Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2) (4 page)

As soon as I reached the main corridor, high-pitched wails, as loud as a foghorn, halted me in my tracks. Someone without Trishna’s mark had entered Caelum. I poised my hands over my blades and stared at the gate. My heart hammered in my ears. Richard’s coven couldn’t have tagged us, right?

From the tunnel that connected the gate to the town center came Samantha and Nolan. The Protectors who had raced toward the opening, guns at the ready, relaxed when Samantha and Nolan flashed their Unity tattoos on the inside of their left wrists.

The heat in my chest cooled. We were safe.

My gaze flicked through the group that trailed behind my friends to where Trishna stood with a clipboard. Most of the new recruits were young, though I spotted a few older Magus. Seeing mature men and women still surprised me. Giovanni had preferred his Protectors to be without “creaks,” a term that had irked me when he’d said it. I’d gotten so used to being among Catchers and Weavers under the age of twenty-five; it was nice seeing older faces.

I joined Tabbi, Seth, and Kayla outside the entrance to our home.

“They look scared,” Kayla said.

“Some of them are,” Tabbi replied, gripping her head. “Too many thoughts. Should’ve turned off the brain radio.” Being a Weaver, Tabbi was able to read the minds of any living individual. When there were too many people—or Magus, in this case—around her, all the thought patterns sent Tabbi into overload, and she had to switch off her ability.

“Man, that chick at the back is smokin’. Gonna have to get her to
unwind
later,” Seth said, wiggling his eyebrows. I shook my head, and he laughed.

When Bartholomew joined Trishna to check in the new recruits, Samantha hurried to us, her curly, blonde hair bouncing in a ponytail. Nolan followed close behind, the warlock’s eyes fixated on Kayla. She half ran to him, wrapping the dark-haired bloke in a hug. My jaw tightened as she stepped away and tucked her hair behind her ears, laughing boisterously.

Stop it, you moron.
I cracked my neck, scolding myself. There was no reason for me to be jealous. Nolan hadn’t turned on Richard simply to get in Kayla’s trousers. And if I treated Kayla as untrustworthy, I’d push her away. Besides, when had I become so callow? My cheeks warmed. I was flipping embarrassing
.

“Miss me?” Samantha said when she reached Tabbi.

Tabbi flung her small, forever-twelve-year-old arms around Samantha. “You’ve only been gone a month.”

“And this place looks a hell of a lot better than last time I was here.” Samantha backed out of Tabbi’s hold and took turns hugging Seth and me. “You guys did remember to leave me a bed, right?”

“Yep. Mine,” Seth said with a wink. Samantha punched his arm.

I entered our home, unable to suppress a smile. It was good to have the whole gang back together. Never a dull moment with Seth and Samantha.

“You’re rooming with me!” Tabbi said, following me inside. “It’ll be girls’ night every night.”

“Oh, boy,” Samantha replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“Hey, what about me? I still get top bunk,” Seth replied. Where Kayla and I had a queen bed in the smaller room, the other bedroom was larger, with a bunk bed and separate twin bed. College dormitories had to feel similar to our cramped lifestyle.

“You’re included in girls’ night,” Tabbi replied, to which Seth faked an insulted gasp.

I grabbed a Coke from our mini-fridge and leaned against the table. Seth, Tabbi, and Kayla squished on the sofa, eyeing Samantha and Nolan like kids at story time while the two of them recounted the last four weeks of their adventure. I had to admit: their stories of chasing Protectors and entering covens undercover were pretty impressive. Though every time Nolan slung his arm around Kayla’s shoulders, my teeth grinded.

Commons room. Five minutes
, Trishna spoke directly into my head.

I tossed my empty can in the rubbish and kissed the top of Kayla’s head, speaking into her hair. “I’ll be right back.”

She nodded, and I strode from our home, Nolan close on my heels as I entered the tunnel closest to the entrance. I swallowed a groan. We’d come a long way in our sort-of-friendship since we’d gone to battle together in Columbus, yet I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure I trusted him. Call me rigid or paranoid, but after all his years helping Richard, his sudden decision to join us was startling. He’d chosen to help Kayla, but why? Maybe I didn’t need to worry about her intentions, but I was starting to second-guess his.

“Take it you got Trishna’s message, too?” Nolan asked.

“Yep.”

“You think this is going to be an awards ceremony to thank me for my awesomeness?”

“Nope.”

“Really? ‘Cause I think one of those medals war heroes get would look really sweet pinned to my battle gear.” He grinned wide.

I rolled my eyes. Not every solider would be happy to receive a medal. Sometimes they were reminders of all the friends you’d lost. My heart pinched, remembering the blank, lifeless faces of all the Protectors lying dead on the floor of my former home.

We entered the commons room. Trishna, Bartholomew, and Chad waited for us, the laptop open in the center of the table. I took a seat opposite Bartholomew.

“Welcome home, Nolan,” Trishna started. “I apologize for keeping you from relaxing, but earlier today, our supply run was intercepted by some of Richard’s men. Since you have the most knowledge of him, we need your opinion.” On the whiteboard behind her, a map of Albuquerque shone from a projector in the ceiling.

“Okay. Shoot,” he replied, leaning back in his chair.

“What can you tell us of Richard’s followers in New Mexico?” she asked.

Nolan scratched the back of his head. “There used to be a small group of Magus, maybe five, outside Santa Fe who were loyal to him. But last I heard, he moved them north.”

“If there were loyalists once, there could be some again,” Chad said.

Trishna nodded. “They are growing. Every day, word spreads of his power, and people fear him, especially given who he really is and his apparent immortality.”

Richard wasn’t just Kayla’s father, but Tamesis, a warlock born in the 1400s who, back then, used Nightmares to destroy multiple villages in Wales. At some point in time, he’d worked out a spell to keep himself alive all these years, biding his time. Which literally made him the most powerful warlock to ever exist.

Grabbing the laptop, I zoomed in on Santa Fe and the surrounding area, then nudged the computer toward Nolan. “Where exactly was this coven?”

He centered the map on a small area of land to the southwest of the city—halfway to Albuquerque—and placed a dot over a large building.

“I’d like to take a team there,” I said, not bothering to ask permission. Technically, Trishna and Bartholomew were in charge, but considering I’d studied war strategies when I was alive and battled Nightmares every day for the two hundred years of my afterlife, they’d yet to say no to any of my plans. I might be forever-seventeen, but after Bartholomew, I was the oldest bloke in the room.

Trishna nodded. “Take Nolan and Chad with you in case you meet any resistance. I don’t want Protectors fighting Magus alone. You’ll leave at oh-two-hundred, putting you in New Mexico at midnight their time. Better to give you as much coverage as possible, since Magus can’t see well in the dark. Get some rest, and make sure you stay in contact with me from the moment you set foot outside Santa Fe.”

“Hey, wait up,” Nolan said, racing after me as I hurried from the commons room. “I wanted to ask you something.”

With a sigh, I slowed my pace. What could he possibly want?

“Is Sam single?”

I halted and faced him, an eyebrow raised. “Come again?”

“Sam. You know—tall, blonde, big boobs, your mentee.”

“Yes, I know who she is. But, you’re interested in
Sam
?”

Nolan’s eyebrows squished. “Who else would it be? Though, I did try to get in her pants for four weeks and kept getting turned down.”

I raised a hand, silencing him, my stomach squirming. Last thing I needed was a mental picture of Nolan and Samantha having sex. “If you’re not here for Kayla, then why did you leave Richard?”

He opened his mouth, then snapped it closed, a smirk rising on his face. “Wait, are you jealous?”

My cheeks warmed. I balled my hands into fists. “Just answer the question.”

Nolan’s grin grew wider. “Look, dude, we’re not swapping sob stories like little girls at a sleepover. Just believe me when I say I want Richard dead as much as you. So, tell me: you think Sam would go out with me?”

I narrowed my eyes, reading him as best as I could. I’d gotten pretty good at understanding body language and sizing up if a person was lying. But he was a tough one. “Sure, if you try a pick up line other than ‘I want to see you naked.’”

Nolan laughed.

“But I have to tell you, mate: if you hurt her, I will kill you.” I cared for Samantha like a sister, and I’d already broken her heart once. She deserved so much more. I’d put a bullet in the brain of anyone who treated her as less than a queen.

Nolan patted me on the back. “Whatever, dude. You scare me as much as kittens scare spinsters.”

I glared at him as he brushed past me, leading the way out of the tunnel.

The moment we stepped foot in the loud main corridor, the two of us separated. Many Protectors and Magus wandered toward the passageway at the back of the city center, on their way to the banquet hall for supper. Nolan joined them. I returned home to grab the others for dinner, but it was empty.

Closing my eyes, I sent a message to Seth.
Have you all eaten?

Sorry, man. We were hungry.

Where are you now?
I needed to let them know about the mission.

Trainin’ room.

Brilliant. They were going to be exhausted for tonight’s scout.
On my way.

After changing into workout gear, I grabbed a sandwich from the banquet hall and hiked down the tunnel to the training corridor on the opposite side of Caelum. New recruits huddled in small groups around the massive room lined with wrestling mats, on a tour with a few of the Magus who’d built Caelum. In the corner, adjacent to the chamber’s opening, Kayla and Tabbi stood, observing fights between Ivan, Lian, Seth, and Samantha.

I touched the small of Kayla’s back, pausing next to her.
Have I told you how good you look in that outfit?
I spoke to her, trying to lighten my mood. There was just something about Kayla in sweatpants.

She smirked, a blush rising in her cheeks. I smiled. I loved that silly grin.

Drenched in sweat, Ivan and Lian circled each other with their fists raised. A light bruise circled one of Lian’s eyes, and Ivan’s bottom lip was swollen to the size of a golf ball. Maybe because healers were around, faces weren’t off limits anymore. Ivan swung again for Lian, but she ducked and kicked his feet out from under him. He hit the floor hard and was slow to get up while Lian giggled. Ouch.

“All right. We’re done,” he said through his thick Russian accent when he was on his feet, smiling and throwing Lian over his shoulder, wandering toward the exit.

She shrieked and pounded his back, laughing.

Tabbi pointed a thumb at them, turning to me. “Did you know they were dating? They’re in love and punching each other in the face.”

I’d suspected it, given they’d been inseparable the last few weeks. A corner of my mouth rose. Seeing two friends find happiness in the midst of all this madness was energizing.

Samantha’s squeal snapped me out of my daze. Seth—apparently deciding they were done, too—had picked her up and body-slammed her into the mat.

He stepped back, jumping up and down with his fists pumping in the air. “I win! I win!” he shouted before throwing Samantha a goofy grin.

She kicked him in the goolies, a flicker of anger in her eyes.

With a loud grunt, he grasped himself and fell to the ground. “
Et tu, Brute
?” he managed between gasps.

I coughed into my fist, covering a chuckle. They’d both taken cheap shots, but Seth should’ve known better. “Spitfire” was synonymous with Samantha’s name.

“Teach you to toss me like a sack of grain,” Samantha spat, rising off the mat. She flicked loose strands of blonde hair from her sweaty forehead.

Unable to wipe the amusement from my face, I helped Seth to his feet and smacked his back. “You deserved that.”

“It’s my turn now, right?”

I whipped around at the sound of Kayla’s voice, my mouth drying up like the Sahara. Samantha paused, eyeing me for permission.

I shook my head. “Kayla, I don’t think—”

“I’m tired of fighting dummies. I want real practice,” she said.

“I still don’t get why you want to learn to fight. You have
magic
,” Samantha said, adjusting her ponytail.

“‘Cause she’s afraid one of Richard’s people will bind her powers, like Trishna did to Adelynn,” Tabbi replied, unblinking like she’d been reading Kayla’s mind. Reality flipped back on in her gaze before she added, “Which, actually, is kind of a good fear.”

“See?” Kayla said, her eyebrows raised. She grabbed Samantha’s wrist, pulling her to the center of the mat. “Now, fight me.”