DLUTB huffed. The sound raised goose bumps on Aru’s skin. Rudy tried to move out of the horse’s line of vision, but the creature only mirrored his movements.
“She thinks you’re playing,” observed Mini, who was standing a couple of feet away. Behind her, Loose Teeth snuffled Mini’s hair. Compared to the rest of the herd, Loose Teeth did look rather small. Her wings were stunted, as if they hadn’t grown properly, and she kept them tightly folded along her back.
“The girl is right,” said The Lady, nodding at Rudy. “Don’t Look Under the Bed has chosen you.”
Rudy, horrified, inched sideways toward the steed.
“I’m not scared of you,” said Brynne, pointing to the horse who hadn’t broken eye contact with her. “You’re mine.”
The Lady arched an eyebrow. “That one is Bugs in Your Hair.”
Brynne’s hand instinctively went to her hair as the horse stepped toward her. The moment Brynne touched the mare’s nose, the horse whinnied. Brynne whinnied back.
The Lady surveyed the herd. Most of them had broken off from the line, tails swishing as they nosed through the grass, looking for dreamers. Only one remained. It looked at Aru as if she were a piece of food dropped on the ground and it was deciding whether or not she was worth eating.
The Lady smiled. “Which leaves you with…”
Aru cringed. “Creepy Party Clown?”
The horse bared its teeth in what looked like a huge grin. Its muzzle had a ruddy hue. Like a red foam nose.
“Yay me?” said Aru.
As far as creepy party clowns went, at least this one wasn’t trying to talk to her.
Aru sat in the saddle waiting for everyone else to get settled on their mares and found herself petting Creepy Party Clown’s shoulder blade. The horse’s bristled hair was surprisingly soft, and a shiver of delight ran through its muscles.
I still don’t like clowns, thought Aru.
“With the night mares beneath you, the Halls of Nidra can no longer sense your presence,” said The Lady. She had levitated a few feet into the air, turning on the spot to survey the area.
The landscape changed. A secret wind rippled across the meadow, as if the dream world were breathing a sigh of relief. The plain stretched for miles in all directions. On either side of them, a thick, dark forest jutted out from the ground and threw shadows over the Potatoes.
“Look!” said Brynne, pointing to something up ahead.
The final portal door, once constantly shifting between near and far away, was no longer moving. It was still some distance from them—at least a couple of hundred feet—but for the first time, it looked like they’d actually be able to reach it.
Aiden, sitting astride Inexplicable Natural Disaster, frowned. “What isthat?”
Aru knew immediately what he was talking about. It was the odd shape in front of the portal door. Earlier, Aru had thought it looked like a piece of coral. But from here she could see that its protrusions were too long and thick.
Aiden lifted Shadowfax to his eye and adjusted the focus. “That can’t be what I think it is….”
“What can’t?” asked Brynne.
Aru knew what he would say, and she braced herself for it.
“It looks like ahand.”
As one, the Potatoes gazed up at The Lady, who was still floating in the air, serene and unbothered.
“But it’s not….Right?” said Mini. “Because that would be extremely disturbing.”
“Of course it is a hand,” said The Lady.
The Potatoes fell silent. Rudy looked nauseated. “What happened to the person it belonged to?”
“Oh, he is here,” said The Lady, glancing in the direction of the door. “He is always here…and soon, he will wake up. Which is why we shall take a shortcut through the forest. No need to announce our presence. Once he wakes up, the Halls of Nidra will move elsewhere, and you, human children, will be thrown out.”
