This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events within this book are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to business establishments, actual persons, or events is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Whistling Books Press
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Copyright © 2014 SM Blooding
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Edited by Veronica R. Calisto
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Published by Whistling Books Press
Whistling Books Press
Denver, CO
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The Sea of Dreams spat me out with no memories, no idea of who I was or what my purpose might be. When Captain Bo, dream killer extraordinaire, arrived, I took a chance to explore.
On the road of discovery, I tripped upon dreamplanes floating dead in a graveyard, scared children attempting to survive their dreams turned nightmare, strange guardians, rogue Dreamlanders, and ships with hearts of silver. I learned more about Dreamland than I ever thought possible. But people are dying. They’re disappearing. Dreamland is twisting, shifting, ripping. I don’t know how best to help, how to save those I’ve met, who have wormed their way into my heart. If only I knew who I was, what I’d been born to do.
Then I found out. I know who I am.
I wish I didn’t.
Other works by SM Blooding:
Chronicles of Illona (NA Steampunk Adventure)
Devices of War Trilogy
Fall of Sky City
Knight of Wands
The Dream Killers (Fairytale Adventure)
Season 1 (2014)
Episode 1: Graveyard of Dreams
Episode 2: Eyes of Stars
Episode 3: Captain Tight Pants
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Episode 1: Graveyard of Dreams
Once Upon a Time...
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Episode 2: Eyes of Stars
Once Upon a Time...
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Episode 3: Captain Tight Pants
Once Upon a Time...
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
DEDICATION
To my dream killer.
May your Happily Ever After
be everything you hoped for.
SOUNDTRACK for DREAM KILLERS SEASON 1 EPISODE 1
Future World Music “A Hero Will Rise” (album)
I STEPPED OUT of the tunnels, glancing behind me to make sure we weren’t about to be trampled by the graftidon towing the wagon behind us as Mech stopped in the middle of the flow of traffic. The beast was part horse, part lion, with stripes like a hyena. It had long fangs like a saber tooth tiger and two spiral horns like a kudu. They were also mean. I pulled Mech to the side, allowing it to pass.
The graftidon snorted, blowing a cloud of steam and snot in my face. Ungrateful.
Mech shivered, the light of the sky reflecting off his red skin. “That is a chilling sight.”
I turned to the bay as whispers fluttered to my ears. Somehow, they overcame the loud mewlings of the caravan beasts, and the conversations of the travelers. My heart lifted, my limbs felt light. Finally. I was back.
The Sea of Dreams.
The surf crashed against the rocky cliffs on either side of the black rock bay. Water stretched into forever. I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
He punched me in the arm, tugging his scarf off his face. His horizontal pupils were bare slits. “I’m gonna find Mam Dika and set up at her wagon. She needs me to fix her entire kitchen anyway.”
I chuckled, wrapping my blue scarf around my hand. It had been dusty in the tunnels of Grandmother Willow’s roots. The air out here was fresh. “She let Mala cook again, didn’t she?”
He pushed out his thin, cracked lips and nodded with a smile. “She’ll never learn.”
“Well, at least this way, we always have a place to stay.”
“That’s the truth. I’ll see you later.”
I took in a deep breath, watching the water. I’d been looking forward to this sight for weeks.
Mech paused and turned back to me. “Hey, River. Is it true the water speaks?”
My smile widened. “Yes.” It’s one of the things I loved about being close to it, one of the things I missed.
“Does it make a man go crazy?”
I pushed him toward the brightly colored wagons as they circled up. “Go. The light’s getting dim.”
He wiggled his barely-existent eyebrows, walking backwards. “Who shall we woo this evening?”
We never wooed anyone.
Dreamland didn’t have day, so it never had night. No sun commanded the sky, but in the dimensions between the Burbs, things were different. We almost had night. I could look up and almost see stars.
I walked down the beach. Waves half as tall as me rolled toward shore, crashing into the jagged rocks with a deafening thunder.
I’m going to do it, I heard a little girl say with a giggle.
I can do this. I know it. If I can just try hard enough. The man talking sounded like he was carrying a house.
Anything is possible, my sweet, a woman said.
“The sun’ll come out tomorrow.” A little boy laughed. That’s the silliest song. Of course the sun’ll come out. It can’t hide.
I chuckled and let the whispers of hope roll around me. Why would anyone be afraid of this? I could never think to experience anything more wonderful than this.
By the time I made it to Mam Dika’s bright blue wagon, the sky had dimmed to a deep blue. This was as dark as it was going to get, but for people who were used to the light always being in the sky, it could have been pitch black.
Campfires were lit everywhere. A kind of quiet settled over the camp. The graftidons were somewhere outside the circle, grunting and snorting to one another. The people of the traveling group talked to one another in soft conversation. Fiddles played and a few clarinets. A growing group of people danced not far from us.
Gre
y wine made its way around the campfires. Everyone took large mouthfuls of it before passing it along, their moods almost immediately lifted.
In Dreamland, we eat and drink by color. They change our moods. Grey, for instance, makes you gay, as in happy. We never drink red unless we wanted to hurt someone else. White wine made people bright—as in glowing. Who wanted that unless they were having fun?
My emotions soared, an after affect of the sea. I didn’t need the uplifting power of grey, so I passed it along when it was offered to me. I sat next to Mech. He offered some yellow in the form of noodles. I held up my hand and shook my head. I had no wish to be mellow. Not yet.
Mech sat back and studied me, really taking me in. “You’re different. What happened out there?”
I waved him off, watching the flames dance. “Just listened to the sea.”
“It’s gone and made you soft in the head, hasn’t it? You’re insane. Just like everyone said. It makes you insane.”
I shoved him.
Karlotta sashayed over, giving me a longing glance. Her pink shawl slipped off her pale shoulder.
I raised my eyebrows and smiled. She was lovely and just getting prettier as the days passed. Her hair tumbled down her back in dark chocolate curls.
Too bad her mother hated me. She thought I was the second most deadly sin. She’d rather her daughter took a fancy to Mech instead of me.
Sometimes, I thought the girls in the caravan forgot where I came from, that there was something just as wrong about me as there was obviously wrong with my friend. He’d been born to a family of bashers—hence the red skin, horizontal pupils, and snout. However, he’d been born with the gift for fixing things rather than destroying them. Dreamland didn’t have a place for people like us, those that were different.
I had to keep her at arm’s length for her own good. So, I let her walk by.
Mech took another long drag of wine before passing it around the circle to his right. “What is wrong with you?”
I chose not to answer him. He knew, and he knew better than to ask.
“You’re older now, Riv.” His elbow found my ribs. “Maybe you are normal. Well, as normal as a traveler can be, not having any Dreamlander gifts. You could marry. Blend in. Have kids.”
I massaged my side and watched Karlotta as she joined the dancing group. It was possible. I guess. I could walk like a traveler, move like one. I could make a real life here—as long as I didn’t speak in public. I didn’t possess a single special talent. I could hear the voices on the sea. Nothing more.
That one thing made me something to be feared, though. The Sea of Dreams terrified them more than anything else. The elders’ runners—our greatest adversaries—collected Dreamlanders who didn’t fit in, and took them to the Clink. The Sea of Dreams shredded Dreamlander souls. What sort of man could speak to it? Moreover, who could be fished from it and still have his soul?
I had no memories, though.
Where did I come from? How did I know how to drive a car, or how to play Call of Duty? Why was it that whenever I had a question, I always thought, “Well, let’s Google that.”
No. I would never be accepted here. I talked like a dreamer, listened to your dreams. They couldn’t define me. That made me someone they couldn’t trust. I could never make a real life for myself here.
The fiddle closest to me faltered. I glanced up.
Punka stared off into the darkness of the sea, his eyes wide. He gripped the neck of his fiddle, his bow lowered.
Lila stopped playing her clarinet, her attention following his.
All around us, the caravan stopped what they were doing—stopped talking, singing, dancing, drinking—and gawked at the Sea of Dreams in varying shades of shock and awe.
I turned my attention to the water. My jaw dropped and my eyebrows rose. Never in my life had I ever seen—
A pirate ship. A real-life pirate ship was moored not far off shore and men in dinghies approached.
I shook myself. No one sailed these waters. No one touched them. What happened if the water sprayed them? Their souls would be—
Several of the men jumped into the water to bring the small boats onto the sandy beach. Nothing happened.
I rose and strode toward them.
Rulak joined me, tall and beefy. His hands were clenched on either side, his shoulders tight.
Mech scrambled to catch up. He stood as tall as our caravan leader, which left me feeling dwarfed, though I was by no means short.
One man broke away from the invading crew and joined us. He wore what I would expect from a pirate king, down to the shining earring. His fitted, blue coat flared at the waist and stopped at his knees. He’d tucked his dark pants into his black boots. “Gypsies. How novel.” He took off his wide hat and bowed. “Captain Bo Sicario at your service.”
Rulak crossed his arms over his chest. “We dids not call you.”
This is the reason I can’t speak in public when I’m pretending to be a traveler. They talk in a weird sort of present tense.
“I think you did.” The captain smiled and put his hat back on. “I followed your distress call. We crossed the seven seas to get to you, sir.”
“We dids not call you.”
Another man joined him, saying nothing. He was an older man, short, stocky, and shoeless.
Captain Bo frowned, his lips quirked. “Then, I apologize.” He turned to the man beside him and murmured orders.
His man pivoted and went to the crew who were still at the small boats.
“Wait!” I took a step forward, watching them get back into the boats. “What are you?”
The captain grinned. “You haven’t heard of us? Well, that’s quite all right. This is the crew of Night’s Cruelty. We sail the Sea of Dreams.”
“No one sails the sea,” Rulak said.
“Hmm.” The captain’s lips lowered. He looked at me. “Did you call?”
“I doubt it, but—” I swallowed, glancing at Rulak. “Can you stay a bit? I have questions.”
Captain Bo raised an eyebrow. “Did you call us?”
“I wouldn’t know how. I have no idea who you are, or that you even existed.”
“Well, then.” He tugged the lapels of his coat and hopped on his toes. “If you have real food and possibly drink, I’ll tell you all about us.”
I met his smile with a tentative one of my own. This might be exactly what I’d hoped for. I needed answers and they were out there. It was time to figure out what I was.
TRAVELERS ARE many things. Friendly to perfect strangers? Not really.
Captain Bo stood on the shore looking between me, Mech and Rulak.
A crowd gathered around us.
“Who is with this one?” Mam Dika demanded, pushing her way to the front. “Do we has more what comes from the water? Is it with the sprouting of fish?”
The captain frowned and pulled back, holding up a finger. “Give me a minute while I translate that. Wait, wait.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. It had taken me nearly a year to understand what anyone said in the caravan, and sometimes I still struggled with it, especially when they got upset.
“Ah, right. No, ma’am. We are not fish. I am the captain of Night’s Cruelty.”
“There is no night here,” I said.
He scrutinized me out of the corner of his eye. “Isn’t the name of my vessel just, then?”
Mech pushed past me. “What are you doing here?”
“Ah, a red man, quite literally. I like it.” He waved a hand. “I followed a distress signal. I believe we’ve already gone over this once. Weren’t you here for that part of the conversation? I’m quite certain you were.”
Mech raised his broad chin.
Rulak put his hand on the basher’s shoulder and dragged him back. “So what kinds of monsters do you be?”
Captain Bo brought his head forward. “What kind of creature are you that you can’t talk straight? I’ve seen purple people, red people—” He gestured to Mech.
“—shallow people, full people, small people, tall people, and I’ve even met a few I wouldn’t call people. But they all know how to speak in a manner others can understand.”
Mam Dika hunched her shoulders, her face screwed up. “Who’s with the telling we can’t speak? Maybe it be’s with the you who can’t speak.”
“My Di-boo, no.” Rulak touched her arm.
She straightened and rejoined her family.
Rulak rounded on the captain. “We’s simply be with the knowing of what you is. If you has none with the answers, then you can be away.”
Captain Bo swung toward the sea, his mouth open, one hand raised. He turned back with a thick frown. “Do you have something that needs power?”
The people of the caravan murmured to one another.
The main reason the entire troop had come to the gathering was because our shield generator was down. We needed as many people as we could to protect the wagons.
Sure. You could ask, “From what?” I would remind you we’re in the land of dreams, not candy and butterflies.
The captain’s expression opened. “Ah, right then. That’s the reason we’re here. We have power. Just show us where you need it, and we’ll transfer it.”
“We has no means to pay.” Rulak straightened, squaring his shoulders.
Captain Bo laughed. “This is Dreamland, good sir. Who pays for anything? Like I said, if you has—have. Look at you. You’re rubbing off on me already—real food and possibly drink, we’d be more than happy to exchange one meal for power.”
Rulak narrowed his eyes.
I caught his gaze and opened my hands, my eyebrows lodged in my shaggy hairline. I sucked in my lips and bit down on them, jerking my head in the captain’s direction.
The caravan leader growled low and turned, parting the crowd to get to the gathered wagons.
Captain Bo rubbed his temple and then flicked his fingers. “Is that a yes, then?”
I scrambled to catch up to our leader. “Rulak, wait.”
He didn’t. “River, we can’t’s be with the letting anyone in who falls in our path. You knows this.”
“But he’s not a stray. He obviously takes care of himself and his crew.”
Rulak stopped, towering over me. “And what does I do when he takes all we has?”
Dream Killers - Complete Season 1 (The Dream Killers Book 3) Page 1
