The Book of Dreams (56 page)

“The secret of the portal was well kept through the years,” Alf pointed out, “but even as you uncovered the truth, so too did your enemy. Having failed to kill you, he will stand between you and what you seek. His forces are closing in on Creemore. Many are already here, as you know yourself.”

Dana looked stricken.

“You have allies also,” Daisy assured her quickly. “We’ve been gathering our own army far and wide. That’s why we were away and didn’t know of your peril. You’ll be happy to know that you’ve made many friends on your travels across the country. You’ve passed many tests, received many blessings. Word of your quest and your cause has spread. Stories are being told about you. Even as the dark forces draw together, so do the bright hosts who will stand against them. You are not alone.”

Dana was steadied by Daisy’s words. Her arm tightened around the wolf’s neck. They would do what they had to do to open the door.

“Now, your report,” Daisy said to the latecomers. “What news?”

“We steered clear of Creemore,” Laurel told her. “As Alf Branch said, the dark is rising there. We went to Collingwood. We were told about a great hosting at Algonquin Park. They’re coming from as far as Fort Severn and Lake of the Woods. All the northern Ontario troops will march down together on Halloween.”

“Excellent,” said Daisy.

There were smiles all round.

“There’s good news from Ireland too,” Gwen told her. “We rang from town. The hold on our Irish Companions has been broken at last. All are restored to health and ready to help. They’ll gather in a sacred place on the eve of Samhain and send us power.”

“Good news indeed.” Daisy nodded. “And I can report that at the Grand Council held today on White Island, there were heralds from every province and territory. All will send troops to join the battle.”

A lively cheer rose up from the circle.

“The giants are in,” Gaelyn Tree-Top announced. He was a quiet man who rarely spoke, but when he did everyone listened. “Fingal has called them.”

“The trolls too,” Weatherup declared.

“Really?” Dana said, surprised. “They’ll fight for us?”

“Natch,” said Weatherup. “They’re not bad, you know, just thick. Their king says he’s a friend of yours? Little fella, half-troll, half-leprechaun?”

“Trew!” said Dana, even more surprised. “He’s the King of the Trolls?”

“Will the dragons come?” Lavender interrupted. “I’d love to see them!”

“Lots of power there,” was Big James Tweed’s comment.

“Would they want to join us?” Fern wondered. “After what happened?”

A silence fell over the group. Stanley Moon let out a sigh.

“What is it?” asked Dana.

“The Irish and the Chinese built the railways together,” Stanley Moon explained. “Right across Canada. They got along most of the time, except when the Irish took to the drink on their days off. Then they thought it was funny to cut off the pigtails of the Chinese workers.”

“Dreadful behavior,” said Fern, shaking her head.

“We used to pinch the blackguards black and blue,” said Christy Pines, “but it made no difference. They just thought they fell over when they were drunk.”

Dana frowned. History was a terrible thing.
The sins of the father.
It had an awful habit of coming back at you. “None of you sounds Irish,” she pointed out. “You’ve all got North American accents.”

“Will we approach them as Canadians, then?” Alf Branch suggested.

“Yes and no,” Dana decided. “We must be honest. Say I belong to both Ireland and Canada. That’s the truth. See if they will accept that.”

With or without the dragons, they had reached the full tally. Dana sensed an uneasiness in the circle. Was there enough?

“What about the Old Ones?” Laurel suggested. “They’ve helped us already.”

The fairies frowned. Their reluctance was obvious.

“They seldom intervene in such affairs,” Daisy said quietly. “When they do, it’s on their own terms and not at anyone’s request. They see a bigger picture, a Grand Design beyond our comprehension.”

Even before Daisy had spoken, Dana had already decided against the notion.

“We won’t ask them,” she said. “It wouldn’t be right. Why should they fight our battles? They’ve already been more than generous.”

Flora Bird looked as if she might speak, so too did Gaelyn Tree-Top, but Alf and Daisy both shook their heads as if to say
keep quiet
.

“We will leave that decision for now,” Daisy declared with finality. Then she turned to Dana. “When you traveled in the West, did you receive a blessing of any kind?”

“I … I don’t know,” Dana said. “I visited many places and was taught many things. Most of all, I was given a vision of my own power. What do you mean exactly?”

“Was there any mention of a gift or ransom?” asked Alf.

“Oh yes!” said Dana. “The Sasquatch Elder told me. He said
I
was the gift.”

Some of the fairies went pale at this. All looked deeply sad. They couldn’t meet her eyes. Again, their leaders shook their heads.
Say nothing.

“So be it,” said Daisy tersely, and her voice sounded pained. “But it may not come to that and we shall do our best to ensure it doesn’t. Whether big or small, we all have a part to play.”

• • •

The wolf stood alone at the edge of the forest, unable to deny himself one last look. His amber eyes were dark with grief as he gazed back at his beloved. Her black hair shone in the afternoon light. Her eyes were like blue stars. Despite the burden that weighed upon her, she had never looked so radiant or so strong. Her hands rested in her lap, glowing faintly. She had found her people. It was time he returned to his.

On hearing the battle plans, he had decided what was best for him to do. He would head north to Roy and
grand-père
, and most of all to the Old Man. He would ask them to help Dana.

He was about to set out when she was suddenly there, blocking his path.

“How could you go without saying good-bye?”

Her face was streaked with tears, but her voice was steady.

“You can’t stop the pain, Jean.”

She knelt down to put her arms around him his neck. He rested his great head against hers.

“Don’t give up,” she whispered to him. “There’s still hope. If I open the portal, we have a chance.”

She could hear his thoughts as if he had spoken to her.

“Stay alive for me,” he said. “
Je t’aime.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

• • •

When Dana returned to the camp, the fairies were singing around the bonfire.

She’s like the swallow that flies so high,

She’s like the river that never runs dry,

She’s like the sunshine on the lee shore,

She loves her love forever more.

“I’ve got to go,” she told them. “It’s getting late. My gran will be worried.”

“Not a good idea,” Gwen argued. “Creemore is crawling with creepies.”

“I’m going home,” Dana insisted quietly. “I’ve got seven days till the battle, and I’m going to spend it with my family. I’m not afraid of Crowley. I can protect myself.”

Both Laurel and Gwen were about to say more, but Daisy held up her hand.

“The Light-Bearer’s Daughter has power of her own.”

Alf Branch agreed. “He won’t risk attacking her now that she has gained strength from the Old Ones. He’ll wait till he’s gathered his full army. The servants of evil are always cowards.”

Dana took her leave of the fairy troop of Clan Creemore.

“Till we meet again on the battlefield,” Daisy Greenleaf said, kissing her on the forehead.

“See you next week,” was Dana’s response.

As she left the camp, guided through the forest by Alf and Christy, she heard them singing behind her.

She’s like the swallow that flies so high.

“
I
s our
garçon
a bad-boy truant, or what?”

Georgia plunked herself down at Dana’s lunch table and took out her chopsticks. The first thing she noticed was her friend’s untouched sandwich. Then she saw the look in her eyes.

“Omigod, what’s wrong!”

Though she had managed to avoid her friend all morning, Dana was beyond dodging the question. Coming to school had only worsened the nightmare. Jean wasn’t waiting for her in the hall. His desk sat empty, an agonizing reminder of what she had lost before the battle even began. She knew it was crazy, but she wanted him there to talk about the situation, to help her figure out how to save him. Her grief kept rising up in waves, threatening to engulf her. She struggled to stay calm. To be strong. His only hope rested in her opening the portal. Surely the Land of Dreams could return him to humanity?

“Something awful has happened,” she mumbled.

“Not again,” said Georgia, dismayed. “Another mugging?”

“Worse.”

Her friend frowned. With a quick look around them, she leaned forward to whisper. “What about your magic? Will it help?”

“I … I can’t … I’m sorry …”

Dana stood up to leave.

Georgia pulled her back down again. Her voice was low and insistent. “Look, I’ve kept your secret and I haven’t bugged you about it, but something’s come up. We need to talk, and I mean talk.” Again Georgia took a quick look around and leaned even closer. “It’s my great-granny. She’s special. The way I figure you are too? She talks to dragons. She says they’re all over the place, but no one can see them because we’re too modern and scientific. She’s been telling me stories about them since I was a little girl. I believe her, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

Dana heard the tremor in Georgia’s voice. It was obvious that her friend had never spoken about this to anyone else. Distracted from her own woes, Dana felt honored. She knew what a risk it was to admit such things.

“Your great-grandmother’s right,” she said softly. “There are dragons here. I’ve seen them.”

Tears welled in Georgia’s eyes. Her voice rang with gladness. “I knew there was a reason I wanted to be your friend! It felt so right! Here’s the thing. The dragons told my great-granny about a girl from Ireland who’s facing a big battle. They’ve been asked to fly to Creemore to help her. As soon as Granny told me the story, I knew it was you. It is, isn’t it?”

There was no use lying or hiding the truth. They were well past that point. Dana was surprised and deeply happy. She no longer felt so alone.

Georgia was waiting for her answer.

Overcome with emotion, Dana simply nodded. She expected an immediate barrage of questions. There was only one.

“Will you be all right?”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Did the dragons say they would come?”

“They’re still debating the matter. They asked my great-granny for advice. Seems something happened a while ago? Between the Chinese and the Irish …” There was an awkward pause. Dana sensed that Georgia was being diplomatic. “Dragons have long lives and long memories. Do you know much about them?”

“Not a lot,” Dana admitted. “I never met one. The dragons in Faerie live in the sun with their cousins, the salamanders. They don’t come out that often. From what I can tell from fairy tales, it’s just as well. They can be wild and destructive, breathing fire and burning towns and villages.”

“Eastern dragons aren’t like that at all,” Georgia told her. “For one thing, they’re water spirits. Only a few of them breathe fire. In our stories, they’re always noble and friendly, peaceful and wise. And they bring good luck. In China and Japan, they’ve got their own temples.”

“They sound wonderful! I hope they’ll join us.”

That was apparently all Georgia wanted to hear. “You’ve got to come and meet my great-granny. If she likes you, I’m sure she’ll put in a good word with the dragons. They respect her opinion.”

Dana felt a stab of anxiety. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Hey, no sweat. You’ll pass. You’re good people.”

Dana was feeling better already. As she started on her lunch, she gave Georgia a quick summary of the quest.

“What a fabulous story!” Her friend was enthralled. “It’s like the Hsi Yu Chi! That’s a legend my great-granny’s been telling me since I was small. It’s all about Hsuan Chuang and his pilgrimage to the Western Paradise to find the Buddhist scriptures for the Emperor of China. It’s a long chronicle about demons, ghosts, and fairies.”

A shiver ran through Dana, a thrill of recognition. She caught a glimpse of a truth so profound it left her breathless. She was only one of the People of the Great Journey. There were so many of them, in so many stories.

“What about our missing buddy?” Georgia prodded her. “I notice you left him out of the story, but I have a feeling he’s in it? I could tell he was special too, you know. You’ve both got the same thing around you that my great-granny has. Some kind of aura, I guess, without getting too weird about it. What happened to him?”

Dana hesitated. She really wanted to tell her. After all, Jean was Georgia’s friend as well. They could comfort each other about him.