The Gates of Night: The Dreaming Dark - Book 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

But as much as it was pleasant to have a companion, it wasn’t the same as speaking with Lei or Pierce.
    Or Indigo
.
    That was the heart of it. His mind still lingered on their last battle. He could remember every motion, and he walked through it in his mind, tracing the injuries she’d given him. The sight of Daine transfixing her with his blade, the surge of emotion he’d felt watching her fall, even as Shira whispered about the magical resonance of Daine’s sword.
    She would have won their fight. Without Lei, without Harmattan … Indigo would have defeated him. Somehow, it didn’t seem fair that he should still be alive. He could see the battle in his mind, and he knew that he had lost … or would have. He couldn’t even blame her for wanting to destroy him. He had betrayed her for Lei. He’d intended to imprison her in the ancient vault. Harmattan must have saved her, while Pierce had simply betrayed her again.
    He remembered those final moments, looking down at her on the floor of Karul’tash, the gaping wound in her abdomen. Lying there as if she were asleep.
    But warforged didn’t sleep. Most people couldn’t tell the difference between a warforged that had been destroyed and one that had simply been rendered inert.
    Like Indigo had been.
    Pierce knew that his friends would have wanted to finish the job if they’d known there was some chance of Indigo being restored. But Pierce couldn’t bring himself to mention it. No artificer would ever find her in the depths of Karul’tash, and Harmattan’s hands weren’t nimble enough for such work. Surely the monolith would be her tomb. But somehow, he’d found that he couldn’t betray her a third time.
    In the end, she’d won their battle.
    Pierce pushed the memory away. He studied the inscriptions on the walls, seeking to bury his guilt beneath this task. And once again, he wished he could sleep.

Y ou’re all so gloomy,” Jode said. “It’s not the end of the world. Unless it is, I suppose.”
    Daine opened his eyes. He was alone in bed, in his room at the inn in Sharn. He’d fallen asleep nestled next to Lei, and without her the bed seemed doubly empty.
    “It’s a lot of space here for the three of you, don’t you think?” Jode jumped up onto the mattress and glanced around the room. “Have you considered the life of an innkeeper? Your charm, Lei’s gruel … that’s gold for the taking, my friend.”
    Daine sat up. He noticed that his back wasn’t itching anymore, which confirmed his suspicions.
    “Yes, it’s a dream,” Jode said. “And since it’s
your
dream, perhaps you could imagine something particularly delectable in the pantry.”
    “You know what I’m thinking?” Daine said.
    Jode rolled his eyes. “I
am
what you’re thinking, remember?”
    “I thought you’d come back with me.”
    “It’s hard to explain,” Jode said. “I think I’m dreaming. But I don’t have a body of my own anymore, so I’m dreaming your dream. When you woke up, I was stillhere. I feel things, hints of your emotions, flashes of events around you, but mostly I’ve been wandering in dreams.”
    “But you are real? I’m not just imagining this?”
    “Daine, when you ask your imaginary friend if he’s imaginary, what sort of answer do you expect to get?” Jode shook his head. “I don’t know what I am. A ghost, maybe. Does it really matter? You’ve got more important things to worry about.”
    “Oh? Like what?”
    “What are you planning to do next?”
    “Get Lei and Pierce home.” Daine rolled out of bed. The room seemed so
normal
. After weeks of night terrors and the journey through Xen’drik, he’d gotten used to horror.
    “Of course. That’s the noble captain. Just like when we fought our way out of Cyre to get Lei to Sharn. Smash every obstacle in your path until you reach your sanctuary.”
    Daine looked out the window. The sun shone down on the streets of High Walls, but they were empty, the district abandoned. “And what’s