Dream Magic

by Michelle Mankin

  His eyes widened at my vehemence. “What do you mean exactly, Morpheus?” Before I could decide how to answer or how much to reveal Billy figured it out. “She is your Fated.”

  My shoulders slumped before I gave Billy a quick nod of affirmation.

  “You should have told me.” He looked hurt.

  “I should have guessed sooner.” Arla ran a hand through his hair and his muddy brown eyes grew troubled. “This complicates things greatly.”

  “Are you sure you’re ok?” Fiori asked, her gaze meeting mine in the dressing room mirror as I dusted a last bit of blush with the brush.

  “Why do you ask?” I swiveled around in my makeup chair to face her.

  “Because Daddy about blew a blood vessel when Morpheus put his wings around you in the grove.”

  “I’m surprised you noticed. You disappeared for quite a while…”

  She blushed. “So did you and the falcon,” she countered, eyes narrowing as she studied me. I schooled my features to neutral hoping she couldn’t see how much Morpheus tempted me. “You’re different since he arrived. Less serious. Not so sad.”

  “Why are you being so secretive?” My brows drew together as I attempted to return the focus to her. That wasn’t like Fiori at all, or was it? Had she started keeping things from me and I just hadn’t noticed because I had been so consumed with everything else.

  “Why are you?” Fiori threw my words right back at me, then frowned as if she thought she had been too harsh. Taking my hands in hers, she knelt at my feet as I had earlier with her father. “I don’t want us to be at odds,” she offered sincerely.

  “We’re not,” I insisted.

  “Good. I’ll start first. I met someone today.”

  “A guy someone?”

  “Yes,” she nodded excitedly.

  “You never take an interest in guys anymore, not after the last one when your father…”

  “I know no one so much as looks at me anymore. Which is fine…whatever…I certainly don’t want to risk anyone else losing their head.” She swallowed. She acted like the incident with Étienne hadn’t affected her but it had. Deeply. “But this guy is different. He didn’t know me, and didn’t even care who I was when I told him.”

  “Wait a minute, Fi. How could he not know you? Everyone knows who you are. Where exactly did you meet him?” My eyes narrowed. Red flags were going up all over the place.

  “I met him in the La Ville Sombre today. He must be new. He wasn’t wearing the uniform yet. He…he kissed me, Cici.” She attempted to fan the blush away with her hand. “Well, technically I kissed him because he was being so morose.”

  Her eyes twinkled in a way I hadn’t seen them do in years but I had a million reservations. I voiced the most important one. “What if he knew who you were and he was just lying?”

  Her face fell. “I thought of that.” She bit her bottom lip reflectively. “I don’t think he was. He was so reluctant to even come out of the shadows to talk to me. When I saw that the children were so frightened of him, and how much it hurt him that they were, I just couldn’t stand it.”

  “Why were they scared of him?” I whispered.

  “Because of the scars. Bad ones. On his face.”

  “Oh.”

  “I know, right. That makes it pretty unlikely that he would be trying to trick me into believing he liked me when he really didn’t, don’t you think?”

  I didn’t follow her logic. I nodded anyway. But I made a note to ask Catonia and Evercy about this new resident as soon as possible.

  “Ok, Cici,” Fiori prompted the v between her brows reappearing. “Your turn. Seriously, what is it? What’s going on with you? You’ve been distracted like this for several days. It’s because of the falcon, isn’t it?”

  “No,” I lied. “I’m just worried about tonight.” I wouldn’t admit more. I shouldn’t even be considering more, but after today I knew deep down that I was. I tugged my hands free from hers avoiding her perceptive eyes, but noticing that the glittery dust that had clung to mine since Morpheus had held me inside his wings was on hers now, too. I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t want to ever wash it off. It smelled like him and reminded me of the recurring dreams I had about flying. “Will there be a large crowd in attendance?”

  “Yes, Cici,” she replied shaking the glitter from her fingers looking a little dazed before she sighed. “As big as there usually is.”

  “Good.” I checked my reflection against hers. We didn’t wear exactly the same thing. That would be too obvious. But it would appear that we did in the shadows we projected behind the screen. Nerves a little more unsettled than normal, I smoothed my hands over the obsidian mesh vest underneath my costume.

  Everything will be ok, I told myself. Stop worrying about Morpheus. He can take care of himself. Keep your mind on the things you can control. My gaze slid from Fiori to Stone who stood quietly beside the wall. “Is everything ready?” I asked him.

  “Yes. Stone will meet you just outside the backstage door as soon as Catonia starts her guitar solo.”

  “And you’re sure Landon knows we will make the attempt to free him tonight, and that he must go straight to Normandy to warn Parnell to move the safe house?”

  “He has been apprised.”

  “Good.” I took Fiori’s hand and squeezed it just as Evercy and Catonia stuck their heads into the dressing room. “Every Light Immortal in the city is out there tonight. They love you, Cecilia.”

  “They love us,” I clarified. “We’re all in this band together.” I sang and played Fissure’s acoustic and some bass, Catonia ripped it up on the guitar and Evercy manned the keyboards, but we all knew that it was Fiori’s dancing that made our performances extraordinary. Her century dance was a lure too strong for any immortal to resist.

  We wouldn’t have been able to get away with what we did if it weren’t for her.

  I started to duck into the line to go inside the club when I saw him lurking along the alleyway. Adjusting the oversized suit jacket I had borrowed so it was a little less irritating over my wings, I fell into the shadows and snuck up behind him.

  Except all of a sudden he wasn’t there.

  “Gotcha, Morpheus.” He was grinning when I whirled around. I almost swallowed my tongue in surprise. I couldn’t recall a single instance when I had seen my older brother smile. Not in all the time I had known him. “You forget I’m a demon. Cloaked myself and slipped right around you.” His grin faded as he studied me. “You guys haven’t found her yet, have you?”

  “No, Shane. I’m sorry. Not yet. Soon I hope. I was expecting you to go to the apartment. How did you get into the city without a pass?”

  “I have my connections the same as you. Only mine aren’t connections really. More like immortals I didn’t eat in lieu of a favor. A big favor in this case.”

  My brows rose. “So you are cognizant of your actions when you are the other?” I had always wondered.

  “For a while as I transition. Not for long. Afterward I’m just a beast. A mindless ravenous monster.” His expression darkening, he inclined his head toward the club. “Is the oracle in there?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “I heard people talking about her when I was over in the Dark City. Saw you all on the tour. She is very popular. Everyone’s excited about the show. The Sun King sometimes even allows a lottery for a few of the Dark Immortals to attend. I understand that two of the La Ville Sombre leaders are in the band.”

  I nodded. That was what I had heard, too. Mystery solved about the show Fiori had referred to earlier. But it all seemed a bit odd. The vamps didn’t strike me as the type to want to purposefully draw attention to themselves, not with Catonia likely being the head of Cypress. I had seen the guitar in Cecilia’s room. I surmised that she played it. But the fact that she hadn’t mentioned it once made me wonder what else she was holding back. In the end, I assumed Phoebus coerced them all into doing it. The streets were practically deserted. It made it easy to get a
round without being questioned. In fact, anyone who was out this evening, including a surprisingly large contingent of the guards seemed to be inside the club for the performance. It hadn’t been as difficult as I had anticipated slipping back past our escorts to remain in the city overnight and keep an eye on Cecilia. In their haste to get to the show the guards had practically abandoned us even before the lift doors closed.

  “Well, let’s go inside together, shall we? I’d like to get a chance to get a better look at this revered oracle.” I felt an uncharacteristic spark of jealousy. I had never been territorial over a female but I was over this one. Extremely so.

  “You must stay out of sight. Dark Immortals are not allowed access to the Sun City after nightfall.”

  “I’m aware, Morpheus. I had a hard enough time slipping in through the back staircase. But you need me. I saw Billy and Bacchus leave. You need backup in case you get into trouble. Besides, I’d really like to see the princess, too.” His eyes clouded as if he were remembering something or maybe that he had said too much. “For the first time, I mean. She’s supposed to be a rare beauty. Is it true? What does she look like? Can you point her out to me?”

  “Blonde. Regal jaw. Fine teeth. Slim neck. Physically fit.” I frowned. I was usually more detail oriented but everything except my quest for Thyme faded whenever Cecilia was around.

  “You make her sound like a horse,” he whispered as we snuck in the stage door from the alleyway. Suddenly, he pressed me back against the wall and pointed with his head. “Is that her?”

  It was indeed and my older brother seemed to be utterly transfixed. Though she was barely clothed I only had eyes for one woman now.

  “I thought it was just your mannerisms that make you seem older than me but if you didn’t notice anything beyond the slim neck and other nonsense I’m thinking you need your man card revoked.”

  I squinted trying to see Fiori with an impartial eye. She was lacing up some kind of dance shoe. Her hair was different than it had been earlier. But I abandoned my analysis when I heard the music start. A lone bass line began that sounded like a challenge. A screeching electric guitar answered. Then that voice. Cecilia’s. She sang an octave lower than she spoke and the sound was as tempting as any siren. Without conscious thought my feet started moving forward lured to the edge of the stage to see her.

  Body in the shadows I peeked around the curtain. Black and platinum hair pulled back in a style remarkably similar to the princess, Cecilia owned the stage with her shoulders thrown back and one combat boot pinning down a center speaker. Her lips pressed to the silver mic in front of her, her fingers moved relentlessly up and down the strings of her bass. The vamps stood to either side of her, Catonia with her hair forward and her head down over an ebony guitar with flames, and Evercy looking rocker chic serious on the keyboards. As I focused on the lyrics I realized the words Cecilia was belting out didn’t rhyme. Incongruent and unconventional, the only cohesive element was the I-won’t-be-repressed theme.

  Though blatantly rebellious, the Light Immortals in the audience were as transfixed by the music as Shane had been a moment before by the princess. They clapped loudly after the first song and remained completely spellbound during the next. I wasn’t sure exactly why, but as one song bled into another, each angrier and more defiant than its predecessor, I wondered if maybe it had more to do with the audacity of the message. No one stood up to the Sun King like Cecilia did. Not one. Not that I had seen. They were all too timid. And Cecilia might be afraid underneath, but she didn’t show it, especially not this night. Her posture erect and confident, her moon eyes glowed between the slivers of her lowered lids. She was sexy as hell under the lights. Her lush breasts swayed unfettered by a bra beneath a multicolored halter. Her long black skirt with its slit all the way up to the top of her thigh gave a tantalizing glimpse of the garter she wore beneath it.

  From his vantage point in the front row overdressed in a charcoal jacket and tie combo more suited to a boardroom than a rock concert, Phoebus leaned forward practically slobbering all over his royal personage. I was sure he had chosen that position so he could see right up her dress.

  I had my own message for that bastard. And I couldn’t wait to deliver it.

  Then Cecilia set aside the bass. Clipping on a headset mic, she started to sing a new type of song. The tone of it still challenged but in a blatantly sexual way. As Catonia and Evercy fingered a slippery rhythm, Cecilia danced. Her breasts bounced and her hips gyrated as if she were in the throes of passion. I had to dig my talons into my palms to resist the strong urges that were arising in me.

  Her words told a story that her movements harmonized, a tale about a woman who needed a lover to free her, to release the pent up frustration she felt inside. My eyes burning as I watched her, I wanted her with a desperation that was like an unquenchable fire in my blood. Enthralled like every other male in the audience, I stalked her with my gaze turning my head to keep her in view as she moved her dance behind a translucent screen forgetting as I did that anything or anyone else existed in the world except for her.

  Until Shane grabbed my arm and shook me the hell out of it.

  “Fly faster. He’s gaining on us, Stone.” I peered back at the Dream Falcon through the slits in my mask, a precaution though not a very effective one. If anyone ever saw me flying with Stone, they would know who I was. That was why it was so imperative that most of the guards were inside the club when we attempted these raids on the prison.

  Refocusing on our pursuer, I tried but failed not to be impressed by the way he looked in flight. His proud visage, the blue-black hair streamed back from it, the expanse of his incredible wings, his speed and graceful maneuverability revealed that Morpheus was lord and master here, the sky a domain he dominated like no other. Determination glittering confidently from his gaze, the promise in it was clear.

  I will catch you, my prey.

  I gulped. “You’ve got to speed up,” I told Stone. I sounded breathless, though it was the gargoyle expending all of the effort.

  “Stone cannot.” If the gargoyle had required breath, we would have been in trouble already. We had been dipping under bridges and banking hard around buildings since we left the club, but Morpheus had been just a moment behind us the entire time. We knew the terrain, sure, but the Dream Falcon was just too fast for Stone.

  “Then drop me off and continue on. Pretend you’re still holding me. He’ll follow you. We can’t waste any more time.” We had precisely five minutes and forty-seven seconds, the length of time Catonia and Evercy performed the instrumental portion of that particular song. The length of time Fiori danced to it. Her supernatural grace, the spell she cast as she did, making it seem as though there were two of us behind that curtain.

  “No. It is too dangerous. Stone has not practiced such a maneuver. The tower footprint is too small. It is five stories off the ground. Stone could miss. You would fall.”

  “You must, Stone. We have to get Landon out. If we don’t do it tonight, he goes to the guillotine in the morning. And we don’t have anyone else that can get a message to Parnell fast enough.” Damn the Sun King for forcing me to reveal the safe house location. Plus Leonardo often accompanied Parnell. Leo was critical to our success. He facilitated the newly escaped prisoners getting someplace safe after Fissure flew them to the ground. Leo sent our messages on to Hermes. He lent us all the wisdom and knowledge he had gained as Phoebus’ emissary. But above all those things Leo was irreplaceable because Fiori and I loved him. He had been a surrogate father to us both.

  After Fissure, he had been the second prisoner we had helped escape. He would have been executed if we had not done so. Still, I owed him my life. Fiori owed him her sanity. Those debts could never be fully repaid.

  “Cecilia, no. Stone says no. You may not value your life, but Stone does.”

  “I insist.” Heart beating faster in anticipation, I glanced back again and saw only empty sky. Where had he gone?

  Suddenly, I s
ensed a displacement in the air above us. Heart pounding, I glanced up. Morpheus hurtled straight at us. His speed was inconceivable, and by the expression on his face I didn’t need soothsayer skills to recognize that he was beyond furious. We were just coming up on the tower. I made a split second decision. “I’ll leave through the ventilation tunnel.” I wiggled out of Stone’s grip. “Pick me up at the river,” I told him as I let go and dropped down through the air like a rock while my stomach rose to my throat.

  My feet hit the stones of the tower hard, but I remembered to roll into a ball to displace the force of impact. We practiced all kinds of combat maneuvers in Fiori’s dance studio. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have given Catonia such a hard time about the spear training. Who knew, I might yet have need of that particular skill.

  I opened the door and ran down the narrow staircase. There weren’t any guards. They were at the concert. But I was still cautious and had my dagger at the ready. Tonight I didn’t have Stone with me to knock their heads together if any had stayed behind. This had to be a quick in and out mission. I had no room for error. Time was running out.

  I found Landon where he was supposed to be in the cell where they kept prisoners prior to execution. An uneaten tray of food, his last meal sat on the table beside his cot. He had been expecting me. Thanks to Stone, the day Morpheus had arrived, we had contacted someone who worked in the kitchen who was able to sneak a message inside his mashed potatoes.

  “Seer!” he exclaimed in a loud whisper.

  “Hurry, Landon,” I whispered through the iron bars as I inserted the skeleton key into the lock. The oiled door opened silently, thanks to the Dark Immortal in charge of prison maintenance. One upside to the Dark Immortals doing all the work in the city was that there was hardly any place we didn’t have willing conspirators.

  Landon hurried out but almost tripped on a black cat that seemed to want to accompany us.