The Dream Sanctum: Beyond The End (14 page)

Despite being so close so such a grotesque scene, Kwin hardly seemed
perturbed. On the contrary, she seemed quite interested, and studied it with
interest.

“What kind of place is this?” Lindsay asked quietly, her voice trembling.
She stood close to Luna, and they both looked at the body with expressions of
disgust and fear.

“There don’t appear to be any names for these bodies,” Kwin stated,
continuing on to the next coffin. “There must be something in here.”

“Kwin, you know I trust you, but what do you expect to find looking at a
bunch of dead people?” Kai asked, finally speaking up. Every passing moment
made him more anxious.

“It’s quite simple. This tomb is located near the ship we found, and
there are often multitudes of items to be found buried along with whoever is
inside.”

“But the people on that ship came from our side of the world, so they
wouldn’t be in here,” Kai protested.

“True, but items from the ship could be. It is logical to assume that
something to further our research could possibly be found in here.”

“I think it’s logical to assume you’re downright weird,” Alan muttered,
but broke off as Kwin took a quick step back from the coffin. A packet of paper
had fallen from inside, coming to rest in front of her in a crumpled heap. Kwin
gingerly picked it up to unfold it, and as she did so, her mouth fell open.

“Our mystery has suddenly become much darker.”

“What is it?” Kai asked, and even Lindsay and Luna braved their way
across the room to see what was going on. As he looked over Kwin’s shoulder, he
felt a jolt as he realized what he was looking at.

“That’s… that’s a map of our Sanctum.”

“Let me see,” Alan said, walking up to take a closer look. After a few
moments, he whistled. “Is this really your side? Good lookin’ place you’ve got
here, even without all the happy names.”

“If a map of ours is here, then someone from our side definitely made it
here… but what happened to them?” Lindsay asked.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps they found another way out of here. But what this
map is doing with a corpse is beyond me. Perhaps it was deemed too dangerous a
relic to leave out in the open,” Kwin thought aloud.

“What if those bodies are the sailors that came from your side?” Luna
suggested.

“No, that wouldn’t be possible,” Kwin replied shortly. “As much as it
offends my lesser copy, the truth is that we can wake up whenever we please.”

“I don’t know, if none of your guys ever came back, Luna might have
something there,” Alan replied thoughtfully. “I’m not quite sure how that would
work, but I’m not sure how else one of your maps would get down here.”

“Maybe one of these guys stole it from the ship,” Kai suggested
thoughtfully.

“I doubt it. This fellow was burned to a crisp, but the map is in good
shape, all things considered. It was placed on them after they died, so we need
to question why someone would do that, and who had access to the map in the
first place.”

“And why they would give it up to put it on a dead body,” Kai continued.

“What if we can’t wake up?” Lindsay asked suddenly. “What if we just
can’t wake up anymore and we have to stay here forever? I mean, we already lost
our powers, maybe that’s just the beginning?”

“Let’s not succumb to baseless paranoia,” Kwin chided. “There’s no need
to create more problems than we already have.”

“Speaking of problems, it looks like some of the torches are about to go
out. Figures they’d go out just a few minutes after lighting them, however you
did that,” Alan mentioned.

“I didn’t. They were actually already lit when I…” Kwin trailed off,
looking as though she had been struck by an unpleasant realization.

“What?” Kai asked concernedly.

“We should leave. Quickly.”

Before he could ask what the problem was, Kwin had started up the stairs.
Kai looked at the others, shrugged, then followed her up. She moved quickly and
had an anxious expression on her face, something that did not ease Kai’s
worries at all.

So focused was he on these thoughts that he nearly ran into Kwin at the
top of the steps as they reached the exit to the shore. She had stopped
abruptly, and as he followed her startled gaze, he saw a number of hooded
figures standing not far away. At the head of the group was a shorter figure,
one who Kai was not happy to see.

“Look what we’ve found here!” exclaimed Kwin Two pleasantly. “It’s nice
to see you again. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to wait until you walked
all
the way back to the capital.”

By now the others had made it up the stairs, and they looked frightened.
Kai could understand why. Kwin Two’s sudden appearance couldn’t mean anything
good, much less when she was accompanied by multiple intimidating-looking
figures – figures that, Kai could now see, were armed. The warning Alan had
given them before flashed through his mind, and his body tensed, ready to run
or fight.

“I noticed you were looking around and thought you might want to see what
was down there, so we lit the way for you. Did you find everything you were
looking for?” Kwin Two continued, still in that foreboding, cheerful tone.

“Actually, I believe further investigation will be necessary,” Kwin
replied coldly, and Kwin Two sighed.

“Oh, if only I could let you. You know, I really want you to be happy
here, but I’m afraid I’m going to need to take you back to the capital now. For
your own safety, of course.”

Kai didn’t like where this was going. Everything about this girl bothered
him, and irritation fought to overtake his fear. They had enough to deal with
as it was without someone like her getting in the way.

“I’m fine where I am, thank you,” Kwin started, but was cut off as a few
of the men behind Kwin Two stepped forward, taking hold of her arms. “What do
you think you’re doing?”

“Well I hardly assumed you’d come willingly. Was that a good guess?” Kwin
Two smiled. “Let’s go.”

“Leave her alone! We have just as much right to–” Lindsay started,
stepping forward to pull Kwin back. A second later she cried out in pain and
fell back, holding her left arm, and one of the men pulled back a dagger he had
been hiding underneath his cloak.

“Oh, Eric, there’s no need to be so forceful with them,” Kwin Two scolded
him playfully. “To the rest of you, I suggest you stay back. There’s no need
for anyone to get hurt.”

Kai was about to object, to step in and fight, but stopped as he caught a
glimpse of Lindsay’s arm. From beneath the hand that was covering her arm, he
saw the deep red shade of blood.

Kwin seemed to notice as well. Her face paled and she remained determinedly
silent, passing Kai one final, warning glance before proceeding to be led away.
Kwin Two stood back momentarily to watch with amusement as Kai knelt next to
Lindsay.

Lindsay herself seemed to be more in shock than in pain, and she looked
up at Kai with a worried expression.

“It hurts… it’s not stopping. It’s not going away. Why isn’t it going
away?”

Kai didn’t have an answer, but Kwin Two chuckled.

“I am granting you at least temporary freedom so that you may bear a
message to your friends and anyone who thinks like you. This is not like the
world you know. Here there is hunger and sorrow, and there are consequences to
rule breaking.”

“But this isn’t real,” Lindsay protested. “We’re dreaming!”

“Not anymore you aren’t,” Kwin Two replied darkly.

K
ai woke up earlier than he
had originally intended the next morning, and as he hurriedly got dressed, he
only had one thought on his mind: he needed to check on Lindsay. He pulled on
his coat and was about to step out the door when his phone buzzed in his
pocket. Lindsay had evidently had the same idea.

He met up with her on the sidewalk outside her house. Lindsay looked
tired and worried, but also relieved to be back in the real world.

“I’m all right,” she said quickly.

“Does it hurt?” he asked. Ordinarily he would have considered that a
silly question, but after what he saw and what Kwin Two had said, he wasn’t so
sure anymore.

“The feeling is still there,” she explained at his inquiring look. “It’s
hard to explain. It doesn’t hurt, but it definitely feels like something
happened to me.”

“Kwin should know what’s going on, but we need to make sure she’s okay
first,” Kai replied. “I was thinking about going to see her.”

“I’ll come with you,” Lindsay said, and they started toward Kwin’s house.

Lindsay called Kwin to let her know they were coming, and though the
conversation was short, Lindsay still seemed worried as she hung up.

“She says she’s fine but could really use our company right now,” she
informed Kai, and they quickened their pace. As they walked, Kai noticed that
she unconsciously held her arm as though it still hurt her.

The door to Kwin’s house opened as Kai and Lindsay walked up the path.
Kwin stood in the doorway, beckoning them wordlessly inside, and they all took
a seat on the sofas in the living room.

“My father has already left for work, so we don’t need to worry about
being overheard,” she said without so much as a hello. “For the record, I would
like to keep these events a secret from others for as long as possible. There
is no reason for anyone to know we encountered any trouble.”

“Wouldn’t your dad know how to help?” Lindsay asked.

“No. He does not even know where we are, so his knowledge is far too
lacking to be of any assistance. That said, he is also incredibly busy lately,
and I simply do not want to worry him.”

Kai detected a hint of guilt in her expression. He had a sudden
realization that Professor Kawamari was probably working so hard because of the
medical bills from Kwin’s time in the hospital.

“So what happened?” Kai asked quickly. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No, they did not. All they did was take me back to the capital to have a
‘discussion.’ They wanted to know more about why we were here and what our
plans were. They seemed particularly eager to find out what we knew and what we
planned on doing with said information. I quite plainly told them that I had no
interest in telling them anything, and that I could simply wake up if they
caused me any trouble. For some reason they didn’t appear pleased by this
revelation, so they took me to their makeshift prison and put me inside.
Nothing more than that happened, really.”

“I’m worried,” Lindsay said quietly. “What about the… the bodies we saw
inside that room? They had one of our maps.”

“I did have time to think about that, and the possibilities make me
uncomfortable,” Kwin replied. “Regardless of who those people were when they
alive, they did not appear to die by natural causes. No, I would say they were
probably victims of Devnon’s ‘leadership.’ I sincerely hope that our map being
there is a coincidence, but if not, I’m not sure I like what that could mean
for us.”

“What do you mean? If something happens we can wake up, just like you
said, right?” Kai asked thoughtfully.

“For now we can, but already I am feeling a strain on my mind the longer
I spend in that world. Also, the fact remains that if we ever want to return to
our side of the world, we will need to be in the dream world to do it. Without
our powers and with me in captivity, we will have some difficulty.” Kwin broke
off, looking over at Lindsay who was still holding her arm. “Are you all
right?”

“Sorry,” Lindsay said quickly. “It’s just that… even though I’m awake,
I’m still feeling what happened in there. It’s like it actually happened and my
arm is still healing or something.”

“This adds to my theory that we may experience trouble the longer we stay
there. What exactly that trouble may be I don’t know, but you two
must
be careful all the same.”

“What about you?” Lindsay continued.

“Well, you’ll need to break me out, won’t you?” Kwin answered simply. “It
will be difficult, but right now if we want to escape, we all need to be
together.”

“What about Alastor and Elvia?” Kai suggested. “We can get in contact
with them and they can help us.”

“That’s another thing I wanted to bring up,” Kwin said, suddenly looking
irritable. “I spoke with Alastor on the phone this morning before you arrived.
He informed me that he will not be able to join us for some time. What he will
be doing he refused to say, but the fact remains we are on our own.”

“What?” Kai and Lindsay said together, shocked.

“Unfortunately, that is what we are left with. I am irked, but I still
trust him and know that he has reasons for what he does. But we should not hope
for him to come to our aid. Let’s focus on what we need to do right now. Find a
way to get me out. We’ll regroup and then move on from there.”

As evening arrived and the sun began to set, Kai and Lindsay returned
home, anxious to return to the dream world. They had spent hours coming up with
plans to rescue Kwin, but without their powers, their options were extremely
limited. Kai wasn’t comfortable with what they had come up with, but it was
better than nothing.

The plan consisted of nothing more than attempting to infiltrate the
Golden Capital without attracting any suspicion. While it seemed simple enough,
Kwin was, as always, a stickler for details.

“The one thing I must press the most is that the two of you must not
actually be a part of this,” she had said firmly. “No sneaking and no
disguises; don’t even try.”

“Then what do we do? How do we free you if we can’t get near you?”
Lindsay had asked, looking completely lost.

“While I dislike the idea of relying on complete strangers, we can ask
our new friends to do the work for us. If they are as concerned about Devnon as
they say, they should realize how important it is that all of us remain out of
his hands.”

“Devnon doesn’t really like them either, though,” Kai said thoughtfully.
“If they’re seen anywhere around the prison, Kwin Two could get suspicious.”

“Perhaps, but all of Golden Capital is after you two. At least if we ask
our new friends, they will only have to hide from two people, not the entire
city.”

That had concluded their discussions for the day, leaving Kai preparing
for a solution he found uncomfortably unreliable. He had thought up various
ways to create distractions, some involving fire, and he had been disappointed
when Kwin dismissed them as being “too obvious.”
That’s the point
, he had thought, but accepted it and moved on.

An hour later, Kai arrived back on the beach. In contrast to the previous
day’s dark and gloomy weather, the sky was clear, the sun was warm and the air
was still. It gave him a boost of confidence, and he had a feeling that their
plan might actually work out.

Lindsay appeared a few minutes later. The weather seemed to lift her
spirits as well, and she smiled at him as she came over to meet him.

“Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” she asked.

“For what?”

“I’ve been very good at falling asleep quickly lately! I think I deserve
some credit,” she continued innocently.

“Well, let’s see if you can keep that up. Three days in a row is good,
but I happen to remember a time when you kept me waiting literally the entire
night.” At Lindsay’s pout of guilt, he relented, patting her on the head. “All
right, well done. Oh, how’s your arm?”

Lindsay quickly looked down at her arm, but the wound was almost
completely gone. Evidently waking up and then returning had caused it to heal
quickly. Lindsay breathed an audible sigh of relief, and Kai gave her an
encouraging smile.
One less thing to
worry about.

Satisfied, they started in the direction of Golden Capital, and Kai fell
into step beside her. As they walked, Kai couldn’t help but glance at what was
left of Lindsay’s wound, and he felt a pang of worry. Even if it was mostly
healed, the fact remained that she had been hurt to begin with. He vowed to
never let anything like that happen to her again.

“So where are these guys, anyway?” Lindsay asked. “Are they waiting for
us somewhere?”

Kai felt a jolt in his stomach – he hadn’t thought about how to actually
get in touch with their new friends, and without their powers, finding them
would probably be a very difficult task.

However, before Kai could confess this, he heard a shout from the trees.
He glanced up quickly to see Kris and Luna walking toward them.

“Thought you might want to see us!” Kris called, and Kai chuckled.

Let’s hope this luck keeps
up.

However, as Kai and Lindsay sat around a fire pit in an abandoned
building five minutes later with Kris, Luna and Alan, he wasn’t feeling quite
so confident.

“You want us to do what?” Alan said, looking surprised. “I must have
heard wrong, since I didn’t picture you as the type to randomly ask their
friends to commit suicide.”

“It’s not that bad!” Lindsay protested. “We know it’s a lot to ask, but
it’s really important. Once we get Kwin out of there we can work on doing
something about your situation.”

“With respect, as smart as she might be, in this world you’re just five
ordinary people. I’m not sure what five people can do against a guy like
Devnon.”

“Why not give it a chance?” Kai argued. “There has to be something we can
do, but we can’t do anything while one of our friends is caught. That and you
saw what they did to Lindsay. We’re all in danger, and the longer we’re
separated, the more problems it means for us.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Alan sighed. “Unfortunately, when the
going gets rough, we run the hell away. That’s why we’re still alive. As much
as I want to help, I’m not sure how much I can motivate myself to suddenly risk
my life. I’ve become very fond of waking up every morning.”

Kris looked as though he wanted to agree, but said nothing. Luna, on the
other hand, shook her head.

“Well, if no one else is going to do anything, I might as well try,” she
said determinedly. “I don’t know what I can do, but I wouldn’t feel right just
leaving her there. Besides, it’s easy to talk about how you’re still alive,
you’re not the one locked up in there.”

Kris stood up, and Kai noticed an immediate change in his demeanor.

“I agree. I’m with you,” he said.

“That’s great!” Lindsay exclaimed, but Alan chuckled at the confused look
on Kai’s face.

“Kris will do anything Luna does, and I think she knows it. They’ve been
dating for a year and I don’t think he’s told her ‘no’ even once.”

“Dating?” Kai and Lindsay said simultaneously.

“Yeah. As if it weren’t obvious. How long has it been for you?”

“We aren’t dating, we’re just friends!” Lindsay laughed. “But you hear
that, Kai? There’s hope for us! In case you’re planning anything, I already
know where I want you to take me for dinner.”

She grinned mischievously as Kai sighed and rolled his eyes.

An hour later, the five friends stood outside the walls of Golden
Capital, hidden within the trees as they planned their next move.

“Right. Here’s the plan. We’ll get in there and one of us will make some
sort of distraction to get people’s attention away from the prison. With any
luck there will be keys we can use to open your friend’s cell, and then we can
get out of there as fast as humanly possible,” Alan recited.

“Kwin said we shouldn’t go in there in case someone recognizes us,”
Lindsay started, but Alan shook his head and pulled out two black robes.

“She probably didn’t consider that since you look just like Kris and
Luna, no one will have any idea they’re looking at you. We just can’t have the
four of you together at the same time, so it will be Kris and Luna who create
the distraction. They know this area better and can escape if necessary.”

“I’m really not sure if–”

“Let’s go. Kris, Luna, you first. Pull Devnon out of the way if you see
him. We need to be quick about this.”

Before Kai or Lindsay could say another word, the other two had left,
walking confidently toward the city gates and out of sight. Alan seemed to
notice their discontent and grinned.

“Don’t worry about it, this is going to be easy. The prison itself is
pretty shoddy and mostly unguarded. Getting out is the only problem, so we just
need to make sure we’re not captured. I’ll be with you the whole way, too.
Simple, right?”