Zac and the Dream Stealers (17 page)

For what seemed like hours, no one said a word. Zac and the others simply stared at Gideon in disbelief.

Finally, Cornelius broke the silence.

“Gideon, it was you? You were the Dream Stealers' spy?”

Gideon looked at each of them. He looked quite strange now, almost like a different person.

“I am sorry, Cornelius,” he said with a shrug. “I had no choice.”

“All the way, the Dream Stealers have been one step ahead,” said Granny. “Did you tell them everything?”

“Of course,” replied Gideon. “I told them that Tinn would be in the Eternal Forest on the night of his capture, and where they could find the second locator compass.”

He couldn't quite look at Tom and Tilly.

“But I didn't think they would try to kill your mother,” he said weakly.

“How dare you talk to them!” yelled Cornelius, standing in front of his grandchildren. But Granny seemed very calm.

“And what about the werewolf ambush back at Port Town?” she said. “Did you arrange that, too?”

“I'm rather afraid I did, Mrs. Wonder,” said Gideon.

“But you saved us!” said Zac. “You saved Granny from that werewolf. I saw you.”

“The werewolves had been instructed to keep your grandmother alive,” said Gideon. “But they were out of control. I had to intervene. I saved Mrs. Wonder because I still had your trust, and I knew that I could deliver you to the vampires myself. And, sure enough, you followed me here like loyal dogs.”

“What about Julius?” said Tom. “You accused
him
of being the spy.”

“Julius was beginning to have suspicions,” said Gideon. “But he is rather weak. I knew I could shut him up by making him doubt his own mind. The easiest way to do that was to go on the offensive and accuse
him
of being the traitor.”

Zac was stunned.

“But why, Gideon?” said Granny.

“Why?” Gideon said, his voice shaking with emotion. “Because the Knights cannot win. You have already lost. How can you ever hope to defeat an enemy that is willing to go to any lengths to claim victory? How can you ever hope to fight fairly against someone who is willing to do things you would never dream of? The Dream Stealers are more powerful now than you can imagine. When they make their move, nothing will stop them. Is it really worth sacrificing your lives because you disagree with their beliefs?”

Cornelius erupted. “Beliefs? Their beliefs are based solely on greed! What they do is wrong, Gideon. Beyond wrong! It is a violation. There is no amount of power to be gained that justifies the torture of dreaming spirits. Yet Dream Stealers are happy to plunder the Dream Plains each night like the filthy bandits they are.”

“You don't know how it feels, Cornelius!” said Gideon, a strange, twisted smile creeping over his waxy face. “You can only imagine. When you feed on the fear of a Wakeling, you can actually see the magic flowing into your body! Of course, it is regrettable that the Wakelings suffer, but when you think of what we are gaining, it seems a small price to pay.”

“And what price will the Waking World have to pay if the Dream Stealers get their way?” said Granny, her voice low and steady. “What happens when Dream Stealers rule Nocturne, when there is an ever-growing number of people greedy for dark magic? Will you suck the Waking World dry? Will you drive Wakelings mad to satisfy your craving?”

“They will not die,” said Gideon.

“And nor will they be truly alive,” said Granny. “What they'll suffer will be worse than death. And the people of Nocturne will be no better off. Those who don't join you will be killed, or tortured into insanity. We can't stand by and let that happen.”

“Then I'm afraid this is where we part,” said Gideon with a shrug. “Good-bye, my dear Knights.”

Swinging his pouch full of swag, he turned and walked to the door, nodding at the lead Dream Stealer. Then he glanced once more at the Knights and dis-appeared into the dark.

“Coward!” yelled Tom.

Twist stepped forward, his lopsided mouth in a contorted smile. “Last chance, Mrs. Wonder. Let's go.”

“Oh, I don't think so,” she said, deftly unscrewing the arm from her glasses.

Zac was swallowed up by fear. He could see that Granny was ready to fight — but just how strong was the Dream Stealers' dark magic? Then he felt a surge of heat rushing to his fingertips, and the more he thought about the danger facing Granny and his friends, the hotter his fingers became, until at last they felt as if they might burst into flames.

Twist stepped toward Granny. “Take her!” he spat.

Blinding light erupted from Zac's hands, filling the room. There were cries of shock, and the sound of spells being fired, and then the light was gone. Zac dropped to his knees. Everyone was stumbling around, trying to adjust to the darkness. Zac clambered up and walked into a wall. There was another flash of light as Granny stunned one of the Dream Stealers. Someone grabbed Zac's hand and dragged him across the room, and then he was lurching after Cornelius through the darkened passageway and up the stairs.

Granny threw open the front door and they rushed out into the night.

“What happened back there, Zac?” she said.

“I don't know —”

A terrible noise filled the empty darkness. It was a deafening, screeching call.

“It's Raven!” said Tom. “He's calling the other vampires. I read about it in
Myth and
—”

“This way!” Cornelius hollered, leading them up a winding lane. Blood pounded in Zac's ears as he followed. He caught a movement in the corner of his eye and turned to see something that made the blood freeze in his veins.

Vampires were spilling from every door and window. They crawled on the walls like huge shadowy spiders and called out to one another with terrible, shrieking cries.

“They're everywhere!” he shouted. “Come on!”

With shadows closing in, they swung around the corner, and Zac could see what looked like a crumbling church looming over the village. As they ran toward it, it became clear that the stone had been blackened by smoke and fire, and there were places where the building had been ripped apart.

“We're surrounded,” said Granny. “I think the church is our best chance. Cornelius?”

“Let's head to the roof,” he said. “At least we'll be able to see them coming.”

Tinn was leaning more and more heavily on Noelle. She was leading the way now, following the dial on the locator compass. Behind them in the dark, they sensed the goblins were closing the gap.

The trees were becoming sparse. Noelle's heart quickened. Perhaps they were approaching the boundary of the Eternal Forest. Sure enough, a little farther on they reached open ground. Noelle stopped in her tracks.

Ahead of them was a cliff face, stretching up at least fifty feet.

“No!” she said. “Not now. We're nearly there, I can feel it!”

She looked at the compass. It was pointing straight at the rock.

“What do we do?” she said, turning to Tinn. His face was ghostly.

“We climb.”

“You ain't able!”

“I will manage,” he said.

“But what if you can't?”

“Then you will leave me behind,” said Tinn. “Do not argue! And when you reach the summit you will run. Do you understand?”

Noelle stared at him, tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around him.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry,” she said, unclasping him and wiping her face.

Then Noelle began to climb. It was easier than she had expected, as there were many footholds. In just a few minutes, she was almost a third of the way up the cliff, and she stopped to check on Tinn. He was coming up slowly behind her.

“Keep moving!” he yelled.

Noelle forced herself to continue. It was so hard not to turn back.

On she climbed. The cliff top was almost within reach. Her arms and legs started to ache, and the sharp rock cut into her hands, but she ignored the pain and struggled upward. At last, with one final push, she was lying on the snow-covered grass, gasping for breath. She'd made it.

She clambered to her feet and saw she was on the edge of a small village. It seemed deserted. The houses were falling apart, and some looked as if they had been torched. Narrow lanes and alleyways wound into the darkness.

Breathless and exhausted, Noelle somehow forced her legs to carry her to the village, where she banged on the first door she came to.

“Help! Please help!”

There was no reply. The other houses were in total darkness. She spotted an old barn and rushed toward it. When she reached the doors, she became invisible and passed straight through. Inside, old rusty tools hung from the walls, and several bales of hay had been stacked in a pile. Then she saw it: a length of rope dangling from a beam. She grabbed it and headed back to the cliff.

There were a few trees near the cliff edge. She selected the sturdiest and tied one end of the rope around its trunk, then began lowering the other end toward Tinn. He still had a way to climb.

Beneath, there was a terrible chanting, and Noelle's heart skipped a beat as goblins began bounding from the forest and onto the cliff.

“Mr. Tinn!” she yelled. “Grab hold of the rope!”

She peered over the edge. The rope was swinging precariously beside Rumpous Tinn, who was doing his very best to grasp it. The goblins had started firing arrows again, and Noelle had to dodge more than one as she kept the line steady.

She felt a sharp tug as Tinn managed to clutch the rope.

“Keep climbing!” she yelled. “I'll take some of the weight!”

She heaved with all of her might. It was working! He was climbing much more quickly than before, and soon he was almost at the summit.

“I told you to run!” he yelled through gritted teeth.

“Be quiet and climb!” shouted Noelle, and soon Tinn was lying in a heap in the snow beside her.

The old man was so pale he looked almost transparent, and weak little puffs of steam hung in the freezing air as he struggled to breathe. Noelle was scared.

“Come on,” she said. “We have to get you indoors.”

Tinn did not answer. He merely leaned on her and allowed himself to be led away. As they went, Noelle could hear ominous scraping noises from the cliff. The goblins would soon reach the top, too.

She and Tinn cut along one of the narrow alleyways, which took them past row after row of spooky, crumbling houses.

“I've a bad feeling about this place, Mr. Tinn,” she whispered. “Something's not right.”

They turned out of the lane and into a deserted square, where the skeleton of a church stood high over the village.

“Come on,” panted Noelle. “We can hide in there.”

She led Tinn toward the church, and pushed the battered door gently. It creaked open and they slipped inside.

The building was a shell. The smell of fire still lingered, and the stained-glass windows were black-ened and shattered. Most of the benches were burned to ash, and flecks of snow fell through large holes in the roof.

Noelle helped Tinn past the scorched wood and crumbling stone to a seat on a fallen statue. When she was sure the old man was comfortable, she set to bolting the doors. They were misshapen, and it wasn't easy, but eventually she managed to close them and return to his side.

“Mr. Tinn?” she said softly.

He gazed at her through glassy eyes and coughed.

“I would like to thank you, Noelle,” he said, his voice weak. “You have shown courage, kindness, and bravery — far more than that of an average person. I have been thinking about what you asked of me, and I have come to my decision. If I make it out of this with my life, I shall take it upon myself to make you a Knight's apprentice. Perhaps you were correct after all. Perhaps we were supposed to meet. I am beginning to suspect, Noelle, that you may have a part to play in Nocturne's future.”

Noelle grinned widely. “Oh, thank you, Mr. Tinn! You ain't gonna regret this, I promise —”

A terrible noise enveloped them — a deafening, grating screech — and they instinctively covered their ears.

“What in Nod was that?” said Tinn, wide-eyed. “Noelle, what's wrong?”

Noelle could hardly move. She knelt beside Tinn, shaking violently. It couldn't be. Not again.

“I've heard that noise,” she whispered, “one time before, when I was only little. It's the sound I heard the night our village was attacked. It's the call of a vampire, the call of their leader.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'll not forget it, not ever.”

“Then we must leave,” said Tinn, struggling to his knees. “But first, I wonder if you couldn't do me one last favor?”

“Just name it.”

“I was wondering, Noelle, if you'd be so kind as to pull this arrow from my back?”

“What? Me? I don't know anythin' about treatin' wounds. What if I pull it out wrong? What if I pull it out and there's a lung on the end of it?”

“I will take that chance,” said Tinn with a little smile. “I have been able to hold off the goblin's arrow poison thus far, but it is beginning to take its toll.”

Noelle wrapped her shaking hands around the shaft of the arrow. She felt queasy.

“You ready?” she asked.

Tinn closed his eyes and nodded.

“OK,” she said slowly. “Here goes. One . . . two . . . THREE!”

She pulled hard and felt the arrowhead rip from Tinn's back. The old man let out a howl of agony and slumped to the floor. There were patches of deep red all over his white robes.

“Mr. Tinn,” she said, “you all right?”

“I have been better,” he grimaced. “But that had to be done. Goblin arrows, you see, have a rather nasty habit of carrying some potent poisons. In this instance I think I have been lucky. If this arrow had contained one of the more deadly strains, I might already be, well, dead!”

He took a deep breath and, groaning loudly, managed to get to his feet without her help. “I shall have to buy new clothes,” he said with the hint of a smile.

BANG!

Noelle whirled around. “What was that?”

THUMP!

Tinn stared past her. “Come, we must hide,” he said.

They sneaked back among the shadows, holding their breath.

BANG!

The door was blasted open. Noelle peered out, expecting to see a swarm of stinking goblins pouring into the church. Instead a motley group of people stood in the doorway. There were three children, an old man in a long black coat and cowboy hat, and a stout old lady who seemed to be clutching her spectacles tightly in her hand.