Page 33 of Absolution
The thermal kept me up until I found the steady beat of wings that would move me around. I figured I could ride it up to the next one and do a lot of gliding which I seemed to be good at. Not that it mattered if I fell since I was dreaming and all.
I left the stone village and rose up above several much larger stones—mountains perhaps—riding the heat waves like I was a master surfer. I watched a few other birds navigate, and fly together in synchronization. I wondered if I could find that—my own flock. I got so caught up in watching them that I ran into the long branch of a tree, clipped my wing and sent myself into a spiral. A moment of utter panic consumed me as I twirled—free falling, feet over head in a maddening swirl. My stomach lurched and screamed, and my head and wing throbbed in time. I had to stop the descent. The ground was approaching fast.
I flapped my wings, trying to slow myself down. Pain seared the left one, but they finally caught the wind so I could straighten myself out and slow my fall. I landed a little bruised on the icy pavement, glaring at the tree in the distance. Stupid tree. Stupid birds for distracting me.
I hadn’t been hurt in the dream before. Maybe it was a sign of waking up. Gabe hadn’t mentioned anything about waking being painful, but he’d been lacking in the training department lately.
Someone called me. I paused cocking my head to listen. It was a bit like a melody I could barely remember, a haunting tune that made me spread my wings—despite the pain—and reach skyward. My ascent was awkward as the wing was injured, but I followed the sound like it was some sort of siren song. The thermals helped ease some of the pain in my wing as they were warm and would let me glide long distances until I reached the window where the sound came from. The music played sweetly from here—loud, clear and soothing.
A strong breeze swept past me, seeming to wrap me up in its embrace and heal my wing in an instant. I stretched the wounded appendage and marveled at the lack of pain. Maybe I could nap here, rest a bit then take to the sky again. The song was peaceful and the flight had made me tired. There was a whole world to explore after all and dreams were endless, right?
The pinpricks of stars spanning into the distance spoke sweetly of adventure. I’d be sure to explore them all once I’d let my wings rest a bit. The heat from inside the window drew me in closer. I walked through the open frame onto a flat sort of tree and enjoyed the warmth of the room. I hadn’t realized it was a mistake until the window closed behind me. I turned to peck at the clear wall, irritated that I’d not be able to return to explore the stars.
“Welcome, Sam. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I turned my feathered head, shifting it around a few times until the words came into focus. Though the vision made little sense. Someone knew me? Well of course someone knew me, this was my dream wasn’t it? Only I couldn’t imagine why Max Hart would be in my dreams. He was hot and all, but I didn’t have daddy fantasies. He had some odd aura, like two people splayed across one another. How was that possible?
“Won’t you change for me so we can talk?”
Change? Oh right, because I was a bird. I laughed to myself thinking it so silly. I was a bird because I wanted to fly and in dreams we could be anything, right? So all I had to do was want to be human again. That was easy enough. The change poured over me, knocking me off the dresser—that was the word for the flat tree—and onto the floor. Pain ripped through my back and arm. It was a bone-breaking shift that left me gasping for breath and panting to keep consciousness. I didn’t understand how this could hurt so much in a dream.
The weight of my limbs returned, throbbing with needles like they’d been asleep for days. A long gash on my left arm dripped blood, and I could feel the hotness of liquid on my back.
“With a little blood you’ll be able to finish healing both of those fairly quickly. Going to ground often suspends our healing skills since we’re in a comatose state. Not sure of all the science behind it, as I don’t subscribe to that religion, but I’m sure there’s some proper justification,” the fake Max said.
“This isn’t a dream?” I asked realizing that everything was just a little too real to possibly be a dream. Did that mean I’d really changed? I’d been a bird? Holy fuck the Dominion was really going to want me dead now.
“Your long nap began to awaken the rest of your power. You’ve only begun to tap your potential, Sam. Your raven was lovely. Do you realize you’re the first vampire in all of history to ever be powerful enough to change on a non-new moon night? I’m very impressed.”
I sighed and grabbed a blanket from the bed to wrap it around myself. Whoever this guy was didn’t need more of a show than he’d already had. I was pretty shaky on my feet and wondered how I’d get home and explain all this to Gabe and Sei. “Take the mask off. The illusion or whatever the fuck it is you’re wearing. You’re giving me a headache. I know you’re not Max.”
“See. So much more powerful.” The illusion faded and the man who stood before me was the blond man I’d met in the alley right before I’d gone to ground. “You’re a treasure, Sam. Can I call you Sam or do you prefer the name your parents gave you?”
“My name is Sam,” I growled at him. Any other name belonged to a life I no longer had. The facts began to fall into place. The man was a vampire with illusion skills. Some pretty powerful illusion skills if he’d been in town a while and no one knew he was here. There was only one vampire that I knew existed with those powers. “Galloway, right? Nathaniel Galloway. The Tri-Mega is looking for you.”
He smiled and sat in a chair beside the door, crossed his legs and leaned back. Was he going to stop me from leaving? “There’s no such thing as the Tri-Mega anymore. I was part of it, Himdale is dead, and Tresler knows where to find me. He’s just not ready to play that game yet. He may not survive it, and then his little coup will fail.”
“Whatever. Am I free to go? I’d like to go home.”
Galloway got out of the chair and went to a table where a chess game was set up. The pieces were laid out as though he stopped in the middle of a game. He moved a single piece. “Don’t you wish to know of the danger to your friends? Perhaps you don’t care about them as they do about you. They’ve been visiting you often as you slept.”
“I’d like to go home and tell them I’m awake.”
“And if you’ve returned to chaos?”
“I have powerful friends. I’m sure they can handle whatever is coming their way.”
“What if it’s Santini that breaks? Did you know he’s one of the oldest vampires alive? He and Maxwell Hart. Both older than Tresler and I combined. Santini is very quiet about his power. He reins it in and hides it from the world as he has no wish to be king. What better mate could there be for Father Earth? Hmm?” He moved the black knight. “He plays the role, stays under the radar. Not because he’s not powerful enough. No vampire could be more powerful. But Santini has always been a simple man. Always focused on love.”
And that was a bad thing? Didn’t everyone want someone to love them? To care about?
“It will be love that breaks him. It always is. And not even the first time it will break him.” Galloway pointed to the black king on the board. “That is Tresler controlling the powerful through fear. He pretends to offer order and protection while building chaos and panic.” He picked up the black queen. “This is your friend Seiran. As much as Tresler hates humans he wants the Pillar so he can have control. He fears Gabe but has been moving in the background to take Gabe out of the picture.”
“But you just said that Gabe is stronger than any of you, and Sei would slaughter anyone who hurt Gabe.”
“Not death, child. A Focus flounders without his master. The oldest of us forget that. Which means Tresler thinks he’s strong enough to keep your friend from falling to madness once Gabe is gone.” Galloway glanced at me. “Out of the picture. Much as you have been for almost two months.”
I blinked at him. Two months? I’d been in the ground for two months? It felt like a few hours at most. “I thought they were supposed to wake me if I was out more than a week. Fuck. I gotta go.”