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

man?" Walton was nearly as upset as when they'd arrived. Bill only bowed his head again. "I don't want a raving lunatic on my hands on top of everything else here!"

"I don't believe he'll get that bad," Karl said, and now Loretta could hear his voice shaking. He remembered the screaming woman at Joffrey Columns as well as she did. "He's been off overnight already. We had him tied up in that wagon. He'll likely believe he is going insane, though. And he'll be a lot more likely to believe Bill has left him here for good. He'll terrify himself a lot more effectively than any of us ever could."

Karl stood when Walton walked toward him. He was quite a bit taller than the stable owner, but Karl didn't seem at all sure of himself. Loretta was afraid to say a word to support her friend.

Walton put his hands on his hips, no more impressed with the younger man's stature than Karl was reassured by it.

"What makes you such an expert on being on or off of Crumble, Karl? You're the only one of this bunch I've never met before. Anything we need to know about you?"

Karl looked into the smaller man's eyes.

"No sir, nothing in particular. The only thing is I've worked out at Joffrey Columns for over ten years now. Rarely, only once in a great while, someone tries to go off Crumble. They forget or run short, or they just decide to. They do seem to go crazy, yes, and being off permanently would leave them that way forever." He took a deep breath. "Everyone needs it to stay sane. Everyone. But getting them right back on solves the problem. Those are the only ones we ever get to send back home."

Loretta stared at her hands, trying to force her face to stay neutral. She hadn't known Karl all that long, but she was certain she hadn't heard that many lies from him in all that time put together.

"Aye, I know about Joffrey Columns," Walton said, still staring into Karl's eyes. "We don't send as many that way as you people in Waldron's Gate, but it does happen."

"That kind of trouble is a lot more common there." Karl glanced at Loretta for an instant. "And I'm sure you understand why we can't be letting rumors get around that it's safe to go off Crumble even for a little while. It isn't. But keeping Rullin off can only help us here."

Walton watched Karl for a few more seconds, then he turned to Loretta. She nodded.

"I can't say it breaks my heart to let him suffer a bit," Walton said. "I'll keep him locked up the whole time. Now what exactly do you expect me to do if he does want to spill his secrets?"

Chapter 33

Karl jumped to his feet at Walton's words, glad to have something to do. Despite what he did for a living, or maybe because of it, he hated being in a room with so much tension. Especially when he'd made it so much worse with his little suggestion.

That kind of suggestion would get him fired and possibly locked up at the Columns himself back in Waldron's Gate. Hell, being off Crumble for nearly a week now would probably do the trick if word got out. But once the idea had taken shape in his mind, he'd known it was the only way to get information out of the boy.

His stomach rolled over at the idea of causing such distress, even to a criminal like Rullin.

The noise of the crowd died as soon as he opened the door, with every face turned his way. Karl kept walking, hoping no one would ask questions he'd have to ignore. That hope lasted about three strides.

"What's happening?" "Will there be a hanging?" "That man talked to me t’other day, thought he looked like trouble."

He kept his head down and kept moving. The only people he was willing to talk to waited beside the wagon.

"What's going on in there?" Morgan whispered, trying to look in every direction at once.

"That's not for you to worry about," Karl said. "Can you take Gemma somewhere close by, get the two of you something to drink?"

Karl handed the boy a handful of coin, whatever was in his pocket.

Morgan's eyes widened. "We could just about buy the pub for this much."

"Why don't you let me hold that for you?" Gemma was smiling, but her tone was serious. Morgan sighed and handed the ritterns over. "Is everything okay, Karl?"

"It might be in a little while," he said. "Go on. This isn't for you to see. Don't feel like you have to talk to anyone if you don't want to."

He leaned against the wagon with his arms crossed until the two of them decided he was serious. They crossed the dirt street, looking back every few steps. When they went inside a small wooden building that did look like a pub, Karl climbed up to the top of the load.

"Are we going to have a problem here, Rullin?"

The boy ignored him, staring up at the nearly midday sun. His wild eyes showed he was feeling the abrupt lack of Crumble. Karl didn't want to imagine how bad his night had been.

"One way to avoid trouble is if I just drop you over the side," Karl said. "Depending on which way you land, you might not ever be trouble again."

When Karl moved to loosen the ropes, Rullin finally looked at him.

"Yeah, you'll have trouble," he said. "Trouble all around you. Never where you expect it."

"That's fine," Karl said. "I'm getting used to that. Right now you're going in there to face your brother and the father of the boy you attacked. Loretta too. That should be enough to keep you occupied for a while. I'll loosen your hands enough so you can climb down."

Once Rullin's feet where on the ground and his hands were retied, Karl got a grip on the back of his shirt.

"I