anything . Eventually his eyes adjusted — it didn ’ t help . Sootblack leaves adorned pitch-colored twigs that stuck out at all angles from midnight trunks . He stood on soil black as asphalt , weighed down by a starless sky . He took a cautious step . The ground was solid and the air dry , but he felt like he was underwater . Pressure behind his eyes throbbed and his chest tightened .
“ Hello ?” he called out . “ This is a dream , right ? Ready to wake up .”
“ ANOTHER COMES TO US FREELY ,” a deep voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once .
The words pounded in time with the pain in Connor ’ s head and made his skin crawl . His heart nearly stopped .
“ Hey , uh , hi . I don ’ t know how I got here . I don ’ t think here is a place . I ’ m going to go .”
He backed into something that grasped at him and he broke into a mad dash . Sharp leaves and jagged branches left searing lines of pain on his face and arms , but he didn ’ t stop . All the while the voice followed right on his heels .
“ YOU DESIRE TO BE HERE . WE CAN HELP YOU . WE KNOW SECRETS YOU CAN ONLY DREAM OF . DON ’ T YOU WANT TO BE STRONGER ?”
Connor stopped running . He almost turned around . The promise in the voice pulled at him , warring with his instinct to get as far away as he could . Unbidden , thoughts of dueling filled his head , images of him on the pitch like the stars he watched on TV . “ Stronger ? Maybe ? Yes ?” Before he finished the sentence , he jolted awake , rolling out of bed into a tangle on the floor . His clock blinked 4:30 . He scrambled back into bed , desperate to catch his breath and