I knew what to do.
He wouldn’t live much longer like this, so I would take the poison into my own body. It was the only way to save him. A small, scalpel-type knife sat amidst the potions, and I removed it from the shelf.
The copper blade glimmered as I sterilized it in the fire. I waited for it to cool before making the first incision.
Chapter 20
I had made only a tiny cut in Kull’s skin when the magic spilled out. The greasy matter oozed from the wound, coating the blade and then my fingers. The magic left his body in a flood as it attached to my skin, crawling over my hands and arms like millions of tiny leeches.
Good. Let it come.
As soon as the last drop of magic left his body, I concentrated on a banishing spell. The enchantment hadn’t worked how I’d planned back at the tombs, but I didn’t know what else to do.
Dark magic seeped into my skin. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the spell, praying it would work.
“Banish.”
The writhing magic came to a screaming halt, but instead of dissipating like it should have, it wrapped around my arms and entered my body through the tiny pores of my skin.
I gasped as magic burned my skin. I reached for Kull but couldn’t move.
“Kull,” I whispered. Black spots clouded my vision. I felt the strange sensation that this was precisely where the magic wanted to be—inside me. In my mind.
The pain began to vanish as I lost consciousness. I fought against it, but a tidal wave of blackness overtook my mind. I remembered falling, and pain as my head hit the floor. And then, I dreamed…
I stood in a desert of ash and dirty snow. Above me soared a wall of black ice. Beyond the wall rose a lighthouse made from weathered stone. A pale light pulsed from the top of the tower, though it did nothing to drive away the mist.
“Mog’s Keep.”
I spun around to face an overweight man wearing a green cloak. He had pockmarked cheeks and a graying beard.
“Who are you?” My voice sounded strange in the fog, as if someone else were speaking.
He flourished a mahogany cane through the air, then dipped into a shallow bow. “I am Mr. Green.”
I swore I’d heard the name before. “Where are we? What are you doing here?”
“Your questions will be answered in time, although you ask the wrong ones.” He took a step forward. “The question you need to ask is—where is your godson?”
“You know where he is?”
He pointed at the tower with his cane. “There.”
I turned to the tower. The light pulsed, pulsed, pulsed. It was colorless, as if I were watching a black-and-white movie.
Mr. Green tapped the towering black wall with his cane. It made a tinkling sound, like delicate glass.
“The elves constructed this wall. They poured all their technology, all their power into creating it.”
“Can it be brought down?”
“No.”
I searched for doors or entryways but saw none. “Then how did my godson get inside that tower?”
“His dreamsoul fled there after being attacked by the Regaymor in the tombs. I’m sure he’s terrified.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know many things. I know the Regaymor are not from our world. I know that their kind worked with the Dreamthief, but they have rebelled and now wish to take your godson’s power for themselves. I know that your godson will die unless you stop the Regaymor.”
A screeching wind blew past, howling like a living thing as it dashed against the wall. “How do I know if you’re telling the truth? Who are you?” I asked again.
“You know who I am,” he answered.
“Are you the Dreamthief?” I knew the Dreamthief was supposed to be a woman, but anything was possible.
“No, I seek to help you.”
“Why?”
“Because only you can destroy this wall. And because I know your godson. He doesn’t need to be inside that tower. It’s killing him.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“I come from Earth, like you. You must find me there.” The wind howled again. It almost drowned out his words. “And because you have no one else. Know this—do not trust anyone. Those you love will betray you.”
The wind quieted. I stood alone. Mr. Green’s words echoed in my mind.
Those I love will betray me?
I couldn’t tear my gaze from the light tower. Confusion clouded my mind. Was Jeremiah really in there? Who was Mr. Green, and why did he want to help me?
I inspected the wall. My reflection shone in its glossy surface. I touched it, and cool glass brushed my fingertips.
Elven magic tugged at my senses. So, elves had created the wall. At least Mr. Green hadn’t lied about that. But why did he think I could destroy it?
The lighthouse pulsed, blinding me. I stared at it, feeling a headache throb as the light pierced my eyes.
The wind howled again, but this time, I heard a voice calling from the tower. A child’s voice.
Jeremiah’s voice.
I knew he was up there. I wasn’t sure why I felt so certain, but deep inside, I knew I’d found him.
“Hold on,” I whispered.
I woke with a headache throbbing inside my skull. “Jeremiah,” I gasped as the room came into focus.
Arantha and Kull leaned over me. The healer woman held a bowl with something inside that looked like tar. It smelled of chili peppers and something less appealing, like gasoline. I tried to sit up, but my vision swam with stars and I returned to the pillow.
“Rest,” Arantha said and spread a spoonful of tar on my forehead. The smell made me want to vomit, though as the mixture touched my skin, the headache dissipated.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she concentrated on spooning the foul stuff on my forehead and then the back of my hands.
Kull leaned closer. His eyes had returned to their normal shade of blue, and his cheeks had lost their burning color. “You had us worried.”
“You were tampering with dark
