Aspen and the Dream Walkers (10 page)

“Wait, stop.” Sandy gasped, holding up her
arms to defend herself and shifting back and forth as she
laughed.

Aspen danced around her, looking for a
target. She was too scared to shock her friend’s bare skin, so she
settled for the back pocket of Sandy’s jeans. Sandy yelped and
jumped into the air, even though the shock was mild because of the
leather strap Aspen wore. Luckily it seemed to give her more
control of her power.

“No more, no more, I give up!”

Aspen and Sandy were still laughing as they
entered the small courtyard in front of the main building. The bell
rang and students raced around them to get to class on time.

They were stopped short by Miriam, who stood
directly in front of them, blocking their path.

“Aspen Walker!” she rasped. “You’re acting
like a kid.”

“We are kids, Miriam, in case you haven’t
noticed.” Sandy glared at her, hands on her hips. “We are acting
our age.”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, trailer trash,”
Miriam spat at Sandy.

Static electricity hummed around Sandy,
making her pale blond hair rise around her cheeks. Her eyes
sparkled with anger. “What did you just call me?”

“You heard me. You’re new at our school and
you’re a nobody.”

Sandy lifted her chin and stepped forward
menacingly. “It takes one to know one.”

Aspen’s head barely reached her stepsister’s
chin, but she pushed Sandy back and stood between her and Miriam.
“Leave her alone. She hasn’t done anything to you at all.”

Miriam smirked. The ugly grin didn’t look
good on her. “What are you two up to? You’re as thick as thieves
lately. Don’t you know she’ll ditch you once she finds out you
don’t have any money?”

Aspen’s temper rose suddenly. Tendrils of
power licked within her fingertips, and the hair on her arms lifted
up.

“Leave. My. Friend. Alone!” she said,
enunciating each word forcefully.

“Or else?” Miriam gloated. “What can a
featherweight like you do, huh? You’re just as stupid as your
mother.” She reached out and poked her finger into Aspen’s
chest.

The anger building inside Aspen exploded as
Miriam’s touch triggered a blast of energy so powerful that it
frizzled her stepsister’s red curls and blew her right out of her
stilettos. With a jolt, Miriam flew backward and hit the wall, her
head connecting with the brick behind her with a loud thud. Aspen
gasped as the girl’s eyes rolled back in her head and she slid down
the wall in slow motion.

Sandy pushed her back. “Wait. Don’t touch
her,” she cried.

“I didn’t,” she murmured to herself.

Sandy glanced around to make sure that no one
had seen what had happened. Luckily there were no witnesses. The
courtyard was empty since most of the students were already in
class. She bent down and grasped Miriam’s chin in the palm of her
hand. The girl was quiet for a moment, then groaned as she regained
consciousness.

“Ow, my head hurts,” Miriam mumbled. “What
happened?”

Sandy turned to Aspen and made a shushing
motion, then crouched next to Miriam. “You tripped on your high
heels and fell against the wall. You’ve hit your head. I think
you’ve got a lump already.”

Miriam reached up to feel her head, grimacing
as she touched a sore spot.

Picking up her stepsister’s shoes, Aspen
slipped them back onto her feet. “These shoes are dangerous—you
should try wearing something with a lower heel. Why don’t we take
you to the nurse to get your head checked out? That bump is
starting to grow.”

Miriam groaned and allowed Sandy to pull her
up. Aspen was too scared to touch her, so she stood back and
waited. Her stepsister wobbled unsteadily on the shoes and then
took a few tentative steps forward.

The three girls walked slowly through the
courtyard into the empty hallway and followed the signs to the
school nurse’s office. Sandy knocked on the door and handed Miriam
over to an older woman dressed in white. She led Miriam to a bed
and thanked the girls for their help. Once she’d written down their
class numbers, she pressed an intercom button and spoke to their
teachers. Aspen and Sandy were excused for being late, and she
shooed them out of the office.

Aspen’s eyes were huge and she breathed a
sigh of relief as they left the room. “Oh my word, what did I
do?”

Sandy laughed. “You should see your face.
That look is priceless.”

“Stop it,” Aspen said with a giggle. “I
thought I’d killed her. Did you see the way she flew through the
air?” She straightened her green top and felt for the dream
catcher, which was strangely hot.

“You don’t know your strength yet, Princess.
I told you not to shock me. You’ll have to learn to control your
power, otherwise we’re going to have fried students everywhere,”
Sandy joked.

Aspen smiled broadly. “You’ll have to teach
me tonight.” The two girls hugged each other outside of Sandy’s
class.

“See you later,” Sandy whispered before she
slipped inside her art classroom.

Dylan waited for Aspen as she rejoined her
English class and grabbed her by the wrist as she sat down. Her
heart thumped with pleasure. She wanted to ask him about the girl
at her party, but she was too shaken after the incident with
Miriam.

“What happened?” he whispered tersely, a deep
crease appearing between his eyebrows.

“Nothing. Miriam just got a taste of her own
medicine, that’s all.”

He ran a hand through his hair, and she
wanted to reach up and push a wisp of hair out of his eyes.

“What did you do to her? I felt a disturbance
but I couldn’t tell where it came from.”

“Nothing, she dug her finger in my chest and
I blasted her without doing a thing. I didn’t lift my hand, I
swear.”

Sitting back thoughtfully, his lips curled
into a smile. “That’s interesting. I didn’t know you’d be so strong
already. You’ve only been sixteen for a day.”

Aspen winked and gave him a big smile.
“That’s what happens when you mess with me.”

Dylan laughed. He spent the rest of the day
with her and carried her bag from class to class. When it was time
to go home, he asked if they could walk instead of riding the
bus.

Aspen was thrilled. She was comfortable in
his company and didn’t want to spoil the mood by raising the topic
of the red-haired girl at her party. They strolled along the
pavement as other students made their way noisily around them.

“I’ve never seen your parents, do they go out
often?”

Dylan scuffed a leaf on the pavement. “They
aren’t home a lot. They’re busy, but Molly looks after the house,
and me.”

“What do they look like?”

“Ah, same old Dream Walker looks. My dad has
dark hair and my mom has fair hair. You know, the usual.” Without
warning, he shouted, “Race you to the end of the street.”

He dashed away and a second later, Aspen
started to run after him. Her legs had somehow become stronger
since the previous day, and her chest wasn’t tight from the
exercise. The feeling was incredible and she sprinted with
abandon.

She caught up with Dylan and shrieked when he
increased his speed. The two touched the pole of the road sign at
exactly the same time, though, and the metal zinged with power.
They burst out laughing together. Aspen wasn’t out of breath at
all.

“Wow, this is amazing! What a birthday
gift.”

“Great, isn’t it?”

“You didn’t tell me that I would get any
other abilities.”

“How do you think you’ll be able to fight the
Chancellors if you aren’t strong enough? We need you in fighting
form, Princess.”

Aspen smiled at his new nickname for her. “So
I’m Princess now?”

Dylan reached out and stroked her cheek
softly. “You’ll always be my princess.”

Tiny butterflies fluttered around in her
stomach, and she pulled away in embarrassment. “That’s my house
over there. I guess I’ll see you tonight.”

Dylan chuckled and handed her backpack to
her. “See you later, Princess.”

Aspen could feel his stare burning into her
back as she ran to the house.

Chancellors

“Hey, Aspen.”

Aspen opened her eyes to see Sandy and Ginny
standing together in a lime-green field. “Hey, yourself. Were you
waiting for me?”

“Of course,” Ginny said. “You took forever to
fall asleep, Princess.” Her braided blond hair bobbed up and down
as she bent her head.

Aspen let out a little snort. “Cut that out.
You don’t have to bow to me.”

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. “Okay.”

She was as pretty as Sandy, but her face was
more rounded and feminine. She wore snow-white clothing with a soft
flowing skirt and white leggings underneath, and her blouse was
made from the finest lace.

Aspen thought that the thick soles of her
boots ruined the outfit, though. She wondered if she could
introduce prettier clothing to the Power clan. She’d have to find
out where they had their clothes made and make some
suggestions.

Sandy pointed them toward the village of
Lanta. “Come on, let’s go shopping. We can practice a bit
later.”

“Ooh, I wondered when you did normal
things.”

Sandy grinned. “First work, then play, but
we’ll make an exception today.”

“We need to get you something more suitable
to wear, Princess.” Ginny touched the skirt that Aspen wore. “This
must be uncomfortable when you run. Look, my outfit allows me to
run, but yours will make you fall.” Reaching around her waist, she
ripped the skirt off in a smooth motion. “We have a special
material that fastens without stitching, and it can come off
easily.”

“Is it like Velcro?” Aspen asked.

“Very similar, but we can’t make that here,
so Demothi has made a spell that he casts on each piece of material
to make them special.”

She grimaced. “Can he do something about the
boots?”

“Relax, kid,” Sandy said as they walked
toward the village. “Those boots come in handy when we fight. Any
stray bolts get deflected when we’re on rubber.”

Aspen could only see one road leading into
the village, which she assumed was for protection. She followed
Ginny and Sandy along it, chatting as they walked.

When they reached the town, Aspen was
delighted to see Lanta’s shops huddled together like seals on a
rock, bathed in a soft lemon light. The scene was as pretty as a
picture.

“What happens when it’s Lavendula?” she
asked. “Do the shops close?”

Ginny answered her. “The shopkeepers stay
inside. They don’t fight the Chancellors. Shops get locked and
there are magical charms written around the door frames that stop
intruders from entering. The charms keep the store owners and
shoppers safe, but the doors must be sealed to make the spells
effective.”

Aspen walked into the main street and thought
about what Ginny had said.

“Look, that’s my favorite store.” Ginny
pointed at a cheerful clothing shop with colorful advertisements
decorating its windows. The three girls headed for the entrance. A
bell tingled and heralded their presence as they pushed the wooden
door open and crowded into the entrance.

“Ooh. They have so many things,” Aspen cooed.
She noticed a fine black script inked on the door frame as she
looked over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe,” Sandy teased.
“It’s time to shop.”

Ginny grinned. “Just look at the racks at the
back.”

Clothes were hung on hangers that clung close
together on waist-high metal rails in every imaginable space around
the shop. The girls had to squeeze between the layers of material
draped everywhere.

A small lady with mocha-colored skin smiled
at them from behind the counter. Her hair was braided in a long,
thick plait, and high cheekbones and slanted brown eyes gave her a
distinct Native American look. Grinning at the girls, she waved a
slender hand across the store as she invited them to look at the
merchandise.

“That’s Mona. She’s Demothi’s daughter,”
Sandy whispered in Aspen’s ear.

“I like this.” Ginny held up a short beige
skirt and paired it with chocolate leggings. She chose a wispy
white top and handed the outfit to Aspen.

“These boots are cool too.” Ginny picked up a
leather ankle boot lined with fur. She dropped a brown leather
jacket on top of the clothes piled on Aspen’s arm, and pushed her
gently toward the dressing room.

Aspen did like the jacket, but she’d never
thought to pair all the different textures together. Lanta was not
like Earth, where cheap clothing was available in every fabric,
color, and style. The garments here were made from natural fibers
like wool, silk, and leather, and she wondered if Mona had made all
of the clothing herself.

After she’d changed, she admired herself in
an oval floor-length mirror. The clothes fit beautifully, and she
pulled the dressing room curtain aside.

“What do you think?”

The girls grinned at her and nodded. “You
look amazing.”

“I’ve got your size now,” Sandy called out.
“Stay there while I get some more.”

Forty minutes later, Aspen tossed her old
clothing on the chair and walked out of the dressing room in her
first new outfit, along with several more draped over her arm.

“This was such fun. Oh, I forgot.” She
covered her mouth with her free hand.

Sandy glanced over as she thumbed through a
rack of clothes. “What?”

“How am I going to pay for this?” Aspen’s
cheeks burned, and she shifted the clothing in her arms.

“Don’t worry, it goes on the Power clan’s
account, and it gets settled by the elders later.”

“How can they do that?”

“We have to be clothed in order to fight the
Chancellors,” Ginny explained, “and we don’t get paid to fight
them. The elders help the shopkeepers in other ways. We don’t
exactly need money here, you know.” She chuckled.