Zac and the Dream Stealers (19 page)

Light and color shifted in a glittering infinity of patterns.

As he flew through the Dream Plains, Zac felt a great rush of freedom. He knew he'd seen this wondrous place before, but never like this.

His mind was foggy. How did he get here? And how long had it been since he arrived? Hours? Days? Time seemed not to matter anymore.

Eventually, the blurred tangle of thoughts in his mind began to clear. He realized the pain in his leg had gone. He looked down and saw the most remarkable thing. Where the solid form of his body would usually have been, there was only a wispy ribbon of smoke. As he concentrated, the smoke curled and twisted, slowly creating the outline of the body he had expected to see. He raised a hand and the smoke rolled and billowed, forming fingers in front of his eyes.

How strange.

Now he could hear voices whispering in the distance. He floated toward them.

And then he felt it.

Fear.

He knew somehow that the fear wasn't his own. It belonged to someone else, but it was terrible just the same, and he needed to find it, to stop it.

He flew down through the mist until he reached what he thought must be the ground, and there he saw another figure, made of glowing smoke just as he was. This figure was an old man, and he was running from something. He kept glancing over his shoulder at his pursuer, moans and wails spilling from his mouth as he stumbled away.

Zac opened his mouth and discovered that he had a voice.

“Hey, wait,” he called.

And now he saw what was in pursuit.

A skull, swooping through the mist.

As it drew nearer, Zac realized it wasn't a floating skull at all. It was a man. The figure was wearing a shining silver mask, and his silver-armored arms were crossed over his chest. He wasn't made of smoke. He was flesh and bone.

A Dream Stealer.

The old man stopped and faced the creature, dropping to his knees.

“Please!” he wailed. “Please, no.”

The Dream Stealer laughed coldheartedly, and sent a ball of black smoke hurtling through the mist toward him. The ball engulfed the old man completely for a second. Then the dark magic fell back and began to shift and change. It took the form of an old woman, lying on the ground, wailing in agony and reaching out to grab him.

Zac understood what he was seeing. The old man was being made to experience his worst fear. This was how the Dream Stealers hunted.

He moved forward, placing himself between the Dream Stealer and his victim. All at once, the haunting old lady vanished, and the cloud of black smoke gathered around Zac, but he felt no fear or pain or anger. Zac looked the Dream Stealer in the face and saw the bony arms tremble.

With a rush of power, Zac blew the dark magic back toward the Dream Stealer. It swirled about him like a tornado, faster and faster, until at last it exploded in a blinding flash. The Dream Stealer was hurled into the mist and the old man's smoky outline floated freely away like a raindrop into a river.

Smiling, Zac pushed back more dark clouds and bolts of dark magic, letting the beautiful dreams flood back onto the Dream Plains: here a dream of swimming in blue seas; there of flying in winged chariots; and there of singing choirs. They swept over the Dream Plains like waves of happiness. His power was stronger than he could ever have imagined! The Dream Stealers were finally on the run.

Zac knew there were more dreaming Wakelings out there, Wakelings he could help. Now he realized exactly what he was destined to do.

And it was going to be fun.

Eventually, the Dream Plains faded. The whispers fell silent.

Zac Wonder stirred from a deep sleep to the unmistakeable smell of fresh cinnamon creeping up his nostrils.

“Hello, Zac.”

He sat up with a start. He was lying on a four-poster bed in a comfortable room with large windows and a fluffy purple carpet. Granny was sitting in a deep armchair by the foot of his bed.

“Granny! Where am I? Is everyone OK?”

She raised her hand to quiet him, the corners of her mouth twitching.

“Everyone's fine, lad,” she said.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Just over a week.”

“What? How long?”

“Goblin poison is powerful stuff, Zac,” she said. “I was very scared we might lose you.”

“Am I in the hospital? Sweet Dreams?” He looked out the window and saw the shadow of Slumber Mountain.

“That's right. How's your leg?”

Zac hadn't thought about it. He felt his thigh, where the arrow had plunged deep under his skin. It was bandaged heavily.

“It burns a little, but it's not that bad.”

“Good.”

Granny sat back in the armchair and reached for her pipe, only to realize that she couldn't smoke it in the hospital. She packed it away again and sighed.

“I'm very proud of you, lad,” she said.

Zac smiled. “Everyone else is really all right?”

“I told you, they're all fine,” she said with a chuckle. “Tinn was injured, but he'll be OK. It's a good thing Julius went back to fetch Mr. Sundown. If they hadn't arrived when they did, we'd have all been in real trouble.”

“So that's where Julius went back in Port Town?” said Zac. “He went to fetch Sundown?”

“Julius was certain Gideon was working for the Dream Stealers,” said Granny. “But he didn't have any proof. Nor did he want to jeopardize the mission. The morning we reached Port Town, he sneaked away to find Sundown. He asked him to join us — his thinking was that if we had Sundown's ship, we'd be able to escape any trap Gideon had set for us. Sundown was ready for another adventure, of course, but by the time they got back to the inn we'd already been attacked, and Gideon had led us away. Julius and Sundown asked around, and heard we were headed in the direction of that terrible vampire village. They followed — and thank the stars they did.”

“I still can't believe Gideon was working for the Dream Stealers,” said Zac. “How could he lead his friends into a trap like that?”

“Gideon was seduced by dark magic,” Granny said sadly. “It has happened before and it'll happen again.” She leaned forward in the armchair, her little eyes serious. “There is potential for darkness in all of us, lad — and there comes a time when we must choose which path to follow. For someone who is tired and frightened, for someone who has lost all hope, dark magic, with all its hollow promises, is the easy choice. And that's the difference —
hope
. As long as you have that hope, as long as you have something to fight
for
, darkness will never extinguish the light in your spirit completely. Gideon lost his hope. He made his choice.”

There was a knock on the door. Rumpous Tinn poked his head into the room.

“Mind if I crash the party?” he said.

“Come on in, Rumpous,” said Granny.

Tinn closed the door behind him and hobbled over to the bed. He was leaning heavily on a wooden cane with a golden handle carved into the shape of a crescent moon.

“May I sit down?” he asked.

“Of course.”

Tinn clicked his fingers and an empty armchair left its place under the window. It sped across the carpet and stopped right behind him.

“Well now, Zac,” he began, plopping himself down on the chair, “I've heard so much about you from Tom and Tilly it's hard to believe we've never been introduced. I am Rumpous Tinn, and it is a great pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Thanks,” said Zac. “You, too.”

“Would you like a toffee?” Tinn asked. “I bought them from old Saccharina Fudge's shop this morning. They're the best, you know.”

“Yes, please,” said Zac, and much to his surprise, Tinn reached into his white beard and began to rummage around.

“Let's see . . . I know they're in here somewhere . . . ah!”

He produced a little brown paper bag, opened it, and clicked his fingers. Three chunks of toffee shot up into the air and floated there, spinning like miniature asteroids. Tinn casually waved his hand and two of the pieces flew gently across the room, into the open hands of Zac and Granny. The other piece sailed into Tinn's mouth.

After a few minutes of loud chewing, Tinn looked from Granny to Zac, his lined face becoming very serious.

“I want to thank you both for everything,” he said. “If it hadn't been for you, the Knights of Nod might be nothing more than a memory. I would also like permission, Eve, to explain to Zac why all of this is happening. I feel he deserves that much.”

“Very well,” said Granny, examining her fingernails.

Zac sat forward in bed. He had the feeling things were about to get interesting.

“Fifty years ago,” began Tinn, “I had just taken up the post of Grandmaster. We were on the verge of victory against the Dream Stealers when, one evening, an oracle burst into our camp.”

“What's an oracle?” asked Zac.

“Someone who can see glimpses of the future,” said Granny.

“This oracle had seen a terrible future,” Tinn continued. “He told me the Dream Stealers would return in half a century under a leader of immeasurable strength, and bring about a time of great suffering — a time known as the Darkness. The oracle said there were only three people who could stop the Dream Stealers — a Trinity of heroes who could save us all. Unfortunately, his vision ended before he was able to reveal to us the identity of all those heroes. The only name he could give us was your grandmother's.”

“Granny?” sputtered Zac.

“In those days, spies were everywhere,” said Tinn. “Word of the oracle soon reached the Dream Stealers. Luckily, they never learned that your granny was one of the Trinity. I hid her in the Waking World, where I knew she'd be safe. When the Dream Stealers showed up again recently — half a century later as predicted — I knew it was time for her to return. Unfortunately, they seem to have put the pieces of the puzzle together and realized that we were protecting her for a very good reason.”

“And that's why the Dream Stealers want her?” said Zac. “They know she's important? But that means she'll never be safe.”

“None of us will ever be safe while the Dream Stealers are around, Zac,” said Granny.

“But what if the oracle was wrong?” Zac pressed.

“I'm afraid there's no chance of that,” Tinn said sadly. “Everything he predicted has so far come true. I hope you can understand why you were dragged into all of this. You almost lost your life. For that I am truly sorry.”

“I'm not sorry, sir,” said Zac. “I love it here. I've never felt like I belong in the Waking World. Part of me's always wanted to run away. I think I've found where it wanted to run to.”

Granny and Tinn shared a smile.

“He
is
a natural,” she said.

“Ah, yes,” said Tinn. “I gather you have been astounding the Knights with your own talents, Zac?”

“Me?” he gasped.

“I have heard all about the dreams you have been experiencing. I know about the dream orb, the werewolf, the dagger — which, incidentally, Tilly has handed over and I shall be examining carefully. Dream orbs can be dangerous things, and I'm afraid my sister had an unhealthy obsession with them. You did well to survive. Your grandmother has also informed me that you warned the Knights of a werewolf attack in Port Town, quite possibly saving their lives. I assume you also saw this in your sleep?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And strange things have happened to you in times of danger, yes? You have performed magic?”

“Back on the church roof!” Zac spluttered. “The invisible girl . . . Noelle . . . asked me to distract that terrible woman with the mask and . . . and the magic just sort of happened. But I don't know how I did it — any of it.”

“You did it just the same,” said Tinn. “It seems clear to me that you are in possession of certain gifts, Zac, gifts that could prove most useful indeed. That is why I'd like you to become a Knight's apprentice. I believe your granny would be more than happy to teach you.”

Zac's eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. “Really?” he said.

The old man chuckled. “The final decision lies with your grandmother,” he said, shooting a look at Granny. “What do you say, Eve?”

Granny sat back in her chair and polished her glasses. She took a long, hard look at Zac. “Couldn't do any harm, I suppose,” she said. The faintest smile crossed her lips.

“Then it is decided,” said Tinn.

Zac felt like leaping out of his bed and running around the room. He was going to learn magic. Real magic! And then something else struck him. A flash of light and color crossed his mind, and a memory came flooding back. “Mr. Tinn, there's something else . . .”

“Of course there is,” said Tinn with a smile. “And what exactly might it be, Zac?”

“Well, while I was sleeping all that time . . . I had the strangest dream. It was like . . . like I was in the Dream Plains. I could see Wakelings' dreams, and I could stop the Dream Stealers from turning them into nightmares. They couldn't attack me — I could deflect their dark magic and chase them off. The dream keeps repeating, over and over again, but slightly different each time.”

A look of great surprise crossed Tinn's face, and the old man met Granny's gaze for a long moment before answering calmly.

“Zac,” he began, “do you know that while you have been asleep, the Dream Stealers have ceased attacking Wakeling spirits in the Dream Plains?”

Zac's mouth fell open. “You think
I
had something to do with that? You think I wasn't just dreaming?”

“I cannot be sure,” said Tinn. He thought carefully for a few seconds, as though making up his mind. “Zac, when the oracle told me your grandmother was one of the Trinity . . . well . . . that wasn't quite the whole story. He never actually gave us her full name. He only ever said ‘Wonder.' ”

“Now hang on a minute, Rumpous,” said Granny sharply.

“All I'm saying is, there's more than one person in this room who answers to that name,” said Tinn, holding up his hands.

Zac let this wash over him for a moment. “So you're saying the oracle might have been talking about me and not Granny?”

“Rubbish!” yelled Granny. “He's a child!”

“And where is it written that children are not capable of great and daring acts?” said Tinn. He looked at Zac, his eyes twinkling. “Your experience in the Dream Plains, Zac, the dream you mentioned — and the fact that you can dream at all in Nocturne — makes me think that it is very possible the name Wonder referred to you. Furthermore, Noelle has described something rather strange to me. She said that when you first met her on the church roof, something happened — a magical energy passed between you. Is this correct?”

“Yes, sir. It was like . . . like electricity. Do you think it means something?”

Tinn rubbed his head. “Yes, Zac, I do. I think it may mean we have found another member of the Trinity.”

“You mean Noelle?”

“Indeed. There are cases throughout history, although admittedly very few, where a small group of people have been closely connected by magic. I have never seen this for myself until now, but I have read several theories on the phenomenon. It seems that, when brought together, the magical power of these people is increased. While we were escaping from the Dream Stealer lair, Noelle continued to surprise me with her talent. I have a feeling she might be special, and I have told her as much. I believe you share such a connection with her.”

“Enough!” said Granny. “I won't let you put Zac's life in danger like this. If the Dream Stealers find out that you believe he's one of the Trinity —”

“But that's just the point, Eve,” said Tinn. “They haven't the foggiest! In fact, they believe
you
are the threat. If we keep it that way, then we may be able to protect Zac — to take the heat off him, as it were.”

This seemed to get Granny thinking, and Zac took the opportunity to ask another question.

“Back at the church,” he began, “something else happened. Just before I hit Shadow with that spell, that ugly Dream Stealer attacked me. I thought I was a goner. And then . . . then this vampire helped me! A boy.”

“Are you certain he was a vampire?” said Granny.

“I'm sure. I saw his fangs. But I haven't got to the
really
strange part yet.”