The Girl Who Could Not Dream (30 page)

“She chased us for years, but my father always kept me safe. This was supposed to be how we built our new life.” Christina waved her hands at the fight pit and toward the storage room. “We were going to be rich. So rich she'd never be able to touch us. So rich the Watchmen wouldn't dare try to take me away. Then you came along.”

“You were part of all this? Kidnapping Madison and Lucy and my parents?”

“We needed more monsters.” Walking backwards to the door of the fight pit, Christina looked sad. “I was hoping for one to match the greatest monster I ever dreamed. We call him the champion. We were saving him until we had the right opponent for him. Guess you qualify.”

Monster howled. “Sophie, it's a trap!” He ran toward Christina.

But Christina held the dreamcatcher—the one that Sophie had given her, the only unused one—in front of her and gave a sharp whistle. From the trapdoor, Sophie heard a growl, and her parents screamed at her to run.

Sophie's muscles finally obeyed, and she scrambled after Monster, toward Christina and the fight pit door.

But Christina's champion was faster. It burst out of the hole and lunged for Sophie. Swiping for her leg, it caught her ankle. She fell forward and slammed into the sand on her knees. Twisting to face it, Sophie screamed.

The champion bulged with muscles that popped over its arms. Its skin was fiery red and streaked with purple veins that glistened like snakeskin. Two curved bull horns crowned its head, and its face was dominated by a massive jaw full of fangs. Its tail was thick with spikes, and as it twisted, Sophie saw its back was covered in spikes too.

A foot from Christina, Monster snaked out a tentacle and ripped the dreamcatcher from her hands. He then pivoted and ran toward Sophie and the champion.

He flung himself onto the monster, wrapping his tentacles around its neck, and he pressed the dreamcatcher against its skin.

“Monster, don't! You'll disappear too!” Sophie tried to jump for him, to grab the dreamcatcher from him, but the champion swiped at her. Its claws raked her arm. Crying out, she clutched her arm and fell back again onto the sand.

Monster was fading, becoming translucent, along with the champion. She could see the sand through the champion's muscles. “Run, Sophie!”

“No, Monster! Throw me the dreamcatcher! Please!” Scrambling to her feet, she ran toward him. The champion's arm shot out at her, blocking her.

“Go, Sophie! Remember me!”

There had to be something she could do! Some weapon! She remembered the pole that Mr. Nightmare had used. It leaned against the pit outside the fence—

The champion clawed at Monster, pulled him off, and threw him against the side of the pit. Monster thudded against the wall, and the dreamcatcher fell out of his tentacle.

“Monster!” Sophie cried. She ran to him. He was half faded, limp, and breathing shallowly. Before she could reach him, the champion's tail swung around and knocked into her. She was tossed to the side.

Christina strolled in, picked up the dreamcatcher, and pressed it against the unconscious Monster.

“No!” Sophie screamed.

Monster vanished.

Christina ripped the threads of the dreamcatcher. As the droplets of the dream fell onto the sand, Sophie felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest. “Now you know what it feels like to be truly alone,” Christina said. Then she ran out of the pit, slamming and locking the door behind her.

From the balcony, a horse whinnied.

“She's not alone.” Ethan's voice came from above.

Sophie looked up. Ethan and Madison were mounted on Glitterhoof. He swooped down into the pit and kicked the champion with so much force that it flew backwards against the fence and slumped unconscious onto the sand.

Ethan and Madison jumped off Glitterhoof's back. Together, they pressed dreamcatchers onto the champion until it faded and disappeared.

A
LL OF THEM GATHERED AROUND
S
OPHIE.

“I came to tell you I delivered Lucy to the bookshop,” Glitterhoof said. “I'm afraid I was seen—a woman who introduced herself as Ms. Lee and said she baked those delicious cupcakes. She offered me a few and then agreed to watch Lucy until her parents could fetch her so that I could return to you and render assistance.”

“Glitterhoof found us upstairs,” Ethan chimed in. “So we all came looking for you . . . I'm sorry about Monster.”

Sophie nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Send me back to a dream,” Glitterhoof said, “before anyone else sees me. You must keep your secret, if you can. You can owe me those apples.”

“The police are outside,” Madison said. “They had just parked their cars when Glitterhoof arrived at the back door. They'll be inside any minute now.”

Sophie knew she should say goodbye, or thank him, but she felt numb, as if her skin weren't her skin, as if she was looking at everything and everyone through a thick sheet of cellophane. Someone passed her an unused dreamcatcher. She held the dreamcatcher to the pegasus.

She then added that dreamcatcher and the one holding the champion to the backpack. She wanted to tear the champion's dreamcatcher to pieces, but she didn't. It wasn't the champion's fault that Christina had made it what it was. Monster had said once that the dreamer shapes the dream—that's why all of Christina's creatures were terrifying monsters.

“She escaped?” Sophie asked, though it wasn't really a question. Christina had had plenty of time to escape while they fought her champion. Upstairs she heard heavy footsteps in the living room—the police must have entered the house. Soon, they'd find Mr. Nightmare, wrapped in spider threads.

Madison nodded. “Saw her run out the cellar doors, but the monster—”

“I know.” Standing, Sophie crossed to the trapdoor.

“Do you think there are any more down there?” Madison asked. “Because I am tapped out. Done with monsters.”

Ethan elbowed her.

“Oh, sorry, Sophie. You know . . . except him.”

Sophie told herself not to cry. She'd do that later, when she was alone. Right now, she still had to free her parents, before the police explored the basement. She lowered herself through the trapdoor and dropped down.

It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. When they did, she saw a cement-walled room with a jail door that cut through the middle. There was a vat for water and one for food, and the room stank of pee. The stench made her gag. She breathed through her mouth as she looked around—and then she saw that the jail door hadn't been holding the champion
in.
It had been keeping it
out
of the cage that held her parents.

“Sophie!” her mother cried, running toward the bars.

“You're all right!” Dad said.

Sophie ran to the jail door, and her parents reached through the bars to touch her hands, arms, and face. “How do I get you out?” Sophie asked.

Dad pointed to the wall. “The key!”

Hands trembling, Sophie fetched the key from a hook. She tried to unlock the door. Her hands were shaking too hard. Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady herself.

“I'll do it.” Madison reached past her and unlocked the lock. Sophie hadn't realized that Madison had come through the trapdoor. Dimly, she was aware that Ethan had followed her too.

Sophie ran inside. Mom and Dad both pulled Sophie to them. Sobbing, they held her. Sophie didn't cry, but she held them both as tightly as she could. She felt as though there was something missing inside her.

As her parents cooed to her, she led them to the trapdoor and looked up. There wasn't a ladder. How were they—

A woman's face appeared in the opening. “Is anyone hurt down there?”

“Ms. Lee?” Sophie said.

“Jia?” Mom said, just as shocked.

“Who?” Madison asked. “What's going on?”

Leaning over the opening, Ms. Lee, the baker, held out her hand. “Come on. We have to hurry and get you out of here. The police will have a lot of questions, and it will be best if the three of you aren't here when they search the basement—they're already upstairs.”

None of them moved.

“Who
are
you?” Dad asked.

“I'm your neighbor,” Ms. Lee said. “Will you accept that I'm here being neighborly?”

Clutching Sophie, her parents shook their heads.

Ms. Lee sighed. “I am from an organization that watches for abuse of dreams. I was assigned to observe your family's shop and monitor your customers.”

“You're a Night Watchman,” Dad said flatly.

“Yes, I am,” Ms. Lee said.

Sophie's parents hugged her tighter.

“What's a Night Watchman?” Madison asked.

“I wish I could have intervened sooner, but we didn't have enough information on who was responsible.” Ms. Lee sighed. “It took the arrival of a pegasus with that little girl before I was able to track you down. Come, we need to hurry.”

“I don't understand.
You're
a Watchman?” Sophie tried to match her memories of Ms. Lee—sweet, insecure, smelling like cupcakes—with her image of the Watchmen—shadowy and terrifying. She couldn't make herself think of Ms. Lee as terrifying.

“We trusted you,” Dad said, echoing Sophie's shock.

“You can still trust me,” Ms. Lee said. “I'm here to help you.”

“But the Night Watchmen hate us,” Sophie said. “They want to destroy dream shops.”

Ms. Lee shook her head. “You've been misinformed. We have no problem with dream shops. We have problems with people like Mr. Nightmare, who misuse dreams.”

Sophie felt rather than saw her parents exchange glances and knew they were communicating in that look.

“In fact, we are grateful to you,” Ms. Lee said. “You've all been instrumental in bringing down one of the worst dream-creature traffickers that we've seen. Now, please, we have limited time. Come with me.”

Another exchanged glance.

“Very well,” Mom said heavily.

Ms. Lee helped pull them out and onto the sand of the fight pit. She was surprisingly strong. On the sand, she smiled at them—the friendly, reassuring smile that Sophie knew so well. Sophie felt as if everything was turned inside out and upside down. Monster was gone, and the Watchmen weren't evil? Two of the constants in her life had disappeared in seconds.

“Ambulances are outside,” Ms. Lee said to all of them. “The EMTs will check the two kids over, and the police will take your statements. They've already taken Lucy's. You will tell them you were kidnapped and held in the basement. Do
not
mention monsters or pegasi or dreams, do you understand? Regular police do not need to hear that. They
do
need to hear that Mr. Nightmare is guilty of kidnapping. If you stick to that fact, then he will be in jail for a very long time.”

“But . . .” Ethan began.

“I am sorry to put this burden on all of you, but you
must
keep this secret.”

“Why?” Madison asked.

“Explanations later,” Ms. Lee said to Madison and Ethan. “We need to get you two back where you belong. Your parents will be overjoyed to see you. Remember what I said: if you want to be believed, leave out the impossible.” She turned to Sophie's parents. “We'll send medical professionals to check you out. And later, I will be speaking to you both about your failure to disclose Sophie's abilities. She needs to be registered, and she needs training so that nothing happens to her—or to anyone else. You've seen what damage a rogue nondreamer can do.”

“She's just a child,” Dad objected.

“So was Christina, and she . . .” Sophie couldn't make herself say the words. It would make it too real. “Monster . . . Monster saved me.” Her voice broke.

Mom stroked her hair. “You can't take her from us!”

“Why would I want to do that?” Ms. Lee asked. “She's your child. Whatever you were told about the Night Watchmen, we aren't ogres who take children from their parents. We aim to stop people like that. We're the good guys.”

“Are you with the police?” Madison asked. “Secret branch of the government?”

“Secret agents?” Ethan asked.

“All you need to know for now is that this kind of situation is an aberration,” Ms. Lee said. “After the immediate crisis is over, I will be available to answer all your questions.” Turning to Sophie and her parents, she said, “Come with me, quickly.”

“Wait, what about the distiller?” Ethan asked. “And all the dreams still in bottles? He stole dozens. We saw the empty shelves.”

“Our shop can't function without the distiller,” Dad said. “If you don't intend to put us out of business, we'll need it back.”

“I'll ensure it's returned,” Ms. Lee said.

“There are also rabbits,” Ethan said. “Lots of them. Some are multicolored.”