The Sandman and the War of Dreams Read Online Free PDF

into a long, weary sleep, she thought over and over: Somehow, my father will find me.

C HAPTER T EN

    The Dream Becomes a Nightmare
    W hen word reached Lord Pitch that his home and family were under attack, he knew he had been duped. There were no pirates waiting where he had been told. So he pushed his fleet to return with a speed none thought possible. The palace, and most of his moon, was now nothing but scorched ruins. The pirates were reboarding their sleek escape vessels when Lord Pitch’s warships surrounded them. They never expected him to return so swiftly.
    Lord Pitch wanted these pirates alive. “My wife and child may be among them,” he told his lieutenants.
    The pirates were impossibly outgunned. They knew it was hopeless to fight, and they also knew they could count on Lord Pitch’s compassion. They surrendered without the firing of a single shot.
    But as they were hauled aboard Lord Pitch’s flagship, they did not face the same noble warrior they had come to begrudgingly respect. They faced a man on the brink of madness.
    “My wife and daughter? Where are they?” Lord Pitch demanded.
    The captain of the Dream Pirates said with a sneer, “We were denied the pleasure of draining them of their dreams.”
    “Because you were caught?”
    “No, my lord.”

    “Have you harmed them?”
    “No, my lord,” replied the captain. Its lips curled into a small, satisfied smile. “They are dead.”
    Lord Pitch stood stoically. He was a gentleman of the Golden Age, a commander of its armies. Even now, he felt he must maintain his judgment and composure. But the pirate captain was too keen to bring forth his hurts.
    “Your lady so feared our company that she threw herself to her doom, and the child with her,” the captain gloated.
    Lord Pitch could barely speak. He looked from one pirate to another. “Is this true?”
    The captain grinned. “ ’Tis true, my lord. I saw it myself. As did we all.”
    Lord Pitch, bringing his face within inches of the captain’s, said with a measured calm, “Then feast your eyes on mine. They are the last things you willever see.” And with startling suddenness, he drew his sword and cut the captain’s head from its body.
    He stepped quickly to the next pirate, and before another word could be said, he sliced again. Another head tumbled to the deck. The pirates gasped and pulled against their chains, but Lord Pitch continued on.
    His own crew shuffled and murmured uneasily. Was this their general? The most gallant of the Golden Age? Lord Pitch was methodical and never paused. All the pirates, and Lord Pitch’s mercy, were dead in less time than it takes to sing a song.

C HAPTER E LEVEN

    A Stormy Relationship
    E mily Jane’s life with Typhan suited her nature. He had been a god of storms, and now he delighted in conjuring up tempests for her to ride. At first she rode her Star Fish over the waves of solar wind that Typhan blew, but in time he taught her the trick of making storms herself. He anointed her as his daughter, and from then on, she could wield the power of the heavens. Wind, starlight, gravity were hers to command. She now was a sister of the heavens and was honor-bound to use her power only for good.
    Emily Jane never tired of summoning playfulsqualls; she rode them until she was exhausted. It was the only peace she knew from the heartaches that ate away at her. Where was her father? Why did he not come to find her? Typhan was kind; he even loved her. In time she regarded him with awe, but awe is not affection or love. It didn’t heal her pain. She stayed with Typhan because she hoped against hope that if she remained in one place, there was a chance her father could still find her. But while the Star Fish swam as far as they dared to try to send word of Emily Jane, they could never make it far enough. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years.
    Occasionally, passing wrecks of abandoned ships drifted by the Constellation. Emily Jane became