Sacrifice (13 page)

“So, how do we do this?” Karayan crossed her arms, turning her back on the spotters nonchalantly.

“Let’s split up.” Dad scanned the sanctuary. “Braedyn and I will search inside. You and Hale can check the perimeter of the mission. It’s possible the Lilitu slipped our net by finding a way outside that we missed.”

Karayan and Hale exchanged glances. “Okay by me,” Karayan said.

Hale turned and gestured back at the large oak doors. “After you.” They walked back out into the cold afternoon.

Dad and I approached the Seal cautiously. We didn’t need to bother; the Seal was as active as a lump of dirt on the side of the road. I could sense the shimmering veil separating this side from the Lilitu side, but there were no eyes watching us this time. I put a foot on the Seal.

“Whoa—” I started. Dad grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I leapt off the Seal, clinging to his arm, scared. “What? What did you see?!”

The Guardsmen were by our side in two seconds, weapons drawn.

“Sorry.” Dad released me, turning to face the Guardsmen. “Sorry, my mistake. Stand down. False alarm.”

The Guardsmen withdrew slowly, eyeing us with concern. I turned to face Dad, lowering my voice. “False alarm?”

“You sounded alarmed. I overreacted.” He eyed the Seal. “I don’t love the idea of you touching that thing.”

“Okay, I’ll choose my words more carefully from now on.” I turned back to the Seal. “I was going to say the last time I stepped on the Seal, there was this draw, like the Seal was trying to pull me in.”

“Really?” Dad’s jaw tightened. “And you were going to tell me this when, exactly?”

I felt my cheeks growing warm. “Sorry.”

Dad sighed. It looked like he wanted to say more, but he turned back to the Seal. “And this time?”

“This time I didn’t feel anything.”

“Still. Don’t let your guard down.” Dad’s hand strayed to the hilts of his daggers. “It could be a trap.”

We edged closer to the Seal, and started our examination. It was a long process. By the time I’d made it around the large, circular stone, the sun had long since set in the west. Karayan and Hale returned from their sweep of the perimeter, and together we combed over every last inch of the sanctuary. All to no avail.

“Well, Sarge, I think you’re going to have to find some other way for me to prove my worth.” Karayan stretched, arching her back in a graceful curve. “This appears to be a dead end, and while I don’t need my beauty sleep, I’m afraid the same can’t be said for you.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Hale clapped a hand on Karayan’s back. “And don’t worry, this is just the first in a long list of fruitless tasks I’ve got planned for you.”

Karayan grinned in response. It was such a genuine look of happiness I felt my breath catch. No one else seemed to notice the change in Karayan.

Hale turned to Dad. “We should call it for tonight.”

Dad shrugged, then gave Hale a half-smile. “You
could
use some beauty sleep.”

“No lip from you,” Hale said. “I’m still your superior officer.”

Dad chuckled, and we headed back to the SUV. The drive home was strangely light-hearted, considering the complete failure of our mission. Hale and Dad ribbed each other, and Karayan got in a few sizzling quips—at Hale’s expense—that made Dad laugh out loud.

When we pulled up outside our house, everyone piled out of the SUV, still chuckling. Thane was waiting on our front porch. Hale helped Karayan down from the back seat.

“Careful, soldier boy,” Karayan said, grinning. “Your chivalry is showing.”

“What did you find?” Thane’s stern voice cut through our cheer as effectively as a knife. He glared his suspicion at Karayan.

Dad, sensing the tension, cleared his throat. “Nothing, Thane. We searched inside and out. No trace of anything usual.”

Thane’s eyes returned to Hale. Under his glare, Hale frowned. Thane’s eyes narrowed even farther. “I wonder,” he mused quietly, “if your full attention was on the task at hand?”

Hale stiffened. I saw a muscle in his jaw jump, betraying his anger.

“We did what you asked, Thane,” Dad said. “Now if you don’t mind, I think we all could use some rest.” Dad gestured for Karayan and me to join him. I hurried to his side, giving Thane a wide berth. Karayan hesitated, glancing at Hale as though she wanted to say something, but then she dropped her head and followed us onto the porch.

Thane strode away from the house. “Hale. A word, if you don’t mind.”

Hale’s eyes burned, but he turned his back on us and followed Thane into the Guard’s house without complaint.

Dad opened the door behind us. Karayan fled inside, disappearing into her bedroom before either Dad or I could talk to her. Dad gave me a searching look. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Okay, kiddo.” Dad gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Get some rest. Things will look brighter in the morning.”

I nodded and headed upstairs. I might be going to bed, but I wasn’t counting on getting too much rest.

The vast field of crimson roses shivered in the breeze. I took a deep breath, willing my thoughts to settle. As I gained control over my fear, the wind—spawned by my own unease—died down.

My dream garden. It used to be a place for me to center myself. My own private bubble in the infinite, universal dream world that all living creatures shared. No longer. The roses—once a gleaming white, now that fiery red—were a reminder of the harm I had done to others—a reminder of the stain on my soul.

What scared me most about them was the newest change; the line of black that edged the top of each soft petal. They had changed from white to red the same way, starting with a small stain that spread over the face of each petal, until it devoured every last glimmer of white.

If this was some kind of warning, some kind of visual measure of how far I’d strayed down the Lilitu path, then this is how I would know when I’d passed the point of no return—when the black had consumed the last dregs of red.

I turned my thoughts away from the roses. Folding myself into a cross-legged position, I placed one hand onto the dirt before me. As I touched this illusion of earth, my senses expanded. I could feel the bubble of this dream floating in the vastness. What I needed now was to find Royal’s sleeping mind.

A pool of silvery liquid grew before me; a window into the larger dream world beyond the walls of my sanctuary. I concentrated on Royal—not the sickly boy from the past few weeks, but the Royal I’d know since we were in elementary school, the snarky, witty, loyal friend I was determined to protect.

A glimmering spark ascended from the silvery pool, rising to greet me. I closed my hand around it, and felt Royal’s presence. With the slightest shift, I was inside his dream.

Royal was wandering through what appeared to be an abandoned mansion, looking for something. The tension was almost palpable. A nightmare, then. Well. I could do something about that.

“Royal.” I put my hand on his shoulder.

He spun, eyes rolling with terror. “Braedyn?! What are you doing here? Did you see him?”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. “Who, Royal? Who are you looking for?”

Royal glanced around, as if unsure himself. “I thought I saw—someone was here.” He looked at me, pleading with his eyes. “Don’t leave me?”

“Royal. It’s okay.” I faced him directly, catching his face in my hands. His eyes locked onto my face. “This is a dream.”

Confusion rolled over his features. But then the first flicker of recognition struck him. “Braedyn?” Royal glanced around. The world around us flickered—and then Royal himself started to fade.

“Stay with me, Royal,” I said. Without the skills of a lucid dreamer, like Lucas, most people wake up as soon as they realize they’re dreaming. But in order for me to search Royal’s dream, he needed to be here. I caught his hand, willing him to fight the urge to wake up.

Royal’s form solidified, even as the last traces of his dream-mansion vanished. We stood in a uniformly grey space, like a theater stage without a set.

Royal let out a sharp breath. “You did it. I can’t believe it. You’re actually in my dream.” Royal looked around, more curious than afraid. “So, what’s with the grey?”

“You tell me.” I released Royal’s hand. “This is your dream.”

Royal shivered at my words, and something moved in the darkness at the edge of our space. I turned, creeped out. It was like another dream was trying to take shape, but he was fighting it.

“Royal, if I’m going to help you, you have to show me these dreams you’ve been having.”

“You want a guided tour of my nightmares?” Royal’s lips were pressed tightly together. “That’s nice and horrible.”

“I’m here with you,” I said, making my voice as soothing as I could. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Royal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Fine. Welcome to Royal’s House Of Horrors.”

Royal opened his eyes. The world of his dream shifted, snapping into focus. I looked around. It could have been one of the hiking trails that laced the hills behind Royal’s house, except everything here was leeched of color. I was reminded of a charcoal drawing—a nightmarish one. Skeletal trees stood out against a pale grey sky. It was surreally quiet.

“This is where he meets you?” I asked, whispering in spite of myself.

Royal nodded. “Is he here?”

“I don’t think so.” I tried to muster some strength in my voice. I gave Royal a smile. He glanced at me, but didn’t return it.

“That’s not exactly encouraging.”

“Let me look around.” I turned my feet down the path and started walking. Royal shadowed me closely, so closely I could feel his dream aspect breathing down my neck. We walked for close to an hour. The path kept winding through the landscape, like it was on an infinite loop. More than once I thought we’d crossed the same tree, but they all looked so similar I couldn’t tell.

As I was getting ready to stop the search, frustrated at our lack of progress, I stopped.

Something small and white was hanging from one of the grey trees. It looked almost like a bone, but as I drew closer I recognized it.

My blood froze in my veins. I pulled the scroll off the tree. Like the scroll I’d once found in my own dream, this one was tied with a satiny ribbon that fell away as I touched it. I unrolled the scroll and found the message he’d left for me.

Careful, Braedyn. I know your soft spots.

Seth had been here.

I bolted awake, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. My suspicions were correct. Seth was back.

“No. No!” Grief, anger, and—worst of all—guilt crashed through me. Seth was targeting Royal. He’d been torturing Royal in his dreams for weeks and I’d done nothing to stop it. I suddenly felt the depth and breadth of my helplessness. I could talk as big as I wanted; that didn’t mean I was prepared to go head to head with the incubus who’d wormed his way into the lives of my friends. I’d promised Royal I could protect him. But how? After the intimate night they’d shared, Seth had a very real grip on Royal. I couldn’t break that connection—short of finding and killing Seth.

I heard a thump down the hall, then Dad threw my bedroom door open. He flipped the switch on my wall. We both recoiled from the sudden blaze of light.

“Braedyn?!” His eyes were bleary but wide with panic.

“Dad.
Dad.
” But the words stuck in my throat.

Dad rushed forward and enfolded me in his arms. At his touch, the dam within me broke. Hot tears flooded my eyes. I clung to him, my body shaking with grief and shame.

“Shh.” He ran a hand over my hair, the same way he’d done when I’d skinned my knee or gotten into a fight with a friend as a little girl. After many long moments, I managed to quell my tears.

I pulled back from his embrace. Dad handed me a Kleenex. That’s when I saw Karayan, standing in the doorway to my room, unsure what to do. She saw me looking at her. “What happened?” Her voice resonated with concern.

I had to take another shaky breath before I could speak. “It’s Seth.”

Dad sat back, his eyes suddenly hard. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing.” A surge of nausea rose in my throat. “It’s Royal he’s been hurting.”