Nick Shea awakened in the middle of the night without knowing why. He was getting a bit bored with their unexpected family vacation on Bardsey Island, but at least Isabelle was there. There was something fascinating about Rafferty’s adopted daughter. She wasn’t like any of the girls Nick knew at school. Was it because of her accent? He thought there was something more. She got this look sometimes, as if she knew something special, a secret or a mystery. Nick couldn’t figure it out.
Maybe when he finally got his dragon shifter powers, the truth would be clear. He couldn’t wait for that.
The house was quiet and there was no sound of traffic at all. No fire engines ever. No internet connection or cellphone service. It was like they’d gone off the end of the world. Nick wondered again when they’d be going home to Minneapolis.
His brothers were sound asleep in the room they were sharing, but he had the sense that someone was awake. Maybe it was one of those weird old guys, the ones he couldn’t understand. He eased out of bed and crept down the hall in his flannel pj’s. The wooden floor was cold underfoot but he wasn’t going back for his socks.
Not when he saw Isabelle at the bottom of the stairs. Her fair hair caught the moonlight and she glanced back when the top step squeaked under his foot. She held a finger to her lips and Nick nodded, then continued down the stairs to her side.
She must have been awakened by the same thing.
He felt excited when he reached her side, as if they were a team. Isabelle was two years older than him and a bit taller, even though Nick was the tallest boy in his class. She pointed to the back door, which was slightly ajar, and he nodded agreement.
They stepped out into the night as one and he caught his breath at the coldness of the air. He could smell the sea and the full moon cast a brilliant light. It could have been the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night. Even so, he could see zillions of stars overhead. It was so dark here, at the end of the world.
Isabelle, though, was staring into the distance. He followed her gaze and saw the old weird guys behind the mound, the one that Rafferty said had once been a cave for the Sleeper. It was hard to believe that anyone could have slept for a thousand years or so, but Marco had that mysterious smile, the one that made Nick believe. And the weird old guys were supposed to have been enchanted for that long, too. That’s why no one could understand them.
Isabelle pointed and Nick nodded. They crept toward the old guys, who were in a circle. The dew was cold on his feet, but Nick didn’t care. As he and Isabelle came closer, he could hear that the ancient Pyr were chanting. That hitchhiker guy was with them, the one he’d seen around, and he seemed to be leading the chant. Nick and Isabelle crouched behind the rubble of the cavern to watch and listen.
Nick couldn’t understand the words. Isabelle shook her head that she couldn’t either. But they both stared when red light began to swirl before the hitchhiker. He laughed lightly and moved his hands as if he was gathering it into a ball. His chant became louder and the other guys were louder, too. The red light swirled and danced, like a thousand individual lights gathered into a cloud. He spun it in his hands and the light became brighter and brighter. Nick realized that the red dots of light were multiplying.
The guy moved into the middle of the circle as the sphere became bigger and brighter. His arms were spread wide as he kept gathering it and building it. The chant was making the earth vibrate beneath their feet and Nick felt Isabelle’s hand close over his. They clutched hands as the light doubled and redoubled again, the red light illuminating the faces of the entire group.
The chant became more insistent and grew in volume. The other guys got to their feet and began to dance in a circle, stamping their feet in time with the chant. The sphere grew bigger and brighter, as if the leader was drawing the power from somewhere else.