The Dream Catcher's Daughter (11 page)

“Ah! Jason!” Rashan stood, his armor
rustling. He closed the gap between them and clasped his hands upon Jason’s
shoulders, which fit neatly into Rashan’s meaty palms. “Godson! For a moment, I
thought we’d have to scour the town for you.”

Jason cocked an eyebrow—other than that,
he looked as uninterested as usual. “What for? Did I do something?”

“Nothing,” said Mr. McKinney. “Just a
grown-up thing. None of your concern,
m’boy
.”

Sirin stepped forward, smiling. He turned
his hooked-nose up at Jason and sniffed deeply, his eyes fluttering shut with
each breath. “I’m afraid,” he rasped, “you’re wrong, Arthur.” He sniffed again.
“I can smell...a certain energy. Still can’t place what it is, but it’s the
same scent from the playground. And Jason smells like he’s been rolling in it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” said Mr. McKinney.
“My boy has nothing to do with what happened there or ten years ago!”

Rashan turned toward Mr. McKinney, his
mouth forming that disarming smile. “Relax, Arthur. Didn’t Tanya always tell
you to stop worrying? I’m sure Jason and his friend here didn’t have anything
to do with the playground’s destruction. But we’re paladins. We have to explore
every possible scenario. Okay?”

Mr. McKinney slumped back into the couch.
The magic word had been Tanya—Jason’s mother. Jason recognized the blank stare
on his father’s face. Jason had seen it a few times in the mirror, shortly
after Tara Engel died.

The train whistle pierced the air, and
everyone heard it, including the paladins. They looked up, their eyes darting
about. Sirin’s nostrils flared. The other paladins murmured: “That sounds way
too close.” “There are no train tracks within a mile.” “Where’s that coming
from?” “Maybe someone’s making tea.”

A gunshot-like bang rent the air as the
room trembled. Rashan wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulder, supporting him.
Darlene gripped the doorway while Mr. McKinney hit the floor. The other
paladins merely stood still, for their armor had an enchantment that rendered
them invulnerable to earthquakes. Slowly, the shaking ceased. Rashan turned to
everyone, checking for injuries. Sirin raised his nose high, his nostrils
flaring.

“Outside,” said Sirin. “The scent from the
playground!”

Another tremor rocked the house, but it
was smaller, more distant than last time. Rashan directed everyone outside. Darlene
and Jason spearheaded the group, jogging out side-by-side. Darlene threw a
wide-eyed glance at Jason, and mouthed, “Talshe?”

Jason shrugged. But only because he wanted
Darlene to stay calm.

The night air was heavy—heavier now with
the humid scent Sirin had been blathering about. How could Jason have missed
it? Rotten chicken salad and morning breath—long before anyone else, Jason
searched the skies and found her in the alley, not even half a block away. In
front of her, a jagged black hole the size of an airplane hovered just above
the neighborhood. Darlene followed Jason’s line of sight and gasped. Everyone
else looked.

“It’s her! The giant from ten years ago!”
said Rashan.

Jason’s heart skipped a beat.

Talshe turned from the portal, glancing at
the whole group. Her eyes turned on Jason, and he immediately scolded himself
for being such an idiot. He should’ve brought Len with him. She could get rid
of Talshe. Now, Jason feared he had doomed them all to a lower link in the food
chain. But Talshe didn’t move toward them. She didn’t scoop each of them up and
pour them down her throat. Instead, she raised one of her hands, and pointed a
single finger. Being a giantess, she could’ve easily been pointing at the group
as a whole, but her eyes were dead-set upon a single person: Jason.

Talshe smiled. “I’m returning home,
Master...my Caller.”

She disappeared into the dark hole, which
collapsed upon itself only seconds later.

The interrogation room was no bigger than a
small kitchen. A single table sat in the middle of the room, two chairs on each
side. Jason and Darlene sat on the side farthest from the door. Darlene stared
up into the ceiling while Jason scrounged the floor for something to look at.
Neither of them had much luck.

“You could’ve denied it,” said Jason.

“Could’ve.”

“You should’ve left me here.”

“Should’ve? I don’t think so.” She looked
down at Jason. “Stop beating yourself up, Jiggy. You’re going to leave
permanent bruises everywhere.”

“Yeah, guess so.” He looked up, trying to
find a clock or something, but couldn’t. Only a single blacked-out window to
their right and a single metal door in front of them. “They took your phone,
right?”

Darlene nodded. “God. Wish I knew how long
we’ve been here.”

“Who knows? I think they’re trying to
unnerve us or something. As if we have dark secrets to tell.”

“Didn’t you know, Jason? I have the
darkest secret of them all.” She leaned in, her face solemn. What gave her
mischief away was the glimmer in her eye. But Jason was much too late to block
her as Darlene ran her tongue up the side of his face. She burst into laughter.

As Jason wiped his face off, the door
swung open. Darlene tried to stifle her laughter, but giggles still bubbled up
from behind her hand. Then she saw who had walked in, and her giggles died.
Face flushed of all emotions, Darlene straightened in her chair.

Sirin strolled toward the table, pulled
out a chair, and sat down. He brought nothing with him except himself. Jason
rubbed his arms. In the shows, police brought in files with pictures and phone
records to help nail their suspects. But this wasn’t a show. This was real
life. And paladins didn’t behave like cops in shows or real life. More like
secret service—the waterboarding kind.

“So,” said Sirin, glancing at nothing in
particular. “You weren’t home this afternoon. Weren’t at school, by the sounds
of it.”

“My dad had told me I could stay home,”
said Jason.

“Did he now?” Jason could see the cogs
whirring behind Sirin’s eyes, storing information for later. “Okay. Tell me.
What were you doing at about six o’clock this evening?”

“I was with a friend,” which wasn’t a lie.

“Around the elementary school playground?”

“We walked by there.”

“Did you see anything strange? Like a
giant ripping up a slide?”

Jason didn’t know how to answer this
question with anything other than the truth. But something told him Sirin was
corralling him into a corner. Something told him to be as honestly dishonest as
possible

“We saw that the slide was missing, but we
kept walking. It was starting to get dark out, so we thought, maybe, the light
was playing tricks with our eyes. Besides, there was this weird dog that kept
following us. It might’ve been feral.”

Sirin narrowed his eyes. “
Y’know
, I’m a bit of an expert on dogs. What kind of dog
was it? Maybe we can inform animal control. Get the dog off the streets. It’d
be safer for us and the dog.”

Jason shifted. “I didn’t recognize the
breed.”

“How about a description? Surely you saw
how big the dog was. The color of its fur.”

“Oh yeah,” said Darlene. “The dog was
pretty big. It had greasy black hair. Actually, it looked more like a wolf than
a dog.” There was a mischievous glimmer in Darlene’s eyes.

Sirin nodded slowly, his bottom lip
jutting out a bit. “
Hm
, well everything seems to
check out.” He stood to leave, but halfway to the door, he turned back, a
single finger up in the air. “Though, there is just
one
more thing.” He
fished into his chainmail and pulled out something. He slid it across the
table, and Jason caught it.

Jason looked down, and his stomach lurched
as he stared at the rusty key Len had given him a few days ago, right before
Bootelia shoved it down her pants.

“We found that on you. Mind explaining
what it is?”

“A key, obviously.”

“Clever.” Sirin sauntered toward Jason.
“Perhaps you can tell me why the key is so saturated in magical energy.”

“Because it wants to be?”

Sirin slammed his hands on the table.
“Don’t fuck with me, McKinney. Tell me, you little prick...Where did you get
that? And why is it giving off the same energy as that giantess? Why does it
smell
exactly like her?”

“I don’t know,” said Jason. “Maybe she ate
it and then shit it back out.”

A knife appeared in Sirin’s hand. Jason
saw his neck’s reflection in the polished steel of the blade. Darlene stood to
say something, but Sirin pinned her with his glare.

“If you don’t want to be framed for the
murder of Jason McKinney, then sit your fat ass back down.”

Darlene did sit, but Jason stood. “Call
her fat again, and I’ll have your fucking job,” he said. “Silver Moon
single-handedly donates most of the money you paladins use to—”

Sirin pressed the knife against Jason’s
jugular. “Quit talking. I can’t think with so much racket. Now, sit.” Jason
did, and Sirin started pacing around the table. Every time he passed Darlene,
she eyed him with the hunger of a lioness. Sirin stopped beside Jason again,
this time keeping the knife behind his back.

“Ten years ago, a giantess like the one we
saw tonight appeared and tore through town. She even devoured a mansion. An entire
mansion
. But, somehow, she disappeared.” He turned Jason around toward
him. “Now, let’s try this again. Why does the key smell like the giant?”

“Because a girl shoved the key down her
pants. And that’s the fucking truth.”

“Okay. Let’s go with that then. Who is
this girl? Do you know her?”

“Her name’s Bootelia. And I know her
rather well. She has a thing about slitting people’s throats.” Jason looked
Sirin up and down. “She’d make quick work of you.”

But Sirin didn’t flash the blade like
Jason expected him to. Instead, he leaned forward, hands on the table. “Does
this Bootelia have a twin brother?” This time, Jason had no comeback. Sirin
stepped away from Jason, swinging the knife around as though it were a sword.
Then he turned on his heel. “So, what is the giantess’s name?”

“What?”

“The giantess. She has a name, doesn’t
she?”

“Yes. Talshe.”

Darlene lowered her head, shaking it. It
was only then did Jason realize that he’d played Sirin’s game note for note. The
paladin flashed Jason an unpleasant smile.

“How do you know their names?”

Darlene shot Jason a warning glance. But
he might as well come clean now. “They’re my dreams. They somehow escaped my
head.”

“Somehow escaped? You mean you summoned
them.”

Darlene’s eyes widened. Jason stood,
shaking his head. “I’m not the Dream Caller.”

“And how would you know about Dream
Callers? They don’t teach about them in school.” He pointed the knife at Jason.
“Tell me: How do you know about Callers?”

“Because I know the Dream Catcher’s
daughter.”

Sirin scowled. “The Dream Catcher? You
mean she’s here, in Sheriffsburg?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know that?”

He smiled. “Now I do.”

“Fine. Is this interrogation over? You’re
a freak, and we want out of here.”

Sirin kicked Jason in the gut, and Jason
fell back into his chair, cradling his stomach. Sirin pressed the cool steel of
his dagger against Jason’s jugular.

“You say you’re not the Dream Caller,”
said Sirin. “But many before you have tried that trick. And I won’t fall for
it. You
are
the Dream Caller, and your blood must be spilled to pay for
the transgression of your ancestor.”

The door banged open. In the doorway stood
the Guardian, his green eyes like two emerald flames in the shadows of his
hood. Sirin removed the dagger from Jason’s neck. The Guardian stepped forward,
his cloak slithering at his feet.

“Guardian,” said Sirin, bowing slightly.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Forget the formalities, Sirin. I am well
aware of your malicious actions here. You may leave.” Sirin ducked his head,
his mouth pressed into a hard line. Just before Sirin disappeared out the door,
the Guardian said, “Learn to control your bloodlust. Especially in front of my
granddaughter.”

Sirin nodded, then left. The Guardian
turned back toward Jason and Darlene. “You two, follow me.”

He turned to leave, but Darlene stopped
him: “What about our things, grandfather?”

The Guardian raised a shadowy finger.
“Follow, and I will explain what I can.”

Without another word, they did, though the
hairs on Jason’s necks bristled.

***

Outside, the Guardian waited in the mouth
of the alley between the paladins’ stronghold and the police station. To
everyone else, the Guardian was invisible. As they stepped up to him, Jason
could feel a tingling sensation in his skin—the Guardian had rendered them
invisible, as well.

“I apologize for being so hasty inside,”
he said. “I could only say so much with the paladins listening in. They cannot
be trusted with the knowledge I am about to bestow you. Speaking of such matters…”
The Guardian directed them to hold out their hands, and in them he materialized
their confiscated things.

“Where’s my cell phone?” said Darlene.

“I have it. But, as an early birthday
gift, I have installed three extra spells. They will prove vital for the tasks
ahead.”

“Why did you wait until now?”

“Because, dear granddaughter, the matter I
shall speak of is appropriate for few ears.”

“We’re just invisible,” said Jason.
“People can still hear us.”

Something shifted in the shadows of the
Guardian’s hood—a smile, perhaps? “Jason, if the numbers in my years do not
represent the wisdom I have amassed, more people would know my secrets. Like my
heritage.” His eyes darted to Darlene, then resettled on Jason. “You need to
know something. Something no others must know. Not even the Dream Catcher or
her apprentice.”

“What?” said
Darlene.
“But what if they can help?”

“They can’t. One does not trust me. The
other is on her deathbed.”

“Then why even send me to her in the first
place?” said Jason. Without waiting for a response, he blurted, “Len thinks you
killed her parents. And I’m starting to agree with her.” His eyes fell to the
ground as Darlene’s mouth formed a wide
O
. Cars hummed on the street
behind him. The police station door opened, and footfall echoed down the front
steps. Someone told a joke about an eyeless hooker. Laughter rose into the
chill of night.

“Young Jason, please look at me.” Jason
refused. He’d heard stories about the Guardian’s powerful gaze. It could turn
even the most stubborn fool into a compromising individual. Right now, Jason
didn’t want that, because he didn’t want to believe the Guardian was good.

“Do you not remember the words we shared?”
The Guardian straightened, his dark cloak swishing against the pavement. “Heed
my warning, and you will not have your memories erased.”

Jason’s head snapped up, and he stared
into the Guardian’s eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“Whether or not you believe me is a matter
of little importance. The matter of great importance, the one I cannot discuss with
the Catchers, lies within your dreams, within the memories held by your
dreams.”

“Memories?” said Darlene.

“Memories Jason would rather not see, sewn
into the dreams held deep within the seal I placed upon him. But with that seal
came the price of his emotional stagnancy.” The Guardian’s eyes glowed bright.
“But the stagnancy, I can sense, has shifted and changed. Something has chipped
the seal on your nightmares and dreams.”

“Yeah, and so what? I don’t understand
what any of that magic crap means.”

The Guardian moved behind Jason and placed
his hand at the base of Jason’s skull. The following shock made Jason flinch. A
cold wave ran up his body. The Guardian pushed his fingers further into Jason’s
head. The pressure in the back of Jason’s head flared hot, and in his vision he
saw a flash of green flesh and pearly white teeth. Then it vanished, the
coldness melting as the Guardian moved away.

“Just as suspected: Something has
superimposed itself upon the seal.”

“What?” said Darlene for Jason, who was
trying to catch his
breath.

“Someone has placed a dream charm upon
Jason. A charm that allows dreams to pass freely from under the seal if given
the correct instruction.”

This left Darlene speechless. Jason looked
up, his eyes wide. “You…mean…?”

“But it troubles me; the Dream Caller may
be alive, but she is…Well, I don’t know when she would have been able to place
this charm on you. Could it be…?”