The Dream Walker

Chapter 8: Faith and Fools

Heid dragged me straight to the third door on the right down the council hall. Inside, two walls were made of books in shelves. A polished desk matched the polished floor. There were no windows, only two adjacent candles on the desk to provide light. It felt as though I'd stepped into night during the dawn. He sat in the seat behind his desk and I could only assume my place was the seat opposing his.

"You have the Dream Walker," he said, his hands folded as he leant forward.

"... What?" Lord and ladies, Nadayah, you're pathetic.

Heid laughed. "Oh, don't try to play innocent with me. I'm the Master of Spies, Nadayah, do you really think I wouldn't have discovered it?"

"Well, I told you, I have powers similar to the mythical Dream Walker. It was me, not him or her."

He shook his head. "Nadayah, I know the lure of the Dream Walker. Should their life be saved, the one who saved it has their debt in their hands. You must have saved this Dream Walker."

"Heid, it's me, I've had this power my whole life-"

"Aha!" Oh no, what did I say? "Then why have we only just heard of raids being stopped? You've had these powers your entire life and you've only just thought to use them?"

Shit. I had nothing to say. He'd caught my bluff. "I suppose because you found out on your own that I'm not in trouble with him, then."

Heid finally leaned back. "Really, Nadayah, think: A strange magical girl arrives and all of a sudden we have a productive king? No less, he's taking care of something this strange magical girl cares for."

I should have considered someone might discover me. Dailon was right, it was bold. Too bold. "I just wanted to help people."

"And you are." He sighed. "The only reason I know is because I heard you speaking with someone last night. Your window was open and your voices wafted it."

"That's impossible, I was standing at the window for a while, I didn't see you. And besides, even if you'd heard a little, how could you deduce it was the Dream Walker I was speaking with? What if it was Lu Emm, Miri's son?"

"You met him this morning." How did he- "Master of Spies, Nadayah."

I groaned. "Alright, alright, alright. How, though? What exactly is a Master of Spies?"

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to begin our lessons." He stood. "The Boar King is the face of this monster known as government. He is what the rest of the world sees. He receives the praise or the fault. The council, however, is the body. We run this kingdom, Nadayah, you must not forget that. And you also mustn't tell another soul."

"The king is worthless, then? He isn't allowed to do anything, even if he wants?"

"Not necessarily. With the face also comes the head, which houses the brain. He issues the decrees, the commands, the laws. Often it is us putting those ideas in his head, but without the mouth to proclaim it, the body is silenced."

"I get it. So it's oftentimes you putting ideas in his head but it is he who gets the final say?"

"Almost. He'll go rogue occasionally and act on his own accord, like he did today when sending soldiers to deal with raids."

"Technically that was me."

"Yes, technically it was. But to all others, it was the king. Many more times than not, he only acts when advised by us."