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Something pushed her. Hard invisible hands. More and more came at her, tiny but strong, beings she couldn’t see, couldn’t elude, pushing her from Jenni’s yard.... No sound from the nasty small ones...at first...then evil whistling giggles, laughing at her, knowing they could kill her...thrusting her south to the edge of the Circle...which fell away in a gigantic waterfall no one could survive. Crushed to death by water.
Her fingers dug into the earth, grabbing, trying to defeat the inevitable. Shards of rock jabbed under her nails. She screamed and screamed and nothing came from her mouth.
With a hiss, a fiery whip wrapped around her wrist. The giggles became long shrieks pitched at the very top of her hearing, spearing into her head. She’d stopped, but the fire ate through her skin and flesh searing down to the bone. Not saved...just dragged north to the Castle, five times its normal size, not brown brick but black stones, slick with dripping blood. Something waited there to feast on the rest of her.
The monsters in the sky dove.
Sharp beaks pierced her, ripped. A huge clawed birdlike foot grabbed her around the waist, puncturing internal organs. Hideous pain, then they flew through the Castle walls and she was dropped onto a hard stone floor inscribed with a magical pattern. A hooded figure sat on a throne above her. She knew she’d been captured and was trapped until torture brought forth every bit of information she had. And she didn’t even know why.
Lightning stormed around her, the walls of the Castle disappeared and she floated in an electric universe that transformed from lightning to brilliant fireball stars....
Kiri’s feet thunked from chair to ground and she quivered, not enough muscle control to even curl up into a ball and hide.
Whoa. Really intense scary nightmare. All from her anxieties about meeting her neighbors and fitting in and the wrenching hurt earlier of not getting the job and the excitement of being a writer on a new game and maybe a teensy fear of failure. The threat of using all her vacation time for an entire year and then washing out of the effing game prologue, having to stick with her present job with no relief.
Her breathing sounded loud and harsh, the house too quiet. Something she didn’t often notice or mind, the memories of her parents’ loud and ugly fights still echoed from her childhood so that a quiet house meant peace.
How long had she been out? She couldn’t see the clock, her arms and legs jerked once as she tried to move, then she rolled over. The cheap wall clock from the dollar store showed that her dream couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes. Though it had seemed like infinity stretching to doom.
She rocked to her feet and passed her computer and the game with no more than a glance, almost shuddering. Even if she entered Fairies and Dragons and defeated monsters there, it might spark more dreams or nightmares that night. She didn’t want to chance that.
A little scritch at the uncovered window made her jump and whirl. She thought she saw a thing, a little brown triangular-eared rat thing, peering in at her with big round eyes.
She sat down hard on the floor and noted the computer hum. It clicked and she flinched. Soothing music wafted out, the album repeating. Maybe her chakras had been overbalanced.
Rising slowly, she looked at the bay window. Nothing there, of course, no scratches on the glass, of course.
A pounding at her front door had her breath trapped in her chest and her body reflexively surging forward.
“Kiri! Kiri!” shouted her friend Shannon from beyond the door.
Kiri looked wildly around the place. Since there was only the chair and two small tables in the living room and she’d mopped and dusted that morning, the room was clean. She glanced down at her sweats. You could barely see the hot chocolate stains against the black fabric, and Shannon and Averill—Shannon’s husband who was probably with her—wouldn’t care.
Rushing to the door, she threw it open. “What is it? Is something wrong—” But Shannon’s beatific smile stopped that sentence.
Shannon flung her arms around Kiri in a tight hug, they rocked and Shannon snuffled. “I have news. Good news!”
Kiri returned the hug. “Fabulous, come in.”
With only a little geek-gawkiness, Shannon pranced in. She was a tall, skinny woman with a pale complexion that showed light freckles. Her carroty hair sprang out from her head in a thick mat and her smile made her cheeks high and round.
Kiri gestured to the big chair and unfolded a camp seat. Shannon’s joy washed over her and she grinned back at her friend. “Tell all.”
Settling into the chair with a quick butt wiggle, Shannon beamed. “I’m pregnant. Averill and I are having a baby.”
Air whisked around in Kiri’s mouth and she understood it had fallen wide open. “Wow.” Her wits scrambled. “I didn’t even know you guys were hoping for a baby.”
Shannon flushed red. “It was an accident, but we’re thrilled.”
Kiri swallowed. “That’s fabulous,” she enthused. Meanwhile her thoughts spurted in a thousand directions, like brain synapses misfiring. Shannon was her oldest and best friend and if Kiri knew anything it was that their relationship had just changed irrevocably. Shannon would be focused on Averill and the baby, rightfully so, but Kiri felt a little cold.
Then she felt a lot cold and the open door creaked. Kiri hurried to shut it. “Wow,” she said again.
“We’re so happy!”
“That’s absolutely great!” Kiri went over and hugged her friend. “I have milk for the coffee to celebrate!”
Shannon laughed. “Thanks. No more caffeine for me for the duration, but could I have some herbal tea?”
“You got it.” Kiri went to the kitchen and filled a glass measuring cup with water. She set it in the microwave, rooted in her tea drawer and found chamomile. That was supposed to be good, right? Soothing? She shrugged. The box said it was caffeine free. She plunked a bag in a mug. “How are you feeling?”
“Fabulous.” Shannon hopped up and whirled around then strode to Kiri and hugged her again. “Revved.”
“Great,” Kiri repeated. She couldn’t scrape up different words. “I’m happy for you.” That she could say with full sincerity.
“Averill and I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“That’s so nice. Thanks.”
“And I wanted to tell you myself, so Averill is getting us drinks down at the Sensitive New Age Bean. You know how restless he is,” Shannon ended fondly.
The microwave dinged. “You sure you want the tea?” Kiri asked.
“Yeah, I do. He’ll probably bring me chai. He can never remember that I hate chai.” Shannon tsked. Kiri poured water on the tea bag, handed the mug on a saucer to Shannon.
Shannon sank back into the chair. “We’ve just been to a birth center and have already gotten masses of information. They are so nice there and we met other soon-to-be parents, too.” Dimples showed in Shannon’s cheeks as she blew on the tea water, then sipped. Her glance slid away.
Kiri made herself smile as she took the camp seat. “Sounds awesome, though I think you have a ‘but’ for me?” Another “but” that would send her life in a different direction today. She glanced at the clock. It was 7:40 p.m. and getting dark, so there shouldn’t be too many other strange things coming up.
Shannon said, “Our first set of parenting classes are on Friday nights, so I can’t—”
“—play Fairies and Dragons with me.” Again Kiri deliberately put oomph in her smile. “Do you want to change nights?” she asked lightly, sure she already knew the answer, but hoping she’d still have good connections with her best friend.
“Oh. Of course. We’re working on our scheduling, but I think Tuesdays would be good.”
Kiri’s breath released on a “Whew,” and her smile turned completely genuine.
“Gotta have some amusement, right?” Shannon said.
“Right.”
Shannon patted her stomach. “And little geek here is growing up in a wired household so she-he should get used to it.”
Kiri laughed, but figured there’d be plenty of missed nights due to baby and parenting stuff.
Shannon drew in a large breath. “Averill and I are going to get a new house. Our place is too small for us and a baby and I’ll need something closer to work.”
“So you’re moving way south in the city.” That hurt. They were just within walking distance.
“Yeah.”
Kiri raised her brows. “Sounds like you’re going to be really busy.”
“Yes. A good kind of busy.”
“Of course.”
Shannon put the mug down on the tiny scarred table by the chair that Kiri had also bought at the thrift store, leaned forward and grasped Kiri’s hands. “You’re still my closest friend.”
Leaning forward herself, Kiri kissed Shannon on the cheek. “For now.” She swallowed her tears.
Chapter 6
“WE’VE HAD TO budget brunch in for twice a month instead of weekly,” Shannon said.
“Fine. That’ll be good to keep up.” Kiri felt the friendship slippery in her grasp.
Shannon’s slightly protuberant blue eyes gleamed with excitement. “Now tell me how it went with Jenni Weavers. Is she amazing?”
“Very. And really smart.”
Shannon squeezed Kiri’s hands. “And you got the job!”
“Not exactly.”
“An interview for the job?” Shannon pressed.
Kiri wet her lips. “No. The story lines for Pegasus Valley weren’t what they wanted.”
Shannon frowned, her eyes firing, and her hands clamped down on Kiri’s. “They don’t deserve you, then.”
“But,” Kiri ladened the word with meaning.
“But?” Shannon perked up, tilted her head.
“They want me to work on a brand-new game.”
“Yay, Kiri!” Shannon hopped to her feet and swung around and Kiri whirled with her. “Go, Kiri!”
“Go, Shannon and baby!”
When they were both out of breath, Shannon collapsed into the chair again and slurped her tea.
“It’s not completely set,” Kiri said. “They have a pregame prologue that they want me to clear, see how I do in the game and, um, handle the world-building, I guess.”
Shannon nodded. “You can do it.”
Kiri’s lips thinned. “I can. I will.”
Shannon studied Kiri for a minute, brows dipping. “Is this new job in Denver?”
Kiri blinked in surprise. “I didn’t think to ask, but Jenni Weavers Emberdrake is here and so is the corporation that runs the game. S’pose so.”
“Okay, you’ll let me know how it goes?”
“Of course,” Kiri said, but figured Shannon soon would be more occupied with the reality of new life in her body than Kiri’s triumphs in game-land. Watching Shannon find new friends, turn down a new path away from Kiri was going to be hard.
A scuffing kick came at the door. Averill with his hands full, no doubt. Kiri jumped up to let him in.
He was a tall man, as skinny as his wife, with a gorgeous caramel complexion and a thatch of thick, straight black hair. His grin was as infectious as Shannon’s. “Hey, Kiri.”
She stood tiptoe to kiss his lower jaw. “Hey yourself, Averill. Congratulations!” She took the tray that held three large drinks from him.
“I got you and me a mocha steamer,” he informed Kiri, and sent a tender look at Shannon. “And you some herbal chai.”
“Thanks,” Shannon said. She still smiled, but when Averill turned to close the door she rolled her eyes at Kiri. “Kiri met Jenni Weavers and is in line for a new job.”
“Most excellent. For the development of Pegasus Valley in Fairies and Dragons?” Averill grabbed a folding chair propped against a wall, put the seat down and sat, jiggling ankle across knee.
“Nope,” Kiri said. His obvious happiness, combined with Shannon’s, soothed Kiri. Life was change, after all, and she was pushing at her own changes as much as she could. “Brand-new game with a prologue that determines character attributes instead of choosing your own.”
Averill snorted into his cup. “Huh, might cut down on those who prefer close-in fighting, melee, rushing in and striking with sword or fist.” He cocked an eyebrow at his wife, who only lifted her chin and gave a little sniff. Shannon’s preferred character had stinger fingertips at the end of deadly hands.
Turning back toward Kiri, he asked, “Looks like you can get out of IT and on to a career track that suits you better? More creative?” Of the pair, he was the web designer.
“Looks like,” Kiri said.
He nodded. “Good for you.”
Then Kiri turned the talk from Eight Corp to house hunting and babies and they spent the next half hour talking before Averill stood, then pulled Shannon to her feet. “Come on. Early to bed. Since we visited so much now, shall we cancel brunch tomorrow morning?”
“Sure,” Kiri agreed.
Averill wrapped her in a strong hug. “Later.”
“Bye,” she said and hugged Shannon, and then all three of them rocked together. That was one of the best parts of Sunday brunch, the hugs.
“Keep in touch,” Kiri said, kissing Shannon’s cheek.
“I will,” she said.
But when they walked out of the door, Kiri knew things would never be the same.
She plunked down in the chair and the pillow released the slight fragrance of Shannon’s perfume, the scent she’d used since Kiri had bought her the first bottle as a birthday gift in college.
Kiri swallowed, beat back tears and allowed herself a three-minute sulk. No children in sight for her. Crap, not even a man. Visuals of the Mystic Circle couples rotated in a slide show before her mind’s eye—Jenni and Aric, Rafe and Amber, Dan and Frank. All seemed very happy.
Why was she brooding about this, for heaven’s sake? She’d decided to concentrate on her career, get to a place where she was happy there, before she started looking for a guy. Or before she expected to find the right guy looking for her.
