Page 17 of Ruby & Onyx

They’re staring.

Burning.

Glowing.

Chapter 7

The red eyes are morphing into something new. No longer are they the disembodied orbs that materialize on the edge of sleep. Through the sleep-induced haze that clouds my eyes, I see two fully corporeal beings coming into view. Their lean bodies emit a soft glow that makes them just barely visible in the dark.

I blink with all of my might, hoping to find that my eyes are playing tricks on me. But when I reopen them, I see the two bodies creeping closer.

Moose growls at the beings with his tail pointed in a hunting stance. If he can see them, then maybe I’m not imagining it. Oh, gods, please let this be another nightmare. I squeeze my eyes shut once again and try to force myself awake, but it’s no use.

I am awake.

This is real.

Fear rocks through me so forcefully that I can hardly see straight.

Behind them, I see a dull glow like the body of a flame burning outside the window.

One figure extends a scaly hand toward me, and against my will, my hand reaches up to meet it. I can’t fight it. No matter how hard I try to pull back, my hand continues to rise. It’s acting of its own accord as if my brain has no dominion over it.

Before I can run, before I can stop what’s about to happen, our hands meet. The second they do, an explosion of sound and color booms around us, and the room melts into a blur like watercolors washing away. I’m being yanked and pushed, stretched and shrunk, whirling through space like a rock flung from a slingshot. I try to grab onto something, anything, but there is nothing. Only the blur of colors and sounds surrounding us on all sides.

On and on we go, freefalling into oblivion. After what could be minutes, seconds, or, hell, even hours in this suspended state, I give in to the light, relinquishing control of my body, until finally, my feet land squarely on the ground. The roaring colors turn into inky blackness, which then fades away like paint chipping from a wall. It takes a moment for me to recognize that I am no longer in my cottage, and Moose is nowhere to be found.

My gods, am I dead? Am I dreaming?

I pinch myself to be sure. And, much to my dismay, the twinge between my fingers confirms that this is most definitely real.

The creatures, beings, people, whatever they are, stand beside me, totally unaffected by the psychedelic trip that sent us whirling through the air. Is that it? Did I accidentally eat a mushroom? I try to think back to my last meal, but all I had was rice. Maybe it was contaminated? Gods, I don’t know.

Get it together, Radya. You can figure this out.

The things beside me wear stiff black tunics and gold-plated belts affixed with ruby-hilted daggers. Their bald heads and diamond eyes remind me of a snake, just as cold and stoic. We stare wordlessly at each other while I try to gather my thoughts, but I can’t focus.

Those eyes… the very eyes that lurked beyond my nightmares… they were creatures! They made my hand move against my will. How can they control my movements? How are they real?

Panic rises in my chest until I can hardly breathe.

Where am I? Who are they? What in the name of the gods is going on?

Breathe, Radya. In… and out… in… and out…

I need answers.

“Who are you?”

Neither figure responds.

“Where are we?”

Only the floor makes a sound as I shift my weight.

“Can you speak?”

I take their lack of response as confirmation that they cannot, or will not, speak.

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