"Come on, Queen. I need you. There’s something wrong with the spirit ani—"
An amused voice interrupted her.
"Yes, yes, we heard you. Noisy as ever, aren’t you?"
Adi whirled around and found herself face-to-face with a giant of a man. She recognized him immediately. He was the faerie warrior she had dubbed Sir Douchebag Blue Eyes. His eyes were the color of Irish bluebells on a cold May morning and, well, he was a douche bag. He towered in front of her, arms folded, smirking. Adi felt her face go hot.
"I’m sorry for shouting, but this is urgent."
The faerie warrior regarded her steadily until she dropped her eyes in pure embarrassment.
"Okay, then. The queen sent me to fetch you.”
He reached towards her. "Take my hand, and you’ll see her in just a moment. By the way, you are correct. There is something interfering with our powers, even in our realm where she’s at her strongest. Maybe you’ll be able to shed some light on it."
His solid hand closed around her fingers. Between one blink of the eye to the next, her world tilted sideways. She gasped as intense vertigo hit her stomach. When she blinked again, the swaying grasslands were replaced by a beautifully manicured garden.
Hedges of clipped box grew in intricate spirals. The scent of roses perfumed the air, and Adi’s entire body relaxed in response to the beauty of her surroundings. This was the effect the garden was meant to have, but Adi didn’t mind the subtle magic manipulating her.
She inhaled the sweet scent, held her breath for a moment, and when she exhaled, all her worry, anger, and negative emotions streamed out of her. By the time she saw a familiar figure standing with her back to them, her mind had calmed.
The creature turned around, her inhuman, white face stern and immobile. There was no anger in her posture, no aggression. The queen seemed to be as relieved to see Adi as Adi was to see her.
The ruler moved towards her as elegant, yet deadly, as a praying mantis. Tendrils of atavistic fear closed off Adi’s throat as the faerie queen approached. Then just when Adi was about to step back, the queen smiled. She greeted her with a voice that sounded like silver bells.
"Welcome back, Adi. I’m so happy you are here. I am not surprised to see you back so soon, though."
Adi swallowed hard, then tilted her head slightly. "Why do you say that?"
"Since you left Germany with the other walker, I have been unable to watch you, to find out what you’ve been up to."
Adi was taken aback. "What do you mean, watch me? I thought you weren’t going to contact me unless you had need of me."
The queen laughed again. "You don’t think I would leave one of my most valuable assets all by herself in a different realm, do you? Of course I was watching you. I was happy with your progress until you traveled closer to the land of Honi’s ancestors. The second you crossed into the ancient tribal lands, you disappeared. As if you had never existed. Yet I could feel turmoil inside this blind spot within the human world. I am glad you have come to see me. I need to know what is going on."
Adi felt shivers of dread running over her skin. So she had been right. Something was seriously wrong. Quickly she told the queen what she had seen, and the strange ways the spirit animals were behaving around Honi’s family. The queen listened, her face impassive. When Adi mentioned Nina, the ruler’s eyes flashed. It was over so quickly that Adi wasn’t sure it had actually happened.
When Adi was finished and fell silent, the queen began pacing. Adi’s eyes grew large. She had never seen the faerie creature so agitated. Sir Douchebag Blue Eyes moved, and Adi quickly looked at him over her shoulder. She had nearly forgotten he was still there, and he had a look of worry on his face. That in turn didn’t calm Adi down at all. It must be serious if the guard was as disturbed by the queen’s behavior as Adi was.
Eventually the ruler stopped in front of Adi and stared at her. When she spoke again, her voice had dropped an entire octave into a menacing growl.
"I have been aware of your spirit walker friend for a long time. I knew he was involved with this girl, Nina, many years ago. She was of no consequence, just another weak human.”
She paused and thought for a moment. “You remember the student you met in Germany who was spirit-walking in his dreams?"
When Adi nodded, the queen continued. "You saved his life when you opened his eyes. The teacher I sent him is training him well, and he will be a full spirit walker in due time. This girl is different. When I saw her first, she had no abilities. And now you’re telling me you met her in my realm?"
Adi nodded again. “Yes. Worse, she claimed to have beaten you."
Dammit, she hadn’t meant to say it so brusquely. Adi closed her eyes, pulled up her shoulders, and waited for an explosion. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes carefully. The queen stood so closely in front of her, that Adi could see the blizzard swirling in her white pupils. Adi gasped, but before she managed to move back, the queen had grabbed her by the upper arms.
"Think carefully, child," the queen hissed. "Is that what she said? That she had beaten me? Or is that just your imagination speaking, Adi?"
Adi shook her head violently, her eyes wide and scared. The power of the queen’s fingertips burned through her jacket into the skin of her arms. She knew that she would have bruises the next day.
Quickly she said, "No. I didn’t imagine it. That’s what she said. And isn’t the fact that somehow, there is now an impenetrable area where before you were able to see everything, proof enough that something is wrong?"
The queen held her for another moment, glaring at her, before dropping her and stepping back.
"You’re right. I apologize for my outburst. I feel there is a terrible danger growing, not just for you in the village, but for all the worlds. And I’m sure it has to do with Nina. Especially if she claims to be able to manipulate spirit animals the way you say she does. You must be very careful, Adi. Trust no one. She who controls the spirit animals also controls the minds of their humans."
Adi opened her mouth to speak, when her shoulder was shaken roughly. Adi looked around to tell the faerie knight to stop it. He wasn’t there. Instead, between one blink of an eye to the next, she was staring into Honi’s cherry-black eyes.
22
Adi gasped and flinched away from his touch. One moment the mellifluous voice of the all-powerful entity had held her in thrall. The next, she was back on the bed in the Fishers’ house, Honi’s face close to hers. The disconnect made her head spin.
He couldn’t quite hide his hurt at her reflex, but his expression quickly changed to worried. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment. Then he pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly, and burying his face in her neck. Adi felt his fear of losing her, his regret about fighting with her. She was still angry enough to not immediately hug him back, but when his shoulders trembled with emotion, she gave in. As she held him and stroked his hair, his voice sounded so raw it cut through her.
“Please don’t give up on us. I swear there is nothing between me and Nina. You’ve got to believe me. I have no idea why I said what I said. I love you so much. I’ll give up every thing if you want me to, go with you wherever you want to go. You and I, we’re meant to be. “
Adi listened, and after a while, she felt lighter, more hopeful. The queen had said something that stuck with her.
“Trust no one. She who controls the spirit animals also controls the minds of their humans.”
The spirit animals were the key to this. Yes, Honi had acted strangely absent since they arrived. Scratch that—he’d acted strange full stop. And if the queen was right, then it wasn’t his fault.
"I believe you, Honi. I won’t walk away from you."
Honi lifted his head. His eyes were red and so full of pain that Adi tightened her arms around him. He stretched, and his mouth came down over hers. As his tongue begged entrance, Adi melted against him. He tasted like home, like comfort.
"Honi, where are you
?”
John stuck his head through the door, smiling as he saw both of them.
"Hi, Adi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you."
He turned back to Honi. "Come on, I’ve gotta pick up Nina at Medicine Park. You wanted to talk to me, right? We can talk on the drive."
Reluctantly, Honi pulled away from Adi and stood up. He smiled apologetically at her.
"Sorry. I promised I’d ride with John to pick up a few things. Do you want to come?"
Adi smiled. She was sure he’d fill her in later, and without her in the car, the two men would be able to speak more freely.
So she replied, "No, I’m actually quite tired. I’ll stay here if that’s okay."
Honi nodded, bent down, and quickly pecked her on the lips before walking out with John. Adi leaned back against the wall and thought hard. Honi had been much warmer, different than during the last few days. How interesting that Nina hadn’t been in the village for the last two hours at least. More evidence that the queen was right. Nina was at the center of all of it.
While her nemesis was miles away, Adi might be able to learn more from the spirit animals. She slipped off the bed and got ready to go out. Her shoes were in the hall, and as she tied them, Judy walked by. She didn’t stop but her smile was warm and genuine. Only yesterday she had spouted the most hateful stuff at Adi.
Nina was gone and suddenly, people acted normal. One last test to confirm the queen’s statements. Adi followed Judy into the kitchen. Jim sat at the table, a bottle of light beer in front of him. He listened to his wife as she told him some gossip from the village. He smiled and nodded while picking away at the corner of the yellow label on the brown glass.
Adi cleared her throat. She didn’t know how to start a conversation after everything that had happened. Maybe a simple question she already knew the answer to?
"Hey, Mr. Fisher. Have you seen Honi?"
Jim Fisher looked up at the sound of her voice. He tilted his head, considering her question.
"I believe he’s gone out with John. He should be back in less than two hours."
He didn’t smile, but his eyes were warm as he replied. Adi nodded and turned to leave when the man continued, "Please call me Jim. After all, you’re nearly family."
Adi‘s glance darted to Judy who regarded her with an equally friendly expression. She kept it together until she’d left the room. Then she stopped and pumped her fist. Bingo! Nina was gone from Heota, and everybody acted differently. Time to take it outside and check on the spirit animals.
As she was about to pull the front door shut behind her, a rustling behind her drew her attention. She turned around and caught sight of Judy’s pine marten. Adi’s heart sank. The animal didn’t look any different from yesterday. It was still skinny with bits of fur missing all over its tiny body. The rodent certainly didn’t look better, so whatever Nina had done to the creatures, didn’t wear off when she was away.
Shaking her head, Adi walked west, following the road that led down off the plateau. She walked downhill for well over a mile when something touched her skin. It was the strangest sensation, like cobwebs caressing her face. She hated spiders with a passion, and the ticklish-sticky touch of gossamer strands was particularly unpleasant.
When she swiped at her skin, her fingertips tingled as if she’d touched low-level electricity. Adi moved back two steps, and the sensation repeated itself on her neck. Again, she wiped her hand along her skin, tilting her head to the side. Nothing. Whatever it was, it wasn’t anything she could touch and pull away from her skin.
Carefully, she stretched out her hands in front of her, and the tingling settled on her fingertips. As she walked closer to the invisible barrier, the feeling moved up her arms like an army of invisible ants.
Adi stared at her forearms but there was nothing there. Whatever her skin recognized, her eyes couldn’t. The skin on her neck prickled. She fought back an instinctive flight reaction. This was what she’d been trained for—recognizing disturbances in her world that might affect the spirit world.
She stepped out of reach of the—for want of a better word, force field—and closed her eyes. There were spirit animals close by. Behind her, she sensed several brown blobs with pea green contamination. She left those well enough alone.
In front of her, though? There was nothing. With her eyes still closed, she took several steps forward until the strange cobweb-like feeling crossed her face again. She flinched hard. With her mind open the way it was, it felt as if she’d just received a big electric shock.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the barrier. The pain ratcheted up to a screaming noise inside her skull until she thought she couldn’t move another step. Then it just stopped. She had cleared the obstacle.
When Adi sent her mind out again, the more familiar sensation of several spirit animals a couple of miles down in the valley washed over her. The signatures were faint but healthy. But when she sent her mind towards where she’d just come from, there was nothing. Even though there should have been human energy signatures and their diseased spirit animals, she couldn’t sense them. Whoever had drawn the barrier had managed to lock the spirit animals inside.
Adi inhaled sharply. The shock of the implication hit her. Somebody in the human world had managed to contain all the spirit animals of Heota and contaminate them, or, equally frightening, the animals had already been sick, and somebody had quarantined them. Either way, Adi had never heard of such a thing even being possible. She was powerful, probably one of the most powerful spirit walkers in the worlds, yet she wouldn’t have been able to do this.
Suddenly, the picture-postcard vista across the valley, the red-golden light reflecting off the underside of fluffy clouds, took on a sinister hue. Adi shivered as the wind picked up, carrying renewed promise of frost.
As she was about to push back through the barrier and return to the Fishers’ house, somebody came up the hill. Con was striding towards her at speed and in no time stopped in front of her.
23
"Nice to see you again, Con. You’re out for a walk?”
Con dropped his eyes, his friendly expression shuttering. "Yes, I needed to clear my head. I’ve been having some nightmares lately."
Adi’s eyes narrowed as she considered his words. After an uncomfortable silence, she prompted, “Wanna tell me about it?"
Con hesitated before nodding. Adi pointed at a large rock close by.
“Let’s sit.”
For a little while they looked out over the valley. Con was humming a mournful tune Adi didn’t recognize. In the distance, a green combine harvester the size of a Lego piece rumbled along the edges of a field. The sun hadn’t set yet, but houses were lighting up against the indigo-blue background of streets and trees. As the sun began to drop behind the hills, so did the temperature. Adi shivered and pulled her jacket closer around herself. She glanced at the boy next to her.
"What kind of nightmares are you having?" she asked, keeping her voice neutral.
Con jumped as if the question had taken him by surprise. For the next few minutes, Adi listened to a familiar tale—of scary things moving quickly through high grass. Of the same nightmares happening every night, scaring the crap out of the young man. When he was done telling his story, Con’s head hung low, the lines of his shoulders screaming exhaustion.
So close to him, Adi was aware of the unwashed smell that hung around Con like a cloud. His hair was clean, but the collar of his shirt was stretched and frayed. He looked neglected, unloved. Adi was so caught up in staring at him that her gaze snapped guiltily to his face when he spoke again. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be aware of her scrutiny.
"That’s all that ever happens. But it’s the same dream every night. I just know if they catch up with me, I’ll get hurt. I wake up, scared to go back to sleep. I don’t know what to do."
Adi considered his words. His description was scarily reminiscent of her first forays into the spirit world. She didn’t believe in coincidences
. Somehow Con was part of whatever was going on in Heota. Although she felt honored that he confided in her, she needed to find out more. Had he spoken to other people about this?
As if reading her mind, Con said, "I tried telling my mom, but she thinks I’m making it up. Like I’m just a dumb kid, making something out of nothing. I even told my cousin, but what is he going to do about it?”
Adi looked at him sideways. His cousin. So he’d told Honi, but Honi had never told her. Huh. She filed away that tidbit of information and concentrated on the problem at hand. Con looked sad, hopeless. She didn’t want to tell him something trite, so considered her next words carefully. What she needed was more information on this.
“Okay, I believe you. If you say those dreams are scary, then they are. The question really is why you are having them, and how to stop them. Have you tried to figure out if there is a trigger, like when you had dinner late?"
Con gave her the patented teenage look, showing just how unimpressed he was with her question.
"Of course I have. It makes no difference if I’m tired or not, if I had a lot of cheese or if I go to bed early or late. I keep track—I had the very same dream every night for the last three months. Nobody believes me, and you probably think I’m crazy too."
Adi laughed. "I’m the last person to think you’re crazy. I’ve had my share of weird dreams. Let’s consider all possibilities first. Can you remember anything that may have set them off? Have you had some kind of trauma? An accident? Have you lost somebody in your family close to you?"
Con shook his head. “No, nothing like that. The only thing that happened was that a dog bit me. It only caught me on the leg. It barely even left a scar. Wanna see?”
Con rolled up the leg of his pants, and Adi stared at a scar that was still pink. He was right—it wasn’t huge, but the two puncture marks of the dog’s canines were clearly visible. There was nothing strange about it. It was a dog bite, nothing more or less than that.
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