Page 13

The creature stopped raging. It looked at the woman, whose skin had begun to glow. Actually, it was thetattoosall over her arms that were glowing. One of the tattoos peeled off her skin,just like the creature had peeled off of the closed doors. The tattoo turned into a white wolf. It glowed just like the creature before her. Just like Duke the Duck and the other creatures we’d met earlier.

“There’s no reason to be afraid.” The woman stepped toward the kangaroo-armadillo, reaching out with her hand.

The creature looked at the white wolf, who barked.

“That’s right,” she said, continuing to move forward. “We want to be your friends. Would you like that?”

The creature whimpered.

The woman smiled. “You’re lonely. I thought so. Come on.” She beckoned it forward. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

The creature strode toward her—and thenintoher. It passed through her like smoke. And then the smoke was just gone. A new tattoo appeared on the woman’s neck, just above the collarbone. A tattoo of a cute, golden kangaroo-armadillo.

The white wolf’s howl echoed through the hall.

“Don’t look at me like that, Whitney,” the woman sighed at the wolf. “Arvie was lonely. I had to help him.”

“Arvie?” I wondered.

“The creature.” The woman flicked her long hair off her shoulders. It was brown with subtle auburn highlights that glowed like her wolf—likeallof our interdimensional visitors glowed. “His name is Arvie.” The glow on her highlights and tattoos faded.

“Ok, but who areyou?” I asked her.

“I’m Dreamcatcher.” Her gaze flickered to Cupid, then snapped back to me. “And I’m here to fix the craptastic mess you folks have gotten yourselves into.”

CHAPTER 8

DREAMCATCHER

Dreamcatcher clapped her hands together. “It’s done,” she declared, turning around to face us. “I’ve sealed the rift between realms.”

“Just like that?” I asked her.

“Just like that,” she confirmed.

Leila frowned at her. “What did you say your power was?”

“I didn’t.” Dreamcatcher scratched Whitney the wolf behind its ears.

“But youdidsay you call yourself Dreamcatcher.” I smirked at her. “Nice name.”

Her gaze swept up my singed clothes, then she smirked right back at me. “Nice outfit.” Her eyes slid over to Cupid. “I told you to wait for me.” There was a hint of agitation in her voice.

“So you two know each other?” I asked them.

“Of course,” Cupid said, her voice serious but serene. “Dreamcatcher is my sidekick.”

Laughter burst out of Dreamcatcher’s lips. “She likes to tell people that, even though it’s not true. I am no one’s sidekick.”

“So,no-one’s-sidekick,” Cupid said with a smooth, enigmatic eyebrow lift, “how about you tell your buddy Shadow to knock it off before we’re kicked out of here for his scandalous behavior.”

“What’s that rascal donenow?” Dreamcatcher pivoted, her eyes scanning the hall for the shadow cat. “Please don’t tell me he killed someone’s pet bird again?”

“No.” Cupid’s lower lip twitched, a fleeting hint of amusement on her otherwise solemn face. “He tried to seduce the Angel of Chaos’s pet cat.”

“Oh.” Dreamcatcher snorted. “I see,” she coughed out. Her eyes were dancing with laughter. “Well, Shadow has been feeling rather lonely lately. It’s not easy being an oversized interdimensional cat. Everyone thinks he’s so fierce and frightening, but he’s really such a sweet teddy bear.”

Sierra perked up. “Fluffy teddy bear?”