A/N: Did I mention that this is set right after book 3? You know how there's this 6-year gap between book 3 and book 4? Well, this is what happened during those six years. Just saying, since I thought that it wasn't obvious enough. And I apologize for this chapter coming so late, which I admit, is due to pure laziness. Forgive me? Puppy eyes

Chapter Four: A Perilous and Internecine Journey

I awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. Another damned nightmare. I noticed Twig's hammock was empty, as usual. I glanced at Evra. He was on his side; his snake curled up beside him, his breathing deep and regular.

Sighing, I lay my head back down, a frown settling over my face. I never got up so early in the past, but my dreams were surprisingly disturbing lately. The oddest thing, however, was that I couldn't recall what had actually scared me.

Deciding that sleep was not one of my options, I reluctantly clambered out of my hammock and made my way out of the tent to find Twig or someone else I could hang out with until Evra got up. Not that I was worried about her. It had been nearly four weeks since her arrival at the Cirque. Everyday, whenever I woke up, Twig would be gone. I'd usually find her mid-afternoon, but she'd never tell me where she had gone off to. Evra tried questioning her, with the same results. Eventually, we figured that it was unimportant and dropped the matter.

The Cirque started up again a week and a half after Twig's arrival, and everything seemed normal. Well, as normal as things could possibly get.

Then came the nightmares. At first, I thought nothing of them, until I reported them to Mr. Crepsley, who said he'd been experiencing the exact same thing. He disregarded them, but after the first week he grew worried. No one could explain why we were having these "conjoined dream sequences", as he'd called them.

I was so deep in thought that I hadn't realized I was wandering aimlessly. I stopped to examine my surroundings. It was early morning, so a lot of the performers were still abed. Some of the cooks were milling about, getting prepared for breakfast. Since Twig's arrival, the Cirque had moved only once, far away from our last spot. Far, far away. It was almost ridiculous because on no notice at all, Mr. Tall had ordered the entire camp to pack up immediately and leave no evidence that we were ever there. It was total chaos. No one had expected such a sudden, hasty leave. Everyone was running about, putting things away, cleaning up. Then we drove. The drive toke hours and hours, I almost expected it to never end, but it did. We finally settled in a small, rural town on the coast. There was a large dock only half a mile away, with large ships that looked like they were from the 1800's, with big masts and sails and completely made of wood. I didn't acknowledge the dock much, but little did I know it was going to be my gateway into a dangerous journey.

I continued walking around sorting my thoughts. The Cirque was on yet another break, which was strange because two breaks so close together, is rare.

We had set up close to the docks so I could smell the bracing salty Atlantic Ocean air. Gulls circled above and cried out as, far away, a wave crested and fell onto the shore. It was so soothing that I had to stop again.

Out of no where, a hand clasped over my mouth and an arm quickly ensnared my waist. I gasped and a voice whispered into my ear, "Shhhhhh!"

"Twig?" I mumbled through the hand in surprise. "Whaf aw yeh doong?"

"What?" She hissed, rapidly dragging me behind an empty tent.

"I said, 'what are you doing?" I studied her face. She had a peculiar determined look, like that of a young child.

"Where's Evra? Is he still asleep?" She demanded, seeming even more child-like. "And Mr. Crepsley? Is he in his van? And that man, oh, what was his name? The one that's very short and carries that strange watch?"

"Mr. Tiny?" I smiled lopsidedly. 'How could anyone forget a name like Mr. Tiny?' I thought. 'She remembered Evra, but not Mr. Tiny?'

"Yes, yes, I need to have a word with them," She paused, looking over her shoulder with her nose in the air, "And you." Her tone had shifted from innocent and naïve to serious and almost grave.

I nodded quickly and gestured for her to follow. We found Evra in his hammock, still asleep. Twig shook him wildly and he groaned. "What?" His voice was drenched in sleep.

"Get up, this is important. And bring your snake too," She looked him up and down with a sarcastic smile. "You look so nice in the morning."

Evra rolled his eyes and hopped out of his hammock and wrapped his snake around his shoulders. She beckoned for us to come, and led us to Mr. Crepsley's van. I knew that he wasn't asleep yet, probably contemplating some philosophical subject that none of us understood.

Twig knocked unmercifully on the van; not stopping until the door swung open and Mr. Crepsley's annoyed expression met ours.

"Come," She nodded her head. "We need to talk to Mr. Tall." I sighed.

"Exactly how many more people are we going to talk to now?" I asked, exasperated.

"This is the last one and, quit complaining, you're such an asshole." She quirked a brow with a look of disdain. "Of course, what else is new?"

Mr. Crepsley snorted but looked as if he was about to burst out laughing. I just growled at her while Evra snickered.

"Is perchance this about…?" Mr. Crepsley and Twig exchanged knowing looks as she nodded.

The four of us continued on to Mr. Tall's caravan and entered without any notice. "Mr. Tall?" Twig called out.

The altitudinous man was hovering behind us. "Yes?" It wasn't very shocking that he had appeared out of no where as he usually did, because all of us were used to it.

"As you know, Mr. Tall," She began, sounding very business-like, not at all like her usual spiteful, catty tone. "Today is the day that my close acquaintance docks at the wharf with his crew. He will be expecting a small army to say the least, so I have come to ask of you a favor." I gawked at Twig. She had never sounded so… so civil.

"Continue," Mr. Tall nodded.

"With your permission of course, I want to bring Evra, Darren, Mr. Crepsley and perhaps a few generals too. We could do with all the help that you can lend." She had to tip her head back a bit just to look at Mr. Tall's face because of her petite stature. "It… would be for the best, wouldn't it?" She wrung her hands together. I just stared at her with a bemused expression. This was not her at all, it was obvious to everyone she was faking her dulcet and innocent persona.

"How would your comrade react to having several vampires and a snake-boy on board?" Mr. Tall said as he mulled over Twig's offer.

Twig sniggered, sounding more like herself again. "Rest assured, Hibernius," she drawled his name. "He has seen many a stranger thing." She shrugged. "And he has met his share of vampires. He has mentioned several of them to me." By now my interest had piqued and I was listening intently.

Mr. Tall looked slightly troubled. "Darren and Evra though, would they be capable to survive this quest?"

Twig through her arm around my shoulder and the other around Evra. "I'm sure they are. That is, if all of the things they tell me are true, they're more then capable."

Mr. Tall sighed. "It would be a great gamble…" He began.

I grimaced. "Wait, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure you remember me telling you about my… 'comrade', Captain Diamond. Well, he's arriving shortly and he'll be taking us on a little trip… with the permission of Mr. Tall, of course."

"Darren, Evra," Mr. Tall gave us looks that I could not decipher. "If you agree to accompany Twig, you will also agree to a perilous if not internecine journey." I didn't quite understand what Mr. Tall had said, but I couldn't help but wonder.

"Where exactly will we be going?" Evra asked.

Twig flashed her trademark smirk. "A perilous and internecine journey," Her tone was facetious. "I'm joining Captain Diamond in his search for my people. After contacting him, he agreed to help me, for a small fee."

"You mean, all we're doing is searching for missing people while sailing the seas?" Evra glanced at me. "It doesn't sound too hard."

I nodded. "It has been a while since we've been out and away from the Cirque," I turned to Twig. "Ok, I guess we'll go with you. After all, how hard could it be?"

The only response I got from her was a cryptic grin.

A/N: yep… that's the whole chapter. I know, I know, it's a bit short, but the next one will be longer I promise. For now, R&R!