“We’re not just trying to save Necronian lives.” Valerian’s eyes gleam with menace. “We have to catch Icelus agents so they can be questioned.”
Kit morphs into a giant spider I’ve seen once before. “Questioned, tortured… who wants to split hairs?” she growls through a set of mandibles.
Seeing Maxwell’s terrified reaction, Kit becomes herself again and winks at the poor guy.
“Our walking-talking encyclopedia is done,” Stanislav says, looking across the street.
Sure enough, Dylan is sprinting toward us, Fabian on her tail.
“So,” Maxwell says when she reaches us. “Can you cure me?”
Panting, she shakes her head. “That lab isn’t equipped for research. If I already knew the chemical formula for the cure, maybe I could make it there. As is, it would take longer than the time you have left. I think we’d better follow the protocol we established in the case of contamination.”
Ariel lifts her eyebrows. “We planned to get sick?”
“A medical team of vampires and quarantine rooms are waiting for us at the hub on Gomorrah,” Dylan says. “If Maxwell rushes back, he can be there in a day.”
“Unless the Overtaken kill him,” Itzel says. “Or the virus makes him too weak.”
“He’ll need an escort,” I say. “Which could actually solve our other problem.” I wave at Chester, Kit, Nina, and Colton.
“I agree,” Valerian says. “Chester has a day before he turns, the others even longer. That gives them time to escort Maxwell to Gomorrah.”
“Good plan.” Kit transforms into that creepy plant-like creature without a mouth and nose.
“It’s an outstanding plan,” Nina says. “Except for the part where we walk with the sick guy.”
“Kit and I can stay close to him while you and Colton keep your distance,” Chester says. “With two masks and my luck, I shouldn’t catch the virus.”
No one has the heart to tell him that if his luck had worked, it would’ve protected him from becoming an Overtaken.
“Here.” Chester hands Ariel the handle of his gate sword. “Your group will need this more than ours.”
Ariel takes the artifact reverently and gives Chester her own sword in return.
“This actually works out,” Felix says.
Everyone looks at him like he’s lost some mission-critical marbles.
“Maxwell will take himself and samples of infected blood to Gomorrah.” Felix folds his pinky. “They develop a cure.” He folds his ring finger. “We tell Necronians how to make it.” He folds his middle finger. “Then all we have to do is catch Icelus and go back.” He triumphantly folds his index finger.
“How simple,” Itzel says with an eye roll. “Maybe it should’ve always been the plan to kill half our party?”
“We’ll need a way to stay in contact,” Maxwell says. “To that end, can you please lie on the ground?”
Everyone looks at everyone else. No one wants to say what we’re all thinking—the virus has clearly gotten into his brain.
“I meant Dylan,” Maxwell says. “Please, I don’t have much time.”
Gingerly, Dylan lies on the ground.
Maxwell extends his hand and closes his eyes.
Instantly, Dylan’s eyes also close, and her body relaxes.
Wait. She can’t be—
But she is. My new senses confirm it. Maxwell has not only made Dylan fall asleep; he’s put her right into REM cycle.
“How did you do that?” I exclaim excitedly.
Maxwell doesn’t reply. He’s clearly setting up a dreamwalk session with Dylan.
Would I meet him if I set up a link myself? I’ve never dreamwalked in someone who already had another dreamwalker in their mind, and the idea sounds interesting.
If it weren’t for the virus, I’d try it. As is, though, I feel irrational repugnance at the idea of ending up face to face with Maxwell, even in the dream world. It’s probably my fear of germs, but I can’t help feeling that there’s more to Maxwell than it seems, that he’s hiding some secret.
Hold up. He’s a dreamwalker. Could he be the Nutcracker? His job is to coordinate communication between Otherlands the way the Icelus dreamwalker does, so how ironic would it be if they were the same person? He could then anticipate every move against Icelus—the perfect spy.
I need to talk to Valerian about this. Soon.
“Done,” Maxwell says, bringing me out of my suspicion-filled fugue.
Looking disoriented, Dylan gets up from the ground.
“Let’s go,” Maxwell says.
“How did you put her into REM sleep like that?” I ask.
Maxwell looks at me as though for the first time. “That’s something we dreamwalkers can just do.”
“Not me, and I’m a dreamwalker.”
“No one taught it to you on… your home world?” he asks haltingly.
“You mean on Soma?” I ask on a hunch.
Maxwell’s eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “We really have to make haste,” he says hurriedly. “It’s literally a life-and-death situation.”
With that, he rushes into the station.
“Good luck,” Chester says to us and follows the dreamwalker.
Colton takes off his backpack and hands it to Fabian, the only member of the party big enough to carry it. With a farewell, the giant lumbers after Chester. Lacking a mouth in her plant form, Kit blows us an air kiss before she goes, while Nina just waves and follows the others.