Book Eight: Chapter 31

The technicolor sand beneath his feet had become the color of ash. The oceans of Mike’s soul were so dark the water was a river of ink. As dark clouds boiled over, lightning crashed between their peaks, revealing a crack in the sky packed with watching eyes.

Mike snapped awake. He was in bed all by himself for the first time in...he honestly couldn’t remember when. After the events of last night, he hadn’t craved companionship or even company. Other than sitting with Grace and reading her another book before bed, he barely spoke to anyone, even Naia.

When he sat up, he groaned and rubbed at his temples. The Dreamscape had been extremely unstable all night. He assumed that it was just because he was struggling with what he had learned from Santa, but the Outsiders had made an appearance off the shores of his mind. He couldn’t know if they were actually present or just a figment of his imagination. If Lily were around, he would have asked her to look into it for him.