Felix rubs his eyes. “What the hell is going on?”
“This is a dream,” I say patiently.
He doesn’t look like he believes me, so I change our environment to the place where I usually perform talking therapy—a pillowy cloud floating above a soothing ocean.
“A dream?” Felix plops onto the plush white couch my patients like to sit on.
“An unrealistic one, at that.” I perch on a cushy, fleece-covered chair that appears conveniently under my butt. “Think about it. The warehouse was in Manhattan, as in Earth, but there are no pucks on Earth. Also, the pucks could’ve—and would’ve—killed the girl first, then attacked you. And that You’re my only hope bit… Would anyone really say that, outside of Star Wars?”
I can see the dawning comprehension in his eyes.
“Don’t feel bad. Dreams are my thing, after all.”
He swivels his head from side to side, taking in our surroundings. “Unreal. I was totally clueless.”
“It’s hard to question dream reality.” I let my hair go fiery again.
He looks awed. “It’s like being in The Matrix.”
Oh, crap, his favorite. If I don’t change the subject, I’ll get an earful. “I wanted to ask you about this Council that kidnapped me. I have a vague idea of how they work, but I could use more details.”
“Hold on.” He sits straighter. “How’d you get into my dreams? You’re in that limo with the vampires.”
I’d hoped he wouldn’t question this part. “I had a connection with you already.”
“Since when?”
I sigh. “Remember how you fell asleep during that video game design course we took together?”
“Nooo…”
“Well, you did.” I change the environment around us to match that classroom, so he can see what I saw that day: his head on the desk, some drool in the corner of his mouth. “See how your eyes are twitching? That’s REM sleep. Too good an opportunity to pass up.” I pantomime touching his forehead. Of course, when I’d really done it, there was hand sanitizer involved.
“So you snuck into my dream without my permission?” His voice rises, and I worry he might try to wrestle control of his dream world from me—something I can fight but prefer not to, especially with a friend.
“This was right after you hacked my laptop and made fun of my project,” I remind him.
“That’s different. This is a much bigger invasion of privacy.”
“You started it.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine. What was it that you wanted to know about the Council?”
“Anything you can tell me. Pretend I know nothing.”
“Right,” he says in a professorial tone. “In that case, the Councils are a form of government. Their main objective is to make sure the Cognizant remain hidden from humans.”
“Okay, maybe not so basic.” I stand up to pace along our cloud.
“Then I don’t know what to tell you.”
“How about something that can help me?”
He considers it for a moment. “Councils are made up of the most powerful Cognizant in the region they cover. The New York Council is among the most powerful Councils on Earth.”
I roll my eyes. This is going nowhere fast. “So?”
“So don’t piss them off.”
“That’s a huge help, thanks. Any other pearls of wisdom you wish to impart?”
His unibrow furrows. “Well, yeah. Think about it: The very fact that the Enforcers took you to see the Council is good news.”
“Oh?”
“Without the Mandate, your standing in our community is shaky at best. They could’ve just killed you on the spot, and no one would’ve said boo.”
I halt my pacing. “Some government.”
“Before going to sleep, I tried using my powers to figure out what they want. Unfortunately, their computers aren’t connected to the human internet.”
He tried to hack them? Is he nuts? “Don’t do anything that’ll make them come for you next.”
“Nothing I can do, anyway.” He studies me. “Do you seriously have no idea what they might want?”
“No clue. I only know a couple of people from this Council, and the most powerful of them isn’t even on Earth at the moment.” I run my fingers through my fiery hair, sending embers flying. “There’s Kit—you know, the shapeshifter? We met at the rehab where I work. I think she likes me, and she’s on the Council. Maybe she can help? I doubt she’s behind whatever this is.”
Felix nods. “Kit’s good people.”
I strain my memory for anyone else on the Council. “Hey, maybe it’s—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Pom appears next to me, his fur light orange.
Felix’s eyes widen improbably yet again. “What is that?”
“I told you about Pom.” At Felix’s blank stare, I clarify, “My looft.”
“The fuzzy bracelet?” Felix eyes my currently naked wrist.
I grin. “In here, Pom looks like this.”
Pom bends his short, chubby legs in a curtsy. “Nice to meet you, Felix. This dream isn’t as bad as Bailey made it out to be.”
Felix studies him warily. “Thanks… I think.”
“I think it’s best you wake up now,” I tell him.