I opened my mouth.
He raised a hand to cut me off. “We knows nothing about this man. Nothing about his crew, his people, where he comes from.”
“You took me in and you didn’t know anything about me.”
Rulak’s expression softened and he let out a long sigh, glancing at the captain who had caught up.
“Rulak,” I said, my hands open. “He came from the sea. He might have the answers I need.”
“Maybe then you be’s with the him.”
For all that Rulak and his family had taken me in, I wasn’t one of theirs. If I found myself in trouble, they would not come to my rescue. I needed to discover where I belonged. “Maybe.”
He was silent and still for a long moment. Then he jerked his head and continued walking toward camp.
Captain Bo looked at me, his eyes level with mine as he walked past. They both disappeared behind Master Pitivo’s red wagon. The rest of the troop settled back around their campfires, and the music picked up again.
I waited impatiently for my chance to talk to the captain. He reappeared, spoke to his men, and disappeared again.
Mam Dika crouched beside me, putting a pot on the hook over the fire. “Now, boo, you be’s with the calm.”
I closed my eyes and watched the fire dance. No one called me their Riv-boo. To be a boo was to be a pet. To have someone call you theirs meant you were family. I’d been there for years and I was still nothing more than a stray, someone they could and would cast off when and if they ever needed to. And they would need to. Soon. I wasn’t stupid. Mech, they’d keep. He was useful. Me? I could blend in. I could help run a wagon if needed, but I had no particular skill set. I could provide protection, but we all could.
Captain Bo stepped out from between the wagons again, this time alone. He searched the crowd.
I stood.
He saw me and stopped. Rulak had probably told him he and his crew they weren’t welcome at our campfires. He hooked his thumbs in his belt.
I took in a deep breath, and stepped out of the protection of the circle.
Mech followed.
I stopped, putting my hand on his chest. “No. You need to stay here. You can’t go—”
“For the love of dreams, Riv. Shut it. I’m going with you. You’re my mate, and that’s done.”
For you Americans, he didn’t just say we were married. He said we were buds. Dreamland’s filled with all kinds of people from all around your world and others.
I hung my head. He may be a mechanic, but he’d been born a basher. They brought a whole new meaning to the word stubborn.
Captain Bo rocked back on his heels when we made it to him. “I had a feeling I’d be seeing you again.”
“You sail the Sea of Dreams. How?”
He removed his hat and rubbed his blonde hair. It stood up in odd angles before he put the hat back on. “It’s a bloody sea, boy, meant to be sailed.”
A tingle of excitement shot down my right arm. “I don’t understand how.”
“What’s your interest in the sea, anyway? Everyone else seems terrified of it.”
“They think it’d shred a person’s soul.”
The captain’s hands twitched, but in the low light, his expression was covered in shadow.
“Do you ever fear it?”
“The sea?” he asked, his voice low and quiet. “No, but I respect her as I do no other.”
“And what do you do out there?”
He didn’t immediately answer. “I fish people out of the drink, and I take care of those Dreamland forgot.”
“Out of the drink?” Something nagged in the back of my mind, like I should know what that meant. But how?
“The sea, boy. The sea.”
I choked.
Mech pounded my back.
Patting my chest, I straightened and stared into the shadow of the captain’s face. “There are more people who came from it? What do you do with these people? Where do they come from? What’s their purpose? Why are they here?”
He took a step forward, and just enough light lit up his face so I could see his eyes squinting at me. “That’s a lot of questions. How old are you?”
Saliva filled the back of my mouth. “I don’t know.”
“Where did you come from?”
I held his gaze, my jaw clenched.
“Hmm.” He took a step back. “Well, then. I believe you belong with me. You’re coming with us.”
CAPTAIN BO didn’t say another word to me about it. He barked orders to his men. They gathered sacks of food from the wagons.
Was he serious? Was this really happening?
I wasn’t going to ask twice. Okay. Not out loud. And I wasn’t going to over-think it. Being with the caravan had been nice. I’d had a place to sleep and food to eat for a few years. It’d been good, but I was a burden. Things were getting worse for them, not better.
I grabbed my worn, leather pack and shoved what few belongings I had; my cup, plate, chopsticks, two shirts, a spare vest. The rest I wore. I fingered my curved knife. I’d had to use it more than once, but only to threaten.
The only other thing I owned was the necklace I’d had on when Rulak found me. The silver design was complicated. It looked like a rain drop with a series of swirls running through it like a wind.
I knew how to travel light.
Mech met me outside Mam Dika’s campfire, his pack slung over his broad shoulder. His expression didn’t leave any room for questions. He nodded and turned to the shore.
I ran to catch up. “You can’t come with me.”
“You’re not leaving me behind, Riv. So, shut it.”
I zipped my lip and moved forward. He knew what the sea could do to a Dreamlander. Then again . . . what did that make Captain Bo, or me, for that matter? If we weren’t Dreamlanders, then what were we?
Rulak stood in the shadows of one of the last wagons, but he didn’t call out and didn’t try to stop us.
My stomach twisted the closer to the beach we got. It wasn’t that I was afraid. I was just nervous. I’d never sailed before, didn’t miraculously know anything about sailing, and had no idea what we were heading into.
The men on the beach didn’t stop to question us. They continued to load their cargo onto the small boats as if taking on people was a normal occurrence.
Captain Bo stopped next to me, his hand on the hilt of his sword as he watched his crew. “What time are you from?”
“Time?”
“Yeah. Back on Earth. What year are you from?”
“I—” I glanced at Mech. “I don’t know if I am from there.”
“You came from a different Earth, then? Maybe one with a different name?”
I shook my head.
The captain looked at me from the corner of his eye. “You know what’s rare, boy?”
I didn’t know why he kept calling me boy. He couldn’t be much older than me.
“A true puzzle. I’ll enjoy putting you together. So, you don’t know what Earth you’re from, what year you’re from, and you’ve probably never sailed.”
I shrugged. That about summed it up.
“Fantastic.” He clapped his hands and gestured to the nearest boat. “Hop in, but you, red man.” He put his hands on Mech’s chest to stop him. “You can’t come.”
Mech straightened to his full, impressive height, the pale light from the dark sky highlighting his rippling muscles. “You’re going to have a hard time stopping me.”
“No, no. There’s no offense to be had, my good man.”
How was it that Mech, who was at least two years younger than me if we’d guessed my age right, got to be a man, and I was stuck being a boy?
“It’s just that you’re obviously a Dreamlander, born and bred. You don’t get to go in the boat.”
I jerked my full attention to the captain. So we were something else.
“I’m not being left behind.” Mech pushed the hands holding him away.
Captain Bo took off his ha
t and stared up at my burly friend. “You’re not coming with us.”
“I’m getting on—”
“If you touch the water, you will die,” Captain Bo said firmly.
Mech stopped, then took a step back, staring at the encroaching waves. “You touch the water.”
I swallowed.
“This isn’t water, my good man. These are dreams—left-over, discarded dreams. You’ve never had a dream in your life. Trust me, they would take over your soul.”
Mech’s breath came out in puffs as he retreated another couple of steps.
The captain clapped my shoulder. “But those born of the water can sail her.”
I studied my friend, burning the image of his face into my memory. I didn’t want to leave him behind. Sure. I’d played the tough card earlier, but here was the moment of truth, the one I’d been waiting for. It was a lot bigger than I’d expected. Before me stretched a great unknown. Behind me was the only friend I’d ever known.
What did a drifter like me know about friends or even family anyway? No one tied us down. Push came to shove, Mech would leave me behind if it meant his life. Right? It’s what I would do.
Maybe.
“You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?” Captain Bo asked.
What was I waiting for? “No.”
He met my gaze in the darkness. “It could mean your life.”
“I know where I came from. I came from there.” I pointed to the sea.
Captain Bo took in a deep breath, his lids lowered and lazy as he stepped toward the boats. “Then don’t take all day with the good-byes. We’re pushing off, and you’re either in the boat when that happens or you’re not.”
Mech clenched his hands into fists, staring at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you really going to do this?”
I couldn’t ignore the opportunity. The waves whispered to me, taunting me. My gut tugged me toward the sea, to the boat. I nodded.
He bowed his head, his nostrils flaring. Finally, he looked up and gave me a hug.
I clapped him on the back. Stepping away, I felt his absence. What would life be like without him? “Take care. You’re a huge asset to them. Rulak’ll protect you. You can bet on it.”
He raised his chin. “Yeah, well, if you get lost, come back.”
“To where? You guys’ll be traveling. I won’t know what place to teleport to.”
He hunched his shoulders. “You’ve got my Who.”
That was Dreamlander speak for knowing his scent, I guess you could call it. With his Who, I could travel by Place, or teleport, to get to him. Within reason, of course.
“Boy!” Bo stood at the last boat, both feet in the water.
I waved at him and turned back to Mech. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Yeah, well, then be off.”
I walked to the boat, but stopped at the edge of the water.
Bo studied me.
What if I was wrong? What if I really was a Dreamlander, and it was just coincidence that Rulak found me in the water?
That didn’t even make sense. I was just scared.
Yeah, scared. I had every right to be.
I took in a deep breath and took another step forward.
The water receded, but trails of it reached toward me, whispering. So many words, so many voices. I couldn’t make any of them out. Their grasping fingers followed the force of the tide, falling back into the sea.
They wanted me.
Drawn like a sailor to a siren, I took another step forward, following the wave as it left until I stood next to the boat.
The men all watched me, their expressions intense, their bearded lips closed.
I sensed the wave return before I saw it. It was as if I’d found the arms of a long lost lover. Ghost hands pried themselves from the wave, wrapping around me, tugging at my clothes, my hair, pressing into my flesh. Information flooded through me—about cars, and Wall Street, soccer, and mini vans. Lives flashed before me, one on top of another, each so fast. Emotions filled my heart—joy, love, home, wealth, happiness, sadness, despair, triumph, courage.
My skin buzzed with an electric current.
I let me head fall back and focused on the dark blue sky.
I saw stars. Stars.
A wealth of information rushed through me—about stars that had been discovered, others that had been dreamt of, how they were born, how they died.
I closed my eyes and floated, falling into it. I was home. This was where I belonged. I was supposed to be right here. I’d been let go too soon. Too soon.
For what?
Physical hands grabbed my arms and hauled me onto the boat.
I stumbled aboard, but my mind was so full. I wasn’t dizzy. I simply had a hard time deciphering if the boat was even real.
Bo grabbed my face and looked me in the eye, prepared to speak. He stopped, leaned back and just stared at me. “What are you?”
I drooped on the wooden plank, the ghost hands reaching for me, telling me their stories, welcoming me home.
I BARELY REMEMBER getting onto the massive ship, or passing out. I woke to rocking. I blinked my eyes open—heavy and full of grit, as though I hadn’t slept in weeks.
The cabin I found myself in was wide. A large bed stood to one side. A heavy desk claimed the wall beneath the bank of windows behind me. Maps covered the far wall. All kinds of weapons lined another wall—bows, every kind of sword I could imagine, old ball and gunpowder pistols. The ones that caught my surprise, though, were the more modern handguns.
Why would a semi-automatic handgun be on an old pirate ship?
The door opened to a gust of rain and wind. Captain Bo slammed the door shut. He glanced at me and removed his wide-brimmed hat. “Ah, you’re awake.”
I swung my legs out of the hammock, lost my sense of balance and fell unceremoniously to the floor.
He removed his coat and draped it on the hook next to the door. “Don’t worry, Riv, m’boy. It takes a bit to get your sea legs.”
One would think that if I’d been found at sea, I’d have those. Right? Wouldn’t I? I pushed myself to my feet and staggered in place, my arms splayed. I still didn’t feel quite right in the head. The waves had affected me, altered me somehow. Mud filled my brain.
He came to me in five long strides and caught my gaze. “Boy, I know you’re different. You weren’t meant to be a nightmare like the rest of us.”
A surge of light filled the muck of my mind. This close, I could see his dirt-filled pores and smell what had to be the remains of dinner in his blonde beard.
“You’re a new soul. Just look at those eyes.” He raised a ragged-nailed hand to my face. “What are you?”
That’s what I wanted to find out.
He walked toward the desk and gestured with one hand. “You should wash up. We’re in for a bumpy ride and I’m guessing you could use a bite to eat before we get too carried away with necessities and the like.”
I searched the area he pointed to and found a white porcelain bowl. I staggered up to the mirror as the ship heaved at a sharp angle. “Are you sure we’re safe?”
He threw his head back and laughed, tossing something on the desk with a clank. “We’re fine, Riv. We’ve weathered worse.”
Maybe he had. I gripped the edges of the surprisingly sturdy cabinet and studied my reflection. A young man stared back at me with high cheekbones and a pointy jaw that needed to be shaved. Black hair hung in a jagged line. My eyes were what caught my attention, though. They were black. Only black. No whites, no green.
I glanced at Bo.
He pursed his lips. “When we pulled you from the water, there was something in your eyes.”
I turned back to my reflection.
“I’ve never seen the sea react to anyone like it did to you.” He chewed the inside of his lip and walked up behind me.
Chills wracked my body and my stomach threatened to heave.
He put his hand on my shoulder and, met my gaze in the mirror. “Now, concentrate.
Concentrate and change the color of your eyes.”
Words clogged my throat. What was wrong with me? “How?”
He lifted one corner of his mouth and tipped his head to the side. “The same way you made them black. Just push from the inside. Put up a disguise. Hide who you truly are.”
“Why?”
He brought his mouth to my ear. “Because we don’t want others to know what you are, do we?”
My heart hammered in my chest as I met his gaze in the mirror. “You do?”
He was quiet a long moment, his eyes drooping. “I have an idea.”
I clenched my jaw.
He gave me a firm shake and grinned. “Now, then. Just concentrate and make those eyes brown. I’ve always liked brown eyes. Always thought I’d have a boy with brown eyes. Don’t know how, though. I guess I’d have to find a wife with them, but never you mind that. Just concentrate.”
I stared into my own eyes, so black, so deep. As I dipped deeper into my own soul—I saw a sky I’d never seen before. Why weren’t there stars in Dreamland?
The answer was in my eyes.
Hundreds of dreamplanes stood stacked one on top of the other surrounded by a black abyss. As the vision grew, names swam to the top. Dustman Finn, Dustman Luk, Dustman Gail, Bambi, Mary, Dustin, Chance. Each plane had a dustman’s name. They each had a special place, each belonged.
“Now, isn’t that a sight?” Bo leaned closer, his weight pressing against me until I almost had my face plastered to the mirror.
I pushed him back, tugged on my shirt and tried again. I had to change my eyes. I had to be able to blend in, to be safe.
Safe from what?
From the people of Dreamland.
That voice. That female, musical voice. I knew it. Didn’t I? It filled me with comfort, wrapped around me, soothing my mind.
No one answered, but the black receded. White shown through, moving like a dying shadow from the corners into the center of my eyes. Then, it flared back out, landing like a breaching whale, and transformed into dark blue with pinpricks of black.
There. Now, I looked normal. I twisted to see Bo. “Do you know what I am?”
He took in a deep breath, his eyebrows high as he put his hands on my shoulders and moved me aside. “Not really.”
Dream Killers - Complete Season 1 (The Dream Killers Book 3) Page 2
