The Dream Sanctum: Beyond The End (2 page)

“Like what?” Kai inquired. Kwin opened her mouth to answer, but at that
moment the ship passed through the top of the clouds. The sky was empty and
clear here, and Kai could now see where the waterfalls originated.

A number of islands of various shapes and sizes floated lazily in the
sky, complete with plants, trees and rocks. Torrents of water fell over the
sides of the islands in a seemingly endless supply, and small groups of what
appeared to be flying fish darted in and out of the falling water, up into the
rocks on the island, then back over the edge.

Lindsay, who had already been excited, now looked as though Christmas had
come early. Kwin directed the airship closer to one of the islands, and Lindsay
ran her hand through the sparkling water, watching as the flying fish scurried
away at the last second.

“This is so neat!” she exclaimed. In sharp contrast, Elvia still looked
completely unimpressed, and Alastor looked quite amused.

“Elvia doesn’t get excited by much,” Alastor explained. “I think she only
truly gets excited when there’s a prospect of a fight or when she’s hanging
around Lindsay. I haven’t figured out the latter yet.”

Kai grinned. Despite Elvia being a creation of Alastor’s imagination, it
often seemed as though he didn’t understand her at all. Alastor was famous
throughout the entire Sanctum for Elvia’s complexity, and had also been Kai’s
tutor during the invasion of the Nightmares. Kai was skilled with his own
imagination, but Alastor was in a league of his own.

Kwin cleared her throat, and everyone turned their attention to her.

“I apologize for cutting our visit short, but we need to leave quickly.”

“Why?” Lindsay asked, sounding immensely disappointed.

“We have company.”

It was only then that Kai noticed the large shapes in the distance, their
dark silhouettes growing quickly larger against the sun. As they approached,
Kai was able to see what they looked like… and how large they were.

They looked almost like dragons. Each had four wings, much like a
dragonfly, and their bodies were covered in sleek orange and red feathers. From
their heads to the ends of their tails, they were at least twice as long as
Kwin’s ship. Four powerful legs with long talons stretched out underneath their
bodies, and their tails helped direct their agile flight. At the end of each
tail was a curved, hook-like blade, similar to the one on top of each dragon’s
head.

“Please hold on.”

Without giving them a moment to follow through with her request, Kwin
directed the ship away from the island, accelerating quickly toward the clouds
and away from the dragons. The dragons followed, keeping up easily.

“They don’t eat airships, do they?” Kai asked, now growing slightly
concerned as the dragons sped toward them.

“They do not, but they are very territorial. Ideally they won’t pursue us
for long.”

Kai marveled at how calm Kwin seemed as she kept her eyes on the dragons
while guiding the ship expertly through the sky. They were now traveling at a
speed that made Kai slightly dizzy. Then, to make matters worse, the ship
suddenly dove through the clouds below. Lindsay yelped and gripped the hand
rails so as not to fall off into the sky, and Kai did the same. Kwin, Alastor
and Elvia appeared completely unaffected, however, and though Alastor looked
excited now, Elvia’s expression of boredom remained.

After only a few moments the ship broke the lower cloud layers, streaking
across the sky, still to pick up speed. As Kwin eased it out of the dive and
continued on, Kai realized they were heading toward Aqua Capital.

“How fast can this thing go?” Lindsay called over the rushing wind.

“As fast as it needs to,” Kwin replied simply. “However, it’s best for us
to continue our journey on Golden Capital’s airship instead, so we’re going to
make a quick rendezvous.”

“Oh, Kwin, you’re horrible,” Alastor chuckled.

“What? It sounds good to me,” Kai said.

“Oh, it does,” Alastor agreed. “But she means we’re going to board the
airship as soon as we find it, whether or not it’s currently docked.”

It took a few moments for Kai to understand what he meant, and then he
felt very apprehensive. He had been practicing flying for quite a while now,
but he wasn’t sure he could perform a high-speed jump from one airship to
another.

“There we go!” Kwin said, pointing off into the distance where the
massive silhouette of the capital airship was now visible.

As if on cue, three of the dragons appeared out of the clouds right above
them, wings spread wide and talons outstretched. The ship suddenly dropped to
avoid them, and Kai felt his stomach perform a dangerous leap. By now Lindsay
looked absolutely terrified, and had ducked down in her seat.

The distance between their craft and the airship closed faster than he
expected, and soon they were speeding alongside it at a slightly higher
altitude.

“Are you ready?” Kwin called. Kai nodded, but Lindsay looked confused.

“Ready for what?”

“To jump!”

After a moment of disbelief, Lindsay shook her head vigorously.

“Are you insane? I’m not going to do that!”

Kwin simply laughed. “You can stay on the ship if you like. Just know
that after I leave, it is going to explode with enough force to bring down the
entire Sky Capital whether anyone is left on it or not.”

By now, a large number of people had gathered on the deck of the capital
airship, watching the smaller craft in amazement.

“You present a compelling argument,” Alastor said, stretching his arms as
though getting ready for a casual morning jog. “Come on, Elvy.”

Without even a moment of hesitation, Alastor and Elvia stood up and
walked right off the edge of the cruiser, vanishing into thin air before
reappearing on the deck of the larger ship.

Kai stepped up to the edge next, and before he could stop himself, caught
a glimpse of the ground far below. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath,
then glanced back at Lindsay.

“Don’t take too long, all right?” he told her with a grin, hoping he
looked more confident than he felt. Then he leapt into the open sky.

Just as he suspected, taking flight from a speeding craft wasn’t easy. He
vanished just as Alastor and Elvia had, and reappeared on the deck next to
them. The sudden shift in speed and altitude nearly caused him to fall over as
he landed, but he caught himself at the last second.

“Not bad for a first try!” Alastor said approvingly.

Elvia remained focused on the smaller ship and the dragons closing in
upon it, and in her eyes he could see a slight hint of worry. Alastor noticed
this as well and grinned.

“Don’t worry about Lindsay. She just needs a bit of a push. I was going
to say that earlier, but I was worried Kwin would take me literally and chuck
her off the edge.”

As Kai watched, he saw Lindsay step up. The dragons were nearly upon the
cruiser now, and Lindsay seemed to understand the urgency. She stood still for
a moment, and after taking a deep breath, stepped off the edge.

At first Kai wondered if she would be able to make it, but after a few
moments, a bright pair of wings erupted from her back. They caught wind
immediately, throwing Lindsay off balance, but she quickly regained control and
glided swiftly overhead, diving toward the deck and landing gracefully on her
feet.

“Well done!” Alastor said with an approving smile as her wings vanished.
“I was worried you’d forget how to fly in mid-air, that always seems to – oh,
there goes the ship.”

The cruiser started to pick up speed again, pulling away from the capital
ship’s side and quickly putting distance between them. The dragons, oblivious
to the departure of its riders, chased on with aggressive fervor. Kai watched
it with interest, impressed with the speed and grace of the dragons and Kwin’s
piloting skills.

Suddenly, however, the cruiser detonated. A bright fireball of orange and
white enveloped the craft in a massive explosion. The fire and smoke spread
across half the visible sky, obscuring the clouds and the dragons. A few
moments later the shockwave hit the capital ship, and Kai took a step back as a
wave of heat and wind blasted them. Even the large ship tilted slightly with
the force of the blast.

The effects of the impact wore off quickly, and everything appeared to be
back to normal. The dragons were nowhere to be seen, and the only things left
in the sky were a few plumes of black smoke. A few moments of silence followed,
and then everyone gathered on the deck burst into applause.

Kwin appeared out of thin air next to the group, and Alastor patted her
on the back.

“Nice one. I think I might have mentioned this before but I do like your
extravagance.”

Kwin gave him a mischievous grin, then turned to Lindsay.

“See, that wasn’t so – what?”

Lindsay stood frozen, still staring at the place where the ship had been
just moments ago with a look that Kai could only decipher as horror.

“I didn’t think you were
serious
!”

The others laughed, and Kwin simply winked. No one else on the ship
seemed remotely surprised that Kwin was involved, and Kai made a mental note to
never put off anything she said as exaggeration or a joke, no matter how
far-fetched it might seem.

A
few days later, the weekend
arrived. The weather was continuing to grace the town with clear skies and a
light breeze, and nearly everyone enjoyed it while they could. Families sat
together in the parks enjoying picnics, children ran and played on the jungle
gyms and high school-aged boys and girls walked around the outdoor malls,
passing in and out of stores and movie theaters.

Kai and Lindsay leaned comfortably against the wall of one of the shops,
facing a mostly empty area of the parking lot. They often went out together,
but this time it was going to be a little different.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting for an hour already,” Lindsay finally
moaned. “Where are they?”

“That’s because we have been waiting for an hour. You were the one who
wanted to get here early,” Kai said, smiling slightly. “They’re not late yet.
Give it a few more minutes.”

They fell back into a comfortable silence, Lindsay visibly impatient. Kai
couldn’t blame her. They had both wanted to meet Kwin in the real world ever
since she left the hospital, but since she and her father had just been
reunited, they had spent every moment of the past few weeks together. Now,
however, Kwin had finally been able to clear some time in her schedule.

Kai felt slightly nervous. Before today, Kai had only seen her in the
Sanctum and gotten a single glimpse of her when she and her father passed by
him the day school had let out. As well as he knew her, he had no idea what to
expect.

A few minutes later, Kai looked up as sunlight reflected off a passing
vehicle. A familiar red truck pulled into the parking lot and made its way
toward them. It slowed as it arrived, then stopped next to the curb. Professor
Kawamari, Kai’s teacher and Kwin’s father, rolled down the driver-side window
and waved.

“Unfortunately I have business I must attend to with the school district,
so I can’t stay,” he said. “Take care of her, all right? And have fun!”

Kai glanced around as the passenger door shut and a small figure hurried
around to them. Kwin waved to Kawamari as he drove off, then turned to the
others and nodded politely. After a few moments of silence, Lindsay stepped
forward and took Kwin into a tight hug. The younger girl looked surprised, but
returned the embrace.

“It’s great to finally see you!” Lindsay exclaimed as she let her go.
Kwin smiled, and Kai marveled at how similar she was to her persona in the
dream world. She carried herself with a certain air of authority, and her
piercing gaze showed a level intelligence and maturity far beyond her age.

“A pleasure to meet you in the real world. I’m glad to finally have the
opportunity to see you,” she said.

“The feeling’s mutual. I’d hug you, but I think a handshake would be more
up your alley,” Kai replied with a grin, holding out his hand.

“It would be preferable,” Kwin admitted as she took his hand, unable to
hide her relief. “Do we have an agenda for the day? Despite having lived here
for ten years, I don’t have any idea what to do for a casual day out.”

“Well, that’s an easy one!” Lindsay replied, looking eager to help. “We
just pretty much walk everywhere and explore everything. That and there’s
usually always something worth watching at the cinema.”

“What kind of movies do you like, anyway?” Kai asked as they started to
walk toward the mall entrance.

Kwin looked thoughtful. “I enjoy documentaries, historical reports…” she
began, but stopped as Kai chuckled.

“Right, but let’s pretend for a moment that you were a normal
ten-year-old, what would you like then?”

Kwin smirked, waving off his comment. “If that were the case, I suppose I
would enjoy fiction novel adaptations or comedies, maybe even a horror movie.
Providing they aren’t predictable and poorly written, of course.”

The awkwardness of their first meeting faded quickly, and the trio soon
found themselves having as much fun together as they did in the Sanctum. A few
passersby gave them curious glances, no doubt slightly confused by the references
to a dream world that only made sense to the three friends, or caught off guard
by Kwin’s imposing demeanor. Kwin ignored everyone around her, which told Kai
that she was probably more than used to the attention no matter where she was.

The sun was high in the sky when they stopped for a quick lunch. Kai had
to turn away to hide the smile on his face as Kwin patiently lectured the
waitress on the correct pronunciation of a complicated French dish. After the
meal was over, Kai left a generous tip for their server who by now looked
genuinely intimidated by the ten-year-old.

The cinema was crowded as they walked up to the ticket booth, and after a
few minutes they all decided on a horror film, much to Kwin’s delight. Kai
couldn’t help but remark on Kwin’s taste, and she responded with a grin that
was probably more frightening than the movie they were about to see. After a
few moments of indecision when the man at the ticket booth nearly sent Kwin
away for being too young, they entered the dim theater.

“One thing I appreciate about horror movies in theaters is the pleasant
lack of children,” Kwin mused thoughtfully as she sat down, and then shot Kai
and Lindsay a glare as they started to laugh. “You know very well what I mean.
In fact, I think we may need to worry more about Lindsay.”

Kai didn’t doubt her for a second. Lindsay spent most of the movie with
her knees to her chest, peering out from behind her hands at the screen. Kwin,
on the other hand, seemed to be completely unfazed. More than once he even caught
her smiling at the high-pitched screams of their fellow moviegoers. He was
beginning to wonder just what went on inside the mind of a ten-year-old genius.

As the day wore on, a few clouds drifted in from the ocean. While they
brought no rain, a chilly breeze soon wafted in, and the trio retreated inside
a nearby shop to discuss where they should go next.

“My father discussed the possibility of staying in the city overnight,”
Kwin said during a lull in conversation. “He originally wanted the two of you
over for dinner tonight. You are still welcome, of course, but I must warn you
that I am incapable of providing decent sustenance.” After blank looks from the
other two, she sighed, looking almost embarrassed. “I can’t cook.”

“Really?” Kai asked, genuinely surprised, and Kwin nodded.

“The only way I get along with food is when I’m eating it,” she lamented.
“For some reason anything I bake or cook ends up inedible, despite following
the instructions to the letter.”

“That might be your issue,” Kai replied. “Cooking isn’t always just about
following the words and measurements on paper. There’s some experimenting and
fun involved as well.”

“This is true. One might think that experimenting would be a strength of
mine, but in the real world I prefer to live more by the book. Using my
imagination is a weakness here.”

Lindsay soon suggested takeout as the solution to their conundrum, and
they all quickly agreed, deciding to head back to Kwin’s house before it got
too cold and dark. As they approached, Kai realized that he had only ever seen
the outside before. He wondered for a moment if he would see Kwin’s room, and
tried to imagine how someone like her would decorate their personal space.

The outside of the house was similar to most of the others on the street,
and the inside was furnished rather plainly. However, there was a clinical,
unused cleanness to it that made it seem as though no one had lived there in
years. Tan-colored rugs covered areas of the dark wooden floors, and
heavily-cushioned sofas and chairs neatly lined rooms painted in a friendly
light brown.

Kwin seemed to guess what Kai was thinking.

“My father is usually busy with work, and before that we were on vacation
for a few weeks. As such, we didn’t have time to create any messes. Before my
absence, we were quite nonchalant about housekeeping. I expect it may soon
return to such a state of disrepair, though since I have the time, I have been
trying to keep things in order.”

Kai tried to picture Kwin wandering around the house, picking up dirty
clothes and dusting off shelves with great enthusiasm, and he grinned. That was
unlikely.

“Before our meal arrives, whatever that may be, would you like to stay in
my room?” Kwin continued. “I’m afraid there isn’t much to do there, but there
is a TV, some games, and some reading material.”

“Is it the kind of reading material we’d find in a book store or the kind
we’d find in a professor’s classroom?” Kai chuckled.

“The TV and games will suffice.”

She led them down a short hall and in through a plain-looking door.
Kwin’s room was even more modest than the rest of the house. Most of her walls
were hidden behind bookshelves, and the only furniture in her room was a double
bed, an elegant wooden desk and overstuffed chair, a clothes dresser and a
black suede beanbag chair in the corner. A large flat screen television was
attached to the corner above the dresser upon which sat a disc player and a few
gaming consoles. Kai also noticed a number of band posters and stickers lining
the ceiling, as well as a collection of photographs and handwritten notes on a
cork board by the door.

“Surprised to see so much personality in one room?” Kwin asked Kai with a
knowing look.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Kai replied, and she smirked.

“My room was much more personable when mother was around, but I refused
to let it become
too
boring. I rarely
spend any time in here these days, anyway. There are many more fun things to
do, so don’t judge me by the contents of my living quarters.”

“Of course not,” Kai laughed. They both turned to look at Lindsay, who
was already entranced by the flat screen.

“You have an awesome room, Kwin,” she commented in amazement. “This TV is
huge!”

Kwin raised an eyebrow.

“It gets even better when you turn it on.”

Lindsay rolled her eyes, and the three friends settled down on Kwin’s
bed. Kai felt perfectly comfortable around Kwin already, despite having been in
her company for only a few hours. It wasn’t so much that he knew her from the
Sanctum, although that definitely helped. She seemed like a legitimately
friendly person, and despite retaining much of her seriousness, Kai could tell
that she was much more cheerful and easy-going than she had been just weeks
before.
She just has an interesting way
of showing it.

Dinner arrived soon after it was ordered, and as they sat down around the
table in the well-lit kitchen, Kai had a sudden thought.

“Kwin, I was wondering something…” he started, and Kwin looked up at him
expectantly. “When you blew up that ship, the sky dragons vanished. I don’t
want to jump to conclusions or anything, but what did you do to them?”

“I take it you have reasons for asking other than accusing me of animal
cruelty,” Kwin stated, grinning widely.

“Actually, I was wondering how it was possible for you to destroy part of
the world like that with your imagination. I thought it was against the rules.”

Kwin nodded.

“I didn’t actually do anything to them. They were probably frightened by
the explosion and flew off. However, if it were in any place other than the
Sanctum, they would have undoubtedly been incinerated.”

“At least you’re limited to doing all your damage in the Sanctum,” Kai
replied, unable to hide his amusement at her blunt attitude.

“For now,” she said simply, averting her eyes. Kai felt a shiver down his
spine at her words.

They finished their meal as the sky grew dark. There still hadn’t been
any word from Kawamari, and though Kwin didn’t seem worried, Kai caught her
glancing at the house phone every so often. He knew that after only a few weeks
back together, even half the day could seem like an uncomfortable amount of
time to spend away from her father.

“I was thinking…” Lindsay started thoughtfully.

“What?” Kwin inquired.

“Are we ever going to get to meet Alastor in the real world?” Lindsay
continued.

“Getting bored of me already?” Kwin teased, then smiled as Lindsay
spluttered to clarify. “We will undoubtedly meet him soon. In fact, I was
hoping we could see him this coming weekend. He wants to meet the both of you
and discuss our next venture. Kai, you will be in charge of that.”

Kai looked at her in surprise.

“Me?”

“Yes. I have been talking to my father lately about our journeys, and he
brought up something you spoke to him about shortly after our dealings with the
Nightmares.” At Kai raised his eyebrows in understanding and apprehension, she
nodded knowingly. “Our next trip will follow your idea. At our next possible
opportunity, we will attempt to explore beyond ‘The End.’”