Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2)

BOOK: Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2)
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© 2015 Vicki Leigh
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ISBN 978-1-62007-986-7 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-62007-987-4 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-62007-988-1 (hardcover)

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For Jessica,
Who I never would’ve made it through 2014 without,
And who I’d choose as my partner in a battle against the Nightmares.

ive weeks had passed since I slew another Protector, and Giovanni’s face still haunted my thoughts. In my position as a Dreamcatcher, I’d destroyed thousands of demonic creatures, but from the moment Giovanni had betrayed everything we stood for, black and red blood had stained my blade.

And the fighting hadn’t yet stopped.

The thump of Kayla’s fist hitting the dummy echoed off the stone walls of our new training room. Intensity flickered in her eyes. After her lesson with Trishna this morning, she’d wasted no time dragging me through our hidden camp to work on her combat skills. Though her tenacity impressed me, I had to admit I was beginning to worry about her state of mind. No one should be this anxious to kill.

Again, Kayla swung at the mannequin, but the impact was weak.

“Don’t forget to turn your hips,” I said, standing off to the side.

Kayla wiped her brow with the back of her hand and jabbed her target in the face, aiming for the back of its head, like I’d taught her. Sweat rolled down the side of her neck, but her face was taut with determination. She swung, hard, at the dummy’s head. It shook violently.

Kayla grunted and threw another punch, then another and another. She kicked and pummeled the dummy until her form broke, her cheeks red and jaw tight. She was getting angry. Without the proper stance or control, injury wouldn’t be far behind.

“All right, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.” I stepped forward.

She kicked the dummy again, connecting with the object too high on her shin. A yelp escaped her lips. I grabbed her waist and pulled her away from the mannequin.

“No, I’m not done,” she snapped.

Kayla.
I touched her cheek, speaking to her through our telepathic bond. Trishna had Unified the Protectors with her coven prior to the battle in Columbus, Ohio, and Kayla had been connected moments after waking from Richard’s spell. After five weeks of sharing thoughts this way, it’d become almost second-nature.

She leaned into my hand, her chest rising and falling with exhaustion.

I understood her need to end this war before her father caused more damage. The Nightmares under his control had destroyed not just her home, but mine, too. Rome was in worse shape than Columbus. But, while her abilities—both magical and physical—had grown, so had her paranoia. I needed to find something to preoccupy her thoughts—and soon.

“I think we should call it a day,” I said. “Maybe grab some supper before the banquet hall fills up?”

Kayla sighed, nodding, and I kissed the top of her head before grabbing a bottle of water from the floor and handing it to her. Hand-in-hand, we crossed through the large, stone cavern dedicated to combat practice. Small floating lanterns, spelled by one of Trishna’s witches, illuminated the dark gray floor, walls, and ceiling. The glow highlighted the tense lines around Kayla’s eyes. Her gaze was far away.

“You haven’t gotten a hold of your mum yet, have you?” I asked. Every day for five weeks, Kayla had rung her mother’s mobile phone. But every day, the call went straight to voice mail. The city’s survivors had been evacuated. Meredith could be anywhere.

“No. I tried earlier, but I had to leave another voice mail.”

I squeezed her hand, my chest heavy. “And you’ve tried the rest of your family?”

“Everyone. But no one’s seen or heard from her, and they’re all getting suspicious about why I can’t stay with any of them.” Her bottom lip trembled. She looked away from me, swallowing her emotion.

After the first week of missed calls, I’d given in to Kayla’s begging to visit Columbus. Half her house had been ripped to pieces, its front yard littered with scraps like a tornado had blown through. There, she had collapsed in my arms, but since then, she hadn’t shed a single tear.

Yet another reason I was worried about her.

“Come on.” Frowning, I tugged her into the tunnel that led to the heart of our safe haven.

Trishna’s coven had spent the past five weeks digging tunnels deep into the Allegheny Mountains and manipulating our hidden town into a place with a sense of normalcy. They named it Caelum—Latin for
Heaven
. We Protectors did what we could to help, but without abilities to move nature or create water or cast spells, we were pretty useless. Instead, those of us not in the field, shielding the living from Nightmares, focused on gathering intel on Richard’s whereabouts and teaching the less experienced how to fight.

Caelum’s end result had been brilliant. A hidden gate in the Allegheny Tunnel led into our secret village—a circular plaza the size of a mini-Colosseum that reached higher than my eyes could see. Here, at least thirty single-story, two-bedroom “homes” had been dug into the walls of the mountain, and, reminiscent of Grand Central Station, wide tunnels branched from the city center in every direction, leading to large corridors for unique purposes—like our training room. A magically-constructed waterfall near the gate provided us with running water, and Trishna’s coven even had figured out how to run electricity through the town.

God save the Magus.

“Daniel!” Bartholomew, Keeper of the Protectors, shouted as soon as Kayla and I stepped foot in the central corridor.

I let go of Kayla’s hand and touched the small of her back.
Go relax. I’ll be there in a minute.

She nodded before continuing toward the home we shared with Seth, Tabbi, and Samantha.

All around us, Magus and Protectors carried furnishings to their homes. After five weeks of hard labor, we were finally putting on finishing touches. I waited for Bartholomew to catch up, then, when he reached my side, turned and walked with him.

“Good news,” he said between shivers. After being outside in the August heat, Caelum often felt like an icebox. “Between Nolan and Sam, we have twenty more new recruits on our side. Five Protectors and fifteen Magus. They’re being briefed now and will be arriving shortly. Bad news: we’ll need you to take a small team into the city to gather more supplies. How soon do you think you’ll be ready?”

Samantha and Nolan had spent the past five weeks in the field, searching for any Protector or Magus willing to join our cause against Richard. The first few weeks, they’d only managed to find five or six. Then it became ten. Now, including this new batch of twenty, they’d managed to unearth sixty people total to fight with us. With Richard’s spies everywhere, it had been a dangerous job, and they’d exceeded everyone’s expectations.

But while new recruits meant more manpower, we were fast outgrowing our new living space, and our supply runs were nearing three times a week. Six people flying under Richard’s radar was difficult. I hated the increasing frequency of our trips, though we made a point not to visit the same store twice.

“I’ll grab the others,” I replied. “Should be ready in no more than half an hour.” We needed our new recruits to be comfortable, so what choice did I have?

“Good. Stay in communication with Trishna, and make sure to report in if you think you’ve been spotted.”

Nodding, I stopped at the home next to mine and knocked as Bartholomew continued on his way. Ivan answered from the other side. For so long, the dark-haired Russian and I had hated each other; it was still odd when I didn’t immediately get a scowl from my now-friend.

“Supply run,” I said. “Grab Lian, Eric, and Chad. We leave in ten.”

BOOK: Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2)
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