by Gareth Otton
When Tad didn’t respond, Lizzie grew annoyed.
“Come on, give me something.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to being your personal informant,” Tad argued. “Yet you barge in here on a Saturday morning, don’t even ask how I am after being attacked, and start demanding answers.”
Lizzie snorted, not the least defensive.
“Please, I know that no punks with captured dream powers are going to bother the Dreamwalker,” she said. “You’re fine. Which means you should be able to give me the whole scoop.”
Tad’s frown deepened. “It sounds like someone already has. Where did you hear about that?”
“About what?” Lizzie asked innocently.
“Come off it, you know exactly what I mean. First you mention dreamcatchers, now you’re talking about captured powers. Where did you hear that?”
“I figured it out. It wasn’t hard, you know.”
“Bullshit. No one released that information. Who’s your source?” Lizzie shook her head, refusing to speak, and Tad’s frown deepened. “You can’t talk about that on your show, Lizzie.”
“The hell I can’t. It’s a free world Holcroft and—”
“And you’ll be telling these killers we know what they're doing so they can change up their game before we have chance to catch them. You’re basically helping kill dreamwalkers.”
“The hell I am,” she snapped. “How could you accuse me of something like that? I would never—”
“You can’t share that information. Not until all this is over. I’m serious, you might cost people their lives.”
“But I… Aarrrgh. Tad. I hate you sometimes, you know that? Fine, I won’t talk about it until you catch these guys. But just between you and me, it’s real, right? They’re using dreamcatchers to get superpowers and come after Dreamwalkers?”
“I’ll answer as soon as you reveal who told you.”
Lizzie frowned and turned her attention back to the puppies. “You’re no fun anymore,” she said. However, as was normal for Lizzie, she couldn’t stay upset too long. Soon enough she was smiling again as a new idea came to her. “Can I have the puppies on the show?”
“You want to do a show just about puppies?”
“Dreamwalking puppies,” Lizzie said like that made all the difference. “Trust me, people would love that. If you bring them on the show, I’ll let you off the hook for not answering your texts.”
Despite himself, Tad laughed.
“God, you don’t give up. Fine, you can do a show on the puppies, so long as I don’t need to be there for it.”
“I’ll do it!” Jen shouted, suddenly forgetting to sulk. Her new, blue-white aura shone so bright it was hard to look at. “Please, dad. I won’t bug you about the doctor thing anymore, I promise. Just let me do this.”
She’d been desperate to go on Lizzie’s show for months, frustrated that Tad wouldn’t let her into the public eye if he could help it. However, though he continued to hate fame, he was slowly realising it would never truly leave him and those closest to him alone. Besides, this might be a good thing if he played his cards right.
“Doctor thing? What’s that about?” Lizzie asked innocently.
“That’s also something that doesn’t need to be on your show.”
Lizzie feigned being hurt. “I’m your friend as well as a journalist, Tad. Not everything is about the show.”
“Sure it’s not,” Tad said. “Then you’ll be happy to keep quiet about this?”
Lizzie’s pained expression was genuine this time. “Fine, I won’t talk about it. I bet it’s juicy as well after you’ve made me promise that.”
“We’re looking for a neurosurgeon or orthopaedic surgeon who might take Jen under their wing and teach her how to fix her back.”
“Wait, what? I thought you broke your back. I didn’t know that could be fixed,” she asked Jen directly.
“I can kind of heal stuff with Dream,” Jen said. “It works with cuts and bruises, but I don’t know how to do more complicated stuff. Dad thinks that if I learn from a proper doctor, then I should be able to change that.”
“Oh my God. You might actually cure paralysis,” Lizzie gasped. Then she turned on Tad and asked, “And I’m not supposed to talk about that?!”
“Not a word,” Tad agreed, suddenly loving how put out she sounded.
“You’re the worst contact ever.”
“By all means, feel free to find someone else,” Tad suggested.
Lizzie frowned and turned her attention back to the puppies. “So, is Jen coming on the show with the puppies?”
“On two conditions. One, I get to see the piece when it’s done and get veto rights.” Lizzie frowned but reluctantly agreed. “Good. My second condition is that you keep Jen until this evening. I need to chase something up and you’ll actually be doing me a favour with this one. Agree and I’ll throw dinner into the mix.”
“Done,” Lizzie agreed before turning to Jen. “Looks like we’re having a girls' day, Jen.”
“Nice one,” Jen answered, trying her best to play it cool but unable to keep the grin from her face or control her blazing blue aura. “I guess I’ll go get changed.”
She climbed to her feet and casually walked across the living room. Her casualness only lasted until she got to the door before she broke into a run and pounded up the stairs, making both Tad and Lizzie laugh.
“So, what are you chasing up this afternoon?” Lizzie asked.
“None of your business,” Tad replied, then burst out laughing at her frustrated expression.
Once more it was an increase in temperature that Tad noticed first. He wondered how many people’s dreams-come-true were responsible for the unusual heat in the Borderlands. However, it was nothing like this. This heat was accompanied by that sun-baked smell you get as you first step off an airplane and know for sure you’re in a foreign, hotter country.
Today, the salty aroma of the sea offset that smell of baked stone, the waters of which were bluer, brighter and clearer than anything back home. The luxury yachts floating in the harbour didn’t hurt the aesthetic either. Surrounding the water was the port of Hydra, one of the Saronic islands of Greece. The port was a natural cove that was settled with picturesque white or sand coloured buildings complete with matching terracotta roof tiles. They were densely packed on the mountainside with an irregularity that only occurred with natural growth, creating a clustered, chaotic appearance from a distance that only accentuated character rather than detracted from its beauty.
Coupled with the canopy-covered eating areas outside the restaurants, the cobbled stones and horses instead of cars on the main port itself, it was a scene straight from a postcard and one Tad instantly fell in love with. This was the second time he’d visited, and being back reaffirmed his love at first sight. He could see himself living here… part time, anyway. He doubted he could give up the pull of the Borderlands. Since the merging, there was something about the place that made it more like home than ever before.
Tad arrived near the large building that housed the Historical Archive and Museum of Hydra, set right at the waterfront. It was to this building that Tad had come earlier in the week hoping to find answers to the riddle of Stella’s past. The note Ryan gave him said to Seek Galanis in the Museum of Hydra’s Historical Archives. It turned out there wasn’t much in the archive itself that could help with that search. However, his celebrity status saved the day.
A helpful old woman, thrilled to have Tad visit while she was working, knew of a few families with the last name of Galanis as it wasn’t an uncommon name, but one woman stood out. She was the matriarch of a family that had lived on the island for generations, and one of those people you always found in small communities who knew, and was known by, everyone else. Even if she had nothing to do with Stella’s mother, she might point Tad toward someone who knew more.
Unfortunately, Google Street View wasn’t as complete as he would like, so he’d had to get detailed directi
ons from the old woman that started at the archives itself. Therefore, he drew more than a few eyes as he appeared, but hoped to lose those watchers as he set off, heading up a road leading away from the port and into the winding streets of the mountainside. His long stride set a tough pace and soon he was alone, only ever seeing the odd local caught up in their daily activities and paying him no attention.
He walked for nearly half an hour, the furthest he’d walked in a long time thanks to his channel changing abilities. He didn’t realise how much he relied on that ability and was sweating heavily by the time he arrived at his destination. Taking a few minutes to catch his breath, he decided to devote time to exercise in the future so he didn’t get overly reliant on using Dream.
He stood outside a three story home with a naked stone exterior. There were seven slender, wood-framed windows on the front of the building, three aligned vertically on the left, three on the right, with the last one in the centre of the house. Directly beneath that window was the front door, just as slender and painted blue. Above it was another door, matching in style save for the large panes of glass set into the frame. This second door led onto a small metal balcony complete with a table and two chairs.
It looked like a modest home. However, it was larger than the average building in Britain and Tad suspected it wasn’t nearly so modest on the inside.
Feeling like he’d caught his breath, he stepped up to the door and raised his hand to knock. Then he paused, straightened his t-shirt and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He hadn’t thought about it until now, but he was potentially about to meet some of Stella’s family. Worse, he was doing so without her permission. There was no way this would end well for him, but he owed it to Stella to go through with it anyway for her own good. At least that’s what he told himself as his knuckles struck the door three times.
He didn’t have to wait long before there was the click and the door swung inward, revealing a short, ancient woman who stared at Tad with distrustful eyes.
She might just be the oldest person he’d ever seen in person. She couldn’t have been taller than five foot, had wrinkles on her wrinkles, and her grey hair was thinning to where he could see the skin beneath. However, she moved with a confidence that belied her appearance and he could sense that there was strength yet in this old woman.
She was broad, though not fat, just stout. She stared at Tad through crystal-clear blue eyes of the like he’d only ever seen once before, and he knew without needing to be told that he had come to the right place.
“Hello. Mrs Galanis?” Tad asked, a little unsure of how to start when this old woman was just staring at him intently.
Her eyes narrowed and he thought she wouldn’t answer. Then her words came hard and fast, rapid fire like she was angry. He would never know for sure because not a single word was in English.
Instantly Tad felt like a fool. Why should he expect her to speak English just because he did? He was in Greece and he should have come prepared.
He tried to think of how to use Dream to bridge the language barrier as they did in their Dreamwalker meetings. However, it was not possible here. There they could do it by imagining something so outlandishly impossible and trusting that Dream would make it true. Here there were rules that had to be obeyed and he needed a grounding point from which to augment reality. Now that he faced down this woman who was growing angrier by the moment, he realised he didn’t even know a single word of Greek to prepare for this.
You couldn’t have learnt how to at least say hello, you idiot?
Tad could do nothing but raise his hands in apology and try to act out that he didn’t understand her. This only made her angrier, and she started to shout, waving her hands dramatically like she would attack Tad if he didn’t act soon. The trouble was, he didn’t know what she wanted. He stepped back, and that just wound her up even more as her voice grew louder and her gesticulating became more pronounced.
Tad was about to just write this off as a failure and dreamwalk away when another face appeared deeper in the house. This one was younger and much higher from the ground. Another set of blue eyes widened in surprise.
He was a man in his early twenties, maybe even younger than that. He was about five foot ten, slim but obviously fit, and possessing the kind of good looks that Tad was instantly envious of. He suspected if this man was ever so much as in the vicinity of a movie producer, he’d be swept into a world of fame and fortune instantly.
The man grabbed the old woman by the shoulders, not roughly, but firmly enough to calm her anger. He said something in Greek that was obviously respectful, and then he turned his attention back to Tad when the old lady quieted.
“I’m sorry, she doesn’t speak English,” he said in heavily accented but excellent English.
“No, it’s my fault for coming here presuming she could. Please tell her I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset her.”
“No need for sorry… Wait… You are him? The Dreamwalker?”
Tad laughed nervously, never getting used to people recognising him or addressing him this way. “Yeah, that’s me. Look, I was hoping to ask… Uh… Your grandmother?” At his nod Tad smiled and said, “I was going to ask some questions if—”
He was interrupted as the old woman started talking again, machine-gun fired words that cut through Tad’s words like they were nothing. Even the young man looked shocked by his grandmother’s tone and he gently pulled the old lady back and turned her to face him. He said something in Greek to get her attention and she fired those words back at him just as strongly as she had at Tad.
Tad didn’t need Stella’s talents to tell this attitude shocked the young man, and it wasn’t long before the two were locked in a fast-paced conversation that bordered on being an argument.
Feeling strangely isolated on the doorstep while these two bickered, Tad looked around nervously to make sure he wasn’t being watched. When he looked back, he found the argument had concluded and the old woman was marching away, shouting parting words over her shoulder.
“I really didn’t mean to upset her,” Tad said as soon as she was gone. “I just wanted to ask a few questions.”
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong. She’s not normally like this,” the young man said as he came back to the door. He held out a hand for Tad to shake and said, “I’m Leon Galanis.”
“Tad Holcroft.”
“Oh, I know who you are. I’m sorry, but your visit upset her. I don’t know why, but I must ask you to leave.”
“But… Listen, that’s fine. I just have some questions I think your grandmother could answer for me that are important. Is there any chance you could talk her round and I can come back?”
It was Leon’s turn to frown. “What could she know that would help you?”
“It’s not for me, it’s for my girlfriend. I think she was originally from this island and I was hoping to get in touch with her family. I was told your grandmother might be able to help.”
“A reunion?” Leon asked, the frown disappearing as Tad’s words started to make sense. “Then yes. Yia-yia knows lots of people. How about this? You go and I speak with her, see if she will talk. When I know more, I will let you know.”
“That’s perfect,” Tad said, pulling out his phone and asking for Leon’s number so they could stay in touch. Once they’d exchanged numbers, Tad slipped his phone away and glanced over Leon’s shoulder. “I really didn’t mean to upset her.”
“Don’t worry. I will find out what is wrong with her. But I must go now.”
He looked over his shoulder at where his grandmother had gone and Tad got the hint, stepping away from the door and waving goodbye. With a final wave and a promise to call, the blue door closed, leaving Tad alone in the street.
He stared at the door for a minute, not knowing what to do next. He hoped he might get closer to helping Stella uncover what was happening to her today, or at the least get more clues about where to look next. He hated leaving this in someone else’s
hands, especially when he felt so close.
The blue of that old lady’s eyes, and her grandson’s, matched Stella’s almost perfectly, and Tad couldn’t imagine a world in which they weren’t related. It just made it that much harder to walk away.
With no other option, he looked around so he could fix this location in his mind, then turned his attention elsewhere and changed the channel.
13
Saturday, 09th July 2016
12:30
“Don’t judge me, it won’t always be like this.”
Freckles looked up from the passenger seat like he didn’t believe her.
“I know, it’s the sixth Saturday in a row, but it can’t be helped. Maybe once we get nightmares sorted then…”
Stella’s words trailed off as she pulled into her usual parking space and killed the engine. Who was she kidding? She had to resign herself to a six-day work week for the foreseeable future. At least she didn’t sleep, so it wasn’t like she was missing out on spending time with Tad, Jen and Tony. She could spend her evenings with them like a normal person, then once they’d gone to bed she could get another six hours of extra work done while they slept. To someone like her, what did an eighty-hour work week really hurt?
When was the last time you had a drink with Kimberly? A traitorous voice in the back of her mind asked. Or tried to make any other friends? Or maybe picked up a hobby, or…
Stella forced the thoughts aside and looked at Freckles who waited patiently.
“Who needs friends when I have you, hey Freckles?”
Getting excited at hearing his name, his tail wagged and he sniffed loudly, almost like he was getting ready to bark but wasn’t quite there yet.
