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miss the edge of the door into the hallway, which caused him not only to bang his shoulder but also tripped him.
    Sean spent a minute rubbing his shoulder and wondering why he’d bothered to get out of bed in the first place. Surely whoever knocked yet again wasn’t someone important enough to warrant personal injury. He was overcome by an intense desire not to open the door. Right now, he was in no mood for civility.
    Taking a deep breath, he opened the door anyway. And nearly slammed it closed and bolted it when he saw the five men standing outside. The pounding in his head increased, reminding him of that strange noise that had invaded his dream last night.
    Somehow he kept himself from shutting the door, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from widening and his jaw from going slack. A small voice in the back of his head told him he looked like an idiot, but he disregarded it. What occupied his attention was the wooden sword the one called Drath was holding, and the resemblance this whole scene had to his dream of last night.
    He’d seen himself standing in a room, or at least it seemed like a room. It could’ve been an open field, or a cavern, or anything, but he thought of it as a room. Drath, that wizard Merdel, and the three non-humans had been there, as had some other thing Sean could only describe as a presence . It had felt dangerously powerful, yet also familiar and reassuring. It had seemed almost a part of him. Then again, it could’ve been his imagination. After all, it had been a dream.
    The five men had been handing him a sword, much like the one they were offering him now, only the one in his dream had been real. He remembered it had been curved, with a white hilt and black scabbard. It wasn’t the beauty of its make that stuck in his mind, however. It was the strange noise he’d heard when he first laid eyes on it. It was similar to the noise he sometimes heard when fighting, and seemed to come from that other presence hovering behind the five men claiming to be from another world. That noise, even the sword itself, had called out to him, making him want nothing more than to take hold of it.
    The dream had ended right after that, so he didn’t know what had happened. Either he had taken the sword, or he hadn’t. The consequences of whatever action he might have chosen were unknown, but he did remember feeling that taking the weapon would change his life forever.
    Now, though, the only action that seemed appropriate was to stare blankly at the men before him, his ears not hearing Drath’s greeting. He could see the man’s lips moving but couldn’t tell what he said. The pounding in his brain prevented it, as did the noise that sprang to life behind it.
    It was louder this time and caused him to grimace in pain. His eyes clenched, and his hands balled into tight fists. He stood like that for what felt like a week until the noise receded, and with it the headache. He sighed gratefully, realizing only then that he’d been holding his breath. Once he was certain his head wasn’t going to explode and that he wasn’t going to vomit, he relaxed and opened his eyes.
    The curiosity and concern on Drath’s face touched him, making that voice in the back of his head repeat its assurance that he could trust these men, particularly Drath. Merdel’s expression, however, frightened him, for the wizard stared at him so intently the youth felt like he scrutinized his soul.
    Sean didn’t know what to think of the looks the two men were giving him, although they did make him self-conscious. Embarrassed, he tried to cover up his apprehension with hostility. “What do you want?”
    Drath shook his head and blinked, as if coming out of deep thought. “Ummm...” Sean’s animosity appeared to fluster him. “We just…wanted to…give you back your sword.” He offered the wooden weapon to Sean.
    “Thank you.” Sean took it, then moved to close the door.
    Drath held up his hands but didn’t try to keep the door