Zac and the Dream Stealers (13 page)

There was a huge explosion. It felt as if the whole world was shaking.

“Why does it feel like we're inside a washing machine?” screamed Zac.

“A what?” said Tilly, hanging on to the lining of her grandfather's coat.

“Never mind.”

“That's it,” said Tom. “I'm having a look.”

“Tom, no!”

It was too late. Zac watched in horror as Tom's beady eyes and mouse whiskers peeked out of the hole in the coat lining. He barely had time to yell, “Wow!” before another thunderous explosion hit the ship. Cornelius lurched violently in his seat.

“Tilly!” said Zac, as the ship juddered violently. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine. Where's Tom?”

Zac looked around. Tom was gone.

“He was just there,” he said. “He can't have gone far.”

Tilly shoved past him and poked her head out. She turned back to Zac, pale and shaken.

“He's out there!” she said. “He's a tiny mouse — he'll be trampled!”

She slipped out through the hole in the coat. Zac hurried after her, landing hard on the deck. He looked down and almost died. There didn't seem to be any floor. He was floating above an endless sea of shimmering color.

“Zac!” Tilly shouted. “It's OK. It's only glass. Come on.”

He ran over to where Tilly was sheltering under a tattered seat.

“Where is that idiot?” she said, scanning the shaking airship for her brother.

“Look, just calm down,” said Zac. “He must be —”

BANG!

Nightstalker
staggered, and they tumbled to their knees.

“Tom!” shrieked Tilly.

Zac looked and saw Tom the mouse lying motionless under Sundown's bunk.

“He's hurt,” said Tilly. “Come on.”

They tore off across the camper van toward Tom. When they reached him, Tilly put her ear to his furry chest.

“He's alive!”

“Quick, let's get him back into your grandad's coat,” said Zac.

They grabbed Tom's mouse tail and began to drag him across the airship. Halfway there, the ship tilted violently and a drawer high above flew open, sending knives and forks the size of lampposts clanging down all around them.

“Speed up!” shrieked Tilly, as a giant knife plunged into the floor only a few inches away.

“I'm trying!” yelled Zac.

“Let go of my tail!” said Tom, who'd come to amid the bedlam.

BOOM!

The van door was ripped open. Cold air roared into the cabin. Julius was catapulted out of his seat belt and came hurtling toward the children.

Instinctively, Zac put his hands up to protect his friends. Something that felt like a shockwave burst from his palms — and Tom and Tilly were miraculously thrown out of harm's way. Zac stared at his fingers for a moment as though they weren't his own. Then he realized Julius was still heading toward him like a moving mountain.

He turned and sprinted, but he was hurled into the air and began skidding backward toward the blown-out door. At the last minute he spotted a loose carpet thread and managed to grab it, but he was traveling so fast that the thread unraveled some distance before it stopped him. He was thrown out of the airship!

Wild, deafening wind whipped at him as
Nightstalker
sliced through the dazzling clouds of the Dream Plains. He was fighting desperately to hold on, but his hands ached and his arm muscles burned. He thought of Granny, of how upset she'd be when she discovered his fate. His grip was failing, and he prepared to fall into the Dream Plains. Were there really dreams unfolding out there among these magical clouds? And were the Dream Stealers out there, too?

The line was yanked suddenly and he found himself being pulled up toward the ship. Another tug brought him closer still, and he gazed up at the straining faces of Tom and Tilly. With one final effort, they heaved Zac up, and he flopped down heavily on the deck of the ship.

They all scampered back into Cornelius's coat.

“You saved my life!” cried Zac, when they were safely inside.

“You saved ours!” said Tom.

BOOM!

“I'm beginning to think we've made a mistake,” said Zac.

“What are you talking about?” said Tom, his eyes wide. “That was the most fun I've ever had!”

Noelle struggled to keep her bearings in the murky depths. Underwater, the barnacle-covered walls seemed to be closing in. It felt like a watery tomb.

She followed Rumpous Tinn, twisting and turning through cavern after cavern, each one identical to the last. They dived deeper and deeper, and entered another series of caves that took them upward once more. Noelle was becoming increasingly frightened that they were lost, or that she'd run out of air, but it was too late to turn back.

Something brushed against her leg. She stopped and looked around. Nothing. Her heart pounded in her ears. It must have been her imagination. She turned back and began to swim toward Tinn, who was focusing on the compass.

And then she felt the something bite.

Pain shot through her foot and up her leg. It was so intense she thought she might pass out. For a moment, she forgot about Tinn and escaping. She twisted in the icy water in an attempt to see what had caused her agony, and let out a gurgling scream. Deep red clouds of blood were rolling and billowing from a nasty wound on her ankle. Fear filled her mind, weighing her down, and she began to sink . . .

Suddenly a strong hand seized her arm, and Tinn's face came into focus. He'd come back to save her! But his eyes were wide and fearful. She hadn't seen him look frightened before, and that scared her more than anything else. What had he seen? She looked behind.

A creature emerged from the darkness like a train from a tunnel. It looked like a giant octopus — only, instead of tentacles, eight enormous conger eels propelled it through the water. Their terrible bulging eyes were fixed on her, and eight ravenous mouths snapped at the billowing blood. Terror spread through her body like fire.

A fizzing spell flew past her shoulder, briefly stunning the monster. Noelle felt a pull. Tinn was towing her along, swimming much faster than before. She risked another glance behind and was horrified to see that the creature had shaken off the spell and was pursuing them again. They tore through the tunnels as fast as they could kick, up and down, left and right, until Noelle's head was spinning.

The huge octopus was gaining, and the eight eel heads were soon snapping at her heels again. Then, without warning, the eel heads fell back and the enormous body of the creature surged forward.

Let it have given up
, thought Noelle.
Please. Just let it go away.

No such luck. The round body of the creature began to swell, and a gaping mouth appeared, wider than a cave.

Noelle screamed. Little bubbles escaped from her mouth and fizzed away into the icy darkness. The underwater passage began to climb steeply. Tinn strained with every muscle of his body to keep them ahead of the creature's mouth, but it was drawing nearer.

And nearer.

Noelle tucked in her legs, but it was only a matter of time. They were going to be swallowed whole!

The monstrous mouth touched her foot. Soft lips closed around her leg. She could feel herself being sucked inside.

Tinn let loose another spell and again it connected. In a flash, the eight conger eels were gone, replaced by eight tiny puffer fish. Noelle yanked her foot free, and Tinn began to swim again, pulling her along hard in his wake. All at once they surfaced. Noelle felt a rush of cold air against her face.

The old man hoisted himself out.

“Hurry, Noelle,” he said, “I can feel the spell won't last more than a few seconds.”

She reached for his outstretched hand. Just as Tinn dragged her from the water, the monster erupted from the depths, the eels lunging at her feet again, missing by a hair. She landed hard on the ground as the creature sank back into the pool and out of sight, leaving hundreds of tiny currents and whirlpools on the inky surface.

“What . . . what
was
that?”

“A water demon,” said Tinn. “Particularly nasty.”

He waved his hand over the wound on her leg, and the flow of blood slowed to a trickle.

They had emerged from the underground stream into a clearing surrounded by thick trees. High above, the moon was shining through the thin clouds. Noelle stared at the sky for a moment, tears filling her eyes. She breathed in deeply. The smell of the forest filled her nostrils, and sweet air rolled over her tongue. She pressed a handful of leaves to her skin.

“We're out,” she said softly. “Mr. Tinn, we're out! We did it!” She threw her arms around him, tears filling her eyes. “Oh, thank you!”

“I never thought —”

Thump!

A large wooden shield spun through the darkness, smashing into Tinn's head. He fell to the ground, scattering a cloud of leaves in the air. Shaking with terror, Noelle instantly became invisible.

Four creatures trudged over to Tinn's prone body. They were all slightly smaller than a grown man, with coarse green skin and oversized eyes that glowed in the dark like a cat's. They were draped in animal skins. The reek stuck in Noelle's throat and a shiver of panic ran through her body.

Goblins.

The largest of the four let out a horrible snort.

“Looks like fresh meat tonight, lads!”

Granny stumbled across the cabin of the camper van and heaved the open door shut.

“That's better!” she said, dropping back into the copilot's chair. “Everyone all right?”

“I think so,” said Julius.

“Don't speak to me,” said Cornelius into his hat. “I might be sick again.”

Granny turned to Sundown. “What happens now?”

“We wait.”

The camper van cruised smoothly through the shimmering mist. Granny began to think that without skywaymen, traveling by airship might actually be rather pleasant. She glanced out the passenger window at the kaleidoscope of color outside, and something caught her eye. A huge bird, seemingly made of shimmering smoke, streaked across the sky.

“Would you look at that,” she said. “It's an eagle.”

“There's another,” said Julius, “and another.”

The eagles dipped and rolled through the mist, and the sight of them warmed Granny's heart. Then she leaned forward, peering intently, for she thought she'd seen the impossible. Perhaps the shifting clouds were playing tricks with her mind. But no . . . she
had
seen it!

It was a girl. A little girl, soaring with the great birds. Formed from the same smoke as the eagles, she had beautiful wings, and laughed in delight as she spun and twisted and looped.

“It's a dream,” said Sundown, and for the first time he gave a real, warm smile. It was as if the sight of such a thing had melted his heart. “That's how Wakelings look when they're dreamin', like spirit and smoke.”

“It's beautiful,” said Granny.

The eagles and the girl flew nearer. Granny waved to her through the window of the camper van, and the girl twirled in the air. She seemed so happy.

But then her smile disappeared.

“Something's wrong,” said Granny. “What's happening to her?”

The girl seemed to be having difficulty staying in the air. A cloud of inky blackness was forming around her. Feathers began dropping from her wings in great clumps, and the wings themselves seemed unable to support her.

The little girl looked for help, but the eagles had left her. Her desperate gaze met Granny's through the window.

“It's a Dream Stealer,” said Sundown sadly. “There's a Dream Stealer down there somewhere, twistin' that poor little girl's dream, plunderin' her fear.”

“We have to help her!” cried Granny. As she watched the girl struggle she felt a great ache in her chest.

“There ain't nothin' we can do,” said Sundown.

The girl reached out a hand to Granny, who pressed her own hand flat on the glass. And then the little girl was gone, falling through the ocean of color.

“She'll wake up before she lands,” said Sundown. “She'll live.”

But that didn't matter to Granny. She rested her head on the window and let the tears run down her face. She imagined the little girl waking up at home in the Waking World, scared half to death, knowing that somehow what she'd been through wasn't just a bad dream. Dream Stealers left scars on a Wakeling's mind, and if they got their way, the scars would never heal. It was a harsh reminder of what the Waking World would become if the Dream Stealers were allowed to win.

“Look!” Julius was sitting on the edge of his seat, pointing at the glass window in the floor. His face had turned deathly pale. “There's something else out there,” he whispered.

Granny peered into the murk. Was Julius imagining things? But then she saw it, too, and it wasn't the bandit stagecoach; it was something alive, a vast and hideous creature — and they were flying straight toward it.

“What's that?” hissed Granny.

“I don't think it has a name yet,” barked Sundown. “I'll wager it's just been brought to life in a dream. The Wakelings have been comin' up with some big, bad stuff since the Dream Stealers resurfaced. We can use it.”

Granny peered at him. “Use it? What's that supposed to mean? What are you planning?”

Sundown didn't answer. Throwing the wheel around so that the ship veered sharply to the right, he began to navigate along the monster's enormous length. All they could see were thorny scales the size of trash-can lids.

“What are you doing, Sundown?” she demanded.

He laughed. “Tryin' to keep us alive. I'm looking for this wee beastie's head.”

A deep and rumbling roar seemed to rip the air in two.

“Mr. Sundown?” said Julius quietly from the back of the cabin.

“Not now, boy,” grunted Sundown.

“But —”

“Not now! Can't you see I'm workin' here?”

“It's just . . . I think I've found the head.”

Sundown spun around in his wheelchair and peered at Julius, who pointed toward the glass panel in the floor.

An enormous eyeball stared in at them.

“Well done, boy!” said Sundown. He threw another lever and the camper van lurched forward.

Granny grabbed the hindoscope and searched behind them. “It's following!”

“That's the plan!” said Sundown. “Now, where are those blasted skywaymen? Are they still with us?”

“They're still at the edge of the Dream Plains!” she said. “Two o'clock!”

“Good work.”

As the ship swung into position, Granny looked again through the hindoscope and let out a shriek. A massive forked tongue curled around the van.

“I don't think I'll look through that anymore,” she said, pushing the instrument away. “Er, Sundown, I take it you have a very good reason to fly back
toward
the skywaymen?”

The skywaymen fired their cannons again, but Sundown didn't flinch. He continued to open up the throttle and steer the shuddering camper van toward them.

Unable to help herself, Granny checked the hindoscope again.

Behind them was the beast.

In front of them were the bandits.

Neither view was good.

Beast. Skywaymen. Beast. Skywaymen. Beast. Skywaymen.

The beast lunged forward.

Granny screamed.

Sundown wrenched a lever, and
Nightstalker
pulled up sharply.

The beast lumbered past them, unable to stop. The skywaymen tried to swerve out of its path, but there was no time. The monster opened its mouth, swallowing the stagecoach and flaming horses in a single gulp.

“Wooooo-hooooo!” yelled Sundown, punching the air.

Granny looked at the others. Cornelius had almost passed out, and Julius was fanning him with his own hat.

“Well done, Mr. Sundown,” she said breathlessly. “Well done indeed.”

Sundown laughed heartily. “I told you I was good, didn't I?” he said. “Now, let's get you lot to Port Town.”