A Little Night Muse(48)

                “Good to know.”

                “We’ll be back as soon as we can. I’ll bring you a nice German                     titanium skillet.”

                “You’re in Germany? Shit.” Josh rubbed his chest where the                     imp’s scratches stung. “It’ll be days before you get here.”

                “Midnight. No later. When we fly, we trip the mushroom                     express.”

                Josh remembered the mushroom ring in the Hunters’ backyard.                     “Sounds like I have a lot to learn.”

                “Or a lot to forget.”

                Stubbornly, Josh didn’t respond.

                This time, Vaile’s sigh ended in a curse. “We had hoped to stay                     hidden until I finished fortifying the valley. We’ll just have to take them                     whenever they come. And by we, I don’t mean you, Josh.”

                “I’m already in it up to my eyeballs,” Josh argued. “Both eyes.                     So tell me what she’s running from.”

                At first he thought he wouldn’t get an answer, but then Vaile                     said, “A dream.”

                Josh waited a second, feeling deaf, dumb and blind. “I don’t get it.”

                “And you never will. You live in the sunlit world, where you                     wake from your dreams. For us, the dream is never-ending. And it has become a                     nightmare. Imogene and I, plus a few others, had to get away, but our Queen does                     not allow such freedom.”

                “I’ve heard about this Queen of yours. She won’t let you                     go?”

                “Not without a fight.”

                “Hell, I can give her that.”

                “You? A human?” Vaile gave a dismissive snort. “She’s not a                     Disney villainess, sure to be defeated in the last act.”

                “That’s fine with me. I always wanted the stories to be longer                     anyway.”

                When they disconnected, Josh started on the iron bullets.

                He might be just the simple sidekick in this story, but he read                     enough to know he had two choices in the end: Win the girl.

                Or die.





                                      Chapter 9