam, how do we always end up in this field?”
“Your subconscious picks it. It’s probably because you feel safe here.” That makes sense. I do feel safer here. I’ve never been attacked by gorgoths or any weird dragon things.
“Why don’t gorgoths appear here?”
“I’m not sure why you get attacked by so many gorgoths. They only appear in mage’s dreams, but it usually only happens once. Twice at most. In a way, they’re sort of a training exercise for dream-walkers. I think that maybe being around me has caused you to see them more often; I’m not really sure.”
“But why do they always try to kill me?”
“I don’t know, Ryanne. I don’t know.” I start to feel the pull. Consciousness is trying to capture me again.
“I think I’m starting to wake up. I feel like I’m being pulled in another direction.”
“I don’t think you’re waking up. You’re probably moving onto another stage of sleep.”
“How long do you think I’ll be out?”
“For a couple more hours at least. I’ll see you in the morning, Ryanne.”
With a yawn and a stretch, I slowly open my eyes and look around. Considering the amount of light streaming in from the window, it is probably mid-morning or early afternoon. Olive is sitting on the bed next to me. “Morning Olive.”
Morning. Feeling better?
Rubbing my eyes, trying to get rid of any evidence of sleep, I mumble, “Yeah. I feel better.” And I do feel better; I’m just a little tired still. Hopefully, a shower can fix that.
When the water turns cold, I turn the handle all the way over and step out of the shower. I don’t feel much more awake than I did earlier, but that’s going to have to be good enough for now. As quickly as I can, I get dressed and head back into the bedroom.
“You didn’t have to stay with me. I’m sure you’re pretty hungry right now.” I pick Olive up off of the bed.
Wanted to stay.
I hug Olive to me and walk downstairs. Everyone stops to look at me as I pass them on my way into the kitchen. Filling up Olive’s bowls, I put her down on the floor and walk back into the living room. Stepping over Colton and Liam’s legs, I plop down on the end of the couch. “Sup.” I make a popping sound on the “p” at the end of the word.
Colton laughs and shakes his head in amusement. Everyone else just smiles at me. “How are you feeling?” asks Liam.
“I feel fine.”
“You look tired,” Logan says. I turn and glare at him. Of course he has to mention that.
“I’m not. However, if I close my eyes for an extended period of time, I’m just blinking very slowly—not sleeping.”
“I’ll make sure to not scare you while you are blinking…slowly,” Colton says. He has that mischievous smile again, and I instantly push taking a nap out of my mind. I don’t trust him when he smiles like that.
“That would just be mean.”
“Who said I was nice?” His grin widens. I continue to watch him. His smile falters a little when I don’t look away. I forget that we are in a room full of people until I hear Emma start laughing.
“Good point,” I lean back in my chair but not before I throw a secretive smile toward him. His smile falters more when he sees my expression.
Try to decipher that, Colton.
“What are you thinking about, Ryanne?” I stop staring out the window and look at the person who sat down next to me. I meet a pair of brown eyes watching me with curiosity. David has a seriousness in his expression that I don’t see too often with him. He tries to keep everything on the comedic side which, in most of the situations we’re in, helps a lot. I glance behind us and see everyone else laughing, sitting around the kitchen table.
“I was thinking about how I miss hiking through the woods.” Pulling my knees under me, I turn toward him. “Do you guys ever regret helping me that day?”
“Not one bit,” he says without even thinking about my question. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like you guys have all had to give up so much in order to help me. Don’t you miss being able to go out and not worry about being attacked? You all have basically left your previous lives to be here.”
“Ryanne, you’ve brought us all together. We’re all here because we want to be, not because we’re being forced. And the worrying about an attack does kind of suck, but we’ve all been trained and knew what we were getting into beforehand. You couldn’t get rid of us even if you wanted to.” David leans over and bumps me with his shoulder. “Keep your chin up. Someday there will be happiness again.”
“Thanks,” I stand up and start walking toward the kitchen to join everyone, “and that’s from Robin Hood.”
“Dang it. I thought I made that up,” David says following me into the kitchen.
“You may be good, but you’re not that good, David.”
Colton
Sitting at the kitchen table, I turn and look at everyone. We’re an odd bunch. For the circumstances we’re in, I can’t imagine myself being surrounded by anyone else. These mages have become my family these past few weeks. I glance into the living room and see David sitting beside Ryanne on the couch. Based on their expressions, it seems like they are having a serious conversation which is weird for David. David usually resorts to comedy in serious situations.
“Larkin, do you think you can take me to the store later?” I ask.
“For what?”
When I see Ryanne stand up, I just shake my head at him. “Just can you?”
“Sure, I guess,” he says while giving me a strange look. Larkin knows that I’m not his biggest fan, so I understand the expression.
“You may be good, but you’re not that good, David,” Ryanne teases. David just glares at her, but I can see the amusement and challenge hidden beneath.
“You’re telling me,” Emma mumbles and then smiles innocently at David. Ryanne sits down in the chair across from me and laughs at Emma’s comment. David sits down in the chair next to Emma and playfully pushes her.
Laughing, Emma gets up and grabs the iPod docking station and brings it to the table. “Ryanne, do you hav
e your iPod with you?”
“It’s on the coffee table. I’ll go get it.” Ryanne pushes her chair back from the table and walks into the living room. Coming back into the room, she hands it to Emma. Emma starts scrolling through Ryanne’s playlists, looking for something to play. She keeps looking over the iPod and giving Ryanne these weird looks.
“Do you know the words for “Grow Up” by Cher Lloyd?” Emma asks her.
“Yeah, she’s a little more pop than I usually sing, but I know the words. Why?”
“You’re going to sing it with me. I’ll do the rap-like parts.”
Ryanne’s eyes bulge. “You want me to sing right here?”
“Yes, you’ve sung in front of us before so don’t try to get out of this.” Emma plugs in the iPod and turns the volume up. A pop song starts playing, and Ryanne sings along with it. She isn’t singing as loudly as we know she can. Judging by the red tint to her cheeks, it’s obvious that she is embarrassed. When the rap section starts, Emma jumps straight into it. Holy crap, Emma can rap. We all stare at Emma while the music continues. Ryanne is supposed to be singing, but she is staring at Emma as well. Even David is surprised.
“You can rap? Since when?” Ryanne demands.
“Since forever. Now, sing,” Emma says, but the song is almost over. “Ugh, fine, we’ll do this one. Same situation. You sing. I’ll do the rap parts.” Ryanne participates this time. Both girls get into the song. This is the most animated I’ve seen Ryanne recently. Emma is always happy, so we are used to seeing her like this. Emma jumps up during the middle of the song and pulls Ryanne up. Ryanne refuses to at first but then starts dancing along with the song. She runs over and pulls Liam out of his chair. Singing, she starts dancing in front of him. He laughs and shakes his head but dances with her. Emma does the same with David. Bragden, Logan, Larkin, and I just watch the scene play out.
I totally understand the wedding dance situation now. Acting care-free makes her beauty shine through. It’s taking all my will-power not to jump up and make her stop dancing. I don’t like all the other guys watching her like that. When the song ends, she starts laughing but stops dancing. She walks back to the chair across from me and sits down. I smile at her. She bites her lip but smiles back. A couple seconds later, she diverts her gaze.
Ah, there is the blush again.
Twenty minutes later, Ryanne is sitting on the kitchen counter. Emma is still dancing, though not like earlier. It is nice to see everyone acting like normal teenagers for once—well those of us who are teens. I’m leaning against the island in the middle of the kitchen when the song “Run” by Matt Nathanson ft. Jennifer Nettles came on. I quietly sing along with the song. I don’t have the best singing voice, but I’m not that bad. I sang the first chorus by myself. When it comes time for the Jennifer Nettles part, I am prepared to sing it as well but am shocked when I hear Ryanne start to sing. I look up at her and find her watching me. The room quiets. Her beautiful voice fills the room as she sings out. We sing the next line together. I forget that there are other people in the room. My focus is completely on Ryanne.
Neither one of us moves, but we continue singing. I take a deep breath and sing out the next part. I watch as Ryanne mimics what I do. She can hold her notes longer than I can. She continues to hold out a note, while I sing. I’m amazed by how well our voices blend together. I’ve sung with her before, but this feels different, more intimate. The music fades and we are left with silence. Neither one of us move. She continues to stare at me, and I can’t look away either. The next song starts to play, but the room remains quiet.
Ryanne tears her eyes from mine and looks at those around us. Her face turns every shade of red possible. She hops down from the counter, and with her head down, she silently walks out of the kitchen. I hear her footsteps go up the stairs. When I stop staring at the spot on the counter where she was just sitting, I realize all eyes are now on me.
“This waiting thing is getting more and more difficult,” I mumble before walking out of the room as well.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I know that I shouldn’t have started singing with Colton, but I couldn’t help it. I saw him staring down at the counter, singing quietly, and I wanted him to sing louder. I love his singing voice. I remember when he made me play the piano and how well our voices sounded together. I wanted to experience that again, and it was great while it lasted, but it is making things difficult. I like Colton so much. It hurts being around him all the time but not actually able to be with him. I don’t know what to do anymore.
I look down at my clock and see that it is getting late. I’d slept through the whole morning, so it is already night time. To avoid going back downstairs, I decide to just go to bed. I am already tired; it wouldn’t be surprising if I fall asleep. I change into a pair of athletic shorts and a black cami and brush my teeth. Emma comes into the room with Olive following her. “Are you ok? You left the kitchen pretty quickly.”
Spitting the last bit of toothpaste out, I wipe my face off and turn the bathroom light off. Getting into bed, I reply, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I’m going to go to bed.” Emma places Olive onto the bed with me. With a sigh, she walks out of the room and turns the lights off.
Are you really ok?
“No, but I will be. Don’t worry, Olive. Goodnight.”
Goodnight, Ryanne.
Closing my eyes, I let myself drift into sleep.
“Long time no see.” Tensing at his voice, I slowly turn around and see Adam staring at me in a very lustful way. I shiver and take a step back. Hitting the wall, I freeze. How the heck do I keep getting into these situations?
“How did I get here?”
“I pulled you here. You’re not the only one with magic.”
“What is this exactly?”
“This is a dream, of course.”
“Oh.” I need to keep this conversation going, but I don’t know what to ask.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here.”
“I’m pretty sure I already know, but please enlighten me.” He smirks and begins walking toward me.
“I heard about your little visit with Dravin.” Adam crosses his arms and stops a couple feet in front of me. “Now, he’s mad. If you don’t want anything to happen to your friends, I think you should tell me your location. We just need you. Your friends will be left alone.”
“Why should I believe you? You’ve done nothing to make me trust you.”
“Smart girl. You can’t trust me, but if something happens to your friends because of your stupidity, everyone will blame you.”
“You called me smart and stupid in the same sentence.”
Ignoring my comment, he asks, “Where are you?” He takes another step toward me. I take a step forward, meeting him. He’s not going to intimidate me that easily. I’m no longer a scared little girl.
“Currently, I’m in a dream that you dragged me into.” He smirks and while looking down at me, I notice the look in his eyes change. I take a step back; I recognize that look. He had the same look when he attacked me in the cell. He takes a step forward and slams me into the back wall. Hitting my head, I wince but don’t cry out.
“You will tell me where you are!” He is seething. Pupils dilated, nostrils flared—he is a walking billboard for intimidation. I try to punch him, but he grabs my hands and pins them above my head against the wall. Stepping on my feet so I can’t move, he leans forward and whispers in my ear, “Feel familiar?” He’s referring to the first time in the park. I don’t know how to get out of this situation. Considering I can’t read his mind, I’m pretty sure I can’t use any magic here.
“Why are you doing this, Adam? Why me?”
“You mean in the beginning? Because of Colton. He got everything. When I found out that he was interested in you, I had to prove that he can’t have everything he wants. It worked out perfectly. Until he found out that you had magic. If I found you first…well we’d be in a different situation. Though I’d
want it to be similar to the one we’re in right now. The fact that you turned out to be a mage was just an interesting turn of events. ”
“What? You forcing yourself on me?”
“I’m not forcing myself on you. Do you see me doing anything?”
“That’s bull crap, Adam, and you know it. You’re holding me against my will.”
“You got yourself into this position.”
“I wouldn’t be in this position if you didn’t bring me here!”
He leans forward, and his lips brush against mine. I freeze. “Tell me where you are, and I’ll let you go.” I spit in his face. If I can’t fight back, I might as well make him angry enough. If he’s angry, he won’t think about what he’s doing. He’ll just react. On cue, he reaches out and slaps me with the hand that’s not pinning my wrists to the wall.
My head jerks to the side. The slap stings so bad that I feel tears welling up in my eyes. With a hiss, I blink rapidly, making the tears disappear. “That’s the best you can do?”
“I’ve not even started.”
He lifts his leg and knees me in the stomach. It friggin’ hurts, but it gives me the advantage I need. When I double over, his grip on my hands loosen. Pulling my hands out of his reach, I thrust my palm up and break his nose. Blood squirts onto me while he yells and moves away. Saying a bunch of obscenities, he rushes forward and swings his leg out and kicks me in the shoulder, knocking me into the wall. My head connects with concrete, and I slump to the ground.
The room around me starts spinning. I am too dizzy to try and get back up. Walking over to me with predator like finesse, Adam steps onto my hand and deliberately applies more pressure, crushing the small bones with a piercing snap. I cry out as the pain shoots up my arm.
Crouching down, Adam whispers in my ear. “Don’t mess with me. You’ll never win.” Because I am losing consciousness, he can’t keep me in this dream. I needed him to attack me so I can get out of here.
I smile up at him and whisper, “I already did.”
