She considered for a moment.
"I"m sorry. No."
"We entered the Dreamworld through a dreaming rug, but we won"t be able to escape through the same portal," Aldwyn said. "Do you know of any other way back to Vastia?"
"I took precautions on a visit here many moons ago," Loranella replied. "In case I was ever trapped with no other way to escape, I hid a dreaming rug. It"s beyond the gla.s.s ball, by the glyphstone."
"And what about getting out of the palace?" Aldwyn asked.
"Just as you found your way in, you"ll find your way out," she said. "See you when I"m awake."
Aldwyn gave her a final glance, then bounded for the door. He raced back for the palace exit with the parchment held between his teeth. Once outside, he returned to the top of the same steps he had ascended from the ground. From this high vantage point, Aldwyn was able to look out and see beyond the gla.s.s ball, to the dandelion field he sank into. There standing among the petals were Skylar, Gilbert, and the remwalker. It appeared that they had never left. He felt a flood of relief that they were safe, and now understood why he didn"t see them within the palace. While Aldwyn had been able to use the dandelions to transport himself inside the gla.s.s ball, the same rules didn"t apply to his companions.
Aldwyn raced down the steps and up to the gla.s.s wall nearest the field. He banged his paws against the clear divide.
"Gilbert! Skylar! Over here!"
When they saw Aldwyn, Skylar, Gilbert, and the remwalker hurried over.
"Did you find her?" Skylar called through the gla.s.s.
"She told us everything we need to know to create the potion," Aldwyn replied, holding up the list. "Now I just need to figure a way out of here."
He looked at the snowflakes falling all around him, but had little idea of how they could be of any use to him. Aldwyn racked his brain. Maybe there was a way to break through the gla.s.s. But even the four of them together wouldn"t be strong enough to do that. Although there just might have been something that was.
"Skylar," Aldwyn said. "I want you to cast an illusion of Elzzup, and make sure he"s wearing the same necklace."
Skylar didn"t ask any questions. She simply lifted her wings and summoned a replica of the now deceased possum before them.
"How exactly is this going to help get you out of there?" Gilbert asked.
Suddenly the ground began to tremble. Soon they saw a creature thundering out from behind the mountain. It was the giant beast that had crushed Elzzup. And it was heading straight for them.
"Skylar, move the illusion of Elzzup as close to the gla.s.s as you can," Aldwyn said.
As she did just that, Aldwyn darted underneath the outer palace steps to take cover. It was a good thing, too, because a moment later, the monster charged right through the illusion of Elzzup, slamming its horned head and shoulder into the gla.s.s wall. The gla.s.s shattered upon contact. Aldwyn curled himself into a ball as hundreds of shards of gla.s.s went flying in every direction.
Skylar sent the illusion of Elzzup running into the desert. The monster took off after it, and Aldwyn crawled out from under the steps. He carefully shook himself off and navigated through the fallen gla.s.s debris to his companions.
"Let"s go see my father," the remwalker said. "He should be able to help you find another way back to the outside world."
"We won"t have to go that far," Aldwyn said. "Queen Loranella told me she hid a dreaming rug by the glyphstone."
"I know where that is," the remwalker said. "We better hurry. It"s almost midnight."
The desert was becoming populated with people, sleepers from Vastia and the Beyond. The group quickened their pace, as all around them this world"s nightmarish transformation began to take place. Worms and stinging ants rose up from the ground, slithering up the ankles and legs of any who pa.s.sed. Aldwyn and Gilbert tried to brush away the creepy crawlers, but for every one they swatted off, three more took its place.
Skylar flew above the fray, but a thick cloud of biting flies enveloped the sky, casting a dark haze over everything in its path. Skylar was forced to drop down to the ground to avoid being swallowed. The remwalker had to cover her lips to keep the swarm from her mouth.
Panic was starting to erupt, with men, women, and animals desperate for a means of escape but finding none.
"This is awful," Gilbert said.
"It happens every night," the remwalker replied. "Appnians know to seek shelter. Those who dream have no choice but to endure this."
"Why?" Gilbert asked.
"No one is sure," the remwalker said. "Some think it is fueled by the fears that bubble up as we sleep."
Pushing through hordes of hysterical dreamers, Aldwyn spotted the broken remains of the glyphstone up ahead. Sheets of red rain fell from the sky, drenching the familiars and the remwalker. Upon reaching the crumbled stone, Aldwyn searched the rubble and found a rolled-up rug tucked into a hollow s.p.a.ce.
"Over here," he called to the others.
They came up beside him as he used his mind to lay the dreaming rug flat on the ground. Just as Gilbert and Skylar were about to join Aldwyn atop the swirling pattern at the rug"s center, the remwalker held the five-inch knife up to Gilbert"s throat.
"I"m sorry I have to do this," she said. "But the only way I can leave is if one from your world takes my place here."
"So that"s why you"ve gone to so much trouble to help us," Aldwyn said.
"I"ve wrestled with whether or not it would come to this," the remwalker said. "But I can"t stay here any longer. I just want things to be the same, to stop changing."
Her bloodshot eyes looked more sad than angry.
"Hurting someone isn"t the answer," Skylar reasoned. "We"ll find another way to get you out. Put the knife down."
The remwalker"s hand quivered but she wouldn"t loosen her grip on the knife. Aldwyn telekinetically lifted one of the glyphstone fragments and cracked it across the back of her head. Her legs went limp beneath her and she fell to the dirt, unconscious.
"Come on," Aldwyn said. "Let"s get out of here."
The three animals laid their heads on the rug and closed their eyes. Aldwyn felt a tug pulling him down into what felt like a viscous liquid, and when he paddled his way to the surface he was emerging out through a different rug into a small room. Skylar and Gilbert came up through the portal as well.
After he caught his breath, Aldwyn ran over to a nearby window. He used his mind to open the shutters, and when he peered out he was staring at a gold-and-silver-paved street.
They were back in Bronzhaven.
17.
THE BUBBLING VIAL.
"That leaves about thirty components," Skylar said.
She was perched on a table inside an abandoned cottage with the parchment listing the healing potion"s ingredients laid out before her. Beside it, she had pulled more than a dozen components from her leather satchel.
"Luckily, I acquired some of the rarer ones from the Xylem garden," she said. "We"ll need to get the rest from an apothecary."
"Why don"t we just turn ourselves in to Galatea?" Gilbert asked. "We can tell her what we"ve discovered and have the ravens and palace healers conjure the potion."
"What if we don"t make it that far?" Aldwyn countered. "What if they lock us back up in the dungeons again? We can"t risk it."
They turned to Skylar for the deciding vote.
"I"m sorry, Gilbert," she said. "We"ve already tried to reason with our closest allies, and look how that turned out. We need to see this through on our own."
"Once again, I"m the odd frog out," Gilbert said.
"There"s an apothecary not far from here," Skylar continued. "It"s where Sorceress Edna always picks up her mugwort. She says the alchemist there carries the freshest components this side of the Ebs."
"We"re still fugitives, you know," Gilbert said. "By now, everyone in Vastia will be looking for us."
"We"ll have to wait until the first sign of sun, travel under the guise of another one of Skylar"s illusions, and take what we need," Aldwyn said. "If we save the queen, we"ll be heroes again and all will be forgiven."
Skylar collected her things off the table, and the familiars rested their eyes and waited. A few hours pa.s.sed before the earliest rays of light began creeping through the window. It was time. They exited the cottage into a quiet back alley.
"Skylar, lead the way," Aldwyn said.
Gilbert and Skylar returned to their perch on Aldwyn"s back. The blue jay raised a wing and cast another illusion, making them again look like a bulldog.
"Go all the way to the end, then take the path along the edge of the park," Skylar said.
Aldwyn followed her directions, moving as quickly as he could through the alleyway before emerging onto the street. As he hurried along, he could see the townsfolk gathered around a horse cart, all dressed in yellow mourner"s garb. They were holding vigil around a statue of Queen Loranella, which stood in the cart. It was covered in flowers. Slips of paper were tucked and folded into the floral arrangements. Some of the people were approaching the statue, placing valuables of their own all around it. Others chanted in unison, humming words in elvish. From the tired, defeated looks on their faces, they"d lost hope Loranella was on her way to recovery.
"Turn up there," Skylar said. "The apothecary"s across the street."
Aldwyn spotted it, a small shop with a sign above the door that read "The Bubbling Vial." Beneath the name was a picture of a beaker that magically filled up with components and then boiled over before doing it again. A group of wizards entered and the familiars seized the opportunity to sneak in alongside them.
The shop was crowded with early morning customers, all browsing the alphabetized rows of gla.s.s jars. They were sniffing and examining each component before either placing it in their basket or returning it to the shelf. A middle-aged woman with a cane hobbled around the store selling her wares.
"I highly recommend the powdered rhubarb," the woman said to an elder sorcerer whose basket was already overflowing with goods. "Just got it in from the western border jungles last night. Perfect for conjuring phantom swords."
She turned to another customer.
"They should have everything we need," Skylar said, clutching the parchment in her talon. "Grab a basket."
Aldwyn used his mind to lift a wicker carrier and made it hover before them so it appeared that the illusion of the bulldog was actually holding the basket in its mouth.
"Let"s start with the As," Skylar said. "Armadillo hair."
Aldwyn telekinetically opened a jar, removed a tuft of brown fur, and dropped it into the basket. Bark of everwillow and b.u.mble wasp honey followed. Then copper chips and dew drops. Aldwyn mentally collected each one.
"Eye of snail," Skylar said, reading off the parchment.
Aldwyn added it to the basket. As they moved around the shop toward the Fs, the shop owner stepped in front of them.
"I don"t believe I"ve seen you here before," the woman said. "Is there anything I can help you find?"
Skylar was quick to have the bulldog respond. "No, I"m fine, thanks."
"Well, if you have any questions, don"t hesitate to ask."
The familiars hurried to gather the remaining components on the list. One by one they collected the ingredients for the healing potion. By the time they finished going through the entire alphabet, there was only a single component missing. They approached the shop owner, who was tidying up at the front counter.
Skylar made the dog appear to speak again. "Excuse us." She immediately realized her mistake. "Me. Excuse me. I didn"t see any porcupine needles on the shelf."
"They"ve been in high demand of late," the woman replied. "Unfortunately all that"s left has already been reserved."
Behind the counter, Aldwyn could see a locked cabinet with a vial of thin spikes stored inside.
"My apprentices should be bringing more back from the Thistle Meadow this week. I"d be happy to set some aside for you."
"That won"t be necessary," Skylar said via the illusionary dog.
Aldwyn continued browsing, walking away from the counter.
"Now what?" Gilbert asked.
"We"ll have to distract her," Skylar said. "I"ll create another illusion. Aldwyn, use your telekinesis to lift the key and unlock that cabinet."
He nodded and Skylar raised a wing. On the opposite side of the shop, a dragonfly buzzed through an open window and began zipping around the customers. As they ducked and swatted, the store owner limped out from behind the counter, shooing at the insect with her cane. Aldwyn quickly turned his attention to the key ring dangling from her back pocket. He focused and mentally pulled the silver chain free.
While the lady was swinging at the dragonfly, Aldwyn used his mind to guide the key toward the tiny lock on the cabinet. He tried to line up the ridges inside the hole, but from his distance across the shop, the precise maneuver was too difficult to perform.
"What"s taking you so long?" Skylar asked.
"I can"t get it in," Aldwyn replied.
"Gilbert, go, now," Skylar said.
"What if she sees me?" Gilbert asked.
"Do it," Skylar insisted.
The tree frog leaped down from Aldwyn"s back and hopped for the cabinet. The middle-aged woman was still too preoccupied with the dragonfly to see Gilbert bound over the counter and up to the cabinet. He swiped the key ring out of the air and used his webbed hand to slip it into the lock. With a quick turn it was open and the vial of porcupine needles was in his grasp.
Gilbert had made it only halfway back to the illusion of the bulldog when the store owner took a swing right through the dragonfly that sent her spinning. Once she regained her footing she was staring straight at Gilbert, who held the vial in his hand. The woman"s eyes darted to the cabinet and she instantly knew what he had done.
"Thief!" the woman yelled, pointing at Gilbert.
The shop"s customers, including the young wizards and elder sorcerer, turned.
"That"s no ordinary thief," the sorcerer said. "That"s one of the Prophesized Three."