The Rebel Assassin

Chapter 10: Dream Logic

Nemia spread out her sheets of paper over the table, feeling extremely self-conscious as Evvie, Liz, and Therese peered down at her cramped, scribbled notes.

"So, it started with what you said about time being... you know, fluid."

Liz nodded, dropping into a seat. "Glad I helped. Knew I was good for something."

Evvie snorted and put her arms around her fiancé's shoulders, leaning down to kiss her head. "You're good for so many things."

"That's sweet, Ev, but we're focusing on the creepy dream things right now."

Nemia slid one sheet back and forth against the table nervously. "They're not creepy. Just... weird. Look here." She pointed at the list and Therese leaned over to read the line next to her finger, the second to last line on the page.

"It says, 'A black horse running out of the capital and past Maenar.' Huh. Interesting Morie dreamed about Maenar before she even came here."

"Creepy," Liz whispered.

"That's all?" Nemia asked, ignoring Liz. "Just interesting? What about the next line?"

"'Mountains grow out of the ground like flowers.' What does that even mean?"

"It means that in her dreams, Morie saw mountains growing out of the ground like flowers," Nemia said impatiently. "Don't you guys get it? The last part of Morie's dreams predicted something that just finished happening. A black horse running out of the capital and past Maenar — that's Morie running from the capital the night I killed... well." She stuttered to a stop and Evvie put a hand on her arm. She swallowed painfully. "Morie took Pitch when she left. Pitch is black."

"You think the dreams would bother with a detail that small?" Liz asked.

Nemia nodded. "A small detail that would make its meaning more clear, yes. The fact that the dreams knew Morie would take Pitch when she left instead of her own horse makes it clear it's referring to this specific incident, and not any other random time we went on a ride from the capital."

"And the mountains!" Evvie interjected, excitedly.

"Yes. Morie went from the capital to Maenar and now into the mountains to the Protectorate! Months ago, when she had these dreams, it predicted where she was going to go."

"Damn," Therese said, admiringly. "That actually fits."

"And sucks," Liz pointed out. "We hoped knowing the future would give us an edge — not that we've had any luck with prophecies in the past." She paused as they snickered. "I guess the list is useless if you think everything she dreamed is in the past now?"

"I don't think so." Nemia fingered the corner of the list where it had gone worn and soft from her fiddling. "The dreams are supposed to know both the future and the past. Any of these things could still be important. Like..." She drew her finger up the list. "There."

"'Three stars fall from the sky,'" Therese read.

Liz cursed loudly, sitting up straight. "No kidding!"

Therese looked around, confused. "What? Three stars?"

"Oh yeah, you missed that big revelation," Evvie said. "There are three Guardians. So."

"What?"

"And Morane's the Assassin, Nemia's the Thief," Liz added.

"Dear God."

"All the fun stuff happens while you're away."

Therese only groaned.

"Guys," Nemia pressed. "Three stars. I'm pretty sure that's supposed to represent the three Guardians. So the first part of the dream is literally the beginning of Morie's life — all of our lives, since we were all born on the same day."