A movement at the corner of my vision brings me back to earth. It’s Bron. He doesn’t see me and – unwilling to engage in conversation before I’ve caught up with Ashley – I move so I’m blocked by the statue. I needn’t have bothered; he glances around surreptitiously, but he doesn’t look in my direction. Instead he ducks his head and darts inside an ugly grey building which towers over all the others.
I wonder what the building is for and why Bron is sneaking inside it. It definitely doesn’t fit with the other pretty cottages. I shrug: it’s none of my business what he does with his time.
I give the winged man one last, long backward glance before I leave. When I finally drop my gaze, I realise someone is watching me. A dark figure, arms folded, and leaning against the door on the far end of the square – Dante. I stare at him for a moment. Then I shrug and give him a little wave. His mouth flickers into a smile that’s so brief I wonder whether I’ve imagined it. He raises his hand back. I wonder whether he noticed my antics in dodging Bron. I don’t suppose it really matters. It didn’t particularly seem as if they were besties or anything. I force myself to turn my back on him. It’s Ashley who I’m looking for, I remind myself.
Obviously, I don’t know exactly where the river is but it’s neither behind me, where the forest is, nor to my left near the little pub. I head in a diagonal direction, swinging through various narrow streets. What on earth are all these buildings used for if people like me only come here when they are sleeping? It’s not as if they actually live here.
My guess pays off and soon I spy a gap in the houses up ahead and the unmistakable glitter of sunlight on water. The river is more mundane than I expected. It’s fairly wide, stretching several metres across to what appears to be a cemetery. Mist obscures both ends, which is irritating in terms of learning more about this strange place but helpful in terms of finding Ashley.
I spot her almost immediately. She’s sitting on the riverbank, her feet dangling in the water. There’s a large creature opposite her, standing still in the lazy current. It doesn’t appear to be doing anything other than swishing its tail and blinking languidly. There’s something around its neck, which I presume is a collar until I get closer and see it’s actually a bow tie. I crane my neck forward to get a closer look. How odd.
‘I thought Bron had made a mistake and you were an outlier after all,’ Ashley calls out.
I turn my attention away from the strange animal and focus on her. ‘Er, sorry. I keep ending up in the forest so I’ve not made it here the past few nights.’ I’m not sure why I don’t simply tell her the truth; maybe I’m trying to avoid complicated explanations. Or perhaps it’s my instinct kicking in, warning me not to give away too much to someone who is, essentially, a stranger. This was a damn sight easier when I could pretend I was only dreaming.
She pats the spot next to her and, rather awkwardly, I sit down and cross my legs. ‘It’s strange,’ she says, ‘that you apparate in the woods. Almost everyone else ends up in the town.’
I file away the term ‘apparate’. ‘Almost everyone?’
Ashley shrugs. ‘The only other person I’ve heard of who does that is Dante.’
I stiffen at the mention of his name. ‘Oh?’ I ask, sounding overly casual even to my own ears.
She sends me a knowing smirk. ‘Rather yummy, isn’t he? He’s a law unto himself though. He’s been like that since he left the Department. Never lets anyone get near him.’
I remember his lips, hot against my skin. My hand drifts towards the love bite before I realise what I’m doing and I quickly drop it. I clear my throat. ‘He used to work for the Department?’
Ashley nods. ‘He was the Mayor’s right-hand man. Then they had a huge fight. He’s stuck mainly to the forest ever since. He shows up in town sometimes but he doesn’t like to get involved.’
I shouldn’t be surprised that he worked for the Mayor; he has that kind of dangerous edge. I sniff. ‘He’s not what interests me,’ I declare loudly. ‘I want to know more about this.’
Ashley flicks back her hair. ‘This?’
‘This place. The Dreamlands. I keep ending up here but I don’t understand what “here” actually is.’
She sighs. ‘For all that Bron makes a show of welcoming newcomers, he doesn’t do a very good job of it. Not that he’s ever had a real newcomer to bring in. You’re very old to be coming here for the first time. Most newbies are children.’
I decide not to reveal that I may have been here before, years ago. Ashley gazes over the water and kicks her feet. I watch the ripples spread out until they reach the strange beast in the centre of the river whose large liquid eyes remain fixed on some point in the distance.
‘The Dreamlands, as far as I know, have always been here,’ she says finally. ‘They’re the constant. Whether they’re fuelled by the unconscious minds of billions of people or they just happen to be here as some kind of parallel world, nobody really knows. Sometimes you can apparate and there will be subtle differences but, once those differences appear, they’re usually here to stay.’ A ghost of a smile flickers across her lips.
‘But why?’