Zac and the Dream Stealers

by Ross Mackenzie

  “This is the dream I was telling you about.”

  “Erm, Zac, if this is your dream, then doesn’t that mean that somewhere in this fog there’s —”

  A long, low growl sounded from close by, and the fog began to part.

  “What are we supposed to do?” asked Zac.

  They didn’t answer. Tom was staring straight ahead, his mouth wide open. Tilly was looking in the same direction, her face a mask of terror.

  Zac turned just in time to see the outline of a huge creature stepping from the fog. As it came into view, he tried to scream, but the sound stuck in his throat.

  The monster was covered in stinking, matted gray fur. Glaring yellow eyes twitched and rolled in their sockets. A grizzled muzzle sniffed the air feverishly, and great globules of steaming drool dripped from a snarling mouth filled with teeth as big as steak knives.

  “It’s a werewolf!” squeaked Tom.

  At the sound of his voice, the creature rushed at him. It was lightning quick, but Tom was quicker. Just as the monster reached him, there was a loud pop, and Tom vanished. The werewolf howled in anger and confusion.

  “Where’s Tom?” shouted Zac.

  “Look down!” cried Tilly.

  A field mouse was scurrying around the feet of the werewolf.

  “That’s Tom?” Zac hissed.

  “Yeah,” said Tilly. “Come on, it’s going to squash him!”

  She was right. The werewolf had spotted the mouse and was stamping hard on the ground in an attempt to crush him.

  “Tilly, wait! Come back!”

  It was too late. Tilly had crept up behind the monster and kicked it on the leg. It spun, covering her in drool, and swung at her with a huge arm.

  “No!”

  Zac sprinted forward, expecting Tilly to cry out, but all he heard was a growl from the werewolf. To his amazement, Tilly was standing exactly where she’d been. And she’d turned to stone.

  The monster sniffed the air, catching a new scent. Zac felt his stomach fall to somewhere around his knees. He backed away, thinking of his dream. It had been just like this . . . only . . . where was the dagger?

  As its image burned in his mind, Zac felt the dagger in his hand. Hardly daring to hope, he looked down to discover that he was clutching the blade. He swallowed hard and glanced at the werewolf. He guessed what was coming next.

  “Hey! Over here!” he said, hardly able to believe that he was actually trying to attract the monster’s attention. “Fresh meat!”

  The creature charged toward him, and fear flooded his body. The werewolf was too big and strong. He’d never be able to stop it.

  And then he saw Tilly. She threw herself in front of the monster and turned to stone again as she hit the floor. The werewolf tripped over her and soared through the air. Zac fell backward, holding out the dagger. A gaping mouth of huge teeth loomed toward him. He closed his eyes.

  BANG!

  Smoldering ash floated in the air, twinkling like stars. The darkness faded, and Zac was back in the secret laboratory. Tilly lay on the floor, flesh and blood once more. He ran over to help her up. There was a pop, and Tom returned to his human form.

  “That was brilliant, Zac!” he said. “How did you get the dagger?”

  “I don’t know,” said Zac. “It was like in the dream. It just sort of appeared in my hand.”

  “Maybe you’re more magical than you think,” said Tilly.

  “What about you?” Zac said. “You saved the day, tripping that thing up the way you did. How did you turn to stone like that?”

  “I don’t know, either,” said Tilly, her cheeks turning red. “It’s just what I do.”

  “Can you turn into anything you want?”

  “Only what I’m touching at the time,” said Tilly, “and then not for very long — especially if it’s something I’ve never done before.”

  “Amazing,” said Zac.

  “Ahem,” coughed Tom.

  “Oh, yeah. And you can turn into a mouse,” said Zac.

  “Yeah,” shrugged Tom. “It’s all I can manage so far. Not very spectacular, is it?”

  “I think it’s pretty impressive,” said Zac. “How many people can turn into different things the way you two can?”

  “It’s rare,” said Tilly. “That’s why Grandad was so desperate for us to be Knights.”

  “Hey, Zac,” said Tom. “Maybe you should hold on to that dagger for a while.”

  “I can’t do that,” said Zac. “It doesn’t belong to me.”

  “Aris Tinn is hardly going to miss it, is she?” said Tom. “Besides, you can put it back later. You’d just be borrowing it. Something tells me you’re supposed to take it for now.”

  Zac stared at the dagger in his hand. As much as he thought it sounded ridiculous, he knew Tom was right. He felt as if the dagger had been waiting for him.

  “All right,” he said. “But I’m not keeping it for long. Just a day or two, right?”

  “You bet,” said Tom.

  Zac slipped the dagger into the pocket of his robe.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

  “Agreed,” said Tilly.

  Safely back in bed, Zac slid the dagger under his mattress and lay awake, his mind racing. It was strange to think that, until last night, he hadn’t even known Nocturne existed. It seemed like days since he’d followed Granny into the blizzard. He thought about the journey and The Forty Winks. He thought about the Knights and about the adventure he’d just shared with Tom and Tilly. He thought about the strange dream and the dagger. Was Tilly right? Did he have magic powers, too?

  Tom snorted, and Zac glanced over at him. His mouth was gaping, and bubbles were escaping as he breathed. Zac grinned. He’d never had real friends before, but he was pretty sure he’d made a couple tonight.

  Zac and Tom were awake very early the next morning and wasted no time before discussing the previous evening’s adventure. After they’d relived every second of the battle with the werewolf, and examined the dagger, they moved on to the subject of Julius and just why he might have broken into Tinn’s quarters.

  “I still don’t buy what he told Gideon,” said Tom shrewdly. “I mean, looking for evidence that someone else is the traitor? Come on! Why wouldn’t he just ask the others for permission to search Tinn’s quarters instead of breaking in? I still reckon he was trying to cover his own tracks.”

  “Well, whatever he’s up to, at least we know Gideon’s keeping an eye on him,” said Zac. “And I think Tilly was right: We should watch him as well.”

  Their discussion continued as they walked to the dining room, where Mrs. Huggins had laid out a delicious breakfast.

  “Good morning, lads,” chimed Cornelius.

  “Morning,” said Zac. He plopped down on one of the large chairs, and began piling his plate with bacon and eggs.

  Granny and Tilly were already in their places.

  “All set for today, Zac?” asked Mrs. Huggins.

  Zac looked over the sausage on the end of his fork. “All set?”

  “To go into town and get you some new clothes,” chuckled Mrs. Huggins. “We can’t have you walking around in that bathrobe, can we?”

  In all the excitement of the previous night Zac had completely forgotten about the trip into Slumber City. “Are you sure you can’t come with us, Granny?” he said.

  “I’d love to, lad, but I’m afraid I have to stay and practice some combat magic. I’m a little rusty, and I want to be at the top of my game should anything else go wrong.”

  Zac didn’t like the sound of that.

  “When are you leaving?” he asked.

  “Tonight. The sooner we find Tinn, the better.”

  Just then, Gideon and Jul
ius entered the room. Julius was pale and flustered. Gideon seemed much calmer than he’d been the previous night, but he was far from his usual self.

  Zac, Tom, and Tilly shot each other knowing looks as the pair sat at the table. Gideon proceeded to pile a small mountain of food on his plate, and began to dig in. Julius only took one piece of dry toast and nibbled the edges halfheartedly, his eyes barely leaving Gideon for a moment.

  “I say, Julius, are you all right? You look ghastly,” said Cornelius.

  Julius dropped the toast on his plate. “I do feel a little queasy,” he replied. “It’s probably the thought of going by airship.” He let out a nervous little laugh.

  “Airship?” said Zac.

  “That’s how we’re traveling,” said Granny. “Young Julius has found a pilot who’s agreed to fly us tonight.”

  Julius stood up so quickly that he knocked over a glass of orange juice.

  “As . . . as a matter of fact, I really should get going,” he said. “I’m due to meet the pilot and make arrangements. If you’ll excuse me . . .”

  While Julius hurried from the room, Gideon stared after him, his face grim.

  “Poor lad,” said Cornelius. “His nerves are shredded after what happened to Tinn.”

  “So,” said Zac, “what’s the plan, anyway? How are you going to find Rumpous Tinn?”

  “We’ll start in the North,” said Cornelius. “The Dream Stealers won’t be far from the Dream Plains. Their henchmen, the vampires, have been busy up there just recently. It makes sense that they’d keep him where they feel most secure. The hard part is finding out exactly where Tinn is hidden. Gideon has been working up in Port Town for a few weeks, doing what he does best. He’s fallen in with some unsavory characters and tried to mine a little information.”

  “Have you discovered anything, Gideon?” asked Tom, perched on the edge of his seat.

  Gideon smiled. “Well, actually, I have,” he said.

  The scraping of knives and forks fell silent. Everyone stopped eating, eager to hear what Gideon had to say.

  “I’ve heard whisperings of some pretty gruesome things happening east of Port Town. Disappearances, murders . . . that sort of thing. As a matter of fact, I’m meeting an old chap there this evening, a former sailboat captain. Been everywhere, seen everything, you know the sort.”

  Cornelius and Granny nodded.

  “Anyway,” continued Gideon, “from what I’m told, he took his boat up north toward the mountains late last year, and when he returned, only half of his crew were still with him. He sold the boat the next day and retired. Won’t speak a word of what happened. But rumor has it that his boat fell prey to vampires.”

  “Poor spirits,” said Granny grimly.

  “Where there are vampires, Dream Stealers usually aren’t far away,” Gideon reminded them. “I’ll try to get the old chap to spill the beans on what became of his men. Hopefully it’ll lead us somewhere.”

  “And we’ll catch the airship and meet you in Port Town early in the morning,” said Cornelius.

  “There’s an inn at the harbor called The Grumpy Dragon,” Gideon said. “I’ll meet you there. Hopefully I’ll have something to report — and even if I hit a dead end, your idea might lead us somewhere, Cornelius.”

  “You’ve had an idea, Grandad?” said Tom, looking shocked.

  “Indeed I have,” said Cornelius. “Years ago, during the last battle against the Dream Stealers, Rumpous Tinn and his sister, Aris, began work on a pair of magical instruments.”

  He paused for dramatic effect.

  Zac leaned in. “What were they?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

  “Locator compasses,” said Cornelius. “Very special instruments indeed. Designed to point you in the direction of anything you might wish to find, or any place you want to go — anything, anywhere. Such gadgets would’ve been invaluable. They would have enabled us to stay one step ahead of the Dream Stealers. It was the sort of genius idea we’d all come to expect from the Tinns! But they could never get the compasses working, and poor Aris died before they could be completed. In honor of his sister, Tinn continued to work tirelessly on the project. Then, a year or so ago, he had a breakthrough. He completed one compass and was close to finishing the second, but when the Dream Stealer attacks began again, he thought it wise to hide both instruments. I don’t know where he hid the finished compass, but I do know where to find the second one, and I think we can use it to help find Tinn.”

  He looked at Mrs. Huggins. “Holly will pick it up today when she’s in the city. She’ll be perfectly safe. Outside the Order, nobody in Nocturne knows it exists.”

  Tom broke the silence first. “But the second compass isn’t finished?”

  “Well,” said Cornelius, “it is incomplete, but not useless. I have spoken to Julius. As Tinn’s apprentice, he is closer to the Grandmaster’s work than anyone, and he is hopeful that this compass will at least send us from Port Town in the right direction.”

  At this point, Gideon pushed his chair back from the table and jumped to his feet.

  “We can only hope so,” he said. “Now, I should be setting off if I’m to keep my appointment with the for-mer captain. Even in my magic boat, it’ll take me until midnight to reach Port Town. Cornelius, Mrs. Wonder, I shall see you there tomorrow morning. I hope you have a safe flight.”

  Gideon picked up his top hat from the table and placed it on his head. With his hat on, he almost touched the ceiling. He shot them his dazzling smile, and headed for the door.

  After breakfast, Zac, Tom, and Tilly waited for Mrs. Huggins.

  “Did you see the state of Julius?” said Tom. “He was so nervous I thought he was going to faint.”

  “I know,” Zac said. “And he hardly stopped staring at Gideon, as if he was really scared of him.”

  “He left in a hurry, didn’t he?” said Tilly.

  “So did Gideon,” said Tom. “I’ll bet he wanted to keep an eye on Julius before he set off for Port Town.”

  “And what about this compass your mum is picking up today?” Zac said.

  “I know,” said Tilly. “It sounds amazing.”

  At that moment, Mrs. Huggins and Granny appeared, deep in conversation.

  “Ready?” said Mrs. Huggins.

  “All set,” said Zac.

  Granny ruffled his hair. “Have a nice time, lad,” she said. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

  Mrs. Huggins led the children through the door to the room with the trampoline floor. Zac waved back at Granny as the door creaked shut. They walked past the ends of the large chutes they had slid down the night before. But there didn’t seem to be any way back up.

  “Is there a staircase or something?” Zac asked.

  “Stairs?” Tom repeated, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “Of course not. We’ve got something much better. Come on! Look!”

  With that, he bounced away toward the door on the opposite wall and opened it, revealing yet another narrow chamber. There were tracks on the floor that ran the length of the room and bent sharply upward, leading through a hole in the wall and out of sight. On the track was a rusty metal bathtub on wheels.

  “Climb in,” yelled Mrs. Huggins, clambering over the side of the cart. Tom was next and Tilly followed him enthusiastically.

  “Come on, Zac, dear,” said Mrs. Huggins. “It’s perfectly safe.”

  “You’ll love it,” Tom said, beaming.

  Zac gingerly climbed aboard. It wasn’t very comfortable with the four of them crushed in there, but he didn’t have much time to think about that. After checking that the children were safely seated, Mrs. Huggins tapped on the side of the bath three times.

  For a long moment nothing happened.

  Then there was a crunching noise. />
  Then a clunk-a-chunk-clunk.

  “Hang on, dears,” said Mrs. Huggins. “Arms inside!”

  Zac clutched the edges as tightly as he could, and felt some of the rusty metal come away. This didn’t make him feel any better.

  There was a sound like a giant blowing his nose and the cart went screaming up the tracks and through the hole in the wall like a bullet from a gun.

  If Zac could have breathed he would have screamed. Instead, he settled for trying to keep his face attached to the rest of his body as the dark tunnel streaked past in a blur. There was an occasional yellow flash when they whizzed past a torch. Up and down and round they went, the underground air rushing through their hair, until they whistled around a corner and came to a jolting halt at a wooden platform. Barnaby the bartender was waiting, his large round face beaming as he reached down and helped them from the bathtub.

  “Hello, Holly, my dear,” he said. “Bang on time as usual.”

  “Morning, Barnaby,” said Mrs. Huggins.

  “Hi, Barnaby!” chimed Tom and Tilly.

  “Good gracious, all of you!” He exclaimed, mopping the sweat from his brow with a silk handkerchief. “What a pleasure! Now, follow me, if you will.”

  He led them to the other end of the platform, where they climbed up some wooden steps and through a small trapdoor that led to the back room of The Forty Winks.

  When they were all safely through, Barnaby dragged a stone slab over the trapdoor, concealing the entrance perfectly. They all walked out into the deserted pub.

  “This is where I leave you,” said Barnaby, unlocking the heavy front door and pulling it open.

  Zac felt a wave of freezing air on his face. There was the smell of crisp, wintry wood fire, and the sounds of a bustling city.

  “My word,” said Barnaby, rubbing his hands together. “Looks like we had quite a snowstorm overnight.”

  He was right.

  As they stepped from the warm pub out to the cobbled street, their feet crunched into new-fallen snow. Zac gazed around as people bustled and jostled between the quaint little shops and the crooked gingerbread houses.