“Ahh!” said Rudy. “Watch where you put your feet! I almost stepped on someone’s nose.”
Mini sniffed the air. “I wonder what kind of microbes exist in the dream realm. Do those trees have pollen? Is this why I sometimes wake up with a stuffy nose? What if someone got a severe allergic reaction out here?”
As if on cue, Brynne, Rudy, Aiden, and Aru all said,“They could die.”
Mini was not amused. Aru smiled a little as they walked across the clouds. She was still scanning the narrow hallway when Aiden fell into step beside her. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. His emerald-green costume blazer from the Final Stage glimmered. When he looked at her, his expression was serious and intense, like he had been working up his courage for this moment.
“Hey,” said Aiden. “Do you have a second?”
Alarm bells went off in Aru’s head. She lifted an eyebrow. “For what? Clearly Brynne, Mini, and I are in the middle of apocalypse-thwarting. I don’t want to risk getting distracted.”
Just then Brynne and Mini started arguing about poached eggs.
“Undercooked eggs carry a risk of salmonella!” said Mini.
“Poachedeggs are rich and luxurious, and I won’t hear them slandered,” said Brynne.
Aru groaned inwardly. Why weren’t they ever talking about some kind of brilliant military strategy against nefarious enemies when she needed them to be?
“Yeah…I can see that,” said Aiden.
Aru walked a little faster. If this was going to turn into anotherSorry about what I said before, but yeah, it’s true, I think you’re repulsive, she didnotneed that energy. Nope, nope, nope.
“Shah, wait up,” said Aiden, touching her elbow. “Please.”
Aru paused. When the others passed, she turned to him sharply. “What?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yawn—”
“I was scared, Shah,” said Aiden in a rush.
“Scared of what?” Her voice came out annoyingly fragile, and she wanted to shake herself.
“This…Thisthing…got into my head, and I chickened out after we, uh, you know, because I was just…terrified, I guess. And that terror made me say stuff I didn’t mean.”
Terror.
One moment, a flimsy hope lit a match in her soul. The next, it was as if the wordterrorhad become a sentient being. Aru felt it like a shadow passing overhead.
Under any other circumstances, she’d be yelling,TIME OUT! AIDEN ACHARYA IS HAVING A MOMENT OF HONESTY!
But something was wrong.
The Halls juddered. Their soft breathing became a panting, slavering sound.
“Hold that thought,” said Aru, hating that she had to say those words to him. “Everyone, stop. Do you feel that?”
A few feet ahead, Rudy, Brynne, and Mini slowed down. Aiden touched his wrists together and his scimitars flashed out. Aru held still, watching a tremble work its way through the cloud floor. Tall blades of grass replaced the pillowy softness. Some of the dreamers vanished. Others looked trapped in the thicket, their foreheads wrinkling.
“What is that?” asked Brynne.
Around them, the Halls of Nidra expanded once more, transforming into a grassy plain. But instead of being green and bright, it was dark and bleak, crammed with shadows. The trees and daydream birds vanished. In the distance, the labyrinth entrance had been reduced to a spark of lightmilesaway. Ten feet to their right, a building materialized. It was one story and long, with dozens of stalls.
“I don’t feel so good,” said Rudy woozily.
“Why is it so cold and dark now?” said Brynne.
