I’d noticed lately that he was leaving Scotty’s side more and more, allowing them both to live a little more independently. I understood why it had been hard for them at first to be separated. Stevie had trailed Scotty since his death without his brother being aware. Scotty had thought himself alone in the world, scared and lonely, so to have found this place—because of Chance’s gifts—where they could actually be united…priceless. But Stevie was dead, and Scotty lived; they needed to find their own way.
“Hey,” I called out to Buck and his crew, lifting a hand.
By my side, Malcolm huffed. “It feels like we’re right here with them, doesn’t it? But they can’t see you. We’re not really here.”
“What’s that mean?”
Like I hadn’t asked a question, Malcolm continued. “This pond, this property, is one of the most powerful spots in the world. Definitely the most powerful in the country. Did you know that?”
“Of course.”
Malcolm huffed. “I know you do.” He patted my shoulder. “I knew there was something different about you from the beginning. I’d never really investigated dreamwalking. Never had a reason to, I suppose.” He turned toward me, cocking aneyebrow. “I’m assuming your grandfather is still wandering this plane? Perhaps as a ghost?”
“How do you know that?” I asked sharply. Who was Malcolm? What was he? How did he know all this? Why did he know? Did Gran know that he was a…whatever?
“Let’s go back to The Vault, and I’ll explain it to you.”
“The what?”
Before I finished, we were standing back in the library-like room. A rustic wood table with two chairs that hadn’t been there before were now in the middle of the room. A small thin notebook lay on the surface of the table, lined up between the two chairs.
“Let’s sit,” Malcolm said.
His words were kind, but the pressure in the backslap he gave me in the direction of one of the chairs brooked no argument. Like I’d go anywhere else right now. I wanted—needed—to understand what all of this was. How I’d gone from smelling to…what? Astro projecting around the country? The world?
Malcolm sat next to me, staring down at the plain black notebook. The only interesting thing about it was the leather cover. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. As he exhaled, his hand hovered over the top of the book, and gold lettering appeared on the cover. The symbols that made up the words made no sense to me, though.
“What’s it say?”
He side-eyed me. “Let’s ask.”
Smoothing his hands gently over the cover, he muttered, “It is me. Let me see. Show me all that I might, who I was created to be.”
The symbols swirled and moved, finally resting in the most simple but profound thing I’d ever seen.
The Dreamwalkers
Like me, like me and Sky together. This was awesome.Epic. We’d been wandering around in the dark for weeks, unsure of exactly what to do or not do. My grandparents had been little to no help, wanting us to learn by experience, I guess. But that man last night? We couldn’t help him. This could hold the answers we were looking for. It was a bit thin, but hell, maybe it was never-ending or something once opened. Goodness knows, everything else so far this morning held mysteries.
“Holy shit.” With growing excitement, I reached out a hand, then snatched it back. “Sorry. It’s just, I’ve needed a guide, and my gran hasn’t been?—”
Malcolm gripped my shoulder. “This isn’t a guide, son. It’s an index. More details would be in the Tomes or Grimoires of the tethers through the ages. This is…look.”
He let me go and flipped through the pages until he came to the last one, and there, together, were two lines:
Dreamwalker: Kingston Porter
Tether: Skylar Reign
This time, when I reached out, I didn’t jerk my hand back, but I traced the names on the page. “It’s…how did you know?” I asked him.
He nodded down at the notebook—no, the index. “Your name appeared.”
“Why?” I asked.
“So I’d know.” He shrugged. “It’s very rare that I need the knowledge, but sometimes it prepares me to pull the necessary Tome or Grimoire from the family line. Other times, it alerts me that the tether won’t have one. Then it’s my job to prepare.”
Holy shit. I looked around the room at all the large old books. As I really zeroed in, I noticed that some of them were dusty, but others had been pushed in amongst those, clean like they’d recently been handled.Shit. This could be what Sky and I had been looking for.Answers.
