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I busied myself with rearranging my bouquet and didn’t answer, but a pinprick of doubt entered my heart. Was I being foolish to disregard Stardust’s advice? But what did she know about my abilities? I’d grown up seeing hundreds of dreams from different Weavers. Surely, I could duplicate their work without any trouble.
Stardust shook her head. “You’re being extremely foolish, especially going against your more experienced weaving partner.”
Darius. A shiver rippled over me at the thought of facing him. “He’s just trying to intimidate me.”
Stardust looked like she wanted to say more, but above us the moon dial chimed, signifying the hour the newborn mortals residing on our section of earth would be falling asleep. It was time for my first Weaving competition.
* * *
I waited outsidein the chilly night for Maci’s mother to rock her to sleep. As I shivered, I silently cursed the fact that I had to hide to avoid detection since I was the only Dreamer who could be seen by Mortals—yet another distinction I didn’t want to claim. I slipped through the window the moment her mother gently placed her in her cradle and left. In the faint light from the fire’s dying embers, Darius was nowhere to be seen.
“Nervous?” Stardust asked.
“I’m partnered with a Nightmare who thinks he’s the greatest Weaver the Universe has ever seen. Of course I’m nervous.” But my apprehension went deeper: it was also the way he made me feel, my strange need to trust him, that made me wary.
“Don’t worry, it’s a well-known fact Nightmares’ heads are filled with nothing but hot air.”
“No, just brains.” Darius stepped from the shadows, already gloating, but there was also a strange friendliness in his eyes and his smile. “Are you ready for the Weaving?”
Before I could answer, something blue-grey darted from Darius’s hair across the spiderwebs lacing his cheek. I leapt back. “What was that?”
“Bolt,” Darius said. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.”
A small head with eight milky-grey eyes poked out from behind Darius’s neck to whisper in his ear.
“Yes, she’s the one I told you about,” Darius said.
The tarantula-sized spider scurried down Darius’s arm on eight fuzzy legs, each of which snugly wore a knitted purple slipper, while bronze lightning bolts polka-dotted his body. Aspider? How appropriate.
Bolt studied me with a tilt of his head, all eight eyes unblinking. “I like her eyes; violet is my favorite color.” His voice was soft and silky. “And you’re right, she’s very pretty.”
Darius whacked at him, but Bolt easily dodged it and jolted up his arm so quickly the movement blurred. “I never said that,” Darius stammered, his cheeks crimson.
“But you did. You said—”
Darius pinched Bolt’s mouth shut to silence him. “You’re strangely talkative tonight.”
Bolt squirmed from Darius’s grip and perched on his shoulder. “That’s because I already know I’m going to like her.” His fangs glistened in the moonlight as he smiled at me.
Great, the creepy spider liked me and my competition hated me. This was going terrifically so far.
Bolt settled more comfortably on Darius’s shoulder, pulled out two sets of miniature knitting needles, and began to knit. I stared.
Stardust yawned beside me. “Not that this little powwow isn’t fun,” she whispered, “but you should start weaving; babies wake up a lot throughout the night.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Darius asked. “Coming up with a battle plan?”
Stardust morphed into a boulder. “Rethinking yours?”
“There’s no need,” Darius said. “At the Academy I always received top marks for my dream blueprints. My weaving professor stated tonight’s nightmare was the best he’d ever seen for a newborn. I’ll easily weave myself to a glorious win.”
Oh great, a pre-victory speech. “Don’t you tire of constantly praising yourself?”
“How can I when it’s so deserved?” He winked.
I didn’t have time for this. I fumbled with my bag while Darius leaned back, making no effort to retrieve his own supplies. He read the confusion in my expression. “I thought I’d give you a head start.”
Stardust’s gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Nightmares never give their competition a head start.”
