Page 57 of Monster's Melody
“The water came in like an ocean wave, all at once.It protected you from slamming into the shower wall,” Vorzak rumbled.“I didn’t even know you were about to come back, but the water did and it was there to save you.”
Despite the fact that it had clearly been a case of dire need, Puddlemoan was furious that I’d “stolen” half the water from his pool.He was so busy ranting, he didn’t even notice when that same water started streaming out of the locker room and down the hall, back toward the pool.
Vorzak and I sneaked away when he started complaining to Headmistress Blackthorn about students always playing pranks on him.
I don’t think Puddlemoan even noticed, though Blackthorn definitely did.
She didn’t try to stop us, though, probably because she knew how ridiculous Puddlemoan was acting.
That night, after Vorzak took me with a singular desperation, no doubt stemming from his fear that he’d lost me earlier that day, I fell into a restless sleep.
In my dreams, the crack that had opened while in the Shadow Realm widened, and into that crack, the voices of the dead poured.
Over the next couple weeks, my dreams took a turn for the weird.
I dreamt the dead walked, marching through my dreams, through the crack in my soul to pour into Blackthorn Academy, a shadow army of the dead.
As they marched, they whispered,We’re coming.We’re coming.We’re coming.
Night after night, I dreamt of that shadow army, of their whispered promise, and I woke every morning, heart pounding in fear, terrified the army had already invaded Blackthorn Academy.
“What do you think they mean?”Kasi asked when I finally shared how intense my dreams had become, how they’d evolved into something much scarier than a few shadows whispering of darkness.
“I don’t know.The thing is, I’m not a dream-walker like Leslie.I’m not visiting other people’s dreams.These aremydreams and I don’t like them.What’s freaking me out is how real they feel.”
“Do you think they’re prophetic?”Mikaela asked.
“I sincerely hope not, but I’m terrified they might be.”I hesitated, then shared a bit of my back history that only Vorzak knew.“I don’t have any living relatives, but I do know who my ancestors were, at least on my father’s side.
“I tracked the generations years ago, trying to connect with my history, I guess.Anyway, my great-great grandmother was a witch and all reports claim that she could see the future.Farinto the future.
“I’veneverhad that power, but if that’s suddenly changed, we’re screwed because if the shadow army’s real, and not just a figment of my imagination, they’re coming here.My dreams are all about them invading Blackthorn Academy.”
“How the hell do we prepare to fight a shadow army?”Elliot demanded.
That, right there, was the dilemma in a nutshell.
How to fight the shadows.
How to stop a killer who was more shadow than man anymore.
Vorzak was furious that my dreams were haunted and that I wasn’t getting as much sleep as I should.He hated that he couldn’t protect me from my own mind, and so every night, he loved me into a stupor, hoping to wear me out so much that perhaps the dreams would let me be for one night.
They never did, though.
Even with the threat of Lydrel Zowen hanging over all our heads, time marched on.
We continued to study and ride Nika (or more accurately, get tossed off her) and before we knew it, the day of The Gauntlet arrived.
Despite all our preparations, I was pretty certain it was going to be an epic disaster.
That outcome was pretty much guaranteed considering my team was made up of Mikaela, Kasi, Vorzak and me, and I was the only one successfully riding Nika every single time.
Mikaela was still too timid to do much more than clutch Nika and squeal as she barreled through the air.
Kasi was much better at keeping her seat, but Shadow had a bad habit of hitching a ride as Kasi was walking out the door.
As a result, Kasi had started making Jahrdran examine every inch of her body before heading to class, just to make sure Shadow wasn’t riding her ass (or other body part) in tattoo form.