Maren never understood why people bought nightmares on purpose. Lishta said it was the same reason some people loved horror movies, except dreams were even more vivid and immersive. Nightmares were like being in a horror movie. They made people’s hearts gallop, chilled their bones, and made them feel alive. Once it ended, once their drumming pulse slowed and they found themselves back in their safe, mundane lives, they appreciated everything so much more. Halloween was always the busiest time of year for the dream shop, with even the most sensible customers looking to scare themselves silly.

Maren hated too-scary Halloween things and horror movies, and she couldn’t stand the nightmares her brain cooked up all on its own. She couldn’t imagine doing that to herself on purpose. But Hallie was a huge nightmare fan. She was always making new ones and trying to convince Maren to take them, but Maren would rather shove worms up her nose than have bad dreams. Hallie had even made a few nightmares that Lishta deemed too horrible to sell in the shop, which Hallie saw as the ultimate compliment.

“Let me see,” said Lishta, unlocking the nightmare cabinet and rummaging through the boxes and jars inside. “Three of our ripest nightmares to terrify and delight the jolie mademoiselle.”

“JOLIE JOLIE!” echoed Henri.

But instead of choosing something from the jet-black jars and tins, Lishta selected a gray cardboard box. These were what she called training nightmares, designed for new customers to make sure they were tough enough to handle the really scary ones. Lishta gave the box a loud sniff and swung backward on the ladder, rolling her eyes dramatically. Henri flapped and croaked, but kept hold of her braids.

“I’d almost forgotten about these beauties,” she said. The dark-haired woman’s eyes gleamed as Lishta made a show of selecting three nightmares and then locked the box away again.

“What are they?” said the woman.

“An ancient Egyptian pyramid.” Lishta climbed creakily down the ladder with Henri still on her head. “You’re trapped inside, running down a dark passage.” Her voice lowered. “Down, down into the bowels of the earth you go, dank and rotting and festering. And then you find a massive black sarcophagus covered in cobwebs.”

The woman let out a delighted gasp, and Lishta paused. “I don’t want to ruin the whole thing for you, dear.”

The woman blinked for a moment. “Yes. Yes, of course.” She pulled out her wallet. “How much for them?”

“Twenty-one dollars,” said Lishta. What she’d neglected to mention about the nightmare was that once the sarcophagus was opened, it contained a giant teddy bear.