The messenger shook his head, unimpressed by my shriek, and appearing completely bored. “Are you done yet?”
I wasn’t about to go anywhere with him. I didn’t even know him! My mind had so many questions, with no obvious answers.
“You have to explain to me what’s going on.”
His cynical smirk told me he didn’t think he owed anyone anything. “I’ve told you enough, so let’s get moving. I’d like to get some sleep tonight.”
I stomped my foot. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh, yes, you most certainly are. I’m not playing games with you, Kearly.”
“I’m not playing games, either, Mystery Man. I want to go home.”
“Well, that makes two of us.”
“Care to explain why I can’t use my ability?”
“It’s impossible around me, when I shield you.”
“None of this makes any sense. You shouldn’t even be in this world, or any world I create. Do I have a brain tumor? Are the circuits screwed up in my head? Do I have a neurological condition?”
The messenger threw his head back and laughed. “Do you always ask this many questions? You’re very paranoid.”
I bit my lip, hesitating on a response. His eyes followed the movement, lingered, then quickly darted upward again with those two black orbs holding me in place.
“Depends on the situation,” I answered. “Like right now, when I’m supposedly going to lose my ability. I need to understand why.”
“No, you don’t. You’re not going to remember me, or how I remove your imagination, so it’s pointless. Now,” he said, extending his hand, “come with me.”
“And if I don’t?”
He smirked and barely shook his head. “Don’t test me.”
My stomach quivered, and my arms and legs felt weightless as adrenaline coursed through me. There was only one logical thing to do: escape him. He said I couldn’t use my ability as long as he was present, so if I gained ground, I could go home. He couldn’t follow me there, right?
Stalling, I asked, “And just how are you going to get out of my dream world?”
“By using my ability.”
“And what is that, exactly?”
“I know what you’re doing.”
“Do you?”
“You’re avoiding the inevitable.”
He was right, but I couldn’t put off postponing my spur-of-the-moment plan any longer. Turning on my heel, I bolted for the city of Glasslyn. I didn’t move ten feet until the messenger was in front of me, the black mist coiling all around him. Losing my footing, I fell backward, my ass slamming into the ground. I curbed the sudden tears.
He grabbed me by the waist and yanked me upward, holding me against him. “You’re done. No more games.”
Breathless, I said, “Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“It’s not up for negotiation.” Through clenched teeth, he added, “For the last time, we are leaving.”
“To go where?”
“I’m not telling you. It’s none of your business, and you won’t remember it by tomorrow, anyway.”
“Then I won’t go with you.”
“Close your eyes,” he ordered.
“No! I won’t be tricked.”
He kept one arm firmly wrapped around my waist while he utilized his other, his fingertips grazing the side of my cheek ever-so-lightly, like I was his lost love and he hadn’t seen me in twenty years. Talk about awkwardness… I attempted to pull away, but he jerked my body against his once again, and I unintentionally whimpered. His hard muscles twitched a couple of times underneath my touch, and he tipped my chin, his black eyes staring into my brown ones. His rounded lips were inches away. Hovering for what felt like an eternity, he dipped his head, our skin barely coming in contact. Was this what it felt like to be teased and tormented to the point of wanting more? Because if that was the plan, I wanted it. I wanted him. But I was also one hundred percent certain he was a figment of my imagination. No guy has ever wanted to kiss me before, not since I was in elementary school.
Tilting my head back further, I closed my eyes and slightly puckered my lips. Friction surrounded my body, stretching me in all directions at once. My feet hit a solid surface, wrenching me out of my reverie. I stumbled but regained my balance.
What the hell? I wasn’t in Glasslyn anymore. I was in a musty-smelling, dark hallway of some sort. That son of a bitch!
“You tricked me!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls.
“And you said you couldn’t be tricked,” he replied with a leer. “I guess you were wrong.”
I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I pounded my fists against his chest. He allowed me to vent my frustration for a few seconds, but then he grabbed my wrists, successfully stopping my heated act.
“Enough already,” he calmly stated. “I won. You’re already here, so let’s get this over with.”
I would not go down this easily. He could think whatever he wanted about me, but if he knew the extent of my stubbornness, he’d know winning was out of the question.
The mysterious guy turned the other way and began walking ahead. Water trickled down the walls, and green moss sprouted between cracks in the cement. Two rats scurried by. I nearly turned into Spiderman and scampered up to the ceiling.
“What is this place?” I asked, my voice echoing.
He didn’t respond.
So, on top of kidnapping me, he was also pretty damn rude. That’s just great. In case the past two days hadn’t been bad enough, this guy walked into my life, and my mind, uninvited.
I tried again, “I’m talking to you. Hello.”
He must’ve been eager to finish this job and call it a day. I snorted. Me, a job. That sounded weird, even in my head. Like I was a chore, or a burden. Well, if any human being on this planet asked Tabitha, she’d agree, that’s for sure. Personally, I never saw myself in that light. I tried to be nice and stay out of everyone’s way, but sometimes I just couldn’t bypass what fate had in store.
Like now. Apparently, this was fate intervening and advising me that I had a gift I used it way too much. If fate had been kind, I wouldn’t have an alcoholic mother who hates me, which, in turn, would terminate the purpose of using my ability. And, at the moment, I was stuck in a situation I knew nothing about, with a guy who was a complete stranger. Yeah, this was definitely a fateful interference.
Wherever we were wasn’t a place I wanted to be stuck for a long period of time. The air was thick and humid, and beads of sweat formed like dew on my skin. Dampness invaded my nostrils, and the smell reminded me of a wet dog. The constant water drips, plunking into puddles, was enough to make me virtually lose my mind. Even with torches lighting the way, the hallway was endless and dim.
Occasionally, my strange kidnapper would glance over his shoulder, checking on me. What if he turned back and I wasn’t there? What if I distanced myself from him, so I could use my ability?
“Don’t even think about it,” he stated, without turning around.
Pretending I didn’t know what he was talking about, I said, “I don’t know what you mean.”
He tilted his head, cutting his eyes at me. “Oh, really? Care to wager a bet, then?”
“No,” I mumbled, my cheeks blazing.
Exhaling a short sigh, he said, “Didn’t think so.” Then, a moment later, “You’re too quiet, that’s how I know you’re up to something. From what little I’ve noticed about your personality, you don’t seem like the type to give up so easily, which means you’re plotting against me.”
I didn’t want to walk in silence for the remainder of this brief visit; it was like walking down Death Row. I was about to lose everything—my imagination, the memories associated with my make-believe travels, a way to escape on the days reality became too much. Every essence of me as a person would be stripped away. I couldn’t casually stand by and allow that to happen. I needed to come up with a plan, keep this mysterious stranger talking, and, in the meantime, figure
out how to break out of this building.
From what I’d seen so far, there was no end to this hallway, which meant the guy was probably leading me in circles, to disorient me. More than likely, the actual exit was hidden in one of the walls, like a secret passageway. Maybe if I kept him talking, he wouldn’t suspect I was scheming.
Sorting through a list of questions in my head, I picked one. “Why was it important for me to close my eyes before you transported me here?”
“Because if you open them while you’re in the celestial world, you’ll be stuck there forever,” he responded.
My face scrunched up. “The celestial world?”
He peered over his shoulder at me, nodding his head. “It’s a vortex for swift travel. My kind is able to rip at the lining of our dimension and transfer ourselves from one end of the world to the other, including your kind’s fantasy worlds.”
“But that’s impossible.” Even as I said the words, I knew that was a lie. Obviously, it was possible for him to enter my imagination on more than one occasion.
His brows lowered as he gave me a look that reeked of sarcasm.
“Okay, so that was me thinking aloud,” I quickly added. “Clearly, you can travel wherever you want, but how do you travel to these places?”
Sighing, he replied, “I just told you. We have the ability to pass through dimensions, even if they aren’t firmly rooted in reality.”
“And one of those dimensions is this celestial world you speak of?”
“No, the celestial world is what connects the dimensions. Think of it like the dark matter connecting our universe.” He paused, chewing on his bottom lip, then quietly stated, “If you open your eyes while traveling through the celestial world, you’d be trapped forever. You’d die, of course. Your soul would take your body’s place, and you’d be floating through the nether evermore. There are no boundaries, because the celestial world is infinite.”
I couldn’t help but notice the change in his tone, like he had lost someone he loved inside that scary in between.
“And you would know this because…?”
He cleared his throat. “That’s irrelevant.”
I decided not to pursue the topic further. Evidently, the celestial world was a touchy subject for the mysterious dude, but I couldn’t help my curiosity. Why was my question irrelevant when he’d be erasing my mind shortly? If he wasn’t going to talk, then my plan wouldn’t go as expected. I had to keep him talking.
“So, do you have a family?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it just as fast, never responding.
“Friends?”
Nothing.
“God, you’re so pleasant. I bet you have more friends than you can count on fingers and toes. Like, I could totally picture you going out on a Friday night, or maybe as a leader of a rock band. Do they have bars in this weird place? Or does your precious secret society not allow that?” Keep talking. Annoy him until he speaks, if you have to. “What about your girlfriend? Or do you prefer men? Does your significant other live around here, too?”
He wheeled around so quickly, we nearly bumped into each other. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, “What are you doing?”
I shrugged. “I’m trying to start a conversation.”
“Let’s skip the banter. My personal life is none of your business, and I intend to keep it that way. In about thirty minutes, you’ll be home again, and you won’t remember this conversation. You won’t even have half of your memories, just like your mother.” His eyes enlarged, like he revealed a deep, dark secret.
I replayed the last sentence in my head. Just like your mother. Just like my mother?
Frowning, I asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
He pivoted on his heels and stalked off, completely avoiding the question.
I caught up to him, grabbed his shoulder, and halted his steps. “What does my mother have to do with any of this?” My chest rapidly moved up and down, and my heartbeat pounded in my ears, like a gigantic drum. Darkness encircled my vision. Oh, God. Was I going to hyperventilate and pass out?
When the messenger didn’t respond, I tried getting a response once more. “What do you mean? What do you know about my mother?”
He peered down the hallway, unable to look me in the eyes. “Everything,” he flatly stated. “Your ability is genetic, Kearly. Your mother was like you before—”
My throat dried up, and I waited for him to continue. When he didn’t offer any more information, I peeped, “Before?”
His jaw flexed, and he lowered his head, staring down at me. “Before we erased her imagination.”
Legs growing weak, like all of my strength had been sucked out through my toes, I stumbled to the nearest wall, not caring that it was covered in water and moss. Sliding down its span, I fell on my ass. The entire hallway felt like it was about to cave in on me. I needed a minute. I needed more than a minute, actually. I didn’t want to believe what the messenger just told me, but he had no reason to lie. This was completely insane. All my life I thought I was the only person on the planet with a unique ability, then I learned there were others like me. And there was a secret society that erased our special abilities. And they destroyed my mom’s imagination. And I was next on their list.
If I wasn’t sitting down, I was pretty sure I’d faint.
8