The Sandman and the War of Dreams (12 page)

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

Something Perhaps Worse

E
MILY
J
ANE AND
S
ANDMAN
arrived on their clouds at the entrance of a small cave outside the town of Tanglewood in the northeast part of a country called America. The surrounding forests were thick with craggy pine and hemlock, and a great many bats flittered through the trees and in and out of the mouth of the cave. An old, well-worn Indian trail led to the cave, and if Nightlight had been with them, he’d have remembered this dark and mournful place as the spot where Pitch had been frozen for centuries, pinned by Nightlight’s diamond dagger embedded in his heart.

Emily Jane enshrouded both herself and Sandman within dense cloud cover so as not to be seen, then said to her old friend, “This is as far as I will go. He is, after all, my father—for good or ill.”

Sandy nodded again. He never spoke except through dreams or thoughts. But he understood her reasoning. So he was surprised when she said more, giving voice to her fears.

“He promised me he would not make the girl his princess,” she told him, “but he did something perhaps worse.”

Sandy frowned.

“You’ll see for yourself,” she said, knowing Sandy so well, she knew his question without the asking. She took his hand just for an instant. “Be careful. Father is past saving and is now . . . savage, through and through.”

Then she turned away hurriedly, her robes swirling around her. Within seconds, her cloud had billowed away into the night sky, taking her with it.

Sanderson Mansnoozie had faced countless dangers in his long and varied life, but this time he felt a fear that was darker than the depths of space.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
IVE

A Place of Endless Possibilities

T
HOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY
at the North Pole, things were progressing with astounding speed and ease. A small but fantastic city was taking shape.

The varied talents of the Guardians and their allies were on full display. The strength of the Yetis, Bear, and the robot djinni had been put to great use in cutting and forming the ice and wood that would make up many of the city’s fanciful structures. Toothiana and her tooth fairies zipped in and out of the towers and outer buildings, carving intricately ornate windows and doors through the solid ice walls.

Bunnymund was busy everywhere. From digging out massive blocks of ice to burrowing a network of elaborate tunnels that would connect every building in the city to the rest of the world, he was a blur of city-creating activity.

The North Pole

Ombric and North focused most specifically on the great central tower that would officially mark North’s city. The centerpiece for this was the original flying tower of the Lunar Lamadary, and once they had it in place—a tricky maneuver that at
first seemed to defy the laws of gravity—they started in on building an extension to that older structure. They made it taller, bigger, and even more grand.

North had it all planned out: This tower would become a beacon to the world. It would generate a multicolored shimmering of light that could reach almost to the heavens and that he had already named the “northern lights.” These lights would be capable of sending forth all sorts of messages to the Guardians and their allies, no matter where on Earth they might be.

Additionally, the tower’s precise placement would enable North to see any part of the planet beyond. Best of all, it could also fly. Its transportive power was unlike any that had ever been since the old Golden Age. It could break past the Earth’s atmosphere and fly out into the cosmos.

“Think of it, old man,” North said to Ombric excitedly. “We will be able to visit the Moon. Meet Tsar Lunar himself! In person!”

Ombric was putting the finishing touches on the new library. All his knowledge, all his wisdom, he was now passing on to this most amazing young man, one whose start had seemed most dubious. The thought made Ombric feel both satisfied and perhaps a little sad. His pupil was now the master. But that’s how it should be. He put his hand on North’s shoulder.

“The Moon,” he said quietly. “After we save Katherine, we’ll go meet the Man in the Moon together.”

They looked up into the sky. The Moon was just over the horizon. From where they stood, the possibilities were endless.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-S
IX

A Few Rich Ticks of the Clock

S
ANDERSON
M
ANSNOOZIE WAS A
luminous being. He was infused with shards of starlight, which made him glow rather brightly. This would be a problem if he was to sneak into the dark of Pitch’s cave. The bats that clung to the bony tree limbs around the cave’s opening noticed him the moment Mother Nature’s clouds had left. He was dangerously exposed, and he knew it. The bats fluttered their wings and were about to sing out in alarm, but Sandy was quick. With the flick of one wrist, he sent a fog of Dreamsand that put every bat into a deep and instantaneous sleep. The
creatures dropped from the trees by the hundreds, thumping lightly on the ground. There was a quiet hum of snoring bats as Sandy crept into the cave. The strange curling rocks at the mouth of the cave gave way to a long tunnel-like chute.

Sandy spotted something in the shadows, something wispy and dark. He whipped his right hand at it. A bullet of Dreamsand shot toward the thing. There was a light
pff
as the sand hit its mark. Sandy flew down to inspect the target. It looked like a Dream Pirate, only a bit smaller and somehow more vaporous.
One of Pitch’s Nightmare Men,
thought Sandy. It was fully asleep and exactly what Sandy needed. He cloaked himself with the nasty, dark creature, completely covering his glow. Now he could proceed unseen.

The inky dark of the cave was nearly total, but
Sanderson Mansnoozie could make out the faintest light emanating from the floor below. He slipped past dozens of Nightmare Men without notice, leaving just enough Dreamsand in his wake to make sure they were put to sleep. This rescue would be difficult, and he needed every advantage in order to succeed.

As he came to the cave’s bottom, the light grew only slightly brighter. Mansnoozie was very comfortable with darkness. He’d spent eons in the black of space, and he dwelled most of his time in the land of dreams with his eyes shut. In fact, the only real weakness he had was in staying awake. He could fall asleep with such ease and quickness that on occasion it was a problem. As he peered around the edge of the cave’s tunnel and into its main cavern, he felt the telltale twinges of sleepiness starting to lull him. He shook himself awake, not realizing that in just a few
more steps he would see something that would jar him awake completely.

He found the source of the cave’s only light. It came from a girl, a brown-haired girl who lay sleeping on a coal-colored slab of marble that had been carved into a coffinlike shape.
Katherine! It had to be!
And he could see that she was breathing—she was alive! But what was that around her? He crept closer. She was surrounded by an unearthly glow.

This glow fascinated him. It twisted and spiraled around Katherine like a living thing, and within it, he could see the shifting shapes of tiny Nightmare Men, dozens and dozens of them.

It must be some sort of shield,
Sandy thought, feeling a deep unease. Was it to keep her dreams from getting out or to keep nightmares in? Perhaps it was both. Or perhaps it tripped some sort of alarm? He stepped
back. He’d thought he knew everything there was to know about dreams, good or bad, but this “shield” had him stumped. He scanned the room. There was no sign of any other Nightmare Men or of Pitch. He was certain the room was empty except for Katherine. So he cautiously lowered his Dream Pirate cloak.

If it’s an alarm or a trap, so be it,
he decided.
If I act quickly, I can get out of this cave before anyone can nab me.

And so he crept forward once more.

Looking down at the sleeping girl, he saw that she had a lovely face, but her brow was furrowed, her expression almost tortured.

She’s having a nightmare!