Shadowsphere Part 5: An Unexpected Miracle

Arthur couldn’t believe his eyes. Not only had he suddenly found himself in a completely strange world, got involved in solving a great mystery and met a talking car, but now he was standing in front of a building that looked like a giant cup of hot chocolate with a marshmallow on the top.

“Somnius?“ he whispered.

“Yes?” The spy-alchemist was so intent on guarding the entrance that he didn’t even look up.

“Why are there sweets everywhere? I thought we were in the land of dreams, but it looks more like a giant sweet shop…”

“Oh, you humans are to blame for that,” whispered the alchemist.

“What do you mean, we’re to blame? We can’t even see in here, we don’t know any of this exists…”

“But lately, you’ve all been wishing for sweet dreams every night!” said Somnius, tugging at his sideburns. “Believe me, it didn’t look like this five hundred years ago. Let alone in the days of the dinosaurs!”

The boy decided not to pester Somnius with any more questions. Although the alchemist looked calm on the outside, Arthur could tell that he was shaking with apprehension and nerves. He himself felt a chilling sensation in his stomach. For a moment, there was complete silence. Lily ran to the side of the car, picked up a few pebbles from the ground and started juggling with them. A few moments later, Somnius looked around, motioned silently to Arthur, and they both got out of Humbug.

All at once, bang! The inn doors flew open and Jonas ran out.

“I must be crazy,” he muttered, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “I know I left it here. Somnius!”

Although Somnius had only just managed to scramble to his feet, he kept calm:

“What’s the matter,…