The Dreamer's Curse (Book 2) Read Free Page B

to heaven, he inquired, “Do
you mind if I ask some questions?”
    “It’s going to be a long trip if you don’t talk.”
    Encouraged, he pointed at the grandfather clock tied
securely to the very back of the deck. “Why the clock?”
    “It’s a magical portal.” She turned her eyes back toward the
sky and the land, shooting off another stream of clouds. “It will connect back
to Big. I didn’t want to pack up my research room or laboratory, but I have a
feeling I’ll need access to both.”
    Decker turned and gave it closer scrutiny. “The way you
reacted to my description of the curse makes me think that this is more
dangerous than we’d assumed.”
    The humor on her face faded, mouth flattening into a grim
line. “Yes. It is certainly that. Decker, I’m no historian and I don’t pretend
to be, but my Master is. He told me that there’s only a handful of documented
cases where large transportation spells were used. And those were from the days
of great magic, not from recent times.”
    “Then this curse….”
    “Isn’t normal by any stretch. I also highly doubt it’s a
curse. I rather think that it’s a spell, or an inscribed incantation, or even
an abandoned artifact that your village has somehow activated.” She shook her
head, unhappy at her own conjectures. “The power level alone necessary to
transport anyone a hundred miles is mind boggling.”
    “It worries you?”
    “No, it scares the light right out of me,” she confessed
bluntly. “Power like that can destroy a whole landscape, a nation even.”
    Swallowing hard, he repeated the prayer gesture. “Which do
you think it really is?”
    “An artifact,” she responded instantly. “But I’m not jumping
to conclusions until I get there and can properly investigate. Now, let’s put
your time to proper use.” She jerked a thumb at the cabinets in the very back.
“There’s quill, ink and paper in there. Draw me a map of your village, and
include every detail. I want to know if there are any ruins nearby, where the
underground streams are, if there are any deposits of minerals, any ancient
trees, all of it .”
    He obediently fetched everything, and although he didn’t
have the best artistic skills, he sat on the deck and drew everything out
carefully. This proved slightly tricky as the wind kept ruffling the paper, so
that he had to draw with one hand and hold it down with the other.
    “Mark where everyone lives, too,” she added.
    As he drew, he asked, “Can you put up some sort of magic
that will prevent people being taken away?”
    “I have to figure out what’s causing it first. Magic doesn’t
just counter magic because the castor wants it to. We have to know what’s causing
something to counter it.”
    He glanced up at her. “Then you have no way of knowing how
long this will take to solve, either.”
    “Not the slightest clue.” She shrugged, as this didn’t
bother her. “But I can do some damage control when I arrive. I can put locating
charms on everyone so that I can easily fetch them, and even put shield charms
on them to prevent them from being hurt. If we really do have someone that
dreams of being in the ocean, the shield charm will keep them from drowning
until I can get to them.”
    He let out a breath of relief, a taut line of tension
bleeding out of his shoulders. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear
that.”
    “Oh, I might.” She gave him a quick look over her shoulder,
eyes trying to see everything in an instant. “Hunters are also the protectors
of a village because of their skills with weapons.”
    She left unsaid, W hich is why you look worn out .
Truly, he was and couldn’t feign otherwise. It didn’t take a genius to guess
why, either. Aside from running all around the countryside fetching friends and
family home again, he’d been half-afraid to sleep himself for fear that he too
would fall to the curse. After all, who guards the guardians?
    Over the next day and a half, she quizzed him