Somewhere to Dream (Berkley Sensation) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Soquili. I burst through the door, my arms held out as if I were trying to catch something, but was confused by the sunshine, dizzy with the effects of the vision. I collided with a body and a pair of solid arms closed around me.
    Wahyaw. His fierce eyes glared down at me, the arch of his brow betraying a mixture of irritation and curiosity. “What is it?”
    I struggled out of his embrace and grabbed his arms instead. “You have to go, Wahyaw. You have to save your brother.”
    The frown deepened. “What are you saying?”
    A flush rose up my neck, burned in my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop now. “I had a vision. Just now. Soquili—”
    “He is not here.”
    “Did he go on a raid?”
    Wahyaw narrowed his eyes, studying me. I know he saw confusion, but it was a confusion based on belief. “A vision?”
    “A dream.”
    He took a step back, crossed solid arms over his chest, and eyed me speculatively. “You. Not Ma-kee, but you.”
    I straightened, slightly offended. “Yes, me. I have been working with the Grandmother, too, you know. Maggie’s not the only one with gifts.”
    “I did not know—” He blinked, clearing whatever he’d been thinking from his mind, then nodded. “Soquili rode out. I will go, but I wanted to see you first. I felt bad for our last talk.”
    I shook my head, dismissing his worries. Mine were bigger. I pressed my hands against his arms, shoving gently at him. “Go. He’s in terrible danger.”
    He nodded, then bit his lip. I hadn’t seen that expression before. Almost apologetic. “I did not mean to frighten you, Ad-layd. We will marry. But I can wait for you to be ready. I understand.”
    To witness this warrior, this powerful, unshakable man, holding his heart in his hands before me in a poignant display was moving. Any other time, I would have treated his emotions with more care.
    “Thank you,” I said. “Now go.”
    He did, running toward the corral and swinging easily onto the back of a large spotted horse. He urged the animal toward the trees, and they disappeared within. I stood frozen, staring at the place where I had last seen his broad back. My thoughts weren’t with him anymore, but with the question of what to do next. Should I go to the Grandmother? Tell her what I’d seen and done? What if she was angry? But how could she be? I had only done what she had always encouraged me to do. I had trusted my visions, let my mind sink into them until a message—an important message—had come to me. I had done everything she’d taught me to do, except for one thing: at the first hint of danger, I’d panicked, breaking out of the trance, determined to escape the threat.
    Maybe I had saved Soquili’s life. But what if . . .
    I turned toward the seven-sided council house in the centre of the village and ducked inside. The Grandmother huddled by the stack of orange embers pulsing in the centre of the room, in quiet conversation with Nechama. Silver strands from both women’s braids caught the sunlight when I entered, shimmered briefly, then dulled again as I lowered the flap of the doorway. The room was dark, providing only a vague outline of their profiles as I stepped in. The women turned, startled to see me standing in the doorway. I rarely visited Wah-Li without an invitation. No one did.
    But she welcomed me in as if she had been waiting. “What is it, Shadow Girl?” she asked. “Come and sit with us.”
    Nechama cocked her head, intrigued. I took my place across the hearth from them, slightly out of breath from racing across the field to her home. Neither was used to seeing me in that condition. Usually I was so quiet they had to keep checking to make sure I was still breathing.
    I told them what I had seen and what I had done. The women exchanged glances, then Wah-Li extended her hand to take mine. Hers was dry and wrinkled, but soft as a dove’s wing. Her ancient eyes flickered with curiosity.
    “And how did it feel, my girl, to open your wings on your own?