I couldn’t let Tucker sleep, wasn’t about to let that monster harvest him.
“Wake up.” I jostled my son. “Don’t sleep, not now!” His eyes fluttered open reluctantly and he moaned. I grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it in his face.
“Mom! Stop it,” he mumbled.
I glanced outside and saw Samwise far away. The dog’s ears perked up when Tucker complained. I took another handful of snow and poured it down my son’s collar.
“What’s wrong with you?” He grimaced and pulled away. “That’s not funny.”
I was filling my hands with snow now, scooping it up and tossing it at him.
Tucker frowned. “You better not do that again, or I’ll—”
Samwise was running toward us then, like a flash of black lightning, speeding across the field faster than any dog had ever run.
“Or you’ll what?” I asked, teasing. I grabbed his shirt and dumped another handful of snow inside.
“That’s it! I’m telling you—” But now Tucker was fully awake and he started to laugh, he began to chase me around the inside of the enclosure, his hands filled with snow. I stopped and let him throw a handful in my face, glad for the brisk cold.
And then like magic, Samwise appeared, bolting to a stop on the other side of the invisible fence, barking, trying to see us, sniffing, trying to smell us. He scratched at the ground but couldn’t figure out how to get through.
“Dig boy, dig a hole right here,” I called to the dog.
“Dig, Sam!” Tucker echoed, his fists still clenching snow.
The dog stared at us, unseeing. But he understood the command, nonetheless.
With a fury, paws and chest growing, he started to burrow, paws moving in a blur of speed. He began digging a tunnel that would go beneath the barrier. He was going to set us free.
I fought the enchantment that continued to circle overhead; I gently shook my son to keep him awake, I draped my coat around his shoulders and I called to the dog on the other side of the Veil.
But all of my attention was focused on escaping, and because of it, I didn’t notice what was happening a few feet beyond, back in the junkyard.
Chapter 87
Ghost-Like Wraith
Thane:
I swung through the air, wings beating midnight, Veil slicing time into neat little quadrants. I flew, near invisible, a ghost-like wraith with a heart filled with vengeance and a belly that hungered. No one saw me as I swept through the field, grabbing humans and carrying them off. Not even the other Darklings were aware of my plunder, they were so engrossed in their own decadent revelry. They all gathered around the humans, feasting until one by one, the Darklings fell to the ground, drunk.
I slung two more children through my Veil, pausing for moment to admire my own reflection in the glimmering weave. It was the strongest I’d ever made, plaited from the silken thread that flows through dreams, that binds the human soul to its body.
Then I noticed movement on the other side—Madeline was wandering around inside the enclosure, fighting sleep.
I smiled.
Rest, my sweet. Save your dreams for me. For no one but me.
Then I soared away, close to the ground, listening to the dreams that scorched the near sky, dreams being harvested as I flew, some of them brushing against my skin, tempting me.
I thought about Madeline, skin like starlight, pale sparks that glimmered around her face, that shot from her lips when she spoke. And just below the surface—behind the waking thoughts that cluttered her mind—were her dreams. Like a vast unguarded playground, swings moved in the breeze and Ferris wheels sprang to life, sweet as spun sugar and just as fragile. Likewise, her boy had all the magic of a summer sunrise, of a breeze as it blew across a field of nodding poppies.
My nostrils flared, and deep in my belly, hunger stirred.
They would make a delicious feast—an appetizer and the main course. All I needed was dessert, maybe the whimsical dreams found in a little girl. I scanned the field, searching for just the right addition to my table when something caught my attention.
Maddie’s dog.
The beast stood at attention, ears up, staring back toward the line of distant trees. Listening. I glanced in the same direction, back toward my hidden enclosure, and suddenly I could hear it too, the boy was laughing and playing with Maddie. They were both awake.
A dull fear surged in my gut.
Then the dog was running, a black-and-tan streak across snowy field, one part dog, one part werebeast, feet pummeling earth faster than any animal alive.
I bristled. Now the dog was digging at the edge of the enclosure.
No! It was going to tunnel beneath the Veil and set them free.
I turned, cast wings to the heavens, ready to fight the beast, strength flowing through my limbs. I would win. Tonight I could defeat even a werebeast if I had to.