Wolf Dream Page 7

  My heart raced and dropped in my stomach. Ian rushed over to me as the ride smoothed back out. “It’s okay, we’ll just have Julie wake him back up.”

  I nodded into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Um, well, maybe we should address the other problem I was talking about too. I’m not saying waking the pilot is a bad idea, but what are we gonna do about the other three crossbreeds that fled somewhere in the plane I saw when coming downstairs?”

  We all looked at Lauren. “What other three?” I asked.

  More turbulence made me grasp Ian’s shirt until my knuckles turned white. A slight whir sounded as the descent became more prominent. “We’re gonna die,” I whispered.

  “Um, Julie, now would be a good time to wake up the pilot,” Ian said.

  Julie ran toward the cockpit. I took in a deep breath. She was gonna wake him up and we would be fine. I hoped.

  Lauren let out a small cry as the dim lights flickered overhead and along the bottom of the aisles. Okay, so maybe we really were going to die.

  Luna brushed up against my leg. “It’s okay, Es, I’m right here. It might hurt and take forever to recover, but you’re immortal, remember? You can make it through this.”

  That was not comforting at all. I looked up into Ian’s azure eyes. He was not immortal. If only we had taken the next steps to being together, maybe then he would have been okay. Like my dad with my mom, they were bound together by love, making him immortal with her. I loved Ian, but was it enough to save him?

  “Esmerelda, I need your help!” Julie yelled from the front of the plane.

  That worried me even more than dying. She never needed—let alone wanted—my help. I ran as fast as I could, jumping over the dead bodies to get to the cockpit.

  She looked at me with wide eyes. “He won’t wake up. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  Jarak was there first, grabbing Julie and pulling her out of the way. “Move, Es, I can’t let this happen, not right now. It’s not right.”

  I didn’t understand what he meant but moved anyway. Ian was right behind me. “Camilla and Lauren went to take care of the other three breeds, and Ailaina went to find a first aid kit to help Lauren.”

  I nodded but it all felt so surreal. Was this really happening?

  “Damn it, Julie, why’d you have to put them to sleep?” Ian asked.

  “Don’t yell at me. I did what I had to do.”

  Jarak tried every combination to open the cockpit door but nothing worked. Ian pushed past me to Jarak. “Move over, I got this.” He slammed into the door with his shoulder, creating a small but otherwise useless dent. Turbulence jerked the plane as Ian hit it again.

  “Hey, man, I don’t see what you’re trying to do. This door is made to withhold attacks,” Jarak said as he returned to the door.

  “Well, wise one, the plane is going down because smarty pants over there put the pilot to sleep and can’t wake him. We,” he used his finger to point at all of us in a circle, “are the only ones awake. So, we need to get in there.”

  Hearing Ian confirm my fear of why the plane was descending so fast scared me even more. “Let him try, Jarak.”

  “Fine, but what are you gonna do once you get in there? None of us know how to fly a plane.”

  “I’ll figure that out, right now we just need to open this door.” Ian plowed into the door again.

  “That won’t work,” Camilla said as she neared the cockpit.

  Jarak raised his hands in surrender. “I’ve already tried to tell him.”

  “Here, let me.” She walked up to the door with a set of keys.

  Ian moved back over by me, rubbing his shoulder. “Well, now you show up.”

  The door opened and Camilla moved out of the way. Ian rushed into the cockpit. One of the pilots had fallen forward when Julie put them to sleep and landed on the autopilot, turning it off. Well, that explains why the plane is descending.

  We all crowded in as best we could to watch. Ian moved him from his seat and laid him on the floor. Stepping over him, Ian sat down and looked around. “Do you think if I hit the auto thing it will engage where they had it set before?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but we gotta try something.”

  Ian switched it over but nothing happened. He shook his head then hit the control dash. “Julie, wake him up!”

  “I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  “Figure it out,” I said as I stepped over the sleeping pilot and unbuckled the other one. He slouched over and I barely caught him before his head hit the floor. He finally made it out of the chair and rested on top of the other guy. I sat in the other pilot’s seat. “Maybe I can help?”

  Ian gave me a sad look. “What do you wanna try?”

  “I don’t know. I’m gonna feel for the energy in the computer to help while you switch the auto thing back on again. If we can keep us from crashing into the ocean until Julie can wake up the pilot, then I will be happy.”

  “Alright, ready?” Ian grabbed the switch and waited for me.

  Even with shaky hands I released enough energy to boost the power in the computer and Ian turned it on. Almost instantly, the plane leveled out and I could feel an incline. “Oh thank God.” My breaths came fast.

  Camilla grabbed her chest and let out a sigh. “Thank you.”

  I stood up and ran out of the cockpit. Julie wasn’t anywhere that I could see. The passengers I passed were still asleep, but at least the plane wasn’t descending anymore. Although, the lights still flickered occasionally down the aisles.

  “Julie!” I ran down the aisle. Where was she?

  “Es, Ailaina needs your help with Lauren.” Luna’s distraught voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I headed back to the stairs. Taking two at a time, I made it to the upper deck where Ailaina, Lauren, and Luna waited for me. Lauren was lying on the floor and I could see she was having trouble breathing.

  I kneeled next to her. She smiled up at me but I knew it was fake. “So you decided to join my party after all,” she whispered in between heavy breaths.

  “Yeah, you know, I thought you’d miss me.” I looked over her torso. Her hands were folded together over the wound in her side. I wanted to cry. It looked so much worse than it did earlier. Bright crimson pooled out onto the floor.

  “Es,” Ailaina touched my arm. “They used Belladonna.”

  The world around me seemed to slow down. Nothing mattered anymore but Lauren. It was just like Bry all over again. All of my childhood he was my dad; even after I found out, I loved him just the same. In my heart I would always have a place for him as a father, and losing him much the same way pulled at my heart as I looked at Lauren. “Get Ian.”

  I knew Ailaina left to go find him but I never saw her leave. Luna nestled up next to me and that’s when I noticed Kara laying down with Lauren. Her muzzle rested on Lauren’s shoulder. Her soft whimper tore at my heart, and tears filled my eyes.

  I sat up a little better and ran my hands over her injury. I could feel the Belladonna burning my skin, but I still tried to pull it from her. Lauren gripped my wrist. “Don’t, it’s not worth you dying too.” She took a ragged breath and winced. “Besides, Ian needs you. I’m glad he’s happy again.”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m gonna try. I have to.” I sniffed and tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway.

  I placed my hands back over her wound and tried to pull the poison from her, but nothing came out. I pushed harder as tears streamed profusely down my face. Ian gently moved my hands away. I didn’t even realize he was there with us. “Es, honey, she’s gone.”

  Ailaina pulled her knees to her chest and cried.

  I sobbed as Ian pulled me into his arms. A howl made me look over his shoulder. Lauren’s spirit wolf looked down at Lauren, and then slowly she disappeared. Tiny sparkles of glistening spirit remained where she stood dutifully, then floated over Lauren, covering her completely. One at a time they faded until Lauren and
her wolf were gone.

  My body racked as a new sob tore through me. Ian held me closer. “Es, I know it’s hard, but we have to find Julie and wake up the pilot.”

  I nodded and pulled back from his cocoon of comfort. “I have a better idea.” I wiped the tears away and took one more glance where Lauren had been. I stood up and ran down the stairs, Ian close behind me, leaving Ailaina to grieve alone.

  All the passengers were still sleeping heavily. I felt out around me, not for crossbreeds or magical beings, but for the spell she used. It wasn’t a normal sleep spell, that much I was certain. And where the heck did Julie go? I should’ve thought of it sooner – it was her spell and she could undo it, she just didn’t want to. But why?

  “Princess, what are you doing?”

  I spun around to face Ian. “I’m gonna wake them up.”

  He tipped his head slightly. “You can do that?”

  “I’m stronger than her. For crying out loud, I brought Julie back to life, I can counter her stupid spell.”

  “Alright, if you’re sure.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  “Hey there, give me a hand, will ya,” Camilla called out from the first class area.

  Ian and I both ran in there. She was dragging one of the breeds toward a closet of sorts. Once I got closer I could tell it was an elevator that made the downstairs accessible to the crew. “What are you doing?”

  She stopped tugging on the lifeless body to look up at me. She blew her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. “You have to ask? Before you go waking up all my passengers I need to set the stage. If they wake up and see dead bodies everywhere; what will happen?”

  I leaned toward Ian. “She’s got a point.”

  Ian bent over and picked up the guy she was hauling and swung him up over the seats and onto his shoulder. “Where do I put him?”

  Camilla walked briskly to the elevator that was already open with one guy inside. “Put him in here. We’re gonna have to stuff it as full as we can. I only have two storage spaces available: this elevator and that closet.” She nodded to a small closet just to my left.

  The plane bounced for few seconds and I held my breath. We needed to wake the pilot before something happened and we all died—then it wouldn’t matter where we stuffed the bodies. “Come on, guys, we need to hurry.”

  “Where the heck are Jarak and Julie anyway?” Ian asked as he shoved a body in the closet.

  I dropped the legs of the one I pulled to the elevator. “I have no idea, but they are seriously pissing me off.”

  “Hey, they’re just missing all the fun.” Ian gave me a wink before picking up the breed at our feet.

  Camilla dragged the last body over to us. “You call this fun?”

  “Have you guys seen Julie?” Jarak said behind me.

  “So now you show up? Where’ve you been?” Ian kicked a hand back inside the closet before slamming the door shut. “Don’t you dare lie to me either, brother. What’s going on?”

  Jarak took a step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I felt the familiar tingles of electricity in the palm of my hand. I held it up. Tiny sparks that looked like lightning sizzled out from my skin. “Jarak, don’t make me use this on you.”

  He swallowed hard and held his arms up. “Es, it’s me, Jarak; you know me. I don’t know, honestly.”

  “Funny thing is, I don’t know you anymore. Since Julie came back as the walking dead, you’ve changed. Now tell us, what’s going on?”

  Jarak took off down toward the back of the plane. Ian and I exchanged looks before taking off after him. “Where does he think he’s going? We’re thirty-something thousand feet in the air. It’s not like he can just disappear!” I said while jogging down the aisle, looking in every row for Jarak.

  “Esmerelda!”

  I stopped as Camilla called my name.

  “I’ll go look with Ian after I get this passenger to her seat. I can’t have her waking up on the floor. You need to wake the pilot.”

  She was right. Ian gave me a slight nod before taking off after Jarak again. I helped Camilla buckle the woman in her seat. “Will she remember?”

  “She’ll hopefully remember it as a bad dream.”

  “Ugh, I’ve had my share of those lately.” I looked outside; light was slowly creeping its way into the sky. Morning was coming. I needed to wake the pilot—fast.

  Camilla touched my arm. “Go ahead. I trust that you can do it. I’ll go help Ian with Jarak and Julie.”

  I nodded as she ran down the aisle. I let out a deep breath and walked to the cockpit. The door was still wide open and both pilots were still piled on each other sleeping soundly. Great. I needed them to be in their seats with the door closed so the pilot didn’t realize anything was wrong.

  “I’ll help.”

  Ailaina’s voice made me jump. I spun around and gave her a smile. I was glad to see her. “You okay?”

  Her brow creased. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t have a choice right now. We’d just become fast friends. I just, I don’t know.”

  I gave her a hug. I knew she was still upset, but I didn’t have time to think about Lauren. I was needed to help save everyone on the plane. She pulled back and wiped her face clear of all tears and sniffed. “I’m okay. Let’s get them to their seats.”

  It took both of us, but we were finally able to get each man in his seat with belts buckled. “Alright, let’s close the door. Camilla can come talk to the co-pilot; besides, I have no clue which one works for the B.O.M.B. because he’s human, and I’m not sure which one is pilot or co-pilot.”

  Ailaina nodded and we slipped out of the cockpit, sliding the door shut. She let out a long breath. “What about all the blood? I mean, it’s everywhere. I think the passengers will notice if they are painted red when they wake up and the floor and seats don’t look much better.”

  I looked around. She was right, blood was splattered all over the cabin and some of the passengers had speckled red splotches on them. “I think I’m glad I have magic for this mess.” I chanted a small vanishing spell, and the crimson color disappeared from sight.

  Ailaina looked around, impressed, her hands on her hips. “Much better. At least it doesn’t look like World War Z happened anymore. Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  I closed my eyes and let the energy around and inside the plane fill me. In my head I could see the energy of each person and looked for the one light surrounding everyone that was the same. A hue of green hovered over the entire plane, covering each passenger. That was it.

  I slipped my hands from Ailaina and raised them above my head. I opened my eyes and could actually see the magic that kept everyone asleep. The energy continued to fill me until everything around me started to crackle and sizzle from the power I created.

  In one fast motion, I brought my hands down and out away from my body, pushing away the mist of green. A shockwave of white shot out all around me, knocking Ailaina to the ground. I could see an electric surge rush down the walls of the plane. My body tensed and as an afterthought, I hoped I didn’t interfere with the computer system.

  A boom sounded throughout the airplane, loud enough for me to cover my ears and crouch down. I looked up and noticed a few passengers stirring. My heart lifted. The lady who walked in on us in first class looked around with wide eyes. I stood up and offered her a smile. Ailaina stood also and walked to the cockpit. Passengers stared at us as we got close enough to hear the pilots talking. Relief flooded through me.

  We smiled at each other and walked toward the back of the plane to look for everyone else. We made it to the back galley area when another flight attendant stopped us. “I’m sorry, you can’t be back here. We’re going to get ready for our descent soon, so please take your seats.”

  I grinned at her, but I had no intentions of going back until I knew where Ian was. “I’m looking for Camilla.”

  The attendant cocked her head. “Camilla went upstairs.”

&
nbsp; “Thank you.”

  Ailaina and I both hurriedly walked to the stairs. Upstairs, the other passengers were stirring too. Camilla was pushing shut the lavatory door and smiled when she saw us. Ian stood up from his seat to greet me. “You okay?” he asked with a husky whisper.

  I nodded as he took my hand to his chest. “Yeah, I just didn’t know where you were. Did you find them?”

  “Yeah.” He looked over at Camilla. She walked toward us.

  She wet her lips with her tongue. “We had to restrict them. I have them tucked away, so to speak, until we land.”

  Ailaina folded her arms across her chest. “I can’t imagine Jarak having anything to do with all this.”

  Camilla frowned. “I’m not sure he did. At least not that he was aware of. His girlfriend has a lot of control over him, maybe more than you knew. I do know I need to speak with Andrew; he knows something for sure.” She excused herself and went downstairs.

  An attendant’s voice came out over the intercom, letting us know we were on our final descent. It was strange how all the passengers went on as if nothing happened. If only they knew what really happened in the last hour or so. I sat down with Ian and Ailaina took the seat behind me, not wanting to sit where her and Lauren were earlier—not that I could blame her. This was definitely one flight I was ready to be off of.

  It felt like decades since we boarded. My adrenaline was still spiked and my whole body shook. Ian grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’s over, Es.”

  I chewed on an already too-short nail and nodded. “I know,” I let out a breath, “it was just weird, ya know? How so many were on the plane and intent on killing me. Will this nightmare ever be truly over?”

  “It will.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I told you, we won’t stop until Nicholas is dead.”

  Chapter Eight

  Leaving a Friend Behind

  Esmerelda

  We let everyone else get off the plane before getting up. Camilla met us at the top of the stairs. She gave me a quick hug. “It was nice to meet you. I just wish it were under different circumstances.”