The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

Wake up call

Imorah watched Liran's body, sleeping. He was groaning, an unpleasant, concentrated frown, on his face. He flailed about in the dead grass, clearly having a bad dream.

Where is he? she wondered. It certainly wasn't nice, wherever it was.

She bit a jagged fingernail and ripped it off, nervous, turning to look around her. She should do something. She should wake him up and distract him somehow. She never remembered her dreams if she woke up and had to do something straight away. She only remembered them if she lay there and tried to remember them.

She had to do something. If he woke up like this, he would certainly remember that he'd been dreaming, even if he didn't remember the dream exactly.

"He can't blame me," Imorah said out loud. And eerily, she felt she could hear that old woman cackling. "Stop it," she said. "It's not my fault... I mean..." She swallowed. Most of the dream had already slid into that secret place where dreams go, but that one moment when she had pulled on Liran, pulling him into the dream -- she could remember it clearly. She could still remember the power that entered her when she broke that barrier. Would Liran's neuroblock work anymore? she wondered. Probably not!

Imorah spun around in place, looking for something to do, something to save her, but all she could see was a sea of dead grass.

"It's not my fault," she said, biting off another nail. Of course it's your fault, the old woman in her head laughed again. You did this Imorah.

"Shut up!" she screamed at the voice that only she could hear.

Liran moaned.

If he woke up like this he'd... leave her. He'd abandon the trip. He'd freak out. She might have ruined everything. She had to get out of this. She ran to the backpack lying beside Liran and started digging through it.

She found a can of water--she could throw water on him. But... that would just wake him up. It wouldn't distract him.

She pushed her hand to the bottom of the pack and felt a cold, hard metal object. She pulled it out. "What is this?" she said, staring at the little compact heavy device. There was a hinge, and a lid, so she opened it, revealing a button. She pressed the button, and out shot a tiny blue flame.

"The lighter," she cried, delighted. She turned immediately, and lit the grass at her feet on fire.

It went up in flame instantly, and quickly more grass caught on. Before she was ready, the fire had grown from a tiny flame to over a foot and was now catching more and more grass.

Alarmed, she started to stomp it out. She hadn't thought it would be so fast. She'd never lit anything on fire but the tiny pieces of dung that Tashin had used for his cooking fires. They weren't anywhere near as easy to light as the grass.

"Oh no!" she murmured. "Oh no!" She stomped on the grass, but it was too hot. She couldn't get near enough to the centre.

"Liran," she screamed. "Liran! Wake up!"