Dream Magic Read Free Page A

sides heaved and he rested his palms upon his kneecaps. He was winded, he realized in surprise. But although his breath came in whistling gasps, he grinned broadly. He’d done something no man had managed in a century or more.
    “Who are you?” asked a voice.
    Trev straightened and spun around on his left heel, seeking the source of the voice. It sounded female, and came from close by.
    There ! He spotted her, a figure dressed in shimmering clothes. She stepped closer as he watched. Had she been hidden behind the trunk of that fallen pine? Possibly.
    “ I’m Trev, a boy of the Haven,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. I’m sorry if I startled you. Did you come here to seek the foot of the rainbow as well?”
    She laughed softly and stepped closer. Trev frowned as she continued her approach. She did not seem afraid. Quite the opposite. If anything, she had the attitude of a stalking forest lion.
    He saw now that she wore a robe of what must be white cloth. The robe seemed to scintillate in the light of the rainbow. A round oval stone that shone like fire clasped the robe to her neck. The stone was beautiful, but then he suspected that a bed sheet would be lovely to behold here in this enchanted place.
    “I didn’t think anyone could run so fast,” she said. “Are all boys of the Haven like you?”
    “No,” he said. “Not exactly. I’m faster than any of them.”
    “I believe it. But even still, you almost didn’t make it, child.”
    Trev looked around, losing interest in the woman. He wanted to see something unusual. After all, that’s why he’d come.
    “I th ink the rainbow is about to die,” he said. “Is there anything else here?”
    “Like gold or jewels?”
    “I suppose. Anything unusual? I was hoping to see something new.”
    “You don’t want to find a treasure and take it home with you?”
    “No,” said Trev. “I would like to see it, though.”
    The woman stood nearby now and she cocked her head as she gazed at him. She frowned.
    “You aren’t what I expected to meet. There’s Fae blood in your veins.”
    Trev didn’t answer her. He walked around her in widening circles, looking at the landscape. Already, he could see the red portion of the rainbow was coming apart, forming bright and dark spots like puddles of blood on the floor of the forest.
    “Damn,” he said. “It’s ending, and there’s nothing here to see. I’m very disappointed. The legends must have been the ravings of drunks and braggarts.”
    The woman snorted as if in disbelief. Trev turned his attention back to her.
    “What am I, then?” she demanded. “A turnip in the road, crushed by a wagon wheel?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a very interesting person.”
    She came closer then, peering into his face. Then she took a step back.
    “I see the blood of Oberon in you. I can’t fathom why you aren’t affected by my charms.”
    “Were you trying to charm me? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”
    She shook her head bemusedly. “I think you’re the one who’s charming me. I find you as fascinating as you find me dull. What a strange turn of events. One would think you’d created this show of colored light to attract me rather than the other way around.”
    Finally, the lady had Trev’s full attention. “You summoned the rainbow?” he said. “You? To lure me here?”
    “Yes, Trev,” she said. “I did.”
    “What’ s your name?”
    “I am Lady Morgana.”
    “Tell me, fair Lady, how did you do it?”
    She sat on a tree stump and smiled at him. It seemed to him that her confidence had returned somewhat.
    “You don’t care who I am,” she said thoughtfully. “ You don’t care that I lured you here—you don’t even want to know why. What you want to know is how I did it...”
    “Exactly.”
    “I think you have a weakness as great as your strength, boy. Do know what it is?”
    “My mother says I can’t keep my nose out of things.”
    “Exactly,” Morgana said. “You’re