Morning Rising (15 page)

She wanted to stay, wanted to relive every
exhilarating moment of their first night together, but it was
obvious it wasn’t her place. She drew back into herself and watched
that memory settle into Dylan, followed by more and more as the
girl’s mind willingly accepted them. Kara smiled. She felt
something in the memory she never felt sure existed. At least for
that one moment, Dylan had been in love with her.

The rest of the memories flitted through
Kara’s mind so fast that she only caught glances of them. It wasn’t
as painful as getting her own memories back, but she figured that
was because the memories weren’t actually settling in her. Dylan’s
memories felt dark as they slipped through Kara. There were a few
happy ones from the Daylands, Dylan playing in the gardens and
dancing at a fancy ball, but most were hard for Kara to see.

Kara saw Dylan’s mom passed out on couch
after couch. Boy after boy lay on top of Dylan. Dylan at twelve
with her first cigarette in hand. The night Dylan took her first
drink and the older boy who took her virginity that same night.
Only the memories of Kara were light and happy. One stood out for
Kara.

They were in a local park, shortly after they
met. The night was warmer than it should have been. No one else was
with them, maybe the first time they hung out alone. Kara was
slightly drunk. Dylan was more drunk. The grass was damp beneath
their backs, and to Dylan, it had been the perfect moment.

After what felt like hours, the memories
began to slow until the last one settled in Dylan.

Kara’s vision cleared from black. She watched
as the blackness recoiled down her arm. It slipped off her hand to
settle with the blackness on Dylan’s wrist until all that was left
was the same small tattoo-like design on Dylan’s wrist. Dylan met
Kara’s eyes and gave her a wide smile. For the first time since
Kara found her Inbetween, she looked like Dylan again.

“Hey.” Dylan’s hand slid off Kara’s shyly. “I
missed you.”

She collapsed against Kara, exhausted and
drained. Her eyes shut as she fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 11

Kara lifted Dylan onto the bed. She'd lost
enough weight that it was easy. Kara sat beside her on the bed,
waiting for her to wake up. Fifteen minutes later, Dylan’s eyes
blinked open. She looked slowly around the room, before her eyes
settled on Kara.

“You feel alright?” Kara asked, pushing the
hair off Dylan’s damp forehead. She pulled her hand back, unsure if
this was her place. “It was a lot to take in.”

“I’m okay,” Dylan said. “That’s because of
you isn’t it?” Dylan started to push herself up. The room spun,
sending a jolt of pain slamming into her head like an ice pick. She
lay back down again quickly.

“Are you alright?” Kara asked.

Dylan groaned. “Fuck, my head hurts. I feel
like I have the worst hangover of my life.” Warily, Dylan opened
her eyes to look around the room again. Her eyes lingered at the
window.

“This is too weird. Where exactly are we
again?” Dylan asked, looking up at Kara.

“Inbetween,” Kara said. “Do you remember our
lives before we were sent out into the human world?”

“Some.” Dylan nodded, wincing at the motion.
“You’ve always been there for me, huh,” Dylan said. She reached out
and found Kara’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Kara felt herself blush
and stood quickly, hoping Dylan wouldn’t see.

“Let’s find you something to eat. Baron made
me eat after my awakening. It made me feel a ton better.”

“Okay,” Dylan agreed. She managed to push
herself to a sitting position with minimal dizziness. “But you’re
gonna have to help because I really don’t think I can walk on my
own.”

“Here.” Kara gave Dylan a hand up and slipped
an arm around her waist to steady her.

Dylan leaned into Kara, chest to chest with
one hand on Kara's waist for balance. Kara's breath caught as
Dylan's body pressed close. In a second the moment was over and
Dylan had steadied herself enough to stand at Kara's side.

“Wow, I feel like crap.” Dylan laughed dryly,
swaying on her feet.

“It will pass,” Kara assured her with a wide
smile. This was the Dylan she remembered. With Kara supporting her,
they made their way into the living room.

Kara was surprised to see both Alster and Ivy
in the living room with Baron. All three looked happy to see Dylan
emerge unharmed from the awakening, but Kara still didn’t trust
Alster’s motives. He seemed more concerned with Dylan’s powers than
with Dylan’s health.

“Let me help,” Baron said. He took Dylan’s
hand and steadied her as she sat. Dylan leaned back against the
couch with a sigh. The walk from the bedroom felt like miles. Baron
grinned down at her. “I’ll get you a snack.” He hurried into the
kitchen area.

“You made it out,” Kara said. She hugged Ivy.
From the way the girl stiffened, Kara was sure she hadn’t expected
it.

“It wasn’t too hard,” Ivy said, smiling
shyly. Her tan skin flushed, making her more beautiful than before.
Kara returned her smile and went to sit beside Dylan.

“Morning?” Alster asked, testing out the name
again. Dylan looked up at him. “So you remember now.” Alster
beamed, unable to hide his excitement.

“I’d still really prefer to be called Dylan
though,” Dylan said. “Morning doesn’t feel right.”

“Of course, of course,” Alster said absently,
waving away her words. “What's in a name after all?" Kara raised an
eyebrow at Baron and he shrugged in return. "What of your powers,
have they returned?”

“I don’t know,” Dylan said. She shrugged and
stretched her arms to the side. “I feel better though. I feel right
in my own skin now. I always felt strange before.”

“It’s your powers,” Baron said. Kara frowned
at the word ‘powers’ but let it pass without question. “Without
them, you would have felt odd, like something was missing.”

“Exactly,” Dylan said. She smiled. “I can’t
wait to see what I can do when everything is back to normal.”

“All in due time,” Alster said absently, as
if it wasn’t an issue. “There are bigger issues at hand. Kara?”

“Yeah?” Kara turned in surprise, unused to
the pleasant tone he was using.

“I’m afraid Ivy has come with bad news,”
Alster said with a half frown. He was so excited about Dylan’s
awakening, he didn’t seem to mind that there was bad news. He could
hardly keep the frown in place.

“Demitar has joined the search,” Ivy said.
Her voice was soft, and fear filled her dark eyes.

“We won’t be safe here for much longer,”
Baron said. He handed Dylan a bowl of steaming soup and sat down on
the arm of the couch. The scent of garlic and other spices filled
the air, causing Kara’s stomach to growl. “Soup’s on the stove,”
Baron said with a smile. Kara nodded.

“Thanks,” Kara said. “I didn’t realize how
hungry I was.” She went to get a bowl of the soup.

“The awakening stone takes a lot out of you,
even if you’re not its primary target,” Baron explained.

“Yes,” Alster said. “Now, let’s talk attack
plans.” He was smiling widely.

“Forgive my uncle’s improper mood,” Baron
said dryly. “He is too excited seeing Dylan back to her own
self.”
“She can defeat Demitar,” Alster insisted. He looked practically
gleeful with his wide smile and sparkling eyes. “As soon as her
powers are back to their full strength, she’ll be unstoppable.”

“We have no idea how long that will be,”
Baron reminded him gently. It did nothing to dull his mood.

“Kara regained her powers quickly enough,”
Alster said. “And she is nothing too special.”

“Hey,” Kara said from the kitchen. “I am the
Guardian.” She spotted Baron giving her an amused smile. “I know I
might not fully understand that, but I know it makes me special,"
she added with a small smile. She sat beside Dylan to eat.

“True, true,” Alster allowed. “I only meant
that Dylan is the princess of the Daycourt. I for one hope that
Dylan’s powers will return as quickly as yours have if not
quicker.”

“I for one suggest we get out of here if it
isn’t safe,” Kara said. She glanced at Baron. He nodded. “Do we
have anywhere to go?” she asked.

“We’ll head for the gate between here and the
Daylands. The Daylands are the only safe place for us,” Baron said.
He glanced to Ivy.

“Fay called for reinforcements to meet us at
the gate,” Ivy said. “We can only hope they arrive in time, or at
all." Her wimgs shimmered in agitation. "Demitar can fight with the
power of fifty men. We’ll be no match for him alone.”

“Dylan will be more than a match for him,”
Alster said, obnoxiously sure of Dylan.

“We can’t count on that,” Kara said. She
turned to Dylan. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, I actually feel a lot better already,”
Dylan said. “But I don’t feel any of the powers I remember
having.”

“Powers?” Kara raised a brow, not letting the
word pass by this time. “As in plural?”

“Dylan was a special child,” Baron said with
a small grin.

“I remember being able to move things with my
mind, like you,” Dylan said, looking at Kara. “And control
fire.”

“And water, and metal, even the air.” Alster
was grinning so widely it looked like his face would split. “She
can do anything with those powers. Demitar can only move the earth
with his mind.”

“Seems like enough to me,” Kara said dryly,
earning a glare from Alster.

“I don’t have my powers now though,” Dylan
reminded him. “Right now, walking seems like a pain in the
ass.”

“Well we’re gonna have to do that.” Baron
stood, taking his bowl to the kitchen. “I’ll find you clean clothes
and you can finish eating, but then we need to move out. Our only
hope is to get to the eastern end of the city and from there to the
gate in the desert without Demitar finding us.”

Kara glanced at Ivy. Ivy looked grim, as if
she didn’t think they stood a chance. Dylan only nodded and began
to eat faster while Baron went to find her something to wear. Only
Alster didn’t look tense. He was smiling like a fool as he stared
at Dylan. Kara set her empty bowl in the sink and went to sit on
the arm of the couch with her hand on Dylan’s back. There was no
way Alster was going to get to Dylan.

*

Baron took the lead as they left the
apartment building. If Inbetween looked unfamiliar before, it was
past that now. What once was a city full of strange and exciting
life was now a war zone. There were still fires burning in the
distance, and smoke filled the already dark sky. The streets were
empty. Not one living thing moved through the destruction of
stopped cars and broken store fronts. Sirens wailed in the
distance, but Kara had a feeling they were mostly for show. No
emergency assistance was coming. They hadn’t walked more than a
block when Kara spotted the first dead man lying in the rubble.

He looked human. His skin was unnaturally
dark, and his ears slightly pointed, but he was human in every
other way. His head was twisted at an odd angle, barely attached to
his neck anymore. Blood had turned his white collared shirt stiff
and brown. As a testament to the destruction surrounding them,
there weren’t even any flies buzzing around the body. Kara couldn’t
take her eyes off the man’s open eyes. The blue irises stared
glassily back at her.
Kara felt Dylan squeeze her hand as they passed the man. It was
quick, but it helped Kara pull her eyes from him, not that there
was anything better to settle on. Destruction was all around them,
and soon they were passing more bodies. Kara didn’t want to guess
what the death count was. She wondered how many of the dead were
looking for her when they died. It was worse to think about how
many might have been innocent bystanders. She shivered at the
idea.

“This is insane.” Dylan shook her head as
they passed the body of what looked like a child with wings like
Ivy’s. Ivy was carefully not looking at the child. “It hasn’t even
been twenty-four hours.”

“What did he offer them?” Kara asked, her
voice sounded hollow even to her own ears. “What could he have
possibly offered that would be worth this much damage?”

“Protection and pardon from the King,” Baron
answered coldly. “A reward worth more than any treasure in this
world.”

“Indeed,” Alster said. “You would become
untouchable. Those protected by the King have a charm placed upon
them that makes it so anyone who harms them is instantly struck
ill. The offender would die within days. I hear the process is slow
and painful.”

“And with a pardon, even the King himself
cannot harm them,” Baron finished with a shake of his head. “If you
have a pardon from the King you could walk up and take the ring off
Demitar’s finger and claim pardon for the crime. Every evil being
in the city will be after us.”

“Those who aren’t after us have already fled
the city,” Ivy said. “Or at least those who made it out,” Ivy
added, her eyes lingering on the body of a woman laying face down
on the street. “Fay and Lockler left last night.”

“Will we meet up with them again?” Kara
asked. She was glad to hear they were still alive. She wanted to
keep the conversation going. It helped to keep her mind focused on
something besides the danger all around them.

“Outside the eastern border,” Ivy assured
her. “They’ll help us cross the desert.”

“If we make it that far,” Baron added grimly.
A rumble rocked the city. It was another explosion, but too far
away to matter. The group paused as the earth shook beneath them.
When it settled, they continued walking.

“We will make it out of here,” Dylan spoke
with such conviction it was hard not to believe her. “I don’t want
to hear any of you talking like that again.” Kara gave her an
appraising look. Dylan frowned to herself. “Sorry, I don’t know
where that came from.”