by Helen Harper
His lip curls. ‘Yeah? What of it? It’s not like anyone can do anything against them. They’re too powerful.’
‘Well,’ I say, tapping my mouth thoughtfully, ‘I might be able to do something.’
His friend snorts. ‘You?’ His disbelief is palpable.
I’m actually enjoying this. ‘I’m the dreamweaver.’
‘Bullshit.’ He says it quickly but I can see the doubt in his eyes.
Lucas folds his arms. ‘Prove it.’
‘Okay then.’ I look around for something useful. When I spy the weathervane on top of a nearby cottage, I grin. That’s perfect. ‘What’s your favourite animal?’ I ask.
His eyes dart around suspiciously as if this is some kind of trick. ‘Lion.’
His friend laughs. ‘Tell the truth.’
Lucas throws him another glare. ‘Fine. It’s dogs.’
Liking dogs isn’t something to conceal. I smirk. ‘What kind of dogs?’
His bottom lip juts out. ‘It’s only because I grew up with them. It’s not my fault my mum likes them.’
I repeat my question. ‘What kind of dogs?’
‘Chihuahuas,’ he mumbles.
My grin grows. Perfect. ‘And you?’ I say to his friend. ‘What’s your favourite colour?’
‘Pink,’ he tosses out. The faint twitch of his eyebrows suggests he’s lying but I like the idea of a pink Chihuahua so I go with it. Besides, I don’t want to stand around here all day.
I tilt back my head and focus on the weathervane then, because I feel that it will add an edge of drama, I lift my hand and point at it. Just as Lucas starts to scoff, there’s a crash of thunder and lightning forks down, touching the edge of the vane. Lucas shrieks and all but leaps towards his mate for safety. They back away while around us other passers-by stare around in alarm.
‘You… That… You…’ Lucas stammers, swinging his head wildly from the vane to me and back again. Where there used to be a proud iron cockerel, there’s now a pink Chihuahua. For effect, I even added a diamond-studded collar. Nice.
‘You really are the dreamweaver.’ The pair of them stare at me with a mixture of horror, delight and fascination
I dust off my palms and smile. ‘I am. And I’m about to confront the Department. You might want to come along and watch. Bring your friends. Everyone’s welcome. The Department have ruled the roost for too long. It’s time for us Chihuahuas to take over.’ I turn back and continue my march.
For a moment I think they’re too scared to follow me then I hear a murmur and the welcome patter of footsteps. It’s not just Lucas and his friend; the others are curious enough to fall into line. There’s nothing like a bit of pressure to make me rise to the occasion. More and more people join our group; by the time I reach the square, I’m starting to feel like the Pied Piper.
There, on the steps of their ugly headquarters, stand six members of the Department. Moe’s not there but Jepsen, Larry and Curly, aka Alastair Hendricks, plus three others whom I don’t recognise, are all there, drawn no doubt by the thunder and lightning which signalled that something had permanently changed. Me. I made this happen. The Department have no idea what they started when they came for me. They’re about to learn.
The crowd behind me comes to a halt, no doubt as worried about the Department as they are fascinated by me. I ignore them and stroll forward, whistling. When I reach the foot of steps, I hail Jepsen et al and raise a hand in greeting. ‘Hey!’ I call. ‘How’s it going?’ Jepsen flinches and turns away. I wrinkle my nose. ‘Freddie! My old friend. Don’t go!’
Larry glares at me. ‘Don’t you dare threaten him,’ he spits.
I make a show of frowning. ‘I didn’t threaten him.’ I glance back at the crowd of Travellers. ‘Did you hear a threat? Because all I heard was me telling him that he shouldn’t leave. I didn’t say “Don’t leave or I’ll cut your balls off”. I definitely didn’t say “If you leave, I’ll tell your wife about the affair you’re having with your secretary”. And I definitely didn’t say “If you leave I’ll tell everyone your real name is Frederik Jepsen, CEO of Frandsen, which is based in Copenhagen at 22…’
‘Enough!’ Jepsen shouts.
I wince. ‘That was pretty loud.’
Larry smirks. ‘I never liked you anyway, Jepsen. Tough luck.’ He tosses his head at me. ‘Fair play, Ms Lydon. You got him. But you can’t get all of us.’
‘Really?’ I ask. I point at Curly. ‘He’s Alistair Hendricks. You are…’
Larry jerks forward while Curly goes so pale I’m afraid he’s going to keel over. ‘You’ve made your point.’
‘Have I?’ I blink, the very picture of innocence.
‘Go on!’ someone from the crowd shouts. ‘Keep going! Tell us who they all are!’
‘Yeah! Let’s see how they keep on lording it over us when we know who they really are.’
I raise my eyebrows at Larry. His mouth flattens in a thin line. ‘Why don’t we continue this inside?’ he suggests.
‘I don’t think so. I would hate to deny these good people,’ I wave my hand behind me, ‘a good show.’
‘What do you want?’
‘Oh, there’s a whole lot that I want. In fact, the list is so long that it’ll take us some time to get through it.’ I’m not daft enough to believe that any of these bastards will keep to the agreement we make here, so I don’t bother asking them to stay away from my friends and me. It would be a waste of breath. I have to use the immediacy of this situation to get what I want; the time for negotiations is well and truly over.
‘I want Jepsen,’ I say, my voice ringing loud and clear. There’s a rising murmur from the crowd at my back. I hold up my hand and they fall silent. I could get used to this.
The Dane shakes his head violently and steps back. He might be a respected figure in the real world, with bodyguards at his beck and call, but in this world he can’t beat me. Not now, not with what I’ve learnt from Ingold’s files.
Something about my manner seems to convince Larry. He pushes Jepsen forward, making him stumble down the steps in my direction. ‘There’s no honour amongst thieves,’ I tut. ‘How do you lot agree on anything when you obviously can’t trust each other?’
The five remaining Department members exchange nervous glances. Hopefully, I’ve set the cat amongst the pigeons and they’ll start tearing each other apart. The watching crowd will spread tales of this encounter far and wide and that will also help.
I clap my hands. Jepsen gazes at me balefully. ‘You lied to me,’ I tell him. ‘You’ve come back here and you’re still plotting against me.’
Impressively, he seems to be recovering his form. He straightens his shoulders and meets me head-on with a taut rejoinder. ‘So what? You’ve already exposed my identity. Go ahead and tell the world what you know about my family. I’m not going to kowtow to you.’
‘I’m not looking for obeisance,’ I say softly. ‘And you are the ones who started all this. I didn’t come looking for you until you threatened me and mine.’ I sigh. ‘I gave you a chance to make things right but you didn’t take it. Now you’ve left me with no choice.’
‘Ha,’ Jepsen sneers. ‘What are you going to do? Turn me into a small pink dog?’
‘No,’ I say sadly. ‘Your power in the real world comes from your power and knowledge in this world. Without what you have here, you won’t last long.’
‘You can’t take this away from me.’
I meet his eyes. ‘Yes, I can.’ I raise my hand and point at him. ‘I cast you out.’
‘You stupid bitch! You can’t…’
There’s another crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning ricochets from above, slamming directly into Jepsen’s skull. There’s a faint sizzle of burning hair and then he’s gone; where he was standing there’s nothing more than a shadow ‒ and even that is fading away before my eyes.
The Travellers start their murmured chorus again. Larry yells at them, ‘He disapparated! He woke up so he didn’t have to listen to
this stupid woman any longer.’
‘Then wait and see,’ I tell him. ‘Wait and see if he comes back tomorrow.’ I turn my head. ‘In fact, if that weathervane is still a pink Chihuahua after the stroke of midnight, you already have your answer. I am the dreamweaver and that means I have control over what happens in every dream realm across the world, including the ability to expel whoever I choose.’
Larry is finally lost for words but unfortunately Hendricks takes over. ‘We’ll come after you in real life!’ he bursts out. ‘You can throw us out of the Dreamlands but we will hunt you down. There’s no longer any reason to keep you alive. We will kill you and everything you love.’
‘Do you know where I am right now?’ I say. ‘I’m with Interpol. How difficult do you think it would be for me to make a few suggestions to them? Not to mention that if I strip you of your Traveller status, I can visit your other dreams. I can plant suggestions in your heads too and you’ll never know.’
Hendricks falls silent again. Thank goodness. ‘Make sure Jepsen knows that when you see him next,’ I add. ‘I know it will be soon, Alistair. After all, you must be nearby. You met him today.’
‘This isn’t going to work, Zoe,’ Larry says. ‘We’re powerful people. We can hurt you.’
‘And now you know how much I can hurt you,’ I respond. ‘If you want a war then you’ve got one.’ I sweep my gaze across them. ‘I’ll be seeing you.’
And with that I wake myself up.
Chapter Thirteen
Oh, what a tangled web we weave.
William Shakespeare
When I open my eyes, Ingold is hunched over a computer staring at the flickering images on the screen with the giddy attitude of a schoolboy. The white-coated doctor, together with Rawlins and my mother, are crowding round him. Even the Chairman seems to be fascinated; his head is turned away from me and towards them. Feeling a bit sad and ignored, I crane my neck to try and see what’s going on.
Rawlins is obviously fascinated. ‘So you remember everything?’ she probes. ‘And that’s what it looked like?’
‘The images are a bit cloudy and unclear but generally yes.’ Ingold exhales loudly. ‘This is amazing. We’ve tried out the machine under varying different circumstances but the results have never been this good.’
My mother sniffs. ‘That’s because you didn’t have Zoe.’
Ingold responds quietly, ‘You’re right. She makes all the difference.’
‘Who’s that?’ the doctor asks, jabbing at the screen. ‘I take it he’s part of your dream?’
Even from my awkward position I can see Rawlins stiffen. ‘He’s not from your subconscious,’ she says, a hint of steely anger in her voice. ‘That’s Dante.’
Ingold pulls back and glances at her. ‘You know him?’
‘Unfortunately I’ve had the displeasure of meeting him.’
‘He doesn’t know who I am,’ Ingold says. ‘And he didn’t realise what we were up to.’
‘That’s something. He’s been on Zoe’s tail for weeks now. It’s probably only a matter of time before he works out what’s going on here,’ she adds darkly. ‘He has knack for keeping abreast of current events.’
‘He’s coming here tomorrow morning.’
My mother squeaks and puts her hand to her throat. ‘Here?’
‘He wants the dreamweaver.’
Everyone wants the damned dreamweaver. I mutter an expletive and everyone turns towards me.
‘Darling! How are you feeling?’ my mother asks.
I sit up and smile. ‘I’m fine. A bit groggy, but fine.’ I glance meaningfully at Ingold. ‘I kicked out Jepsen. He’s no longer a Traveller so he’s no longer a member of the Department.’
Rawlins stares. ‘You can do that?’
‘Apparently so.’ I run a hand through my hair. ‘The point is that he’s going to be on the warpath after me. And so are all the others. They’re afraid of me and what I can do to them. They’re not going to want me to continue.’
Ingold drums his fingers on the table. ‘We’ll need to manage that somehow. I wouldn’t worry. I think we can deal with them.’
‘They have a large network of resources at their fingertips,’ I remind him. ‘They’re all wealthy, powerful people.’ Despite my warning that I’d mess with their dreaming minds once I’d expelled them from the Dreamlands, I don’t think they’re going to stop coming after me. The only option left to the Department now is to completely obliterate me.
‘Well,’ my mother huffs, ‘we’ll get these lovely people here to arrest them all and then you’ll be perfectly safe.’
‘We need a reason to arrest them, Mrs Lydon,’ Ingold replies gently.
She rolls her eyes. ‘I’m not sure what the point is in having the police on your side when the police aren’t prepared to do anything.’ Rawlins looks at her from beneath her eyelashes. My mother shrugs expressively.
Ingold scratches his chin. ‘Do you have any real evidence of wrongdoing?’
‘They kidnapped that girl!’
‘Ashley,’ I say. ‘They took Ashley.’
‘She’s British?’
I nod. ‘Yes. But I don’t think she saw anyone she could name. Even if she could, it would be her word against theirs.’ I meet Ingold’s eyes. ‘Everyone has tried for so long to keep the Dreamlands secret because…’
‘Because it makes you look crazy.’
I sigh. ‘Yeah.’
The doctor, who up until now has been busy at the computer, finally speaks up. ‘We have proof now.’ She gestures at the screen. ‘We can do more.’
‘Do you actually know who else is in the Department?’ I ask. ‘Beyond Hendricks and Jepsen?’
She exchanges fleeting glances with Ingold. He opens his mouth to answer but I hold up my hand. ‘It’s alright,’ I say drily. ‘They are adept at concealing their identities, after all.’
‘And,’ Ingold adds, ‘it’s been a while since we’ve been able to gain access to the Dreamlands.’
‘You want me to give you that access.’
He inclines his head. ‘You don’t even need to stay here or do very much to help us.’
My eyes narrow. ‘What do you mean?’
Ingold smiles. ‘You have the ability to remove people from that world. That means that the reverse is probably also true.’
I suck in a breath. ‘You think I can make you a Traveller.’
‘We think it’s a possibility.’
My mind races. There’s so much that could go right – and very wrong – in such a scenario. This time it’s Rawlins who voices my concerns. ‘That’s a lot of power to have.’
‘It is.’ Ingold’s response is calm but his words are edged with steel. ‘But think of all the good we could do.’ He points at me. ‘You saw the file, you know what’s happened in the past. You’ve also been inside my head. You know, Zoe, that you can trust me.’
The trouble is that he’s asking me not just to trust him but to trust an entire organisation. While I have no doubt that Interpol is filled to the rafters with people who possess integrity and goodwill, I find it impossible to believe that there aren’t those who are less trustworthy.
‘And would you tell the world what you can do?’ Rawlins persists. ‘That you can visit the dreams of potential criminals and prevent crimes before they begin?’
‘People wouldn’t believe us.’
She smiles humourlessly. ‘But the good doctor here has just said you have proof. It would not be too difficult to broadcast what you could do and prove it.’
‘In theory no, it wouldn’t be. However, you know as well as I do, sergeant, that if the public at large are aware of all your methods then you’re at a disadvantage.’
‘So you’d keep it secret. You’d rattle around inside the minds of anyone who takes your interest and no one would ever know.’
Ingold’s jaw tightens fractionally. ‘It’s for the greater good.’
‘Well,’ my mother says, ‘the last thing I want is for str
angers to peer inside my brain. It’s wrong.’
‘We wouldn’t be looking at you, Mrs Lydon,’ he replies. ‘You’re not a criminal. Besides, if you have nothing to hide, why would it be an issue?’
‘Security versus privacy, you mean.’
‘More like liberty versus control,’ Rawlins mutters. I throw her a surprised glance; it’s not a point of view I’d expect her to hold. People keep on surprising me, in both good and bad ways.
‘In any case,’ I interrupt, ‘this is all hypothetical. We don’t know whether I’d be able to do it. I’d need to enter your dreams and then…’ I shrug helplessly. ‘Then I don’t know.’
‘It’s worth trying,’ Ingold says.
I don’t answer him. Frankly, right now there are more pressing matters to consider. ‘The Department is my immediate concern,’ I say. ‘We have to sort them out first and release their stranglehold on the Dreamlands. We also need to stop them coming after me or anyone else in revenge.’
‘I’ve already posted surveillance on Jepsen,’ Ingold says. His tone is pointed; he’s pulling out all the stops to make sure I know he’s with me all the way. ‘I’ll do the same for Hendricks. If they make any move against you we’ll know about it and prevent it from happening.’
‘There’s a lot more to the Department than those two.’
He nods. ‘So you need to work with the tracker and locate the identities of the others.’
My mother scowls. ‘She should stay away from that man.’
I run a hand through my hair. ‘I’m not sure I have much choice at this point. Besides, he’s still under the impression that I’m starting to trust him again.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Rawlins asks. ‘We already know how dangerous he can be.’
Ingold puts a hand on my arm. ‘We’ll help out. We won’t let him touch you.’
I bite my lip. It’s not them I’m worried about as far as Dante’s concerned. It’s me.
***
It’s mid-morning before he appears. Ingold and I are sitting together, thrashing out the last details, and I can tell he’s itching to get back to persuading me to grant him access to the Dreamlands. Every time I think he’s going to bring it up, I change the subject. I’m aware that I’m only useful because of my potential to be used. There are very few people who are interested in me regardless of my status as dreamweaver. I try not to dwell on it because it’s remarkably depressing if I do.