Dreamer (The Dream World Chronicles Book 1) Camille Peters (books to improve english txt) 📖

threat glistened ominously. Then all at once the spell was broken; gasps echoed throughout the meadow as the audience pointed up to the sky.

“Comets.” Stardust wasted no time ogling; she promptly morphed into her notebook and frantically copied the message down. “Words never appear during the flying colors show. Only dark magic could manipulate something this powerful.”

The threat hung in the sky for a few more seconds before it melted away, leaving nothing but inky night, but the apprehension it had created lingered, prickling my skin.

Although the show was over, no one made any effort to leave. Ashen-faced Dreamers huddled together, whispering anxiously and casting suspicious glances at nearby Nightmares, many of whom were gloating.

A trio of smirking Nightmares wandered past. “Who do you think put the message in the flying colors?”

“Whoever did is brilliant. The Dreamers need to know what’s coming.”

Stardust frowned after them as they disappeared into the crowd. “This is undoubtedly a Nightmare’s doing, and what better place to make a statement than the Dream Festival?”

“But Iris said the festival is meant to create peace and friendship.”

Stardust rolled her eyes. “Iris’s head is in the clouds. Everyone knows the festival is merely a formality; nothing can erase an eternity of contention. Now let’s search for clues.” She morphed into a magnifying glass and darted off. I hurried to catch up, weaving around pockets of solemn Dreamers, who flinched at my passing.

I clutched a stitch growing in my side. “Where are we going?” I panted.

“The scene of the crime, of course,” Stardust said. “Which is undoubtedly the cauldron the flying colors were poured into. I’ll have this case solved before midnight.”

The pewter cauldron in question, the size of a small mound, stood tucked behind a thicket of blossoming blue trees, a ladder resting against its side. No one appeared to be in sight.

Stardust smirked. “I knew we’d beat the Investigations Team. Such incompetence. My quick response time would be an asset if they’d only let me join.”

She promptly began examining every inch of the surrounding area, morphing back and forth between her notebook and magnifying glass forms.

“Aha, magic prints on the ladder, no doubt traces of the criminal’s dream dust as they climbed up to add the spell that created their threat.” She scribbled the information in her notebook. “If we can figure out whose it is, we’ll have our culprit. Oh look, glitter.”

Glitter…my heart pounded as I glanced at my own sparkle-coated hand. “We shouldn’t be here.”

Stardust carefully brushed the glitter sample clinging to the side of the ladder. “We can’t leave until I gather more clues.”

“But we’re going to get—do you hear something?”

Murmurs sounded in the distance, followed by the patter of footsteps, drifting closer. I hastily ducked behind a clump of golden firs and yanked Stardust down with me. We crouched together and waited with bated breath. The voices grew louder, and soon through the slit between the branches I saw two figures enter the clearing.

“They must be the criminals,” Stardust whispered, a bit too loudly. “They always return to the scene of the crime. We’ll catch them redhanded.”

“Be quiet, they’ll hear you.”

Stardust morphed into ropes in preparation to apprehend the intruders and squinted through the glowing leaves. “Comets, it’s the Council.”

“What?” I carefully pulled a branch aside. Head Dreamer Galaxy and Head Nightmare Ember stood in the clearing, both their faces red with agitation.

Galaxy gestured frantically towards the sky. “Now do you believe the balance is tipping?”

“Ridiculous,” Ember said. “The balance is maintained by the strongest forces of magic that govern our entire Universe. It can’t possibly shift.”

“I’m telling you, a Nightmare is—”

“What makes you think a Nightmare is behind it?” Ember asked icily.

“Nightmare flowers are appearing in the Cultivating Fields, Dreamers are winning fewer and fewer Weavings, aspects of the Nightmare Realm are drifting into the Dream Realm, dream dust is being stolen nearly every night, and now this. Can there be any doubt?”

Ember pursed her lips. “The Nightmare Realm is just as concerned with the balance as the Dream Realm. What motive would anyone have to disrupt it?”

Galaxy’s face darkened, but before he could say anything more, a figure that had previously been camouflaged with its surroundings appeared seemingly out of nowhere and tapped Galaxy on the shoulder. Relief swarmed the Head Dreamer’s expression.

“Ah, Head Investigator Cedar. Have you discovered any leads?”

More figures stirred in the moonlit clearing I’d previously thought abandoned, so perfectly concealed they were no more than outlines. We hadn’t been alone after all…which meant they’d seen Stardust and me poking around in a place we shouldn’t have been.

My heart pounded in trepidation. “We should get out of here.” But before we could move, Investigator Cedar leaned down to whisper something in Galaxy’s ear and pointed directly to our hiding spot. My stomach lurched as Ember’s head whisked in our direction.

“Uh-oh,” Stardust murmured. In a few strides Ember reached the trees and pushed aside the branches masking us from view. Her eyes glistened like a cat who’d just cornered a mouse. I silently cursed being saddled with a cloud harboring an investigation addiction.

“Well, well, well, what are you doing lurking around the scene of the crime, Dreamer Eden?”

“I— I—” My mouth had gone dry and it felt like my throat had sealed shut. Ember smirked, as if my silence was a confession.

“We’re investigating,” Stardust said hotly. “The prime time to do so is always when the clues are still fresh. As a professional, I don’t waste any time dawdling.”

Galaxy and Ember frowned at her before turning their accusatory glare back to me. “Then why were you hiding?”

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for Dreamer Eden’s behavior,” Galaxy said, but doubt lingered in his eyes. “This was discovered beside the cauldron where the flying colors were brewed. Does this by chance belong to you?” He held out a glitter star clip, identical to the ones woven through my ringlets.

My hand fluttered to my hair. “I’m not sure,” I stammered.

“Or this magic sample, provided by the Investigations Team.” Ember flashed a