The Dream Thief, Kari Kilgore [reading well TXT] 📗

can take it apart to save some of the parts, but it would simply be easier to start over. That will take a few days. I'm sorry."

Loretta closed her eyes for a second, and Karl saw the hard line of her mouth.

"We may have to make some other kind of arrangement," she said.

"Was your Dragon damaged, bobbin?"

"No, it's fine, thank Jonah," Loretta said. "We were wondering about that too, though. Do you think you could make another? One tuned to Karl, so he can help me in my work?"

The fine wrinkles that had settled around Gemma's eyes and mouth vanished.

"Of course I can!" she said. "That won't be a quick job, but you must remember that from the first one. I'll have a list of the parts I need ready in the morning. Once those arrive, I can get started."

"That did take a while, didn't it?" Now Loretta seemed older than her grandmother, rubbing at the deep line between her eyebrows. She looked at Karl, exhaustion clear in her eyes. He was sure she was acting. Almost. "And we'll have to be here for you to tune it and make sure it works. We can’t possibly stay here that long."

"I know I'm too tired for that tonight," Karl said, trying to take her cue. "Loretta bought fresh fish and greens in the village. Maybe we can have dinner, get some rest, and we'll work it all out tomorrow."

Now he wasn't sure which woman had the happiest smile, or the more relieved one.

Chapter 28

Karl turned over, trying to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep. The sofa was far newer and better made than his own, but his night had been long. To say his mind had been active was a painful understatement.

He imagined things were moving and shifting whether his eyes were open or closed. Stealthy footsteps and creatures scrambling on the thatched roof turned out to be his own breathing, or his foot pressing against the end of the couch. He put it down to sleeping in yet another strange room. He could barely see the fire, and the smell had died down quite a bit too.

His nose twitched, sure that scent was changing. That wasn't any kind of mud or fire. Karl was certain he smelled a beast, hairy and filthy and sweating, drooling with the chance to devour all of them before morning.

When he took another deep breath, it was gone.

Karl sat up, rubbing his face and his neck. As much as he was relieved by the less earthy air, he knew Gemma relied on steam to make the electricity that ran everything in this house. He'd hardly be a good guest if he didn't at least bring in more fuel for her.

His spine crackled when he finally stretched out, his hands flat against the ceiling. No one else was moving around in either of the tiny bedrooms, so he opened the front door as quietly as he could.

Loretta had explained how the peat was harvested and stored, but the whole idea of burning dirt didn't make any sense to him. Karl hoped he'd get to see how that worked someday. He gathered up an armload of brick-like mud from the pile beside the door, then glanced over his shoulder to see if the sun was up yet.

His involuntary step backward to grab for the door handle saved his toes from the heavy dried peat. Fog surrounded the house, Fog so thick he couldn't see the barn or trees or anything else.

Karl breathed in short, noisy rasps, no longer worried about waking the others. He'd never heard of Fog advancing so far overnight, never.

The pale wall shifted and moved, shapes forming and breaking apart right in front of him. He closed the door and nearly tripped over his own feet running to the small guest room Loretta slept in.

"Loretta, you need to wake up. Wake up!" He touched her shoulder and shook her, gently at first. "We need to get Gemma and get out of here."

"What're you talking ’bout?"

She pulled away from his hand and turned away.

"Listen to me, wake up! The Fog is all around us. The horses might be gone, but we've got to do something."

When he touched her shoulder again, she dug her fingers into his wrist and sat up.

"Don't shake me again. You're not making any sense, Karl."

"I just went outside to get more of that peat for the fire," he said, his words too fast. "The Fog is surrounding the house. We're not safe here anymore, and we can't leave your grandmother here. Come on."

She let go of his arm and ran both hands through her tangled hair.

"No, nothing bad has happened," she said. "I never thought to warn you. It's perfectly normal."

"That's what Parliament and the soldiers want you to think," Karl said. "But it's not true. I've seen some of the ’sters, Loretta. The ones in the Fog are even worse, and this is full of them."

"No, just wait a minute." Loretta covered a yawn with her hand. "Let me wake up. It's all fine, trust me. I grew up in a place like this, remember?"

She rubbed her face, then grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed. The room was tiny, and Karl had to step back out into the living room.

"What is it, then?" he said. "It wasn't here last night."

"Shhh, you'll wake Gemma. Hang on, I'll go out there with you."

"No, Loretta, we all have to stay together. If the ’sters get us, no one will be able to help her."

Karl's heart pounded, and his hands shook. The need to keep everyone inside and get everyone away from here was not sitting well in his over-clocked brain.

"I don't know what you mean by stirs," Loretta said. "But I know this isn't what you think. I should have warned you, I'm sorry. I promise you, this is not going to hurt either one of us."

She yawned again and walked toward the front door, calmer than