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

"Yes, thank you." Loretta held his hand for a second longer. She turned to Karl when the pilot walked away. "I want to skin Rullin alive myself, but I hate to see Bill so upset. Is there any chance you could help the boy?"

"Out at the Columns?" Karl looked out at the mountains to avoid her eyes. "It's never happened before, Loretta. You know I was lying about anyone going home, cured and back on Crumble. People never come back from Joffrey Columns."

"I did," she said, and this time she took Karl's hand.

"It remains to be seen whether that was a good idea or not."

They laughed together, and all Karl could think about was escaping from the rest of this day. Gemma would be upon them at any moment, but he didn't care about company anymore.

He leaned toward her, and Loretta met him more than halfway. Her mouth was warm against the cold wind. She squeezed his hand and pulled him closer.

Loretta's lips parted, pulling Karl in. She tasted as incredible as she smelled to him, like a spring breeze through the lilacs where he grew up. Warmth surged from his belly throughout his body at the thought of how the rest of her body would taste.

She drew back, laughing again.

"My grandmother..."

"I don't care who sees us."

He pulled her hard against him with both arms, kissing her more deeply. Her arms went around his waist. She whispered against his mouth.

"No, she told me this would happen. Just this morning."

Karl shook his head and put both hands into her hair.

"Your grandmother is a very intelligent woman," he said. "You need to hush, though."

Before he could stop kissing her long enough to gather his own intelligence, pick her up, and take her back to that tiny smuggler's cabin, someone very close by cleared her throat.

Loretta drew back again, smiling, her cheeks flushed and the purple of her eyes nearly vanished with dilated pupils.

"I do apologize for interrupting," Gemma said.

Karl didn't have to see Gemma to know she was not the least bit upset about catching the two of them. Loretta grabbed his hand again as they turned toward her.

"That's quite all right, Gemma." Her voice was deeper than normal, and Karl could hear she was breathing as hard as he was. "I've always been good at remembering where I left off."

"I certainly hope so, my dear. Our pilot tells me you can explain why we're heading the wrong way?"

Karl jumped in with their prepared explanation, the only thing he could manage to say. His brain was still lost in Loretta's kiss.

"We knew you didn't want to leave your things at your house any longer than you had to. We're going to pick everything up now, while we have men to help load it all."

Gemma's eyes lit up.

"My animals, too?"

"Yes, we're bringing them back into the village for Walton," Loretta said. "He agreed to a very reasonable price."

Gemma stepped forward and hugged both of them.

"Thank you both. I hate the idea of leaving at all, but knowing thieves won't steal my things and eat my animals makes it ever so much easier." She wiped her eyes, then winked at Karl. "I'll leave you two alone, then."

"We'll...ah... We'll be right there," Loretta said. "We really should help Bill find your house." Loretta pulled Karl's arm down and whispered close enough to send chills over his whole body. "Don't you forget where we were."

With the help of Loretta's memory and Walton's map, Bill had the airship close to Gemma's little valley in less than an hour. The navigation up narrow valleys and through the towering mountains didn't bother Karl nearly as much as getting to the ground. He came to love the rickety, swaying walkways and stairs attached to proper tethers that afternoon.

Several men slid down ropes at breakneck speed. They tied the great ship to the barn, the house, the trees, whatever they could find to pull her down and keep her steady. Karl avoided that terrifying method of descent, but riding down on the clever rig of pulleys and a platform was nearly as bad. Loretta and Gemma were delighted by the slow drop. Karl felt far more like the animals: herded and held against their better judgment until they were safely inside the cargo hold.

Loading the rest of Gemma's belongings onto the empty ship didn't take long with all of Bill's crew loading and operating the lift. The men were delighted to have something to do after a few days in a very small village. They were again properly moored above that same village before the sun started to set, out of view of the jail this time.

Bill prowled around the upper deck, barking orders at men already working hard to look busy enough to avoid his attention. The ship was in perfect, orderly condition. Everyone understood it was nerves, not the imagined disorder, making the pilot so short-tempered.

He stopped in front of Loretta

"How long did you tell them we'd wait?"

Loretta glanced at Karl as she took her turn trying to reassure her friend.

"You were there, Bill. We said we'd wait until the morning, then speak to Walton. As far as I know, that's still the plan."

"This is a damned waste of time anyway," Bill said. "We should cast off now, get well south of here before it gets too late. My brother has been more trouble than he was worth since he was born."

Bill paced for a few more minutes before stopping in front of Karl.

"And if Walton kills him? Or doesn't send the messenger in time?"

"Walton seems like the type who'll keep his word," Karl said. "He has for years, taking care of Gemma."

Bill shook his head and kept walking. He kept his eyes on the village, barely visible with the sun behind the mountains now. He was the first one to spot the young girl running toward the shaw.

"Calder!" Bill yelled. "Bring any message she carries to me at