“Have you ever tried it?”
Callan sidestepped a group that suddenly poured out of a yellow door right next to us. Once he had returned to my side, he looked down at me while we continued walking. “Dreamcore?”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head. “No. When you’re the King of Metal’s executioner and bodyguard, wandering the streets lost in a dreamland is a really fucking bad idea.” A curious expression blew across his features as he studied me. “Have you?”
“No. I don’t like situations that I can’t control.”
“Shocker.”
I gave his shoulder a shove, which did nothing to actually throw him off balance, so I settled for glaring at him instead. “Like you’re one to talk.”
While letting out a soft chuckle, he draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer. “Fair enough.”
We continued down the street in silence until we reached one of the larger parks in Malgrave. Or at least on this side of the river, since I hadn’t seen enough of the north side to know what it contained. The afternoon sun kept beating down on us, making sweat trickle down my spine. On streets like this, between the buildings, it felt as though the hot air wasn’t moving at all, so I was very much looking forward to the walk through the park since it at least offered a bit more room for the air to circulate.
“Alright, so we have the dreamcore,” I began as we reached the edge of the park. “How do we get in?”
“I register as a participant.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s the only way to get access.”
“Are you sure you can handle that?”
He shot me a flat look. I chuckled and gave him a quick rise and fall of my eyebrows.
A merciful breeze swept across the grass, making the leaves on the trees and bushes before us rustle. Both Callan and I let out a sigh at the respite it offered from the afternoon heat. I stepped out from under Callan’s arm and fluffed out the fabric of my dress that had been sticking to my skin as another soft wind caressed our bodies.
The park we had entered was about the same size as the larger ones that could be found in both Eldar and Castlebourne. So not big generally speaking, but sizeable for being inside a city. Grass stretched out towards the buildings that framed the park farther away, but the trees and bushes and beds of flowers that filled it split the park into different sections. A wide path made of white stone ran right through the park, but there were also smaller paths that branched off and curved around to different areas for those who wanted to wander rather than just cross it.
“So how do we get you registered?” I asked as we made our way down the main path.
“We’re heading there right now. We just need…” Callan trailed off and turned to stare towards the grass on our right. “Whoa. Did you see that?”
Uneasiness slithered up my spine, and my hands instinctively drifted closer together. “See what?”
“That fox. I’ve never seen one that looks like…” His arm shot up and he pointed towards a low bush with thick dark green leaves. “There!”
I frowned at it. “What? There’s no fox, Callan.”
“Yes, there is. It’s right there. Eating those pale blue mushrooms.” He cocked his head. “I wonder if that’s why it’s pink. And glowing.”
“What the fuck are you…”
Realization crackled through me. The white smoke. That guy at the drug den had blown white smoke right into Callan’s face. Don’t tell me he…?
“It’s moving!” Callan called, and then bolted straight across the grass.
For a single second, I just stared at the damn force mage as he took off running towards a set of bushes. A groan tore from my throat. “Shit.”
Then I sprinted after him. Branches flapped in fear as he elbowed aside a pair of bushes with dark red leaves while racing towards hell knew what. I ran around the now traumatized vegetation instead as I followed him.
Placing a hand on the wooden backrest of a bench, he deftly leaped over it and landed gracefully on the other side before continuing forward. My dress fluttered around my legs as I hurtled after him.
Hell damn it. He was high and delusional, but he somehow managed to retain all of his physical abilities?
Alarm pulsed through me as Callan took a sharp left around a thick hedge and disappeared from view. If I lost sight of him now, I might not be able to find him again. Why did he have to be so damn fast?
My ponytail whipped in the air as I skidded around the hedge as well.
And slammed right into Callan’s muscled back.
Air exploded from my lungs as my sprint came to an abrupt halt against Callan’s rock-hard body. I stumbled backwards, tripping on the back of my skirt, and crashed down on the grass. What little breath I had managed to draw disappeared out in a huff as I hit the ground.
“Whoa,” Callan said, completely oblivious to the murderous glare I was searing into his back. “I’ve never seen foxes this big. And look! Look at all the mushrooms.”
Pushing to my feet, I rubbed my sore ass while flicking a quick glance around the area. There were no foxes here. And no mushrooms. Only grass that had somehow managed to stay fresh and green even in the heat of summer, probably thanks to a water mage, and a series of dense hedges that boxed in the area on three sides. I glanced over my shoulder to find one of the small side paths snaking along the ground a short distance from us.
“Yeah, the foxes are great,” I said as I turned back to Callan. “Now come on, let’s go.”
He let out a giddy laugh. It was such an odd sound that I actually gaped at him. I hadn’t even known that Callan Blackwell, of all people, was even capable of making such a sound.
His eyes were unfocused and there was a goofy grin on his face as he walked a few steps forward while holding out his hand. “Hello.” He moved his hand as if he was patting something. “Aren’t you a pretty one?”
My composure shattered completely. Bracing my hands on my knees, I doubled over and laughed so loudly that I startled the small blue bird that had been hiding in the foliage. It flapped away with frantic speed while I laughed like an absolute lunatic.
A few steps away, Callan was walking around in a circle, patting his invisible foxes.
Tears welled up in my eyes. Straightening, I wiped them away and drew in a breath to compose myself again right as Callan crouched down and picked up something nonexistent from the ground.
“Here,” he said as he held it out to the empty air. “Do you want a mushroom?”
I broke down again and laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed until my stomach hurt and I was gasping for breath.
By all hell, I was never going to let him forget this. Ever.
Clearing my throat, I straightened and wiped away more tears while sucking in deep steadying breaths. Callan looked to be feeding the foxes mushrooms, so I wandered over to him and put a hand on his arm. He looked up at me, and his eyes rolled slightly before he managed to fix them on me.
“If you give the foxes any more mushrooms, they’ll get sick,” I said gently while trying to hold in my laughter.
Callan blinked at me and then looked down to where the foxes were presumably standing. “Really?”
“Yes.” I slid my arm around his and started steering him away. “Come on, let’s leave them in peace.”
We made it all of two steps before he moved off to point at another invisible mushroom. I followed him and took his arm again, making another effort to get him away from there. That time, we managed four steps. Then he was wandering away again, saying something about how the foxes were following.
I massaged my brow as I once more went to collect him and steer him back towards the path.
It was like trying to herd a particularly distracted cat.
After a few more tries, we made it onto the small side path that I hoped would take us in the right direction. An old man frowned in confusion at Callan as he passed us, but when I shot him a withering glare, he scurried away without a word.
Callan kept trying to wander off, so we made very slow progress through the park. I had tried to kill the effects of the drug with my magic, but since dreamcore was also made by magic, it hadn’t worked. So I just kept a firm grip on Callan’s arm and dragged him back to the path every time he tried to drift away.
A slender young woman with dark hair and a nondescript face passed us. She walked without hesitation, but kept her gaze on the ground as she slipped past and continued in the opposite direction.
Ice skittered across my bones.
Fuck.
That woman. That woman was one of the people who had been standing at the back when Johnson and Kane and his friends attacked us in the alley. I almost didn’t recognize her because she had such a bland and forgettable face, which was probably the point.
I whipped my head around, scanning in every direction.
Shit, shit, shit.
We were about to walk right into an ambush. And my damn force mage was picking invisible mushrooms and chasing pink glowing foxes.
I snapped my gaze between the path ahead and where the woman had now disappeared around a bend. If she came from that direction, it probably meant that we would be attacked from the front. My gaze darted back to the curved path. Or from behind. And if we didn’t show up soon, they would probably come in here to find us.
Alarm blared inside my skull.
The front or the back? Which side would the ambush be on?
Dread drew its cold fingers down my spine.
Both. They always attacked from both sides.
Fuck. We needed to get out of here. I couldn’t fight them all with Callan lost in his damn dreamland.
Taking a firm grip on Callan’s arm, I forcibly dragged him towards the hedge the framed the path on our left.
“Where are we going?” he asked, a confused note to his voice.
“The foxes ran in there,” I said, and pointed towards the tall hedge. “Hurry! We need to catch up to them.”
With my hand still locked around Callan’s wrist, I stalked right into the bush. Branches ripped at my dress and scratched my arms as I elbowed my way through it. Thankfully, Callan followed without resisting. I gritted my teeth as I kept pushing my way towards the other side.
The green bush rustled in annoyance behind our backs, trying to get its branches back into the proper shape, when we finally stumbled out on the other side. I flicked my gaze across the area. There was no path here, and fortunately no people either.
My heart lurched as I swore I could hear footsteps from the other side of the hedge. A moment later, my fears were confirmed when Johnson’s voice cut through the air.
“Where are they?”
“They were here,” a woman’s voice answered. “I just passed them.”
I yanked Callan forward. We had to get out of sight. At least until the drugs were out of his system.
Massive rhododendron bushes covered large areas of the grass ahead. Their pink and purple and red flowers lit up the otherwise completely green area like colorful lights. I dragged Callan towards one in the middle right as the hedge we had squeezed through began rustling.
“Look,” I whispered to Callan, and pointed towards our left.
He swung in that direction, making both his attention and balance waver.
I used that opportunity to give him a hard shove right into the rhododendron bush. Then I leaped in after him.
The rustling sound was covered by the same noise that Johnson and his friends were making while trying to get through the hedge.
Tripping over tangled branches, I fell down and landed right on top of Callan, who had also ended up on the ground. Leaves and twigs clung to our clothes and hair and poked against my body as I straddled Callan’s chest and slapped a hand across his mouth right as someone else spoke up.
“Crap,” Johnson swore from a short distance away. “They’re not here. Which means that they made a run for one of the exits. Take the east one! I’ll go west.”
My heart slammed against my ribs as I waited to see if it was a ruse. But the sound of running feet indicated that they probably were moving off. I still remained straddling Callan’s chest, keeping my hand firmly over his mouth. He just stared up at the sky.
I kept us like that inside the purple rhododendron bush since we couldn’t risk running into Johnson and the others while Callan was still high on dreamcore.
After about fifteen minutes, Callan’s eyes slowly began sliding back into focus. Then he blinked. Shook his head. Then blinked again.
Heaving a deep sigh, I at last took my hand from his mouth. “How much do you remember?”
Callan only glanced around the dense bush that hid us from view. Then he pushed himself up into a sitting position, sliding me down so that I was straddling his lap instead. Dragging a hand through his hair, he cleared his throat before meeting my gaze again.
“All of it,” he replied.
Amusement swirled up inside me, and I couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across my mouth. “I see.”
He drew his eyebrows down in a scowl. Embarrassment colored his cheeks a faint red shade. It just made me let out a satisfied laugh that informed him that I also remembered everything. And would never forget it.
Reaching up, he grabbed my jaw before leveling a commanding stare on me. When he spoke, his voice was low and deadly. “If you ever breathe a single word about this to anyone, I will kill you. Slowly. Intimately. And very painfully.”
Another smug laugh spilled from my lips. With that wicked grin still on my face, I lifted a hand and gave his cheek a couple of brisk pats.
“As always, you’re welcome to try, pretty boy.”
