Mists of Everness (The War of the Dreaming) by John C. Wright Read Free Book Online

time, thinking.
    When the orderly came in, as he did every day, to check on Peter, turn him over, and sponge him off, the orderly did not, of course, remove the overcoat. He checked to see that the security camera was still operating; but no one had told him, nor would he have believed, that a graffiti monster chalked on the wall was part of the security.
    When the orderly left, Peter was suddenly overcome by a sense of alarm and anger. “How could I miss it!” he asked himself. “How could I be so stupid! Got to go to sleep right now before Azrael realizes what he’s done! Morpheus, Somnus, ah, whatever the hell your name is, Hypnos, and you other guys, knock me out!”
    VIII
    Immediately he was asleep. In his dream he was once more in the barren dungeon of some grim tower, whose barred window slit looked out upon a lonely moor. Peter was on a narrow plank, and in the dream he was tied down hand and foot by many winding yards of cable.
    The Beast still prowled outside the tower, roaring in rage, growling, slavering, and rattling its massive chains. Every now and again, it scratched at the tower doors, or smote, and the tower trembled from the blows of its paw. In the far distance, across the windy moonlit moor, Peter could hear a lonely churchbell ringing. Six times it rang.
    But when the Beast prowled out to the far end of its chain, Peter could see through the window that the Beast wore an overcoat draped over its head. The Beast stumbled, batting at the coat hem with its massive claws, but it could not dislodge the fabric.
    Peter strained at the ropes that bound him, but this was one of those dreams where one is trapped and cannot escape.
    “Great,” grunted Peter. “Now what the hell do I do? Wish for a magic mouse to come by and nibble away these ropes?”
    And he sighed because he realized that Galen would know what to do. Moody, dreamy Galen, who couldn’t stand up to the kids who picked on him at school, and who couldn’t keep his job as a paperboy because he overslept; Galen knew all the magic words and mumbo jumbo that made this dream-stuff operate.
    “Maybe I was too hard on the kid,” Peter said.
    A large brown mouse, walking upright, wearing a vest with a pocketwatch and carrying a walking stick, hopped up on Peter’s chest. The mouse was puffing and brushed his little furry forehead with a hanky.
    “Good day, sir,” said the mouse. “It’ll take me a while to get through these ropes, but not to worry! I have strong teeth!” And he bent down and began gnawing at the knots on Peter’s wrist.
    It looked just like something out of a Beatrix Potter illustration. “Well, the God-damned cavalry comes riding over the hill, and it’s God-damned Mighty Mouse.”
    “Begging your pardon, sir, but that’s ‘Meadow.’ The words were slightly mumbled, as if his mouth were full.”Sorry I took so long, but I could not get by the Hatred Beast until the Wizard blinkered it with his cloak.”
    “Who sent you? The good fairy?”
    The mouse scampered back up across Peter’s chest, and Peter could feel the little paws tapping on him. The mouse looked up with beady little black eyes as bright as buttons. “Fairies? Oh no, sir. Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “Sorry. Don’t know what came over me.”
    “The fairies work for Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Seelie Court in Mommur, the City Neverending. The Knights of Oberon sleep among the Autumn Stars. I am merely a humble mouse from Shining Valley, trying to do my part to help.”
    “Well, keep nibbling. Every little bit helps.”
    The mouse scampered away out of sight down to the left wrist, commenting, “Exactly our philosophy, sir, except that we say every little bite counts. There! Pull up your arms!”
    “Can’t. They’re still stuck.”
    “Not if you don’t wish them to be, you big baby. It makes me sick to see a great hulking man like you turned coward. Turns my stomach!”
    “What! No stinking little rodent is going to …” And he