Aspen and the Dream Walkers (4 page)

“What’s wrong? It looks like something’s
spooked you,” Dylan said.

“I had a bad dream about a river last night.
I don’t want to go anywhere near water.”

“Don’t worry. We’re not going down to the
willow trees. The brook leads into a lake up ahead. Goldilocks
loves eating grass next to the water.”

She looked at the goose as it shuffled its
fat body in eager anticipation beside them, and sighed.

“I suppose it’s all right. She does look
excited.”

They walked on the path for a bit longer. As
they rounded a curve on the road up ahead, Aspen gasped at the
sight of a lake stretched out lazily before them.

The surface of the lake was calm and glassy
in the center, but near the bank the water rippled somewhat where a
babbling brook folded into it. Its circumference was framed by
lime-green grass dotted with buttercup-yellow flowers, a scene as
perfect as a picture postcard.

Aspen couldn’t see the sun, but the air was
warm on her face. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple, and she
grimaced as she looked down again at the hot and heavy skirt she
wore, wondering if she could change her clothes mid-dream.

Goldilocks quacked again and waddled quickly
to the lake’s bank to eat the lush green grass.

She glanced up at Dylan. “It’s so amazing.
You must love coming here.”

“It is and I do.” He smiled, and a moment of
silence hung between them. Dylan reached for a blade of grass and
sat down on a huge white boulder.

“It’s the Dream Walker Lake, Aspen. It’s a
part of Lanta where we live, and it belongs to all of us, including
you and me.”

She licked her dry lips and leaned over to
pluck one of the pretty yellow flowers, then sat down on a boulder
close to him. The petals were waxy under her fingertips, and she
rubbed them absentmindedly.

“We come here to recharge,” he said.

She closed her eyes and smiled as the warm
breeze tickled her cheeks. “Yes, I bet you do,” she said with a
sigh.

“No, really, we come here to recharge our
life force.”

Aspen lifted a brow and opened one eyelid to
look at him dubiously. Dylan stretched his fingers upward and a
stream of electricity charged up and down his hand. The blue flames
spluttered like an electric bug zapper, and she jumped up.

“Relax, you can do this too.” He shook his
head and chuckled. “Sit down and raise your hand up like mine.”

It’s a dream, it’s just a dream.

“Um, okay.” Slowly she lifted her arms and
jerked as blue flames rushed from her elbow up into her hands.
Shaking her hands, she screamed.

“Ow! I’m on fire! Oh my gosh, help me!”
Instinctively seeking to cool the searing burning sensation that
ran down her arms, Aspen rushed to the lake and stuck her hands
deep into the cool water. Instantly a burst of electricity hit her
so hard that she was flung back, landing in a heap on the grass
behind her.

Dylan’s body shook with laughter. “Aspen,
haven’t you been paying attention in school? Water is a conductor
of electricity. It’ll only make the current stronger.”

She rubbed her palms dry on the heavy skirt.
At least the skirt served a purpose, she thought. Determined to do
it right this time, she once again raised her arms. But as soon as
she lifted her hands toward the sky, blue flames of electricity
sprang from her fingers again.

“Concentrate and try to stop the current,”
Dylan shouted as she bounced up and down, desperately flicking her
hands.

“Make it stop!” she cried out. Her heart
pounded in her chest and she took short, panicky breaths.

Dylan rushed up behind her and pulled her
against his chest, wrapping his arms around her in a soothing
manner. His chest rumbled with laughter, then he leaned his head
toward her ear and spoke gently.

“Watch. This is how you do it.” Pressing his
cheek against hers, he rubbed his jaw softly against her skin.
Aspen got such a fright that she forgot about the flames. Instantly
the blue current stopped, but the warmth she felt whenever he
touched her spread from her face throughout her body.

“See? You need to concentrate. Let the power
flow through you, because it’s a part of what you are. You can
control it with your mind.”

His hard chest cradled her back and she tried
to pull away from him.

“Calm down.” He tightened his grip on her and
kept his cheek pressed close to hers. “Try it again.”

Inhaling deeply, Aspen allowed herself to
rest against his upper body. Dylan was so close that his breath
puffed against her neck and his heart hammered against her spine.
Stretching her hands out, she tensed as soon as flames sprang from
her fingertips again.

“Concentrate,” he insisted. “Make the power
stop. Tell it to flow away from you.”

She took a deep breath and concentrated as
hard as she could. The blue flames receded as soon as they’d
started. Aspen looked at her hands in amazement.

“Just like that?” she asked.

He laughed. “Just like that.”

Trying again, she felt the tingling spread
until the flames appeared. Her fingertips looked like a blowtorch
and she squealed. “I could get used to this.”

“There. Switch it off.”

After concentrating, the flame disappeared
magically. This is such a cool dream, she thought.

Dylan gave her a quick squeeze, but didn’t
release her. “It’ll get easier with practice.”

She looked back at him in amazement. “How is
this possible?”

His gaze softened. “I think you’ve seen
enough for one day, my little princess.” Smiling, he kissed her
forehead. “I’ll continue our lessons when we get to school
tomorrow.”

Miriam’s Revenge

The next morning, Aspen peered through the dirty bus
window as the vehicle turned onto the school property, and saw
Dylan leaning nonchalantly against the short wall that separated
the parking lot from the schoolyard. He seemed to be waiting for
someone, and her heart fluttered nervously. At her bus’s approach,
he stood up and brushed off his jeans, then ambled toward it.

Her cheeks warmed as she remembered the
dream, and she wondered how he’d react if she said,
So, Dylan.
Thanks for teaching me how to shoot electric bolts from my fingers
last night.

Rising from the bus seat, she smoothed the
hem of her gray top over her white shorts as she moved to the exit.
Having bare legs made her feel nervous, but she’d taken extra care
with her appearance and hoped that she looked better than she felt.
The cork sandals she wore had a bit of a heel to give her some
height, and she knew that they made her legs look longer. She took
a big breath to steady herself, then turned and waved good-bye to
Mamma Megs as she walked down the metal steps.

Dylan was waiting for her as she turned back
around, looking up at her as she paused on the last step. His gaze
traveled from her head down to her toes and then back up again.
Smiling, he held out his hand.

Aspen didn’t know what to do, so she handed
him her backpack instead of taking his hand. He looked at the bag
and grinned, but grasped it and waited for her to jump down.

“Hi, did you have a good night?’ he asked as
she joined him on the asphalt.

She squinted up at him. “Um, yeah, thanks.
Did you sleep well?”

“I had the best dream ever,” he said, smiling
broadly.

“I’m glad. Thanks for waiting for me.”

“You’re welcome. I wanted to introduce you to
someone. This is my good friend, Sandy.”

He motioned to a small girl with long
silver-blond hair as she stood quietly behind him. She smiled
hesitantly, then bobbed her chin toward her chest.

Aspen’s heart dropped. Was this his
girlfriend? They weren’t holding hands or anything, and the girl
seemed almost scared of her.

“Hey, I’m Aspen,” she said, greeting her with
a small wave.

The girl lifted her head and gave her a big
smile. “Hey, I’m Sandy. I’m so happy to meet you.”

They stood and watched each other awkwardly,
but Sandy didn’t seem interested in Dylan and it didn’t look like
they were involved, so Aspen relaxed her stiff shoulders and
smiled.

“We have the same hair,” she commented wryly,
lifting her ponytail to show Sandy how similar the length and color
was.

“Yes, we do,” Dylan’s friend agreed.

“It’s a pain brushing it, though, don’t you
think?” she jabbered, trying to fill the silence.

The girl seemed to sense her nervousness and
suddenly became animated. “I know. Don’t even talk about washing
it.” Grabbing her hair, she fluffed strands of it upward, causing
stacks of shiny bracelets to jingle on her arm. On her other wrist
she wore a leather strap similar to Dylan’s, and was dressed in a
white sleeveless shirt and brown capris.

Aspen nodded. “Yes, I know. Um, okay. Well,
I’d better get going.”

She claimed her backpack from Dylan before he
could protest, and walked toward the school building, threading her
way through the throng of students standing around talking and
laughing before classes started. Car horns sounded in quick
toot-toot
good-byes from parents dropping their kids in the
parking lot, and a group of girls huddled in a nearby group
squealed with laughter.

Dylan called out, “Aspen, wait.”

Stopping, she turned to face him.

He jogged to catch up with her and came to a
stop just inches away. “I wanted to ask if you slept well last
night,” he said, and she was convinced that his smile was tender.
“Did you have good dreams too?”

Aspen’s mouth opened in surprise. He couldn’t
possibly mean . . . ?

“Um, I can’t remember . . . ,” she
lied.

It looked as if he wanted to say something
more, but Sandy had followed behind and joined them, and chose that
moment to interrupt. “It’s going to be a scorcher today. Do you
think it’ll get hotter?”

Dylan continued to stare at Aspen over
Sandy’s head. He inhaled deeply after a few seconds and then said,
“Yes, it’s going to get a lot hotter today. I’ll see you both in
class. I’ve got to get something from the office.”

Aspen stood transfixed, watching him as he
strolled away. Blue jeans really suited him, and his T-shirt
outlined firm muscles. He looked way too good, and she wished the
previous night hadn’t been a fantasy. If only it weren’t a
dream.

“So, um, which class do you have first?”
Sandy asked.

Aspen dragged her eyes away from his
delicious body. “I’ve got political science. Where are you
going?”

“I’m not sure, let me get my schedule.” With
a flick of her blond ponytail, Sandy retrieved a timetable from her
shirt pocket. She opened up the document and Aspen saw the girl’s
name printed in the corner of the paper.

“Your last name is Walker too? That’s cool,
so is mine.”

Sandy laughed. “Wow, that is a coincidence.
We must be related.”

“Wouldn’t that be crazy?”

“We’ll have to get together later and see
where we find a connection.” Sandy winked conspiratorially and
tucked the schedule back in her pocket. “Looks like I’ve got
history first.”

“That’s easy. Take a right at the end of the
corridor, and it’s the second door to the left. How about meeting
me at lunch and we can go through the”—Aspen used her fingers to
form air quotes—“family tree.”

“Sounds good. See you then.” Giving her a
friendly wave, Sandy disappeared into the crowd.

Aspen entered her classroom and almost bumped
into Miriam, who stood in her way and forced her to move to the
side to get in.

“So, who’s the new friend?” she asked as
Aspen maneuvered around her.

Ignoring her stepsister didn’t work, as
proven by the sound of her high heels clicking on the tile floor
behind her. She glanced back and noted the familiar pinched
expression on Miriam’s face, which signaled she wasn’t giving up
and was itching for a fight. Aspen sighed, not in the mood for the
girl’s dramatics.

“She looks just like you. Is she an orphan or
does she actually have a dad?” Miriam asked hatefully as Aspen
dumped her bag on the table.

She whipped around. “Look, what’s your
problem? Just leave me alone, okay?” Aspen took a deep breath,
willing herself to react calmly. Her stepsister loved to bait her,
and delighted in embarrassing her. Luckily the room was empty and
no one could hear their conversation.

“Another Walker brat,” Miriam said with a
sneer. “As if we don’t have enough running around already.”

“Excuse me?” Her mouth gaped. This was low,
even for Miriam.

“You heard me. She’s scrawny and white as a
ghost. She’s probably some trailer-trash relative that your mom’s
been hiding from my dad. I bet you’ve been stealing money from my
dad’s wallet just to support her.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Aspen
asked incredulously. “Where did you come up with that load of crap?
I can’t believe you just said that.” Her fists tingled with static,
and she balled them up and lifted them in line with Miriam’s
chest.

“Huh-uh, not so easy.” Miriam shook her head.
“I know you’ve been stealing money from my dad. Now I know why.” As
she spoke, she held out a thick wad of money in front of her.

Aspen snorted. “You’re sick, Miriam. You
seriously do need help.” Then she stepped aside as a boy walked
between them to his desk.

She stared at the cash that her stepsister
flapped in her hands. “Where did you get that money from?” she
asked. Miriam didn’t usually have access to so much money.

“This is the money that my dad will be
looking for when he gets home tonight,” she answered gleefully.

“What do you mean? Miriam, I’ve never stolen
a cent from anyone in my life.”

“Are you sure?” She lowered her head and
challenged Aspen with her dark brown eyes.

“Don’t play games.” Aspen’s stomach rolled,
and the sour taste of bile hit the back of her throat. “It’s not
funny anymore.”