Morning Rising (2 page)

“Home is better,” Glint said. “Forgets the
Morning, the Inbetween is good enough for her. Just say yous forget
the Morning and home you’ll be in a wink. Safe and sound will be
you. Tuckin’ in nice and safe you’ll be, with only a nightmare to
shake you.” The creature gave her a pleading look. Kara almost
believed he was trying to do what was best for her.

“Who are you talking about?” Kara asked. She
ignored the nagging feeling that she should agree and be sent home.
Something more important was going on, but she’d have to dig for
it.

“Her who’s caused you enough pain already,
her with no feelings for any but her,” Collicks said as he hopped
towards her. “You forgets her.” He patted her arm in a mockery of
comfort. Had it been Glint patting her, Kara might have bought it;
she sensed he was the kinder of the two. She snatched her arm away
from Collicks and glared.

“I want to know who she is,” Kara spoke slow
and clear, standing her ground.

Glint sighed, sounding genuinely sad when he
spoke again, his pale eyes swimming with tears. “The guardians,
they don’t learn.” When he stood straight, Glint came to Kara’s
waist. In his own lurching way, he walked to Kara’s side, reaching
one of his long, emaciated arms upwards to touch his finger to her
brow.

Kara fought to stand her ground and not push
him away, though it was all she wanted to do. As his finger touched
her head she jerked violently back. Acid seemed to be bubbling
through her skull. She grabbed at her head, praying the pain would
stop. She shook her head, clawing at her skull as if she might be
able to tear the pain out. Crying uncontrollably, Kara sunk to her
knees, losing consciousness and falling face first back into the
mud.

“Never learns.” Collicks nodded consolingly
at Glint as he settled beside him to wait.

Chapter 2

“It will be fun.” Dylan’s eyes flashed with
more danger than anyone else’s could, and as usual, Kara was unable
to resist the temptation. In the sixteen years before meeting
Dylan, Kara never once did anything that came close to breaking a
law. In the three months since she met Dylan, she’d broken half a
dozen laws. Thankfully, she hadn’t been caught for any of them.

Kara sighed and nodded her submission to
Dylan’s will, like always. Dylan grinned wickedly at her and began
to climb the fence, which rattled noisily. The fence was chain link
and Kara was glad Dylan warned her to wear gloves. Otherwise, the
iron in the links would leave both their hands blistered. Dylan
dropped to the other side safely, and then turned back to Kara. She
pushed her fingers through the links and rested them over Kara’s
own. Dylan grinned. Even through their gloves Dylan’s touch sent
sparks racing through Kara. Every nerve in her body tingled
deliciously. This was why she always followed her.

“Come on.” Dylan motioned with her head
toward the dark buildings behind her. The wind caught her hair,
blowing it over her face. “It’s easy and no one’s going to catch
us.” Dylan didn’t step back until Kara nodded.

“I’m coming,” Kara said. Of course she was,
what was her other option? Head home to watch TV with her mom’s
boyfriend while her mom worked the night shift? Not fucking
likely.

As Kara slipped over the top of the fence,
her shirt and jacket lifted. Her stomach brushed across the cold
iron of the fence. Kara winced as pain surged through her body.
Fighting the urge to let go, Kara made it safely to the ground. She
pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her pockets just as Dylan
had. Gingerly, fearing what she would see, Kara lifted her
shirt.

There was a three inch mark as red and raw
looking as the fresh burn left by a hot poker. It arched in an
angle across her stomach from her navel to her ribs. Dylan stepped
towards Kara, her eyes wide with concern.

“Oh shit,” Dylan said softly. She reached out
and gently fingered the wound. Kara’s stomach spasmed as Dylan’s
warm fingers tickled her skin, pleasure mixed dangerously with
pain. “Are you alright?” Dylan asked. She looked up from under her
long eyelashes at Kara, a slow, teasing grin on her face. Her
fingers drifted lightly across Kara’s stomach before she pulled
away.

“Yeah,” Kara said. She swallowed back the
pain and dropped her shirt. The double innuendo was always a
favorite of Dylan’s. Kara often wondered if Dylan had any idea how
crazy she made her feel. “I’ll be fine.” Kara was glad the blush on
her cheeks could be explained by the frigid night air.

“We’ll put something on it when we get back
to my place,” Dylan assured her. All the teasing was gone from her
voice. For that moment she was nothing but the concerned friend. “I
know how much it hurts.”

Kara nodded and followed Dylan into the alley
between the old factory buildings, letting the darkness swallow
them up. Dylan knew exactly how much it hurt. It was one of the few
things they had in common, an extreme allergy to iron. Kara pushed
her shoulder length hair behind her ears and wrapped her arms
around herself. Dylan had insisted Kara wear only a tank top for
the secret party. That combined with her winter jacket wasn’t quite
enough warmth in the frigid night.

Derelict factory buildings hugged the dark
alley, making Kara claustrophobic. She wondered if there even was a
party, Dylan had been wrong before. She’d get a text telling her
about a party on the docks, in a half built apartment, or anywhere
else people could gather and all of a sudden they’d be getting
ready to leave. Half the time it was already busted by the time
they arrived. Still, Kara was always ready to go on any adventure
with Dylan. Crazy as Dylan could be, Kara never felt as happy as
she did around Dylan. They had little in common, but it felt like
life had meaning when she was with Dylan.

“You sure you don’t want a hit?” Dylan asked.
She stopped short and turned to Kara in the darkness. Kara stopped
inches from Dylan. “I think I feel it starting to kick in.” Dylan
ran her hands through her long dark hair, shutting her eyes and
smiling at the sensation. “It’s kind of amazing already.” Her
eyelids fluttered open. She smiled and looked at Kara with drug
hazed eyes. It was a familiar expression.

Drugs were something they didn’t have in
common. Sometimes Dylan could convince Kara to take whatever drug
she was into at the moment, but it hadn’t taken Kara long to figure
out that she needed to be sober enough to take care of Dylan,
because she couldn’t take care of herself. Kara couldn’t count the
number of times in the past few months she all but carried Dylan
home.

“I’m good,” Kara said. Without thinking, she
reached out to run her hand through Dylan’s hair. “But you have
fun, okay?”

“Okay.” Dylan smiled dreamily, as the ecstasy
really kicked in.

Kara knew the look. Dylan’s eyes would grow
darker. All night long she would look at everyone as if she wanted
to pounce on them. Not far in the distance, there was a sudden
pulse of music. Looks like they weren’t going to be late to the
party.

“Hear that?” Kara asked with a smile. She
turned toward the music, but Dylan grabbed her arm and pulled her
back.

Kara froze as she found herself within an
inch of Dylan’s already warming body. Dylan ran her hand down
Kara’s arm and onto her side.

“Relax,” Dylan ordered with a soft smile,
sensing Kara’s tenseness. “You feel really good.” Dylan’s eyes
closed as her hand worked its way around to the small of Kara’s
back. Dylan’s fingers brushed under Kara’s coat; Kara couldn’t help
but relax into the unexpected touch.

“What are you doing, Dylan?” Kara asked
softly, as she leaned into Dylan’s body. Both Dylan’s hands were on
Kara’s hips, her thumbs moving lazily on Kara’s stomach.

“I know you love me,” Dylan answered. She
said it as simply as someone would say what they wanted for dinner.
She opened her eyes and smiled up at Kara, who frowned. “It’s
okay,” Dylan leaned up and brushed her lips softly on Kara’s. “I
kinda love you too.” She spoke the words right against Kara’s lips;
it was all Kara could do not to shudder.

It was only the drugs. Kara had to keep
telling herself it was only the drugs.

“Dylan, you’re stoned.” Kara pushed Dylan’s
hands away, hoping Dylan wouldn’t notice her blush. Just the gentle
touch of Dylan’s lips sent her blood spiraling through her veins at
a suicide pace.

“Not stoned.” Dylan pouted, and then smiled.
“I do love you.”

“Let’s get you inside.” Kara smiled despite
herself as Dylan nodded and turned toward the beat of the
music.

Dylan wouldn’t remember it in the morning,
but Kara knew the memory would stay with her.

*

Kara awoke, urgently pushing herself up from
the mud as she took a deep breath. She was on the verge of
suffocation, tears, and panic all at once. She thrashed in the mud,
regaining her equilibrium as she got her breath back. Seeing Glint
and Collicks watching, Kara shoved herself to her feet. She didn’t
know how, but she knew they’d experienced the memory with her. The
thought caused her to flush with embarrassment.

“The Morning hurts you, see?” Glint asked
eagerly. “Gives up the Morning.”

Kara was still breathing heavily, trying to
work through the memory in her head. Now that she had relived it,
she remembered the night. It was Dylan’s birthday, they sneaked
into the factories down by the docks for a party and Dylan kissed
her. Now that she thought about it, she remembered it happened
again later in the night too. She didn’t think they ever talked
about it. If Dylan was this Morning they kept talking about, then
Kara knew she couldn’t give her up. Everything before that night
three months into their friendship was a pleasant blur. Everything
after it was still shrouded in darkness.

“I want to see your master,” Kara demanded.
She stared down the two small creatures, willing them to challenge
her. She wasn’t budging on this. The creatures were small enough
that she thought she might have a chance if it came down to a
fight. She was still cold and mud lay wet on her face but she held
her ground, staring down at the creatures. Finally, just when she
began to think she wasn’t going to be able to contain her shivers
any longer, Glint and Collicks exchanged a sad look.

“We sends you to him.” Collicks nodded.

“You regrets this, you will see,” Glint
warned. “You could have gone home, given up the Morning.”

“Dylan is my friend,” Kara answered coldly.
“I won’t give her up.”

“You know nots what you say.” Glint shook his
head. He shuffled back from her, head hung low.

“I don’t care.” Kara was surprised that she
meant it. She didn’t care what Dylan was to her, or what history
they shared. If Dylan was trapped in the same strange world Kara
found herself in, then she couldn’t leave her.

“You regrets this,” Collicks warned one last
time as he took her hand.

His leathery skin was freezing. It felt like
taking hold of an icicle. Her hand began to ache from the cold, but
when she tried to pull away, he held tight. The dark pit around her
faded slowly to blackness before light seeped in again. Kara found
herself standing alone in a great hallway.

A chill hung in the air around her, a cold
mist that faded quickly. Glancing down, she saw her jeans and
t-shirt were clean. She reached up and ran a hand through her hair.
The blond strands were mud free. The hall was lined with black
marble, floors, walls, and ceilings. Harsh florescent lighting
illuminated the space from far above, reflecting off the smooth
floor. After the darkness of the pit, Kara squinted before she got
her bearings.

“Hello?” she spoke softly, but in the empty
hall it was louder than she expected. Her voice echoed off the
walls, filling the silence.

There were no doors leading off the hallway,
only more of the same smooth marble. She could only move forward or
backward. Trusting that Collicks set her down facing the right
direction, Kara started forward.

The soles of her sneakers squeaked on the
floor, and she winced. The squeaking filled the vast hallway. Kara
imagined all manner of evil creatures rushing to see what was
sneaking their way. Long minutes dragged past until Kara came to a
stop in front of a single, large door. Kara faced the ancient
looking door. The wood was rough, weathered, and faded. One look at
the handle was all Kara needed to see it was pure iron.

Kara looked around, hoping for something to
cover her hand. It was empty, as she had already known. Carefully,
she slipped her hand under her shirt, praying the thin fabric would
be enough protection from the iron. After taking a deep breath, she
reached out and pulled the handle downwards. The door was heavy,
and she could only push it open a few inches before she felt the
iron start to burn her through the shirt. She let go of the handle
and shook her burning hand. The door began to creak back into
position. Kara slipped her foot in the crack to keep it from
closing all the way and grimaced as her foot was squeezed
painfully.

A glance at her hand told her no real damage
had been done, but it was irritated and red. Kara forced her way
through the door, shoving it open with her shoulder and steering
clear of the handle. She stood just inside the door, staring with
shock at the modern looking office around her. The room was huge, a
good twenty feet between where she stood and the wide black desk
that held a computer at the far end of the office. It was the only
furniture in the room.

A man sat behind the desk, his back to her as
he stared out the windows. The view was amazing. Windows curved
across the whole end of the office, giving a panoramic view of an
unfamiliar city draped in twilight. When she was sure the man
wasn’t going to turn her way without prompting, Kara moved forward
to stand in front of his desk.