Dreams and Shadows - By C. Robert Cargill Page 0,104

a voice.

“It’s just a turtle,” said another.

“No. It’s a man!”

Colby kicked up toward the surface, struggling to make his way to fresh air. He shot through the water like a rocket, breaking through with a loud splash. His lungs barked out stale air, and he wheezed desperately to replace it. Behind him, two small splashes.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” asked one of the sisters.

A clawed hand grasped his ankle, dragging him back beneath the water. He sank toward the bottom, flailing for the surface as it drifted slowly away. The nixie grappling with him climbed his body, embraced him face-to-face. She grinned, anxious to drown the intruder for his trespass.

“Now, just who do you think you . . . ,” she said, her voice stopping midsentence, trailing into worry. Her expression promptly changed. “Oh my . . . I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, horrified at the face before her. She kicked with her fin and launched them both upward, breaking the surface, throwing him off her as far as she could. Then she swam away, terrified, as if he bore the plague.

“What are you doing?” screamed one of her sisters.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please don’t hurt us!” she pleaded.

“What are you going on about?” asked her other sister.

“Him. It’s the boy. The boy sorcerer.”

“Colby?” they asked together. They hadn’t recognized him at first, but they’d seen him around. Everyone knew who Colby was, whether he knew them or not. And they were terrified of him. Without hesitating, the two sisters abandoned the third to the surface, disappearing beneath the waves, leaving her to stare, agape, at Colby. Colby had no idea what to make of what was going on.

“Are you going to kill me?” she asked.

Colby shook his head. “Are you going to kill me?”

“No,” she said.

“Then let me swim to shore and you never have to see me again.”

She nodded and Colby splashed his way back to the embankment across the lake.

He pulled himself ashore, breathless, scared out of his wits, looking back out at the water. The nixies were gone, having vanished beneath the waves. He’d done it, but he wasn’t at all sure what it was. It was probably best not to think about it. With the favor done, the Wild Hunt should not hunt for Colby’s soul, and whoever Jared Thatcher was, he was least where he most likely belonged.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

ONE NIGHT ONLY

After a week of begging, pleading, and cajoling his slovenly potato of a boss into letting his band perform once more, Ewan got his chance. A local band had been hitting up the owner for more money, while Limestone Kingdom was willing to play for free. The owner came around. From then on, what time Ewan didn’t spend curled up with Nora he spent in his bassist’s garage, practicing their new songs.

Something was different about him. Color had returned to his skin—the pale, sickly white replaced by a fleshy, earthy pink. He smiled more. His eyes seethed with a fire, as if he’d been shown something incredible and couldn’t wait to tell the world about it. There was a spring in his step, an interminable energy to his every movement. He oozed confidence; one could almost smell his charisma on the air.

Ewan Bradford was a fucking rock star. And it was time the rest of the world finally got the chance to know it.

Plugging in his amp, the place felt meager and small, almost as if it were unworthy of what he was about to unleash. He smiled, shook that feeling off, reminding himself that the magic was in the crowd, not in the rat-trap fire hazard of a club. There was a certain poetry to playing this music here first—a final go fuck yourself before his band made it. Something had clicked, their music finally just right. It had balls, it was layered; for the first time in his life, Ewan felt as if he had something to say. The drummer’s sister stood offstage with a video camera, recording the show, the bassist’s buddy, a sound technician, laying it down on tape.

All that Ewan needed now was to see Nora, to get one last playful glance from her before striking the chord that would mark the end of his old life and the beginning of the new. He glanced around, hoping she’d picked the same spot where he’d first seen her sitting, but she wasn’t there. People were still pouring in, eager not to hear Limestone Kingdom, but the