Cole helps Destiny

  “I can connect without touching now,” Cole said, turning his attention back to Destiny. “Usually.”

  “My power can be elusive,” Tessa said. “Owandell had a hard time with me when he stole it.”

  Cole took her hand and found he could connect that way. Her power billowed and folded like smoke buffeted by wind from all directions. Even with direct physical contact he could not find the center. He infused the roiling mist of her power with energy.

  Tessa gave a small whimper. Her arm trembled in his grasp. She stared at the sky, eyes unnaturally wide. “No,” she whispered.

  Harmony braced her daughter. “Are you all right?”

  Tessa was shaking her head. “A wave,” she said, her dispassionate voice incongruent with her quivering frame. “A great and terrible wave of darkness will swallow us. Eternal night. An end to hope.”

  “Can we fight it?” Harmony asked.

  “Where do you hide from a shadow bigger than the world?” Tessa asked. “Can we fight the night? Can we outrun darkness? The wave looms over all, growing as it consumes, engulfing everything.”

  Tessa’s head snapped toward Cole, her eyes dizzily focusing on him. “Find Dandalus,” she whispered.

  Then she went limp.

Chapter 29