Dreamthief

by Tamara Grantham

Twenty-one

  Cold wind stung my face as the man shoved me to the ground. My knees hit the snow. Kull fell next to me, his body bloodied, his face bruised. I glanced at him, wanting to say something before Geth’s men executed us.

  He winked at me.

  True Kull—fierce even in the face of death.

  Something hard slammed into the back of my head. Pain exploded inside my brain, and I screamed. I tasted blood as stars danced in my vision. I tried to focus and found the world spinning.

  Shouting came from far away. I listened. More shouts followed the first. The men surrounding us ran toward the shouting. What was happening?

  I steadied my breathing, trying to concentrate past the pain. I studied the forest and found that a fight had broken out. Several men threw punches, but they didn’t have a chance against the girl with the knife. I studied her more closely. My breath caught in my throat.

  Heidel.

  How did she get here? How did she find us?

  One of the men screamed as he fell back, hands held over a bloody wound in his stomach. I saw several more men lying on the ground, bleeding out.

  Through bleary eyes, I glanced at Kull, who had managed to sit up. I wasn’t so lucky. Every time I moved, my head screamed with pain. I wanted to black out so the pain would go away.

  Heidel screamed as she tossed a man into a tree, and then she planted her knife in his neck and rounded as Nehor charged from behind. She ducked and then gripped her knife from the man’s neck, pulled it free, and stabbed Nehor in his gut.

  “Stop!” I heard a commanding voice come from the forest. Geth walked forward, surrounded by two men holding spears.

  Heidel glanced up, her knife still in the man’s belly. I saw something in her face that gave me pause. Recognition. Did she know Geth?

  “What are you doing?” Geth asked as he neared her.

  She pointed at him, her arm smeared with his man’s blood. “Not another step. I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you and everyone you love. How dare you take my brother!”

  “Your brother?” Geth took another step forward. His armed guards stayed with him. “This man is your brother?”

  Heidel yanked her knife free of the man’s belly. “Do not pretend you’re innocent. You knew it was him. You knew who he was. You brought him here on purpose. I will kill you, Geth! I will kill everyone you’ve ever loved. I will spit on your rotting corpses—”

  “Heidel.” He spoke her name in a commanding tone.

  She stopped.

  “I did not know he was your brother, though I should have realized it. You both fight like demons. I am sorry.”

  She stood still. Her long, raven hair was pulled into a ponytail and moved in the gentle wind. “You are?”

  “Yes. Your brother is free to go.”

  “And what of the human girl?”

  Geth’s jaw clenched. “I cannot let her leave.”

  “Why?”

  “We have discovered that she is the Dreamwalker. We cannot allow her to live. She is a threat, and a very powerful—”

  Heidel laughed.

  “You find this amusing?”

  She nodded.

  “Why?”

  “Her talents are basic and extremely limited. She is no Dreamwalker. She is not a threat to you. She is not a threat to anyone.”

  “You are certain?”

  Heidel moved forward, fist clenching her knife. Her smile faded. “I will take her whether you wish it or not. And if you do not agree, I will gut you like a wild animal. I will mutilate you until you beg for death, and that is when I will—”

  “Very well!” He stood tall. “If she is no threat, as you claim, then you may take them both. But be warned, if this woman is not the Dreamwalker, then we are in grave danger.” His voice dropped. “You know what I speak of.” He turned, gave orders to his men to collect the wounded, and then retreated.

  Heidel stood rigid as she watched him go. Then, she rounded on us, her eyes narrowed as she stared at her brother. I watched as she went to him, knelt, and inspected his wounds. A bruise had formed on his face. He winced as she touched it.

  “They would have killed you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind.

  “It’s good to see you too, sister,” he managed.

  “Once again, I have saved your life. This is becoming a habit, brother.” She untied his hands and then came to me to help me with my bindings. As soon as I got to my knees, I collapsed. The pain was too much. My consciousness ebbed, and I welcomed the blackness.