Part 3 (1/2)

Yep, it was back to business as usual with his trainer. At least one thing in his life didn't totally suck.

Chapter Five.

With very little air traffic, Hervey Bay Airport was closer to the size of a small bus station than a plane depot. You could sit alone in the place for hours without encountering a single soul. Luckily, Zoe's ride was already waiting for her.

”Over here!” A hand waved from the window of a familiar Land Rover. Zoe's fellow researchers, Dani and Elizabeth, sat in front. Her best friend, Adriene, opened the back door and patted the empty seat beside her. Zoe tossed her bag in the trunk and slid in next to Adriene.

”Where's Gavin?” Adriene asked as Dani pulled away from the curb.

Zoe rubbed her forehead. ”You gonna start the lightning round before I even get a chance to concoct a good story?”

Adriene turned on her-as much as she could with her broken leg stretched straight out, eating up half of the backseat real estate. ”Don't start that mess with me. I know you're upset about the calf, but you better not have p.i.s.sed off your boyfriend. I'll never speak to you again.”

So not spilling the rotten, ugly truth. ”He's coming back to town tomorrow.”

Adriene narrowed her eyes and frowned. ”There's something you're not telling me. Your cheek is doing that twitchy thing. What happened?”

Zoe glanced at the rearview where Dani snagged her gaze. ”Nothing. Everything's fine. How many tags did you get today? Anyone heard from Iri?”

Elizabeth turned around. ”Haven't seen or heard a peep out of him. But guess who scored two tags while you were gone?” She flashed a grin and pointed at herself. ”This chick.”

Zoe laughed and high fived her. ”Kick-a.s.s, girl. Where were the whales?”

”Every one of them was heading north, same location as before-in and around Platypus Bay,” Dani piped in.

Something big was happening up there. All the data they'd collected over the last few weeks had indicated an unusual migratory pattern for this time of year. The whales were heading north instead of south where the food was. And Zoe knew it had to do with Lily.

”Yeah, same travel trends we've been tracking,” Adriene said. ”Weird s.h.i.+t. I guess s.h.i.+fts in currents, upwellings, or water temperature could be influencing the phytoplankton blooms to proliferate farther north. If the phytoplankton have moved, the zooplankton and fish have no choice but to follow.”

All true, but the real cause of the whales' unexpected detour had nothing to do with science. At least not the kind that governed the Wyldling world.

Zoe nodded. ”Maybe. It has been insanely hot this winter.”

As the girls chattered about some of the behaviors they'd seen on the water that morning, Zoe dove deep inside her mind for answers to the Waeter Archelemental dilemma. Once she caught up to Lily, maybe she'd get some ideas about how to help the whale rise to the position. All Zoe knew was that her 'translating' ability would be needed. Beyond that, she was flying blind.

She'd head into the Dreaming tonight and see if she could find answers there. She needed a goal to focus on anyway. If she gave herself plenty of mental busy work, there wouldn't be any time to think about Gavin.

Zoe was mentally and physically exhausted by the time Dani pulled into the drive at the research house. Tired of deflecting Adriene's questions about Gavin, she claimed she had a headache and needed sleep, which was sort of true.

Adriene relented, but that wouldn't be the end of it. She'd wheedle the story out of Zoe sooner or later.

For now, bed was the only thing on Zoe's mind.

Bed.

She cringed at the memory of walking in on Gavin having s.e.x with Scarlet dressed in Zoe's flesh. The rumpled sheets on the bed she was supposed to share with him haunted her almost as much as the actions that had put them in their state of disarray. But the worst part-the unforgettable snapshot that taunted her brain on a never-ending loop-had been their hands. Out of all the images from that gut-wrenching scene to fixate on, her subconscious had chosen Scarlet's-not Zoe's-long, elegant fingers woven between his big, tanned ones. And him squeezing.

Should have been her, d.a.m.n it. She pawed at the tear slipping down her cheek.

Enough of that. You're gonna have to deal with it at some point. Get the lame-a.s.s crying out of your system now.

Lame was right. But the hurt little girl inside just wanted the bad stuff to disappear. To wake up tomorrow and realize this had been nothing more than a nasty nightmare. Maybe even laugh about it with Gavin over a pot of coffee.

You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, Zed. I love you, he'd say with that sparkle in his eye.

She'd lay a hand on his rugged cheek and kiss him. Of course you wouldn't. I trust you.

She scrubbed her face. Trust was a luxury she could no longer afford. It cost way too much.

Screw it all.

She crawled in bed, rolled to her side, and pulled up the covers. Despite the blanket, she couldn't get warm.

Being alone sucked.

Beating her wallowing thoughts into silence, Zoe drifted into a restless sleep and fell out of Realis into the Dreaming...

Tonight the parallel world looked different. The beach she usually tumbled into was dark instead of sunny. The air was hot. Stifling. Toxic. She wasn't sure if the strange s.h.i.+ft into night was something she'd subconsciously engineered for this dream or a product of the Dreaming devolving into chaos under the threat of Fyres taking over.

Faraway screams resounded in the distance, full of pain, fear, and panic. Zoe s.h.i.+vered. Without Gavin, she was powerless to stop any Fyres who might taunt innocent dreamers. The best she could do was trust the other Sentinels were on duty and taking care of business. Besides, her job was helping Lily and the Waeters. The quicker their Archelemental rose to power, the sooner Balance would be restored.

Remembering Gavin's warning to keep a low profile, she looked around for something to conceal herself. Nothing but land, sea, and sky. That was okay. As a lucid dreamer, she'd make do with what she had.

She reached up to the starlit sky, tugged down a corner, and ripped off a piece of night big enough to cover herself. She fas.h.i.+oned a cloak out of the blackness, wrapped it around her shoulders, and pulled the hood over her head. Holding out an arm, she checked her handiwork against the sky. She couldn't tell where she ended and the stars began. Perfect.

Zoe found a palm tree close to the ocean, sat down, and leaned against its bristly trunk. Whale calls surfaced from offsh.o.r.e. Though she was looking for Lily, another humpback occupied her thoughts and wouldn't let go: the calf she'd euthanized in Sydney. Had he made it back to his mother?

Sending out a call of her own, she closed her eyes and sorted through the unique voices. Lots of deep-pitched tunes, but she couldn't pick out the higher squeaks of a baby. She gathered her knees to her chest, folded her arms on top, and laid her cheek there.

Where are you, little one?

No reply.

As she processed the whale calls on autopilot, her heart dragged her attention in the opposite direction of where her brain intended to go.

Gavin. Again.

She loved him, plain and simple. But even if they could get past The Incident, the whole Sentinel-induced dream deprivation thing put a ma.s.sive crimp in their relations.h.i.+p. Every night she slept beside him was a night she couldn't dream.

Could they get around it? Sure. They could keep separate houses. Maybe even separate bedrooms in the same house would work...

But partners were meant to be together. She didn't want a long-distance relations.h.i.+p or to wake up alone every morning. She wanted...Gavin. All of him.

The whale songs got louder.

Zoe's scalp tingled. She lifted her head and scanned the darkness. Hordes of goose b.u.mps stiffened the hairs across her flesh. She pulled the night cloak tight around her shoulders and stood.