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Brust_Steven_ _Taltos
Milosc i wolnosc poza cialem D. Sugier
technik.elektryk_311[08]_z5.01_u
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
shake it.
So I did.
I ignored my better instincts and clasped it
in mine.
15
He told me his name was Satchel.
Satchel Alexander Blaise III.
And I stood right before him, listening to
him recite it, completely impressed.
The name sounded weighty. Important.
Like he might descend from royalty or
something.
But Satchel just shrugged. Assured me it
was just a name that d been passed down in
the family until it was his turn to wear it, not
so different from a hand-me-down shirt.
Assured me that it didn t mean much of
anything, so I shouldn t attach too much
meaning to it.
There were other things that mattered
more.
Much more, he said.
Yeah, like what? My gaze pored over
him, hoping the answer might help me get to
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know him a little better, might prove that
there was nothing to be afraid of, that he was
really no different from me.
Hoping that it might rid me of the creepy,
nagging feeling that had stirred up inside me
ever since I made my way in and grasped his
hand in mine.
But he just shrugged again, saying, We ll
get to that later. First, I need help with this
dream.
He led me deeper into the room, and fi-
nally I saw where that strange and flickering
light had originated. He had some antique
projector rigged up in the back that pointed
toward a big, stained old screen its corners
all yellowed and curled, with a series of rips
and tears that crept along the bottom seam.
What s this? I asked, thinking this room
was so much smaller than the one I d done
my practice jumps in, and wondering why he
was using such old, outdated equipment
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when there was shiny, new, modern stuff to
be had, if not manifested.
New is not always better. He glanced at
me, fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves.
This works just as well, and besides, it s
authentic.
I stopped right there, refusing to take an-
other step closer. Authentic to what, ex-
actly? My hand on my hip, my lips screwed
to the side, needing a bit more to go on.
He huffed, patted his hair with the palm of
his hand smoothing a haircut that wasn t
just totally and completely outdated, but that
also looked as though it was whipped into
obedience with superglue and spit.
Authentic to Dreamland, he said. This,
all that you see before you, it s all of the ori-
ginal equipment. It s what they used to use
before & He paused, then, shaking his head,
decided to leave it right there.
Though I wasn t about to let him off so
easily. If he needed help, then I needed
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answers, despite whatever deal we may have
struck just a few moments earlier.
I narrowed my eyes, fixed him with my
most serious, stoniest stare. Watching as he
sighed, threw his arms in the air, and said,
This is the stuff they used to use before
things changed around here. This is all the
original equipment that &
And that s when I knew. Knew it before
the words left his lips.
His eyes locked on mine as he confirmed
the thought in my head.
This is the stuff the dreamweavers used
back in the day.
Dreamweaving.
According to the gate guard, Mort, and
most definitely Balthazar, dreamweaving
was not done in these parts anymore. Heck,
I d gotten a major case of the stink-eye just
for making an accidental mention of it.
I looked at Satchel, my eyes growing wide.
But he just smiled, his face radiant, almost
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angelic, when he said, Trust me, once you
weave a dream, you ll never want to dream
jump again.
16
The secret to dreamweaving is to keep the
ingredients as organic as possible. It needs to
come off as real and authentic, otherwise the
dreamer will wake and the message will fail.
With dreamweaving you have to make it
seem like something the dreamer would ve
come up with by themselves something
they d never even guess was not their own
creation. Dreamweaving is all about leaving
a big impression. It s all about the impact
you make.
I nodded, committing his words to
memory, wondering if I should maybe mani-
fest myself a small notebook so I could
scribble it down, just like Balthazar had done
with my backstory.
Don t get me wrong, Satchel said, nod-
ding at me. You can use all the monsters,
dragons, witches, warlocks, fairies,
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werewolves whatever fantasy creatures you
like as long as it s real to the dreamer as
long as it s part of their experience, part of
their world. As long as it s something they
either secretly, or not so secretly, believe in.
If it s real to them, then it s fair game. It s all
about knowing the dreamer. Knowing what
they care about & what they desire & what
they fear. Or, in many cases, what they
overlook.
I squinted, wondering how he could pos-
sibly know all of this. But just as soon as I d
completed the thought, he smiled and said,
I studied under Balthazar.
I gasped, wondering how that could pos-
sibly be when I figured him for the same age
as me. And then it hit me maybe he was the
same age as me.
Maybe he had been the same age as me for
a very long time.
Maybe there was no way to grow and
mature.
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Maybe Bodhi had lied about all that in an
attempt to get me to shut up and stop com-
plaining about being eternally twelve.
Maybe we really were stuck.
Maybe I d live Here for infinity and noth-
ing about me would change!
I was his number-one intern, Satchel
said, invading my thoughts, but I was happy
to let him, they were putting me into a seri-
ous mental tailspin. I was the best assistant
director Dreamland ever saw &
And then? I gulped, eager to hear what
came next.
He shrugged, patted his hair, a gesture
he d done twice in the short time I d known
him, and I wondered if it was his own per-
sonal nervous tell.
And then & He paused, tugged at the
cuffs on his shirt (another tell?), took way
too much time inspecting his sleeve, pre-
tending to remove a nonexistent piece of lint.
And then, we had a disagreement. He
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shrugged. A sort of & falling out, if you will.
And now Balthazar does what he
does dream jumps and I do what I
do dreamweaving. Trust me, Riley, my way
is better. You re lucky you found your way
here. Balthazar has talent, there s no doubt
about that. But what he lacks is vision. And
whether you re directing a dream, or a
movie, or even a play you put on for you par-
ents and your dog in your garage &
He looked right at me, and I wondered
how he could possibly know about that, how
he could possibly know about Ever s and my
Rainy Day Productions that s what we
called our theater company, we even made
brochures to go with it. But then he just
smiled again, and I began to relax, figuring
lots of kids did stuff like that. It was an easy
guess on his part.
Anyway, he continued, reclaiming my at-
tention. No matter what sort of production
you re directing, vision is everything.
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I looked at him, remembering how
Balthazar had claimed that the imprint was
everything, and that the landing came a
close second. Clearly they worked from two
very different perspectives. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
