Sapphira said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb, “and Gabriel’s standing right next to you giving you a hug.”
Ashley swiveled her head. For a brief second, she thought she saw a young man extending an arm around her shoulder, but the vision quickly faded. “There’s no one next to me.”
“Oh, he’s there, all right.” Sapphira covered a grin with her fingers. “You just can’t see him.”
“Another ghost?” Walter asked.
“Don’t get me thinking about ghosts again,” Ashley snapped. “This place is already creepy enough.”
Walter raised his hands in a surrender pose. “I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers, but I’ve seen lots of stuff weirder than ghosts lately.”
Blowing out a loud sigh, Ashley shook her head. “You’re right. … I’m sorry. I’m wound up so tight, I’m about to pop a spring.” She shuffled toward Sapphira and Walter. With every step, she imagined a ghost following her, raising a shiver. Perching on the edge of the platform, she looked down at Sapphira. “There’s so much weird stuff going on, I don’t know what to believe.”
Sapphira reached up and laid a gentle hand on Ashley’s forearm. “Let me see if I can show him to you. That should ease your mind.”
“Fair enough.” Ashley firmed her jaw and nodded. “Seeing is believing.”
Sapphira addressed the space next to Ashley. “Gabriel, can you shrink enough to fit in my hands?” She waited a second and cupped her hands together. “Good. Just float up here and let’s see if I can make you glow.” She blinked at Ashley and Walter. “You might want to stand back. I’m not sure how this is going to work.”
Walter scooted behind Sapphira while Ashley stepped close to Karen and the wall of giants. A tiny flame sprouted from Sapphira’s hands, then three tongues of fire that rose several inches, like a blazing flower with flaming leaflets. A radiant silhouette formed in the center, a boy with dragon wings on his back. He glowed orange, his eyes trained on Ashley as he reached for her and pretended to pull her close in a loving embrace. Finally, he seemed to let out a sigh, bowing his head with his hands folded at his waist.
“He can’t speak,” Sapphira explained, her blue eyes brighter than ever. “But at least you can see him now.”
Ashley felt her mouth drop open. “That’s … that’s my brother?”
Walter leaned over Sapphira’s shoulder from behind. “He’s an anthrozil! Cool!”
With a breathy blow from her lips, Sapphira extinguished the flames. As Gabriel faded away, she let her hands fall to her sides. “Like I told you, your dragon sister is here, too. Roxil was born to Makaidos and Thigocia long before they became your human parents, but she’s also in an energy state, so you can’t see her either.”
“This is just too much!” Ashley laid her palms on her head and closed her eyes. “I think my brain is choking!”
Walter covered Ashley’s hands with his own. “How do you give a brain a Heimlich maneuver?”
Ashley jerked her arms down and spun toward him. “Walter!” she shouted. “This is serious! If Roxil’s really here, then Arramos lied, and my mother’s in big trouble.”
“Sorry.” Walter raised his hands again and backed away. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
Turning to Sapphira, Ashley softened her tone. “I apologize for my outburst, but I need to get everything straight in my head.” She took a deep breath and tried to smile, but it felt like a queasy grin. “Maybe I should start with these giants. If they’re programmed to wake up at any minute, things could get ugly around here.”
“That’s probably true,” Sapphira said. “Mardon isn’t around to give them orders, but he did train them to fight, and Morgan taught them to hate. If you know anything about Morgan, then you know what that could mean.”
“Know about her?” Walter wrinkled his nose as though smelling a foul stench. “She wanted to poison the whole Earth with some kind of weird gas, so she probably didn’t spend her time teaching the giants table manners.” He glanced toward the spot where they climbed down the rope. “Getting out of here as fast as possible makes a lot of sense to me.”
Ashley walked up to the wall cavity again and took Karen’s limp hand into hers. “But we have to stay here for Karen, whether she wakes up or not.”
“I didn’t mean me.” Walter nodded at Ashley. “You two go. It’s a long way up, so you’d better get moving.”
“Uh-uh!” Ashley shook her finger.