What Befalls the Children: Book 4 in the Troop of Shadows Series, стр. 42
After they’d moved from Knoxville to the holler, it had taken a few months to get used to the new terrain. As with traveling in the real world, he had to know where he was going in the astral plane or he might get lost, like a tourist in New York City. So he’d learned to let his fabricated nose guide him in situations where he didn’t recognize the topography from his bird’s eye view.
He had never gotten lost in the astral plane and had no idea what would happen if he did. Sometimes he worried about that because he suspected if he did get lost, he might wake up in a stranger’s bed with a family he didn’t know. But it was so much fun that he was willing to risk it the two or three times a month he was able to do it. He enjoyed these special dreams even more than adventuring in the forest with Cricket and Willa.
A village hunting dog flew beside him. It was always interesting when one showed up.
“Hey, Cooper,” he said with his mind.
The dog, floppy bloodhound ears blowing backward, acknowledged his presence with a lolling tongue and a tiny wink.
“I guess we’ll go north tonight. Does that sound good?”
Another doggy wink.
Harlan never knew ahead of time where he would be when he slid into a one of these dreams, which was part of the fun. Unlike the real world, he couldn’t really be hurt in the astral plane, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
Theoretically.
Tonight, though, the northerly route made him feel a bit anxious. According to Mister Fergus, the scary lady had come from that direction. Not only that, but the two murder victims had been found north of the village. Was that a coincidence? Probably not.
He decided to utilize his dream to conduct a reconnaissance mission, just like the village Scouts. Maybe he would see something useful. And anything that might help the investigation could keep Mama and everyone else safe.
He spotted a small campfire in the distance. He believed his position to be close to the clearing where the Pop-Tarts and candy had been delivered. After soaring over the very location where their spoils lay hidden in holly bushes and corralled by urine, he came upon the campfire.
Through the thick branches it was difficult to clearly see the person beside the fire, who stoked the flames with a long stick. Was it a woman? Was it THE woman? Impossible to tell.
It wasn’t easy to alter his course during a dream, but he had managed it a few times. He glanced at Cooper, still flying an arm’s length beside him. He placed a dream hand on the dog’s head, and then closed his imagined eyes. Cooper seemed to know he was needed as a kind of anchor, and he gave Harlan a quick swipe with his rough dream tongue. The gesture said, I’ve got you, friend!
Harlan concentrated.
When he opened his eyes again, he and Cooper had circled back around and were soaring over the same campfire. From the lower altitude, he could make out the figure gazing into the flames.
It was a man.
Whew! Harlan supposed a man could be responsible for the terrible murders, but his gut told him Mister Fergus was right about the scary lady.
What next, then? He and Cooper were heading north, but something pulled at his brain, telling him to go west. His hand still rested on Cooper’s head, so he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on steering them to the left. When he opened his eyes again, he recognized the familiar terrain. He and Willa and Cricket had played Robin Hood and his Merry Band in a copse of trees just below. The giant live oaks there were perfect for climbing and a small clearing had hosted more than a few of Willa’s storytelling sessions. He could see the Pyramid Logs, three dead trees that had fallen into a triangle shape, forming the perfect setting for conversation.
A small campfire blazed there now, and a woman with long black hair danced around its flames.
Harlan’s imagined heart skipped a beat. Mama had never taken them to church, nor pressed any religious beliefs upon them. But if there was a hell, surely this scary, witchy-looking lady belonged there. Just as he and Cooper soared over the clearing, her head tilted backward. A smile unfurled on the white-skinned face that glowed in the darkness, like a lighthouse beacon on a haunted island.
Did she ‘see’ him somehow? He had never experienced any kind of interaction with living people during these astral journeys.
He shuddered. “Time to go home, Cooper.” His eyes closed in the dream for the final time.
When they opened again, his body was safely tucked beneath the covers of his bed. Willa snored gently from two feet away. His heart...the real one inside his real chest...pounded like a kettle drum. Mama’s beautiful eyes were open, watching him in the darkness from across the small bedroom.
“Nightmare?” she whispered.
He nodded. Nobody knew about the dream flights. Not even Willa.
Mama lifted her blanket and patted the mattress. He was much too old to be snuggling with his mother, but he didn’t care. Sometimes a boy just wanted the reassuring proximity of the person who loved him more than anyone in the world.
Finally Mama’s breathing slowed. He was nowhere close to being able to sleep yet, not after seeing that Witchy Lady dancing in