The Dream Catcher's Daughter (19 page)

“My mother loved me,” he said. “Why would
she put me through hell?”

“Because you nearly killed her.”

Jason heard the train whistle. A scream
split the air, and he clasped his hands over his ears. Even through his hands,
Jason could hear the crunch of metal against flesh and bone. The scream cut
off, and the
wuff
-chuff
of the train
faded into silence.

“And because you weakened her so,” said
the Thing, “she desires nothing more than to make you give up hope. Ultimately,
she wants you to give up life. That’s why she and your father created the false
memories. All of them. Including Tara Engel.”

It felt as though Jason’s heart stopped.

Fake. Tara? Impossible.

But how much did Jason truly know?

“If you don’t believe me, go to your
mother and find out for yourself. She’ll try to lie, true. But you’ll be able
to tell. Plus, I’ll be with you.”

“With me?”

“I’m going to let you absorb me. Talshe
will also be yours. And since Shades is already inside me...Well, you’ll have
all your dreams back. How does that sound? You’ll soon be complete. Magic and
all.”

Jason could be just like other magi. Even
if he was a Dream Caller, he wouldn’t have his memory erased. Besides, he could
promise to use the Dream Caller ability for good. He’d learn other magic,
too—regular magic that every mage was required to learn in order to pass
school. He’d have a lot to catch up on, but he didn’t care. He’d be normal.
He’d fit in. He wouldn’t be alone anymore. He nodded.

The fish-Thing closed its eyes, and a
light enveloped its frame. As with Leech and the twins, the fish-Thing burst
into dozens upon hundreds of lights. They fluttered about Jason like fireflies
before settling on his flesh, slowly fading into his body. After the Thing
completely faded from physical existence, the mansion glowed. Jason’s feet sunk
through the floor and he fell. He floated down and down as the mansion twisted
into a funnel then burst into light. The light clung to Jason, melted into him.
As more light poured into him, he felt stronger. More confident. But he also
felt angrier. Angry he’d been lied to all these years. Angry his depression
over Tara had been synthetic, false. Now he didn’t care that his father had
been beaten by the paladins. He’d deserved it. And Len? She was probably in
cahoots with Mr. McKinney and his wife—let them rot.

Suddenly, Visonia’s shimmering buildings
and flying roads appeared. His feet touched solid ground just as the light
completely disappeared into his body. He shook himself out, stretching his
arms. He felt reenergized. Ready to rule the world. As he turned in the
direction of the train station, a voice floated to his ear: “I’m sorry. I
failed you.”

Jason glanced over his shoulder. He didn’t
see anything except for a few dreams dashing about stark naked.

“Talshe?” he said. After a moment, he
started walking toward the station.

***

Nothing happened to Jason as he walked to
the train station. He half-expected the roads to catapult him into the sky or
for a horde of flying monkeys to rain upon his head. But his walk was
relatively normal. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve felt as though he were
right at home. He arrived at the station, and the train was waiting patiently,
stretching on for what seemed like an eternity in each direction. The conductor
stood by one of the doors, puffing on a cigarette. As usual, he didn’t notice
Jason until he was upon him. He dropped his cigarette and smashed it with his
heel.

“I see your friends left early.”

“Yeah. But I’m not going.”

The conductor lifted an eyebrow. “If you
don’t go now, your ticket will be null and void. You won’t be able to go home.”

“I’ll get back. Even if I have to walk.”

The conductor’s eyes narrowed. “Be careful
where you step, then.”

With a half-hearted salute, the conductor
stepped into the train, slamming the door behind him. A few moments later, the
train whistle screeched. Its wheels turned, and it started moving the direction
it came, toward the dark station Jason and his friends had come through.

No,
thought Jason.
They’re not my friends.
Darlene’s probably been in on the plan this whole time. Yes, I can’t trust
anyone.

The train disappeared into the distance.
In the silence Jason heard the soft tip-tap of footsteps behind him. Queen
Gelen stood there, at the top of the platform’s steps.

“You absorbed Talshe. And the Thing. I can
feel them inside you.”

“Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious.”

Gelen followed Jason’s line of sight, to
the opposite direction the train headed. The tracks continued in this direction
and disappeared into a dark-purple horizon—a bruised skyline. At this point,
Jason felt like one giant bruise, throbbing, hurting. He only wanted the wound
to heal.

“You’re going to the Track’s End?” said
Gelen.

“Yeah. What of it?”

“Only the most primal dreams and vulgar
nightmares thrive there. What do you hope to find?”

“My mother.”

He stepped toward the platform’s edge, but
Gelen’s hand caught his arm. He wheeled around, nearly knocking her over. He
glared at her. Didn’t she realize this may be his only chance to truly live a
life? Before, he didn’t even think that was possible. After he absorbed his
mother’s—no,
his
power—anything would be possible. Including the perfect
life, free of seclusion and anger and desire.

“Why do you glare at me so?” she said.

“Because you’re stopping me from doing
what I need to do.”

“What is that, exactly?”

“Absorb my mother’s power. With it, I can
become the next Dream Caller. I can be a normal mage.”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed. “That is
impossible.”

“What?”

“You cannot become the Dream Caller. It’s
not possible. I sense no potential.” Then her eyes widened, and she dropped her
hand, backing away from Jason. She clutched the same hand to her chest, as
though she might be suffering a heart attack. “I do not know how, Jason
McKinney, but you have changed. So quickly you have changed.”

Jason grunted, then turned and located a
ladder leading down to the tracks. He mounted the ladder and began his descent.

“Don’t let your greed and envy blind you!”
she called out, but Jason didn’t listen. She yelled again, but he didn’t hear
her. The platform floated high above him now, seemingly miles away. He set foot
on the tracks, and stared down them toward the dark horizon. Lightning danced
through purplish clouds huddled on the skyline. He walked toward the Track’s
End.

The tracks seemed to go on for eternity,
yet Jason didn’t tire. Will coursed through his body, driving him onward. Not
even the shadow creatures—nightmares with scaly, purple skin and sickly yellow
eyes and black fangs hulking beyond the tracks—deterred him. The clouds had
grown darker. Angrier. Jason tasted wet copper, and it hung in the air,
weighing upon him. The pressure in the back of his head was a pinprick, but
still there. Just beyond the tracks the nightmares scraped their claws against
rock and earth, all hidden behind a veil of purple mist, which hovered on
either side of the tracks like two great walls. The creatures were sprinting
past him, toward his goal, as if they knew. Their grunts and slobbering breaths
drowned out the ringing of Jason’s feet on the track’s metal rails.

Something long and dark squished beneath
Jason’s sole. Jason lifted his feet and saw it was blood, now smeared across
his shoes. It didn’t faze him. His eyes followed the black trail, which
appeared as though something had dragged itself to toward the Track’s End. The
blood grew thicker and darker than the pulsating mist-clouds around him. At the
Track’s End, like a festering scab, lay a black and bloody mass. Jason’s heart
picked up pace. Adrenaline electrified his veins and senses. He was hyperaware
of the nightmares crowding the tracks, though he couldn’t see them—the clouds
gave them perfect cover. They panted, thirsty for blood. Part of him welcomed
them and was glad to have witnesses. Perhaps, if they were a good audience,
he’d toss them the body.

Jason shook his head. He only came to
absorb his mother’s power.

He drew closer and closer to his mother’s
body. His feet splashed in the pool of tar-colored blood. The mangled mass
shifted, and Jason steeled himself. He half-expected the creature to lunge at
him, to bite his neck. The ruins of his mother lifted its head, and turned.
Cuts and gashes were strewn across her face and neck. Her hair stood on end and
was caked with black. But her eyes remained untouched, and they pierced Jason’s
gaze. The boy almost stumbled back into the pool of his mother’s blood.

Jason, my son. You’ve come to me.

Even her voice sounded warped, as though
it were being filtered through an air vent. Still, hearing it almost brought
tears to Jason’s eyes. Almost.

“I came to take your power. And become the
next Dream Caller.”

She shifted her body completely around, as
if she were an owl, so that her body completely faced him. He saw the gigantic,
diamond-shaped gash in her torso, exactly where the train had hit her.

That’s impossible. You can’t.

Jason’s fists clenched. “Why not? Already
had another kid? Gave them the power, instead? You’ve forged so many of my
memories. Why not sew more lies!”

I don’t understand. I’ve only protected
you, my prince. Of course, you don’t remember. How could you?

“Bullshit! I’m not listening to this.” Jason
strode forward, lifting his hands. He didn’t know how he’d absorb his mother’s
power, but he figured it couldn’t be much different than absorbing his dreams.
Though he had no clue how he did that, either. Before he could lay a hand on
his mother, her arms were up. They were much longer than Jason remembered, and
she easily grabbed onto him before he could even step within two feet of her.
Jason writhed in her grip, grunting and shouting profanities.

Calm yourself, sweet baby. Just open your
mind, and let me inside.

Jason didn’t know what she meant, but he
couldn’t resist. The tracks flew away as Jason rocketed backward, a blur of
colors rushing past him. When Jason halted, he was staring a masked man in the
face.

“It’s a boy!” said the doctor.

The doctor cleaned Jason up and handed him
off to Jason’s mother, whose face was red. Sweaty strands of hair stuck to her
face. She smiled, wiggling a finger at him. “Jason. Jason Ole McKinney. My
little prince.”

He blinked, and his mother stood over him.
Gripping a knife in her hand, holding it high above her head. Then Jason’s
mother and father were sitting on the couch in their living room in
Sheriffsburg. She cried into her palms while Mr. McKinney rubbed her shoulders.

“You can beat it. You’ve grown up apart from
it. Just don’t give in, okay? For
him
.” They both glanced toward Jason.

The lights of Jason’s home flickered away,
and now Jason was running. He recognized the sidewalk leading to the alleyway.
He couldn’t remember why or how he had snuck outside at night, but there he
was, running down the street in cool, summery darkness. The moon’s light washed
everything in a creamy glow. Just to the left, the alley’s mouth appeared and
Jason turned in.

“Tanya, where are you going? Shouldn’t you
be inside, with your son?”

The words were said by a tall, broad-faced
man. He wore a cowboy hat and in one of his hands he held a wand decorated with
colorful feathers. Just across from him, Jason’s mother unsheathed her wand and
pointed it at the man.

“Someone must stop the Dream Caller. I
nearly killed my son, and you’re hiding your daughter, just so she won’t have
to take on the Dream Caller’s burden. For that I pity you. I’m sorry.”

The man waved his wand, but Jason’s mother
was quicker: Light burst from the tip of her wand, stabbing through the man’s
chest, knocking him back against the fence. The man slumped over, and his wand
rolled away. With the last of his breath, the man looked up at Jason’s mother.

“I love my daughter. I’ve tried to protect
her. To protect you, my friend. Yet you’d turn her over?”

“It’s for the best.” But Jason distinctly
heard a smile—a smile with green flesh and white teeth—in the voice of his
mother.

Jason screamed and his mother whirled
around. A bright tunnel of light sliced through the air, encircling Jason’s
mother, blinding her. She dropped her wand as the train whistle pierced their
ears. The light swallowed both her and the other mage. Then Leech’s howl rent
the air;
Talshe’s
trembling footsteps shook Jason to
his bones; Bootelia and Amor giggled from the shadows. Jason loped away from
the alley and toward a part of town both familiar and not: South Hollow Ave.

Except, instead of the many second-rate
houses that crowded South Hollow, there stood a single mansion. The mansion
Jason had—

The tracks came flying back, and Jason
fell into the pool of blood. His mother leaned back, staring down at him.

That happened ten years ago. You summoned
the train, Jason. Your father altered your memories because of the screaming.
You screamed and cried for weeks on end. But it was too late. I was gone.
Though not really. You see, I found a way to pass into Caindom. I found your
father and the Guardian a little over a year ago. I reminded them what was to
be done. So the Guardian put the seal on your dreams, to keep in that
Thing.
But,
somehow, your dreams escaped.

Jason wobbled, gripping the side of his
head. “It’s okay, though. I absorbed all my dreams. They’re inside me now.
Including Thing.”

Her eyes widened. Something lurched inside
him.

No. No, Jason! You must get away! Now! Run
while you still have—

It clawed at Jason’s insides. His breath
hitched and he gripped his torso. Flopping onto his knees, Jason gagged and
heaved. His throat burned as something thick slipped out from between his lips.
Everything around him blurred. With each heave, it felt as though his spinal
cord might rip loose from his back. He barely heard his mother’s screams. How
they got louder and louder, then were muffled. Finally, they faded all together
and Jason stopped heaving. Blood thrummed in his ears. Around him, the
nightmares hooped and yowled. They pounded against the ground. It was chaotic
yet rhythmic. And their cacophony
crescendoed
to a
peak.

Then silence. Except for Jason’s labored
breaths.

“Ah, flesh and blood again.”

Jason reached his knees. Clutching his
gut, he half-turned toward his mother. And froze. The black mound of battered
flesh had transformed: Now it possessed curves—the definite hourglass shape of
a voluptuous woman—its hair clean, like an emerald river to its waist. This
creature stood tall, its slender hands skimming its creamy-white naked hips.
The she-creature’s hands stopped at her crotch. She grinned.

“The pleasure of having a regular body.
It’s beautiful, no?”

She looked up at Jason, and it took him a
moment to realize that she was talking to him. His eyes locked onto her face.
The face he saw first when he was born—his mother’s face—was completely gone.
The face before him struck a chord in him, one with notes of fear, rage, and guilt.
Her lips widened into a grin, and Jason instantly recognized the hungry smile
on her face.

“No,” he said. His head pounded with pain.
He wanted to say ‘forth,’ but he couldn’t. He was bound by his word.

“I have to thank you,” she said, eyeing her
own body. “I was much too weak for travel. And I could never get Talshe to
travel here. Despite my influence.” She shook her head. “But
you
,
McKinney. I knew I could get you here. It was only a matter of escaping your
mind. And guess what? Thanks to that suicidal girl, I did.”

Jason stared at the woman, and she
chuckled.

“Oh, sorry. I lied; Tara Engel did exist,
and you
did
push her to suicide. How does that feel? Knowing you
essentially killed someone? Let me tell you: It feels great. Especially when that
someone had something that was rightfully yours.”

“You don’t mean...”

She nodded. “Your mother wasn’t dead
before, but she certainly is now.”

“Who are you?” But as soon as the words
left his lips, Jason realized.

A screech rent the air, and a riff opened
a few yards behind Jason. He prayed a train was coming, coming to smash the
woman into mush. Instead, four men in armor walked through the portal. The men
were led by a scrawny man with a hooked nose. He lifted this nose to the sky,
and snorted.

Sirin grinned. “Ah, found you, McKinney!”

Jason’s hope swelled. He didn’t know how
the paladins had found him, but he didn’t care. What mattered was that they
were here. They could put a stop to the woman standing behind him. He rose to
his feet and pointed to the green-haired woman.

“Sirin, please! You have to do something!
Do something about her!”

Sirin stared at the woman at the end of
the tracks. And she stared back. There were five paladins and one woman. They
could defeat her.

“Please, stop standing there! She’s
dangerous! Do something!”

Sirin glanced at Jason, then nodded to his
men. All the paladins stepped forward.

And kneeled to the woman.

Jason stared, slack-jawed. He, too, fell
to his knees, and vomited.

The woman beamed at her loyal subjects,
not bothering to cover her exposed body. She looked to Sirin, who raised his
arms. In his hands were a cloak and a wand. The corners of her mouth twitched
up into a wicked smile as she took the cloak from him. Slowly, she draped the
white cloak over her body. Jason lifted his head, and the woman locked eyes
with him. She took her wand in her left hand and raised it high above her head.

“I, Shemillah the Dream Caller, have been
reborn!”