I blinked as the woman—Colita,apparently—hurried forward, her long dress trailing after her. She wore something that looked like a combination of a summer dress and robes, layers of wispy material fluttering around her as she moved.
“I had a vision,” she cried, and collapsed.
13
Xander caught Colita just before she hit the table, lowering her down into the chair he had just vacated. Her eyes were half rolled back in her head, and I found myself rushing to her side. I lifted her hand and felt for a pulse, relief hitting me when there was a strong buzz under my fingers. It seemed a little fast, but for all I knew that was the normal speed here.
It was beating at least, and that was the most important part.
“Who is she?” I whispered to Xander. “Is this the Draygo?”
She didn’t look the same as Lexen, all of that scary energy. But maybe the females were different.
He shook his head, face drawn with worry. “No, Colita is a normal Daelighter. Kind of. She’s a seer, able to discern future events through dreams and visions.”
“She’s also mydrenita,” Lexen rumbled as he hurried into the room.
Emma was right behind him and she caught my confused look. “His godmother,” she murmured, giving my arm a quick squeeze when she reached my side.
Xander moved back to allow Lexen to stand at his drenita’s side. The Darken overlord reached out and grasped Colita’s hand. Realizing I was still holding her other one, I gently set it down.
Lexen’s eyes shot to me, and I quickly mumbled, “Just feeling for a pulse—it’s strong but fast.”
Something white flitted across the dark of his eyes and I swallowed roughly. It disappeared just as quickly though, and most of the tension left the room when he gave me a slow head dip. “Thank you,” he said, voice octaves lower than normal.
He turned back to Colita. Her eyes were open and focused again. She sat up slowly, shaking her head. It took her only a moment to notice the multiple sets of eyes locked on her. She stumbled to her feet.
“Lexen,” she cried as he steadied her. “I saw Laous. In a dream. He is amassing an army. Astoria is filling with Gonzo and Daelighters as we speak.”
Xander slammed his fist against the table, and when he pulled his hand away I could have sworn there was an indent in the thick wood. “He’s smart. He knows he can wait us out. Eventually we’ll have to return to Earth, especially if we’re trying to find the stone.”
“What if we never did?” Callie suggested, crossing her arms over her chest. “He could wait there for hundreds of years. If we stay here, then no one will touch the stone and everything can go back to the way it was.”
Colita shook her head violently. “No! No, he won’t wait. He has taken the town hostage, all of the humans outside of those safe in Daelight Crescent right now. He’s trying to draw you out, and if you don’t come back soon, he’s going to start killing the humans. By the end of my vision, Astoria was awash in blood.”
Emma’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “No,” she whispered, her hand pressing to her chest. “All of those innocent people. We can’t let him do this.”
“What else did you see?” Lexen pressed Colita. “You don’t normally dream your visions … how did that happen?”
Her face crumbled as she released Lexen to massage her temples. “I … I don’t actually know. But … you’re right, I don’t usually dream my visions in this manner. It also went on for much longer than I can generally hold a vision. If I had to guess, I’d say that someone was helping me see.”
Daniel drew our attention. “Rao is a dream seer. Could it be him?”
Colita looked confused for a beat, until recognition cleared that expression. “Rao … your brother who went missing? Your father declared him dead. I remember the farewell ceremony.”
Daniel nodded stiffly. “Yes, apparently he didn’t die. He was taken by Laous—he’s been using him in his cause ever since.”
“But we think he might have switched sides,” Callie added. “He has helped more than one of us.”
Colita nodded a few times, her eyes misty. “There was a man in my dream. He kept his face in the shadows, so I couldn’t see him clearly, but he was very big, with a dark aura.”
“That could be him,” Daniel said shortly. “He’s even bigger than me, and his face is burned. He was caught in the fires of the justices, and Laous was the one to find him, faking his death so that we would stop looking for him.”
There was an extended silence; I didn’t know most of the people they were talking about, but I could sense how serious this information was.
“How long do we have?” Callie asked, her voice devoid of emotion.
Colita squeezed her eyes closed tightly. “I can’t tell,” she said with a wavering voice. “The vision is not clear. It’s not … it’s not giving me enough information!”
