Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(104)

"You came." Lucas sat up on a king-size bed. He wore a sexy smile and no shirt. Not that now was the time to notice such things.

"The rogue has me. Get Burnett." She spoke quickly, afraid she'd wake up.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Where are you?"

"Don't know. A tunnel. There's a lot of concrete. Iron doors, too."

He looked at her in panic. "I have to know where you are."

"I was unconscious when they brought me here."

"They?"

"The rogue's grandfather. He's one of the Vampire Council."

Lucas pushed both hands through his dark hair. "Listen, Kylie. The way dreamscaping works, you can fly. You're going to have to fly back to your body, but slowly. Look down and see landmarks. Then come back and tell me where you are. I have to know where you are or I can't help you."

"What if I can't come back? What if I wake up and can't tell you?" The panic made her feel heavy and it sounded in her voice. She didn't want to leave Lucas. Although she knew it was a dream, she felt safer here.

"You can do this, Kylie. Go!" He waved her away. "Hurry."

Kylie did what Lucas told her to do. She started flying back. Too fast.

She concentrated until she found how to reduce her speed. Then she looked down. She saw a skyline. Houston skyline. She dropped lower until she saw a large building, the Toyota Center, she recognized it. Then she remembered her father had taken her downtown into the Houston tunnels.

Flying through the tunnel, unstopped by the walls, Kylie didn't slow down until she saw herself. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

Seeing oneself slumped over in a chair, chained like a scene in a horror movie, freaked her out. She heard a noise. The iron door began to open. She felt herself falling into her body.

"No!" She had to get back to Lucas. She had to give him directions on how to find her.

Chapter Thirty-four

Fighting the pull to move back into her body, Kylie swung around and flew back the way she'd come. The speed prevented her from breathing.

Someone called her name. Not Lucas. It was the old vampire.

The clouds were thick. Wasn't Lucas just through the layer of fog? She felt herself being yanked back. She was about to wake up. "Lucas, I'm in the Houston Tunnel System. Under the Toyota building. Can you hear me?"

"What are you doing?" the dark, rusty voice growled. Kylie jerked her eyes open. The old vampire stared at her. She remembered she couldn't lie. "Dreaming."

"What kind of dream? I felt the energy."

"A disturbing one. I ... used to have night terrors when I was younger."

No lie there.

He appeared resigned to believe her, but remained suspicious. Was there something for him to be suspicious about? Had Lucas heard her?

"I have some old friends interested in meeting you. For your own wellbeing, I hope you will be on your best behavior."

"Who are they? And why do they want to meet me?"

"I think, Kylie Galen, that you are even more special than you know."

"How am I special?"

He didn't answer. "If you can tell me that you will not try to escape, I will release the chains."

The thought of having the heavy metal bracelets removed sounded like heaven. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but they would have been a lie.

"We both know that if there is a way to escape I will take it. Your job is to make sure there isn't a way."

He laughed. "I appreciate your honesty."

"Enough to unchain me?"

"Not that much," he said.

She met his aged gray eyes. "I see no way to escape the room. Unless you believe I have the power to overtake you when the door is open.

And since I can't break these chains, are you saying that your powers are weaker than this metal?"

He studied her. "You are very intelligent, my child. Dare I worry that you are as cunning as you are smart?"

"If I was that smart and cunning, would I be here?"

"Let's compromise." He closed his eyes and the metal bracelets around her arms and one from one ankle disappeared. Her right ankle was now attached to a long heavy chain.

Shocked at his ability, she stared at him. "What are you?"

He smiled. "See, I am already winning your respect."

"You misread curiosity for respect," she countered.

His eyes tightened, but a slight smile crept from behind his anger.

"What are you?" she asked again.

He folded his aged arms over his chest. "What's wrong, dear? Are the similarities frightening?" With that, he disappeared into the thin, cold air.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she yelled, and stood to see how far she could get with the chain attached to her ankle.

No nearly far enough.

Kylie tried to fall back asleep, to get back to Lucas, but she couldn't.

She could only hope her message had gotten through and that he'd already phoned Burnett and they were on the way here now. How long would it take?

What if they didn't come? What if her message never got through? She attempted to pull the chain free, but her strength wasn't there. What was it with her strength? Why did it come and go?