Zac and the Dream Stealers (15 page)

“Will she be all right?” asked Zac as Gideon lay Granny gently down on the bed in the mangled room.

“She'll be fine,” said Gideon. “Thankfully, the werewolf didn't bite. If it had, she'd be in deep trouble. She'll wake up soon with a headache, that's all.”

There was a scratching noise from the door, and they all turned to see Eye Patch. He swayed on the spot.

“Look at the state of this place!” he barked. “There are holes in the walls, broken-down doors . . . that'll be extra, you know.”

Gideon flew across the room and pinned the innkeeper to the wall. “Listen to me, dung-licker,” he said. “If you are
very
lucky, I won't hold you responsible for endangering the lives of my friends. Now, you will go back downstairs and you will lock the front door. If you let anyone else into this building, I'll make sure that it's nothing more than a pile of stinking rubble before I leave. Understand?”

The innkeeper's one eye bulged. He nodded. Gideon released his grip and watched him scramble away, then he turned coolly to the others.

“So, what's been going on?” he asked.

Cornelius began to update Gideon on everything that he'd missed, including the attack on Mrs. Huggins and the fact that the Dream Stealers now had one of the locator compasses.

“And Zac keeps having dreams that come true,” added Tilly. “He knew Eve was in danger.”

“You had a dream, Zac?” asked Cornelius. “Here in Nocturne?”

Zac's stomach did a horrible flip. Everyone was staring at him again.

“That's why we stowed away,” said Tom. “We knew Julius was double-crossing you, and we wanted to help.”

Cornelius smiled kindly. “Well, I for one am very glad you did,” he said. “But how
did
you know it was Julius?”

Tilly and Tom looked at the floor. “We . . . we overheard Gideon accusing him of being a spy,” mumbled Tilly. “When we were sneaking around HQ.”

Gideon stared at them. “It's true,” he said at last. “I did suspect him — have for weeks. He's been different . . . on edge all the time. I even caught him breaking into Tinn's quarters. He denied he was up to anything sinister, of course. I was watching the inn when you arrived this morning. I wanted to make sure that Julius wasn't leading you into a trap. Unfortunately, I was right to doubt him. No sooner had you arrived than he snuck out like a rat. The werewolves were already waiting outside. Julius said something to them, and then he disappeared off down an alley. That's when the werewolves stormed in here and tried to make breakfast out of you.”

Cornelius buried his head in his hands. “How could Julius be capable of such madness?” he moaned.

Granny's voice came unexpectedly from the back of the room. “More powerful magicians than Julius have been turned by dark magic,” she managed weakly.

“Granny!”

She was sitting up, blinking away the cobwebs. Zac felt like flying. He hugged her tightly.

“I'm all right, lad,” she said. “It'll take more than a bop on the head to stop your old granny. The question in my mind now is: Where do we go from here? How do we find Tinn with a traitor one step ahead of us? We don't even have the unfinished compass anymore. I'm afraid we're at a dead end — unless you've been able to dig up something, Gideon?”

Her savior sat at the foot of the bed and removed his top hat.

“As a matter of fact,” he began, “I did have a bit of luck with the old ship captain I was telling you about at breakfast yesterday. I met him in a tavern a few streets away. Turned out he was rather fond of Dragon Brandy. After we'd shared a bottle, he was ready to tell me anything.”

“And?” said Granny.

“
And
 . . . he took his ship up toward the Northern Mountains a few months ago. It's pretty remote up there. Not many ships make the journey. They got so far and found that a section of river had been blocked. There was a village nearby, so they stopped to investigate. Half of his crew left the ship. That's when he heard the screams. All he could tell me was that he saw his men being ripped apart by screeching shadows. He and the rest of his crew turned the ship around and fled.”

“Vampires,” breathed Granny.

“Sounds that way,” said Cornelius. “How terrible.”

“This could be useful, though,” Granny added.

“What do you mean?” asked Zac.

“If there's anyone in Nocturne who knows where the Dream Stealers are holed up, it'll be the vampires.”

“What do you suggest, Eve?” Cornelius quizzed.

“We head to the village in question,” said Granny. “If we can capture one of those vampires, we might be able to persuade it to tell us where the Dream Stealers could be hiding Tinn.”

“It's certainly worth a try,” Cornelius said, cracking his knuckles so loudly that Zac flinched. “But we'll need a way of getting there.”

“I can help there,” said Gideon. He stood up and popped his top hat back on. “I know a few more captains down at the harbor. I'm sure one of them'll be willing to risk their neck — providing we dangle enough teeth in front of them. Shouldn't take more than an hour or two to sort something out.”

“Smashing,” said Granny. “Good work, Gideon. Get back as soon as you can.”

Without another word, Gideon nodded and strode out of the room.

“Granny,” said Zac, “are we
seriously
going to walk straight into a village full of vampires?”

Granny tutted. “Give us a little credit, lad,” she said. “The vampires won't even know we're there.”

Noelle sat at the edge of the swirling stream, warming her bones by the fire she'd built and crunching into the apple she'd snatched from the goblin camp. She'd known how to build a fire ever since she was little. There had been a prisoner who'd taught her, a kind man called Joseph who'd been walking in the Northern Mountains and had stumbled upon the Dream Stealers. She remembered how he'd changed . . . how he had wasted away. At the beginning, he'd been strong as an ox, and when he laughed at her jokes the whole room seemed to shake. In the end, though, he'd faded to skin and bone, and the last time she snuck in food for him, he didn't even know who she was.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and spun the locator compass in her hands, watching firelight sparkle in its casing. Would it work for her? Tinn had said he was the only one who could use it.

She popped open the lid. She might as well give it a try.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please, I need you to show me the way to save Mr. Tinn.”

She started in surprise as the instrument whirred to life. The little dial spun faster and faster. When it stopped, it pointed directly at the water. Noelle stared into the dark, freezing depths.

“No,” she said. “We've only just escaped from there. I ain't goin' back. How's that gonna help Mr. Tinn?”

She shook the compass hard.

It clearly wasn't working for her.

She held it still once again and inhaled deeply. She'd give it one more go.

“Please,” she pleaded. “I've gotta help Mr. Tinn. Show me how.”

Once more the dial whizzed around. Faster and faster it spun until, again, the needle came to rest pointing at the water.

Noelle sighed and threw the compass to the ground in despair. It was no good. Only Mr. Tinn could work it and he was otherwise engaged with some rather fearsome goblins.

She sat with her head in her hands until, from nowhere, a thought struck her. She glanced down at the compass through narrowed eyes, and then shifted her gaze to the water. She couldn't help laughing at the cleverness of the idea.

Of course! The compass
was
working. It was working better than ever! And it was telling her exactly what to do. She stood up and snatched it from the ground, wiping the dust from its copper casing. She gave it a kiss for luck and stuffed it back into her clothes, then took one last bite of her apple and tossed it into the pool. No sooner had the apple core hit the water than there was a great rush of churning bubbles. The hideous water demon had been waiting, ready to pounce, if anyone were to venture too close. It snatched the core and disappeared back into the depths.

The trap was set.

Noelle rushed back down along the path to the goblin camp. Three of the goblins were still asleep, and Grunge was still occupied by his carving.

For a moment, Noelle stood on the edge of the camp, contemplating the wisdom of what she was about to do. Then she made herself visible.

“Excuse me,” she said.

Grunge snorted in shock and looked up from his carving. When his large green eyes met hers, he dropped his piece of wood into the fire. He didn't say anything; he simply sat there and stared.

“I was just wondering,” continued Noelle, “if you're planning on ever letting my friend go?”

Still the goblin said nothing.

“Because if you ain't,” she continued, “then I'm afraid I'm gonna have to take him from you. It's nothing personal.”

Grunge slowly stood up. “Boss?” he said loudly. “Mr. Grooble, wake up!”

The other goblins stirred from their slumber, groaning loudly.

“You better have a bloody good reason for waking me up, Grunge,” burbled Grooble.

“You bet your life I do, boss. We got ourselves another visitor.”

Grooble's gaze locked onto Noelle. He sprang to his feet. The others followed, licking their lips.

“She says she's here,” continued Grunge with a grin, “to rescue the old man.”

“Is that so?” Grooble smirked.

“Mm-hmm,” said Noelle sweetly. “He's my friend.”

Grooble laughed wickedly. “Well, my pretty,” he said, “I hate to disappoint you, but that old man ain't goin' nowhere — except in here.”

He pointed to his large belly and snorted. The others laughed in appreciation.

“Human meat don't stroll into our camp too often, see,” he continued, smacking his lips. “An' when it does, we don't let it go to waste.”

Noelle's heart was beating so fast it felt like a hummingbird in her chest.

Wait for it
, she thought.
Just wait
.

“Now, you appearing here has presented us with a bit of a dilemma,” said Grooble. “See, now I ain't sure who we should eat first — him or you.”

Noelle turned and ran. She tore up the path to the stream, the heavy footsteps of the goblins crashing behind her.

She didn't look back; she didn't dare because she knew they were close. The pool came into view ahead. She readied herself. When she reached the water's edge, she turned to face the oncoming rabble.

“Grab her!” yelled Grooble.

Noelle waited until they were almost upon her — and then she disappeared.

Grooble's momentum almost carried him over the edge, but he managed to halt in the nick of time. Seconds later, the others crashed into the back of him, and they all tumbled into the pool, their gruesome faces twisted in confusion.

All except for one.

Grunge stood swaying on the edge, his orb-like eyes wide and his arms flailing. Noelle took instant action. She pushed him in with everything she had.

Grunge let out a squeal as he too fell into the icy water.

All four goblins were coughing and spluttering. Then one disappeared.

Then another.

And another and another.

There were waving limbs and screams of agony as the goblins were devoured by the water demon. The monster's eely tentacles seemed to be everywhere, writhing and snapping, the water turning crimson.

After a time, all became quiet and still. Noelle stumbled away, heading back toward the goblin camp and Rumpous Tinn.

It was barely noon when the Knights set off up the river from Port Town, but already darkness was creeping across the northern skies.

“They only get a few hours of sunlight here each day,” said Granny. “That's why vampires live in the North. They do most of their hunting in the dark.”

Gideon had succeeded in finding a captain who was willing to take them close to the vampire village, although the Knights had handed over quite a few teeth to secure her services. Her name was Lila Muldoon, and she was remarkable for two reasons. The first was that she was the only captain in the entire North who happened to be a woman. The second was that her ship wasn't really a ship at all. It was a gigantic, twisted oak tree that stood in the river and moved through the water using its roots, which grabbed the riverbed like great fingers.

The cabin was a two-story tree house nestled in the upper branches. From there, Zac could see out over the Eternal Forest lining the river, all the way to the Northern Mountains.

A few hours into the journey, it had grown completely dark. The moon shone in the night sky, a shiny new coin on a black velvet cushion.

As her crew hummed around the tree like worker bees, Lila Muldoon entertained the Knights with tales of her travels all over Nocturne. Tall and beautiful, with flawless dark skin and a head of short, tight black curls, her brown eyes twinkled as she spoke of her adventures. Zac liked her straightaway.

“There ain't a corner of the known land I'm yet to see,” she boasted. Then a dreamy look swept over her face. “But the Eternal Forest, that's a whole different bag of fish guts. They say it goes on forever. I'm gonna find out one day . . .”

Lila's cook served up steaming fish stew from the galley, and Zac gobbled it down — even the squirming pink tentacles that were trying to escape the wooden bowl.

“Granny,” he said quietly as the others chatted amongst themselves, “are you angry with me for stowing away with Tom and Tilly?”

Granny gave him a sideways glance and smiled crookedly. “I'm not angry, lad,” she said. “How could I be? You helped save our lives. And by the way, those shrinking pills were a brilliant idea!” She ruffled his messy hair.

Zac was eager to ask Granny about the dreams he'd been having, but before he could speak, Lila Muldoon appeared again, looking much more serious than before.

“We're almost there,” she said. “The vampire village is half a mile upriver. I've talked to the crew, and we ain't willin' to go any farther. We'll sort you out with transport the rest of the way.”

“We understand,” said Granny. “And we're grateful you were willing to take us this far.”

“What you plannin' to do when you get there?” Lila asked.

The Knights looked at one another.

“We're going to capture a vampire,” said Gideon.

Lila's eyes narrowed. “Look, you might not have told me so, but it's obvious to me that you're Knights,” she said. “I know you got strong magic. But we're talkin' about vampires here. A
lot
of vampires, from what I've heard. They say even the goblins don't like goin' near — unless they're on the trail of food.”

“Thank you for the warning, Lila,” said Granny. “But we have no choice. One of our friends needs help — and the vampires know where he is.”

Lila led the Knights out to the upper tree, and they climbed down a series of ladders until they'd reached the lower branches. Two crewmen appeared, carrying the largest leaf Zac had ever seen. It was as big as a car. Lila expertly tied a line to it and the crewmen tossed it into the water.

“The flow of the river'll take you as far as you need to go,” said Lila. “You'll see the village soon enough. Good luck to you. I hope we meet again.”

She turned and climbed back up the tree toward the cabin. The crewmen threw a rope ladder down to the giant floating leaf, and Zac and the others shinnied down and climbed aboard. Then the crewmen cut them loose, and they began drifting away from the tree-ship. As they rounded a corner, Zac saw Lila watching from the upper branches until they were out of sight.

The river moved them quickly. In a few minutes, the trees on one side of the water began to clear, and the vampire village came into view. Even in the darkness, Zac could see that most of the houses were crumbling wrecks, covered in creeping plants and moss.

Granny leaned over the side of the leaf and aimed her little spectacle-arm wand at the water. The waves changed direction, and began pushing the boat to the shore. When they reached the bank, the Knights climbed out of the vessel and huddled together.

“Well,” said Gideon, “this is it.”

“We'll cover the village more quickly if we split into teams,” said Granny. “Zac will stick with me. Cornelius, you take Tom and Tilly. Gideon, I'm afraid that means you're on your own. Now, chances are, most of the vampires'll be out hunting, so we might be lucky enough to find one alone. Meet back here in ten minutes to report.”

The others nodded and headed off into the gloom. Tom and Tilly gave Zac an excited wave before they disappeared.

As he followed Granny, Zac had to fight off the urge to be sick. Here they were in a village in the middle of nowhere, probably surrounded by dozens of vampires, all of whom would love nothing more than to suck out his blood.

“What happens if we're discovered?” he whispered as they crept into a narrow street.

“You'll run back to the boat and get as far away as possible,” said Granny. “I'll distract them.”

“But —”

Granny held up a finger to silence him. Something creaked above. Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings echoed through the cold air. Granny grabbed Zac and pulled him behind an abandoned cart. Zac's blood thundered through his veins. He glanced up and saw a few crows disappearing into the black sky. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank the stars,” whispered Granny. “I thought we'd been busted!”

Zac stared at her in disbelief. She was smiling! She was actually enjoying herself.

They crawled out from behind the cart and crept down the street, carefully checking the abandoned houses. Zac saw no trace of life anywhere. If there were vampires here, then they were very well hidden. Maybe Granny was right, and they were all out hunting. He began to hope the stories had been wrong and the vampires had never been here at all.

They heard the cry as they turned another corner. Something was lying on the road up ahead. Granny stepped in front of Zac and edged closer.

“Gideon!” she breathed. She knelt down and rolled him over. There was a cut on his forehead. His eyes blinked open.

“Mrs. Wonder,” he said. “I don't know what happened. Something flew out from the shadows and hit me.”

As Granny helped him up, they heard a terrible scream. It was a chilling noise, as if someone were literally being scared to death.

“Come on!” gasped Gideon. “We must help.”

As they pounded the streets, the screams continued. Zac began to imagine horrible things happening to his friends. They tore around a corner, and ran straight into Cornelius, Tom, and Tilly.

“Thank the stars you're all right!” said Granny over the shrieks.

“We thought it was
you
making that racket,” stammered Cornelius.

Another desperate cry ripped through the dark.

“Well, someone's in trouble,” said Gideon. “We have to help.”

Led by Granny, the Knights followed the tortured sounds through the winding streets until they reached the source.

“In there,” said Cornelius, pointing to what must have been an impressive mansion once, but was now, like the rest of the village, a crumbling shell. The door was ajar. Granny pushed it open just as the loudest scream yet made them all jump.

“Sounds like they're ripping someone apart in here,” whispered Gideon.

Her wand drawn, Granny led the way into a yawning entrance hall. Huge cobwebs covered almost everything. The air smelt damp and musty. Zac thought he saw streaks of blood on the wall. They reached a narrow staircase leading down into a cellar. Another shriek of pain erupted from below.

They crept down the stairs. The darkness here was so thick that Cornelius had to light the way with a magical fireball. At the bottom, they found a suffocating stone corridor leading to an open door.

In the room beyond, an old woman faced them on her knees. She was bound to the wall by heavy chains. When she spotted them, she reached out desperately.

“Please!”

“Come on,” said Granny, and they rushed into the room. Cornelius shot a spell at the chains, and they burst from the wall in a shower of sparks. Granny helped the withered old woman to her feet.

“Listen!” said Zac.

Footsteps echoed down the staircase and along the corridor. Zac was so frightened he couldn't breathe. A man appeared in the doorway. He was tall and broad, with cropped silver hair, and he wore a bloodred cloak.

Then Zac heard laughter. Everyone stared at the old woman. She was cackling quite madly. She broke free of Granny's grasp and joined the man at the door.

“Thank you, Esme,” he said in a voice like melted chocolate. “Now, go and fetch the others.”

Stunned, Zac and the Knights stared after the hag as she disappeared down the corridor, still laughing wickedly.

“What's going on?” demanded Cornelius. “Who are you?”

The man with the silver hair closed the door.

“My name is Raven,” he said smoothly. “I am very glad you have finally arrived. I've been so looking forward to tasting your blood.”