Aspen and the Dream Walkers (7 page)

Aspen reached out and stroked the charm. A
hum of energy spilled over into her hands from the trinket.

“You’ll be able to tell which clan we belong
to by the pattern. We’re from the Power clan. We have the ability
to control electricity, but there are other clans like the Water
clan, the Wind clan, and the Fire clan. All are Dream Walkers too,
just from different clans.”

Aspen continued to chew, although the bread
could have been cardboard for all she cared.

“Each clan consists of people with similar
looks. Our clan has fair-haired, blue-eyed girls and dark-haired
boys. Members of the Fire clan have red hair and so on. Our goal is
to fight and destroy Chancellors.”

“The people chasing us?” Aspen asked.

“Yes. They’re divided into groups themselves.
Each group has a leader with a specific nightmare they’re meant to
inflict on innocent children. When they succeed with their
nightmare, they draw strength and form more Chancellors.”

Sandy picked up her juice and pulled a long
drink through the straw before continuing. “We have to keep
practicing and increasing our powers to stop them. The Chancellors
have a small window of time to make a bad dream, only ten minutes,
but they grow stronger when children wake up screaming. You’ll know
when they are about to appear. The sky turns purple, or Lavendula,
as we call it, and the temperature plummets.” She batted at the
fly, and it sparked and sizzled into a tiny pile of ash on the
table.

“If it’s Lemona, that’s when the sky is
yellow, they can’t come out. We have about an hour between each
period of Lavendula in order to find a way to stop them.” Sandy sat
back in the chair, as if waiting for Aspen to process what she’d
just said.

Aspen swallowed the last of her sandwich and
said nothing, waiting impatiently as Sandy sucked at her juice.

“There’s so much to teach you,” Sandy went
on. “It’s your birthday tomorrow and you’ll officially become a
Dream Walker. We’ll welcome you into our clan, and I’ll tell you
all about us then.”

“You can’t be serious,” Aspen wailed.
“There’s still so much I need to know. You can’t stop now.”

“There’s plenty of time, my friend. Right
now, we have to deal with someone unpleasant.” She motioned behind
Aspen, who turned to see her stepsister barreling toward them with
Amber, Justin, Doug, and Kyle in tow.

“Great.” Aspen sighed. “Just what I need
now.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll show you how to take care
of them.” Sandy winked at her.

Shrinking back in her seat, Aspen waited for
the confrontation.

“So, if it isn’t Blondie and her sidekick,”
Miriam huffed as she reached the table. “Did you think you could
outsmart me?” she growled. “What did you do to my TV last night?”
Grabbing Aspen’s wrist, she twisted it sharply. Aspen winced in
pain and leaned forward.

Sandy reached over to touch her other arm,
and in the next second, a spark of electricity snaked across
Aspen’s shoulder right through to Miriam.

The surge hit her with a solid smack, forcing
Miriam to fall back onto her bottom.

“Ouch! You little freak.” Shouting, she
pulled herself up using Amber’s leg as a support. Amber grunted as
Miriam stood up.

“Whatever game you’re playing isn’t working
on me, you stupid dumbass,” she ranted.

Aspen didn’t say a word and smiled bravely.
The air smelled like singed hair, and she wondered when her
stepsister would notice that the fine hairs on her arms had been
fried.

“Miriam.” Justin frowned. “Let’s go.” He
turned around and everyone followed him.

Miriam’s face was thunderous and her cheeks
were bright pink. “I’m not finished with you, not by a long shot.”
With that, she stalked off after Justin.

Aspen laughed loudly and clung to Sandy’s arm
as the group left the room. “Now that was worth every minute.” She
wiped away tears of amusement. “I think that was the funniest thing
I’ve ever seen. You’ll have to teach me how to do it.”

Her shoulders shook with laughter for a few
seconds longer before she straightened up suddenly. “Hold on, if my
dreams are real—I touched Dylan and told him he makes me feel good.
Oh no!” she wailed. Her cheeks burned and she ducked her head in
embarrassment.

“I told you that you’d regret what you said
later.” Sandy chuckled and pushed her seat back.

“Don’t worry,” she went on. “If your powers
are so strong before your birthday ceremony, you’ll be dynamite
after tomorrow. Whatever Dylan thinks won’t matter then.” She got
up from the table and her long tresses swayed against her arms.
“Come on, time to go. I’ve still got a lot to teach you.”

Birthday Girl

Aspen woke up energized after a strangely dreamless
sleep. Today was her birthday! She felt excited as she dressed, and
even ignored the fact that Miriam had smeared toothpaste over the
bathroom faucet and hadn’t bothered to clean it. After wiping the
sink, she scrubbed her face, brushed her teeth, and skipped down
the staircase.

“Happy birthday, sweetie.” Her mom greeted
her with a big grin in the kitchen and hugged her. She handed Aspen
a small box wrapped in shiny paper with a silver bow.

“Mom, you shouldn’t have,” she exclaimed and
kissed her mom’s cheeks.

“It’s just something small. Your dad bought
it for you when you were a baby. I took it to the jeweler and got a
new strap.”

Aspen hastily removed the paper and ribbon
and opened the box gently. A dainty silver watch lay nestled in
white tissue paper. It had a mother-of-pearl face and delicate
silver hands.

“It’s a wind-up watch. No need for a
battery,” her mom explained with a smile. “It winds up as your body
moves, so you can’t damage it.”

“It’s beautiful.” A tear formed in the corner
of Aspen’s eye, and her throat closed up. “Did Dad really get it
for me?”

“Yes, honey. The strap was too small, but
I’ve kept it all these years.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you!” Squeezing her mom,
she added, “I have to go, I’ll see you later.”

Aspen ran to meet the bus and admired her
watch throughout the ride to school. She was so excited about her
birthday, more than she’d ever been before. Her hair hung loosely
to her waist, and she wore her best thrift-store jeans and a
turquoise-blue top. Today was supposed to be special—or so Sandy
had told her.

She hoped that they hadn’t teased her. If
this was a hoax, she’d be so upset. Maybe she’d talked in her sleep
and Miriam had secretly heard her and put Sandy up to trick her.
That thought plagued her for a minute before she shook her head
vigorously. No, today was special, and no one would spoil it for
her.

Dylan and Sandy waited for Aspen in their
usual spot, and she jumped from the bus to greet them.

Dylan’s gaze traced over her body, then
settled on her lips as she walked over. She shivered at his intense
stare.

Reaching out, he ran the pads of his fingers
up her throat and rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. “Happy
birthday, my little Dream Walker,” he whispered and kissed her on
her cheek.

Aspen blushed and smiled at the same time.
She was still embarrassed because she’d been so brazen the previous
day, but it didn’t seem to affect him at all.

Sandy grabbed her away from him and smacked
her lips against Aspen’s other cheek. “Happy birthday, Aspen.
Welcome to our clan.”

Laughing, she pulled back. “Enough, enough,
guys. It’s just my birthday.”

“That’s the point. It’s the most special day
of your life.” Sandy grinned. “Here.” She handed a small
gift-wrapped box to her. “You can only open it at lunch when we’re
with you,” she warned.

“Thank you! You didn’t have to, but thanks.
It means a lot to me.”

“This is from me,” Dylan said. He stared into
Aspen’s eyes as he handed her another small box.

“Thank you,” she murmured, and looked up to
see Miriam standing a short distance away with a scowl on her face.
Her stepsister crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head
at Aspen. The warning was clear, and as soon as she’d made her
point, she turned around and disappeared into the school
building.

“Give them back to me. You can’t open them
until lunch anyway. I don’t want you peeking before then.” Sandy
chuckled as she removed the two boxes from Aspen’s hands.

“Oh my word, that’s so mean.” She laughed.
“In that case, I suppose we’ll have to go to class.”

The thought of what could be inside the boxes
made her giddy. Unfortunately Miriam had seen her, and that could
only mean trouble. So, even though she was excited, she was wary as
well. But this was her birthday, and Aspen was determined to let
nothing ruin her day.

After she’d promised Sandy that they would
join her in the cafeteria at lunchtime, Dylan followed her to their
biology class.

As they neared the classroom, they saw a
group of girls crowded around the bulletin board outside. Miriam
and Amber were in the center of the commotion, and everyone was
talking while some were laughing out loud. Amber turned as Aspen
got closer.

“There she is!” She pointed her finger and
the girls turned around in unison. They sniggered with laughter and
clapped one another on the back. Miriam caught her eye and glared
at her, but Aspen decided to ignore it on her special day.

One by one, the girls filed into the
classroom, and when they were gone, she finally saw what they were
laughing at. A note was stuck on the corkboard, written in big
black letters on a white piece of paper.

Aspen Walker Loves Dylan Powers

Dylan tensed behind her and all the blood
drained from her face. They were still staring at the note when
their biology teacher stepped up to the board.

Aspen winced when she saw it was Miss
Thompson. She was one of their strictest teachers, and always wore
a suit to school each day. The dowdy woman lowered her
tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses and stared at the note for a moment,
then patted her short dark curls as she glanced back at Aspen with
an expression that almost looked sympathetic. With a sharp tug, she
ripped the note from the corkboard and crumpled it in her
hands.

“Hurry up or you’ll be late for class,” she
said curtly, then nodded her head toward the classroom.

Aspen was still speechless as she walked
inside, but Miriam and Amber burst out laughing at the sight of
her, which caused the rest of the class to join in. She walked
stiffly toward her desk, knowing that Dylan was just behind
her.

“Ignore them.” His voice was calm and he
touched her arm. Tingles shot through her body and his touch calmed
her as she sank into her seat. Looking up, she saw Miriam waving a
black permanent marker in the air with a smirk on her face.

Miss Thompson told the students to settle
down, and then started her lesson immediately.

Dylan sat calmly behind her and as she moved
back in the desk, he gathered her loose hair and twisted it into a
ponytail and played with the strands. It felt so good that she
relaxed and angled her head so he could get a better grip.

The teacher’s voice droned on in the
background, and she blocked out the snickers of the other girls and
took notes.

“Watch this,” Dylan said in a low voice after
a few minutes.

With a cry, Miriam jumped up from her desk.
“Ouch!” She looked at her seat and sat down carefully again.

“Ow!” she screamed. “Miss Thompson, this desk
is shocking me.”

Aspen’s lips quirked as she tried to hide her
smile. Dylan pointed in her stepsister’s direction, and she could
see tiny darts of blue fire as they flicked from his
fingertips.

“Ow!” Miriam whined. “I can’t sit here any
longer.”

“Miriam, if you’re looking for attention,
then perhaps the principal’s office is the right place to find it.”
Miss Thompson glowered at the girl, her lips pressed into a tight
line.

“I’m not joking—ow! That hurt,” Miriam cried
out again.

The other students tittered with laughter,
and the entire classroom erupted into chaos as Miss Thompson fumed
and pointed to the door.

“Miriam, go to the principal’s office
now!”

Aspen chuckled as her stepsister grumbled all
the way out of the classroom.

Perhaps the day would get better after all.
She glanced at her new watch, willing the time to pass quickly so
she could meet Sandy for lunch.

• • •

After their morning classes were over, Dylan looped
his arm through hers and guided her to the cafeteria. A powerful
charge from his fingers trickled through her veins and it felt so
good, both soothing and exciting at the same time.

Sandy waited for them with small pieces of
iced birthday cake spread out on three paper plates. Soda fizzed in
real glasses, and three small birthday party hats lay on the table
for them.

“Cool, birthday hats.” Dylan grinned and
placed the elastic band under his chin. The tiny red hat gave him a
jaunty look as it nestled in his hair. Sandy offered a hat to
Aspen, and she pulled it onto her head.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she said with a
laugh.

“Nonsense. It’s not every day that such a
powerful Dream Walker can be welcomed into the clan.” Sandy offered
her a glass of soda.

“Me? Powerful? I don’t think so.” Aspen shook
her head.

Sandy shoved a piece of cake into her mouth
and crumbs flew as she spoke. “That’s true . . . ,”
she mumbled, and took a large sip of soda. “Your father was one of
our leaders. In Lanta, you’re a pri—”

“Sandy.” Dylan looked at her sharply. “Not
now.”

Looking down sheepishly, Sandy turned her
attention to a thick piece of buttercream icing, and licked her
fingers after she’d wiped it from the plate.

“Did you bring the presents?” Dylan asked,
changing the subject suddenly.