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

She sat in the chair again, watching him.

"I used to take it, when I was a kid," she said. "Some of the people I hung around with once I got a little older weren't the nicest. Even worse than my family, which I never thought was possible. I needed all the paranoia I could get. I think it helps with the Builds, too. It definitely helps with being up all night."

He shrugged. "Hard to argue with you there. A lot of people out here take a light dose. Seeing plots around every corner can help with some of the patients. Some of the staff, too. I've never gone completely off it, though."

"I've been off for over ten years now," Loretta said. "I feel like my mind's more my own. Might be worth taking the chance if you're going to run with the likes of me."

Karl laughed, put the book on a scarred wooden cafei table, and stretched out on the couch. Loretta wondered if he had any idea how that thin green fabric showed off the muscles in his chest and legs.

"I hope all my practice with people in here helps a little," he said. "I guess if I use you as an example, getting off the stuff doesn't make you as crazy as they say."

"That probably depends on who you compare me to." Loretta stood, running her fingers down his chest. He caught her hand, holding it for a second before he let go. "Any chance you'll change your mind?"

"Not tonight. Too much going on around here already. Sleep well."

Chapter 19

Loretta was quite surprised to find Karl awake when she opened the door in the morning. The room had been quiet and the bed comfortable, and she'd slept far better than she expected. Someone else bought him such quality sheets, too.

Surely he hadn't slept well cramped up on that couch. Something smelled better than she expected, too.

He'd pulled the tiny dining table toward the center of the room, and two breakfast plates were already there. More importantly, so was a huge pot of cafei.

"Are things busy out there today?" Loretta said, sitting across from him.

"No, they've all been calmer for a few days now. Since..."

"Since you got me off the streets."

He looked into her eyes without a trace of apology. They both knew it was the truth.

"Right," he said. "Listen, I need to know a little more about how all of this works before we try anything. The compass aiming it in the right direction I understand. What is it aiming?"

"The other part is the Dragon," she said. “That's what does everything, or at least makes it possible. I use it to Build using the Builders. It seems to work sort of like the Blunderbuss does, just on a much smaller scale."

Karl scowled. "Seems to work? How did you copy the Blunderbuss?"

Loretta looked away and took a long drink of the hot cafei. She'd always been uncomfortable with how vulnerable this part made her, how dependent on her grandmother. Until Karl tackled her, it hadn't really mattered.

"I didn't make it. It was made for me. I know how to use it, but I couldn't make one myself. Do you understand how all the medicine and machines here work?"

"Well, most of them, yeah." She was surprised at how embarrassed he looked, as if he'd been caught stealing something. "I told you I read a lot. I haven't made things myself, but I understand probably as much as the doctors. None of us know how the brain breaks, though."

"Why aren't you a bloody doctor yourself, then?"

"I don't know," Karl said, staring at his hands. "I've thought about it. I guess I never saw the point of years of school so I could stop doing what I'm already pretty good at. Listen, who made these things for you?"

Loretta shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you that unless I have to. If you go north with me, and if she agrees to it, you'll get to meet her. That's all I'm going to say."

Gemma would likely be more than happy to meet Karl, especially if she thought Loretta was in love with him. Yet another fact best kept to herself.

"Okay, tell me how this Dragon works," Karl said. "I saw you pointing it at the window that night. I don't know much more about the Blunderbuss than any other non-Builder, but I know the basics. Explain the Dragon to me."

"I told you I didn't make it, Karl," Loretta said. "I know how to use it, probably more than the woman who made it. It focuses the talent of the Builders like the Blunderbuss, but I can direct it more than they can. That's all I can tell you no matter how many different ways you ask. If you go with me, you can ask her. I doubt she'll be able to explain it herself, any more than Builders usually do."

Karl stared into her eyes for several seconds, then he sighed. He finally concentrated on his food instead of on her.

No one had ever known about the Dragon's existence before, much less had the chance to ask questions. Loretta was not enjoying having her lack of knowledge pointed out.

"So you think you'll be able to use the Dragon here to Build," he said. "But without your gyro-compass, you can't say where it will go. And you need to be fairly close to the Builders to try it out. Is that much right?"

"That much is right. And none of this works without me, the way I put the image in the Builder's mind. That may or may not work for you even with your own Dragon."

"Fair enough," he said, pushing his chair back. "I have a couple of people in mind, but I need to make sure they're calm this morning. There are some clothes in that bag for you. I think the usual doctor's uniform would be best, the gray one. This place can never shut down, but