Bo stepped out of the wagon large as life. The clouds spilled a misty rain on us. He barely blinked as he surveyed the area.
We were surrounded by men dressed like black and white carnival characters, or the jokers in a Tim Burton Queen of Hearts court.
I gave Bo a deadpan look. “Is there anyone you haven’t pissed off yet today?”
ONE OF THE MEN stepped forward, his white-and-black harlequin outfit more sophisticated and heavily embroidered. His mask covered his entire head. Not a single part of his skin showed.
What was so horrible that he had to cover his entire body?
“Who is the leader?” the man demanded.
Bo raised his chin and took the final step to the sandy ground. “Captain Bo Sicario. Who are you?”
“Fartlek Reiker.”
Fartlek? Dear goddess, this was Dreamland, wasn’t it? So literal. Running terms, which meant these people were runners, and if I had to guess, they didn’t just run in circles or straight lines. No. For as literal as Dreamland was, She also had a wicked sense of humor.
“I demand your Who.”
“I’m afraid I have more pressing business.”
“How did you arrive here, Captain?” Reiker asked, patting his chest.
“The same way I arrive anywhere.”
The runner paused. “I am not in the habit of being played, sir. When I ask a question, you will answer it.”
“As I have, sir.”
“And when I demand something, you will give it.”
“As long as I wish it,” Bo said, his voice low as he stalked toward the runner. “As long as I have the time to invest in your request, but let me assure you, right now is not that time.”
The lead runner took several steps forward. “You mistake me. I requested nothing.”
“You mistake me, Reiker. You demand nothing of me.”
“I will have you taken into—”
The ground shook so hard, my knees buckled. I fell to the ground. So much for grace.
The two runners closest to me sank into the sand up to their waists.
They didn’t seem too concerned.
The ground shook again. The wagon leaned far to the side and stayed there as if stuck. One blue hand reached out, the fingers splayed. Sand that had been flung into the air froze.
My vision flared. I twisted around on one knee, but it was like being stuck in molasses.
The runners on the far side of the beach, however, were not. Between one blink and the next, they materialized on either side of Bo.
The wagon fell heavily onto all four wheels. The person with the outstretched hand tumbled to the ground, a startled scream escaping her yellow-tinted mouth.
The runner in front of Bo froze.
Reiker turned his white mask in my direction. It made me strangely uncomfortable. He took a step forward.
We had to get out of there, but aside from some pretty fantastic kickboxing moves, I didn’t know what I had to offer. I wasn’t stuck in the time warp. Well, I had a hard time moving, sure, but I was conscious. Were they?
The air shredded next to me and a woman leapt through. She rolled on the sand and came to her feet. She assessed the scene, her dark hair fluttering in a slow-motion breeze. Her legs bunched under her as she took a slow running leap toward Bo.
In the next instant, she was beside him, and in the next, they were gone. Another blink and she was next to me, her cool fingers on my arm. Then we were beside the wagon.
“Who are you?” I asked. My words came out in a normal time.
The closest runners blipped toward me, then sank into the sand to his shoulders as the ground trembled with a rock-popping groan.
“Jazz.” She touched the sides of the wagon.
The beach evaporated as we were shoved through Place. A tunnel constricted around us, the walls glowing in a soft purple phosphorescence.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Grandmother Willow’s roots.” She stepped away, pulled a talisman off her belt and draped it over a ragged tear hanging in the air.
“What are you doing?”
“Killing the Place scar. Look, I don’t have time to play a hundred questions with you. I got you away from the runners, but I’ve got to go as soon as this thing heals.”
“Can we—” I stopped as the bottom fell out of my stomach. Someone pounded on my mind, wanting in. Another dreamer? No. I wasn’t letting him in. I couldn’t. I refused. This was River’s body and I wasn’t allowing him to be possessed by anyone—
“It’s me, Bess,” I said, using my own voice with my words.
“Are you sure?” my dreamer asked with my mouth.
Jazz stared at us, her lip curled as she took a step back.
We had to look pretty insane.
“The dreamers are trying to take you over,” Bess said.
“I know.” Why was she using my voice?
“I don’t know. I think the words and they just come out.”
“We need to find Harley,” I said.
“If you have an idea that will get us there, I’m all ears, but the blue people should probably stay here.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with the spinners?” I turned to the wagon, but the answer hit me before I’d made it all the way around. I might not have been myself while Bess possessed me, but I’d seen everything she did.
Something clicked behind us. We spun to see Jazz tucking her talisman back onto her belt. She waved once and melted away, creating a new Place scar in her absence.
Okay. Bess’ voice receded into my mind. If you’ve got a plan to get us out of here and you healed, now would be the perfect time.
I nodded. Every time I blinked, the world rocked.
You’re losing energy.
I had noticed. I delved into my heart where I stored all my gathered Who’s and found the one I needed. Finn.
Bess pushed forward into my consciousness. “You need me to do this one,” she said, using my voice again.
And why’s that? I asked, nothing more than a ghost in my own mind.
“I’m a dreamer and he’s a dustman. Finn.” Something flew away from my heart, like a fishing line. “I need you.”
At first nothing happened.
Then a man appeared before us, his clothes dark and brightly patched. He feathered his black hair off his face. “Wha’ do we have here? A dreamer?”
Bess slid into the background and allowed me forward.
Finn’s black eyes widened. “Ah. Well, now isn’t tha’ just a sight. Come on, then. You want to be saved, or are you one o’ them what wants to die a proper Dreamlander?”
My mind was so muddled. Bess might be protecting me from being possessed by other dreamers, but her thoughts were mine, and I was pretty sure mine were hers. “Do you know where Harley is?”
The dustman narrowed his eyes, but nodded. He took our arm and the tunnel evaporated.
A cute, country house loomed before us surrounded by pine trees and a single, dominating cottonwood. Dreamlanders walked around the yard, blue and green and red and brown. Most had eyes that glowed in the light of the setting sun.
Glowing eyes?
Finn stopped a tall Native America man in black leather pants with long, blue-black hair. “Where’s Harley?”
The man chucked his chiseled chin toward the house. “She’s a bit busy. You have someone who needs healed?”
Finn nodded. “A whole lot of ‘em. Goin’ ta retrieve ‘em now.”
The stranger gestured toward the back yard. A wide wooden gate hung open. A small city of tents resided in the pasture on the other side. “Find Ebony or one of the other mechanics.”
Finn grabbed our elbow and started in that direction.
“Hurry before he fully fades.”
Finn glanced at us and his eyes flared with the same concern Bo had shown that first night in his cabin, or the night my best friend had found me in my kitchen clutching a knife to my chest.
Our eyes fluttered shut. T
he air felt so different here. Everything was so quiet. I could see people talking all around me, but I couldn’t hear. Pressure built in our ears. Our back went rigid, our arms lashing out beyond our control.
A light shown, but from where, we couldn’t tell.
I hadn’t even realized it’d gotten so dark. Deep shadows ran along the rocky ground. The twin turquoise lights were the eyes of a woman above me. She smiled, and warmth filled my convulsing muscles. I floated somewhere just inside myself, disconnected from my body.
Complete blackness washed over me, this time, the gloom of sleep. Rest. Finally. No dreams. No nightmares or stranger dreamers trying to take over my body.
When I awakened, a yellow dome shielded me from the darkness I could barely see on the other side. A tent. That’s what Bess had called it. Bess?
She was gone. Assumed she went back to her own body. My mind was my own again.
The zipper rose and the flap lifted. An auburn-haired woman stepped through, her turquoise eyes glowing. She beamed at me. “You’re awake.”
“Your eyes are glowing.”
She brushed that off with her hand. “A side effect of the cure.”
I sat up, feeling much better than I had in days. “What happened?”
“I cured you.” She sat cross-legged next to me. “Do you feel abnormal? Are you all right?”
I really felt great. “No. I think I’m good.”
“Your eyes . . . ” Her voice trailed off.
“Oh, do they have stars in them again?”
She nodded. “Does this happen often?”
“Nah.” I dropped my eyelids and concentrated. “Just once before. Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”
I reached deep into my soul and tugged on the parts of me tied to Dreamland. All I had to do was banish Dreamland’s night sky from my eyes and let my normal eye color to shine through.
River?
I knew that silken voice. But she sounded so distant, so urgent.
River? River, where are you? Did you find Harley? River! Find Harley. She has the cure.
I had been cured. My energy levels were higher than they had been in a long time and my mind was clear of dreamers.
River, you can’t die.
I went completely still. Why not?
River? River, where are you?
She couldn’t hear me?
Oh, no, Dreamland muttered. He was the key. Without the key . . . River? Where are . . .
Her voice drifted into the distance as if she were walking away.
I opened my eyes and stared at Ebony. I was free. Free of Dreamland. Free to do what I willed.
Now all I had to do was figure out what that meant.
DEDICATION
To all you who have dreamed big,
and lost it all.
Who faced your demons,
and had your soul broken.
Who fought hard your entire lives,
and felt as if you’ve gone nowhere.
This one’s for you.
Take it easy.
Enjoy the read.
Remember why you fight.
Recall who you fight for.
Then get up and do it again tomorrow.
One day, you will win.
I believe in you.
SOUNDTRACK for DREAM KILLERS SEASON 1 EPISODE 3
Lindsey Sterling “Shatter Me” (album)
“There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window. He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be for ever barred.”
J.M Barrie
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
PLACE WORKED GREAT! In the blink of an eye, the yellow tent receded, and the deck of Night’s Cruelty lay beneath my booted feet.
A familiar bellow shot through the darkness followed by the thudding of feet.
I tried to make out Bo in the complete lack of light but failed. His strong arms grabbed me up in a tight, rib-crushing hug. “Are you okay?” His normal tenor sounded a bit gruff. “Are you safe? How about the others? Are they all right? Are you cured?”
I chuckled and patted his back, trying to pry myself away. “I’m fine,” I said with the wisp of breath I had left. “Gotta breathe, Bo. Gotta breathe.”
A sliver of excitement pierced my heart with an empathic sonar ping. No sooner had Bo let me go, then Zoe rushed into my arms with a wild screech, clinging to me with her long, lithe limbs. “You made it,” she said in her quiet voice.
I rocked back and forth, hugging her tight. Happiness surged through me. “Everyone’s fine. I’m cured.”
“The spinners we saved?”
“They’re fine, Bo.” My eyes gradually grew accustomed to the darkness. “What happened here?” I tucked Zoe’s afro out of my face.
She burrowed her head into my chest, exuding contentment that seeped into my core like a warming blanket.
Shadows leached out of the receding darkness and became people. Bo’s crew. They walked about, working the ropes and sails. Most of them lounged, at ease.
I strolled toward the center of the deck. Curiosity forced me to look up at the sky through the rigging and trestle trees. “Are those—no. Are those stars?”
“If you wait,” Bo said with a smug tone, “you’ll see moons, too.”
A snort exploded from my nose. “Moons? as in plural?”
“Yeah.” He gave my arm a quick squeeze, then led the way to the quarter deck. “What happened?”
“A lot.” I followed him up the wooden steps, lifting my legs over people sprawled on the deck. “They’re sleeping.” A startled breath escaped me.
“That they are.”
So many changes so soon. “Do you dream?”
He peeled off his blue coat and draped it on the deck. “Yes. We do, and the places we visit are unreal.” He grabbed Zoe under the armpits.
She mewled and made a face as he pulled her away from me to stow her on his jacket.
“I’m pretty confident I discovered Wonderland.”
I snickered under my breath. “Seriously.”
His expression smoothed out as he laid down beside Zoe, tucking her head on his shoulder. He patted the deck on the other side of her. “Now that we have stars, most of us have been soaking them up. Come on.”
I’d never star-gazed before. I settled beside Zoe and folded my hands on my chest, wonder relaxing my muscles. “Okay,” I said, happiness infusing my heart. “Tell me about Wonderland.”
Bo stayed quiet a moment. “Well, let’s just say this isn’t Alice’s Wonderland.”
I frowned at him, my eyebrows raised.
“Not like that, you pervert.” He laughed throatily. “No. It’s just like everything else here. It’s different.”
“Huh.” Would I ever cease being surprised? “Wonderland in Dreamland. I can’t say it doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s true. Where else could someone fall down a rabbit hole, then wind up in a different world? Your turn. What happened after Finn took you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t remember a whole lot of it.”
“Do you remember being possessed?”
My cheeks and ear tips burned with embarrassment. I remembered. I recalled finding Bo attractive, for one. Oh, the things I wished I could scrub from my mind.
A star raced across the sky
“Wow,” Zoe said.
“Quick.” Bo gave the girl a shaking shoulder squeeze. “Make a wish.”
She clamped her eyes shut and bit her lips.
I smiled. “You remember the mechanic I kept mentioning in my delirium?”
Bo nodded.
“She has a place on Earth. All these dustmen and nightmares were bringing her people to heal. There were hundreds of them. They’d all been about to die.”
He rubbed his thumb against Zoe’s shoulder, a thick frown furrowing his face.
“So many, Bo. They all
could have been dead.”
He tapped his fingers along Zoe’s shoulder. “It amazes me the sheer magnitude of whatever that was.”
“I know.” One blinking star moved across the sky faster than the rest. “Dreamland is in the middle of a war, and it’s . . . it’s huge.”
“I know what war’s like, Riv. We want to be as far from it as we can.”
“Do we have that luxury?”
He quirked his lips. “Yeah. We do.”
Something dark and hollow twisted my chest. “I don’t think so.”
He thumped his head against the deck, hugging Zoe tighter.
“Elders on one side. Or at least I think.”
“Are you talking about Shakarr?”
“Yeah.”
He popped his lips. “I think that woman has her own agenda. The elders, for all I’ve seen, are bad news.”
I held out my thumb, continuing my count of battle fronts with my other fingers. “Then, the mechanics, and now Harley.”
“How can we tell everyone apart?”
I shrugged. “Elders have their runners and they’re both easy to spot. The mechanics? They have hunters, and they’re sneakier. Harley’s people, though, their eyes glow.”
“Literally?”
“Yeah. It’s a side-effect of the cure.”
“Your eyes aren’t glowing.”
“Mine—” I interrupted myself. “Something went wrong when I was cured. My healing got stuck or something. Mechanic Ebony said I had stars in my eyes.”
Bo grunted. “Not the first time.”
“Right. So, I tried making them go away like before, but I couldn’t. Harley changed something inside me. Now, Dreamland can’t talk to me, can’t find me. But I did make the stars leave my eyes.”
He bit his bottom lip, his eyebrows raised. “And now we have night. With stars. Coincidence?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Do you know any of these constellations?”
“No. I never really was into astronomy. Becca—” He stopped, the arm close to mine stiffening. He relaxed and Zoe cuddled closer. “Becca used to love it.”
“You haven’t told me much about her. Was she your—” I didn’t know whether to call her a wife or a girlfriend. I just knew the visions I’d seen. “The woman with the red hair?”
Dream Killers - Complete Season 1 (The Dream Killers Book 3) Page 23