“No, I don’t,” I said in annoyance.
“Actually, you kind of do,” Variam said.
“This isn’t either one of those situations, all right?”
“I know, that’s what makes it so weird,” Luna said. “You’re asking us before everything’s gone completely to hell.”
I threw up my hands. “Do you guys want to hear the details or not?”
“We do,” Anne said. “What does Richard want?”
“He wants a very rare item called a dreamstone.”
“Wait,” Variam said. “Isn’t that the same thing—”
“Yes.”
Variam thought about it, then shrugged. “No wonder you weren’t having any luck, if even Richard needs help to get one. But what’s so special about these things? From what Arachne said, they just sounded like a mind magic focus.”
“That is an oversimplification,” Arachne said. “Yes, a dreamstone can achieve the same results as some mind or charm spells, but the method by which it does so is very different. And there are some effects that a dreamstone can produce which are outside the realm of living magic altogether.”
“Like what?” Luna asked in interest.
“Like stepping physically into Elsewhere.”
“You can do that?” Anne asked, and she looked surprised. “I didn’t think . . .”
“In theory,” Arachne said. “There is, however, a catch. Dreamstones are closer to imbued items than to focuses, and they can be unpredictable in the hands of new bearers. The most reliable dreamstones are those that have been in the possession of mages for many years. Newly formed dreamstones are another matter altogether. They are powerful but not easy to use.”
“What do you mean, newly formed?” Luna asked.
“Well, that brings us to problem number one,” I said. “The place we’re supposed to find this dreamstone is inside a deep shadow realm.”
“A what?”
“You know that shadow realms are formed by taking a reflection of a location in our world,” I said. “Deep shadow realms are ones where they took a reflection of another shadow realm, like a copy of a copy. They’re supposed to be more fluid than our reality, and they can be pretty weird. Natural laws don’t work consistently. They’re not as closely tethered as shadow realms, and they can drift out of phase for years or centuries.”
“It’s believed that this process, where deep shadow realms become distant from our reality, is what provides the conditions that allow the growth of dreamstones,” Arachne added. “To the best of my knowledge, they’ve never been found anywhere else.”
“Okay,” Variam said. “So we gate to this deep shadow place, grab your dream thingy, and get out. Right?”
“That brings us to problem two,” I said. “First, you can only access deep shadow realms from another shadow realm which connects to them. Think of it as like links in a chain.” I shrugged. “Some mages claim that if you know what to look for, you can keep going from one deep shadow realm to another until you find yourself in another world completely. Point is, we’re going to have to go through a regular shadow realm first.”
“Which one?” Luna asked.
“That would be problem number three,” I said. “It’s a shadow realm called the Hollow. And it’s occupied.” I nodded at Arachne.
“The Hollow is a shadow realm of moderate age, grown from a location here in England,” Arachne said. “It was first created by Karyos, a hamadryad, and she withdrew into it ninety or a hundred years ago.”
Luna frowned. “I think I’ve heard of those. Aren’t hamadryads the ones who are . . .”
“Bonded to a tree, yes.”
“Do you think she’d allow us passage?” Anne asked quietly.
“Once upon a time, perhaps,” Arachne said. “Karyos was cool to humans, but had no hatred of them. Unfortunately, during your First World War, a group of people affiliated with the Council saw fit to cut her tree down.”
Luna grimaced. “Oh.”
“So I’m guessing mages aren’t her favourite people,” I said. It’s depressing how often I’ve heard this kind of story.
“I visited her once, some years after,” Arachne said. “Apparently she survived by transferring her spirit to a tree within the shadow realm. The process had . . . side effects. She recognised me, I think, but little more. When I next attempted to visit, she refused me entry.”
“Do you think she’ll let us pass through?” Anne asked.
“I do not know,” Arachne said. “What I do know is that on at least one occasion, mages have entered the Hollow for their own reasons. They did not come out.”
“And unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though there’s any other way in,” I said. “We go through the Hollow, or we don’t go at all.”
“What if she says no?” Anne asked.
I sighed. “Then it’s going to come down to a fight.”
“Isn’t there anywhere else we could go?”
“No,” Arachne said. “And if there were, the dangers would be just as great.”
“Come on,” Luna said to Anne. She looked more cheerful now. “We’ve handled a lot worse than this.”
“I just don’t like the idea of forcing our way in.”
“It’s not like we’re asking much,” Variam said. “All we want is to go through.”
Anne looked unhappy but didn’t answer. I didn’t say anything, but I had some of the same uneasiness as Anne. Isolating yourself in a shadow realm tends to be a bad sign. Anne’s first master, Sagash, had been one of those shadow realm recluses. By the time I’d met him, he’d been holed up for maybe twenty years, and talking to him had given me the uneasy feeling that while he might not be actually insane, it wouldn’t take much of a push. If Arachne was right, Karyos had been doing the same thing for a full century. I wasn’t sure that boded well for negotiations.
“So,” Variam said. “We either talk our way or fight our way past this Karyos, find a way through into the deep shadow realm, grab the dreamstone, and get out.” He frowned. “What does Richard even want with a dreamstone, anyway?”
“Yeah, I was wondering that, too,” Luna said. “I mean, once we get the thing, what’s the plan? Are you thinking of pulling some kind of switch? Giving him a fake, or . . . ?”
I couldn’t help but be amused that it didn’t even seem to occur to Luna that we’d fail to get it. “I’d like to, but I don’t dare,” I said. “Vihaela made it pretty clear what the consequences would be for me and for Anne if we failed. I don’t like handing something this dangerous over to Richard, but it’s not a hill I’m willing to die on.”
“But then even if we succeed, we’ll be right back where we started,” Anne said. “Actually, worse.”
“Not quite,” I said. “Richard ordered me to fetch a dreamstone. He didn’t say anything about taking more than one. Arachne thinks there’s a good chance that if two of us go in there, we’ll be able to bring two dreamstones out.”
“Just two?” Variam said.
“For one person to attempt to carry two newly formed dreamstones would be too dangerous,” Arachne said. “As I said, they have some of the characteristics of imbued items. And deep shadow realms are unstable. Sending in more than two people at once carries its own risks.”
“So, it’s going to be a four-person job,” I said. “Two to go into the deep shadow realm, and two to stay in the Hollow and guard our way out.” I looked between the three of them. “Are you in?”
“Does Richard know you’re bringing us in on this?” Variam asked.
I shrugged. “Vihaela and Morden didn’t mention it, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s none of their business.”
The three of them looked at each other. “I’m in,” Variam said.
Luna smiled. “I think you know what I’m going to say.”
“When do you want to go?” Anne asked in her soft voice.