Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
“So let me get this straight,” Kasi said after we’d brought her and Jahrdran up to speed on my nightmare visit to the Shadow Realm. “He can attack us in our dreams now?”
“If so, it’s not a power he was born with,” Elliott said. “At least not as a chameleon dragon.”
“Is it something maybe shadow-beasts can do?” Jasmine asked .
“I haven’t found any reference to it in the shadow library,” Kasi said, “but I suppose anything’s possible.”
“I’ve read everything I can find on the Varulvka’s hunt for the Shadow Killer,” Jahrdran said. “I even got permission to visit the Council’s Estate to peruse their special archives, which is where I spent the last couple weeks of summer.”
“I wasn’t allowed.” Kasi scowled.
“Seriously?” Jasmine demanded. “You’re the last shadow-beast because of them and they wouldn’t let you read their records?”
“It’s probably because she’s the last shadow-beast that they wouldn’t let her in,” I said dryly.
Miki-leopard shadow-leopard.
Yes, you are.
Shadow shadow-kitty.
Yes, she is.
Shadow-beast. Shadow-leopard. Shadow-kitty. Three.
Yes, okay. “Miki-Leopard would like to point out that she is a shadow-leopard and that Shadow is a shadow-kitty, and therefore, Kasi is no longer alone as the last of her kind.”
“Aw.” Jasmine clasped her hands over her heart. “That is so sweet and she’s absolutely right. They should have allowed Kasi to see the records because she’s the last of three of her kind.”
I would have rolled my eyes at Jasmine’s drama, except I saw the stunned look on Kasi’s face.
Jahrdran must have seen it too, for he pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
A long moment passed, then Kasi pulled back and murmured hoarsely, “Please tell Miki I said thank you.”
Welcome.
“So.” Kasi cleared her throat. “Sorry. What were we talking about?”
“Jahrdran was about to tell us about his visit to the Varulvka archives,” I said.
“Right,” he said. “Basically, there was an incredible amount of information and I read it all over a period of ten days. I took copious notes that they confiscated when I went to leave the facility at the end of my stay there.”
“You’re kidding!” I don’t know why I was so shocked, but I was.
“Yeah, they said they would send the notes to me once they made sure there was nothing sensitive in them. I doubt I’ll ever get them back. Anyway, the point is I may have forgotten something, but I honestly don’t remember there being any mention of the Shadow Killer, or any shadow-beasts for that matter, being able to dream-walk.”
“Dream-walk?” I asked. “Is that what you think he was doing last night?”
“You’re absolutely certain Mikaela’s physical form never left the room, right, Elliot?” Jahrdran asked.
“Positive,” Elliot said.
Elli-Dragon. Miki perked up the moment she heard his voice, making me smile.
“Mikaela was restless,” Elliot went on, “and I was watching her closely, so I could wake her if it looked like she was having a nightmare. Then, she jerked and screamed, and barely a second later, her arm started bleeding out of nowhere. ”
“That definitely sounds like a dream-walker,” Jahrdran said.
Mad-dragon.
Elliot?
No. MAD-dragon.
Oh, Zowen. Yeah. He’s definitely mad all right. Psycho-mad.
“So, if you’re right and the Shadow Killer didn’t have the ability to dream-walk before, how in the world has he acquired it now?” Kasi demanded.
“Leslie’s a dream-walker,” I said. “Maybe she can help us figure this out.”
“Who’s Leslie?” Jahrdran asked.
That question didn’t exactly bode well for our mission to find her. Then again, Jahrdran only had eyes for Kasi last year and Leslie was never around anyway, plus she was in our year, not his, so maybe it made sense that he didn’t know who she was.
Look at me, being all optimistic and shit.
Unfortunately, since none of us knew what Leslie’s schedule was this year or who her boyfriend was, we didn’t have a clue where to start looking for her.
Since Jasmine, Kasi and I had to get to our Dragon Riding class—joy!—we made a plan with the guys to reconvene at lunchtime to compare notes. In the meantime, we would quiz everyone we could about the whereabouts of Leslie.
Class was actually rather boring that morning, with lots of learning around the care of dragons, what to feed them and so forth, but at least I didn’t have to worry about Miki-Leopard challenging full-blooded dragons.
In fact, she was so bored, she snoozed through most of the class, something I really wished I could do. Instead, I spent my time taking notes to stay awake and quizzing classmates anytime I had a chance to do so.
Unfortunately, I got nowhere with my questions and when Kasi, Jasmine and I compared notes after class and later joined the guys, we discovered we’d all had the same experience when asking about Leslie.
Half the people we’d spoken with had no idea who she was and the other half were super vague in their memories. They thought she might have been in their class that morning or the day before or maybe they’d seen her at lunch, but they weren’t sure. They couldn’t remember what she’d been wearing or where she’d sat or if she’d spoken with them or anyone else.
After we’d all shared our lack of progress, Kasi finally asked what I was wondering myself. “Is she even a student here anymore?”
Everyone looked at me and I shrugged. “I haven’t seen her at all this year. Usually she drops off her clothes and stuff, then disappears. This year, nothing, but it’s only the third day of classes. It’s possible she just hasn’t shown up yet or she’s like Kasi and spent the last three nights with her boyfriend.”
“Good point,” Kasi said.
“So we keep on doing what we’re doing?” Elliot asked.
“We might as well,” I said. “I’ll ask around in Inner Beast Management.”
“And I’ll ask in Culinary Delights,” Jasmine said.
The others agreed to do the same and we eventually split up to head to our various afternoon classes.
Unfortunately, Inner Beast Management was neither boring nor fun. There was a note on the door to meet in the Level 3 Lab.
This particular lab had a very small outer chamber where we all gathered to receive instructions before entering the larger chamber.
“This first simulation should be fairly easy for most of you to handle,” Professor Diaz said. “It’s your standard fear assignment.”
Everyone around me groaned.
“What’s a fear assignment?” I muttered to Tabitha, who stood to my right.
“Basically, the simulator throws your greatest fears at you, one after the other. It pretty much sucks.”
Oh, that was just fucking great. Because I needed more time with my fucking fears.
“I have no idea what the simulator will generate for you because everyone is different,” Professor Diaz continued. “You may think you know based on your experiences last year. Let me simply remind you that our fears change from day to day and certainly from year to year. So be prepared. I guarantee you will not have the same experience this time as you did last time.
“However, your job is the same as always. You must maintain control of your inner beast. Whatever you have to do. Get into a meditative state of mind before you enter, stay in the moment, be at one with your inner beast, say your mantras and breathe through the entire exercise.”
I raised my hand.
“Yes, Ms. Mitchell.”
“I’m sorry, I just need a bit of clarification. By control , do you mean we’re not supposed to shift at all or that we’re supposed to shift, but not fight, or fight but not kill?”
Twitters spread through the room, but I didn’t care. I just kept my eyes on Professor Diaz, trying to determine the purpose of this lab.
“Let me make myself clear,” she said.
Great idea. I barely refrained from saying that out loud. Yay me for being polite and shit.
“If your inner beast makes an appearance, it should be because you , the human, made the conscious choice to allow it out.”
Miki-Leopard choose .
Not according to Professor Diaz.
Similarly,” she continued, “if your beast attacks, it must be because you directed it to attack. In other words, Ms. Mitchell, you must be in control, not your beast.”
Miki-leopard not beast.
I know, Miki.
“Now, are there any other questions?”
I also knew that this class wasn’t going to be as helpful as I’d hoped, no matter what Elliot thought. Maybe that was my fault since I found the entire premise of the class—meditation techniques and becoming one with my leopard—to be, as he’d put it, a bunch of hooey.
More than anything, though, it was because I was finding the concept of controlling Miki-Leopard more distasteful by the minute.
“All right, class.” Professor Diaz clapped her hands. “One at a time, single file, enter the simulation and good luck.”
Even though students walked in right before me and I assume right after me, I saw none of them in the simulation with me.
Weird.
Once I was inside, it wasn’t what I expected.
If anything, I’d expected to step into the Shadow Realm or to be facing off against Zowen himself, but instead I was standing in an empty field, nothing near me at all.
Then Elliot came flying in and landed in his dragon form.
He didn’t see me standing in the center of the field. He simply stood and stared down at something at his feet.
I walked toward him, then froze when I saw what he was looking at. It was Miki-Leopard. Me. It was me in leopard form and I was dead.
Elliot threw back his head and roared, flames shooting high.
He shifted to human, knelt down, lifted my body and carried me to a pyre that somehow appeared out of nowhere.
He set my body on the branches, stepped back and lit it on fire.
One moment, my body was lit ablaze and the next, ashes were flying across the field, nothing left of me or Miki or the branches upon which we’d burned.
Elliot turned at that moment and looked straight at me. His eyes were flames, his brown hair was darkening, his gorgeous wings turning black.
At first, I assumed he was dying, turning to ash like the mate he’d just burned, but he stood still for a long moment, then transformed to the darkest dragon I’ve ever seen and burst into the sky, a raging missile of flame raining fire upon the world below.
I had no difficulty controlling Miki because she was curled up in my mind, whimpering.
It’s not real, Miki-Leopard. It’s a test, a stupid one.
Test?
To see if we can stay calm in the face of our worst fears.
Elli-Dragon dark. Miki-Leopard dead.
Miki-Leopard, you are right here. You are not dead. If you are not dead, then Elli-Dragon is not dark.
Not dark?
Not dark.
Miki-Leopard no like this place.
I know, Miki, me neither.
Miki-Leopard want Shadow.
You can try to call her. Maybe she’ll hear you and come.
Shadow! Shadow-kitty!
A menacing voice whispered around us, “No shadow-kitties are here. Only shadow-dragons dwell in the home of the Dragon, little leopard.”
Miki whimpered and curled back into a ball, which just pissed me off. “Not cool!” I shouted. “She’s just a baby. Stop torturing her! ”
That’s when the shadows came pouring in.
I was just pissed enough that seeing them only made me angrier. “Well, come on, then! Let’s see what you’ve got!” Remember, Miki, this isn’t real. It’s just them throwing our fears at us.
Miki-Leopard afraid.
I know, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay, though.
That’s when Zowen stepped out of the gray. His human form was flickering, from shadows to man, then back again.
His wings, however, did not flicker. They were made entirely of shadows, dark appendages that spread behind him like something out of a horror movie.
“Where’d you pull this image from? The archives? The recordings from the attack in the Academy’s foyer? I’m not afraid of you and I’m not afraid of him either!” It was mostly bravado, of course, but I was trying to buy some time because Miki-Leopard was so scared.
Miki, you okay?
Shadow coming.
Really?
Shadow-kitty fight Mad-Dragon.
It’s just a simulation, Miki-Leopard. It’s not real. No one needs to fight ? —
Miki-Leopard help.
Oh shit.