Firebolt

Chapter 10

WE FOUND THE most amazing burgers waiting for us at the buffet later that night. Becky tried her luck again with the next riddle. That girl could not get enough greasy food. To my surprise I knew the answer to this one as well. I didn't get it as fast as the last time, but I was impressed that I had gotten it at all. It was fire, but I kept the answer to myself because Sammy wasn't too fond of greasy food.

That night I felt dead tired again, but for some reason I still struggled to fall asleep. Blake had been on my mind a lot throughout the day. I had seen him during dinner sitting alone at a table, looking deep in thought. There was a hard look to his face as he mixed the food on his plate methodically, as if he could find the answers to all his problems in his French fries. He'd eventually given up on the food and dismantled the lantern sitting on the table to play with the glowing embers. That was how I had come up with the answer to the riddle. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt of him. I'd taken Tabitha's place next to him at the table. He had reached into my hair, pulled my face to his and given me one of those long, hard passionate kisses. I feared waking, feared leaving him. Lost in the passion of the moment my dream suddenly turned very odd.

Blake disappeared, and I stood alone on top of a grassy hill. Where the hell am I?

I had no idea how I'd gotten there. I looked around me, perplexed because nothing seemed familiar. If this dream was an indication of my current state of mind, I was in trouble. Onward was a massive expanse of forest. Its tall trees and mass of fauna and flora, hiding who-knows-what, made it harder to breathe. As I started to walk across the hill I noticed a dark-haired woman waiting for me on the other side. It felt like it took forever to reach her. At first I thought it was Julia, but the closer I got, the more I realized it was a stranger.

She had an oval face, with fair skin and sad gray eyes. Long dark curls hung loose over her shoulders, with a few tendrils out of place being blown about by the wind. She just stared at me with a blank expression. I wanted to ask her "What am I doing here?" But no sound came from my lips.

She raised her arm, pointed to the forest, and ordered me to enter. I studied it quizzically before turning back to face her. Why on earth did she want me to go in there? I refused. That was my first mistake, I thought, as she brought the forest to me. I was consumed by fear as I felt myself drowning in fifty feet of high, dense trees. I started to suffocate as if an invisible force was pressing the air out of my lungs. The woman vanished from sight as the trees pulled me deeper into the forest. My last glimpse of her before she disappeared revealed a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Just as I felt the last breath leave my lungs, I woke up.

I was breathing rapidly as I tried to adjust to my surroundings. Luckily, Becky and Sammy were deep sleepers; I didn't feel like explaining myself to them at that moment. Why the hell did I just dream that, and who was the woman? I kept asking myself that as I tried to catch my breath.

MONDAY MORNING, I found a note pushed under the door to our room.

It was folded delicately but did not bring welcoming news. I had to go see the Viden at ten, the note explained in willowy silver script.

"The sooner the better," Sammy consoled during breakfast.

We sat outside at a table. I needed the fresh air to calm my nerves.

"Good morning ladies," Lucian greeted us. He possessed the jovial tone of a real morning person. Well, I guess he couldn't be perfect.

"Hi, Lucian," we said in unison.

"When did you get in?" Becky flashed him her super smile.

"My dad was stuck yesterday with meetings and proclamations so he asked Emanuel to drop me off last night around ten. So, how was Elm?"