The wavering ball of heat generated by the campfire barely warmed Del Gato's face and chest. His back remained exposed to the cold night air, and the sandwiching of temperatures on his body made him tense. At that moment he wished he was back in his apartment on Earth, the dream he came from -- Earth as a dream! Sometimes it was still hard to swallow.
Gradnuer sprinkled the hair he had cut from his ever-growing beard into the fire. The flames ate them up indifferently. Actually, the Carkhan's facial hair resembled more of a mane than a beard. The hair didn't grow down his neck, and was the same color and roughness as the hair on his head. Del Gato's own face was more rough; he was apprehensive to shave with the point of a spear like Gradnuer had done so he only cut it down to heavy stubble. Fox was the luckiest of them all. The Elffan race could will their hair to grow or not grow.
Lucky really wasn't the word of choice. They had spent nearly a week chasing Rothin the Deadly through this unnamable dream -- unnamable because the dream seemed utterly desolate outside of the single creature whose dream they had entered through, or from, or . . . whatever.
Del Gato craned his head around to look at the dot of light that was Rothin's camp. The dream killer was about two or so miles away from them. The dry, empty and total flatness of the landscape, and the otherwise complete darkness of night allowed them to see his location. Being able to see exactly where he was made him seem so close. All they had to do was make the trek to his campsite later that night and they could kill him. Del Gato ran his fingers between the two gnarled, raised scars Rothin had given him. They ran nearly parallel from the end of his lips to just before his earlobe. God! He'd do anything to convince Gradnuer that night was the best time to strike.
"Sometimes I wonder if you and he weren't cut from the same cloth," Gradnuer said, softly. He must have guessed Del Gato's thoughts from his expression. He did that often.
"What's the matter Gradnuer? Did I disrupt your Buddhist-like approach to this whole vengeance thing?" Del Gato said.
Gradnuer flicked the last of his hair shavings. Besides the ear-length sideburns, his face was clean. "You do not fight with honor."
"When Rothin killed your girlfriend, was that honorable?" Del Gato shot back.
"That is exactly my point," Gradnuer said. "You do not act like your enemies. That is honor. You did to Rothin and Bane what Rothin had done to me and my beloved. Among my people, that would be worthy of expulsion from the clan."
Del Gato poked the fire with his spear. The flames hissed and spit tiny sparks about. Back in the dream where they'd first picked up Fox, Rothin had fallen in love with some semi-sentient rampaging creature called Bane. Del Gato had shot her in the head while she and Rothin made out. He wished he had shot Rothin instead. "Where I come from we have a saying. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth."
"Stop," Fox said. "Don't make me the most mature one here. You two are supposed to be training me."
"Gradnuer's too old to train anyone," Del Gato said. "I may have no honor but I know what the hell I'm doing. Even he admits that I have a better grasp of the dream energy."
"That does not mean you are cut out to be a hero," Gradnuer said.
Del Gato leapt to his feet as though to fight. Gradnuer did the same. "I never wanted to be a hero," the former police officer seethed. "But I can't go back home because of you. You've been predicting since the medieval dream that you're going to end up left behind. Well I can't fucking wait!"
"What's wrong with you two?" Fox said. "Now I know why you guys needed me as an equalizer against Rothin. I'd bet he isn't half as powerful as you say, it's just that you two can't pull it together."
Although he didn't feel like the fight was over, Del Gato didn't want to kick Gradnuer's ass. He ambled over to his sleeping skins. It had been a sleeping bag when he bought it in the dream where they had picked up Fox, but, like his weapons and his clothes, it changed when they shifted into this dream. The skins were furry and soft, like a Persian cat's hair. Once he wrapped himself inside, the cold faded to a memory.
Despite his comforts, he wouldn't sleep tonight -- not until he saw that tiny glow so far away go out. Then he'd know that Rothin was asleep for the night. Perhaps even then he'd stay up and wait for the other dream walkers to sleep so he could go and kill Rothin in the night. Why not? He had watched Rothin do the same to others.
"Here's your pill, Del Gato," Fox said. Between his thumb and index finger rested a gray oval that, in this dream, resembled a pebble.
"If Rothin were to approach us at night, why would he escape into one of our dreams when he could just outright murder us?" Del Gato said.
"Because that is not his way," Gradnuer recited. Del Gato wondered: if Gradnuer knew Rothin's style so well, why couldn't he take him in a fight?
To prevent another verbal exchange, Del Gato popped the pill in his mouth and waited for enough saliva to fill his pallet so he could swallow. Let Rothin enter my dream world, he thought. Let him escape into the jungle world that I dream of, then I'll be free of this burden.
When Fox put out the fire, and he and Gradnuer went to their own skins, Del Gato let the pill, warm from his spit, ooze into his palm, then smeared it into the cold, coarse dirt.
#
Their luck was astounding. There he lay, Rothin the Deadly, the dream killer, the slayer of dreamscapes, sleeping like a child. A faint grin decorated his face. Maybe he was dreaming of sugar plum faeries. At that moment, Del Gato wished he had his Colt .45. Since leaving Earth, it had become a slingshot, a plasma cartridge pistol, and now resembled a wooden lacrosse stick. Unfortunately, before their third night Del Gato had run out of the four-cornered stone projectiles, which looked a cross between ninja throwing stars and prehistoric arrowheads. Otherwise he would have used that to kill Rothin from a distance, before Gradnuer could be a problem.
Not willing to press his luck again, Del Gato spun his spear like a baton until the point faced Rothin's neck. With two hands he thrust downward.
Gradnuer parried the attack with his foot. The triangular stone snapped off when it hit the unforgiving land. A cloud of dust puffed up from where the weapon had struck. Del Gato only allowed Gradnuer's visage to enter his peripheral vision; he didn't want to read the lecture off the Carkhan's face. What were they supposed to do, stand around and wait for the madman to wake up, wash and have a hearty breakfast before they fought him?
Rothin inhaled some of the dirt kicked up from Del Gato's weapon. He snorted and grumbled some nonsense. Del Gato stepped back, hoping to kick up enough dirt to wake him.
They waited. Rothin snorted again, then rolled over into a fetal position. His long, soft white hair, normally tied in a ponytail, flopped as he shifted his weight, ending up partly sprawled across his face.
That was enough for Del Gato. "I'm not waiting any longer," he yelled at Gradnuer, though he was clearly trying to wake Rothin. His voice trailed off into the plains, eaten by the emptiness around them. He put his face by Rothin's and yelled again. "Get up so we can kill you, freak!"
The dream killer didn't budge. He must be fooling with them, knowing Gradnuer wouldn't let them attack him if they thought him asleep.
Del Gato opened his mouth to argue the matter, but stopped. He suddenly felt dizzy, as if he had stood up too fast. His vision blurred. His sinuses swelled, like he was having an allergy attack. He tried to shake it off but it only served to show him that all of his senses were numb. Was he dreaming this scene about standing near Rothin? He clenched his fist in hopes of feeling his spear. The grainy wood tickled his hand.
Grainy? It didn't feel like that before.
Then an image came to him: An oasis, with a small shimmering pond and thick, aromatic trees. The grass that carpeted the ground came half way up his shins and was moist with dew.
Gradnuer and Fox stood in the exact positions relative to Del Gato as they were when they were standing around Rothin. Only now, instead of standing before the sleeping body of Rothin, they stood around a knee-high, pink flower. The petals reminded Del Gato of a rose's, only they were larger and supported the body of a forearm-sized person sitting lotus position.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one this happened too," Fox said. "I thought I had accidentally entered Rothin's dream world."
"What the hell happened?" Del Gato asked. He was looking at Gradnuer but suspected the tiny entity in front of them would answer.
"You mean you guys don't know?" Fox asked. He seemed more relieved by that fact than scared. After all, the dream they had just left was the first dream world he had entered that wasn't his native one.
"It worked," squeaked the person that had taken Rothin's place. She looked up, took in a deep breath, then sprung from her spot on the flower. Two barely perceptible translucent wings sprouted from her back and she floated up Del Gato's face.
He resisted the urge to swat her. "What the hell are you and why aren't we in the vast plains?"
The cosmic knowledge answered the first question -- she was an Ainsel, which was something like a pixie as far as Del Gato could tell.
"I made you real," she said. "For several nights I dreamed of you three fighting an evil villain. The dream made me so lonely that I decided to make you real and it worked. I didn't mean to make the others, but that's OK."
"I've got news for you," Del Gato said. "We were always real. What you did was pull us from your dream into this one."
She crinkled her nose. "No, this is the real world."
"No more real than where I or Fox came from," Del Gato said.
Her eyes grew wide like a child about to cry. Del Gato felt like a jerk. This innocent little thing . . . "How can that be?" she asked.
Although so small, she had an attractive form -- shapely, with high cheekbones and elliptical eyes. Her ruddy, brown hair, trimmed short and angular, had a golden glow about it. Her dark eyes were captivating, drew him in. "Everything you dreamed really happened," he said, trying to console her, thought not entirely sure why. "That villain, Rothin the Deadly, is real and only the three of us can stop him."
"We must be in Rothin's dream," Gradnuer said. He faced the little creature. "What did you do to bring us here?"
"I used magick," she said, a slight smile coming to her lips.
"You have to send us back," Fox said, moving next to Del Gato to get within her range of vision. "If Rothin leaves the plains and enters another dream, we may never find him again."
"But I don't want to send you back," the Ainsel pouted. "I'll be lonely again. Please don't make me lonely again. Please!"
Del Gato's chest swelled. For a moment he forgot to breathe. He hadn't felt like this in ages. Not since April died in the crash so long ago -- he couldn't even remember when. He was so far away from Earth that he had no idea what date it would be there. In fact, he didn't remember feeling quite like this with April. He always wanted to, but never did. Something about it made no sense, but he couldn't help it.
In an instant she zipped off into a thicket of trees. She must have taken Del Gato's hesitation for an answer. He really did want to tell her he would stay.
What? No he didn't. He touched the two scars on his cheek again, felt his anger rekindle. Rothin the Deadly was more important than some silly little creature. He headed off after her to go tell her. She had to go back to sleep so they could leave as soon as possible. The longer they stayed in this dream the more in jeopardy they were of losing Rothin's trail.
Del Gato managed to worm around some of the tightly packed foliage. "Hey . . . um . . . Ainsel girl, or whatever your name is!"
"My name is Foo," she said from seemingly everywhere.
From within the thick leaves of the tree on his left floated a thumbnail-sized puff. It resembled a dandelion seed, only thicker and denser. Daintily it moved toward the ground until it rested on a blade of grass. Del Gato looked back up to see at least a dozen, maybe more, puffs of varying size floating down like snow. It was . . . cute.
"What's wrong," Foo asked. The forest was alive with her voice. "Don't you like puffs?"
He wanted to say yes. "This is serious." The words were painfully contradictory to his thoughts, but he needed to say them. Why were they so contradictory? "Rothin the Deadly is dangerous. Every minute that we stay here could be another life lost."
"I didn't see him kill anyone in my dreams," she said.
Her voice had become more localized. Del Gato guessed where she was and headed in that direction. "There wasn't enough people to kill in your dream. In my dream, I saw him kill and maim dozens. Then, when he came into the dream world I lived in, he killed even more."
After several painful minutes of forcing himself between tree trunks and trying the step over wide, thick and strong bushes, Del Gato could see a clearing. His back was sore and his legs throbbed from the strain. He could have summoned the dream energy and just plowed through the whole forest, forced a path with raw strength, but strangely, he didn't feel up to it.
In the clearing stood a young woman. Her dress was thin and silky, nearly translucent. The back of her hair barely fell below her neck. She was staring at a horizon that wasn't there. Her bare toes lay inches from the edge of what looked like a precipice. Beyond her there was almost nothing. Except islands, seemingly hundreds of yards away, floating in the air as though suspended from strings. In the distance, Del Gato could count four. Some higher than others, below which he could see chunks of dirt hanging, making them resemble flipped icebergs.
"You see," she said. Her voice gave away that it was Foo, though in this form it didn't sound so child-like, though that youthfully innocent demeanor remained. Her wings were gone and she stood almost as high as Del Gato's chin. "There is nothing here. Some of those islands have people on them. I know because I've seen Elffan men flying on gryphons from one to the other. But they never come here and I'm the only one on this island."
"Why don't you just fly to another island?" he asked.
She turned to him. Everything about her was the same as when she was only a foot tall, except her lack of wings. "I'm not strong enough to fight the winds between the islands. If I ever got caught in a stream, I'd be lost forever." She ran her index finger from Del Gato's forehead down the bridge to the tip of his nose, then pressed it gently like a button and made a popping sound with her lips. "Don't leave me, George."
"You know my name," he said. Now he felt a little more comfortable with his inexplicable attraction. Now she seemed like a woman just acting simply, except she wasn't acting, which made her that much more appealing.
"I don't know how," she confessed. "I heard you call Gradnuer and Fox by name in the dreams, but they called you Del Gato. I know that your other name is Delgado, and that Del Gato means something like a cat, but I don't know why I know that."
"The cosmic knowledge," Del Gato said. "It's part of the dream energy."
"I don't understand," she said.
"The plains world that you dream of exists because you and some other people dream of it," he explained. "Your brain or whatever generates energy that keeps it alive. That energy is the dream energy. If you know how, you can use that energy to do amazing things. Part of that energy is the ability to just know things." He paused. "Look at it like this. You and I and Gradnuer and Fox and even Rothin all speak very different languages, and yet we all understand each other without trying. That's the cosmic knowledge. You inadvertently used it to find out my real name, and what my nickname means. The rest of the dream energy is more complicated than that. Rothin's a maniac who uses it to make himself tougher, among other things, and that's what makes him so dangerous."
Her face lit up with awe, as though every word he spoke was something amazing to hear. He flushed at her admiration. "So why does Rothin want to do bad things?"
"He is angry because the dream he came from was destroyed while he was exploring other worlds," Gradnuer said as he entered the clearing, Fox immediately behind him. "Though never truly sane, it drove him into the deepest depths of insanity. He seeks revenge on all life in all dreamscapes."
"Which is why we need to get him sooner than later," Del Gato said, more as a retort to Gradnuer than a statement to Foo.
While Del Gato and Gradnuer bickered about honor, Fox scavenged the ground for a small stone. He picked one that would provide sufficient momentum. Like a kid skimming stones across a lake, he flicked it over the edge of the island. Barely a foot past the ledge, the stone became absorbed by a strange momentum that pulled it ninety degrees from its original course. Del Gato blinked and it was gone.
#
They waited in another clearing away from the edge of the island. Del Gato sat with his back against a thick tree. The shirt he wore in this dream was made of a cotton-like material of an earthy color. It was torn in the back from his romp in the forest, but for now it was tolerable and he barely felt the sandpaper-esque bark. Gradnuer sat across from him, his gaze focused on the grass. Enveloped in the grass between them lay Fox. Meanwhile, Foo danced around Del Gato's tree like an exotic ballerina. They had to wait until Foo fell asleep so they could go back to her dream, and she said this would make her more tired.
"It won't happen for some time now, so you might as well get comfortable," she said.
"How long until nightfall?" Gradnuer asked.
She stopped and crooked her head. "Night? You mean when I get tired?"
"How long until it gets dark?" Del Gato asked.
"It gets dark when I close my eyes," she said. "Doesn't that happen to you?"
"What time will the sun set?" Fox said between stretches.
"Sun? What's that?"
"Doesn't the cosmic knowledge tell you?" Del Gato asked.
"For an inexperienced user, it won't if there isn't an equivalent word in her vocabulary," Gradnuer said. "There's no sun in this world. It's perpetual, light with no definable source. Where's your shadow?"
"I get the damned point," Del Gato barked. He hadn't noticed the lack of shadow. Now that he did, the world seemed almost cartoonish. The colors emanated from everything, including his own skin, and only the contrast of one color versus the other defined any one object from the next. This is the dream of a homicidal maniac?
"I know what you mean by time but I just never thought about it before so I don't know when I'll fall asleep," Foo said. "I just sleep when I'm tired."
There was such freedom in that statement. She was restrained by nothing, existed only for her own pleasure, and asked for only what she needed. And one of those things she needed was a companion, someone to curb the loneliness of being the only one on this island. How did she come into being?
The thinness of her dress as she shuffled around allowed him to see her curves in their entirety, without giving away anything that wouldn't be modest. She was so sensual without being dirty. It was so different than anything he was used to.
She caught his glance. Their visions were locked for a second, then Del Gato broke it. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he had to leave -- soon. It would take a force stronger than Rothin to make him, though.
After a while, Gradnuer and Fox went off in search of food. Foo had told them where they could find edible fruits. Del Gato stayed behind, telling himself he didn't want to be around Gradnuer anymore than he had to. He knew that wasn't why.
"What do you do if there's no one here to talk to?" he asked Foo. She sat in front of him, her knees to her breasts. He could feel her wriggling toes against his; what had been his sneakers back on Earth -- and a number of other garments in other dreams -- were now open-toed sandals.
"I talk to myself," she said, grinning ear to ear. "I like myself a lot."
"That's a rarity where I come from," he said.
"Are there a lot of people where you come from?"
"Too many," he spat. "I don't want to think about that. How long have you been alone?"
"I don't measure time, remember? But as far back as I can think I've always been alone. That's why I don't want you to go. Why do you have to go after Rothin?"
"I'm a cop, it's my job." That excuse sounded so stupid now, in these clothes, in this dream. She probably didn't even know what the word meant.
She plucked a blade of grass and ran it under her nose, savoring the smell as though it were a freshly baked brownie. "But can't Fox and Gradnuer do it without you? Why do you have to go?"
Again Del Gato felt a heaviness in his chest. "I just have to."
"But why?" she insisted. "Give me a reason."
It was like talking to a kid. He resisted the urge to leave it at because I said so. He wanted her to know. "I was a cop, an authority figure, where I come from. My job was to make sure people obey the rules and don't get hurt. Someone like Rothin, who hurts others, has to be stopped, put away where he can't do any harm, or killed if that can't be done."
"But Gradnuer and Fox can do that," she said.
"Gradnuer is old," he said. That answer sat better with him. "Rothin killed his girlfriend, and he wants to avenge her death. But he's so tired of chasing him and getting nowhere. On top of that, he has this convoluted sense of honor that won't let him take advantage of a good situation. The only thing I've seen his honor do is kill a great fighter and a grieving widow. He's basically useless except for the fact that he seems to know Rothin pretty well. And Fox, he's too new at this. He needs me and Gradnuer to back him up, show him the ropes."
"Why does Fox want to catch Rothin?" she asked. She was searching for something.
"He thinks it's his destiny or something. You know how you dream of that plains world? Well he dreams of a massive cave filled with creatures. He's been dreaming it for years and it was always the same thing. All these creatures just slept. Darkness and stillness night after night. Can you imagine how weird and boring it would be to dream that? Then one night he saw me and Gradnuer and Rothin in his dream and took it as a sign. I don't think it's a good reason, but at least he's helpful at keeping Gradnuer off my ass."
"It's better than your reason," she said.
"How's that?" he snapped.
"Fox wants to be a hero. You obviously don't. To you it's work . . . boring work."
"Yes it is," he said. "But I still have to do it."
"I think that's an excuse," she said, like she caught him telling a fib.
"It's not the only reason," he said. He tilted his head to the left, revealing the scars on his cheek.
"You're mad because he gave you those scars?"
"I'm furious because he forced me to scar myself," he said, running his finger back and forth between the two marks. "He gashed me twice while I was in a very primitive dream. The cuts got infected, and the only thing they could do for me was pour acid on them to close them up."
She smirked again, as though she knew something he didn't. Gently she leaned over, her lips a thumb's length from his. She stopped his finger in mid-stroke, put it on his knee. Placing her index finger on the top scar and the middle finger on bottom, she followed the path each took from beginning to end one time. Abruptly she stopped and kissed his forehead.
Del Gato's shock outlasted his fluster. When he was finally able to muster his voice, he said, "What was that about?"
"Do that again," she said.
"What? Touch my -- " His cheek was smooth. The scars were gone. He rubbed his whole face as though expecting to find them moved somewhere else on his face.
With an abruptness that surprised even himself, Del Gato snatched the back of her head and kissed her lips. He had intended to give her a sharp, grateful peck. His lips remained planted on hers as though a magnet held them there. When he realized he hadn't pulled away, he softened his touch and took the moment to enjoy the feel of her warm mouth against his. His body became electric and his thoughts slowed. It was as though energy flowed from her body to his, relaxing him, making him feel warm. Although the feeling wasn't foreign to him, he couldn't remember experiencing it this strongly.
Finally, she let go. "I love you," he said, as though the words had been extracted from his mouth.
That wasn't him. Those weren't his words. He never said those kind of things, not even to April. Something wasn't right.
"You didn't use magick just to bring me here, did you?" Del Gato said.
"What do you mean?" Foo said with a smile. For a supernatural creature she wasn't a good liar.
"Part of that spell, or whatever it was you did, made me fall in love with you," he said. He bounded to his feet and began pacing. It took a large effort to act upset -- he didn't want to believe it, but he knew it was true.
"I don't want be alone anymore," she said. She rose to her feet and put herself in the way of his pacing. "I love you, too! Please don't be mad."
He pushed her to the side. "If you cared about me at all, you wouldn't have deceived me like that."
"I didn't deceive you," she said, grabbing hold of his arm as though he might jump off a cliff. "I can't make something that doesn't exist. That's how Ainsel magick works. I amplified the feelings you already have."
He stopped pacing. "You made those puffs out of thin air."
"Those puffs are dried up magick. Every time I do a magick trick they appear."
"I didn't see any puffs when you healed my scars."
Sheepishly she grinned, then reached up and ran her fingers through his hair palm-up. From atop his head she revealed four puffs. She turned her hand sideways and watched them float reluctantly downward. Then she repeated the process, revealing three more. "These are from when I ended the magick just now," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want you to leave."
"Some things are more important than what you want," Del Gato said. "Stopping Rothin the Deadly is one of them."
She nodded, eyes cast toward the puffs on the ground like seven dead dreams. "I didn't mean to be so selfish."
#
All of the dreamers were getting tired by the time Foo said she was ready to sleep. They waited, sitting around the flower where the Ainsel slept. She was back to her original size, sitting lotus with her head pointing down. From her heavy breathing they could tell she was asleep.
They all meditated for what felt like several minutes, but for all Del Gato knew it could have been hours or seconds. Even Fox managed to shift from one dream to the next in less time on his first try. And Gradnuer surely should have been gone by now. What was going on?
"I don't feel the dream," Fox whispered, seemingly to himself. He looked up at the others. "I'm not the only one am I?"
"No," Gradnuer said. "She must not be dreaming of the plains."
"Why the hell not?" Del Gato asked. He was relieved and upset at the same time.
"To go from one dream to the next, there must be a connection," Gradnuer said. "You've noticed that when we left Fox's native dream we entered the dream of the Human and appeared next to the creature in the plain that dreamed of his world. That was the connection. Both dreamers were asleep at the same time and it created a portal between the dream worlds. Rothin is the only one who dreams of this world, I know that much. If he is not asleep right now, or worse, no longer in the plains, then no connection will be made and we can't shift regardless of whether or not she dreams of the plains."
"So we're screwed," Del Gato said, trying to hide his elation.
They continued to meditate. When Gradnuer began to nod off, Del Gato and Fox decided to call it quits. Although wet, the long, thick grass made a better bed than his sleeping skins, which had been left in the plains. It wasn't long before they slept. None of them bothered to take the pills; Rothin was already in another dream, and a dreamer can't enter the world he dreams of.
Del Gato woke with a sense of purpose in his mind. He'd start by apologizing to Foo. She was right, he did care about her, and it wasn't magick (or at least the result of it). There was a sense of peace and simplicity about her that he couldn't resist. In some sense, he was jealous of her permeating happiness -- all she desired was company. It was such an easy thing to give, and he wanted so badly to give it. Maybe part of the reason was so he'd no longer have to chase Rothin, but that was another thing she gave to him. Later he'd tell Gradnuer that he was no longer obligated to fight Rothin. It simply wasn't his problem.
He sat up. In her Human-sized form, Foo sat with her back against the tree where they had kissed. A reluctant sadness permeated her joy of seeing him still in her world.
"I thought you were leaving," she said, hesitating as though afraid she'd remind him that he had to go.
"I changed my mind," he said with a wry smirk.
"You didn't dream of the plains, did you?" Fox asked between yawns.
Her face brightened. "I dreamed of Del Gato."
"Rothin left the plains," Gradnuer said. He groaned and massaged his back. In his mid-wakened state he looked even older than he claimed to be. "Her dream energy became inflected and she had a normal dream."
"How do you know he just wasn't awake while we were asleep?" Fox said.
"Because I saw him leave the plains," Gradnuer said. "Or rather, I saw him enter the world I dream of."
Del Gato's heart sunk. A dreamer can't enter the world he dreams of. This was it; the moment Gradnuer said would come, the moment he would be left behind. He wanted to object, he wanted to find a loophole in the rules of dreaming. He knew there wasn't one, and he knew what this meant.
He looked back at Foo. She looked like someone had run over her puppy.
"I'm sorry," Gradnuer said, reading Del Gato's expression, or perhaps reading his mind. "You must hurry, though. If I meditate, I will fall back to sleep, but you must go before Rothin wakes within the dream."
"I -- I don't want to," was all Del Gato could utter. If Rothin died, then this world would cease to exist.
Fox nodded. "I'll go, it's OK. I think I've learned everything I need to."
Foo looked at him with the expression of a child seeing a mouse caught by a cat. He would never survive Rothin one-on-one. Not even Del Gato was that good.
"I won't let you," he said. "Killing Rothin would be killing Foo . . . and Gradnuer, and anyone else that lives in this dream."
"Wasn't it just yesterday that you were saying that Rothin's death was more important than the method?" Fox said. "You keep saying that every day he lives is another life lost. Think about that exchange. Let him live forever and just think about the death toll."
He stood and grabbed Foo to him as though someone might take her away. "I don't want this world to end." He stared her in the eyes. "I don't want you to die."
"Some things are more important than what you want," she said.
"You mean you don't care if you die?" he said. He was desperate for a better way. What if she went into the world he dreamed before he left -- but how would he get her back?
"It's not really dying if the whole world stops existing," she said. She was so calm about it. He was almost jealous.
"I'll go alone if I have to," Fox said.
"No, I have to go with you," Del Gato said. His gaze was still on Foo as he spoke. "You're too green, Rothin will eat you for breakfast."
She nodded at him. Before leaving, Del Gato scavenged through the grass for the seven puffs from yesterday. He placed them in his pocket, then kissed Foo. He considered asking her to come along. With Rothin's track record though, her going with him was just as much a death wish as staying here. There had to be another way.
"If I could change the circumstances -- " Gradnuer began.
"Don't," Del Gato said. "You have to sleep."
Gradnuer bowed solemnly before lowering his gaze and beginning his trance.
Although his mind had to be basically clear to enter Gradnuer's dream, the image of Foo standing behind him burned in his heart. Like a movie fading out, Rothin's dream world blurred and morphed, becoming Gradnuer's dream. Instead of standing around the Carkhan sitting Indian-style by an alien tree, Del Gato and Fox stood before Rothin the Deadly sprawled across a layer of semi-burned pillows atop a rotting mattress. His arms and legs were strewn about like a fatigued god after a massive orgy. His pale chest and defined stomach were exposed beneath his suede vest. It was such a good position to die in.
When Del Gato's form completed the transition, and his clothes and weapons shifted to conform to the dream, he kicked one of the legs that held the mattress inches above the dirt and crust covered floorboards. The makeshift bed crashed, scattering the rats, or roaches or whatever it was that crawled about the dreamers' feet.
Rothin bounced from the pile of pillows as they slid into the corner like an avalanche, whipping a curved, fang-shaped blade from behind his back before him in violent defense.
"Wake up, asshole," Del Gato said. "It's time to die."
"In Gradnuer's absence, suddenly you've learned honor?" Rothin sneered, still shaking the clouds from his eyes.
Del Gato grabbed what used to be his spear -- it was the same as Rothin's weapon, a small, curved sword, like a mini-scimitar. At his hip he could feel something like a gun, but he ignored it, knowing there would be no ammo. He had a good opening, Rothin wasn't quite steady and the left side of his neck was an easy target. A thought kept stealing his attention: Kill Rothin and you kill Foo and Gradnuer. Fox jumped in to compensate for Del Gato's hesitation. They fenced for second, Fox working Rothin toward the wall with a three-directional dagger. It came to a head when Rothin tripped over a box. He grappled with Fox and reversed the momentum, putting the Elffan on his back.
"Help me, Del Gato," Fox hollered as the wind burst from his lungs.
Rothin stepped back into his starting position, this time with his full wits about him. "Yes, join the fight," Rothin said. "Wouldn't Foo be impressed if you slew me so soon after abandoning her."
Del Gato started. He knew Rothin would be aware of what went on in the dream, but the way it sounded coming from the villain was so -- horrible.
They circled each other for a second. Del Gato wanted more than anything to put his blade in Rothin's throat, but he couldn't. It was as if his arm was paralyzed.
By now Fox was up again and he darted past Del Gato as though he were a bystander. Rothin parried two fierce blows from him, the third smacked the weapon clean out of the dream killer's hand. Again they grappled, and this time Fox ended it by summoning the dream energy and knocking Rothin in the dust-covered brick walls of the building.
"Stop him, Del Gato," Rothin yelled like a bad actor in a B-rated thriller. "Stop him before he kills your precious Foo!"
Fox threw a look at Del Gato, then back to Rothin. "You think he's that -- "
Rothin planted his fist square into Fox's gut, winding him and sending stumbling back onto the floor at the same time. His head struck the wood floor with a deafening thump. He could see the dizziness in Fox's eyes.
"Your turn, officer," Rothin said.
He couldn't do it. He dropped his blade.
Rothin roared with laughter. "I can't believe such a fierce and ruthless warrior as you would give in to the trivial affections of an Ainsel. Does her existence really mean more to you than that of every denizen of every dream world in existence?"
"You have to think of the price of her life," Fox said, crawling to his feet, his arm clenching his stomach. His feet were unsteady like a drunkard. He could be concussed.
"I already said that," Rothin said. "His dumbfound look is answer enough. If Gradnuer's dreaming of us now he must be so disappointed."
Del Gato gave Fox an apologetic look. "I just can't."
The Elffan winced like he had been punched again, then fell to his knees.
Rothin tackled Del Gato. He put up a weak resistance, totally unable to wrestle the madman off of him. A part of him wanted Rothin to kill him. Del Gato saw himself as a coward, something he would have never labeled himself back on Earth. For a few seconds they rolled around on the ground. Rothin grappled his way onto Del Gato's back, holding his opponent's head by his chin, bending his head back as though to break his neck. Instead, Rothin leaned down and put his mouth by Del Gato's ear. He could feel his own blade against his neck, and Rothin's hot breath inside his head.
Imitating a seductive tone, Rothin whispered, "Some dreams grow more and more vast every day. I'm not the only dreamer of the land of floating islands." The edge of the knife bit into Del Gato at the corner of his right eye. From there Rothin streaked it down to the jawbone.
Abruptly, Rothin stood and fled like a roach from the kitchen light. Killing him wouldn't have killed Foo after all. Del Gato had let a perfect opportunity go to waste. He left his love behind and failed her -- for nothing.
Del Gato cried out, and the blood ran down his face like tears.
Bio:Christian R. Bonawandt's native dream world is an Earth-like realm called Paumanok. The world he dreams is one of magic and hovercycles, and where Rob Van Dam is the WWE champion.
Previous "Dreamers" stories in Aphelion are:
Dreamers: The Calling
Dreamers: The Challenge
Dreamers: The Cavern
Dreamers: The Creature
E-mail: WordDude79@aol.com
URL: http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/13023
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