The artifact pulled me toward the north, no further away than it had been last night. I assumed the thief had taken it to Olympia or Seattle, neither of which, to my knowledge, had beenpoisoned by technology. Unless, of course, the fracture was considered a poison.
“That is where you will find your second chance,” Clymene continued. Her mouth and eyes snapped shut, and she turned her head to the side, staring at something I could not see.
Second chance at what?
My concern mounted. I had no time for riddles and side quests. Several minutes ticked by before her milky white eyes focused back on me, and a single word passed over her lips with a shudder.
“Pripyat.”
Clymene’s fretful expression shifted into an easy smile. “Hello, Lord Dragon. What can I do for you?”
“What is Pripyat?” I asked.
Her face went blank, and she shook her head. “Pripyat?”
I should have known she would not remember the vision. She rarely did.
Her talent as a seer was indisputable. Even her most obscure visions had a way of proving themselves true, vindicating her gift time and again.
Yet she had failed to predict my mother’s murder.
Personally, I had no interest in her visions, so I moved on to the reason for my appearance. “The dream connection you forged between the thief and me… is there any way to keep her from breaking it?”
The centaur’s brow furrowed. “The thief?”
Had she forgotten the spell she had cast on me just last night? “Yes. I need to reinforce the dream connection between us.”
“That is inadvisable.”
“Why?”
She cleared her throat with a whinny. “The connection would be irreversible. And bilateral.”
It would be permanent. “Bilateral?” I asked. “Meaning she could potentially follow the thread back to my dreams?”
Clymene nodded. “Precisely.”
“Even a wolf?”
“Be wary of underestimating your adversary, Lord Dragon. She might surprise you.”
“And the warning you gave me last night would still hold true?”
Another nod. “Any injuries inflicted during the dream are real and will remain after you wake.”
“Until they heal,” I corrected.
She inclined her head in agreement.
I could kill Ziara in the dream world, but that would be cowardly and would not return my treasure to me. No, I would stare into the little thief’s eyes when she took her final breath.
“Will the permanent link prevent her from casting me out of her dreams?”
Rather than answering, the centaur pawed at the ground with a hoof, drawing a circle and filling it with shapes until she completed the rune of protection. Other such marks surrounded her. Catori had once explained that Clymene’s mind often visited other planes of existence, and the runes kept evil from following her back.
“Clymene?” I asked.
“The owner of the dream holds the advantage. She will always be able to cast you out, but if the link is permanent, she cannot keep you from returning.”
