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

"Good," Gemma said, nodding. "She's a lot like me in that. I never could stand to have nothing to do for more than a little while at a time. Now sit, and let me make sure I have this fitted correctly before I attach the rest. It won't tickle as much, I promise."

Karl sat and waited, and after a few seconds he realized the straps were on his head.

"It feels like nothing's there at all."

"Of course it does," she said. "That's why it took so long to fit, dear. As long as you don't make drastic changes with your lovely curly hair, it will stay that way. I had to refit Loretta's with her hair braided once she decided to do that."

Karl snorted. "I won't be braiding mine anytime soon. What will you be working on next once this is done? To keep from getting bored?"

Gemma was threading fine wires onto the leather. A cord much like the one he'd seen on Loretta's headgear waited on the table.

"I've been dreaming of a kind of a machine to help with talking to the monsters," she said in an airy voice. "Sort of a translator. I'm quite certain some of them can speak, no matter what you and your friend George say."

"That's what you're doing next?" Karl tried, but he couldn't keep the worried tone out of his own voice. He sounded far too much like his mother for comfort. "They really can be dangerous, Gemma. The ones out here are the smartest and strongest."

She waved one hand at him without looking up from her work.

"I know, none of you want me to get too close," she said. "I remember that. The lovely white one that perches outside all the time especially seems to want to talk with me. If this machine lets me do that, it might even help the people where you work deal with the other poor creatures. Wouldn't that be worth it?"

Karl blinked. "I...yeah, I'm sure it would. Your dream about, what did you call it, galvanic steam treatments? That would probably be a big help to some of the most ill patients someday too. Just don't jump into talking to the ’sters too quickly, okay? Maybe only when George or I are here."

She pushed the last wires into the cable and squeezed the connection closed with delicate pliers before she turned to Karl.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to do that one next anyway. I'll be busy for a while."

Karl had a flash of memory from the first day they'd come out here.

"Working on something for Loretta next, right?"

Her cheeks turned red, and he was glad he'd taken the chance.

"I'm not really supposed to talk to anyone about that, not until she says it's okay." She scowled in the way she had that made her look like a rebellious teenager. "I don't know why, though. It's nothing I haven't made before. Nothing more than a glorified version of what I've made for both of you."

Karl looked up from his own Dragon, directly into Gemma's violet eyes. So like her granddaughter's.

"You're making another Dragon? She already has one."

"That's exactly what I said, exactly," Gemma said. "I already know how to make that." She sighed, then reached for Karl's Dragon. She started connecting the tiny wires to the other end of the cable. "Loretta is convinced a larger one will make a difference somehow."

"Why?" he said. "Is there a limit to these smaller ones?"

"I'm sure there is. I've seen that massive one-sided Blunderbuss all the Builders use. It's far larger than these. She's not asking for one that big, thank goodness."

Karl hoped his cheeks weren't as red as Gemma's had been. Loretta wouldn't appreciate him prying into her plans like this, not one bit. But the idea of a larger Dragon made his skin crawl.

"How big will it be?" he said.

"Oh, probably almost as long as she is once all is said and done."

Karl stood behind Gemma after all, but he was only pretending to peer over her shoulder. He wanted to be sure he could hear any hints in her voice.

"She won't be able to move something like that easily."

"No, I tried to explain that to her," Gemma said. "She said she has a solution in mind. It won't take me a terribly long time, certainly not right after making yours. It's fresh in my mind, you know. But I was hoping to move on to something new."

Karl walked back over to the window, not wanting her to see his face. He tried to convince himself it would be like a pulley lifting a heavier load than he could himself. That a larger Dragon would be less drain on the Builders, not more.

That justification wasn't holding up in his mind.

He didn't know much more about the Blunderbuss than any other non-Builder, but he did know many Builders worked together. His training had gone that far before it was obvious he'd never have the talent, and he had a lifetime of listening to his family talk about their work.

He watched the white monster circling above the house for a few seconds before he turned to Gemma.

"Maybe she wants both of us to use it. After she's trained me, of course."

"Maybe so," she said, smiling. "That would make it a lot more fun for me, having to figure out how to connect two users at the same time. I'll have this ready to go in a couple of hours. When she gets back, you can get started learning right away."

Chapter 48

Loretta and Bess walked into Loretta's blessedly quiet house. Loretta went into the bedroom to empty her very full purse before going out on the last run of the day. She never had to fear Rhysto searching for her safe again, but she was determined not to lose her good habits.

Neither woman wore her usual, and preferred, dark and practical clothing. Loretta was readjusting to the pressure of steel boning and leather against her ribs, though she