Stephanie Thomas - Lucidity

  Lucidity

  Stephanie Thomas

  To my husband — thank you for being my “hope.”

  “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers -

  That perches in the soul -

  And sings the tune without the words -

  And never stops - at all - ”

  - Emily Dickinson

  Chapter 1

  I fall asleep sometime on the way to Echo’s homeland of Aura. We had walked a third of the way, and when we were a safe enough distance from the City, an Auran ship finally came to pick us up, relieving us of having to walk the rest of the miserable distance on our own. I rest my head against Echo’s robed shoulder and submit myself to the dreams that are threatening to drag me into a deeper sleep. It occurs to me somewhere between the thoughts of the conscious and unconscious mind that I don’t know if Dreamcatchers dreamt, and if they did, do they invade and manipulate each other’s dreams, too?

  When I wake up, we still aren’t there yet. It’s the first time I take a moment to look around and examine my surroundings. Pulling my head off Echo’s shoulder, I yawn, admiring the large windows that allow a blurred view of the land we are racing through. Condensation forms at the edges of the multi-layered panes, which are screwed tightly into the bulkhead of the ship. The inside of it is made for what seems like royalty. We sit on cushions of plush crimson velvet, and the wall décor is done in deep gold intricate carvings. I would have never guessed from what the outside of this piece of junk looked like that the inside would be so grand and palatial.

  “Did you sleep well?” Echo asks me, touching the side of my face with his soft hand. It is as if he’s never had to pick up anything in his life and work, his touch is so gentle and smooth. It stirs feelings up from the core of me, and dread settles in just as soon as the fluttering in my stomach fades away. I’ve fled the City, me—the Keeper—and I’ve managed to leave my best friend, Gabe, behind, too.

  The upset must have shown on my face as Echo’s smile fades and he draws me into a comforting hug. “You will be okay, Beatrice, I know it.”

  “Why am I doing this again?” It’s my turn to ask the obvious question. At the time I decided to go, I only knew that I had to. I felt it. I am needed in Aura now, to help save them. But I don’t know the whole story, and the more I think about Gabe, lying at home in a coma, alone in his hospital bed, the more I want to turn back.

  “Because Aura needs you. We need your help, Beatrice. There are things that we just can’t see on our own … and the plague … ” Echo shudders, probably recalling a painful memory. “The women can’t have their children anymore, and the people are getting so sick … and now it’s spread to the Dreamcatchers, too.”

  “But how do I fit into this?” I pull my head away from Echo’s shoulder. “I’m just a Seer. And the Dreamcatchers hate the Seers. Why would they want me now?”

  “Because you are the Keeper, Beatrice. Your sight is stronger than anyone else’s. Perhaps you can help us secure a treaty to bring over more Citizens. Or perhaps you can use your Visions to help guide us back into health.” Echo’s shoulders round in defeat. “Truth be told, my mother would be able to explain it better than I, Beatrice. She only used me to get to you.”

  “Your mother?”

  Before he can explain anymore, a well-dressed man steps into the cabin from somewhere up front. The door slides open, admitting him, and once inside the room he bows deeply, but I don’t know to whom he’s bowing. I look to Echo, and he simply nods his head in return.

  “Your Highness. We are anxious to welcome you back to Aura after your campaign in the City. Your Queen Mother has expressed that she wants you and your cargo to come straight to the palace and nowhere else.” The man’s dark eyes slide to mine, filled with contempt. He is intimidating, with dark skin to match his gaze and rounded muscles that stand out on his arms.

  Another, smaller, man enters in after this one, dressed in rags and smudged with dirt. In his arms, he holds heavy, silver shackles that spill over the edges of his grasp and nearly drag on the ground. “These are for the Keeper, Your Highness.”

  “What?” I blurt and sit up straight. I’m not used to being called “the Keeper” yet, nor am I used to the gravity of the role I now fill. Technically, I am the leader of the Institution, where all the Seers live. But the Institution is back in the City, from which I chose to run. So, to say I’m the Keeper at all anymore might be a misunderstanding.

  “She won’t be put in chains.” Echo uses a tone that I’m not used to hearing from him. It leaves little room to argue, and the small man bows and backs out of the room without turning his back on any of us.

  “‘Your Highness?’” Though I’m relieved the boy with the fetters is gone, I am confused as to why they are calling Echo by this honorific. “What do they mean ‘Your Highness?’”

  The man looks between us, and then expectantly settles his gaze on Echo, who clears his throat and shyly dips his head down. “I meant to tell you.”

  “Meant to tell me what?”

  “Well, I’m … I’m a prince. The prince of Aura.”

  I blink. Echo? A prince? When I look him over again, I can kind of see it. From his platinum-blond hair that’s just short enough to get into his eyes, to the straight posture and regal lift of his chin. A prince. Prince Echo.

  I realize that I’ve not said anything, and Echo and this man are staring at me. “Oh. Well … um … ” I want to change the subject. Knowing now how important Echo is to Aura, it unsettles me. So, I turn my curiosity on the man instead. “And who is this? Also a prince?”

  Echo laughs with a shake of his head. “That is my advisor, Avery. He’s been preparing me for my future role as king.” Leaning close to me, he adds in a whisper, “He’s a little stuck up, so you’ll have to excuse him.”

  “King?” This is too much. What did I get myself into? I sit back down on the couch and run a hand back through my hair, tangling the black tresses between my fingers.

  “What’s wrong, Beatrice?” I note that Echo has never really called me “Bea” before. Maybe it’s a good thing that he doesn’t; it would remind me too much of Gabe.

  “It’s a lot to take in, that’s all. I thought you were just a Dreamcatcher, which was already a lot to take in. But now you are a royal Dreamcatcher?” I peer up at him as he sits down beside me and suddenly it doesn’t seem so … important.

  “There will be more that will be a lot to take in, unfortunately. Aura is very different than the City, and I’m afraid that your reception may not be as … welcomed as it would be among the Seers.” Echo takes my hand with a squeeze. “You’ll be okay, though. I promise I won’t let you go through it alone.”

  Alone. That is exactly how I’ve left Gabe. I can’t stop thinking about him, and I’m glad that Echo can’t read my mind. I try to wipe the worry off my face by keeping my features flat, emotionless, and blank. “Thank you, Echo.”

  Outside, the landscape is still a blur. I get up and walk over to one of the ship’s windows, putting a hand against the cool glass as I peer through. These are the moors, a stretch of featureless land riddled with rocks and tall grass. In my dreams with Echo, we were running to Aura, trying to avoid those who scavenged on the lost, the wandering. Now, as we race through, hovering feet above the ground, we stop for nothing or no one.

  As I turn back to Echo, Avery is there beside him, whispering in his ear while keeping one eye focused in my direction. He is obviously talking about me, and the way he regards my presence is untrusting at best. I guess I don’t expect much more than this, as I’m a Seer, an enemy to the Dreamcatchers. It isn’t going to get any better once we get to Aura, either. Avery is one person, and I can handle one person’s wary looks
, but having a whole people anxious about my being in their homeland? I’m not sure I’m ready for this.

  Echo waves his hand dismissively, shooing Avery away. “While Keeper Beatrice is here, she is my honored guest, and you are to treat her as you would any other honored guest that has come into our home.”

  “But, Your Highness, she is one of them.” Avery regards me with that same untrusting glare.

  “She is mine,” Echo snaps.

  “Yours?” I question in return.

  Echo blushes and adds shyly, “My guest, I mean.”

  I watch him curiously for a little while, but relent with a nod, choosing not to press his statement any further.

  Avery doesn’t regard me any differently after Echo says this. In fact, his glare intensifies and becomes even more distrusting. He bows and takes his leave, and as he approaches the door to the cabin, it automatically slides open and shuts behind him with a hiss.

  “Why did I decide to do this again?” I question my own intentions, plopping back down on the sofa-like bench where we sat before. I tug on the sleeves of my robe, the only thing that remains familiar to me, aside from Echo, whom I’m still learning. Most of the time, it feels like I’ve known him for as long as I’ve known Gabe, but then there are moments like this one when I feel completely disconnected and unsure about my decision to follow him.

  “Because we need you here.” Echo sits beside me and takes my hand into his. His grip is warm and comforting, and I immediately feel better.

  Deep in the core of me, the closer we get to his homeland, the more anxious I become, and something that reminds me of pain starts to build. The thing is it’s not painful, but a present, dull sensation. I wonder if this is akin to the pain that the Seers feel when they near Dreamcatchers, a pain that I’ve seem to have grown accustomed to when around Echo. It’s just not the same with him for some reason. Echo is different.

  I’ve never been one to fit in, either. My Sight is better than most others back at the City. Maybe I shouldn’t use the term “better,” but rather “clearer” since most of what I see comes true in some form or another. Maybe it’s this difference that makes Echo’s presence tolerable to me. I have a feeling that when I get to Aura the story will be much different.

  “Echo, how am I going to be able to stay in Aura? Won’t it hurt me?”

  His eyebrows raise as if I’ve brought up something that he’s forgotten. “Oh yeah. We have something prepared for that.” Echo pushes a button to his left and speaks into an intercom. “Avery, please bring back the elixir for Keeper Beatrice to take now. She is getting uncomfortable.”

  Just as soon as Echo says this, Avery returns, scowl and all, balancing a silver tray on the palm of his hand. Extending it outward to me, the snifter of red liquid barely moves as he offers it. I pluck the glass off the tray and smell its contents. It’s a sweet smell that reminds me of the strange citrus fruit that Echo once ate in one of my dreams. I shift my violet gaze to Echo in question. “And what is this?”

  Avery leaves as Echo explains away the liquid. “We’ve made it especially for you. My mother knew that you’d not have an easy time adjusting to being around so many Dreamcatchers, so she had the scientists create a concoction that will dull your nerves and allow you to co-mingle with us.”

  I stare at Echo then look back down at the glass. “Co-mingle? You make it sound as if I will be staying for a long time.”

  “We hope you’ll stay for as long as it takes to help rid us of the plague,” Echo confesses, guiltily lowering his eyes. “At least, it was what I’ve told my mother.”

  I sigh and put the drink down on a table beside the sofa. “Echo, I shouldn’t stay for too long. I’m the Keeper now. Who will record all the Visions that the Seers have back home? It’s my job to make sure that all those Visions don’t go undocumented. It’s my job to keep them safe. I’ve already abandoned them for some … some unknown quest that I’m still not sure of.” Tugging the hood of my robes over my head, I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “They probably won’t even accept me once I go back home. I’m supposed to be there for them … for Gabe … and I ran away.”

  Echo tenses at the mention of Gabe, and I notice it, though he tries to make it seem like it’s nothing at all by rolling his shoulders back and lifting his chin. “You’re here because of me, and I’d never lead you astray, Beatrice.” He squeezes my hand and reminds me that I did come here for him. Or because of him.

  “I know, Echo. Or at least, I hope I know this. I must know it if I came all this way to help a people who hate me.”

  “We don’t hate you.”

  “Okay, fine. Your people hate the Seers. The City. You must if you’ve attacked us. You nearly destroyed half the City in the process.”

  Echo lets go of my hand and stands up. Strolling to one of the windows, he puts his hand on the wall and peers outside. “The last Keeper was not honest with us. She betrayed us and kept us at bay when my mother negotiated certain terms with her. There was no choice but to go to war over it.” He glances back at me. “We need Citizens just as much as you do. And we need the Seers to cooperate with us. And when they do not … ”

  “When they do not? I’ll have you know, Echo, that most of us had no idea what was going on. We were being trained for a war that we had little detail about. It’s all I’ve ever known. Dreamcatchers were the enemy, and we had to kill them. The Keeper was so adamant about this, she watched her own Seers be killed so that the others would feed on fear and anger.” My tone intensifies as I remember Connie, one of my good friends, bleeding out on the floor of the arena, riddled with bullets like she was nothing to no one. But she was something to me.

  “Please don’t get upset. I’m just telling you our side of it.”

  “And I’m asking you that before you go telling me your side of anything, you remember that I’m the Keeper. I’m not one of you. I have a people to protect. A city. And I’m here with you instead.”

  Echo looks away from the window and back at me. Walking to my side, he puts a hand on my arm and glances down into my eyes. I feel him staring through me, and for a moment, I feel as if he’s inside of my head. I close my eyes, squeezing them tightly and open them again, frowning. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m feeling what you are feeling.”

  That doesn’t tell me much. Since when could he do this? Aside from when he was in my dreams? Then, I remember what I’ve known all along, and maybe have forgotten around Echo: Dreamcatchers can enter other’s minds and kill us through touch. Echo has always been in my dreams, waiting for me there—calling for me. But now that he’s actually in my world and out of my head, I’ve neglected that he is just as dangerous to me in person as he was in my mind.

  Not that I think Echo would ever hurt me. Recalling his lips on mine, the gentle way in which he touches me, comforts me … protects me … I could never imagine Echo causing me any harm.

  Still, it makes me uneasy having him inside my thoughts, and I pull away. “Stop. I don’t want you to do that with me, do you understand? I don’t … I don’t like it. I’m not just another Seer. I’m the Keeper. I deserve that respect, just as I’ll respect your position as a prince.”

  Echo pulls his hand away, wounded. “I’m sorry, Beatrice.”

  Immediately, I regret scolding him, and with a sigh, I pull Echo by the sleeve, urging him to sit back down beside me. We sit in silence as the landscape whizzes by outside, still one plain, blurry vision through the windows. Nothing needs to be said between us as Echo takes my hand again and cradles it in both of his. Immediately, I feel comforted once more, and I know that even if I’m venturing somewhere new, and I’m leaving the familiarity of the City behind, I still, at least, have Echo.

  And he has me.

  The intercom crackles and Avery’s voice transmits through the speaker. “Your Highness, we have about ten minutes before we approach the Port of Aura.”

  Echo blinks out of his thoughts and clears his voice. “Very well, Avery
. We will get ready to disembark.” Turning to me, he nods toward the glass of elixir. “You should take that now. We’re almost there.”

  I don’t trust the potion, but I don’t tell Echo this. I manage a smile and decide that for today, I’ll drink the elixir. But for the days after that, I don’t intend on being drugged while in the nest of the enemy. I toss the drink back and it tastes as sweet as it smells and goes down smoothly.

  “Thank you. I’d hate for you to be in discomfort because of me.”

  “It’s not your fault that the Seers are sensitive to Dreamcatchers.”

  “No, that would be the fault of those who originally created us.” Echo brushes a strand of my jet-black hair back into my hood. “At least that’s one thing we’ll always have in common, right?”

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “We’ve both come from the same creators. People who had no business meddling with the gifts of the Maker.” Echo smiles down at me, his body protectively close to mine. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Beatrice. This won’t be easy for you, but you won’t regret it either. We need your help.”

  “I still don’t understand how I can help you.”

  Echo’s smile remains constant. “You will. My mother will explain everything to you in due time.”

  The ship glides into a port and gently lurches to a halt, hovering over a disembarking point. In the City, we don’t use ships, though we’re aware of the technology. The streets and tall buildings don’t allow for their use, and so most have decided to stick with automobiles and helicopters. Glancing out the window, it’s immediately apparent that ships are the main mode of transport in Aura, with all different types of vessels lined up around the tarmac. I look around, ducking my head down to try and get a glimpse of the city itself, but I can’t find it.

  “You can’t see Aura from here. The Port of Aura is kept about twenty miles away so that the pollution doesn’t taint our air and stain our buildings.” Echo pushes a button on the wall, and the soft whisper of hydraulics precedes the hull door opening. It extends downward into stairs that stop short, hovering just above the ground. Echo walks down first, then holds his hand up for mine to help me down as well.