Michael (The Airel Saga, Book 2) - By Aaron Patterson Page 0,25

XIV

A HUM.

A low pulse reverberated through my body.

It went in, faded out near to completeness, and then came back stronger and stronger until it felt like it was going to explode me, rattle me to pieces from the inside out.

I opened my eyes and saw it. A monster standing over a sea of blood.

My wrists were broken—both of them. I lifted my hands to inspect the damage but they hung limply from the ends of my arms. Sharp pain shot up my arm and into my heart. What was this? A dream? I could remember something familiar about this place. The jagged black earth, pointed and clustered like shark teeth. Barren woodlands, gaping mountains ringing the valley where I stood. And a smashed cage all around me.

The robed creature was motionless save for one hand, which was lifted up against me; pointing at me.

I stepped forward. The sea of blood flowed in waves and was about to cover my feet. But it wasn’t blood—it was thousands, millions of small red stones. Each one pulsing, each one moving in hideous orgiastic rhythm to one another.

Bloodstones.

I could hear them as they moved. They grew in number, sounding like shards of glass clinking together. The red color was striking against the black landscape, vivid. The sky was a gray smudge, crowded with clouds.

Take it, Airel. You are the end.

I heard a familiar voice in my head, but it wasn’t She. It was another.

Something about the whole scene was different this time. The robed figure was smaller. I walked closer to it, the Bloodstones breaking under my feet like the bodies of enormous insects. “What do you want? Why am I here?”

It continued to stand with hand outstretched.

I walked closer still. With each step of my hiking boot, the wet crunching sound made me want to scream in disgust. It sounded horrible. “There are so many…”

You are the key, Airel. You died and yet live. Now another must die.

I was close now. Its head was down, the hood covering all. I couldn’t see what—or who—it was. “Who are you? Key to what?” My hands throbbed with pain, otherwise I would have reached out and pulled back the hood.

The Bloodstone tide was rising; they hummed and pulsed through me louder and louder, rising up to my knees. I couldn’t breathe.

The hand came down.

The head was lifted up. Inside was total blackness. No eyes, no face. Just nothing.

“The key!” It said. No. Not it; I knew this voice. It couldn’t be.

Now the pulsing grew exponentially. Bloodstones boiled out from under the robe of the creature. The tide rose up to my chest. I tried to get free but my hands screamed in protest each time I reached down to push up from the billowing pile.

I looked over my shoulder. The huge valley was filling up with them. Red as blood. Boiling in from everywhere. The sound was deafening. “No. NO!”

It reached up with long white fingers and pulled back the hood. Red hair billowed out. Kim smiled at me with flaming eyes. She grabbed my arm.

“No—No—NO!”

I jolted awake.

The seatbelt yanked me back, giving me whiplash. I growled in confusion and rubbed my shoulder where the belt had dug in.

“You okay?” Kim was leaning over me, looking up from the back seat. She had her hand on my arm but I pulled it away, hugging myself.

“Geez! Fine, I was just trying to be nice.” She sat back in her seat, folded her arms and pouted. “I’ll just sit here in the super comfy plastic straitjacket chair, don’t mind me.”

“No, no, sorry. I just had a nightmare…” I reached back and took her hand, pulling her forward. “I’m sorry, Kim. I was just scared from the…er, dream.”

Michael glanced over at me while driving. I gathered he had been watching the whole thing. “You were saying something about a key in your sleep.” He eyed me suspiciously.

“I can’t remember,” I lied.

“Well, it was freaky. You were mumbling incoherently and then just screamed. Loud.”

“Yeah, I just about peed my pants.” Kim said with a snort. “Where are we? I think I dozed off too.”

My stomach tightened into a little ball. I wonder if she had the same dream. Nah, she would have told me…unless she can’t remember. I settled back into my seat and pretended to stare out the window.

We stopped at a truck stop in Mountain Home to eat breakfast. I excused myself for a moment and took a little walk through the chrome section. Truckers…only a truck stop