Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Roaring their battle cry, Gorn led the Ghouls Tooth gang into battle, smashing into the back of the twenty attacking gang members. Everywhere he moved the Swamp Shark men fell into a morass, their movements slowing down as if they were tangled up with ropes. Gorn suffered no such restrictions and his dagger stabbed out repeatedly, each stroke reaping a life.

At the same time Henrick and Obe closed in on Warn, whose eyes were filled with absolute shock. No matter how nimble he was there was no way for him to escape with his wound, and Warn quickly fell. His brother followed soon after, and a scant two minutes after Henrick and Gorn had arrived the fight was over. The only casualty on the side of the Ghouls Tooth gang was the man whod fallen earlier, and as the fight ended Reeve got up, his face pale.

Pushing his way over, Obe stared down at the body and swore quietly. Shaking his head, he patted Reeve on the shoulder and moved out of the way to make room for Henrick. Crouching, Henrick looked at the wound on the gang members neck and tutted. About to get up, he heard Gorns voice.

Hey, whats that in his pocket?

When Reeve was trying to stop the flow of blood the gang members jacket had fallen open, revealing a small bag and the top of a letter. Normally that wouldnt have caught anyones attention, but this piece of paper had half a broken wax seal on the top of it that stood out. Eyes narrowing, Henrick pulled out the letter, allowing the bag of coins that was with it to fall to the ground. Opening the letter, he glanced at it but found it incomprehensible. Handing it to Gorn, he opened up the bag, his expression freezing when a gold coin and a stack of silver fell into his palm.

You think

Shut up, Gorn, Henrick said, standing up and fixing his lieutenant with a freezing glare. Well deal with this later. We still have an enemy coming.

Enemy? What enemy? Obe asked, his expression lost.

Ruel. Of the Swamp Sharks, Henrick said. He should be arriving in a few minutes.

Listening to the conversation through his connection to Gorn, Garretts expression was one of indecision. The current situation presented an opportunity for the Ghouls Teeth to take Ruel down, eliminating an enemy and further weakening the Swamp Sharks, but Garrett was loath to lose a three-flower dreamer. Especially one who was Awakened. Leaving Ruel alive was a risk, but if he could work it right, it could also be an opportunity.

Garrett was still coming to an understanding about how the influence portion of the Dream Flowers worked, but the more Awakened who fell under the sway of the flowers, the safer Garrett would be. Rapidly considering the pros and cons of the situation, he tried to weigh the situation as objectively as possible.

If I dont interfere, theres probably a seventy percent chance that Ruel dies. If he lives, the war between the Swamp Sharks and the Ghouls Tooth gangs will heat up. On the other hand, if he never engages, hell have to deal with the fact that he let the twins die. The best option is for him to live but not return to the Swamp Sharks. Lets see if we can achieve that.

Making his choice, Garrett moved Observe the Dream over to Ruel, watching as he hurried through the twisting passages toward the crypt where the ambush had already concluded. There were ten gang members with him that Garrett knew they would have to get rid of if he was going to keep Ruel alive. Biting his lip, he hesitated for a moment. What he was about to do was tantamount to splitting with the Ghouls Tooth gang, and if Henrick ever found out Garrett would find himself on the sharp end of the gang boss cleaver in short order.

Rushing through the complex passages, Ruel checked his map again, making sure they were going in the right direction. They were only a few turns away from the room where they would ambush the Ghouls Tooth gang, and he was feeling confident in the plan hed developed. Finding a spy to betray the Ghouls Tooth gang had been his plan from beginning to end, and once hed successfully executed this mission he knew that Vic, the Swamp Sharks boss, would have no choice but to make him the second in command.

Reveling in the future he was imagining, Ruel suddenly slowed down, his heart plunging into his stomach. The shift in feelings was intense and came over him in an instant, snapping him out of his fantasies. Dread seemed to crawl up his spine and the long shadows in the passage appeared to stretch, transforming into monsters that reached for their group. As quickly as they came the intense feelings were gone, eradicated by the energy from his soul spark.

Sitting on the Dreamers Throne, Garrett clutched his chest as the backlash from Ruel destroying the feelings he was projecting washed over him. Coughing, he ignored the pain and kept his attention focused on Ruel. A moment ago he had dumped as many emotions on the Awakened lieutenant as he could, focusing on conveying the feelings hed experienced during his encounter with the Crimson Eye. Even though the influence was almost immediately destroyed by Ruels soul spark, Garretts objective had already been achieved. With a small smile curling at the corners of his lips, he whispered into the darkness.

The ambush has failed. The intelligence was wrong and the Ghouls Tooth gang sent all their Awakened. The twins are already dead, and if you go in there youll be next. You need to escape.

Unable to shake the chill that had coursed down his spine, Ruel was on edge, and when the thoughts that Garrett spoke sprang unbidden into his mind, he flinched. A moment earlier he had been completely confident of their victory, but now he was unsure. If the Ghouls Tooth gang had really sent all their Awakened over and counter-ambushed the twins, he would be walking into a deathtrap. Trying to reassure himself that nothing had happened to the twins, Ruel shook his head and led his forces forward.

But if anything did happen, Im in a world of trouble. Vic will kill me if the twins are gone.

Grimacing, Ruels thoughts spun. He wasnt so naive as to believe that nothing could go wrong for him, and the strange premonition he felt was throwing him off. Calling his gang members together, he glanced at the passage leading to the crypt. Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

I can send these guys in first. If something is wrong, Ill still be able to escape.



Oh? Do you feel like youve memorized them?

I had a dream that I was practicing them, and I learned them all. In my dream, I had those cards you were talking about. The fletch cards?

Flash?

Yeah! The flashcards. For two nights now Ive been working on them, and I think I have all the letters and their sounds memorized.

Raising his eyebrows, Garrett looked at Ryn in surprise. Hed created the flashcards in her dream on a whim, without expecting that they would serve as more than a distraction, but clearly they were working. Listening as she launched into a recitation of the alphabet and the sounds for each letter, he couldnt help but wonder if this could be replicated. Ryn was highly motivated to learn to read, which could be seen from the way shed thrown herself into her studies during the day, so adding studying in her dreams had doubled the effectiveness of her learning.

Thats really impressive. Its only been two days since you started learning. Today lets practice sounding out words. At the same time, well start creating some vocab lists.

Whats a vocab list? Ryn asked, her eyes shining.

Its just a list of words for you to memorize, Garrett said. Its not as exciting as youre imagining. I dont see Gorn and the others. Do you know how things went last night?

Shaking her head, Ryn looked around at the empty tables.

No, Im not sure.

Just then, the door banged open and Henrick, Gorn, and Obe walked in, leading the rest of the gang. Seeing that Reeve was still present, and was actually walking close to Obe, Garrett smiled. Catching sight of Garrett and Ryn at the table, Henrick walked over and sat down in one of the empty seats. Though his face was impassive, it wasnt hard to tell that the gangs boss was in a great mood. A small sack landed on the table with a thud, and Henrick slid it in front of Garrett.

That was the smoothest operation Ive ever been a part of. Plus, we caught the spy.

Feigning shock, Garretts eyes darted to the group, widening when he didnt spot Yenis. Watching him carefully, Henrick saw the shift in his expression and his lips parted in a tight grin.

The spy was Yenis, Henrick stated, matter-of-factly.

How did you find out? Garrett asked, his voice equal parts relieved and frustrated.

He was silenced by the Swamp Sharks. Hed gone with Obe and they targeted him first. No doubt to get rid of any evidence. But we found this in his coat, Henrick said, sliding a letter across the table to Garrett.

Hmm. On the one hand, its a shame since we wont be able to use him, but getting rid of the spy is good too, Garrett replied, opening up the letter and frowning when he saw the code.

Exactly. And we traded one spy for two Awakened. A pretty good deal, if I do say so myself.

Two? What happened?

Lose the long face, Henrick said, slapping Garrett on the shoulder. We took down the Shark twins, and killed everyone but Ruel. Hes going to have to go into hiding to avoid losing his head to Vic, so its as good as having killed him. Whew, its been a long night, so Im going to bed. This is a bit of something to express our appreciation for your planning. Keep up the good work.

With a nod to Ryn, Henrick got up and walked away, leaving Garrett to look at the small pouch curiously. Untying the cord that bound it, he flipped it over and watched with appreciation as two gold and a small pile of silver tumbled out onto the table.