Chapter 28 #3
Nothing happened.
She tried again, but I only stood there, untouched by any power.
I used my sunfire next, and Magdalene screamed as she writhed on the ground in pain while the phantom flames burned through her, leaving her flesh uncharred.
The feeling of being able to hurt her without fear of her returning the favor was heady, and I wondered what effect, if any, this was having back on the real Magdalene in her bed.
“Where is Bressen?” I asked, releasing her from my sunfire. “Tell me where you’re keeping him, and maybe I’ll let you live.”
Magdalene shook her head as she lay on the ground panting. “You can’t kill me through a dream.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. “If I will you to die, are you sure your mind won’t obey me, dream or no?”
Her eyes flared. “Kill me and you’ll never find him.”
“I’ve learned that the mind is a powerful thing,” I said, stepping toward her. “I’ve been told I can use my dream walking to make people live their worst fears. Shall we figure out what yours are?”
A low growl sounded from somewhere between the trees, and Magdalene’s head jerked to the side to see what had made it.
A huge cat stepped into the clearing. Its coat was pure white, and tufts of black fur topped its ears.
Long, sharp fangs hung from its top jaw as it opened its maw wide to snarl at Magdalene.
It was like the one I’d seen in Clarice’s room chained to the wall when I’d dream walked into Axenus’s nightmare.
Another growl sounded from Magdalene’s other side as two more giant cats emerged from the brush, and her eyes flew to me in panic.
“Tell me where Bressen is before they tear you apart,” I said.
“This is only a dream. They can’t hurt me,” Magdalene said, but she sounded far from convinced.
The first cat lunged for her and swiped out with razor-sharp claws.
She screamed and fell to the ground as it ripped her calf open.
I couldn’t see exactly what her leg looked like under her dress, but a copious amount of blood stained the skirt, and whatever was beneath it now looked rather lumpy, as if flesh had been torn from bone.
The other two cats closed in, and Magdalene tried to repel them back with her power, but this dream wasn’t under her control.
“Tell me where he is!” I yelled at her.
Magdalene looked at me with defiance. “Come find him in time if you can,” she spat out, and her eyes began to flutter.
I didn’t understand what she was doing at first, but then it hit me. She was trying to wake herself up.
“No!” I yelled, and I sent all three cats surging for her. I wasn’t sure if having them attack would help or hurt, but I had to do something to keep her from escaping.
One cat sunk its fangs into her thigh while another went for her throat. I prepared myself for her screams of pain, but they never came. Instead, everything went quiet as darkness crept in around me.
My eyes popped open, and I sat up slowly in bed.
It took me a moment to realize I was in Samhail’s room as his warmth drifted across the bed to me from where he lay on his side facing me, his chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of sleep.
One of his arms stretched out between us as if he meant to wrap it around me, but I knew instinctively it wasn’t my body he sought in unconsciousness.
I lay back down as bile tickled the back of my throat. I’d let Magdalene escape without learning where Bressen was. Worse yet, if I’d angered or frightened her, she might take her fury out on Bressen, and I swallowed down the urge to vomit.
I had to find Bressen. I had to.
I lay awake for at least another hour before exhaustion finally overtook me again. I wanted to wake Samhail to keep me company, but I envied him his oblivion, and I wouldn’t take it away from him.
If something did happen to Bressen, I doubted either of us would ever sleep well again.
Cyra
I woke before Samhail the next morning and went back to my own room. It was unbearably quiet and empty there, and I fought back tears as I dressed and went down to the dining room for breakfast.
Axenus was already at the table, and Samhail entered about a minute after I did.
None of us spoke, and my plate trembled in my hand as I tried to fill it.
I wasn’t hungry. I’d barely forced some food down at dinner yesterday, but for the sake of keeping up my strength, I’d try to eat. If we found Bressen, I’d need-
Energy suddenly surged through my chest, and I dropped my plate so it crashed on the floor and shattered, sending food scattering everywhere.
“Cyra? Are you alright?” Samhail asked, setting down his own plate.
I planted my hands on the table and leaned over it as I tried to steady myself against a wave of lightheadedness.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was feeling, but joy flooded my veins a second later as I realized I could feel Bressen again.
His voice filled my mind, rising like the chorus of a song, but sweeter than any melody I’d ever heard.
I need you, my love. Come find me.