The Dream Keeper's Daughter by Emily Colin

Author:Emily Colin [Colin, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2017-07-24T18:30:00+00:00

Max

Maybe it is a mistake to tell Nanny Grigg what I do—where the major battles of the rebellion will be fought, where the slaves will suffer the worst defeats. But I get it in my head that if I can give her that much, then maybe the rebels will have a chance—plus I can draw the worst of the conflict away from Sweetwater. Julia will be safe, and with any luck at all, fewer slaves will die in the fighting. If the information I give her saves even one life, it will be worth it.

Nanny G. listens to everything I say with grim intensity, asking pointed questions that I answer as best I can. By the time the candle burns down to nothing and I stand to go, my throat is hoarse from talking. I pass through the silent slave village without a word, collect my horse from the stables, and ride for home.

Back at Sweetwater, I dream the burning dream again. Isabel is stranded in the road. Lily, Finn, and Julia are trapped in a house on fire. I am helpless. But then the dream shifts. The hell of the plantation yard is gone. Instead I am standing on the flagstones of an unfamiliar courtyard, rain pelting down, drenching me. Through the downpour I can see the bright lights of a house—electric lights, not the uncertain, wavering glow of oil lamps or candles. I rub my eyes, trying to clear them, and realize that I am looking through a kitchen window, watching a woman wash dishes as she stares wistfully out into the rain. Blink again, and realize the woman is Isabel.

I call out to her, but her expression doesn’t change and I realize she can’t hear me. But then she leans forward, peering out the window. Her eyes widen, her mouth opens in shock, and she is running, running toward me. Thunder roars overhead, but I can still hear her calling my name, hear doors slam as she races through them. My heart beats faster—finally I will get to see her, hold her, and all of this madness will end.

Overhead there is a bright flash of lightning. It blinds me for a moment, and in the darkness I smell burning again. My vision clears, and I turn to see a blazing column of flame. Turn again, and Isabel is gone.

The dream shifts. Changes.

I am lying on the ground in the woods behind my parents’ house, smelling the sharp scent of pine trees, the sweet perfume of honeysuckle. Isabel lies beneath me, laughing, and I duck my head to kiss her, brushing her lips with mine. Her hair spills to the ground, mingling with the shadows in the fading light. She tastes like I remember—sunlight and strawberry lip gloss—and she smells like coming home. Desire grips my belly, as hope rises in my heart. And the pine needles come down around us, a green blanket falling, a cover and a shield against the night.

Beneath me she shivers. I slip my hands under her, lifting her, so that we move together, and she shifts against me in demand.

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