The Golden Spiral Read Online Free PDF Page B

power.
    No. I refused to believe that. There had to be a way to control my dreams. A way to access this shadow side of the bank. A way to reach Dante before it was too late.
    The dark sky seemed to lower over me, the weight of it making my shoulders hunch as though under an unseen burden. The bank felt unstable beneath my feet, sliding and shifting. I imagined a quicksand pit opening up and dragging me down, or a bottomless sinkhole with sheer walls like a throat, gulping me whole.
    Stop it, I commanded, giving myself a little shake. You don’t have time for this.
    I took a last look around the bank. This place had taken so much from me—it would not take Dante from me without a fight. I kicked down at the ground with my heel, daring it to make the first move.
    It was long past time to wake up and leave this horrible in-between place—not quite the bank, not quite a dream. If Dante was caught in the limbo between doors, then it meant only one thing.
    I had work to do.

Chapter
    3
    The knock on my door sounded like thunder to my tender hearing.
    “Abby? Are you up yet?” Mom’s voice slipped through the crack in the door.
    “Yeah,” I managed to croak. I checked the clock by my bed: 10:14. Later than I thought. What had I been dreaming about? Had Dante been there? My mind still rang with fragmented sounds of tolling bells, whispered voices, and wild screams.
    “Good. Listen, I’ve got to run some errands; Hannah’s coming with me. Dad’s mowing the lawn if you need him. Oh, and Jason is here to see you.”
    “Okay,” I called to Mom as I struggled to find my footing in the world of the awake. “I’ll be right down.” Rolling out of bed, I managed to exchange my pajamas for some sweats and a T-shirt.
    As I reached for the doorknob, a sudden flash of light across my vision stripped away my sight, turning the world into a stark black-and-white outline. Except everything was switched, like the negative of a photograph. A raw shot of pain tracked fire along my nerves, ending in a knot between my shoulders. I closed my eyes as a wave of dizziness hit me, rocking through my stomach and making me nauseated. Needles of cold pricked at my wrists, turning my fingers numb. I shook them hard, trying to force some circulation back into them.
    As quickly as it had hit, the contraction of pain disappeared and my vision returned to normal. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking.
    In some ways it was like those white flashes I’d had a few months ago when I’d been out of sync with the flow of time. But this was worse. Much worse.
    I didn’t know exactly what was going on. But I knew it was something bad.
    ***
    Jason was waiting for me in the front room. He had made himself comfortable on the couch, piling the throw pillows to one side so he could lean back against the cushions with ease. It was his favorite spot to relax, and seeing him there—just as I had seen him there countless times before—evoked a sudden sense of déjà vu. There was something so right about seeing him there, and yet, something so wrong as well that I almost missed the last step on the stairs and had to grab at the banister to steady myself.
    Jason leaned forward, one hand out to catch me even though I was too far away. “Are you okay, Abby? You look terrible.”
    I offered up a weak smile. “Gee, thanks.” The world
continued to tilt around me in a rolling circle. I made my way into the front room and sat down heavily next to Jason on the couch. I leaned against the mounded pillows, hoping they would offer some stability for my spinning vision.
    Jason brushed the hair away from my face, his touch tender and cool. “Do you want me to get you a glass of water or something?”
    I shook my head and then wished I hadn’t. “Just . . . give me a minute.” Breathing deeply, I counted my heartbeats, concentrating on keeping them even and steady. The world finally began to settle down and play nice.
    “What are