Chapter Two

Nyla

White. The entire world had gone white, filled with a visual static that left me partially blind. I pushed harder on my senses, stretching myself thin, my ability straining at the edges. Too far…too, too far. For a moment, even the white faded, disappeared, leaving nothing. No light, no color. Just an endless sea of black that made my mouth go dry. A mental tomb of sorts, cutting me off from the outside world. But the fear couldn’t stop me. Not tonight. Not when I was so close.

I pushed on, struggling through the dark. Motivated by a fear bigger than the nothing around me. The tilted reality brewing in my head had become an immediate danger, something I couldn’t put off any longer. This had to work. My mother had encouraged me, told me to let the power flow through me as I went to sleep. To call for it. She knew what was coming, and she dreaded it as much as I did.

No one wanted to see their daughter murdered before them or handed off as a prize to a man she didn’t love.

But that’s what would happen if I failed, if I didn’t try hard enough. If I couldn’t get through. Once the Council discovered my mating call had begun, they’d be all over me to choose someone from inside the clan to join with. But that’s not what I wanted. Never had been. I wanted my mate, my true soul mate, and the power surge my Tallan received from starting my slow decline into insanity was going to help me find him.

I pushed my abilities harder, searching him out through the nothingness. Looking for darkness within the darkness as I had for days. Every night, I gained a bit on him. It’d taken me a week simply to feel a ping, a general kind of hey, over here. I spent another few days homing in on that ping, spreading myself further, working the edges until I’d done it. I’d found him. The relief had been so strong, I’d nearly cried in joy. But then reality had hit me upside the head.

I’d found him, but getting inside his head was going to be another uphill fight.

Still, I kept going. Kept working the psychic power of the Tallan. Kept searching for a way to communicate with him. And I had. The past week, I’d breached his walls, entered his psyche, and done my best to learn about him from his thoughts and memories, as vague as they were. If my Tallan were stronger, if I’d had more skill as a MacDonald psychic, I’d have been able to see more. But my power had never been that strong, and my options were limited.

But every night, I’d come through a little faster, received a little more reaction from him, though not nearly enough. Tonight, I wanted to secure our connection and actually communicate. Tonight, I’d use the power of the Tallan to dreamwalk with my mate.

The distance between us had to be great. My power had never been put to such a test, my abilities never worked so hard. But I could finally feel him. I was close, too close not to make it. My time was so short; there was no way I could give up. Already, my mind fractured at times, visions causing me to doubt reality. If I couldn’t reach him, couldn’t make him see me soon, The Council would step in, and I’d be as good as dead.

Or handed off to whichever man was willing to be saddled with me: poor, weak Nyla MacDonald, the charity case of the clan.

Something flirted with the edge of my consciousness, drawing my attention away from the issues at home. A comforting feeling, one of rightness and safety led me further through the dark. More than just a ping, this was a full tsunami of sensation. The black slowly lightened to leave a white haze around me, the white dissolving to dark gold and brown. Shadows danced across long wood beams, color exploded from under my feet in a pattern not clear enough for me to make sense of, and the smell of a late summer night tickled my nose. Wood burning nearby, a fire in a large, stone fireplace…a cabin of some sort. Warm and cozy, the natural beauty of the space appealed to me. Comforted me. Made me feel at home.

The picture in my mind filled in nicely, color and shape becoming specific objects. My vision wasn’t quite clear, but it was far better than it had been the first few times I’d tried to find my mate. I was getting better and stronger on every trip. Dreamwalking may have been a born trait of the MacDonald clan, but that didn’t mean it came easily. Especially not to me.

I checked out more of the space, trying to get a feel for the man who lived there. Looking through the eyes of his memories to clean up the things I couldn’t see myself. The room was dark, the only light the glow of the fire, the windows reflecting the golden flames. No lights outside, only the inky blackness of a new-moon night. The lack of light made me think this was a home away from people, perhaps rural or secluded in the forests somewhere. Like my own.

Bare walls, a soft, plush rug covering part of the honey-colored wood floor, the simplicity of the few decorative touches…all the details spoke of comfort over style. This was a real man’s home, a place to relax and work, to play and live. An extra wide chair and ottoman sat in one corner with a wall of bookcases behind it. A pair of glasses rested on the arm, left behind by the occupant. He liked to read, and he needed glasses to do it. That thought made me smile.

And then he was there, standing in front of me, looking down at me. Tall, hugely tall, and big like the furniture, taking up way more space than I’d expected. It was the first time I’d seen him so clearly, and I couldn’t stop staring.

His lips moved, stealing my attention. My eyes darted to them, then up to meet his gaze and back down. Again, he spoke words I couldn’t hear, brow pulling down when I didn’t respond. I tried to see, to read his lips, to get a feel for the words he spoke, but it was too dark for me to make out. Too many shadows to figure it out. I pushed with my powers again, a shiver of magic working up my spine, making the fire grow hotter. Brighter. He moved his lips again.

Who are you?

No sound. Never any sound. I tried to speak, to tell him my name at the very least, but I knew by his confused expression that he didn’t understand me. I clenched my fists, pushing harder on my gift, putting all my energy into that one word.

Nothing.

His smile dimmed as I stood silent, disappointment coloring his handsome face. And he was handsome. Rugged and muscular, with dark hair and eyes and a jaw so sharp it looked as if it had been chiseled out of stone. The scruffy beard he wore didn’t hide the angles, either. Instead, the deep shadows accentuated them. I wanted to touch him, to tell him why I was there, to ask for his help. To find comfort in his obvious strength. But I had no idea how.

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, ones I fought not to shed. Desperate, I brought my hands up. He watched, interested. Patient. I smiled and started making the symbols I’d learned as a child, the ones my mother had taken the time to learn with me. Without thought or effort, I told him my story. Muscles flexing and contracting as I fought to communicate. He shook his head, not understanding, not knowing my language. The first tear fell as I started again. Slower. More exaggerated. Three times. Four. Every minute taking more and more of my energy. Every head shake leading to more tears.

The room lightened suddenly, the white haze coming back, details disappearing. I rushed through another pass, mouthing words, screaming them in my head.

I’m Nyla of Deals Gap. Find me. Help me.

He reached for me, mouth moving, but there was nothing to hear, the silence too loud in my ears. The white increased, washing him out, taking away my chance. And then he was gone.

I jackknifed up in my bed, gasping for air. Damn it. I was so close this time, closer than ever before. He was right there in the dream, solid and real. Well, sort of real. Mostly real. Kind of.

Damn it.

I threw off my covers and stormed across the room. There was no sense in trying to fall back asleep. My entire body hurt, every inch of me paying the price for pushing my power so far. I snorted at that thought. Power, my ass. The Tallan didn’t make me feel powerful. In fact, as I walked into my little kitchen, I felt weaker than ever. Drained. I had no idea if I’d even have the strength to dreamwalk to him again once the day ended, but I’d have to find a way. My life depended on it.