Pleased with himself, Nikk let go of the thread, and the vision died out. It was done. Nikk achieved what he desired. He knew Anya recognize the place.
Opening his eyes again, Nikk glanced at Anya expectantly. Her own eyes were wide, shining with astonishment-two glowing flames looking at Nikk.
"What did you show her?" Daphne's demanding voice ultimately returned Nikk to reality.
"Doesn't matter," he motioned the question away, and collapsed into the armchair. A wave of enormous exhaustion suddenly consumed him. The trick sucked more strength out of Nikk's body than he presumed it would. Seemingly, by accident he gave Anya more than just a glimpse of the memory observed from his point of view. He bounced his emotions off her-his awe verging on fear he felt the moment he saw her in the woods.
Nikk raised his heavy head to see Anya. She was still standing in the same place, shocked. And what if those were her emotions actually? And Nikk simply absorbed them as he was not fully in control over the situation? Then, Anya's way of thinking was disturbingly similar to Nikk's own. Dangerously similar.
"What was that?" Anya finally spoke, her voice weak. "A magic?"
"A magic is what you can't comprehend," Daphne said evasively, glancing in Nikk's direction, worried about him. "And what you can is a science."
Drawing a deep lungful of air, Anya slowly sat back on the couch. Her eyes were darting here and there, harboring doubts. It was hard to admit that something you never believed in was possible. She probably questioned the reality of the world now.
At last, Anya's restless eyes touched Nikk. "Why?"
"What why?"
"Why are you showing me this?"
"To prove it to you I'm not crazy," Nikk's lips curved impishly. His dizziness was retreating, and his head became clear once again. "Or you're crazy, too."
"But if you're aliens-" Anya's voice faltered as she remembered Eirn didn't like the word. "If you're from another planet, then why do you look just like humans?"
"Because the natural conditions on Earth and Da'Ariya are pretty much alike."
"And if I tell someone?"
"That we're not humans who look just like humans?"
Anya timidly laughed. "Yes."
Standing beside Nikk and possessively placing her hand on his shoulder, Daphne twitched her mouth with annoyance, "No one will believe you." Through the fabric of his t-shirt, Nikk felt Daph's nails dig into his skin. Well, it seemed like she was a little bit upset that he'd squandered his vitality to impress an earthling.
Anya bobbed her head once in a nod. "So... What are you doing here then? What do you want? To conquer humanity?"
Taken aback, the daitias stared at Anya. Was she serious? To conquer humanity? What nonsense. What for? But Anya was deadly serious. She stared back at them, anxiously wringing her hands on her laps.
"No, we're not going to conquer humanity," Nikk assured her, suppressing a smile.
"Yeah, your planet isn't that unique," Eirn chuckled and dropped on the couch next to Anya, chewing a chocolate candy. He flippantly threw a few books off the cushions, looking for something among them. "We simply need to find one thing." Another tome thudded onto the parquet. Out of the rest of the stack, Eirn snatched a tablet computer. "One thing we've lost here a long time ago."
Anya's puzzled gaze traveled back to Nikk, asking for further explanation. She didn't seem scared or confused anymore, but rather curious. Nikk liked this Anya better. He thought they were friends already, though he yet knew nothing about her. The air of bewitching mystery was all around her, as if hiding her from Nikk. Oh, if she'd been a spy, she would have been the best, Nikk thought.
He was ready to generously tell Anya everything, but missed his chance.
"Anya, have you seen the fomoires before?" Daphne asked, her face transformed into an expressionless mask.
Anya frowned, "Who?"
"The fomoires," Daphne repeated, rapping her fingers against her thigh impatiently. "Leir or Charna? Or maybe those who call themselves Tane and Nagal?"
"No."
Daph sucked on her lower lip for a second, thinking. "Good," she said matter-of-factly. "Then it would be better if you never see us again as well. We're not playing games here, we're..."
"Daph," Nikk tried to cut her off, but Daph lifted her hand, gesturing Nikk to stay out of it. At least, she let go of his shoulder.
"...at war that can cost you your life, Anya, if you appear to be in a wrong place in a wrong time." She menacingly lowered her voice and stepped closer, peering into Anya's eyes. "And even if it doesn't, believe me, you don't want to endure the consequences."
Anya swallowed hard, slouching.
"Daphne!" Nikk stood up, shielding Anya from her. Why did Daphne grow to hate Anya so suddenly? It was as clear as day she was trying to scary their guest, to threaten, to make Anya run off and never come back. But Nikk still wanted to know why he saw Anya in his dream. And even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have let Daphne speak to Anya like that. "Don't you think it's too much?"
"I do," Eirn echoed from the couch. In unison, Nikk and Daph craned their necks to give Eirney a significant glare. Shut up. Eirney grumbled something incoherent, and dropped his eyes at the screen of his tablet.
Nikk look back at Daphne. A fire of temper flared into her eyes. She was angry with Nikk for defending a human.
"Too much?" She hissed. "You think the fomoires aren't capable of killing?"
"I didn't say that, I just-"
"Then what's wrong with you?! Don't you see the girl knows nothing? I don't want her to be murdered by Leir and you to blame yourselves for that! Don't drag humans into our business, Nikk!"
Behind his back, Nikk heard Anya fidgeting on the cushions. He glimpsed at her briefly over his shoulder. Her eyes lost the spark of curiosity and were dark around the edges. Definitely, she already regretted coming here, which meant Daphne almost achieved her goal.
"Daph, can we talk in private?" Nikk gave her a level look and waved toward the kitchen. Daphne pressed her lips tightly together, casted Anya another pointed glare, but walked out of the room without objections. "Sorry, we'll be back in a minute. Wait here, okay?" Nikk looked at Anya apologetically and hurried after Daphne.
When he came into the kitchen, Daph was pouring her tea into a sink. Then, she turned the cold water on and began to wash the cup. She said nothing to Nikk and made no attempts to convince him in Anya's uselessness any longer. She acted simply as though he wasn't standing there and watching her.
"I've never seen you clean up before," Nikk admitted deliberately.
"We've never had guests before," Daph spit out in return.
He hoped she'd say more, but Daphne stayed mute. She was scrubbing the cup so severely, Nikk thought she'd turn it to dust. After a couple minutes of waiting for the piece of porcelain to be ruined, Nikk approached and turned the faucet off. It creaked, and the water stopped. Daphne grimly watched as the last drop of water crushed on the cup, then raised her eyes at Nikk. He could see her rage boiling close to the surface.
But he didn't care.
"Daphne, why are you trying to scare Anya off?" Nikk asked quietly. Empty cupboards didn't muffle the voices-they made every sound three times louder, while Nikk didn't want Anya to hear Daphne's angry shouts. And there would be ones, for sure. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Daphne fumed. "The last thing we need is a helpless human clinging to us, Nikk! We've already told her more than enough."
"But there must be a reason for her to bring us that parcel, Daph. And why the fomoires were interested in her earlier. Twice, remember?" Thrice, but I'll leave the issue with the dream to myself. Just yet. "Don't you want to solve the riddle? Don't you think there must be a reason for-"
Daphne tried to go back into the room, but Nikk folded his arms and stood in her way.
"Sometimes it's better to let a riddle stay unsolved," she said, refusing to meet his eyes.
A horrible idea all of a sudden entered Nikk's mind. "Don't you really think the fomoires would harm Anya, do you?" he whispered. "They've never attacked on Earth."
To Nikk's surprise, Daph sighed. Dismay crossed her face. "No, I don't think they'd attack, Nikk. Still, we're not making friends with the earthling."
"Why?" His own voice startled Nikk. He was almost begging, whining like a kicked dog. If Anya left now, he could never find her again. He could never know why her subconsciousness reached out to him in the realm of dreams. "Please, Daphne. Let me talk to her. Just once."
There was a pause. Then, Daph put the mask of a heartbreaking indifference on her face and looked at Nikk with her eyes as cold as ice.
"No. We need to get rid of her before it's too late!" Daph stabbed her finger at Nikk's chest. "I'm truly amazed she hasn't run away yet. There must be great amount of curiosity within her brain cells. Or stupidity. Those are the same, given the fact that-"
They heard a sound of the front door slamming shut. Leaving Daphne midsentence, Nikk darted back into the room.
It was too late. Anya was gone. The only thing left was the opened box with the stone resting on the couch.
"You couldn't scream louder, could you?" Eirn made a noise of amusement without tearing his eyes off the tablet. "You may be surprised to know that humans aren't deaf."
Nikk cursed, clenching his teeth. "Why did you let her go?!"
"What was I supposed to do?" Eirney raise his eyebrows. "Keep her prisoner?"
Daphne strode into the room right after Nikk, more composed than ever.
"Happy?" Nikk gave her a withering glare.
"Indeed."
Hundreds of thoughts swirled in Nikk's mind simultaneously. What should he do? Run after Anya? Let her go and hope for her to return? Maybe send her a massage or visit her in the bookshop in a span of days when she'd have enough time to think all through? No, what if something would happen to her in a span of days?..
Suddenly, the front door swept open. For a fraction of second, Nikk naively believed that Anya decided to come back. That she trusted him. No, she didn't.
It was another daitya who stood in the doorway now, her pale green hair tangled, her gaudy pink coat soaked with rain. Amarillis eyed everyone in the room, her big emerald eyes glimmering with wander.
"Did something happen while I was away?" she guessed with a naughty smile and lifted her finger. "I just saw a girl who, I swear, ran out of our apartment. Who is she? And what did you do scare the hell out of her?"
"Ask Daphne," Nikk groaned and shuffled to the window. He had to send Anya a massage. Without knowing what she thought of him now he wouldn't be able to sleep at all.
Heavy clouds were obscuring the dusk sky, leaving only a thin line of tangerine light illuminating the skyscrapers and the avenue. Nikk heard Daphne tell Amarillis about Anya. He didn't utter a word even when Daph called Anya 'a not inspiring trust Earth-walker' a few times. Nikk was angry and upset and tired of arguing. And lost.
"I missed all the fun as always," Amarillis sighed as Daphne finished her speech. "I'd love to have a friend on Earth. Humans are so charming." Rill hesitated for a moment and then added. "Though I must admit, the second coincidental meeting... That's strange."
"The third one," Nikk corrected, without turning his head. Let Daphne make a fuss. Let her rant and rave. Let her feel in no control over the situation the way Nikk felt.
"What?" In the window reflection, Nikk saw Daph glower at him. "Tell me I misheard."
"You did not." Nikk shook his head, staring back at her through the same reflection. "I've met Anya three times. What did you say it was, Daph? Fate?"
"Where else?!"
"At home." Nikk finally turned around to see the frustrated faces of the others. "She wasn't on Da'Ariya physically," he explained. "Only in her mind. I met her in my astral projection of home. At first, I thought I accidently created a tulpa, a human shadow while I was building my dream, but the shadow didn't respond to my mental commands and I realized she was real. I saw her a few days later, when we were passing a bookstore with Eirney."
Daphne and Rill cocked their heads at Eirn, the fair-haired daitya grinned conspiratorially.
"Then I went to the theatre, because I knew Anya would be there," Nikk went on. "I wanted to know whether she remembered me, whether she got into my mind on purpose. She didn't. She thought I was her dream."
Silence hovered over the apartment. No one moved, thinking and rethinking and struggling to comprehend the full story Nikk had just told.
"I knew something was off about you inviting me to the theatre," Daphne laughed nervously. "Wait, did you know the fomoires," she for some reason winced at the word, "would be there, too?"
"No," Nikk answered honestly.
"Hold on, it's impossible," Amarillis wiggled her hands in negation. "This Anya could never dream of Da'Ariya-a place where she'd never been. Besides, she could never get into your thoughts, Nikk. The daitias learn the art of shared dreams for decades and still not all of us can do that."
"Are you saying I'm lying?" Nikk scowled at her. He knew nobody here considered him a liar.
"Actually, that may explain why Leir was in the theatre," Eirn said. Despite his occasional absent-mindedness, when he was brainstorming he was extraordinarily savvy. "What if the fomoires know something about Anya that we don't?"
"Hmm," Nikk dwelled on this idea. He never thought about it that way. What if Anya wasn't spying for Leir, what if Leir was spying on her? Hunting her. Then Daphne was right, and Anya's life was in danger.
He caught Daphne's eyes as she looked at him. It was neither an offended look of hers nor a resentful one for not telling her the truth in the first place, but sad. There was sadness deep in her heart. Why? Nikk looked away, still vexed.
"We have to find this girl," Eirn continued seriously. "She's our lucky ticket if she knows something."
"I brushed through her thoughts when I showed her the dream we shared," Nikk said, lingering on that memory now.
"You do remember that opening your mind to a stranger is risky?" Daphne asked carefully. "Once two minds are connected, it's influences them both."
"We're already connected because of the first dream," Nikk shrugged. "So I knew what I was doing today." No, I did not, but I couldn't resist the temptation of learning what Anya's thoughts would taste like. "I saw her confusion, her fear before the unknown." And something else buried in her consciousness. Something like a diamond lost in the mud. "She doesn't have the slightest of anything-of the fomoires, of who they are, of the book we're all searching for..."
Eirn chuckled and gave Nikk a knowing look. "Or, she doesn't yet suspect what she has."