Page 6 of Dream Weaver (Spellbound in Sedona #3)

ABBY

Sometime before dawn, my eyes shot open. Two startled heartbeats later, I jerked upright.

Not a bird sang. Not a cicada chirped. Not a breath of air stirred the mighty oaks by the creek. I stared out the window.

It was happening again — that rumbling. Soundless, motionless except for that violent vibration in the air.

Magic. And not just a warning this time.

I shot out of bed and ran down the hall barefoot. Halfway along, another rumble stopped me in my tracks. I gripped the bathroom door, my mind racing. The moment it stopped, I hurried to Claire’s room. She was sound asleep, though Roscoe had jumped off her bed, whining meekly.

I nearly bundled Claire up and rushed her out of the house with Roscoe. But instinct promised me that rumble wasn’t an earthquake and that Claire was safe here. Whatever was happening was somewhere off in the distance.

After a last look at Claire, I padded downstairs. Quickly pulling on a sweater, jacket, and boots, I stepped outside. Roscoe ventured out with me, pressing against my legs.

I sniffed the air, then froze at a rumble of a different frequency. A counterrumble, so to speak, as the earth growled back at the disturbance that had set it off. I had to dig deep to pick them apart, but the original disturbance came in shorter, lighter bursts.

Walt had once rented part of his workshop to a sculptor who’d chipped at stone to shape a hunch-backed Kokopelli with a flute and wild hairdo. It had taken days, with a constant chip, chip, chip as pieces of stone surrendered to the tap of his chisel.

This was similar, except that somewhere in the distance, someone was chipping away at magic.

The door to Erin and Nash’s cabin opened, and light spilled over their porch.

Are you okay? she called into my mind. Is Claire?

I think so, I called back, using the special link we sisters shared.

What was that?

I had no idea.

A shadow loomed over their cabin, then soared overhead, making my hair flutter.

That was Nash, Erin’s badass partner, a dragon shifter. Puffs of fire lit the sky as he sliced through the air, guarding us fiercely.

But was there actually a threat out there or just a disturbance?

To the northeast, a thin line of orange crept over the horizon, and I called to Erin. Feels like it’s coming from over there.

Silence reigned while we both tuned in.

Airport Mesa? Erin asked at the very moment I’d come to the same conclusion.

I tensed through the next rumble, grabbing one of the porch posts.

In my mind, I sensed Erin moving. Where are you going?

Over to the cliff. Hang on…

Nash swooped lower, protecting the airspace above her.

The cliff meant the vortex — Erin’s vortex. At least, that’s how I thought of it. Our great-aunt had shown each of us a different vortex — or a different portal to the same vortex — years ago. Pippa’s was over to the west, and mine was up on the mesa.

When the air rumbled again, I winced, imagining the earth groaning. Somewhere, someone was picking away at the magic embedded in Sedona’s landscape. Stealing it, almost, like gold from an off-limits mine.

The vortex pulses at the same time, Erin reported. Faintly, but I can feel it.

I closed my eyes, reaching out to my special place. At the next pulse of that mysterious disturbance, my vortex reacted. Twitching, almost, like a horse irritated by flies.

Nash grumbled loudly, swooping lower.

We’ll go check it out, Erin told me.

And, whoosh! A second winged shadow joined Nash, and they shot off toward Airport Mesa.

“Be careful,” I whispered.

I tensed, expecting another ripple in the air at the same interval as the previous disturbances. But there was nothing.

Too bad Pippa and Ingo weren’t home. Ingo would have shot off in his government-issued Jeep to start investigating immediately. Protecting people was his job — and his passion — as an officer in supernatural law enforcement. But he and Pippa were in Colorado.

Twenty tense minutes passed. I shuffled from foot to foot, trying to keep warm. The colors in the sky intensified as the sun approached the horizon. Soon, it would be light and too risky to fly around in dragon form.

Right on cue, Erin and Nash swept into sight, then glided into smooth landings. Erin shook out her wings, making my hair ruffle.

My sister, the dragon shifter. I was only slightly jealous, I swear.

“Did you see anything?” I called out as Roscoe cowered behind my legs.

Yes and no, she reported. There were a couple of parked cars at the trailhead and a few people out on Airport Mesa, but that’s not unusual.

True. Folks often headed up to Airport Mesa for the sunrise.

We looked at each other. The disturbance had stopped, but that didn’t put me at ease.

Weird, Erin concluded.

Nash disappeared behind the cabin and emerged a short time later in human form, dressed, and ready to race off in his vehicle.

“I’ll catch up with you at work,” Nash said, kissing Erin goodbye as the sun rose over the horizon.

She hugged him as if he were going off to battle.

If Pippa were here with Ingo, she would have hugged him the same way.

My arms tightened around…emptiness.

“Call the minute you have news,” I called out.

Nash drove off, leaving a cloud of dust that rose then slowly scattered.

Erin and I watched him go, then split up reluctantly. Whatever had happened out there was over now, and we had jobs to get to.

I took one last, long look around, then headed inside. Another day was starting. I wondered what clarity the rising sun would bring, if any.