The Swindler steadied himself against the counter. “Now wait a minute,” he said, panic in his voice. “You’re taking this too far! If that contest was invalid, let’s establish a new one.”

  “There can be no competition for ownership of the Dreamstone,” Sandra’s voice maintained. “As you said, it belongs to everyone. Go get it for us, Nate.”

  An opening in the wall appeared where the door to the vault had been. Nate rushed through and saw the Dreamstone on a pedestal in the center of the room. He picked it up, and the Swindler’s entire building disappeared.

  Nate and the Swindler now stood in a vacant lot surrounded by tents and carnival attractions. The Swindler looked around in disbelief. In front of the lot, John Dart waited with Summer in her clown costume and the Battiato brothers. All that remained of the roustabouts were clothes and sand. One of the Battiatos cupped a wound in his shoulder where sand was leaking out. Nate hadn’t realized the Battiatos had appeared as dream people just like the roustabouts.

  “Give that back,” the Swindler cried nastily at Nate, striding toward him, all veneer of calm control gone.

  “I’m taking the Dreamstone outside the carnival,” Nate said. He pulled a Cannon Blast from his pocket.

  The Swindler snapped his fingers, but nothing happened.

  Nate popped the candy in his mouth, turned toward the front of the park, and blasted off. He soared in a long, high arc. As he plummeted downward, he shouted a warning and people scattered. He landed in the plaza near the carousel, bouncing and rolling on the pavement, leaving a crack where he first landed.

  The crowd pointed at him and commented in amazement.

  “Where did he come from?”

  “How is he getting up?”

  “He should be dead!”

  Nate bit down on another Cannon Blast and traveled in a long trajectory over the carousel and most of the Grand Boardwalk, curving down toward the Currency Exchange.

  “Out of my way!” Nate yelled as he hurtled downward. “Out of my way!”

  He crashed into the octagonal booth, smashing through the front and bursting out the back, narrowly missing the employee inside. Nate got back on his feet, put another Cannon Blast into his mouth, and, Dreamstone still in hand, he took flight into the parking lot.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Lindy

  With the orangutan filling the doorway, Pigeon hesitated. Could they retreat into the Dreamland vault and close themselves in? No, they had broken down the door. Their best bet was to charge out of here. Sure, the talking red ape was intimidating, but Pigeon had many options.

  He pocketed his piece of steel, turning back into his regular self. Then Pigeon put a Stormfire lollipop into his mouth. His whole body felt charged, the little hairs on his neck standing upright. The orangutan shuffled forward, roustabouts behind him. Glaring at the ape, Pigeon held his breath and clenched his fists.

  A thick streak of white-blue lightning streaked from his eyes, tearing through the orangutan and the roustabouts behind it. Clouds of sand released into the air as the bodies burst apart. Rootlike tubes of vitrified sand clunked to the ground, marking where the lightning had passed. The scent of ozone lingered.

  “My Drip Drop ran out,” Trevor said, shaking animal crackers into his palm. “I don’t want a dolphin. What’s this? A grasshopper? Why not?” He put one cracker back in the box and ate the other.

  Pigeon charged out the front door to find roustabouts stampeding up the ramp. Clenching his fists and holding his breath, lightning sizzled through the long line of beefy men before scorching the ground behind them. A blizzard of sand surged outward from where the roustabouts had ruptured, and fulgurites clattered against the ramp.

  Pigeon glanced back at Trevor. “Come on!”

  His friend sprang forward, crossing the room and passing through the doorway in a single leap, landing in a crouch. Pigeon realized the carnival was too crowded with innocent bystanders for more lightning, so he tossed the Stormfire lollipop aside, removed the steel from his pocket, and ingested another Statue Stick.

  The remaining roustabouts hung back. Pigeon stomped down the ramp, and Trevor soared over the ramp in one enormous jump. Soon Pigeon and Trevor were in the clear, running side by side. The roustabouts had no way to compete with their speed.

  “Where should we go?” Trevor asked.

  “Let’s head for the exit,” Pigeon said. “Our job is done. I don’t think we’re welcome in the dream carnival anymore.”

  Pigeon and Trevor raced along the walkway between the Crafts Tent and Livestock Central. Pigeon watched for more roustabouts, but they seemed to have left them behind.

  “Check out the carousel,” Trevor said.

  On the far side of a plaza teeming with elaborate fountains, Pigeon saw a towering cylinder. The carousel in the dream carnival was nine levels tall, topped with tubes that emitted showers of colored sparks. The menagerie of animals to ride included lobsters, moose, dragons, snow leopards, rams, crickets, unicorns, jackalopes, elephants, polar bears, and griffins. Jewels refracted light from gilded casings as the tower gradually spun. The music it played was eerily slow.

  “Pigeon, Trevor—halt!” called an authoritative voice. The words were not slowed by Pigeon’s heightened speed.

  Turning toward the speaker, Pigeon saw Preston Wilder dressed in his formal ringmaster apparel. Behind him stood Camilla White, face grim, arms folded. Pigeon realized it was really Camilla’s mother in disguise. Three sad-faced clowns stood nearby, one holding an oversized butterfly net, the second clutching a straitjacket, and a third gripping a tubular firearm.

  Preston waved. Why weren’t Preston or the clowns moving slowly? Pigeon knew he still had superspeed because the carousel remained sluggish and the fountains in the plaza splashed in slow motion.

  “Final warning, Pigeon,” Preston said. “Halt or we’ll stop you.”

  “Keep running,” Trevor urged.

  There came a boom like a gunshot, and a weighted net enveloped Pigeon, slamming him to the ground with a resounding clang. He tried to rise, but he was entangled in the mesh and it would hardly budge.

  “Be glad Dipsy is a good shot,” Preston called. “The weight of that net would have killed Trevor. Who gave you permission to wear those enhanced shoes?”

  “Your Mom,” Trevor replied.

  Preston pointed at their feet, then snapped his fingers. “Your footwear is no longer enchanted, so my colleagues and I can return to normal speed as well.”

  Pigeon saw the water flowing regularly in the fountains. The music from the carousel no longer dragged.

  “Trevor, run,” Pigeon said. “I’m pinned.”

  “I’m not ditching you,” Trevor said, tugging at the heavy net.

  “You might as well cease struggling, Trevor,” Preston said offhandedly. “Sure, you could try to hop away, or maybe turn to liquid to avoid straitjackets and nets, but a barrel would do the trick. I am much more powerful than my counterpart in the material world. Don’t force additional demonstrations.”

  “What do you want?” Pigeon asked.

  “Justice,” Preston said. “You disturbed the peace here. You tried to steal from us. So you must join the sleepers and help rebuild what you have harmed.”

  “Not likely,” said a strong female voice.

  Pigeon peered up through the mesh of the net at an adult version of Lindy, now in her early twenties. She wore her reddish hair long and was quite pretty.

  Preston looked confused. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m the sister of the owner,” Lindy said. She waved a hand, and the net confining Pigeon crumbled to dust. “She doesn’t approve of how you’re managing things. You’re fired.”

  “On whose authority?” Preston sputtered, waving his hands as if casting a spell. His motions generated no results.

  “Camilla’s,” Lindy said.

  “I’m right here,” the woman who looked like Camilla declared.

  “You’re not my sister,” Lindy accused. “You’re the person who should have protected her. You should have protected all of us.”

  The woman who looked like Camilla gestured with her hands, as if summoning magic.

  “Are you two trying to work dream magic against me?” Lindy asked. “Do you have any idea how powerful I am? Camilla already brought me up to speed.”

  “Get her!” Preston ordered the clowns.

  Lindy clenched a fist, and the ground beneath Preston, the fake Camilla, and the clowns liquified. They sank to their chests, as if they had been dropped into the shallow end of a pool. Lindy opened her hand, and the ground solidified again, leaving them trapped and struggling.

  “Impossible,” Preston complained.

  “Quite easily managed,” Lindy said. “Don’t pick fights above your weight class.” She turned to Pigeon. “Are you okay, Pidge?”

  “I am now,” Pigeon said. “You got older.”

  “This is how I chose to project here,” Lindy said. “My physical body is resting with the other sleepers. Including you two.”

  “Do you remember being Mrs. White?” Trevor asked.

  “Finally, yes,” Lindy said. “An advantage of journeying into the dreamscape is that I could access parts of myself that had been walled off.”

  “You’re not working against us?” Pigeon asked.

  “Did you think I would help my father?” Lindy asked incredulously. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t trust him to manage a fish tank. He has betrayed me and my siblings more times than I can count. And here he is, abusing Camilla again. If I had fifty enemies in a room, I’d neutralize my father first.”

  “The last time you were Belinda, you tried to take over our town,” Trevor said.

  “Fair point,” Lindy said. “But then I got an unexpected gift.”

  “What?” Pigeon asked.

  “A fresh start,” Lindy said. “I got to see life from a new perspective, inhabit a different viewpoint. We had been true enemies, but once Mr. Stott had the upper hand, all I felt from him was forgiveness and real concern for my best interests. The same was true of you kids. I lost an eye fighting you, but you replaced it with a better one. What do you call an enemy who defeats you in self-defense, then legitimately takes care of you?”

  “A friend?” Trevor guessed.

  “At least that,” Lindy said. “I’m not sure who I am anymore. Not the woman you knew, nor the little girl Mr. Stott tried to raise. I do know that he was a better father to me in the year we have spent together than my real dad was over a lifetime. And I made many new friends. Especially you, Pigeon.”

  “If you’re rescuing us instead of trying to kill us, let’s call it a good start,” Pigeon said.

  Lindy smiled. “Nate has the Dreamstone.”

  “He does?” Trevor asked.

  “In the physical carnival,” Lindy said. “I’m keeping an eye on him.”

  “You can sense Nate?” Trevor asked.

  “I’m not new to magic,” Lindy said. “Much is visible from the dream realm.”

  “Is he all right?” Pigeon asked.

  “He’s charging for the exit like a human cannonball,” Lindy said. “He’s going to undo this place.”

  “What will happen?” Trevor asked.

  “This will no longer be a crossroads,” Lindy said. “The physical carnival and the dream carnival will fully separate.”

  “Will the physical carnival explode?” Trevor asked.

  “Nothing so dramatic,” Lindy said. “My guess is anything powered by magic will be unplugged. Any secret ways into the dream carnival will be disconnected. The rest will remain. Relics of a grand misadventure.”

  Sudden thunder roared, and a tremor ran through the dream carnival.

  Lindy’s eyes widened. “Nate is out. He did it.”

  Trevor pumped a fist. “He’s so clutch.”

  “Can we get back to the real world?” Pigeon asked.

  “The gulf between the dreamscape and the waking world may be growing wider,” Lindy said. “But we are not native to this place. We need only wake up.”

  “There have been issues with that,” Trevor said.

  “Camilla will help,” Lindy said. “As will your friend Sandra.”

  “What will you do?” Pigeon asked.

  “First on my agenda is reconnecting with my dear sister,” Lindy said. “We have lost too many years. Shall we go?” A brisk motion of her hand created a shimmering portal.

  “I’m game,” Trevor said, glancing over at Preston and his entrapped comrades. “There are way too many clowns in this dream.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Dessert

  The Lux Lounge beneath the carousel had been cleaned up since Nate, Trevor, Summer, and Pigeon had fought the security team there, but the walls still bore some scars. Tonight, Nate was visiting under happier circumstances. Five days after the Dreamstone had left the carnival, Camilla was hosting a dessert party for everyone who had helped overthrow her father.

  Nate sat at a central table nearest to Summer, Trevor, Pigeon, Lindy, and Benji. Also at the long table was Sandra, John Dart, Mozag, and Camilla. Mr. Stott sat with them too, outside his lair under special protection from Mozag. In front of them a decadent selection of cakes and pies were arrayed, together with all the ingredients they could want to build their own ice cream sundaes.

  Mozag tapped his fork against a crystal goblet, and when the room quieted, he climbed up on his chair. He had been reunited with his battered Cubs hat, and he looked around the room with a smile, making eye contact with Nate and many others.

  “Welcome, friends,” Mozag began. He gestured to the dessert buffet. “Please feel free to begin if you haven’t already.”

  “Don’t miss the key lime,” Victor called out.

  “I’m on my third sundae,” Ziggy announced.

  A general chuckle passed through the room.

  Mozag waited for the room to quiet again. “I would like to begin by thanking a few people. First of all—Camilla, would you mind standing?”

  Camilla rose to her feet, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

  “I owe you an apology,” Mozag said. “I initially suspected you were the mastermind behind the disappearances at the carnival. Instead, your father was pulling the strings, leaving you a prisoner within your lovely creation. You provided key assistance at a crucial time. Without your help, Carl White may have emerged victorious. You have our thanks.”

  The room applauded.

  “How are my father and mother?” Camilla asked. “I haven’t seen them since the carnival separated from the dreamscape.”

  “Your parents have been very cooperative,” Mozag said. “We have them in a secure facility where they can dream about whatever they want until they are rehabilitated.”

  “Be slow to believe they’ve changed,” Lindy called out.

  “We’ll take precautions,” Mozag said. “Though I will mention that once the Dreamstone left the carnival grounds, neither of them had much fight left. It seems that artifact was the crutch Carl depended on for power.”

  Camilla nodded and sat down.

  “Onward,” Mozag continued. “Would John Dart, Sandra Lafond, Victor Battiato, and Ziggy Battiato please rise?”

  The four of them stood, Victor and Ziggy at a neighboring table. Ziggy had some whipped cream at the corner of his mouth. His brother gestured with a napkin, and Ziggy wiped it off.

  “These are four of the finest magical enforcers you will ever meet,” Mozag declared. “John and Sandra played key roles in protecting the town of Colson when the carnival arrived, and Sandra used her dreamwalking abilities to open the carnival to us. All four risked life and limb to protect us from tyranny. I am professionally and personally indebted.”

  The room applauded. The four enforcers waved. The Battiatos wore big grins. John was the first of them to sit.

  “Belinda White,” Mozag said. “Would you please stand?”

  Lindy got up.

  “On the chair, perhaps, so people can see you?” Mozag suggested.

  Lindy climbed onto her chair.

  “Any magical enforcer would tell you that Belinda White has given our community some scares in the past,” Mozag said. “But on this occasion, she was instrumental in protecting Trevor and Pigeon, and in bringing her parents to justice after the carnival fell.”

  Everyone clapped. Pigeon whistled. Lindy watched calmly.

  “Belinda, now called Lindy, is an old soul in a rejuvenated body,” Mozag said. “Now that Lindy has regained her memories, Sebastian Stott has agreed to transfer custody to her sister, Camilla, though he will remain in her life as a friend and mentor. I know this comes with mixed emotions for everyone involved.”

  “Sebastian Stott will always feel like a second father to me,” Lindy said. “I can’t see him any other way.”

  Mr. Stott cleared his throat. “I feel similarly. My door is always open.”

  Mozag nodded appreciatively. “The Council has approved of this change, with the precautionary protocol of annual interviews with the sisters to check up on the situation. May our burgeoning friendship with the White sisters expand and deepen in the years to come.”

  Cheers and applause greeted this statement. Lindy got down off her chair.

  “And now would Summer, Nate, Benji, Trevor, and Pigeon please arise.”

  Nate stood up along with his friends.

  “These five kids went above and beyond once again to protect the world from magic gone awry,” Mozag said. “Benji is new to the group but made no smaller sacrifice than the others. All confronted perilous threats and endured extreme hardship to obtain the Dreamstone and remove it from the carnival. Through their bravery, disaster was averted and peace restored. I consider each of them an important member of my inner circle.”