And finally, with nothing left to try, I closed my eyes tightrelieved that they, at least, still seemed to follow my commandsand prepared to ride out the scream.
When the last hoarse note slipped through my mouth like the exhale of a dying man, I licked my lips, then swallowed gingerly. My throat hurt like Id been gargling shards of glass.
A frigid breeze blew against my bare legs, raising chill bumps the length of my body, and a soft, eerie tinkling sound tickled my ears, a thousand wind chimes all jingling at once.
A frigid breeze blew against my bare legs, raising chill bumps the length of my body, and a soft, eerie tinkling sound tickled my ears, a thousand wind chimes all jingling at once.
Wait, bare legs? Where did my jeans go?
My eyes flew open and devastating, terrifying comprehension sank through me, anchoring me to the ground where I stood as if I were mired in concrete. But I wasnt. I was mired in razor wheat, and the tinkling hadnt come from wind chimes. It had come from hundreds of tall, olive-colored stalks of grass brushing against one another, as sharp and brittle as blown glass.
I wasnt sure when the dream ended and the real horror began, but Id woken up at some point, still wailing, and accidentally crossed into the Netherworld. In my tank top and pj shorts. Barefoot and freezing.
Oh, shit!
Gone were my warm bed, fluffy pillows, and worn-thin carpet. Instead, I stood on bare dirtoddly gray in colorwith my big toe pressed against the base of one cold, fragile stalk of razor wheat. Another stalk brushed my elbow as the cold wind blew it toward me, and I froze to keep from shattering it and being pricked by thousands of glasslike slivers.
Harmony had said it wasnt possible. That we couldnt accidentally cross over, because moving from one world into the next required intent, in addition to the bean sidhe wail. So what did this mean? That I secretly wanted to cross over?
If so, Id certainly been keeping that secret well. Even from myself.
But there would be time to figure that out laterhopefully. My immediate concern was getting my defenseless bean sidhe butt out of the Netherworld before something predatory came along to eat me. And in the Netherworld, that could be anything. Including the plant life.
I had plenty of intent to cross over when I called forth my wail this time, but nothing came out but a soft, hoarse croak. Id lost my voice screaming my way into the Netherworld, and now had no way out. Nor could I move from the spot where I stood without slicing my bare feet open on every stalk of wheat I shattered.
Then, with panic looming, my hands actually shaking from both the cold and my slim chance of escape, a sudden crashing, furiously chiming sound made me jump. My elbow hit the stalk to my left, and it shattered into tiny needle-sharp shards. Several points scraped my leg as they fell, three or four actually lodging in my skin, but I couldnt bend to examine the damage without breaking more of the wheat. So I stood as still as possible, my mind racing in search of a way out, and I flinched each time the racket from my left grew louder.
The sound was like the tinkling of shattering razor wheat, only it echoed, and each burst followed a heavy metallic crash.
Desperate now, I held Emmas death in my mindremembering how shed looked as shed collapsed to the gym floor, her eyes empty, her hands uncurling at her sidesas I tried to work up enough saliva to swallow and ease the pain in my throat. Which would hopefully make it possible for me to wail, at least long enough to cross over.
My pulse raced. My palms began to sweat in spite of the cold eating at my skin, echoing the sting of the wheat shards in my flesh. The crashing continued, headed toward me, and I flinched with each new burst of sound.
I swallowed convulsively, wishing I dared to move enough to rub my throat, and wishing even harder that I had something to drink. Something warm and sweet, like the hot tea Harmony always made after I wailed.
Another crash, alarmingly close, and my stomach leaped into my throat. The next was closer stilljust yards away now. On my left, stalks of grass swayed to either side in a nearly straight line, like the part between a little girls pigtails. But the seed clumps at the top of the stalks were eye height on me, so I couldnt see much more than the movement itself.
Drowning in fresh panic, I opened my mouth and forced a sound out, devastated when the croak warbled, then faded.
I swallowed again and clenched my fists at my sides. Then I pictured Emmas pale, dead face in my mind and let loose my wail with everything I had left in me.
A new scream tore free from my throat, just as painful as the last one, but nowhere near as loud. The sound fractured, and I scrambled to pull it back together, closing my eyes in concentration. And when the notes finally steadied, I opened my eyes again to see that the grass around me had gone still. I no longer heard the crashing, but then, I could rarely hear anything over my own wailing. Yet I knew instinctively that the creature in the wheat with me had stopped moving, either scared or surprised by my wail.
The stalks bent in my direction again. I screamed harder. Razor wheat shattered. My pulse raced. My throat ached. My stomach was leading a revolt of my entire body. Then, finally, a familiar gray fog swept in to overlay my vision, heralding my return to my own world.
Just in time.
And as my bedroom began to reform around mepale walls and furniture oddly overlaid across the still-real olive-tinted fieldthe crashing creature penetrated the wall of wheat at my side, bursting into view.
I almost laughed out loud.
It wasnt some weird, Netherworld monster, eager to eat me. It was an ordinary trash-can lid. An old-fashioned metal disk, wielded by the handle on the topside. The suburban knight had used his shield to break the stalks ahead of him, to avoid being sliced to bits by the literal blades of grass.
It was brilliant, really. I wished Id thought of it.
The improvised shield began to lower, and with the last breath I took in the Netherworld, my gaze landed on a pair of bright brown eyes set into a dark face not much older than my own, crowned by a nest of tight curls and the slightest shadow of a beard.
Then I was back in my room, those eyes fading slowly from the image burned into the backs of my eyelids.
Well, then, get dressed! Harmony, you have to come right now! my father yelled. Terror echoed in his voice like a shout from a lost cave.
My feet shifted on something soft and springy, and my eyes popped open. I stood in the middle of my bed. My bare toes curled around a fold in my comforter, still smudged with gray Netherworld dirt and dotted with tiny spots of blood from splinters of razor wheat. My father stood at the foot of my bed with his back to me, the home phone pressed to his ear.
Shes crossed over, and I cant get into the Netherworld without you! he yelled.
Dad?
He whirled toward me, eyes going wide even as the line of his jaw softened with relief.
Never mind, shes back, he whispered into the phone. Then he hung it up and dropped the receiver on the blankets at my feet. Kaylee, are you okay?
Fine. I whispered, then followed his gaze to the thin shards of razor wheat still protruding from my bloodstained left thigh. Just scratches, I said, reaching down to pluck the needle-sharp splinters from my skin. I collected them loosely in my other palm, and breathed a sigh of relief that razor wheatwhile painfulwasnt poisonous.
Where the hell did you go? He stomped around the foot-board and lifted me from the mattress like a naughty toddler caught jumping on the bed. I heard you wailing, but by the time I got here youd crossed over. What were you doing?
It was an accident, I muttered, my mouth pressed into his shoulder as he hugged me so tight I couldnt catch my breath. The scruff on his chin scratched my neck, and I felt his heart racing through my nightshirt. I dreamed someone died, and woke up in the Netherworld.
It was an accident, I muttered, my mouth pressed into his shoulder as he hugged me so tight I couldnt catch my breath. The scruff on his chin scratched my neck, and I felt his heart racing through my nightshirt. I dreamed someone died, and woke up in the Netherworld.
What? He shook his head slowly. Thats not possible. My dad held me at arms length, searching my eyes for any sign of a lie, but he must have found none, because he didnt get mad. Instead, he got scared. Obviously and truly frighteneda terrifying expression to find on a man who should represent all things strong and safe. You crossed over in your sleep?
Yeah. I set the shards on my nightstand, then sank onto the edge of my bed, holding my dirty feet away from the mattress. Please tell me thats never going to happen again. Only say it better than Harmony did, because she said we couldnt cross over accidentally, and she was wrong.
He sank wearily into my desk chair, the golds and browns in his eyes churning fiercely in fear. I wish I could, Kay, but Ive never heard of anything like this. How did this happen? Who were you dreaming about?
I shrugged, reaching for the clear plastic bottle on my nightstand, wincing as the movement tugged at the fresh cuts on my leg. I dont know. Im not sure I even knew in the dream. I gulped lukewarm water, watching my father as he watched me. What if it happens again? My voice came out soft with fear, and hoarse because of my raw throat.
Well just have to make sure it doesnt. My fathers sigh was carried on a breath of determination. How bout some hot chocolate?
I glanced at my alarm clock, frustrated to see that it was only a quarter to four on Wednesday morning. Make it coffee, and Im in. Because I wouldnt be sleeping any more that night. Or any other night until I figured out how to keep from waking up in the Netherworld.
You drink coffee? My father frowned as he picked up the phone and followed me into the hall.
Not if I can help it.
The phone rang in his hand, and he glanced at the display, then handed it to me as we turned into the small galley-style kitchen. Its Harmony. Tell her youre okay before she and Nash show up with the cavalry.