Dio cried out in fury.

  That can’t be. That can’t be. What happened? Fucking shit!

  Des was close to passing out. He clutched his chest as Dio hauled himself upright and started toward the granaries.

  “Wait, Dio, don’t…” Des rasped, trying to push himself up as well, but he swayed too much and collapsed back onto the paving stones.

  “I have to know what that was. An animal? A wild animal, this close to the village?” Dio speculated, having to draw on every bit of effort he had just to form coherent thoughts.

  ‘Please get away from here'… Let, what did you do, what did you mean? Fucking shit!

  He staggered more than he walked, but slowly Dio drew closer to the village square. He tried to push the connections he shared with the others in Daw a little farther away from himself, in case someone else awakened again, but he couldn’t. They were a part of him. And even if he were to feel the pain and despair all over again, if new pain joined the one still paralyzing his thoughts, he would endure it knowing that he was paying someone their final respect. That he was facing what was happening, somehow.

  But as he stumbled over the hard stones, passing people again and again who were calling out in fear for their friends, their housemates, their lovers, the nausea grew so intense that he had to lean against an old fence post just to stay on his feet.

  Who would it be next? Would there be a next one? Would…

  He cried out and forced himself onward. He had to do something. Anything.

  I can’t be this powerless again. No. Brela is doing better. She’ll go into the forest with Des tomorrow. We’ll come back and eat something good at Wes’s tavern.

  But at the thought of Wes, fear tightened around his throat, and the warmth that symbolized him deep inside Dio felt fragile, as though it could be extinguished by the slightest breath or the smallest drop. It was the same with all the other lights. They had seemed eternal, self-evident. And now they threatened to flicker and to…

  And then he saw them. Strangers.

  The men and women on the muldis who had now gathered in the village square radiated danger with every breath. They herded together the villagers they could get their hands on and moved with practiced efficiency through the nearby houses. Dio froze and stared at the horrific spectacle before him. People were dragged out, doors kicked in one after another, and shouts and screams rang out repeatedly, commands mixed with pitiful sobbing.

  The intruders wore thick fur clothing that looked primitive, but likely protected them far better against attacks than the fabric garments worn here in Daw. Dio reached for his gray cloak, wrapped it tighter around himself, and thought of Avee, who was thankfully far away.

  All of them were armed. Some carried drawn bows, others clubs, and here and there even axes and knives mounted on long poles. Spears. The men and women standing there were led by a short-haired woman, in whose face Dio could see hardness and faded pain.

  “Over there, with the others!” a woman barked, leveling a drawn bow at his chest.

  Dio hurried to where she pointed, and soon he approached the confused, shaken, desperate, and in some cases hate-filled people who lived with him in this village. Yorm was trying to calm them all, even though he kept finding moments to shoot dagger-like looks at the intruders and twist his mouth into scornful grimaces. He glanced at Dio briefly, concern in his eyes, almost as though he hoped Dio might come up with something.

  I can’t do anything. I don’t have a weapon. I couldn’t wield one even if I wanted to. I haven’t even tried a bow with Erta and Helsat. I am a damn fool, Dio cursed inwardly, then quickly reassured himself that the hunters were still far away.

  They were moving toward the village now, he noticed in his Inner World, but would likely not arrive until evening.

  Then, once whatever this was would have already passed.

  One way or another.

  Des was brought to him as well, and while a few houses were still being searched, the leader of the pack finally raised her voice, after sweeping her gaze disdainfully across their faces one last time.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “People of Daw, we are not primarily here to harm you, but we expect cooperation. Our purpose is more important than the lives of individuals, and we will not hesitate to awaken anyone who stands in our way. There will be no further warnings. You seem to have noticed that we have already pulled three of you out of the Dream. More will follow if you do not comply.”

  She surveyed the crowd again.

  “We are here because there are rumors that this place is a breeding ground for heresy. That there are Lucid ones here. We cannot allow that. The Lucid draw Nightmares to them. They show them the way into our realm. We will prevent this and defend our part of the Dream. We will smother the danger at its source, before it scorches everything like a lawless wildfire.”

  “There are no Lucid ones here. People with the potential for it were already collected at the Arrival and taken away by the Sages,” Yorm tried to placate her.

  The woman shook her head. Her expression remained contemptuous, though for a brief moment a spark of understanding flickered across her face.

  It vanished so quickly that Dio was certain it would not sway her. For a moment, he thought he saw a darkness in her as well, similar to the one in Let.

  “The Sun has brought forth new Lucid ones, uncontrolled and turned away from the Light. They are not the strongest beacons for the Nightmares, but they are enough. This village has a reputation, as you well know. It is almost a living legend. Progress and ideas, houses and carts unlike anywhere else, a wellspring of invention and craftsmanship. How else could that come to be, if not through Lucidity? And then there are the rumors of the witch who is brewing her pestilence, and the gardener who planted his heretical seed. All of this will set the Shadows upon us. Perhaps they are already here. We cannot risk that.”

  A frightened murmur rippled through the people, and Dio grew dizzy. He clung to Yorm, who had meanwhile stepped up beside him unnoticed.

  “We have to get Brela out of here somehow. And Des. They’re in the greatest danger,” Yorm whispered so softly that only Dio could hear it.

  He’s right. There has to be a way to save them. Both of them. I can’t lose them, not after all these days, not now that Brela is getting better. I won’t allow it.

  Restlessly, Dio glanced over at Des, who stood beside him like a statue, listening to the woman’s words with an expressionless face. The intruders now stood before them like a wall, and some had begun searching the houses farther away from the square. Eventually, they would reach Brela’s place. They would see the golden seed. No one could likely get close to Brela, but Dio knew an arrow would be fast enough. His temples throbbed, and he smelled the fear-sweat of the people standing around him. Their confusion and panic hammered against his innermost self, and he found it increasingly difficult to form clear thoughts. His own fear mixed in, and every time he thought of the three who were now gone, his blindness spread and left him reeling.

  “If you tell us who the Lucid ones are, then we will not awaken everyone. It may seem cruel to you, and it is, but you have no idea what the Nightmares are capable of. And what the Light can do in wrong inexperienced hands. The person who mattered more to me than anything else was burned when the Sun rose. She was the first victim brought by these new waves of Lucidity…”

  The woman now spat her words in rage, and Dio could feel her hatred even from a distance. It was vile. Primal.

  “We’re not Lucid here! That’s just stupid gossip from people who are jealous…” Andelion shouted. She had been brought over to them as well, but she did not get any further. An arrow drilled into her throat, and she collapsed into shapes as another star went out inside Dio and abominable emotions crashed over him, stripping him of his senses until he found himself on the ground.

  “I have no patience left. You will do as we say, or this village will burn. Where are the Lucid ones? Where is the witch?” the leader of the intruders screeched.

  Fuck, fuck! Dio screamed into his innermost self.

  His thoughts suddenly drifted back to the brightest star in his heart, the one he had felt ever since his arrival.

  Ray, did you feel the same thing? This fear of losing something precious? Back then, when you awakened the men who tried to kill me in blind fury? I think I understand now. Ray, you fought, and I’m just standing here. I don’t know if we’ll see each other again. I know I promised to wait for you, but I can’t. If I wait and do nothing, I’ll lose more than I can even imagine.

  He stepped forward slowly, carefully, so that the woman who still had her arrow trained on him adjusted the tip little by little.

  His heart pounded, and in his thoughts gaping wounds yawned where his friends had been moments before, places now filled with numb blindness flickering in their stead.

  “You say you want the Lucid ones? The ones Let spoke of?”

  The leader flinched briefly, then narrowed her eyes.

  “But Let lied! You have your stories from him, don’t you? You know him! He lies every time he opens his mouth…”

  For the first time, the leader shifted in her saddle, uncertainty creeping into her posture.

  “Let is a Lucid, or at least I believe he is. I think his stories change the Dream. He is what you fear. This here is just a simple village. We trade and preserve our techniques the same way everyone else does. Yes, we develop something new now and then, but what community doesn’t?”

  Silence fell, and the air almost crackled with tension. Dio still felt like a pile of shit, but at least he had thrown them off balance.

  “You’re Dio, aren’t you? Let spoke of you. He said you were one of the greatest heretics he had ever met. Lucid and silver-tongued. He said you were probably the most dangerous thing that would stand in our way here. He always fulfills his informant’s duties so excellently… Krud, shoot him,” the woman said with a smirk.

  Dio barely had time to understand what was happening before tearing pain ripped through his side. An arrow punched through his cloak and drove into his abdomen just below the heart, drilling stabbing heat and searing agony into his mind. The blood spilling from his chest was warm, and the stomach acid eating slowly into his insides tore a piercing scream from his throat. Dio collapsed backward, the Dream dissolving into a whirl of colors, horrific impressions, and pain, yyet he still lingered. He was not sure for how long.