Where Light Meets Dark

Chapter 22 - Entwined

The time was 3:04 pm, the day was Friday. Preciser would've attacked an hour and four minutes ago. And what had Alex been doing?

Sleeping.

There had been many times in his life that he'd felt like a total idiot, but this time exceeded them all.

Alone in his hospital room, as soon as he picked up his phone to check the time, he just about jumped a mile high in horror. Why hadn't the giant made his usual explosive entrance, at least to jolt him awake?! Had Sunray had to fight him all by herself?

Then again, he couldn't really remember what had happened last when he'd been with her and his father. He only remembered blacking out after getting attacked by the darkald, then waking up in the hospital with Jakira.

He sat there rigidly for a second, inwardly panicking. The nurses had strictly ordered him to stay in bed, and just to hit a button if he needed anything. But this was kind of an urgent situation, and of course he couldn't tell them about it . . .

Making up his mind to just transform and sneak out for a few minutes to find Sunray, he hesitantly twisted sideways and slowly stood up. Instantly pain like fire shot up his left leg, causing him to stagger and almost collapse of he hadn't grabbed one of the little tables for support and balance. At the sudden jerky movement, the room started spinning around him and his heart started to hurt again.

Not good, NOT GOOD . . .

He took a deep breath, then straightened and limped heavily to the window, whimpering "Ow, ow, ow, ow," the whole time. Every breath he took made it worse, and nausea was starting to roll over him like waves. With a groan, he hugged his torso with both arms and sank to the cool white floor beneath the window sill, then reached up for his jacket and yanked it into his lap. As soon as the dark gem was in his hands again, he whispered his transformation rhyme.

Immediately, he felt better. The vertigo and nausea faded away, the pain in his heart ebbed, and he felt ten times stronger. With a satisfied grin he rose to his feet and mentally announced, Take me to Sunray.

When the familiar darkness of the shadow portal had enveloped and released him, he found himself on the roof of Torre Breda. For a moment he froze at the terrible memories that flooded his mind at the sight of this place; one of them had been rather recent. The first few months that he'd been a guardian . . . all those long, agonizing hours through the cold and sleepless nights spent sitting on the edge of this very roof during the cold and sleepless nights . . . staring down at the tiny cars far below, wondering if anyone would care if he moved just a little closer over the edge . . .

He shook himself, trying to shove the flashbacks out of his mind. All that's behind you now, he reminded himself harshly.

Sunray was sitting cross-legged about ten feet away in the falling snow. Her shoulders were tense with expectation, and the way her head turned slightly every now and then made him realize she was watching for something in the city.

Surely not Preciser . . . ?

"Sunshine!" he called through the snowy wind, and in a flash she was on her feet. He hesitated, wondering if she'd been as focused as she'd appeared. For a long moment she stood there, still facing away and stiff as a board. Confused by her reaction, he took several steps closer until he was just a couple feet behind her. "Hey . . . you alright?"

". . . Just a dream," she mumbled, and he frowned. Her shoulders sagged wretchedly. "Just . . . a dream . . ."

Night wasn't really sure what was going on. She seemed to be in dazed denial that he was there.

He took the final step towards her and lightly wrapped his arms around her neck in a gentle, affectionate embrace. She stiffened, and he replied with friendly sarcasm, "If I'm just a dream, then pigs have been flying for the past seventeen years."