Jason stood in the circle of trees. The soft breeze that originally swayed the grass of the field now whipped at Jason's hair and stung his skin. He could feel it now. He hadn't been able to previously.

The tree with the vines was flourishing. Its leaves were green and branches full, even though the vines still wrapped around it.  That was the one that took him to Sky. However, the one directly across the grove from it - the one with previously only slightly yellowed leaves - was sickly-looking, but not dying. All of the others were normal, except for the one on the brink of death. It had not changed since he had found himself here.

Jason was beginning to understand what the trees were, and what they meant. And why the dark mist was beginning to gather far off in the distance, where previously it had only been an endless stretch of the grassy field.

He had stopped inserting himself into Sky's dreams, and had instead ventured into others by touching different trees. Often, there was so much noise and commotion in them that he couldn't even see who's dreams they were, whirlwinds of color and sound whipping at the grass. He figured that these must be actual dreams. These he could leave any time he wanted, rather than being forced to stay until they woke up.

But on his fourth try, he ended up in a calm field. The dark mist was especially close this time - so close that Jason could seen the fog curling. In the middle of this circle of darkness stood Deadlox, completely still.

Jason approached him. "Deadlox?"

No response. Jason walked in a circle around Deadlox, waving a hand in front of his face. Then he stood back in confusion. Not so much as a blink. It was as if the young man was frozen in time.

Curious, Jason tried to place his hands on Deadlox's back and shove. Instantly, the demon stumbled forward, gasping at air. The darkness rolled backwards, retreating to a resting place far off. Deadlox whipped his head around, staring at his surroundings until his eyes fixed on Jason. He was immediately on his feet, hands outstretched in a defensive position.

"I'm not -" Jason began.

"I know," Deadlox interrupted, lowering his hands. "It was instinct." He crossed his arms. "How are you here?"

"I touched your tree."

"Um, excuse me?"

"There are eight of them." Words came pouring out of his mouth as the pieces of this strange subconscious realm fall into place. "Trees. Of varying healths. Every time I touch one I'm taken to someone else's dream, but I can only see you and Sky, and your dreams are the only ones with that darkness at the edge of the field." Jason pointed to the black mist. Deadlox shook his head.

"These aren't my normal dreams. You think I wake up in a field every night?"

"Were you having a dream already?"

"Sort of." Deadlox shifted uncomfortably. Jason stared at him until he finally kept talking. "It was this weird voice that I heard today, on the - " Deadlox suddenly cut himself off. "Can the Wither hear what I say?"

"I don't think so." Jason hoped not.

Cautiously, Deadlox continued. "On the beach we landed on. It was speaking to me again, telling me that I shouldn't be here. There was fire, too. Fire is in my nightmares a lot."

Jason thought carefully. What was different about Sky's and Deadlox's dreams and nightmares? Something set them apart from the other dreams, where the host wasn't present in the field and there was no darkness.

An idea came into his mind. "I need you to ask seven of your companions what they dreamed about tonight," Jason ordered. Deadlox gave him a strange look.

"They'll think I'm crazy."

"What's more important: your reputation or solving a mystery that could potentially help you?"

Deadlox rolled his eyes. "I'll ask. Just return to my dreams tomorrow night." Then he looked away. "And if I'm...ah, not here, consult Sky."

"It's that bad?"

"Yes."

Jason hadn't thought about the fact that Deadlox and Sky could potentially face death. It hadn't occurred to him. But after what had happened to his sister, it should have.

There was a painful clench in his chest. I'm so sorry, Ashley. I swear, I'll rid the world of that vile creature that killed you.

As grief began to catch up to him, the darkness creeped closer. Deadlox faded out of view, and Jason found himself once again standing in the circle of trees. He sat, let his tears fall, and then stood once more, to move from the mystery of the trees to the mystery of the dreams they led to.