The Dream Thief by Kari Kilgore (books for 10th graders txt) 📕

"Same here, little Brother. Are the ankle biters behaving?"

Janie gasped, drawing back in an imitation of their mother that would have been funny on any other day.

"I am not an ankle biter!"

"No, I didn't say you were," Karl said. "That was about the little ones. Listen, Janie, I need to talk to Andy for a minute. Can you watch them for us?"

This time Janie seemed to actually expand. She looked around at the smaller kids, all occupied with some kind of group project with painted wooden blocks, and nodded gravely.

"I'll watch the ankle biters for you."

Karl and Andy walked over to the window, far enough from the kids to have at least a little privacy, not close enough to the older relatives to draw their attention.

"Where have you been for so long, Karl? I've been stuck here with the savages for weeks now."

"I know. I'm sorry," Karl said. "Busy at work, life just out of control in general. I don't have any excuse. How's it been going here?"

Andy swiped at his eyes and stared out the window at the heavy clouds overhead.

"Today's been awful," he said. "I don't know what to say to anybody. I volunteered to watch them just to get out of the way."

"Yeah, no one knows what to say when things like this happen. Mother said you've been a big help."

"Nice of her to say, at least," Andy said. "What's been going on with you? Got a girlfriend Mother doesn't know about? Or one she wouldn't approve of?"

It was Karl's turn to stare out the window. His worries about introducing Loretta to his family felt absurd now.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe something like that. I have been checking into what you told me, about too many people from here going out to the Columns. Has that calmed down at all?"

Andy scratched his head, frowning.

"I hadn't thought about it for a couple of weeks, but that answers the question. It's been pretty calm around here lately. The first person I've heard of for a while went yesterday. Mr. Gosander over on Apple Lane. Did you find something?"

"I may have."

Karl tried to stop it, but his mind brought Loretta's map into sharp focus.

Apple Lane was in the next sweep of her spiral. He could point to Mr. Gosander's house as accurately as Mr. Norwood could have. Karl knew exactly where the next target would be.

That wasn't the worst part, bad as it was. The pattern doubled, then tripled, and Karl gasped before he could stop himself. The ones he couldn't explain, Builders who'd ended up out at the Columns but were never under one of Loretta's enameled pins. They were all at the intersection of those larger, sweeping circuits.

More broken minds caught in the fallout. Just like Rethia's baby.

"I'll see what I can find out about him," Karl said. "I'm glad it's calmed down out here."

Someone tugged at the back of his shirt.

"Unka Karl?"

He turned to see Sally, another of his nieces. Janie was stomping toward them with both fists clenched.

"What's up, Sally?"

Karl picked the girl up, trying not to smile as Janie stopped and crossed her arms.

"Did you see it?" Sally said.

"See what?"

"The twins," she whispered, leaning close to his ear.

"I don't know any twins. Do you, Andy?"

The boy shrugged again, shaking his head.

"Not alive twins, silly," Sally said. "These are too little. And they're together."

"A doll?" he said. "Are they up here?"

"Uh-uh. In Gramma's room. But they're a secret." She leaned closer and whispered again. "A big, big secret, but Janie showed me."

All the noise in the room faded, leaving Karl with only the pounding of his own heart.

He didn't want to see. He didn't need to see. He had to see.

If what he was thinking was true, several decisions had just been made for him.

"Okay, Sally," he said. "I want to see. Can you take me, or does Janie need to?"

Sally looked around, her hazel eyes huge, but Karl didn't have the heart left to smile.

"Janie can take you. I don't wanna get in trouble."

"Smart girl," Karl said. "Stay here with Uncle Andy, then. I'll be back in a bit."

Karl stood, struggled to find his balance, and somehow managed to walk over to Janie. He took a deep breath, not wanting to scare her with how he was twisting inside.

"Janie, Sally tells me there's a big secret in Mother's room. Want to tell me about that?"

The girl's face went white, and she clapped both hands over her mouth. Karl knelt beside her, looking up at her.

"I'm not mad," he said. "No one's in trouble. I just want to see. I'm curious too, you know."

"But you're a grown-up. Sally never should have told you, not one word of it."

"No, don't be mad at Sally," Karl said. "I don't think she sees me as much more than a big kid. She's probably right. Please, Janie? I want to see."

The girl shifted from one foot to the other, twisting her curly ponytail through her fingers. She glared at Sally for a second, then looked back at Karl.

"Fine, I'll take you," she said. "But you have to swear not to tell Mother or Father. And really swear, not pretend like Sally did."

Karl held out his hand, and Janie shook it.

"I swear, Janie. A real swear." He stood and turned back to Andy. "Will you be all right for a little while? I'll come back up as soon as I can."

"Yeah, go ahead. Getting her out of here will help."

Janie stuck out her tongue at Andy, but she grabbed Karl's hand again.

"We have to make sure Mother's not in there first," she said. "Can you be quiet on the stairs?"

"I'll do my best."

Karl glanced down the hall to make sure their parents' bedroom door was closed. That usually meant one of them was in there. With any luck, it would be their mother taking that nap.

He wished for just a second that he could turn the other way, climb to his old room in the turret,