He brought his voice down to a whisper. “Blood-red, you said?”
I nodded. “I’d never seen anything like it.”
Karsten spoke quietly but clearly, so no one else could hear. “I hope you never will again. There is only one man in the whole world with a blood-red aura.”
“Who’s that?”
Karsten shook his head. “No, this is nonsense. You have enough on your mind without giving heed to dreams and adding more worries to your plate. That’s why I became a baker instead of a dream reader: to nourish instead of causing anguish. Forget the whole thing.”
He was going to stand up, but I grabbed his arm. “Please. Even if it upsets me, I have to know. I always remember my dreams, and they often seem to be true. I need to know everything I can before we face the dark lord.”
Karsten’s face went white. He nodded. “Very well. You ask who is the only one who has a blood-red aura. A man, or once a man, with green eyes, who wears a long dark cloak that covers most of his features.”
I nodded. “That’s him!”
Karsten turned away. “That is the dark lord.”
“That’s not possible!” I said.
“I would agree, but it appears many impossible things have proved possible for you lately. You are a young man of many mysteries and many abilities. Perhaps there are more mysteries in you than you realized.”
I felt a horrible sense of panic. “But he called me Neffe!”
Karsten shrugged without making eye contact. “I can only read your dreams, not explain them. Perhaps it’s only a manner of speaking.”
I shook my head. “It was a word of magic, that cannot be spoken falsely. He called me nephew! You’re telling me that the Dark Lord is my uncle?”
Karsten looked horrified.
“Anders, lower your voice. People will hear.”
I looked around. There were few people in the dining hall, but I did catch one set of curious eyes. Perhaps the man was just wondering why our voices were raised. I stared him down, and he went back to eating his porridge and hot buns.
“You have to tell Woltan. And your friends Kalle and Kara.”
“I wish I could talk to my father and find out what this is all about.”
He put his hand on my shoulder. “I lost my father when I was three years old. He fell from the roof of one of our highest buildings, and neither magic nor medicine could mend him.”
I controlled myself and looked Karsten in the eye. “Thank you. I know I shouldn’t complain. At least my mother and father are alive. If I can free them from this curse, then maybe we can find out the truth.”
“The truth is mighty difficult sometimes when magic and dreams are involved,” Karsten said. “Just keep your mind clear and focused on the task at hand. You have a lot to learn and a lot to do, once you’ve learned it. And once you learn everything the Kriek and our people can teach you, you still need to meet with the merpeople.”
I nodded. I could almost smell the sea, when Karsten spoke of the merpeople. My people.
I smiled painfully at Karsten.
“Thanks for helping me, Karsten. I value your friendship even more than these rolls.”
Karsten smiled too. “We need friendship as well as food to sustain us. Friendship nourishes the soul. Look, Anders, try not to worry. Just go straight away and tell Woltan what you dreamt. Perhaps he has some other take on it, but I don’t want to give you false hope. Although I’m not a dream reader, my mother trained me well.”
“Could you take me to her, to your mother I mean?” I said instead.
Karsten looked embarrassed. “I can’t right now. We are short-handed in the kitchen and there are many mouths to feed.”
Now I felt embarrassed.
“I’ve kept you too long as it is.”