The Sandman

There.

Oh, thank you, Lord.

But who am I?

You are the Corinthian.

The Corinthian.

But I'm not the first Corinthian, am I?

You are the second.

What happened to the first?

He was a disappointment to me.

You will not be.

My lord, how can you be sure?

You're Lucienne. I remember you.

-You have beautiful eyes, Lucienne. -Boss!

And you're Matthew.

Sir.

Did I say something wrong?

Yes. Everything.

The new Corinthian is nothing like his predecessor.

Then why does he remember us?

Because he has a fragment of the first Corinthian in his essence.

I saved a part of him.

Then he couldn't have been all bad.

He was my finest creation.

But sometimes dreams turn bad.

Then why bring this one back?

To do what I cannot.

Since I cannot leave the Dreaming without endangering it,

you will find Daniel Hall in the waking world and bring him here.

I appreciate your confidence in me, Lord, but...

You will not be alone.

I hope you're not expecting me to babysit him.

-I am not. -Oh. Lucienne?

-No. Thank you. -No.

Then who?

Absolutely fucking not.

I am not teaming up with a serial killer.

I'm a serial killer?

You are not.

This is an entirely different Corinthian.

So he doesn't murder people and eat their eyeballs?

Do I do that?

The Corinthian was never intended to be a reassuring dream.

Then you'll understand why I am not reassured.

But he is powerful.

And fearless.

-Resourceful. -Sounds like you won't be needing me then.

He is also, essentially, a newborn.

He needs someone to shepherd him.

Someone to learn from.

You think I'm a good influence?

Perhaps this will reassure you.

It is an Eagle Stone.

One of 12 I invested with my power long ago.

If he should threaten you...

Which I won't.

...this stone will give you the power to uncreate him.

Look, Odin is the one that put Loki in prison.

Why not let Odin find him?

Because Odin believes Loki is still in prison.

And I would rather not disabuse him of that notion.

Why?

You're not the one that freed Loki.

Are you?

That is not germane to your investigation.

It is not my investigation anymore.

You've got the Corinthian on the case.

So I will be waking up from this nightmare. Thank you.

You know, I think you and I got off on the wrong foot.

And I think you're still on it.

And I'll be getting off here.

Do not follow me.

You know, if I don't do what Lord Morpheus tells me to do,

then I'm no different from the first Corinthian, am I?

You don't trust me. I get it. I mean, I wouldn't trust me either.

In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't let me out of your sight.

How do I know you won't kill me?

You could take my word for it,

or, since we're just getting to know one another,

you can put this on.

The second I say or do anything you don't like, you can just uncreate me.

You're not going away, are you?

Not until we find Daniel. That's the reason why he brought me back.

So I could find Daniel.

And to protect you.

And your family.

My family?

Dream didn't tell you anything about me, did he?

No, not really. I'm just assuming you have a husband?

Boyfriend?

Girlfriend?

Give me that.

Go sit over there.

Yes, ma'am.

I'm sorry you had to see that photo, Miss Hall.

Just know that whoever did this to your son

will get everything he deserves.

Forgive me, but how do you know this is Daniel?

We found one of his shoes.

The one in the photo.

And where was it taken? Where did you find him?

A campsite in the area.

Near the care home?

I don't know of a campsite there. Where is it?

I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say.

It's an ongoing investigation.

Surely you can tell the boy's mother.

That won't be necessary.

Thank you, Detective. You can go.

Okay.

You too, Mrs. Shore.

Ma'am.

I'll find my way back to the house.

My condolences, ma'am.

I'm sorry, but there's something off about this.

He's wrong about the campsite.

We'll be okay, Mrs. Shore.

Of course. You call if you need me.

I just need to be alone right now.

Okay.

I'll see you at the house?

Sir?

May I help?

Just looking for a book to read.

Since I am trapped here and there's nothing else to do now.

There's quite a few things that need doing, actually.

Such as?

There's an ongoing dispute between the Knight of Clouds and the Body Politic

which requires arbitration,

an inventory of the skerries to be conducted,

and a complete inspection of the territories

from the shores of the Sea of Night to the Lake of Dawn.

For a start.

I know this is frustrating for you.

Not being able to leave?

Not being in control.

But the only thing that matters is that you're home and you're safe.

I'm not safe here.

I'm in hiding.

The path that I am on leads to my death.

It's only a matter of time.

You say that as if you don't have a choice in the matter.

I don't.

You do.

The same choice the rest of us, who are not of the Endless,

have to make every minute of every day.

And what is that?

The time you have left may be limited, but you do get to choose how you spend it.

I have a number of dream ledgers that could benefit from your attention,

as well as compacts and treaties that require your review and signature.

Later, perhaps.

Where are you going?

To settle an ongoing dispute between the Knight of Clouds and the Body Politic.

For a start.

Cluracan!

Clur...

Cluracan!

Hello, sister.

I was afraid you'd be asleep.

Asleep? It's teatime. We mustn't keep the queen waiting.

Afterward, will you remove this glamour and give me back my face?

Darling, Faerie, which is a place, but I also like to think an attitude,

is governed by rules of etiquette.

By custom.

And it is customary for those in the queen's court

to wear glamour at all times.

You have never seen me without mine.

Is that true? Not even when we were children?

I was never a child.

Now, shall we join the queen for tea?

By which I hope she means cocktails.

You think Auberon's captain of the guard will be there?

Who, Menton? Are you interested? I've had him. He's wonderful.

No, but I need him to send troops to the Dreaming when the time comes.

What is it with you and the Dream King?

Did something happen?

-No. -Did it?

No.

Well, he did give you this necklace that Titania's been coveting.

If you were smart, you would give it to her.

I can't.

It's not just a necklace. It's a boon.

It looks pretty, but I wouldn't call it a boon.

No. If I hold the stone and call to Lord Morpheus, it will bring him to me.

And he will grant me a boon.

You'd better cash it in before the Kindly Ones get hold of him.

Now, shall we go find Menton, and put our glamour to good use?

Hello, Mrs. Shore.

You've been following me.

Only because I was responsible for Daniel last night.

And I still feel responsible for him.

Hm.

Shall we go somewhere and talk?

Privately.

I won't cause any trouble.

So why not put away the gun?

Because I'm not holding a gun.

Who are you?

Are you religious, Mrs. Shore?

Do you believe in God?

-Of course. -How about gods ?