The Girl Who Could Not Dream (22 page)

“Please, don't try to move,” Sophie told the apatosaurus. “I promise I'll send you back soon.” He nodded his head slowly, as if he understood her. His whole neck undulated. She guessed he couldn't talk. Maybe because he was a baby. Or because he was a dinosaur.

Plaintively, Glitterhoof said, “Could someone make the screaming stop?”

Crossing to the distiller table, Sophie knelt next to Madison. She patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “It's going to be okay.”

Gulping in air, Madison quit screaming and said with a strained voice, “Nothing is okay about this. At all. And stop touching me.”

Sophie retreated.

Trotting forward, Glitterhoof nosed the dinosaur's tail. It flopped down the stairs. “It is pleasantly large. I do not think even your enemy can dislodge him. Well done, Sophie.”

Returning to the stairwell, Sophie called, “Go away! Leave us alone!”

“Oh no, my dear Betty. Or do you prefer Sophie?” His voice was the same civilized tone as before, with the hint of a British accent, as if he were inviting her to tea. “You've stolen something that belongs to me, and I'm afraid I can't leave without it.”

“Does he mean me?” Madison said. “I think he means me.” She tucked herself farther under the table, as if she could blend into the shadows.

“Yes, I mean you, Madison Moore. Or, more specifically, your mind.” Drifting down the stairs, Mr. Nightmare's voice was like a purr.

Madison whimpered.

“And yours, Ethan Sandberg.”

Ethan froze.

“Yes, Ethan, you were invited as well. I even sent a friend of mine to escort you. He was most put out when you evaded him.”

Monster wrapped his tentacles around Sophie's leg and bared his teeth. If he'd had laser eyes, they'd be shooting up the stairs. Sophie asked, “Your ‘friend' wouldn't happen to be a gray creature who looks like a giraffe?”

“Indeed, yes. You've met him?”

Sophie didn't answer. She heard a snarl from upstairs—the flame-eyed monkey—and wondered if they knew she had the gray giraffe caught in the threads of a dreamcatcher.

“What do you want?” Ethan called.

“I thought that would be obvious. I want your nightmares. It's nothing personal, children. Merely business. You have such deliciously vivid nightmares.”

I was right,
Sophie thought. He did kidnap them for their nightmares. Was she right about her parents, too? She must be. He'd need a way to distill their dreams.

“I do owe Sophie a debt of gratitude for finding you,” he said. “She has an excellent eye for troubled youth. If she hadn't given you dreamcatchers, I doubt I would have noticed you.”

Sophie felt herself pale.
It's my fault,
she thought. She'd drawn his attention to Madison, Lucy, and Ethan. She glanced down the stairs to see both Madison and Ethan looking at her—Madison with fury in her eyes and Ethan with, oddly, sympathy. She wanted to say she was sorry.

But Mr. Nightmare wasn't done. “I've found kids like you before, with superb imaginations and unresolved personal or family issues. But they all learn to live with their traumas and outgrow their nightmares, and then begins the tedious process of finding more dreamers. So I've hit upon a brilliant solution: Don't let the nightmares die.”

“You can't do that!” Madison shouted.

“You are mistaken, my dear. I can. Nightmares are my specialty.”

At the top of the stairs, they heard a
thud, thud, thud
, as if something was pounding against the door. It creaked and splintered, and then they heard the wood shatter.

The dinosaur swung his head toward Sophie and let out a low moan like a cow.
They can't get through,
Sophie thought. “We're safe,” she told Madison. “It will be okay.”

“Safe?” Mr. Nightmare chuckled. “You aren't safe, my sweet dreamer. I know who you are. I know where you live. I know what you fear.”

Madison shouted, “Leave us alone!”

“Oh, no, I cannot do that.” His laugh died. “I need you. I need your mind. All of this resisting is pointless. You think Sophie set you free. But she didn't. She couldn't. You'll never be free.”

And then the dinosaur began to fade. Through its translucent gray flesh, she saw Mr. Nightmare. He was holding one of the shop's dreamcatchers to the dinosaur's side. Next to him, the monkey with the fiery eyes jumped from foot to foot. It gnashed its teeth together, spittle dripping from its lips.

Mr. Nightmare wore a smile on his face as the dinosaur vanished. The monkey charged down the stairs. Screaming, Sophie and Ethan ran across the room toward where Madison cowered, but Glitterhoof stepped forward.

As the monkey reached the bottom step, the winged unicorn reared onto his back hooves and pinned the monkey down with his front hooves. He then jabbed his horn into the monkey's fur, securing him to the floor.

Passing them, Monster charged up the stairs. Sophie ran after him. “Wait, Monster, don't!” What was he thinking? Mr. Nightmare had dreamcatchers!

Launching himself at Mr. Nightmare, Monster buried his teeth into the man's leg. Mr. Nightmare howled and slapped a dreamcatcher onto Monster's back.

Sophie grabbed on to Monster. She yanked him away, and he released his bite. Blood welled from a long gash on Mr. Nightmare's calf. Sophie and Monster tumbled backward several steps, crashing against the side of the stairwell.

At the top of the stairs, Mr. Nightmare had dropped down to the floor, clutching his leg. “So your ‘housecat' is your defender. Very nice. But it won't be enough.”

“Looks like enough to me,” Monster said.

Red stained his fingers, but Mr. Nightmare laughed. “You may think you've won, but you haven't. You can't save them. You can't even save yourself. Sooner or later, the Night Watchmen will hear about you . . . Perhaps sooner, if I make a little phone call . . . And once they do, they will come for you. They'll hunt you forever.”

Sophie froze. Wrapping his tentacles around her, Monster pressed against her, but she still felt cold inside and out. “You wouldn't . . .”

“Only way to be safe is to let me protect you. You can be part of my family. You can be with your parents again, and we'll all become rich together. How does that sound?”

Monster sniffed. “It sounds like a join-the-Dark-Side speech.”

“Think about what I'm offering, Betty. A chance to be a part of something great! Your parents think of themselves as noble, easing the nightmares of others, but what they do is theft. What we do is art. We transcend the petty concerns of the ordinary dream trade by truly making something out of nothing.”

“You're making killer monsters.”

“For now,” he said, his voice smooth, “but if you join me, we'll expand. There are buyers out there for the unique and beautiful. I happen to be fond of monsters, but the possibilities are endless, and the potential is immense. You can dream whatever you want, whenever you want. Think about it—the world of dreams, and you will be free to partake of any of it, without fear.”

From below, Ethan called, “Don't listen to him, Sophie!”

“And what about them? Madison and Ethan? What about Lucy? Will they be without fear?” Sophie shook her head. She didn't believe him, not for a second.

“You can't trust them. If we let them free, they will tell the world about you, and the Watchmen will hear. They will come for you and your parents. Your family is inexperienced at hiding. But I can help you. I know how to disappear.”

“You want to shove me in a cage, like your monsters,” Sophie said. “You lied to them. And you're lying to me.”

“I'll treat you and your parents like jewels,” Mr. Nightmare promised. “As I will treat my dear little dreamers,
if
you all come willingly. Didn't you like your gilded cage, girl?” He directed the last question at Madison, who huddled with Ethan at the bottom of the stairs.

“You tied me up!” Madison yelled.

“Only because you squirmed.”

“And gagged me!”

“Only because you screamed.”

Madison had tears running down her cheeks, but her hands were curled into fists and she didn't wipe the tears away. She glared fiercely at him. “I'm never, ever going back!”

“Oh, I think you are mistaken,” Mr. Nightmare said with a smile. “Once you have thought it through, you will come to the same conclusion. Let me help clarify your thinking: I have Betty's parents, and I have the little girl. And monsters get hungry.”

Monster howled. He positioned himself in front of Sophie, protecting her.

“It is a simple choice, really,” Mr. Nightmare said. “Come willingly and live in luxury, or come unwillingly and live with the monsters.”

“That's a terrible choice,” Ethan said.

“I will give you one hour to consider, and then I will return for your answer,” Mr. Nightmare said graciously. “Don't try to run. Don't imagine you can hide. Don't think you're free. If you call the police, if you run to your parents, if you tell anyone . . . the monsters won't be hungry anymore.” Struggling to his feet, Mr. Nightmare limped away from the stairs. She heard his footsteps as he crossed the bookstore. “One hour,” he called. And then the bell rang as the door opened and shut.

P
INNED TO THE FLOOR BY THE WINGED UNICORN,
the monkey sneered at them. “Wherever you run, he will follow. Wherever you hide, he will find you. You can cry to your parents or wail to the police, but in the dark of the night, when there is only you and your nightmares, Mr. Nightmare will come.”

Madison's face was flushed, as if she was about to scream or cry or both. Ethan was shaking. Grabbing another dreamcatcher, Sophie marched over to the monkey.

“Getting rid of me won't change anything,” the monkey said. “He can make dozens more, and they'll come after you. You won't be able to stop him.” He cackled. “Your life will become a nightmare, as your nightmares come to life.”

Kneeling, Sophie held the dreamcatcher a few inches from him. “Tell me how to stop him.”

“Three children, a pony, and a scruffy cat? You can't.” He cackled again, as if he'd told the funniest joke in the world.

Ethan came up beside Sophie. “Why did you help him? You could have run for it. I thought you wanted to be free.”

“He promised my freedom, if I helped him this once,” the monkey said. “It was a no-brainer: my freedom, after revenge on the ones who left me behind. But it was I, I who was the fool for trusting him again. And you who will be the fool if you trust him now. He's a lying liar who lies. He won't wait an hour. He'll return, you'll see, as soon as he's conned more monsters into helping him.”

Madison joined them on Sophie's other side. “He won't get away with this.”

“Oh, you poor, deluded child with a penetrating voice, he already has. Unless you want to be responsible for that sweet little innocent girl becoming monster food. It's difficult to find good dreamers, but not impossible. He can replace you all, but he can't leave you to tell tales.”

Ethan swallowed hard. “So he'll be coming back with more monsters.”

The monkey fixed his flame eyes on Ethan. “Of course he will. He said as much. Haven't you been paying attention? He'll be back for you two. And you . . .” His gaze switched to Sophie. “The Watchmen will take care of you. Not to worry. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already informed them about you, despite what he offered you and despite his ‘one hour' deadline. He does like to have all his loose ends tied up, and he has no real need of you.”

Monster rushed over to Sophie. He had flecks of blood in the fur around his mouth. Sophie wondered how badly he'd hurt Mr. Nightmare. How long did they have before he came back? “I won't let them take you, Sophie. I swore to your parents—”

“Her parents belong to Mr. Nightmare now.” The monkey cackled again. “You all belong to him! You'll never be free! Never, ever, never, ever—”

Sophie shoved the dreamcatcher into his red fur, and Glitterhoof stepped away, his horn low and ready to spear him again, if necessary. The monkey kept laughing his shrill, wild cackle as he faded and then disappeared.

Lifting his head, Glitterhoof shook his mane. Red fur clung to his unicorn horn. “How very unpleasant.” He sniffed.

She stared at the spot where the monkey had been. He'd been telling the truth. Mr. Nightmare had them trapped as thoroughly as he had when the basement door was barred shut.

“He disappeared!” Madison's voice was a shriek. “How did you do that? You did it with the giraffe thing too. Are you a witch? What are you? What are they?”

Sinking onto a stool, Sophie kept staring at the floor. It was hopeless. He had her parents and Lucy. And he'd called, or would call, the Watchmen. Dully, Sophie said, “He was made from a dream. Well, nightmare, really. So this turned him back into one.” She held up the dreamcatcher and braced herself, ready for Madison to shriek again.