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“And I’m sure she’d do it all over again, as would I,” Maxwell says. “And it wasn’t because of the damned prophecy. She loved you and couldn’t let you die.”
The prophecy. How could I have forgotten about that?
A true hero destined to destroy an evil wouldn’t have forgotten. If we needed more proof that I’m not it, here it is.
Puck that.
My spine straightens, a burst of anger chasing away the hollow grief and guilt.
I don’t care if the prophecy is about me, or if it’s even true.
Things are much simpler now.
Bebe is dead, and I made Phobetor a promise about this exact outcome—and as the god of nightmares is my witness, I will keep my promise.
I will either destroy him or die trying.
The pressure in my throat eases a smidge, and a dark smile crosses my lips, even as the scope of what I plan to undertake sends tendrils of fear throughout my body.
I catch my sister’s gaze.
They say twins can read each other’s minds—and I feel it in this moment.
I know she’s arrived at a conclusion similar to mine.
I leap to my feet. “There’s a way to save everyone on Soma. A way that doesn’t require the use of swords and guns. Not real ones, anyway.”
Asha also jumps to her feet, the determined expression on her face mirroring mine. “Yes. We take the fight to Phobetor.”
“We kill him in the dream world,” we say in unison.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Maxwell draws back, staring at us in disbelief. “You’re not ready. You need months of training first. If—”
“We don’t have a choice.” I begin to pace. “A necromancer is a formidable foe, and who knows what other surprises await us in the real world.”
Kojo catches my sister’s wrist. “You haven’t figured out the Two as One technique.”
“We’ll just have to do without it,” Asha says. “Our parents didn’t have a technique, and they took him on.”
“And got Overtaken.” Maxwell darts a glance at Mom’s comatose body. “You need to do better than we did.”
I stop. “We are doing this. From here on out, we only talk logistics.”
Maxwell opens his mouth, then closes it, a defeated expression stealing over his face. “We need allies. Dreamwalkers and illusionists ideally, but any Cognizant could help—especially if they have powers.”
“Why?” Asha asks. “If it’s the dream world…”
Maxwell winces. “Phobetor always has an army of creatures with him.” He looks at me. “Subdream monsters, you call them.”
That makes sense, and my father’s idea of bringing in allies could help face such an army. Someone comfortable with their powers can use them in the dream world as a form of lucid dreaming. A dreamwalker would be able to annul their powers, of course, but I don’t think subdream creatures would have that power.
The best part is, those who aren’t dreamwalkers have one huge advantage in a fight like this: If they get killed, they’ll simply wake up, as if from a nightmare.
The doctor comes back in, but we ignore her.
Kojo doesn’t look happy as he says, “Let me speak with the Escapists again. Maybe they’ll—”
“It’s worth a shot,” Asha says. “But first, I have a question. How do we actually find Phobetor in the dream world?”
“Me.” Maxwell’s eyes gleam. “I’m always fighting him off. If I give up that fight, you’ll face him. When your mother and I—”
“Hold on.” Kojo looks at Maxwell as if he’s grown a set of antlers. “Won’t you become one of the Overtaken in the process?”
Maxwell’s expression is pained. “I should be tied down. In fact, all of us should be. Just in case…”
Asha turns to the doctor and explains the part of the conversation the woman missed. Then she asks, “Do you have something we can use to restrain ourselves?”
“The Overtaken aren’t a new problem,” the doctor says and sprints over to a cabinet. She returns with thick, bandage-like ropes that she attaches to special grooves in the four nearby gurneys.
She then gestures for us to lie down.
Reluctantly, I stretch out on a gurney, and the others do the same.
“Ready?” the doctor asks.
Half-hearted agreements all around.
She restrains us.
No one brings up an obvious point. If an Overtaken—even a weak one—gets past Valerian and the others, we’re toast.
“Now,” Maxwell says, pulling me out of my dark thoughts. “I’ll put Asha under, and she’ll bring the rest of us in from the inside.”
“I’m ready,” Asha says.
I can feel her go into REM sleep, followed by Maxwell and Kojo.
How will it feel when she drags me in like that? Maybe like anesthesia or—
I find myself standing on a gelatinous surface inside a canyon of chocolate mountains, with the sky above reminiscent of cotton candy.
Is this another Escapist Domain? Maybe Food or Dessert?
My family are already here, so I don’t waste time asking about the environment.
“A good place to gather all the forces,” Maxwell says, gesturing at the delicious landscape.
