Free Zac and the Dream Stealers by Ross Mackenzie Page A

books and newspapers, was the sapphire-encrusted dagger from his dream — the very one he’d used to attack the monster.
    â€œEr . . . guys?” he said, carefully picking up the dagger. “Look at this.”
    â€œThat’s pretty,” said Tilly. “Look at the jewels on the handle.”
    â€œI’ve seen this before,” said Zac. “This exact dagger.”
    â€œHow can you have?” said Tilly, frowning. “You’ve never been in here.”
    â€œIt was in a dream,” said Zac. “The dream I had tonight.”
    â€œYou had a dream?” gasped Tilly. “Here? But people in Nocturne can’t dream —”
    â€œI know,” said Zac. “Tom’s already told me.”
    â€œBut you told me you couldn’t remember what your dream was about,” said Tom.
    â€œI didn’t want to talk about it. It wasn’t a very nice one.”
    â€œI knew it!” said Tom, looking rather excited. “It
was
a bad dream! So what happened?”
    â€œWell,” said Zac, “I was in a dark room and there was this black mist everywhere. All of a sudden, this dagger was in my hand.”
    He held up the dagger. Tom’s and Tilly’s eyes followed it.
    â€œThat doesn’t sound too bad,” said Tom.
    â€œHe’s not finished yet!” snapped Tilly. “Go on, Zac.”
    â€œThen there were these heavy footsteps, and some kind of monster flew out of the darkness. I fell back, and the monster came down on the dagger and exploded. The dagger saved my life.”
    â€œWow,” said Tom, awestruck.
    â€œIt’s probably nothing,” he said, placing the knife back on the table, trying not to panic. “Hey, what were you looking at before I interrupted?” he asked, changing the subject.
    â€œOh,” said Tom, tearing his eyes from the dagger. “This old trunk, it’s locked tight. The lid won’t budge. I’m dying to know what’s in it.”
    He shot a hopeful look at his sister.
    â€œI’ve told you a hundred times, I won’t open it!” said Tilly, shaking her head in annoyance. “Judging by some of the stuff lying around this place, there could be anything in there.”
    â€œBut it’s a special occasion! We’ve got a guest.”
    â€œNo!”
    Tom scowled. “Fine. I’ll try it myself. Again.”
    Tom crouched down by the trunk and closed his eyes in concentration. A moment later, a purple spark shot from the end of his finger and the lock began to spit out multicolored bubbles.
    Tom shrugged in disgust.
    Zac couldn’t help grinning. “Go on, Tilly,” he said. “Put him out of his misery.”
    Tilly glared at him for a moment, and then glanced at the trunk.
    â€œFine,” she said. “I’ll try, but it’s probably protected.”
    Tom beamed at her. She marched past him and leaned over the trunk. Though she looked annoyed, Zac got the feeling that she secretly enjoyed showing off her talents. Another wisp of smoke appeared in her hand, and a moment later the trunk clicked open.
    â€œWell, that was easy enough,” said Zac.
    But nobody answered. Tom and Tilly were gazing at the trunk’s contents in fascination.
    Zac edged closer. Heaps of small, roughly shaped spheres of thick colored glass were glowing inside the trunk, throwing a spooky light on Tom’s and Tilly’s faces.
    â€œDream orbs!” whispered Tom. “Sometimes these get left behind in the Dream Plains when a Wakeling has a dream. Each orb has an echo of a dream inside. I’ve never seen one up close before — no one’s supposed to take them. There must be hundreds of them in here. And look, I don’t believe it!” He reached over and carefully picked up one as if it were a small bomb. It was about the size of an orange, and looked like a huge black marble. Its surface was streaked with glowing purple