Past the Size of Dreaming

by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

  —Great!—Matt said.—Okay if I escape now?—

  —Oh, sure. Hey! I love this!—The pavement pushed her back up on top of it.—You want me to hold them?—

  —If you can. They might get violent. They might hurt you.—

  —Huge things roll around on my back all the time. What can hurt me?—asked the road.

  —I don’t know, but there might be something. Be careful. And thanks!—She stood up, brushed off her palms.

  “Hey!” she yelled. “What’s this all about, anyway?”

  Everyone stopped and turned toward her.

  “What kind of spell is this?” Cross asked in an ominous tone.

  “My kind. What do you want, anyway? What’s the big idea, coming after us?”

  “I sensed a concentration of powers here. I always go after them; it is my lifelong quest to collect them. They are jewels; they can be family; I can train them and use them. There was such a beautiful gathering here, centering around something in an egg, something about to hatch. Everything has changed, though.” He turned his head, searched his surroundings. “What has happened? It is all different, but still … delicious.”

  “I don’t think we want to be in your family,” Matt said. “You hurt your children.” Look what he had done to Galen. Look what he had done to Julio. Who knew what he had done to the others?

  “I must,” Cross said. “It’s a necessary part of discipline. It strengthens us all. You can all learn and grow stronger. Only come with us.” He gestured and spoke some words. Silvery blue sparks fizzed in the air around him and his team. Chimes sounded. A moment passed, and the sparks faded, leaving everyone where they were.

  “What is this spell!” Cross cried. He tried to lift his feet free of the pavement. “What is this power?”

  Matt felt the road laugh under her feet.

  Cross growled and spoke words and directed gestures at the pavement. The surface bubbled. Cross cried out and changed tactics, said a different chant that froze the road.

  “How does it feel to be trapped?” asked the house. She carried Lia in her arms. She walked out the gate and went to stand before Cross.

  Cross glared at her. “What are you?”

  “I am what hatched.” She turned to Harry and gently handed Lia to him. Lia groaned and clung to Harry’s neck. “I stood for more than a century with my feet caught like yours. Now my chrysalis has opened, and I’ve taken my first steps past the edges of where I was. What I see of you is that for more than a century you have trapped others and kept them under glass. Maybe it is time you changed, too.” She went to him, took his face in her hands, and kissed him on the mouth.

  Chapter Seventeen

  when Beth released Cross, he stood silent and staring. She stepped back and studied him. All the struggles around them stopped.

  “Master?” Galen whispered. He ran up and touched Cross’s arm. Cross blinked but didn’t look at him.

  “What did you do?” Galen asked Beth in his monotone voice.

  She touched her fingers to her lips. “I don’t know. I kissed something out of him. It tasted sour and shadowy and smoky. There was a curse in it.”

  Galen tugged on Cross’s sleeve. Cross glanced around, looked down at Galen and away. A faint frown puckered the skin between his brows.

  Matt had other worries. “What did you do to Terry?” she asked the redheaded woman. The woman shrugged. Matt put her palms against Terry’s back: solid, hard as stone.—Terry?—

  —Matt! What’s wrong with me? I can’t move! I can’t see! I can’t feel! Where am I?—

  —This woman put some kind of statue spell on you. She slapped a piece of paper on your forehead.—

  —Take the paper off, will you?—

  Matt went around Terry and tugged at the paper on her forehead. It had something written on it, Chinese or something. It wouldn’t come off. “Lia?” Matt said.

  Harry came to her, carrying Lia.

  “Are you all right?” Matt asked her.

  “No. Cracked a couple ribs or something, and I’m tasting blood. Whatever it is, it hurts. I should have gone to fireform. Nothing can slam that down on the pavement. Wait. Fireform. Oh yes. Go to fireform, re-form into a healthy self. Excuse me, love.” Lia flashed into a dancing pillar of many-colored fire.

  The redhead gasped, and so did the glowing white-haired man. “You consort with demons?” asked the redhead.

  “Sure,” said Matt.

  Fire condensed back into human form. “Oh, good,” Lia said. She felt her chest. “That worked! Wow! Matt, what did you want?”

  “Can you burn this spell off Terry’s forehead?”

  Lia touched the paper. It charred and blew away. Terry sagged, stone no longer. “Whoa,” she said, staggered, bumped into Nathan, who took her shoulders and helped her straighten up.

  “Interesting taste,” Lia said. She licked her fingers.

  “Are we to stand here all night?” the redhead asked.

  “I don’t know,” Matt said.

  Edmund, beside the white-haired man, said, “Matt, this is Fern. I think he’ll be all right if he’s free of the master.”

  “Are we free?” asked the woman.

  “Is that what you want?” Matt asked.

  “Above anything,” she said. She frowned. “Long ago he told me he’d be a father to me. For sure he cared more about me than my own ever did, and he taught me mastery of my craft, but he hurt me, too. He hurt us all.”

  Matt knelt on the road again and put her hands on it.—You did a great job,—she told the road.—Thank you so much.—

  —I love this.—

  —Are you ready to let go?—

  —Of all of them?—

  —Which one is this?—Matt patted the road that trapped the redhead’s feet.

  —Blood-apple-salt water.—

  —Who is that?—She patted the road by the man Fern.

  —Sugar-garlic-plum-cinnamon.

  —Could you release those two?

  —I can taste them better like this.

  —Well.—Matt sat back on her heels, at a loss.

  —I have tasted enough.— The pavement parted, releasing Fern and the redhead.

  “Am I truly free?” Blood-apple asked. She pressed her palms together, spoke something in another language, and vanished.

  Fern walked forward, stooped, picked up the little dog. “What becomes of Pwca?” he asked.

  Terry rubbed her eyes. “The spell will wear off in half an hour or so,” she said.

  “What becomes of Cross?” Fern asked in a lower voice.

  Matt gave the road a final thanks as it smoothed itself, then followed the rest of them around to look at Cross. He stood quiet, blinking and confused. He stared at them without recognition.

  Deirdre came to stand beside Fern.

  “What happens to him now?” Matt asked the house, Beth.

  Beth shook her head. “I don’t know what I took from him, only that it tasted like fire and needed to come out. I don’t know who he is now. Will the road release him?”

  “Is that safe?”

  “If it isn’t, we’ll deal with it.”

  “God, I’m tired,” Terry said.

  Matt knelt and asked the road to let its last captive loose. The road complied. Cross stood where he was. He shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again.

  “It’s after three a.m. We’re all tired. We need someplace to lie down. We could try to find a hotel,” Suki said, “but I don’t know if they’d answer the bell at this hour.”

  “I’ll find us a place.” Matt still had her hand on the road, and she sent out a call: was there a nearby house with lots of bedrooms and no people in it, one that was willing to have visitors?

  In a moment she had five answers from nearby. Guthrie had its share of weekend houses for inland families who came to the coast only sometimes. “Okay,” she said. “Grab what you need and let’s go.”

  Beth took Cross’s hand. No one got any of their things.
They just followed Matt down the road. She led them for a block and a half, then turned in at a driveway that led to a giant three-story house. She put her hand on the door and said,—Hi. I’m Matt, and I have a lot of friends. May we come in and sleep for a while? We won’t hurt anything, and we’ll clean any messes we make.—

  —Please do come in,—said the house. Its door unlocked and opened. Lights switched on in the hallway. Extravagant shag carpet in orange and yellow floored the hall, and badly executed oil paintings of seascapes hung on the walls. Matt heard a heater switch on and thought, oh boy.

  —Thank you,—she thought, her heart in it.

  —Who are you? Some of you are not people as I understand people.—

  —It’s a long story, house. I’m too tired to explain right now. Maybe in the morning?—

  —Very well.—

  The wall facing the sea was all windows. On the main floor, there was a big living room with four couches, coffee tables, some recliners; also a big bathroom, and a well-equipped kitchen. A loft above held three double beds, and down on a lower floor beneath the main floor there were four bedrooms and two baths.

  Some staggered in and fell onto the couches and into sleep. Some of the others explored the house. Beth led Cross to a couch and gently pushed him down on it. He was like a large confused robot, obeying hand commands without understanding anything. Galen sat next to him, studying his face.

  Beth took Matt’s hand and led her through a door in the window wall out onto a broad balcony.

  The night was cold and foggy, but when she looked straight up, Matt could see stars.

  Beth sat on a dew-wet chaise longue, tugged Matt down, and hugged her. “Finally I can do this out in the world,” Beth whispered.

  The house’s big warm presence enfolded her. Matt sat stiff in her arms.

  Beth sighed and let go. “What’s wrong?”

  Matt shook her head. “I’ve been inside you, and you’ve been inside me. I know it. But I feel like I don’t know you. I don’t like people to touch me without asking.”

  Beth thought for a moment, then nodded. “May I hug you now?” she said.

  “All right.”

  The house hugged her again, and this time Matt leaned into it. Beth smelled like cinnamon and warm milk and bread baking. She felt comfortable.

  How long had Matt’s mother been dead and gone? Matt couldn’t remember the exact number of years, but it seemed like a long time. A year and a half before Matt left home, anyway.

  The house’s hugs in dreams had warmed her, and the house’s acceptance of her had given her a home after years of wandering.

  She could let this happen.

  Matt pressed her ear to Beth’s chest and heard Beth’s heartbeat, slow and steady, muffled thunder, the ticking of the world.

  Presently Matt stirred. “I am a grown-up, you know.”

  “I know.” Beth lowered her arms, and Matt straightened, leaving the haven of her warmth. The night was colder than she had remembered. “People come in and go out. I know you’ll leave again, and this time I won’t have shelter to offer you when you come back. A human’s connection to another human is different from a house’s. I used to be able to keep people all their lives. With Nathan it went beyond even that. I know things will be different now. Sometimes my children left. I know how to let go.”

  “Can I—can I come back?”

  “Oh, yes. Anytime you like.”

  “Now?”

  Beth smiled and opened her arms.

  matt led Edmund up to the loft, picked the bed farthest from the staircase, shucked out of her top layer of clothes, and sat on the bed. Edmund sat down beside her, leaned back until he was lying across the bed on his back. She lay next to him.

  “Hey,” she whispered.

  He smiled without opening his eyes.

  “Awesome.”

  The edge of his mouth drew up, deepening his smile lines.

  “You did great work today,” she whispered.

  “We all did.” The words slipped voiceless from his mouth.

  She patted his face.

  For a while she lay, listening to everyone else find sleeping space—Lia and Harry, Suki and Nathan took the other double beds in the loft, and everyone else found bed space or couch space below.

  Matt stirred, roused Edmund. They crept under the covers. Matt spooned with Edmund, pulled his arm over her. He tugged her close and tucked his chin down on top of her head. There were settling noises elsewhere in the house.

  A whispered comment drifted from a nearby bed. “What if this is our last night together?”

  But why? Before she could figure it out, Matt dropped into profound sleep.

  matt woke to the smell of coffee.

  She slipped from Edmund’s embrace and went to stand in front of the windows. Day revealed the big balcony, an array of cement seagulls perched along the railing, and a beautiful view of a clear blue sky and an endless expanse of green-gray ocean. There was the chaise longue she had sat on last night with Beth. Other summer furniture was scattered over the concrete expanse.

  Matt stretched, then went to pull on the jeans and shirt she had shed last night. Her clothes smelled like fire and asphalt, sweat and magic. Pew! She really wanted to do laundry. She had gotten out of the habit of smelling bad.

  She went downstairs and found the bathroom, then tiptoed through the living room on her way to the kitchen. People sleeping on couches in the living room had blankets of shimmering colors wrapped around them. Matt wondered where those came from.

  In the kitchen, Deirdre sat at a small table with a mug of coffee in her hands. Matt found a mug and poured herself some coffee. No milk in the fridge, but there was sugar on the table. She sat down beside Deirdre.

  “Did you get your heart’s desire?” Matt whispered.

  “I did,” Deirdre whispered back. She sipped coffee.

  “How does it work?”

  “How does what work?”

  “Your magic.”

  “Oh, that. No. That’s not what I asked for.”

  “Oh, man! What was your heart’s desire?”

  Deirdre looked away, smiled, glanced back. “I tell you what, Matt. After ten minutes with Cross, my heart’s desire was to come home to all of you. So it worked out okay.”

  “He was really mean to Julio. Was he mean to you?”

  Deirdre’s shoulders hunched. “He tried a couple things. He wanted me to tell him all about us, who we were, what powers we had, what we were trying to do, but I wouldn’t talk. He threatened me with transformations, and he did some awful spell thing that made my skin burn, but I stayed quiet. Then he did this other spell thing that made me want to talk—”

  “Truthtell,” said Matt. “Terry used that on me. I hate it.”

  “Huh? Tell me later.—But every time I opened my mouth to answer one of his questions, the coyote howled right over me. That coyote was so great!” She glanced around. “Uh—”

  Matt opened dream-eyes and checked the kitchen for invisible beings. No coyote. “She’s gone.”

  “Oh. Damn, I wanted to thank her. Guess I’ll do it when I get home. And then Fern told Cross to leave me alone, and Cross did something that made Fern shrivel up, and I stomped Cross’s toe. He yelled real good.” Deirdre’s smile was grim and fierce.

  “What is Fern?”

  “He’s an explorer from someplace else. I mean, he’s not from this world. He came here to check the place out, and Cross was one of the first people he met. Bad luck for Fern. Cross adopted him, and that involved some kind of trapping spells that bound Fern to him—that’s what he did with all his people, but he couldn’t get some of them to fight for him. I only met a few, but I know he has a bunch of people trapped in his house. His children.” Deirdre shook her head and grimaced. “I don’t know what that woman did to Cross last night, but I think it broke the trap spells on Fern, Elizabeth, and Pwca. Galen’s trapped another way. Who was that woman?”

  “The house.”

/>   “The house!” Deirdre gulped coffee, set her mug on the table, and went into the living room. Matt followed.

  On the largest couch, Beth lay under a blanket that was many shades of turquoise. Her silver hair rayed out around her head, some flowing over the couch arm, some hanging over the edge all the way to the floor. Deirdre stared down at her broad, tranquil face.

  In a moment, Beth drew in a large breath and opened her eyes. They gleamed bright turquoise. She gazed up at Deirdre and smiled.

  “House?” Deirdre whispered.

  “Deirdre.”

  “Wow, it worked! Wow!”

  The house sat up, pushed back her blanket. “How strange. I have seen sleep, but I have never done it before. I’m not sure I approve.”

  She held out her hands to Deirdre, and Deirdre gripped them. “Come,” said Beth, tugging gently. Deirdre sat down beside her, and Beth put her arms around Deirdre.

  “Oh, House,” Deirdre murmured.

  “I’ve stepped outside my rules,” said Beth. “Now I can give you what I always wanted to give you.”

  Deirdre pushed out of Beth’s embrace. “Wait,” she said.

  Beth took Deirdre’s hands.

  “Did you see my coyote?”

  “I sensed it. A magnificent creature.”

  “That coyote came to me. I was out there in the desert, and the coyote came to me. Then she came with me. I guess I found my own magic. All I have to do now is go home to it.”

  Beth stared into Deirdre’s eyes for the space of three deep breaths. “You’re sure?”

  Deirdre frowned. “Mostly.”

  “Find me if you change your mind.”

  “Okay. You sure you still have power to give? Maybe you’re more different than you know.”

  “Hmm.” Beth smiled. “We’ll see.” She put her hand on her belly. “What’s this?”

  Matt leaned closer, heard her stomach grumbling. “You’re hungry,” she said.

  “Ah. I remember that, from dreams. Grilled cheese sandwiches.”

  “Dee, you got any money? I still don’t,” said Matt.

  “I’ve got some,” Deirdre said.