she could pay their mortgage.
The vision reshaped itself again. Nat was talking to a boy from her high school as he leaned against the gray lockers. Her skin crawled at the memory. She did not need to hear the voices to remember the conversation. The boy had posted explicit pictures of ex-girlfriends online and had set his eyes on Cal. His defiant look disappeared when Nat’s track team suddenly appeared in the hallway and stood behind her. He’d never said another word to Cal.
More images materialized. She watched scene after scene of problems that had popped up in her life or in the lives of those around her and how she’d dealt with them. Nat dropped her eyes, confused. She pulled her orb from her pocket and felt the comforting smoothness of its surface.
When she looked up, she gasped. She saw herself cradling Soris’ head in her lap as a river coursed behind them. The fabric around his shoulder hung in shreds. Blood and venom stained the skin encircling the deep bite wounds. The body of the dead Nala lay curled up near the water. Nat felt a fury inside her and brought her fist slamming down on the screen. The glass splintered and the walls of the room fell, then disappeared like the image.
She was alone in a field that spread forever in every direction. She stood in the long grass and turned, wondering which way to go. Curling her fingers around the orb, she set off running down a dirt path that appeared at her feet. She felt the ground beneath her rise slightly as the path cut over a hill. The grass disappeared. Slabs of split granite shot up from the top of the hill. Nat held on to her orb tightly and climbed up and over each ancient rock until her fingers brushed the familiar ledge of her dream space.
Nat paused before pulling herself over the ledge, remembering Barba’s words. You can come in, she said to her orb, then threw her leg over the boundary and tumbled onto the floor. The bars of light along the ledge lit up like a series of fireworks, but she hardly noticed. She held the orb in her hand. It felt solid, real. Is it really with me, or is it just a figment?
She glanced around the empty space, remembering how she’d touched people and objects in her dream space in the past. She clutched the orb, convinced of its physicality, and sat with her legs crossed on the floor. She stared at it, knowing everything her dreams had revealed. Did you see all of it, too? she silently asked the orb as she thought of the images, intentions, feelings, and beliefs she hardly remembered and those painfully new. She stared intently, willing it to accept her emotions.
After what seemed like hours, Nat fell onto her back, exhausted. The ball rolled onto the floor, lifeless. She closed her eyes, knowing she’d failed. It’s okay, I can still go back to Fourline, find the Nala, and finish it off so Soris and I can be free of the remnant. I know so much more now. It doesn’t matter that I’m not a Sister. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.
She sighed, feeling the heavy weight of her doubt return. She glanced at the floor, looking for the useless orb. It was gone. Figures, she thought as she stood up and walked glumly toward the barrier lights. I can’t even conjure a working orb in my dream space. Nat rubbed her forehead and wondered how Barba would take the news.
She stretched her arms above her head, trying to loosen the knot forming in her neck. She knocked into something hard and glanced over her shoulder. Her orb spun away from the impact with her hand. A faint light pulsed from deep within its core.
“No way!” Nat cried. The orb burst with light, filled with the joy spilling from Nat. A nervous thought fluttered through her. Hesitating a moment, she dropped her light barrier. The orb zipped across the ledge into her dreams as if it’d read her mind.
Okay, now for the real test. She turned her back on the orb and forced her mind to think of nothing but a blank sheet of paper. Warmth tickled the back
The vision reshaped itself again. Nat was talking to a boy from her high school as he leaned against the gray lockers. Her skin crawled at the memory. She did not need to hear the voices to remember the conversation. The boy had posted explicit pictures of ex-girlfriends online and had set his eyes on Cal. His defiant look disappeared when Nat’s track team suddenly appeared in the hallway and stood behind her. He’d never said another word to Cal.
More images materialized. She watched scene after scene of problems that had popped up in her life or in the lives of those around her and how she’d dealt with them. Nat dropped her eyes, confused. She pulled her orb from her pocket and felt the comforting smoothness of its surface.
When she looked up, she gasped. She saw herself cradling Soris’ head in her lap as a river coursed behind them. The fabric around his shoulder hung in shreds. Blood and venom stained the skin encircling the deep bite wounds. The body of the dead Nala lay curled up near the water. Nat felt a fury inside her and brought her fist slamming down on the screen. The glass splintered and the walls of the room fell, then disappeared like the image.
She was alone in a field that spread forever in every direction. She stood in the long grass and turned, wondering which way to go. Curling her fingers around the orb, she set off running down a dirt path that appeared at her feet. She felt the ground beneath her rise slightly as the path cut over a hill. The grass disappeared. Slabs of split granite shot up from the top of the hill. Nat held on to her orb tightly and climbed up and over each ancient rock until her fingers brushed the familiar ledge of her dream space.
Nat paused before pulling herself over the ledge, remembering Barba’s words. You can come in, she said to her orb, then threw her leg over the boundary and tumbled onto the floor. The bars of light along the ledge lit up like a series of fireworks, but she hardly noticed. She held the orb in her hand. It felt solid, real. Is it really with me, or is it just a figment?
She glanced around the empty space, remembering how she’d touched people and objects in her dream space in the past. She clutched the orb, convinced of its physicality, and sat with her legs crossed on the floor. She stared at it, knowing everything her dreams had revealed. Did you see all of it, too? she silently asked the orb as she thought of the images, intentions, feelings, and beliefs she hardly remembered and those painfully new. She stared intently, willing it to accept her emotions.
After what seemed like hours, Nat fell onto her back, exhausted. The ball rolled onto the floor, lifeless. She closed her eyes, knowing she’d failed. It’s okay, I can still go back to Fourline, find the Nala, and finish it off so Soris and I can be free of the remnant. I know so much more now. It doesn’t matter that I’m not a Sister. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.
She sighed, feeling the heavy weight of her doubt return. She glanced at the floor, looking for the useless orb. It was gone. Figures, she thought as she stood up and walked glumly toward the barrier lights. I can’t even conjure a working orb in my dream space. Nat rubbed her forehead and wondered how Barba would take the news.
She stretched her arms above her head, trying to loosen the knot forming in her neck. She knocked into something hard and glanced over her shoulder. Her orb spun away from the impact with her hand. A faint light pulsed from deep within its core.
“No way!” Nat cried. The orb burst with light, filled with the joy spilling from Nat. A nervous thought fluttered through her. Hesitating a moment, she dropped her light barrier. The orb zipped across the ledge into her dreams as if it’d read her mind.
Okay, now for the real test. She turned her back on the orb and forced her mind to think of nothing but a blank sheet of paper. Warmth tickled the back
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