By James Bow

<-- Back to Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven: Aurora Awakes

At Saskatoon City Hospital, the desk nurse looked up, exasperated, as the paramedics wheeled Polk through the admittance area with Aurora and Matron running to keep up. "Not another heart attack!"

"Not this time," said the lead paramedic. "Possible head trauma. He'll need an emergency MRI."

They shoved Polk's stretcher down the corridor. Aurora started after them but was brought up short by a security guard.

"Admittance desk, please," he said curtly.

Aurora slunk back to where Matron was waiting.

The desk nurse typed on her computer. "Patient's name?" she asked dully.

"Polk--" Matron began. Then stopped. "Polk..." The desk nurse looked up.

"Charmant," Aurora cut in[SF1] .

The desk nurse's fingers clattered on the keyboard. "Your relationship to the patient?"

"He's my son," said Matron firmly.

Aurora said nothing.

"And how did he get his head injury?" asked the desk nurse.

Matron hesitated. Aurora spoke up, glaring at Matron. "He fell."

"Fine," said the desk nurse. "He's being assessed." She passed over a clipboard. "Fill out this patient information and find a seat in the waiting area." She nodded behind them. "Please be patient--it's been a long day. Next, please!"

Aurora turned towards the waiting area. She stopped short.

The waiting area was full, but strangely silent. People young and old sat wherever there was space, many with arms folded across their chests, some hugging their knees. All kept their gaze on the floor. In the children's play area in the corner, a young girl sat, clutching her rag doll to her chest.

In the opposite corner, the television showed pictures of buildings on fire.

"...Scientists have no explanation for the epidemic of night terrors that swept the world and killed thousands," said the news anchor. "In other news, Russian factions continue to battle through the streets of Moscow, striving to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of the death of--"

Aurora reached up and turned the television off. No one objected.

She looked at Matron. Matron didn't look back.

"What happened to him?" Aurora's voice was dangerously quiet.

Matron gave her a glance, then turned away. "He'll be well looked after."

Aurora grabbed her arm. "What happened to him?" she shouted. People around them started to look up.

The automatic doors parted, and Dawn darted through. She ran over to the two of them, breathing heavily. "I'm parked. What's the news?"

Matron's face was red. "Don't do this. Not here."

"Answer the question!" Aurora shook her by the shoulders.

Dawn grabbed each of them by an arm and marched them outside. When the automatic doors closed behind them, Aurora pulled away from her mother's grasp and rounded on Matron. "What. Happened. To. Him?"

Matron studied the space above Aurora's ear. "You could see everything when you were the Dream Queen. I'm sure you saw what happened."

"You threw him into space!" Aurora yelled. "He fell to his death! But...but he woke up. He--" She faltered. "He kissed me. And then he keeled over?! Why?"

"It's as they say, girl: if you die in your dreams, you die in real life...if you're human. Fortunately, like you, Polk isn't entirely human. He can survive doing what he did...for a time."

Aurora felt the blood drain from her face. "He's not going to die!"

Matron looked at the ground. "I don't know."

"How could you do that?!" Aurora shouted. "You loved him like he was your own son!"

Matron looked up, her eyes blazing. "It was that or the world, girl! I had no choice! And neither did you!"

Aurora clenched her fists. Matron straightened up and clasped her hands behind her back. Tears brimming, Aurora turned and punched the brick wall. Dawn darted over and pulled Aurora into a hug, but Aurora pulled back roughly.

"Go away, both of you," she choked. "Just...go!"

Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but Matron took her arm and pulled her back to the emergency entrance.

Aurora staggered into the parking lot, bumping into parked cars. She fetched up against a lamppost. She brought her knuckles to her lips and tasted blood.

She flexed her fingers and winced at the pain. Fishing through her pockets, she found a crumpled and matted paper towel and pressed it against her knuckles. She took a deep breath, held it and let it go.

What have I done to Polk? What have I done to everybody?

She leaned against the lamppost and looked at the sky. "What am I going to do?"

"What do you want to do?" said a deep voice.

Aurora started. She looked around wildly until she saw him. At the far end of the parking lot, parked across several spaces, stood the Dream King's black rig. The Dream King stood in front of it, looking at her across a row of cars.

Aurora pushed away from the lamppost and slipped between the parked cars toward him. She stopped twenty feet away and looked at him across an empty expanse of pavement.

"Hey," she said.

The Dream King bowed his head briefly. "Hey."

Another moment passed.

"Tell me something," said Aurora.

"What?"

She cleared her throat. "Am I a god asleep, dreaming that she is human, or am I a human who dreamed she was a god?"

He chuckled softly and looked away. Then he looked back at her. "Yes."

"Huh. Very helpful." She took a step forward, but the Dream King held out his hand, palm outward. "Come no closer."

She halted. "Are we gods?"

The Dream King leaned back. "We are..." He searched for the right words. "Elementals. Lords of Dreaming. The Dreamworld has existed alongside the real world since time mattered. Not only humans dream; dogs dream, cats dream. So do older things. The dream realm needs forces--guardians perhaps--to balance and contain the wild energies. We are those forces." He shrugged. "Your mother said that a man named Jung called us archetypes. How humans see us shapes what we are but doesn't change the fact that we are. We're here, travelling, watching, guarding. Sometimes interfering."

"Like me." She looked up. "I hurt a lot of people."

The Dream King sighed. "You could say it was just a dream."

"But it wasn't."

He gave her a sad smile. "You could say that you weren't yourself."

"But I was."

"What do you want, Aurora? Absolution? I can't give it. I'm as responsible as you. The fact we couldn't control ourselves is no excuse--at least, not to us."

She looked up at him. "Why did you come here?"

"To say goodbye." He fished through his pockets, finally pulling out a translucent globe and cupping it in his palm. "And to give you this." He tossed it to her.

Aurora caught it, then almost dropped it. It was heavier than glass, but the surface gave a little beneath her fingers, like rubber. The colours within shifted between clouds of blue, black and indigo, and within the clouds, she saw specks of light.

She studied it a moment, then looked up at him.

"Our people show up on that as specks of light," said the Dream King. "I used it to search for you. I found a lot of other people instead, all of whom told me to stop searching. You can use it to find more of your kind."

"Thank you." Aurora put the globe in her pocket and stepped forward.

"Stay back!" the Dream King shouted.

A spark crackled across the space between them. Aurora jumped back, and the Dream King pressed himself against his cab. Aurora waited for the world to end. It didn't.

She realized someone was holding her up from behind. It was Matron. Aurora shook her off and sat down heavily on the pavement.

Matron looked across the parking lot at the Dream King. "We tried to tell you, brother."

The Dream King closed his eyes. He nodded. "I should have listened. I need your help, sister."

"What can I do?"

He looked at the ground. "I have spent the last sixteen years hunting. I've neglected my duties. The others of the dream realm have scattered themselves across the world. I have to go to them, apologize, and bring them home, if they want to come. But they don't trust me."

"I can help with that," Matron said quietly.

Aurora stumbled to her feet. "Matron! What about Polk?"

Matron looked at her, her lips tight. "There's nothing we can do except wait by his bedside. I'm needed elsewhere. I'll be back as soon as I can." She reached out and clasped Aurora's hands. "Can you keep an eye on him--take care of him while I'm gone?"

Aurora squeezed Matron's hands. "Count on it."

Matron gave Aurora a smile. Then she crossed the asphalt to the Dream King and hugged him. He grunted, surprised, held her a moment then gently pushed her back. "We should go."

"Wait," Aurora took a step forward, then back. "You should say goodbye to Mom."

The Dream King shook his head. "She won't want to see me."

"You're wrong." Footsteps rattled behind her. Dawn dashed up beside Aurora and stopped, breathing heavily.

The Dream King drew himself up. "Dawn?"

Without a word, Dawn darted across the distance and flung her arms around the Dream King. Aurora bit her lip and looked away.

"I've missed you," said Dawn, her voice muffled by the Dream King's shoulder.

"I've missed you too," he said.

She kissed him. Then she pulled away and walked backward until she stood beside Aurora once more. She took Aurora's hand.

The Dream King opened his rig door for Matron, who climbed in. He stepped up after her then stopped, his foot on the step, and looked back. "Goodbye, Aurora."

"Goodbye...Dad."

He climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door. The engine roared to life. With a blast of its horn, it pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, gathering speed. Aurora watched the truck until it vanished behind the distant buildings.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard the caw of a giant crow.

She felt her mother squeeze her hand. She looked at her. She yanked her hand free.

Dawn, pale-faced, reached out to touch her daughter's cheek, but Aurora backed away. "Why didn't you go with him?"

Dawn's mouth dropped open. "Why would I go with him, when there's you? We should--"

"We should what? Go back to our old life?" She shook her head. "Mom, I'm sixteen. Do you have any idea what I missed? I spent the last three years waiting tables and being homeschooled. My friends have moved on. I'm not the person I was when I was twelve."

"I know that!" snapped Dawn. "But I can't leave you on your own--"

"Why not?" Aurora shouted "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not even human, anymore. I can take care of myself."

"Aurora, don't be silly--"

"You're the one being silly! The whole time I was with you, you never dated anybody else. You just sat at home. You love this man, and you're walking away to pick up something you...dropped three years ago?"

"I don't..."

"Tell me you don't love him!" Aurora squared her shoulders. "Go on, look me in the eye and tell me!"

Dawn's eyes flashed defiantly. Aurora looked into her mother's blue gaze.

...Dawn sets the infant Aurora in her crib and leans over as the baby coos. She smiles as she brushes back the silky curls...

...Aurora topples off her tricycle and scrapes her knee. She rolls up, bawling, and Dawn rushes forward to clasp her close...

...Aurora leans over her homework, her tongue in her teeth, so studious. But she smiles as Dawn leans close and kisses the top of her head...

...Dawn beams proudly as Aurora twirls at her ballet recital...

...Aurora sits on her bed, staring at her feet sullenly. Dawn stands by the door, wishing she knew what to say...

...Skipping stones in Lake Winnipeg. "A new world record!"

Aurora rolls her eyes. "Hardly."

"Well, who's to know?" says Dawn. "It's not like they keep records on that sort of thing."

"Actually, they do."

A crow caws...

...Dawn drives away from Matron's diner, refusing to look in the rear-view mirror. Tears run down her cheeks. She sobs...

Aurora broke the connection and hugged her mother. She grunted as her mother clutched her close.

"I loved him," said her mother into Aurora's ear. "I love him. But I love you too. Please let me take you home, hon. Or whatever home we can put back together."

Aurora drew back and looked into her mother's tear-stained face. She nodded. "Okay."

#

The heart monitor provided a steady background beat. Aurora realized she was stroking Polk's hand in time with it. She stopped. After a moment she began stroking in time again.

"Mom took me to her place," she said. "It's a basement apartment in an old house by the university. There's space on the top floor, and she's talking to the landlord about lending it to me until I can find a job to pay the rent."

Polk said nothing.

"It'd be my own place," she continued. "I'd have my own key and my own entrance and everything. Mom would be nearby, but, with an apartment between us, she wouldn't be looking over my shoulder the whole time. I could go to bed whenever I wanted. Or...not, as it happens."

The heart monitor continued its lonely rhythmic beat.

"Mom even offered me a job at her store. I'd handle the cash and the inventory, and she'd pay me enough to cover rent and food. Apparently, the place does well enough that she can afford it. And she wants to go back to school and get re-certified as a psychologist. She's even suggested that when she gets her license back, I could take over the shop full time."

She sighed and shook her head. "I never thought I'd end up owning a shop. I still have a few more courses to go before I get my GED. Not sure if I want to own a shop instead of going to university but...maybe."

Her gaze shifted around the hospital room, over the fleece bedding, the darkened television set, the vase of drooping flowers by the window. The quiet pressed in on her.

"I got a letter from Matron," she said. "No stamp; neat trick. She's put the word out, and my father's people are starting to come home. She says she could be back later this week."

"I didn't write back," she added. "No return address." She let out a soft laugh. "Besides, I wasn't sure I was ready to tell her about her car."

Aurora looked down at Polk, whose mouth was slightly open. His eyes were closed, She closed her own eyes.

"Mom's given me a life," she said. "It's not what I had back in Winnipeg, but it's a life I could live. It's more than I deserve, but that doesn't mean anything to me as long as you're stuck here."

She cleared her nose with a sniff.

"I know I'm not supposed to tell you bad things, but--" She choked off a sob. "The doctors say there's no sign of brain damage. They say it's good news, but the truth is, they don't know what's wrong. They don't know why you won't wake up. And why would they? How many half-human dream lords have they ever treated?"

She clenched her fist but stopped herself before she hit the wall. "You're going to sleep forever, aren't you, Polk? It's not fair. You saved me." She sniffed again. "You pulled me back. Mom says I'm not a monster, but how can I not be? I made the world scream. And I put the one person I lo--I put him to sleep."

She thumped the wall, fist closed.

"This isn't the way it's supposed to go! Prince Charming's not supposed to be in a hospital bed. You're not supposed to--" Her breath caught. She tried to say it again. Failed. She let out her breath slowly. "You should have just killed me when you had the chance."

Polk's heart monitor continued its steady beep.

She leaned back in her chair. "You'd think being half a dream lord would be good for something. I mean, what kind of a dream lord would I be if I couldn't wake you up somehow..."

Aurora stopped chattering. She sat a long moment, staring at her toes. Slowly, she looked up. How had I seen those dream curtains?

She stood up and stepped to Polk's side. She looked down at him, brushing back his hair. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then another. Then another.

Thank you, Dr. Zane.

Come to me, she thought.

She opened her eyes, looked down on Polk, and gave him a crooked smile. "C'mon, Sleeping Average. Wakey, wakey!"

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. She held the kiss. She felt a spark.

Polk stirred beneath her.

She leaned back, her breath quickening. "Polk?"

Polk opened his eyes and smiled at her.

<<- Back to Chapter Nine

The Dream King's Daughter - Chapter Ten: Her Terrible Sleeping Beauty

Aurora lay a long moment in blind silence, not even sure if she had a body. 

Gradually, she became aware of her heart racing. She lay a moment longer, breathing slowly while the beats slowed down. She sat up. "Where am I?"

She reached out and found walls on either side of her. Keeping a hand on one wall, she walked forward for several minutes, aware only of the echo of her feet and the smoothness of the walls. A spark of light appeared ahead and gradually turned into a square. Aurora dropped caution and rushed towards it.

Stepping out into the light, she stopped and looked down at herself. Her clothes had changed. In place of her jeans and T-shirt, she wore a long, black cloak over a shimmering black, sleeveless, ankle-length dress. The black shoes on her feet had heels. 

She stood in the doorway of a gigantic ballroom. It was bigger than a football field. Translucent columns held up a vaulted ceiling of stars. A black and white marble floor stretched in all directions.

Aurora stepped into the ballroom. Her footfalls echoed. She walked and walked. She seemed to walk miles before reaching the middle of the gigantic room. She stopped there and turned in a slow circle. Nobody else was here.

Then a piano started playing. Aurora whirled around but saw nothing. The music continued, tinny, like the sound of an old upright that her ballet teacher had used during dance class, rattling off a rapid waltz.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

As Aurora turned, her feet took up the rhythm. She stopped them and stood still, but it was hard to resist the urge to tap.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

More instruments joined the waltz: a pipe organ and drums that resonated in the chest. An unseen woman belted out lyrics. Aurora almost recognized the song.

All around her, figures rose up through the floor like ghosts, their limbs jerking robot-like in time with the music. In moments the hall was filled with dancers. They all wore fancy dress; modern, Victorian and Renaissance. Their faces were as blank as mannequins.

Something tapped her shoulder. Aurora turned. The nearest figure bowed low and extended his hand to her.

"I don't--" Aurora began, but the man took her hand, put his other hand on her side, and turned her into the dance. To her surprise, she followed his steps with ease, heels, dress and all.

All the other dancers paired off and began to circle in time with the music, tracing intricate patterns across the floor.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

Aurora's mannequin partner turned her. She twirled, and found another hand reaching for her. In time with the music, she took it, twirled again, and found herself in the arms of Salvadore, who wore an evening suit with a plum-coloured brocade vest.

He leered at her. "You dance divinely, my dear."

"Trust me, it's not by choice," Aurora growled. The waltz rhythm brought out her words staccato-style.

"It's not by my choice either, I fear," said Salvadore. "But since I'm trapped in this dance, I might as well enjoy the company."

He twirled her. Aurora spun on the balls of her feet but couldn't let go of the tips of his fingers before she came twisting back. He caught her in a graceful dip. 

One-two-three, one-two-three...

He pulled her up. Aurora felt breathless. "If you're trapped here, who's trapping you? Who are all these..." She tipped her head at the mannequins, "...things?"

"You've trapped me here, darling girl," said Salvadore. "You and your father. This--"

He grunted in frustration as the music twirled her away again. Aurora found herself reaching for another hand, twirling into another man's arms. She blinked up at his face.

"This is your dream," said Polk, looking unnaturally grand in his tuxedo and bow-tie. "Yours and the Dream King's. The others can't be more than ghosts to you, here. Salvadore and me... we're the only ones strong enough to break through and talk to you."

He pulled her into a dip. Aurora arched her back, then came up suddenly, her hands clasping the back of his neck.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

"I had help."

She tilted her head to get a good look at him. "And how did you get that black eye?"

He grinned ruefully. "Again... I had help."

They switched partners again. Aurora blinked at the new face. "Mom! You have special powers too?"

"Of course!" Her mother wore a low-cut, ankle-length red dress. "I'm a certified psychologist."

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"Aurora," said her mother, as they each did a back-to-back turn. "You've got to get away from here, before the Dream King finds you."

"Is he here?" Aurora looked around. They switched partners again.

"He's over there." Salvadore nodded to the table at the head of the room. Aurora hadn't noticed it before, but a shadowy figure loomed there. "He's coming for you," Salvadore said.

"Good," said Aurora. "Let's finish this."

She tried to twirl out of Salvadore's hold, but the beat and his sudden tug pulled her back.

"Listen to me, you foolish girl!" he hissed. "I may like to cause a little chaos, spread a little fear, but there are limits. I pretended to help the Dream King so I could hamper his search. You have to stay away from him!"

"But why? Why?"

They swapped partners again, and Aurora found herself staring into her mother's face.

"Everybody has been telling you to stay away from him! Even Salvadore, the Nightmare King. Maybe you should listen?"

"But Mom! He's my father. He won't stop coming for me, and I can't stop him. I'm not going to live the rest of my life on the run. This has to end, one way or another, now."

"I would rather die than have anything happen to you. But it's not just you."

"What are you talking about?" Aurora's voice rose. "Why did you run away from him? What happened?"

Her mother started to say something, but the music switched partners again, and Aurora was face to face with Polk. Beyond him, she could see that the Dream King had moved away from the table at the end of the room and was standing at the edge of the dance floor.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"I told you the Dream King killed my parents," said Polk. "I don't think he meant to, but he did, the moment you were born."

"How?"

"I don't know. I was there, but I was too young, and it was all so confused, I don't really remember. But it was bad." He looked over Aurora's shoulder and his face tightened. She looked back to see the dark figure moving through the dancing crowd towards her.

"Aurora, please, please get out of here!"

"Not until somebody tells me what happened!"

They switched partners again, and now she was with her mother.

"I was almost out of it from the labour," said her mom. "Then dreams started breaking into the real world. Monsters. Stuff out of nightmares. At first I thought it was the drugs they'd used on me, but it wasn't."

Aurora frowned. "Why would nightmares break out into the real world?"

Dawn shook her head. "I don't know. Nobody knows. Matron once said, maybe they were afraid of what awaited them in the dreamworld."

"He did that?" Aurora looked back through the crowd. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. But it got a lot worse until his people came and separated us. They told me to hide myself and you. And I did. I was terrified. I ran from my practice in Toronto to a school counsellor's job in Winnipeg. But it wasn't far enough."

She looked over Aurora's shoulder, and her breath caught. "Aurora, he's right behind you. Run!"

"I can't!"

They switched partners again. The Dream King reached for Aurora. Aurora reached out to take his hand. Before she could, Dawn cut in. Aurora tried to grab her, but Polk snatched her up and danced away. Aurora strained to look over her shoulder.

One-two-three, one-two-three...

"Hi," squeaked Aurora's mother. "Fancy meeting you here!"

The Dream King smiled. "Dawn?"

"How long has it been?"

"Sixteen years," the Dream King rumbled. "In your time."

"That long?"

"You're distracting me."

"Glad I can still do that."

One-two-three, one-two-three...

His expression softened. As they twirled past Aurora, he played with a strand of Dawn's hair. "Dawn, the Dreamwalker with the golden hair."

"It's going silver, silly."

"Gold, silver, it's still precious." His face darkened. "Why did you leave me?"

"Don't you remember?"

Shadows clouded his eyes. "I can only remember reaching out to hold our child. Then I blacked out. After I woke up, nobody would let me see you or her."

"I'm sorry. I-I missed you."

Aurora struggled to pull her hands from Polk's grip. "Polk! Let me go!" But the music bound her to him.

"We've got to get away," said Polk. "Just listen to me, please. We can dance to the side of the--"

He let out a yowl when she head-butted his nose.

"I've spent sixteen years searching for you," the Dream King said to Dawn. "I almost found you three years ago, but you disappeared on me again. Let me see our daughter."

Tears ran down her cheeks. "I can't."

"Dawn," the Dream King rumbled. "Don't try to stop me."

"Please," Dawn began. "Don't--"

"Enough!" He flung his arms wide. There was a rush of air. The walls and ceiling disappeared. The music stopped. The dancers vanished. Across a marble checkerboard stretched out beneath a dome of stars, five people stood: the Dream King and Aurora facing each other, with Polk, Dawn and Salvadore between them.

A long moment of silence. Everyone looked from one to the other. The Dream King held out his hands. "Now. Aurora, come to me."

Aurora brushed down her dress. She took a step, then choked as Salvadore's arm went around her neck. Dawn, Polk and the Dream King started forward, then froze. Salvadore held an obsidian blade to Aurora's throat.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Salvadore said, smiling as Aurora gagged. "It's the only way out. Aurora should have died sixteen years ago, and would have, if Matron hadn't gotten in the way."

He grunted as Aurora jabbed his stomach with her elbow. She twisted out of his arms and kicked him hard in the gut, doubling him over. Then she drew a line in the air in front of her with her finger. There was a rush of wind. From beyond one side of the checkerboard, a church steeple rose into view, cutting through the ballroom like a knife through butter. 

Salvadore's mouth opened as the stonework as it whipped towards him. The steeple caught him, and carried him to the other side, where he vanished.

Polk winced. "Ow."

Dawn stared at her daughter, her hand over her mouth.

Aurora turned. She looked across the dance floor, past Polk and Dawn. The Dream King met her eyes. "Aurora."

"Dad...?"

"You came."

"I had no choice." Aurora took a shaky breath. "I realized I was my father's daughter."

"Why didn't you come when I told you?"

"I didn't... want... to believe. But I believe it now."

He opened his arms. "Come here, Aurora."

"Stop!" Polk planted himself between them. "Just... stop for a minute. Think about what you're doing! Think about what's happening! Didn't either of you watch Salvadore when Aurora hit him? He smiled! Aurora hit him with a church and he looked relieved! Who'd rather be hit by a church than spend another minute here?"

Aurora frowned. The Dream King fumed. "Stand aside. No one takes my daughter away from me."

Dawn caught the Dream King's arm. "Please. Let's just talk about this. I don't know what happened when Aurora was born." She glanced at the ballroom around her, looking overwhelmed. "I don't even know how, given the world you live in, you could possibly have been interested in me."

The Dream King smiled at her. "I fell in love with you, Dawn."

"How?" said Dawn, her voice small. "Why?"

"You called her a Dreamwalker," said Polk. "Why?"

"She's a human who can lend her power to others so they can control their dreams," said the Dream King. He touched her hair. "Most humans shield themselves from the dream world. They wake up. They say, 'it's only a dream'. Very few ride the currents and take control."

Dawn frowned. "But that doesn't make sense. I'm just a psychologist -- a hypnotherapist."

"You are more than that," said the Dream King. "You entranced me as soon as I saw you guide the dreams of that little girl. In another time and place, you'd be a priestess."

"Or a witch," Polk muttered. "A human who can help others control their dreams, and the Dream King. What would the children be like?"

Aurora looked at him sharply.

"Enough," the Dream King snapped, "Aurora, I'm sorry. I wish I had been there to see you grow up. Would you come to me, now?" He hesitated, then added, "Please?"

Aurora stepped back. She looked from Dawn, to Polk, to the Dream King, and back. The moment stretched. Then she strode forward. The Dream King stepped forward to meet her. Polk stepped in front of Aurora; Dawn in front of the Dream King. Aurora pushed Polk aside, while the Dream King picked up Dawn and planted her behind him. Then father and daughter met in the middle of the dance floor and embraced.

"I missed you," she whispered into his shoulder. It was a stupid thing to say, but it felt true. She missed something she had never had.

"Stop!" Polk shouted. "You're going to destroy the world!"

Aurora turned on him, letting out a laugh of shock and disbelief.

Polk drove on. "Nobody knows what really happened sixteen years ago," he said. "But I think I can guess, now. Salvadore said the Dream King exploded. We ride around in dreams, we have access to forces humans can only dream about. But Dawn controls those forces; that's what humans do! Something happened when you held Aurora." He waved his arms, desperate. "Like something being put together! Like something reaching critical mass!"

The Dream King's gaze clouded. "I did nothing wrong!"

"Maybe you didn't intend to," said Polk, "but you said Dawn can enter people's dreams and tame them. What if that ability passed to her daughter? When Aurora was placed in the arms of the one being who had the greatest access to the Dreamworld, you had the tool to control the Dreamworld lying in your arms."

The Dream King shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You can do everything in your dreams. Put that power over the Dreamworld together, and you have a god," said Polk, "and only a god could use that power the right way. If anybody else gets that kind of power, it would turn them into a -- a monster."

The Dream King started towards Polk. Aurora held him back.

"You are not a god," Polk went on. "But you drained Aurora! You took her power into you without even thinking. And all of a sudden, you had the powers of a god. You couldn't control yourself."

The Dream King pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shut up."

"You killed a lot of people," Polk went on. "No wonder you didn't remember what happened!"

"Shut up!" The Dream King's voice shook. "How dare you suggest I'd harm my daughter?" He coughed, then took a wheezing breath. "After all I sacrificed in finding Aurora, how can you think that I would ever consider draining her life from her--"

"You're draining her right now!" Polk shouted. "I can see it in the air between you two! Look!"

Dawn and the Dream King looked. The Dream King shook his head blearily. Dawn gasped. A column of haze rippled out from the Dream King, surrounding Aurora. Aurora tried to swipe the cloud away, but it clung to her.

Polk made a sound like he'd been punched. "No... You're not drawing power from her, she's--"

The palms of Aurora's hands glowed. She stared at them.

The Dream King fell to his knees.

Aurora staggered as the glow spread over her whole body. "What's happening?"

Polk and Dawn ran to her. Dawn arrived first, catching Aurora as she fell. Then she cried out and dropped her daughter, staring at her singed hands. Polk skidded to a halt and stared at Aurora's prone form, open-mouthed.

"Polk? Mom?" Aurora gasped. "I feel... strange..."

"Aurora!" Polk shouted into her ear. "Come on! We've got to get you out of here!"

The Dream King fell forward and lay still.

Aurora sat up and pushed Polk away. "But... I can... see." She fumbled around blindly. Her irises had disappeared into black pools. "Mom, the whole world is dreaming inside my head. I can see... everything."

She shuddered.

"And they're afraid."

Dawn knelt close. "Aurora, don't go there. You'll be swamped!"

"She's right," said Polk. "Aurora, stop! You can't control the power!" He grabbed her shoulders. His palms smoked.

Aurora's voice dropped an octave. "I don't want to stop. Go away!"

She tossed him off the dance floor into space.

Dawn ran to the edge of the dance floor and found Polk clinging for dear life, his legs dangling over cloud. She grabbed his arm. Her feet skidded on the marble tiles as she struggled to pull him up onto the dance floor. He looked across the remains of the ballroom at Aurora.

Aurora stood up with the grace of a dancer. The air twisted around her and gave her wings of shadow. Night ran through her veins. Night coloured her lips. Night blotted out her blonde hair.

"I am so big," she whispered, though her voice echoed across the world. "I am so very big and everyone else is so small, so afraid of the nightmares. They are surrounded by monsters, real and dream. Why doesn't anybody do anything about it?"

She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the whites of her eyes were black.

"I'm going to do something about it."

"No!" Polk yelled.

Aurora threw back her head and arms. Her spine arched. Her mouth gaped open, and she breathed out a cloud of crows.

They spewed into the sky, spiralling up and out in every direction, line after line of them, a black hurricane gushing from the mouth of the glowing girl. Hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Millions. Eight billion.

Polk and Dawn cowered as the sky went black.

In her home, Britney walks up the stairs to her bedroom when she stops in her tracks. Her eyes go wide. "No!" she yells. "No! Poor Mr. Scaly! No!" She screams. Her parents can't calm her down.

Everywhere, people scream as something wakes in their heads and eats their nightmares.

In a dank apartment, a man named Salvadore wakes up screaming. He doesn't stop. His neighbours call the police, and he is taken to a psychiatric hospital, where all the inmates are screaming. There, he refuses to rest or even close his eyes. Don't let me sleep, he begs them. Keep me away from her! 

Eventually, they sedate him. He never wakes up again.

Children stare in shock as their dream monsters meet terrible fates. Then they look at the being that rescued them, and scream.

And all around the world, dictators die in their sleep.

#

Aurora felt as though she were being swept along a river of herself, drowning in her power, in her anger, in her sense of other people's fears.

I can use this, she thought. I can use this. Use it!

Power coursed through her and lanced to all parts of the world. Monsters, dream and human, collapsed and died. Aurora felt the world's fear turn. She heard the screams intensify. In her mind's eye, she saw Britney look up, cowering, beside the remains of Mr. Scaly. 

They were still afraid. But now they were afraid of her.

Good. They should be. I can use this.

Then a small part of her mind spoke up: Wait. This isn't me. I don't want to be feared!

She tried to turn against the power, but it was like swimming up a waterfall. It swamped her, smothered her.

What are you doing? asked the voice of her power, her voice. How can you turn this away? It's yours: take it! Be who you were born to be! Let the world cower at your feet!

No, she thought. This isn't me.

Then what are you? A waitress? A fugitive? A little girl swept from one hidey-hole to another by her terrified mother? Some small thing?

No, she thought. That isn't me, either.

She redoubled her efforts to break free, but it was no use. She was a cork in the torrent. As she swept downstream, she scrambled for a rope, an anchor, anything.

Her mind reached out. Polk!

#

Polk and Dawn scrabbled for purchase against the edge of the dance floor. Beyond and below, the clouds loomed.

Then a flutter of wings brushed near them, and talons settled beside them, transforming into sensible shoes. Matron knelt and gripped Polk's wrist. "Hold on!" She helped Dawn haul him to his feet.

"Matron!" Polk cried over the deafening scream of crows. "Thank God you're here."

Matron shook her head. She rubbed her shoulder. "I'm too late." She looked grimly at Aurora's slumped form and the hurricane of darkness gushing out of her. "I'm way too late."

"What's happening?" Dawn shouted.

"The world is meeting its Dream Queen. They're screaming in terror."

"We have to do something!" Dawn yelled. "Wake her up, somehow--" She started forward, but Matron pulled her back.

"You touch her, now, you'll be incinerated. How do you stop the wrath of a god?"

Aurora's voice echoed in their heads. Polk!

Matron flinched and covered her ears.

Polk, help me!

Matron looked up. "I don't believe it. There's still a part of her alive in there. I didn't think anything could hold out against that power."

Polk! Aurora's voice wavered. Polk, please? Can you hear me?

Matron pulled Polk forward. "Answer her! She can hear you. She can hear everything."

Polk called into the air. "Aurora?"

I need... an anchor. Something. The power is blowing me all over the place. I can't hold on!

Polk frowned. "I-I don't understand!"

Break the connection!

"What?"

Wake me up!

"How?" Dawn pinched her wrists red. "We can't even wake ourselves up."

"I know a way," said Matron. She looked Polk in the eye. "Polk, I can wake you up. When I do, you find Aurora and wake her up. She'll be close. Will you do it?"

"Why can't you wake her up?" he asked.

"It's not that easy," Matron shouted over the uproar of the crows. "We're stuck in the Dream King's dream. I can't get out. And even if I could, it wouldn't matter."

"Why not?"

"She asked for you!" Matron yelled. "Will you help her?"

"Of course I will!" shouted Polk.

"You're sure now?" Matron gripped his arm, hard. "Are you really sure? You want to be her Prince Charming? Because it won't be pleasant, and it comes with a cost."

"I'm sure!" Polk yelled. "I love her! I'll do anything for her! Anything!"

Matron sniffed. "Good boy."

Then she threw him into space.

#

Polk fell, screaming. 

He could feel the air escaping his lungs, but all he heard was the rush of wind in his ears.

They say you're dead before you hit the ground, don't they? A part of him hoped so. But they also said that if you died in your dreams, you died in real life. He didn't want to die. His mind and heart raced.

I've been a bird twice. I could fly. Fly! He threw out his arms.

No. Matron's voice whispered in his ears. No feathers appeared.

"Matron? What the hell are you doing?"

He burst out of a cloud. The patchwork quilt of Saskatchewan spread out before him. Crap! This is going to hurt!

Maybe I don't need feathers. Aurora hadn't. She'd thrown herself off a building and stopped before hitting the ground. If she could do it, I can do it. I could float. Float!

Do you want to help her, or not? said Matron.

"Matron?!" Polk sobbed as the wind whipped past him. "For the love of--"

I'm sorry, son.

The detail of the ground grew alarmingly distinct.

There must be a way out of this! There must!

He thought about slowing down time, but what good would that do? It would only prolong the agony.

Wake up! Wake up!! Wake up!!!

His eyes tracked down to the rapidly rising ground, and he closed them. Then he opened them and looked again. He was directly over a farmer's field. There were hay bales everywhere, and he was falling straight for the largest.

His heart lifted. Maybe I'm going to make it! Maybe...

Then he looked closer at the hay bale, and the colour drained from his cheeks.

Poking out from the hay bales were pitchforks.

#

Polk woke screaming.

He lay a moment, gasping, then patted his chest and arms, checking for holes, before slumping on the gravel, breathing heavily. His mind cartwheeled with relief. It had all been a dream. It had all been just a--

Wait a minute.

As Polk realized that the fact it was all a dream shouldn't be a relief, another part of his mind asked: what am I doing on a roof?

He sat up, then stood up, staggering. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, and a headache that pressed up against an eye, he looked around. He stood on the roof of the 5 Pin Bowlerama. He jumped to see Aurora lying on the gravel next to him, her eyes closed. Her body jerked as if in seizure.

Around him, Saskatoon roared. 

Sirens bellowed across the city. Screams echoed off the buildings. In the street below, fire-fighters at the scene of an accident were spraying the fire-hose at unseen monsters. Above him, a plane passed so low, he ducked and gagged in the exhaust of its engines. 

He shook his head to clear it. "Wake her up. Right. Let's get on it."

He crouched by Aurora's side, his knees hitting the gravel harder than he'd intended. "Aurora?" He leaned close to her ear. "Aurora? Aurora! Wake up!"

Aurora didn't stir.

"Aurora, can you hear me?" He shook her shoulder.

Polk crouches beside Aurora as her body gushes dreams. It's like standing next to a broken oil well. Dreams tear the skin from his cheeks.

Polk fell back, staring at his throbbing fingers. What am I going to do now?

Find a way. Right now, I'm the only one who can. Do it!

He stumbled forward, then stopped when he brushed something that clinked on the gravel. He picked up the tarnished bronze knife Matron had given him, long ago. He ran his fingers over the ancient runes, and touched the blade, pulling his hand away as it pricked him.

The easy way.

He hefted the knife and looked at Aurora.

Not easy at all. 

He dropped the knife.

The sky darkened. Polk looked up. There were no clouds, but the bright blue dome was deepening to midnight. At the edge of hearing, he could make out a deep rumble on the horizon, getting closer.

He felt something dripping down his cheeks and he touched his face. His fingers came away wet with blood.

"Aurora?" He leaned close. "Aurora, what do I do? How can I be Prince Charming if I don't know what to do?"

Then the words echoed back at him. Prince Charming?

He leaned over Aurora again and flexed his fingers. He grabbed her by the shoulders.

Dreams blast his chest and face, blowing him back, but he holds on. He looks down at Aurora and can just see her face, framed by dark, as though they were at either end of the inside of a tornado.

He leans forward, but her dark eyes open. He freezes, trapped by her terrible, sleeping beauty.

And then Aurora smiles. The weight behind her eyes is of someone who has swum miles across the ocean to the shore and needs just one pull to be free of the waves.

"You came," says her voice in Polk's head.

Polk smiles. He leans forward, fighting the force of her dreams, and plants his lips firmly on hers.

The sound of rushing dreams cut off like a door closed on wind. Aurora's arms went around him, and she held him close.

Above them, the spiralling dreams faded, disappeared. The sky brightened. Polk and Aurora held the kiss as they felt the power ebb around them. When Polk finally let go, Aurora looked up at him dreamily. Polk smiled. "Hey, Aurora. Wakey, wakey."

Then he fell back and lay still.

Aurora's eyes snapped open.

#

Aurora sat up, and the world reeled.

Warm and steady arms gripped her shoulders as she almost fell back onto the gravel. "Aurora?" Her mother's voice. "Are you all right?"

Aurora moaned and waved off the helping hands. She kept her eyes closed and kept her hand on her mouth to keep from being sick. Then, when she was ready, she reached out. Her mother grabbed her arms and helped her to her feet.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Dawn asked.

Aurora leaned on her, blinked once, looked around, then closed her eyes again. "Ooo! My head hurts," she mumbled. She grimaced at the pasty-dry taste in her mouth. "Where are we?"

"We're back in Saskatoon," said Dawn. "On top of the bowling alley near my store. Everything's... okay."

Something about the way she'd said 'okay' made Aurora look up.

Across the street, the pavement was drenched with water. The firefighters and the bystanders milled about, stunned; the bent, burnt and smoking cars forgotten. The people who had been in those cars now sat on the curb of the street, hugging their knees.

"What--" Aurora heard the sirens echoing across the city. She turned. Columns of smoke rose into the sky. "I did this."

Dawn gripped her shoulder. "Don't think about it. It's over now."

"But I... I did all this!" Aurora swayed. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I'm a monster!"

Dawn grabbed her by the arms and looked into her face. "Listen to me! You are not a monster. You came back. You stopped yourself, that's all that matters."

Aurora looked away. "But-- If it hadn't been for Polk..." She looked up. "Where is Polk?" She pulled herself from her mother's grip and turned.

Polk lay on his back by the parapet, arms spreadeagled. Matron knelt over him, her cheeks wet. Blood made two short red lines from his ears into his hair and dripped in small puddles on the roof.

Forward to Chapter Eleven -->

<<- Back to Chapter Eight

The Dream King's Daughter - Chapter Nine: Aurora Ascends

Aurora stood with her hands in her jacket pockets. She turned slowly, keeping Roger in view as he circled.

"I didn't think you'd come," he said.

"Well, here I am."

His fists were clenched and his shoulders tense, but she could see the confusion in his eyes. She heard the slight quiver in his voice.

Nobody's ever pushed him like this before, she thought. He isn't sure what to do next.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said.

"You're in for a world of hurt," he snarled.

That sounded just like the TV shows he loved. I can just see him watching cop shows and cheering on the criminals.

A part of him wants to back down, but he won't. He is bigger than me and he knows how to hit things. He could hurt me, if I let him. But I'm not going to let him.

I'm going to change the rules.

"You be careful," she said.

"Think you can beat me?" He laughed aloud.

"Maybe."

"Well?" he demanded.

"Well what?"

"Are you going to put 'em up, or what?"

Aurora tilted her head. "Why?"

"To fight, of course. Or are you scared?"

Well, here goes nothing. Her grin showed her teeth. "No. I'm not. But you should be."

Roger laughed, but now he sounded unsure.

"He's coming for you, Roger," said Aurora.

He shook his head. "What are you talking--"

"Remember the contract?"

He froze. Aurora pressed on. "You signed it. You signed it in blood. There's no getting out, now that he's coming for you."

"What are you talking about?" The colour had drained from his face.

"What did you sell your soul for, Roger?" Aurora began to circle him. "So you could hit people?"

"It was just a dream!" He took a step back, tripped and fell. Gasps came all around. He scrambled up. "I saw it in a movie. It ain't real. It was just a dream."

Aurora chuckled. "If it was just a dream, Roger, how would I know?" She leaned towards him. "Can't you hear it? Can't you feel it?"

Sweat ran down his face. And to her surprise, Aurora heard a distant rumble. She felt the ground shake. It was already dark, thanks to the socks over the lamps, but now the light was going out of the sky. She could feel heat rising from behind Roger's back.

The other kids crowded forward, whispering at each other, no idea what was going on. This was all happening in Roger's head. She was making the dream play out for real in front of his eyes. And she was inside his dream. She could see what he saw.

She grinned. I can use this.

She threw her arms wide. "He's here!"

Flames leapt up in Roger's vision. The ground cracked and smoked. Aurora cackled. Roger yelled.

In her vision, the buildings became the walls of Roger's bedroom, draped in shadow and fear. A mailbox became a distorted version of his chest of drawers. A doorway was his closet door. It shuddered under the pounding of something inside. Roger crouched in his bed, knees to his chest, shaking. She could see Roger's vision of Albijana superimposed on her own. As the girl stared in the real world, perplexed, Roger saw wings of smoke and ash brush against his bedroom wall and flash with flame. Albijana opened her mouth, and behind a set of fangs was a cavern of fire.

Roger curled up into a ball on the concrete. He sobbed hysterically. "Mommy! Mommy! Make it stop! Make it go away! Make me wake up! Mommy!" His cries filled the alleyway.

The kids crowded around, eyes wide. "What's wrong with him?" The crowd jostled and Anne burst through, dragging Mr. Singh, the owner of the corner store, behind her.

Albijana was at Aurora's side but not too near. "What did you do? What did you do?!"

"What d'you think? I fixed him. I paid him back."

Aurora turned back to Roger. Her triumphant grin faded. Mr. Singh was kneeling beside him, trying to touch him, but Roger flinched away. Finally, Mr. Singh picked up Roger and carried him away while the boy screamed.

The crowd melted away. Albijana went with them. Aurora watched them go. Twilight deepened to night.

Aurora stood alone. What have I done?

"It was just his dream," she muttered. "He'll be okay."

She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and started home. A squawk made her stop and turn around.

In the light of a street lamp, Aurora saw a crow perched on a branch. It looked at her with one eye and then the other. It cawed once. Then, it stretched out its wings and flew away.

#

Aurora stared at her distant reflection in horror a long moment. Polk stepped back from the roof edge, changing back into a teenaged boy.

Aurora changed back too. She kept staring at her reflection across the street. Her breath shook. "I'm a crow!"

Polk took a step away.

"I didn't tell myself to become a crow," she went on. "I just said bird and the dreamscape changed me into the most natural form it could find. So, I'm a crow."

"Aurora..."

"The Dream King only sends out crows."

"Aurora, don't worry about this." Polk's voice was desperately calm.

"It really is true. I really am his daughter. No wonder he's been looking for me after all this time. He'll never stop unless I find him first."

Polk shifted on his feet. Something about the noise made her turn around. Polk had pulled a dagger from his sleeve. The light glittered off the tarnished bronze and played over runes that decorated its hilt.

She raised her eyebrows. "Is that for me?" she asked quietly.

Polk's Adam's apple bobbed. "Yes." His knuckles were white on the hilt. His face was as white as his knuckles.

"You said you swore to protect me."

"And to--" He swallowed. "--to kill you if you ever turned toward the Dream King." The blade started to shake.

"Polk," said Aurora levelly. "I'm stronger than you."

"Yes."

"We're in the dream world and I can move buildings with the power of my mind."

He nodded slowly. "Yes."

"I could crush you like a bug."

"Yes."

"And you are going to kill me?"

He grimaced. "That's what I swore."

"Okay." She tilted her head. "Do it."

He drew back sharply.

Aurora clasped her hands behind her back. "You have your orders, Polk. I won't stop you. Do it."

He looked from her to his knife and back again. He raised the knife high. He let out a yell. The blade swept down. Aurora closed her eyes.

She waited.

She opened her eyes. The point of the knife had stopped inches from her chest. Polk's hands trembled. Tears trickled down his cheeks. 

She stared at the knifepoint hovering in front of her a long moment. She hadn't stopped it. Polk had. The knife fell to the ground with a clatter. He sobbed. "I can't."

She put her arms around him. He embraced her. She pulled his face to hers and their lips met. They held the kiss a long moment, savouring the pressure of their lips and the taste of each other's tongues. When he let go, he cradled his head on her shoulder. 

"Don't go," he whispered in her ear. "For God's sake, please don't go to him."

She straightened up, looked him in the eye. "I have to. I'm sorry."

His hands tightened on his shoulders. "No!"

She turned into a giant crow and beat him back with her wings.

#

Polk snapped awake. He staggered back against the hood of a car, stunned by the sudden uproar of traffic. He gasped in the heat radiating off the asphalt of the parking lot. The bowlerama where they'd flown from the Dream King stood just behind him.

He looked around. Aurora wasn't there.

But a woman was striding towards him, a baseball bat in her hand.

"Dr. Perrault? What are you do--"

The air left him as Dawn swung the bat into his stomach. 

"I know what your orders were, Polk." She pulled back on the bat. "I know what you swore to do, and I'm not letting you get anywhere near Aurora."

Polk straightened up, wheezing. "No-- wait-- I'm not--" He grunted as she hit him again, in the chest. "Please! Let me explain!"

"You stay away from my daughter!" She yelled and swung the bat. She caught him hard between the legs.

#

Aurora stood on the roof of the tallest building in Saskatoon. She looked around once, then ran to the parapet, hopping onto it, her sneakers turning to claws and her arms to wings and her clothes to feathers. As a gigantic crow, she looked down on the trees, the buildings and the grid-like streets.

I'm ready.

Where would the Dream King's headquarters be? If he's in the realm of dreams, then he could be anywhere: a mystical portal in the middle of a farmer's field, or a deep pit at the bottom of the sea. Perhaps I only have to choose the location, and it would be there.

Down below, she could see the people: ghostly images, shadows in overcoats, walking with hunched shoulders, as if in rain. She couldn't see their faces.

But hadn't the Dream King pulled all the people out of the dreamworld? Maybe he'd just pulled them out of this dream? But people never stop dreaming, even when they're awake. Where do they go? As she looked down at the ghostly forms slipping through the streets, she wondered, am I looking down at all the dreams?

If bad things happen when I meet the Dream King, then let's go far, far away from here. There has to be a place to see him that is far from everyone.

She scanned the skies and saw a star, twinkling, bright even in the rising daylight.

There, she thought. Meet me there.

Aurora spread her wings and launched herself into the sky.

The air cooled rapidly. She shot through clouds, sudden blinding whiteness, then out into seas of cobalt blue. The air thinned. She beat up and up until the sky filled with stars in broad daylight and she could see the curve of the earth. Then she spread her wings and ran her gaze along the horizon. Far below, Saskatchewan was a patchwork quilt dotted with bursts of cotton batting.

Where was it? C'mon, she thought. Show yourself!

She felt her gaze turn as if hooked, to look at the eastern horizon. A star on the edge of space twinkled.

She angled her wings and shot forward at the speed of dreams. The twinkle grew brighter.

As she flew, she heard distant ripples of sound: people shouting. "Aurora!" her mother's voice. "Aurora!" Polk's. She ignored them.

The twinkle faded, but finally, she was there. Hovering in mid-air, she stared at the shape in front of her.

It was a door. A simple wood-panel door, unpainted, with a brass doorknob. Standing on a concrete step with a "Welcome" mat in front of it, mid-air where sky met space. Aurora tilted her head one way, then the other, waiting for it to change, to open, but it just sat there, waiting for her hand.

She flapped closer, reaching out for the doorknob with a talon.

A gigantic dove shot up from below and struck her full in the chest.

Aurora cartwheeled, screeching in pain and anger. White feathers beat at her, filling her vision. She struck back with her black wings. The dove fell back.

She looked around. Distant specks, white, black and grey, were rising into the sky. There were dozens -- no, hundreds -- and they were flying right at her.

She squawked angrily. You think you're going to stop me? She turned back to the door, but the gigantic dove swept on her again, its claws gouging at her wings. Aurora screamed. "Leave me alone!"

She twisted and pecked hard at the dove's chest. It crumpled but held on to her. They fell, spinning, like a broken plane out of the sky.

Aurora held the big dove tight in her claws and gazed deep into its beady black eye.

"Who are you, and why are you doing this?" she screeched.

The dream hit her like a grenade exploding.

Matron bursts from the elevator into the Maternity reception area. A dozen eyes stare at her from the waiting room. A boy, barely a toddler, sucks his thumb.

Matron blanches. "Polk?" She rounds on his father. "What's he doing here? What are you all doing here?"

"Your brother invited us," says Polk's father.

The head nurse steps behind Matron and clears her throat. "Can I help you?"

Matron whirls around. "Where is Dawn Perrault?"

"Who are you?"

"Don't waste time, woman," Matron shouts. "Where is she?"

Salvadore stands up from his seat in the waiting room, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Matron? What's wrong?"

The head nurse bristles. "Dawn Perrault is currently in a birthing room. The labour is going well. The father of the baby is with her. Are you related to the family?"

"Idiot." Matron pushes past the nurse. "Get him out of there!"

The nurse grabs Matron. "If you're not directly related to the mother, I can't let you go into the birthing room. Madam, if you continue, I'll have to call security!"

"I'm his sister!" Matron shouts. "He doesn't know what he's dealing with!"

A cry makes both women stop. A baby squawks.

"There, now," says a midwife in a nearby room. "There--"

The midwife screams.

Then a doctor.

Then the nurses in the next room over.

People rush for the emergency exit, pushing past the people in the waiting room who have stood up one after the other.

The head nurse rushes forward. "What's happening?" She runs partway down the corridor, then stops. She looks at her hands, eyes widening. She flexes her fingers and screams.

Matron shoves her toward the emergency exit. "Go! Get out while you still can!"

The hospital corridor twists, oozing like lava. Shadows scuttle across the walls, floors and ceiling, turning light into dark.

Matron faces the people in the waiting room. "Damn it."

"What do we do?" Polk's father asks.

"Get the Dream King away from his daughter."

Matron marches down the twisting corridor. The others follow.

Aurora broke out of the dream. She was still falling, still clawing the giant dove. The ground loomed closer.

"Matron?" She'd meant to say it, but the words came from everywhere. 

"You have to stop!" Matron's claws dug in.

"No!"

"Stop, girl, or else--"

"Or else what?" Aurora snarled back. "You'll kill me?"

"If I have to!"

"Go ahead and try!" Aurora stabbed wildly. Her beak sunk deep into Matron's shoulder. Red spilled across the dove's white chest and flecked Aurora's face. The dove screamed. The claws loosened, and Aurora pulled free. She soared.

"Aurora!" Matron screamed, struggling to stay aloft with one broken wing. Aurora watched as Matron lost altitude. A lump formed in her throat. Down Matron fell, until she became a speck against the ground. Then her wings swept wide, and she sailed across the patchwork quilt. Aurora let out the breath she was holding.

Then she looked around her. The air was becoming full of sounds, bird cries, bat screeches, snake hisses, the chitter of insects. She'd forgotten about the oncoming flying things. They were closing in on her.

Aurora turned towards the door. It had changed back to a sparkle of light. She angled up, and a gigantic bat swept forward and caught her full on the chest. 

The air left her. Her body changed. She was Aurora, a teenage girl now, though her arms were still crow's wings. 

She beat the bat off and sent it flying with a kick. She beat her wings and sailed up towards the sparkle of light.

The creatures were like a cloud, now; a mish-mash of wings and arms and talons, clawing at her feet as she struggled for every last beat of air. Their cries buffeted her ears. Something grabbed her sneakers. She let her shoes slip off and soared up barefoot.

She landed on the concrete doorstep, wings changing to arms. She grabbed the doorknob. The door opened inward. Darkness yawned. 

Something grabbed her ankle. Aurora fell against the doorstep. She lay, limbs splayed, for a moment transfixed by a face of statuesque light, like an angel. Its beautiful mouth opened into a gaping hole lined with fangs. Its wings snapped like sails.

She threw the welcome mat at it, then kicked it in the face. It let go. More arms grabbed at her over the doorstep. Aurora crabbed backward into the darkness. 

The door slammed, and darkness took her.

Forward to Chapter Ten ->>

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The Dream King's Daughter - Chapter Eight: Bouncing Off Clouds

Aurora looked up at the buildings that lined the alleyway. They were blank walls of brick, with only one window breaking the monotony. Two lamps near the window winked on in the early twilight.

Albijana hung back. "Why are you doing this?"

"Somebody has to teach Roger a lesson," said Aurora.

"Teach him what? How to hit a moving target?"

Aurora smiled at her. "It will be okay. Trust me."

Albijana looked at her a long moment. "What do you need me to do?"

Aurora handed her a couple of pairs of large black athletic socks. She pointed at the lamps. "I want this alleyway to be a bit darker. I'm not a good climber. Can you climb up there and pull these over the lights?"

Albijana took the socks, looked at the lamps, then looked at Aurora. "Okay."

As Albijana climbed up the posts and dragged socks over each lamp. Aurora looked around as the shadows deepened and the alleyway dimmed to twilight. 

Finally, Albijana slipped down to the pavement. "What now?"

"We wait, and you stay out of the way."

"That's all? What are you going to do? Why do you want it to be darker?"

Aurora just smiled. "You'll see." At least, I hoped we'll see.

They heard footsteps, the scuff of sneakers. They weren't alone anymore. Other kids clustered by trees, or fence posts, straining to get a good look without getting in the way. The alleyway filled up with mutters and giggles. Aurora touched the flashlight she had hidden up her sleeve. "It's almost time."

"Aurora," said Albijana. "We can still run. You don't have to do this."

"No. No more running."

The giggles stopped.

Roger sauntered into the alleyway.

#

Aurora and Polk stood up in the middle of the silent bakery-diner. Their shoes crunched on broken glass. No one else moved. The customers looked like three-dimensional photographs. Aurora turned to Dawn. "Mom!"

Dawn didn't move. Then she started to fade, along with the others. The people vanished like ghosts. Polk and Aurora were alone.

Outside, in the clear blue sky, thunder rumbled.

"He's got us," Polk whispered. "I should have known; when the sun dimmed, there weren't any clouds around. Just before we came in here, remember? It was a dream curtain."

Aurora shushed him. Polk's voice seemed impossibly loud in the silence. She thought she could hear her thumping heart. She strode out of the bakery and into the parking lot. The stores were all closed, even her mother's. Aurora tried the door and stared at the darkened window, feeling a pang of loss. She'd only just found her mom again. 

The few parked cars were empty. In the roadway next to the parking lot, cars stood in traffic, empty, their headlights on. "What's he done to all the people?"

Polk pinched his wrist. "Ow!" He pinched it again. "Ow! Oh, this is bad!"

Aurora swallowed the panic that was building in her throat. She ignored the traffic lights and crossed the road. The stoplights changed. The clicking of the switches in the lamppost sounded loud in the silence.

Halfway across the road, Aurora turned and walked along the yellow line that ran down the centre. The wind whistled through the telephone wires.

She stopped. Polk stopped beside her.

"This city's empty," Aurora said

"You think?" Polk said sarcastically.

"Except for us."

Thunder rumbled again. Aurora looked up and around. When she looked north, she flinched. The sky above was clear and bright, but the northern sky was dark. Clouds billowed onward like weather in a sped-up film. Lightning flickered over the buildings.

She swore.

If you're looking for someone, she thought, one way to find them is to remove everyone who isn't that someone. The person that's left is the one you want.

She watched the pouring clouds. Even in dreams, what kind of thing could make a whole city's population disappear, even the dogs? Heck, what if it wasn't just this city? What if me and Polk were the only two humans left on the planet?

A thing like that could squash me like a mosquito if it wanted to. So, why didn't it?

But if this thing is my father, he wouldn't want to squash me, would he? He'd want to hug me and hold me, kiss my scrapes and booboos and make it all better. He'd want to hurt those who'd taken me away from him. He'd tear the human race away to find me.

And that's just what this person has done.

But this can't be my father, she thought. There's no way I could be related to that!

"Aurora!" said a voice like thunder.

The voice came from everywhere at once, echoing off walls and hills, bouncing around buildings. Polk and Aurora were surrounded by warehouses and factories that blocked the view of the horizon.  Aurora looked around for a better vantage point. She spotted a ladder bolted to side of a long, squat building, the sign on which advertised "5 Pin Bowlerama". The ladder led to the roof. She ran over and clambered up the metal rungs, Polk close behind her.

They stepped out onto the gravel-covered roof. The northern sky stretched out above, black and boiling.

"Aurora!" The voice made the roof shake.

"Where's it coming from?" She looked around but saw nothing. Polk looked at the sky. He leapt back in shock. "Sweet Jesus!"

Aurora looked at the northern horizon.

The northern horizon looked back.

The clouds had formed a face. A trick, Aurora told herself, a slant of the early sunlight that turned the vapours shiny white or night black. Shadings formed eyes, nose, lips, in the shape of the man who had come to the diner, all in black, right down to his eyeballs.

A trick of the light. Except that the cloudy lips moved. "Aurora. I have found you at last."

"Who... are you?"

The face in the clouds smiled. "I am the Dream King."

Gravel scrunched behind her as Polk slipped back against the wall of a utility hut.

Aurora clenched her fists. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She licked her lips. "Why have you been chasing me?"

"Don't you know me, Aurora? I am your father."

Aurora stared at the cloud face, her hands clenched at her sides, searching for something familiar, either from distant memory, or from her own gaze into a mirror. Nothing.

The clouds frowned. "I can tell you don't recognize me. They would have made sure of that, wouldn't they? I haven't seen you since I held you as a newborn in my arms."

Aurora sucked her teeth. Then she said, "I know who you are. What are you?"

"I am the Dream King," the cloud rumbled. "I balance the dreamworld and guide the dreams of humanity. I have searched everywhere for you, looking in people's dreams, listening for the signal of your mind. I almost had you years ago, but your kidnappers hid you again."

"Those weren't my kidnappers! They were Mom and Aunt Matron, the people who loved me and cared for me and brought me up..." She broke off.

Mom who'd brought me up... until three years ago when, in terror, she'd hid me away in some out-of-the-way place and tied me down under layers of false memories that hid who I really was.

She began to understand why she'd felt so angry at her mother, now, and Aunt Matron. They'd never let me be myself. I wasn't some country waitress trapped in some dead-end village, but I don't know who I am. Mom never told me. Nobody had let me find out who I really was.

Maybe this Dream King could tell me.

But she felt so small under his sky-sized face. In those eyes, how could I be anything but the smallest insect?

Keep him talking, and figure out where I can run.

"What do you want?" she shouted.

Laughter rippled across the dead city. Warm, but tinged with - could that be nerves? "You're my daughter, Aurora. I've spent years looking for you. I've abandoned my duties and thought of nothing but you. And at last, I've found you. Now I can bring you home."

Aurora tried to think of the sort of bedroom she'd have in the Dream King's house. She guessed it wouldn't be the sort of place where you could hang posters.

The cloud face shifted. The eyes widened and the mouth twisted with longing. "Come with me, Aurora. Come home."

Aurora took a step back. "No."

The clouds grew darker. Polk stood at the top of the ladder. "Get ready to run," he hissed.

"Aurora..." The warning thunder rippled across the bricks and asphalt.

"No," she said again. "You didn't ask to see me, you didn't write, you didn't come up to me quietly and introduce yourself. No. You tried to take me by force. You sent a snake man to stalk me! You attacked Matron! You attacked Polk! You attacked me! What father does that to his child?"

Lightning flickered around the edge of the Dream King's face. "They've turned you against me!"

"Listen!" Aurora yelled. "I've lived sixteen years without knowing you. I don't need you in my life, so just send a birthday card next time! Go away!"

Thunder shook the ground. "Come back to me!" The Dream King's face twisted in anger... and kept twisting. The eyes bled black. The cheeks ripped open. The mouth stretched into a gigantic cavern. Darkness spewed out, a thick cloud of black shapes that filled the sky with beating wings. Crows!

Polk darted back and grabbed her arm. "Run! Now!"

The cloud of crows swept closer and closer. Aurora turned to run. No, she thought. We can't run. We've got to fly! The words came from some instinct deep inside. We've got to fly. We can't run; they're too fast. This is a dream, so we've got to make it happen. C'mon, fly! Fly! Make me fly! In her mind's eye, she imagined a gigantic bird grabbing her up and sweeping her to safety.

She pulled free of Polk's grip and ran towards the parapet. "Polk! Help me! Now!" she shouted, reaching behind her without looking.

A talon gripped her forearm and lifted her off her feet. Aurora looked up in astonishment. A wingspan of a giant kestrel filled her vision, half the width of the roof. Polk squawked.

"What the hell am I doing?" he screamed. "What's happened to me?" It was Polk's voice, but it came out as a screech from the beak of the gigantic kestrel. His talons loosened. Aurora slipped. They sailed over the edge of the building parapet.

She clawed at him, pulling large feathers from his chest. "Hold onto me!" she shouted. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

"But, how--"

"Shut up and go! Go!"

The cloud of crows was almost upon them. Polk clamped back down on her shoulders. His claws dug in, but Aurora didn't protest. "Faster!" she shouted. She gripped his spindly legs. "Faster!" With a great swoop of his wings, they sailed forward, rising above the buildings.

The crows spread out like buckshot, a cloud that towered over them and stretched across half the sky. Polk flapped desperately. The wind beat at Aurora's face and tore at her clothes, but the birds' cries filled her ears. Beneath her, rooftops and squares of green parkland swept past. They followed the sweep of the river that cut through the centre of town.

"Faster!" she gasped.

Polk squawked. "What's that?"

Aurora looked. A white speck came into view ahead of them. It was a dove, flapping desperately. And just like Polk, it was huge.

It was sweeping right at them. There was no time to avoid it. Aurora yelled and closed her eyes.

The dove shot past. The wind of its wake buffeted Aurora's face. She heard it meet the cloud of crows with a sound like snowballs pelting a brick wall. She grabbed a look over her shoulder and saw the cloud of crows disintegrating. The dove wheeled and clawed, covered in black specks, some of which slipped off and fell to the ground.

But most of the flock swept onward.

Aurora looked around for something she could use to stop them. Flying through the air, there wasn't much at hand. Okay, nothing.

A park stretched out below, along both sides of the river. Behind her, she heard the flapping of wings grow louder. If only we could hide under the trees, she thought.

The trees in the park twisted. A webwork of greenery slithered upward, like vines on an invisible trellis. Polk and Aurora shot past it. The impromptu fence rose behind them. The first crows smacked into it and got tangled among the branches.

Polk flew on.

Gripping his legs, Aurora looked back. The crows buffeted the leafy fence. The sky behind it rumbled and flashed. And then the darkness grew translucent. The plants and the crows faded from sight, and the clouds broke apart and faded into blue. The northern sky was clear again. The giant kestrel and its passenger flew alone over an empty city.

Polk sagged. He grunted with the effort of flapping his wings. They started losing altitude. He gasped. "I... can't..."

Aurora looked ahead to the roof of a high-rise apartment. It was the closest. It also happened to be the tallest building in the city. "There! That building! Set down there."

Polk puffed the distance. Aurora saw the roof rise up faster than she wanted it to. She cartwheeled her legs for the landing. Her feet struck gravel. Polk let go and she sprawled.

He fell forward, his legs giving way as they touched down. He skidded over the roof, turning as he slid from bird to human. He jolted to a stop, then painfully pushed himself up onto hands and knees. "What... just happened?"

"Sleep," said Aurora. Polk fell forward and lay still. Like an enchanted prince, she thought. 

Which makes me what? The wicked witch?

But he needs a rest, she told herself firmly. And I need time to think alone.

She picked herself up and brushed herself off. She rubbed the spots on her shoulders where Polk's claws had dug in. Then she walked to the roof's edge and leaned against the parapet, staring north at the clear sky. The breeze fluttered her hair. She thought about what had just happened.

She looked at her hands. She remembered what she'd told Britney.

"You've already imagined a fence, right?" said Aurora, "and it came true?"

Britney nodded. "But he jumped over it," she mumbled.

"And you've already imagined a door, right," Aurora continued. "So you know that you can imagine whatever you want in the dream, and it's right there in front of you. Right?"

And not just the dream, Aurora thought. I asked for a ride, and we found the rail truck. I could stop snakes in mid strike and make new ones burst from the ground.

And now she was in a dream -- in her element, even though she never slept. She could turn Polk into a bird. There was no limit to what she could do.

She looked at her hands again. No limit at all.

She walked backwards from the parapet until the whole edge of the roof and the buildings beyond were in view. She closed her eyes. "Let there be a fence," she said.

She opened her eyes. Around her, on the roof inside the parapet, a bare metal fence, a railing with posts, guarded the edge.

She kept her eyes open this time. "Make it a picket fence!"

The metal turned white. The posts multiplied and aimed points at the sky. The railing became a wooden crosspiece.

She clicked her tongue thoughtfully. She hadn't said what colour. Maybe she'd thought it. "Higher!"

The white pickets stretched up and up, aiming for a vanishing point in the sky.

Lower, she thought.

The pickets shrank down.

Huh, she thought. I don't even have to talk out loud.

Stop.

The fence stopped at waist height and stayed like that.

Aurora looked at the high-rise across the street. She motioned at it, palm up.

The building rose up like a silent rocket. Floor after floor flicked past her, and then came the foundation, ripped out of the ground, dirt and chunks of concrete streaming off.

She held out her hand, palm down, and lowered her arm. The skyscraper slowed, stopped, then began to descend. It met the ground with a dull thud. 

Aurora looked to her left and right, then raised her arms. Every building, every house, every church steeple, every tree, rose slowly into the air. Aurora gently waved her arms, and the waves travelled out across the city, ripples in a sea of cement, steel, masonry and greenery beneath the morning sky.

Aurora dropped her arms to her sides and looked at the undulating skyline. A new-found sense of power rose in her chest and tickled her throat. She laughed.

Okay! Now what?

Polk stirred and muttered in his sleep.

What could I possibly test that would tell me the limits of my power? She looked at the sky. Okay. She took a dozen steps backward, focused on the parapet in front of her, and braced herself.

Beside her, Polk rolled over and looked up. "Hey, Aurora. What--"

Aurora sprinted forward. The parapet bounced in her field of vision. Beyond it, the Saskatoon cityscape rose into view.

Polk jumped up and ran after her. "Aurora!" He grabbed her just as she cleared the parapet. They fell.

The wind beat at her face. Glass and concrete flashed past, upward. The lines on the road below grew more and more distinct. And, behind her, someone was screaming.

As she looked over her shoulder, her arms and legs splayed out like a skydiver, she caught sight of Polk, falling with her, eyes staring and face white against his wind-flattened hair.

Aurora twisted around in mid-air, grabbed his outstretched hand, and pulled him closer. He clutched her desperately. She could just hear his screams over the scream of the wind in her ears. The ground was getting awfully close.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt the wind ease up. Polk pressed against her as they slowed. She eased herself upright and held onto Polk as they stopped falling. Then she let go of him.

Polk stared at her a long moment, gasping. Then he filled his lungs. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Aurora started to speak, but then she realized that she was out of breath too. She took a moment to catch it. "Just testing a theory."

"What theory?" yelled Polk. "Gravity? News flash, Aurora: it works!"

She grinned. "Not here, it doesn't."

"What--"

"Two things. One, we just jumped off the tallest building in Saskatoon and didn't get mashed. And two: we didn't actually land."

He looked at his feet. He was standing six feet off the ground. He yelped and fell the rest of the way, landing in a heap.

Aurora giggled.

"That's not funny!" Polk picked himself up off the sidewalk and brushed himself off. He gaped up at her as she floated. He walked around her and underneath her, looking for wires. Aurora hovered with her hands clasped behind her back.

"What--"

"This is a dream, remember?" said Aurora.

"Oh." Polk closed his mouth. "So, you thought you'd test it out, and see if you could, what, fly?"

Aurora floated down to the ground. The asphalt scrunched gently underfoot. "Seems to be working."

"That was--" He struggled for the right words. Finally, he said, "That was insane! You had no idea it would work, and you just jumped off a building?"

"Hey, I turned you into a bird, didn't I? Don't you think that's a sign that the normal rules don't apply here?"

"Well, this isn't your personal playground, okay?" Polk stormed off down the road, shaking his head, fists clenched.

"Polk?" Aurora shouted. She ran after him. "Polk, wait!"

He stopped so suddenly, she bumped into him. He looked around at the buildings floating up and down the street, rising and falling in their aerial ballet. "Did you do this?"

Aurora smiled modestly. "Yeah."

"Way not to draw attention to yourself."

She blushed. She swept out her hands, and the buildings sank onto their foundations with the groan of mountains settling.

"Okay." Polk looked around then strode off towards a mini-mart on the ground floor of a high-rise apartment. Aurora ran to keep up.

The door swung open as they approached. Aisles of cans and produce stretched out on either side. Near the cash, a deli counter offered stools, and seats around two tables.

"Polk, stop!" Aurora shouted.

"Why don't you just stick a wall in front of me?" he shouted back. "That'll stop me real quick."

"Polk, I-- I won't do that. Please stop?"

He stopped, then turned and looked at her, arms jammed in pockets, shoulders hunched.

"Polk, what's wrong?" Aurora twisted her hands together. "This is good news, isn't it? We're not as helpless as we thought."

"You, maybe," said Polk. "Does that give you the right to turn me into a bird or put me to sleep? Or scare me half to death with your suicide tricks?"

Or invade your dreams, Aurora thought. She looked at the floor. "I'm sorry." 

He looked at her, then looked away. "It's-- Okay, I understand. Well-- I don't, but..." He sighed. "I know what it's like, to suddenly discover you have new powers. You want to use them."

She cocked her head. "You have powers too?"

His cheeks flushed. He traced the outline of a tile with his shoe. "Uh... yeah. I haven't told anybody about this. Nobody knows."

"What do you do?"

He looked up at her, then down. "I can slow down time."

"Slow down time?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, can you stop time?"

"No."

"Can you speed it up?"

"Er... I never tried. I generally can slow it down just a little, for a little while." He gave her a grin. "I... er... I use it to take longer naps."

Aurora steepled her fingers over her mouth. Her shoulders shook.

"It's not funny," he grumbled. "Yeah, I'm a little jealous of you, right now. You have all these powers. My dad seems to have been a king of daydreams or something."

Aurora snorted. She turned away.

"It's not that funny!" he snapped. "I mean, it works out well for everybody. I have time to work for Matron, and I get a couple extra hours of sleep."

Aurora burst out laughing. She doubled over. Polk scowled. Then he began to chuckle too. Then they were both laughing, stress and adrenaline pouring out of them.

Aurora drew herself up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Polk." Then, more seriously: "Really, I am. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, and for doing all those things to you."

"That's okay, I guess. We were being chased."

"And I'm sorry I looked into your dream and found out how you really felt about me."

His cheeks reddened. "Well... I might have told you, eventually."

She came forward, took a deep breath, and held out her hand. "Friends?"

The flash of disappointment in his eyes lasted only a second. He clasped her hand. "Friends."

He gave a little grunt of surprise as she reached up and clasped the back of his neck, pulled him down and kissed him. Time slowed as they lingered on it. Polk put his arms around her and held her tightly. Then she let him go and stepped back.

Polk stared at her, his eyes shining.

"Oh, and Polk?"

"Uh-huh?"

She grinned at him. "In your dreams."

He reddened again, but he flashed her a grin. "Careful, there. We're in a dream."

She shrugged casually, though her face felt hot. "Yeah? So?"

His grin vanished. Suddenly, he reared back, crying out. His body shook and jerked. Aurora yelled. Polk crashed to the floor, two metal barbs stuck in his back, attached to wires. Salvadore stood over him.

Aurora raised her fists. "You!" she snarled.

He flashed a smile at her and began fishing through his pockets for a new set of wired darts.

"What is this, the third time you've tried to grab me?" she said. "I'm surprised the Dream King hasn't fired you."

"Actually," said Salvadore cheerily. "He terminated my employment." He beamed at her. "He didn't like my methods, apparently; said so, after you complained, I was lucky to escape with my life." He found what he was looking for and pulled out a new nozzle for the stun gun. He reloaded. "So that means I'm back to my original plan: to capture you for my own purposes."

"If you hurt me, he'll kill you," she said quietly.

"Actually, I never intended to hand you over to him," said Salvadore. "I was there to thwart his quest. Trust me, I may like my share of screaming, but I'm not stupid. You're a threat to everything, girl. Having something to hold over the Dream King? That's an added bonus. After all, a man in my position has ambitions."

"What do you mean, your position?" said Aurora.

"I'm a number two. An opposing figure, if you will." He shrugged. "Who do you think balances the King of Dreams, girl?  Weren't the snakes and the spiders enough of a clue?"

Polk struggled up on hands and knees. Aurora knelt beside him. She looked up at Salvadore. "I get it," she said. "Nightmares."

Salvadore smirked. "I also do bats, standardized tests, and suddenly finding yourself naked with everybody pointing at you and laughing."

Aurora looked past him. A flurry of cans rose up two aisles over, like a metal dust storm. She looked back at Salvadore.

He slid the new pins into his stun gun and looked up. "So, will you come quietly? Oh, of course not. Silly me." He aimed the device.

There was a sound of clanking feet. It was a strangely heavy, metallic sound, with a hint of sloshing liquid. Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!

Crouching on the floor, Polk looked up. He scrambled back in horror. Aurora stood up, holding Salvadore's eyes.

Around the end of the aisle, a tall scarecrow figure made of canned vegetables marched into view. It turned and clanked up behind Salvadore. It stopped a pace behind him, bean-can hands on baby carrot hips.

Salvadore froze. He looked at Aurora, who was smiling.

Tin Can Man reached out and tapped Salvadore gently on the shoulder.

Salvadore turned around. And looked up.

The monster looked down at him and cocked its extra-large can of tomato soup head.

Aurora grinned. "I can do nightmares too."

Salvadore ducked, but not fast enough.

Clonk!

He sailed into the air, cleared the shelves two aisles away and landed in the pineapple display. Tin Can Man clanked slowly after him.

Polk staggered to his feet, clutching his side. Aurora helped him up. "Told you we weren't helpless," she said.

"That..." Polk gasped. "...was evil!"

"No," said Aurora. "This is evil." She cackled theatrically and pointed at the ceiling. Her voice echoed from the store's PA system. "Cleanup in aisle three!"

She pulled Polk along two aisles and towards the pineapple display. Salvadore lay in the middle of a mass of rolling pineapples. Polk skidded on a squished orange. Tin Can Man stood to one side, hands on his hips.

"What are you doing?" asked Polk as Aurora let him go.

"I need to know." She kicked aside a splattered tomato and pushed back a mass of crushed apples. She knelt over Salvadore. His head was tilted back and his eyelids fluttered.

"Look at me," she said. "Look at me."

He squinted at her blearily.

"What am I?" She stared into his eyes. "Tell me what I am. What we are."

He struggled to look away, but Aurora peered close. Her eyes held him. She could feel the tips of his dreams like invisible tendrils around his head, brushing her face. She reached out with the fingertips of her mind, grabbed one, and pulled.

Salvadore yelled.

Polk started forward, but Aurora put out her hand. She stayed focused on Salvadore. "Come on," she snarled. "Let me see!"

She pulled harder.

Images burst on her.

Matron holds a squalling infant. Dawn lies semi-conscious in her hospital bed.

"What," says Matron slowly, "do we do, with the baby?"

Silence rings the room. The other figures stand around, battered. They look at the ceiling, or the floor. In a corner, a young Polk sucks his thumb.

"What?" says Matron more loudly, "do we do, with this baby?"

More silence.

"He won't stop looking for her," says Matron. "I wouldn't if this were my daughter. So, we have to hide her. How?"

Salvadore steps forward and brushes fingertips over the newborn's hair. "You know, there is an easier way."

Matron pulls the infant away as Salvadore makes a grab for it. "No, there isn't."

"Yes, there is. I can see it's on your mind, Matron. You're saying it to yourself again and again. It would be so much easier, solve so many problems, if this baby were dead."

"That's not who we are," Matron snaps. "That's not what we do!"

"Nonesuch!" says Salvadore. "I know what you do to protect the dreams of children, Matron, and as for me, where is fear without the threat of violence? And where is the threat without the act? Death's counterfeit and all that? Shakespeare was more right than he knew."

"No!" Matron shoves him away. Dawn is waking up, her eyelids fluttering.

"What happened?" she mumbles. "Where's my baby? Give me my baby!"

Matron lays Aurora on Dawn's stomach. "Here's your baby," she says softly. She kisses Dawn atop her head. "We'll protect you. But you've got to run."

Aurora blinked back to reality. "What--"

Salvadore's hand shot up and closed around her throat. She gagged.

"We've never had to deal with someone like you," he snarled. "We've never had so much power concentrated in two people. He didn't know what to do with it. He doesn't even know what happened! He just exploded because of you. It would be so much easier if you just died, right here, right now."

Aurora gurgled and clawed at the fingers tightening around her neck. Polk shouted, darted forward, skidded on mashed tomatoes, and fell. He slithered forward on his hands and feet.

Aurora forced herself to stop trying to claw Salvadore's vice-like hand from her throat. She pictured Tin Can Man. It clunked forward, shoved Polk out of its way, and swung its bean-can hand down hard. Salvadore looked up. His face went white.

Clonk!

Salvadore's grip relaxed. Aurora pulled free. She stumbled back, gasping, swallowing and massaging her throat. She scowled at Salvadore's slumped form, then looked up at Tin Can Man. The creature raised its arm for another strike.

"Aurora!" Polk shouted.

Aurora raised her hand. Tin Can Man dropped its arm. It tilted its head at her in a questioning way, then fell apart in a clatter of metal and sloshing liquid.

Aurora and Polk staggered to their feet. Polk gave her a look that was edged with something she didn't recognize. Could it have been fear? No! Why should he be afraid of me? "C'mon, let's go," she said.

Polk hesitated, looked down at Salvadore, then turned away.

The exit doors swung open for them -- they weren't automatic, she noticed; she had just pushed them open with a brief wave of her hand -- and they stepped out into the street.

They stopped in the middle of the empty road and looked around, uncertain.

"So... what do we do now?" asked Polk.

"Well, the good news is, we're not helpless. The bad news is, I don't know what else we can do except run."

"So, we run?"

"We can't run forever. That's the even... badder news." She took a deep breath. "Well, it'll give us time to think." She thought a moment. "We head south."

Polk heaved a sigh. "Again? Where now? Regina?"

"We could rest our feet, you know."

Polk's gaze tracked up as she floated five feet into the air above him. She smiled, hands clasped behind her head.

"Show off," he grumbled.

"Try it!" She grinned at him.

"Are you kidding me?'

"Go on, try it!" She waved him up. "It's your dream, too. C'mon, let's have some fun."

Polk looked at his hands and down at his legs. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He rose slowly into the air.

He opened his eyes again and blinked in astonishment. Then he tried to pick himself up faster. His legs kicked uselessly. All he could do was wait until he was within Aurora's reach. Then she grabbed his hands and pulled him the rest of the way.

Polk looked around at the empty street they hovered over. He laughed nervously. "'There is no spoon'," he muttered.

"What?"

"Never mind."

She let go of his hands and floated back a few paces. "So... Shall we fly? Easier than walking."

"Fly? Like..." He smiled and threw out his arms. As he moved, he changed. White feathers sprouted all over him. A gigantic kestrel flapped in the air. Off he flew.

Aurora laughed. "Oh, no, you don't! You're not beating me in this race!"

She threw out her arms. Feathers caught the air and brushed the high-rise windows as they swept her forward. The floors of each building became a blur as she flew after Polk.

They banked and cartwheeled, dodging between the buildings, Aurora chasing Polk. Their squawking laughter echoed off the glassy towers. Then, looking back at her, Polk let out a squawk of fear. He flew to a parapet and perched, staring down at her. Aurora flapped up beside him. He scuttled back a few steps.

"What?" She looked at him with first her right eye and then her left.

His head bobbed nervously. "N... nothing. It's all good."

She opened her beak to call him a liar. Then she saw her reflection in the glassy side of a tower across the street.

The reflection of a giant crow stared back at her.

Forward to Chapter Nine ->>