Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,11
me about Nix. Information rewarded with information.
“More and more shifters are showing up at the checkpoints,” Ciarán offered, skirting around the topic I wanted to hear about while still giving me a little piece of life outside these godforsaken walls.
Ciarán shoved a fistful of candy into his pockets before moving on to the next jar and repeating the gesture.
“Does that convert back into your own dreams? Or the rebellion?” I asked, as I watched him upend a jar of jellybeans into his pockets with a clink of glass. I couldn’t figure out any other reason he’d be stuffing his pants with candy.
Ciarán chuckled, but he didn’t answer, leaving the question to percolate.
“What are the leaders doing with everyone?” I inquired, following his conversation and trusting Ciar enough not to pop out of my dreams without giving me an update on my mate. He had no reason to be cruel. “Isn’t the rebellion afraid they’re going to let a spy past their gates?” I mused, truly worried.
Ciarán’s face was soft as he replied, “Don’t worry, bro. We’re being careful. Nix is safe.”
I threw my head back and swallowed, my Adam’s apple bobbing as I worked to believe him. The Councilmen might hate every rebellion member, but the red X painted on Nix was the brightest target. If they saw a way to take her down for her transgressions against them, they would do it without question.
“We’ve got Damien working on vetting people’s intentions by mind reading, and I’m helping too. Souls are funny things. Good, bad, dark, evil, light, fluffy, pink... you never know what you’re going to find.” Ciar plopped five gumballs into his mouth, stashing as many as he could in his cheeks before starting to chew. Waggling his eyebrows, he held up a finger in a ‘wait for it’ gesture while he blew the world’s largest imaginary bubble.
“Can you tell them I said hello?” I requested, knowing the sentiment didn’t reflect nearly enough of what I truly wished to tell them. The bubble grew to the size of his face and beyond until I was staring at a bulb of Pepto Bismol pink. I knew Ciar was trying to cheer me up, it was a nice gesture I appreciated, but even Ciar and his goofy self couldn’t seem to snap me from my melancholy. To be honest, nothing would until I saw Nix again.
The bubble popped, the pieces of gum turning into little pink butterflies that flew away as Ciarán wove his dream magic.
“They miss you, you know.” Ciar misted and appeared right next to me, the facade of sweets and his candy store fading away until we stood in the ether. His hand landed on my arm as he gave it a gentle squeeze.
A trapeze appeared above us suddenly, and then Ciar was jumping to grab hold of it before hooking his knees over the bar and hanging upside down as he swayed. “Hang in there, Gummy,” he called with a salute, as he tossed a handful of the gummy snakes and worms he’d gathered from his pocket to batter against my head. He gave me an exaggerated wink as I sputtered before evaporating in a haze of clear mist.
“Wait!” I shouted, as black faded into the edges of my dream and I started to panic, fighting back the deep REM sleep that would bring nothing but the abyss. “We have a standing agreement. You’re supposed to tell me about Nix!”
“What about her?” Ciarán’s voice came at me from all sides, everywhere and nowhere at once.
“Anything! Everything! What about how she’s doing to start?” I threw my hands away from my side as I spun in a slow circle, trying to catch even a glimmer of Ciarán in the deepening onyx shadows of my mind. I didn’t remember my dreams ever being so dark before, but maybe it was some kind of incarnation of my mental state at the moment. The less happy I was, the darker the natural state of my dreams became.
Stark silence permeated my dream and I balled my fists, willing myself to stay in this sleep state.
Nix, I begged the impending ebony.
Mate, my Basilisk hissed in my head, mournfully coiling up, just as upset about being away from her as I was.
Slowly, the darkness yielded to color, the bland scene blooming into dusky blues and warm golds. There was a cabana of sorts with sheer fabric draped in the place of walls, and the sound of crashing waves created a peaceful white noise