7
Ness
Get up,the voice commanded.
Knowing that I was still asleep, I burrowed deeper into my dream. The sun shone overhead, warming my skin with its brutal rays. An ice-cream cone melted in my hand. I brought it to my lips in a feeble attempt to salvage it before it became a puddle at my feet.
You are mine. Do my bidding and get up.
I shuddered, suddenly frigid. My breath fogged in the air before me. As I watched the small cloud evaporate, the world before me fell away. It shrank, as if I were falling backwards. I reached out, trying to grasp for something to hold onto. My hands were empty, even the ice-cream had disappeared.
Kill him, the voice said again.
My backside hit the ground. Pain reverberated up my spine, making me wince.
Upon opening my eyes, I saw red. Panic made my heart race until I realized I was in a red room. Processing where I was didn’t really help me calm down any. I got to my feet and started toward a wall when the voice returned, so loud that it shook me down to my bones.
KILL RYDER.
My stomach hit the floor. I rocked on my feet before throwing myself forward in a run. There was nowhere to go, though. The red room didn’t have any doors or windows. I slapped my hands against the walls, searching for a weak spot.
This wasn’t real, though. There was no drywall that I could break through. This was a dream.
If that was the case, then I could wake up. I pinched my arm so hard that I cringed. Still, nothing happened. Pain stung my skin, and that was all. I opened my eyes and looked around. Sometimes, I would wake if I was about to die in a dream.
The ritual arcana swirled around my feet. I could feel it licking at my ankles and climbing my calves. I had no idea if I would die for real if I killed myself in this dream. It was a desperate thought, a last-ditch option so long as this unfamiliar arcana wrapped around me.
You’re going to watch him die, Vanessa. You’re going to watch the life leave him. After he’s gone, you will be all alone. You will have no purpose other than to serve me. As it always should have been.
I knew that voice. Alvin spoke into my head, making my skull rattle. Just as recognition rocked through me, the ritual arcana shot up from the floor. Tendrils of magic wrapped around my wrists and dragged me to my knees. I fought back, but the magic was stronger. In this red room, I felt like I was made of paper. If I pulled too hard, I might tear in half.
Falling forward, my palms hit the floor. I lifted my head only for a window to appear before me. It zoomed closer and closer until it obscured my field of view. I blinked and found myself looking out of my own eyes.
The dark bedroom surrounded me instead of the red room. I couldn’t feel the sheets on my skin, though. Instead, I still felt the cold ties of the ritual arcana on my wrists. While my other senses were trapped in the red room, my vision was here.
I kicked off the blankets and threw a pillow to the ground. Behind me, a dim source of light illuminated the wall before me. The soft blue glow lit the way when I stood and shuffled around the end of the bed.
Ryder’s hunched form was backlit by the light in his hands. I realized, distantly, that he clutched a phone. I couldn’t hear anything. If I was lucky, he would be on a call with Bri. If she heard what was going on, then she would be able to come help.
Alvin’s laughter filled my head. I could almost envision him pointing down at me, mocking my weakness, as he laughed. I growled, but the sound didn’t make it into the real world. My hound and I were trapped in the red room.
Ryder’s head snapped up. His lips parted. If he spoke, I couldn’t hear it. His hand lowered, the light from the phone dimming as it dipped. Ryder reached out with his free hand, but I came to a halt before him.
Kill. Use your command. Tell him to sit still. Kill him while he’s helpless.
I whimpered, the cry turning into a snarl. Thrashing against the ritual arcana, I fought to break free. I managed to lift my fists from the floor and slam them against the window before me. My vision shook, but I was still trapped inside myself.
“No, no, no,” I whispered. “Don’t speak. Don’t do it.”
I clutched my hands to my chest and searched for the ice that should have been inside me. It wasn’t there, though. I wasn’t inhabiting my body. Instead, I was trapped somewhere within myself, far away from the ice that had been protecting me.
I had no way of knowing if the ice was still there. It couldn’t have melted easily. I’d been protecting it, fostering the chill so that the arcana wouldn’t be able to get inside me. There was no way that the ice was gone.
Speak, Alvin commanded.
Ryder had fought my command before. And, recently, my command had been weaker than usual. Maybe this time Ryder would be able to fight it off before I could do anything. I didn’t know how many times I could use the command. I’d used so much of the arcana earlier, and I hadn’t slept enough to replenish my energy.
Alvin didn’t know that Jackson and Marcus had attacked us. He had no idea that I’d used my command on Jackson today, or else Alvin would have chosen another night to strike. This would work in my favor.