Chapter 146: Galleytrot
The storm raged over the house again that night, but way worse than the previous. I tried so hard to sleep, wiped out emotionally and physically. I know I slid in and out because there were moments of utter terror when nightmares of being sucked into a vortex of spinning green fire and others of riding inside a swirling mass of fury punctuated my memories.
***
I lie on my bed, the gossamer curtains eddying in a slight breeze. The scents of lilac and jasmine reach me, rich earth and fresh grass, the warm air and mixed aromas making me drowsy in the lovely darkness.
Someone approaches but I do not fear him. I have awaited his coming for so very long. As he reaches me, he bends slowly forward, the shining locks of his golden hair falling over my face, glowing green eyes full of love for me.
I embrace him, drawing him down to lie beside me as his lips find mine...
***
I'm not exactly sure what woke me, but I found myself wide eyed, staring up into the quiet dark of the bedroom while a man wreathed in shadows hovered over me. Before I could scream or try to escape, he vanished.
***
This time when I jerked awake, I sat up, panting and gripping my chest as my heart beat out of control. I was alone. No shadow, no inhuman blond bending over me. The digital clock beside my bed read 2:16. The rain had stopped at last, only brief flickers of lightning and soft echoes of thunder remaining. My family succeeded yet again. But there were no guarantees they would do so again.
I knew the Wild was almost completely awake and when the riders did rise, it would be all over. If the force of the storm was any indication of the growing power of the Wild, Mom and the coven were about to be crushed into the ground.
I had to get home. This was ridiculous. Mom had to know by now there was no way she and the coven could stand against the elemental magic. Why was she being so stubborn when we all knew being outside the initial touch down site wouldn't matter if the coven was destroyed? There would be nowhere to hide.
I rolled over onto my back. I'd try calling again in the morning. I had to get out of here. I was so wrapped up in trying to form an excuse to leave early, I almost missed the subtle touch of something I recognized.
It slid through the edge of the protection spell and triggered a spark. A soft green spark. I jerked out of bed and ran to the window. There was only one person I knew outside my mother who had energy like that.
A giant black dog stood in the middle of the garden looking up at me, red eyes glowing in the dark.
"Jared," I whispered. I spun and ran out of my room, down the back stairs and to the garden doors. I fumbled with the lock, finally managing to wrench it open before running out into the early morning. My feet splashed through puddles left behind by the storm, the legs of my pj's soaked almost instantly, but I ignored that. It didn't matter, nothing did.
Jared was here.
I skidded to a halt in front of the pony-sized black dog, a tingle of fear breaking through my excitement. He was one of the hounds of the Wild, after all. And I just ran out to greet him. But he was also Jared Runnel, former member of my coven, and Galleytrot, who owed my mother a huge debt for saving his life from the Moromonds.
"Syd." His voice had a rough wildness to it, and always felt like it pulled me with a subtle passion, fed by ancient elements and very old magic. It wrapped me up in a feeling so familiar the fear went away immediately.
"Hi, Jared." I hugged him impulsively, drawing in a breath full of his scent, all fresh air and trees and deep, warm earth.
His tongue swiped my cheek. "Thank you," he said, the fullness of his gratitude fed by his magic. I understood that gratitude. He'd almost killed us all, siding with Quaid's adoptive parents. But I was so happy to see him, none of that mattered. In the end, he was on our side.
I hugged him again. "You're welcome."
He sighed deeply, the warmth of his breath stirring my hair. "I don't have much time."
I pulled away, blushing. "Of course. Sorry."
His great head shook, shaggy fur glossy in the moonlight peeking out from behind the dissipating clouds. "I'm glad you're here," he said. "But you feel different."
I didn't have time to tell him the whole story. "I know."
He bobbed his head in understanding. "And yet, you feel familiar now. Like you are a part of me." He snuffled my hair before sighing. "Nor do we have time for this."
The dream came to me in a surge of understanding. "Shaylee," I whispered.
Galleytrot released a startled yip. "Where did you hear that name?"
"You've heard it before?" Why was I dreaming about Sidhe? For of course, silly Syd, that was exactly who Shaylee and Gwynn and even Cydia were, the Fey folk. But what did they have to do with me?
"Tell me." His grumbling voice almost sounded threatening. So I told him everything, about the dreams, Pain, all of it.
When I was done, he shifted his weight away from me, a great sigh escaping him.
"For my lord's sake," he said, though it was clear he wasn't talking to me, "please let it not be so."
"What?" I grabbed a double hand full of his fur and shook him, though I barely budged his great weight. "Tell me."
He shook his head, black mane shimmering.
"There is nothing to tell." Galleytrot's glowing eyes looked very sad. "An old story, long gone. And it needs to stay that way, Sydlynn. But no matter the reason for your connection, I've come with a warning."
Right. He wasn't here for me, not really. "The Wild?" It had to be the reason.
The glow in his eyes intensified. "I have been unable to reach your mother. She is shielding us out, keeping me away. I'm grateful you're outside her walls."
Okay, so her sending me away served something. Good to know. Still, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like what he had to say.
"Lay it on me," I said.
"The riders are almost completely awake now," he said, images filling my mind as he spoke. I didn't have time to wonder how he reached me when no one else could. A great swirling darkness filled my senses, studded with more lightning and thunder, the growl and howl of more black dogs, the squeals of furious horses. And beneath it, echoing through my bones, the hum of the riders.
How was I connected to them that it affected me so much?
Galleytrot went on as if unaware of the stirring in my heart. "Someone has been using demon power in experiments and it hastens the waking."
My heart leapt. Had to be Demetrius and my demon. Had to be. "Any idea where I could find the source?" If Galleytrot could lead me to her...
But he shook his shaggy head again. "I only know the power is interfering with what your mother is trying to do. Had she been allowed to continue unmolested, I think the unbelievable could have happened." His voice seemed awed beyond the layers of magic. "I really believe Miriam could have put them back to rest."
Damn it. So this was all my fault again. Nice.
I saw an opportunity, however. "Do you think you could find the source? If you looked?"
He hesitated. "I wish I could help you," he said, "but I have already done more than I should have. When the Wild wakes tonight, I will no longer be permitted any contact outside of my role as slave and destroyer."
I hugged him again, feeling the warmth of him and the regret. I wished I could just stay like that forever. But I finally pulled away.
"Thanks for letting me know."
Jared stood up and shook himself. "I wish you and your family well, Sydlynn Hayle. The world ends tonight."
He flickered and vanished.
Chilling departure. Still. If I could get to my demon in time, maybe Mom would be able to shut down the Wild before his prediction came true. I stood there for a long time, one desperate plan spinning through my head after another, but every single one was tossed aside with a groan of anxiety.
I finally spun to head back inside and call everyone I knew for a ride home. I had to go back. Mom had to know about Galleytrot's warning and make retrieving my demon our first priority.
I was reaching for the glass door when someone grabbed me and spun me around. Shocked and speechless, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Pain stared back at me.
***
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