“I’d like to keep the tradition alive,” she said. “So I have something for you.”
She disappeared into the corridor and came back carrying a wooden box with small holes in the top. She set it gently on the floor.
“Go on, lad,” she said. “Open it!”
Zac lifted the lid. Inside, curled up in some cozy bedding, was a tiny white wolf pup.
“Her name is Misty,” said Granny. “Sundown suggested that a wolf might be the perfect gift. As a matter of fact, his Maggie is this little one’s auntie. You must look after her. A wolf is the most loyal friend a person can ever have.”
“Wow, thanks, Granny!” said Zac, and he scooped the pup up into his arms. She pawed at his face.
They stayed in the library for a while, playing with Misty. She skidded on the shiny floor, unable to grip with her tiny claws. Finally, Zac turned to Granny.
“We have to go back home soon, don’t we?”
“Yes, lad,” said Granny. “Tinn has set me a task, and it means we’ll have to return to the Waking World.”
“What sort of task?”
“That doesn’t matter for now. Don’t look so sad! You’ll still be my apprentice. You’ll still learn about magic and dreams and all the rest. And I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots of your friends soon enough.”
“But what about Nocturne?” Zac said. “Shouldn’t we stay and help? I haven’t seen a single Dream Stealer in my dreams for days. No Dream Stealers means no danger for the Waking World, and that’s brilliant, but they’re still out there. They’ll be back, won’t they?”
“I fear they will,” said Granny. “They won’t give up so easily. But for now, things are under control. There are more Knights than there have been in years. Tom and Tilly are ready to become more involved. Julius has been promoted from apprentice to full Knight. Tinn himself is training Noelle — he’s certain he’s discovered a real talent there. He’s even hired Rigby Sundown to keep an eye on the Dream Plains. They’ll all track down and turn in as many Dream Stealers as they can, you mark my words.”
Zac was silent for a moment. “Granny,” he began slowly, “what Mr. Tinn said . . . about the Trinity. What if it is me who’s meant to stop the Dream Stealers —”
“Then all the more reason for keeping you safe in the Waking World,” said Granny. “You need to learn more about your dream talent, to control it. And I’ve told you, I don’t want to speak about that business. Not now. The Dream Stealers still believe I’m the danger, and I intend to keep it that way.”
“But I’m scared that means they’ll come for you,” said Zac, staring at the floor.
Granny put her arm around him. “If they do, lad, I’ll have them running straight back to the shadows they crawled out from! In any case, the most important thing here isn’t me — it’s stopping them from driving the Waking World mad with terrible dreams. That’s something you should be afraid of.”
“Maybe we already have stopped them,” said Zac.
Granny smiled sadly. “You shouldn’t be worrying about that today. It’s Christmas! Come on, we should get back to the others. They’ll be wondering where we’ve got to.”
She stood up and walked back out into the empty corridor. Zac gazed around the library. Two weeks ago he hadn’t known anything about this wondrous place.
Two weeks. It seemed like a lifetime.
The things he’d seen since then! And the enemies he’d battled! He’d fought a werewolf, and clashed with goblins and vampires and Dream Stealers. He’d soared through the clouds in an old camper van, and he’d escaped the clutches of evil skywaymen. He’d even found out that he had a special dream talent, and Granny was going to teach him all about magic.
Most important of all, for the first time in his life, he’d made friends. Real friends. The future was uncertain, but he knew they would face it together — he and Granny, Tom and Tilly, Rumpous Tinn and the Knights of Nod. They’d fight until the end, because they had something to fight for.
The sound of a booming guffaw drifted along the corridor. Zac smiled. Cornelius. Hugging Misty, he walked back toward the laughter of his friends.
And all around the Waking World, sleeping spirits passed through the mist, into the world of dreams.
Huge thanks to Barry, Imogen, Christine, Rachel, and everyone else at the fantastic Chicken House. By taking a chance on a little book about dreams, you have helped me achieve my own. I will never forget it.
Thanks to Janet, for falling in love with Zac from the very beginning. This will always be our story.
Thanks to my real-life heroes, Kenny and Lorna, who can always make me laugh.
And most important of all . . . thanks to Aileen, my beautiful, wonderful wife. If I had a magic compass, it would have led me to you.
Text copyright © 2012 by Ross MacKenzie
All rights reserved. Published by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. CHICKEN HOUSE, SCHOLASTIC, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
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First published in the United Kingdom in 2010 as Zac and the Dream Pirates by Chicken House, 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1DS.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zac and the dream stealers / Ross MacKenzie. — 1st American ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Eleven-year-old Zac follows his grandmother into the magical world of dreams called Nocturne, where Dream Stealers led by Shadow are spreading dark magic that creates nightmares, and it is up to Zac and new friends to foil the evil plan.
ISBN 978-0-545-40106-7 [1. Dreams — Fiction. 2. Nightmares — Fiction. 3. Magic — Fiction. 4. Pirates — Fiction. 5. Friendship — Fiction. 6. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.M1986342Zac 2012
[Fic] — dc23
2011030280
First American edition, June 2012
The display type was set in DayDream.
Cover art © 2012 by Brian Despain
Cover design by Whitney Lyle
e-ISBN: 978-0-545-50889-6
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Zac and the Dream Stealers Page 19