Seven
Faythander unfolded below me like a huge map painted in brilliant colors. I’d forgotten how breathtaking this place could be. It resembled Earth, but at a closer glance, the trees grew taller, and the plants bloomed with magic, making them glow in a myriad of colors.
Almost paradise. The picture on that brochure Mom had pawned off on me didn’t hold a candle to this place. It made me wonder why I’d ever left Faythander. And then I remembered how I’d wanted to be human and to live like everyone else.
The sky king’s mountains loomed ahead—huge, jagged cliffs along the horizon. The sheer rock face of the mountains rose steeper than anything Mt. Everest could boast.
Seeking an audience with the sky king meant risking your life. Most people turned around halfway through the climb. By then, they’d already figured out how to settle their dispute, figuring it couldn’t be any harder than climbing the cliffs for an audience with the king. Those who reached his chamber had a very good reason to be there. And usually, he helped.
The cliffs jutted out, and I saw the gray overhang that marked the entrance to the sky king’s chamber. He dove toward it. Gritting my teeth, I kept my hands clamped around the spike. I’d never fallen before, but I couldn’t help imagining sliding off.
Not soon enough, Fan’twar’s massive, clawed feet connected with the cavern’s floor. Sounds of whooshing wings echoed through the chamber as dragons flew inside to greet him.
A long time ago, before most races remember, the dragons had been a dying breed. I’d heard that Fan’twar had united the dragons and taken control of the entire continent of Faythander. He’d ruled ever since as the sky king.
After dismounting, I tried to keep my stomach from losing its lunch and followed Fan’twar to the main cavern.
Memories flooded back as I stared from one cavern to the next. My old bedroom was to the left. The dragons had decorated it as best as they could. They’d found discarded items from Earth—Styrofoam plates, running shoes, picture frames—and pinned them to the walls. Glancing inside my bedroom, I saw that it hadn’t changed.
I continued to follow Fan’twar through the cavern. Other dragons milled about. Blue water dragons, a couple of sun dragons, and a whole herd of green landwalkers gathered.
A sense of awe overcame me as I entered the sky king’s chamber. I’d lived here half my life, and still, it impressed me.
Azure-blue crystals grew from the walls and floor. Some of them grew taller than trees. They sang with a faint hum. True Faythander magic radiated from the crystals. Their power swelled inside me and rejuvenated my own magic.
At the center of the room rose a circular, silver dais. Water flowed around it like a miniature moat. Melimars swam through it, looking like small mermaids with corn-silk hair. I’d spent hours here as a child, talking to the melimars, wondering what it would be like to swim all day.
Crystals, growing in the form of a chandelier, hung over the dais. Magic rushed through the spires with bursts of lightning.
The sky king slid onto the dais and collapsed, shaking the ground around him. A ledge jutted out around the dais, so I leapt across the small stream and took a seat near Fan’twar on the rock’s edge. Several melimars darted through the water beneath us. Droplets of water sprayed my skin as Fan’twar playfully flicked his tail at the creatures. He heaved a great sigh as he turned to me.
“Time passes quickly, Olive. I’m glad you’ve come, though you smell distinctly human.”
“I am human.”
“Half.”
“Half.” I sighed. He had to remind me.
“Your father asks about you. I wonder why you haven’t spoken with him.”
I ran my hands through the water and wondered how the subject of my father had come up so quickly. “I’ll talk to him. It’s not like I’m avoiding him.” I stole a glance at the sky king.
His golden eyes narrowed. He didn’t buy it.
“I just feel like he doesn’t want me. Whenever he came to visit, I always felt as if I were a burden. I’m his child from a human woman. He’s ashamed of me. That’s why I grew up here and not with him.”
The sky king rested his chin on a massive claw. “That isn’t the reason,” he said gently.
“Then what is?” I asked, searching his face for an answer.
“Because I wanted you.”
“You wanted me more than my own father?”
“He knew I would train you better than he could.”
We needed to change the subject. I cleared my throat. “What do you know about a Dreamthief?”
“Dreamthief,” he said, drawing out the word. “A very old name. It originates from a legend from the early days of Faythander.”
“After the rending?”
“Yes. The rending of the two worlds, of Earth Kingdom and Faythander. Do you remember the history of our worlds?”
Fragments of memories flooded back as I tried to remember. “When God created the Earth, it was a single place, beautiful and perfect. Eden. Am I right?”
“Go on,” he said.
“And then something happened. A being called Theht caught sight of our world. In jealousy, he flung a fireball, intent on wiping out the plants, the species, the world. Instead, he split our world apart—one world with magic, the other with none. Both spheres reside within one another. Both developed. In Faythander, the continents never split. Pangaea remained, later called Faythander. Magic thrived, shaping the world. Dinosaurs evolved into dragons. Humans developed into elves, pixies, and goblins.
“Humans on Earth visit Faythander, though they can’t remember it. We visit Earth and don’t remember, either, unless we’re lucky enough to have a memory charm. Or unless you are of both human and Faythander descent, like me. But what does this have to do with the Dreamthief?”
“The Dreamthief was a being who existed after the rending. He was to be the vessel who welcomed Theht back to the world.”
I swallowed. Anything having to do with Theht was never a good thing. “And he steals dreams?” I asked.
“Not directly. His followers used dreams to fuel their spells.”
This was worse than I thought. “Spells for what?”
“To bring Theht back. To finish what he started.”
“Destroy the world?”
The sky king nodded.
“But why? Why would Theht’s followers want to destroy their own world?”
“Not all creatures view the world, or life, as we do. They think to bring equality and peace.”
“Through destruction?”
He nodded.
I felt a sudden chill. “But what do they want with Jeremiah?”
“A child’s dreams are the most powerful. Children can’t filter fear as adult humans can.”
Acid churned through my stomach. “They’re using Jeremiah’s nightmares to fuel their spells.”
“It seems the logical answer. But why? And even more importantly, who? Goblins worshipped Theht long ago, but when I came into power, I forbade them from it. I destroyed their temples. But it seems as if someone has rediscovered an ancient religion. Whoever has taken your godson’s soul has also unleashed a great evil on the outer islands.”
“But why would they want to go there? I thought there was no one on those islands except the wild dragons.”
“That is what you are meant to believe. However, there is a great, secret magic that the dragons protect with their lives. If Theht’s followers were to access this magic, it could spell doom for our entire planet. It could mean the demise of both our worlds. Theht is not a being to be taken lightly.”
I shuddered. “So, someone who worships Theht is stealing my godson’s dreams, using his dreams as fuel for a spell, and trying to steal magic from the outer islands. But who? Isn’t there a way to find out?”
“You did the dreamcasting already?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Think on it. Did you see anything in young Jeremiah’s mind that stood out?”
I sighed, remembering the dream. An image of the barren landscape formed in my mind. I saw Jeremiah. I shivered when I saw Charon, or possibly the Dreamthief. “I saw Charon, although the being could have been the Dreamthief in disguise.”
“Yes. In the dreamstate, the Dreamthief can appear as anyone. What else do you recall?”
I remembered the conversation I’d had with Jeremiah and concentrated on every detail. Nothing seemed to stand out. I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Think harder,” suggested Fan’twar. “Even the smallest of details could be important.”
I imagined the dream again, envisioning every rock, every cloud… and then I remembered. “The mountains,” I said. “I recognized them, the border between the Wultlands and goblin lands.”
“Are you sure?”
I hesitated. The mountain range I’d seen looked old, with cliffs worn and blackened like the Cliffs of Wult. “Do you have a map?” I asked.
The sky king leaned forward and touched the tip of his claw into the water. Golden light swirled, and the water transformed, displaying a perfect map of the continent of Faythander.
The northlands were strictly the realm of the goblins and mostly unexplored. Goblins hoarded their power, so outsiders weren’t allowed in. Bordering the goblin lands on the west and south were the Wultlands. The elf realm, the largest kingdom, occupied the east coast and the heart of Faythander. The southlands remained in the pixies’ control, and dragons controlled the west coast and parts of the southern continent. The Rheic Sea took up the rest of the planet.
I focused on the Wult mountains. In the dream, I’d seen mountains in the distance, so the location had to be somewhere near the foothills. But the mountain range covered half of the Wultlands. How could I find the exact spot?
Dreamthief Page 10
