Dreamscape (30 page)

A picture can’t
tell him what his gut needs to know. He reads the proposal again then tosses it
on the heap. How will he ever decide who to give the last grant to?

The connection
severs. My eyes snap open. “He needs to go see Mr. Motwali at the Sindh Board
of Investment. The JICA team will be visiting soon and he has to make a
recommendation for the grant.”

“What does he
need to tell Mr. Motwali?” asks Jed.

I think for a
moment. “He needs to talk to him about baseball and long-shots.”

“What else?”

“He needs to
explain the simplicity of his plan.”

Zed paces in
front of me, looking over at me every few steps. “You are sure about this?”

I huff. “It’s
not like I have anything to go on here.”

He stops and
stares at me, folding his lean arms across his chest. “Sometimes experience is
a hindrance when new ideas are the order of the day.”

“His plan is
too risky.”

“Then tell him
to keep his options open. Sometimes a sideways angle is the best to take.”

I nod. “How am
I supposed to tell him this?”

“We need to
find him.”

Yeah right.
This place is crazy with its big buildings and waterways instead of streets.
I’ve never seen anything like it, and I hope I never do again. With so many
places to hide, the Erobos must love it here. “It has to be a long way from
here. It looks like a different city.”

Maybell leans
closer. “The Dreamscape rarely reflects the mortal realm. Most things and
people are symbolic. We must decipher his dream world to find him.”

My muscles
stiffen at the task. “How?”

“You have
established a connection to him. Let your mind wander. What comes first to
mind?”

“His
apartment,” I say. “It was really high up. I could barely make out more than
just shapes below, as if it was the penthouse, yet the actual space was tiny
and rundown.”

Zed asks, “What
do you think that represents?”

“Ambition,
maybe? He has big ideas, but little room to develop them.”

“Interesting.
What else comes to mind?”

“The lights
were out, but it was as if it wasn’t by choice. Maybe the building is
abandoned?” Before they can ask me, I give them my conclusion. “I think he’s on
the verge of giving up.”

Maybell shifts
beside me, her face brightening. “There’s a dark sector that lost power a week
ago. It could be there. There are plenty of towering structures. If he’s lost
focus, the streets could have changed, as well.”

Zed doesn’t
waste a moment before he says, “Lead the way.”

My mind has not
been on my tasks all night. I’ve delivered the majority of my dreams and
instilled hope where I could, but Amelia’s emotions keep pulling me out of the
moment.

I’ve never had
such a strong connection to a recruit. My feelings and desire for her are one
thing, but this is something else entirely.

We have not
mated, yet her presence lingers with me. If I am interpreting the situation
correctly, they have made some progress. She hasn’t experienced any fear,
except for a slight blip, since I left her.

Every moment
away from her leaves me further on edge. I have to trust her. I have to allow
her to grow. Her capabilities astound me. She has so much potential to succeed,
which only means she has as much or more potential to fail, like the rest of us
have already. I shouldn’t allow my thoughts to dip into negative waters.

It is a sure
sign of my vulnerability. If I do not make a connection with Amelia soon, I
will have to take other measures to protect my realm should the worst happen
and I fall.

I sincerely
hope she has given up her desire to leave me. Freedom is in the giving of
oneself, not in the taking of what one wants. Humans rarely understand this
until it is time for their passing from the mortal world.

Amelia has
barely lived, yet I expect her to understand concepts most aged adults would
not easily grasp. She is capable, and her life has been anything but easy. She
has learned much in her short years. Hers is an old soul, which is what matters.

I have saved my
hardest task of this night until this moment. It must be done before I can join
the others in the search for Olivia. Unfortunately, I have no desire to lock up
the world of my latest failure.

Even though he
was once my best field agent, he is lost to me now. I steel my heart and find
the portal.

Once through, I
gaze across the desolate landscape. What was once a thriving and vast
civilization is now a shambled array of carnage. The air is devoid of life and
a stagnate mire of filth rises up in its place. When the Erobos finally take
over a world, no hope remains.

The man I seek
comes to me instantly. He stands by my side, gazing out over the ruined valley
with me. “I had so much,” he says. “How did it fall?”

What he seeks
is reassurance that he can regain what he has lost, but he is beyond my help. I
can offer him no salvation, so I say nothing.

“You’ve given
up on me?” he asks, looking over at me, his eyes red and his cheeks sunken.

“You gave up on
yourself,” I say.

The pain in his
voice burrows deep in my heart. “You can’t let them have me.”

I give a
mournful shake of my head. “I no longer have power here, Daniel.”

His spine snaps
straight. “I can change. I will change.”

Despite the
conviction in his expression, shadows swirl in his darkening eyes. He has been
nearly changed. I clasp his shoulder, sadness filling me. “I hope so.”

He whirls
around, shrugging off my touch. “You don’t know! I will do it!”

I force a smile
and nod. As I turn to go, he grabs my forearm. At first I think he will argue
with me, but he stares into my eyes; only after a moment, he lowers his gaze.

If Daniel ever
does recover from his drug addiction, he might have a chance to come back, to
eject the vile influence that now resides inside him. I swallow my regret and force
myself to the portal. Before I set into destroying the last remaining entrance
to his world, I look at him. If only I could strengthen him. I tried in the
beginning. I focused much of my nightly efforts on him, but he gave in to
destructive desires. Pretty soon my attempts had no effect.

I give one last
effort. “I hope to see you soon, my friend.”

He doesn’t
respond. A bilious fog rises from the ground in snake-like tendrils. I’ve
overstayed, but I still do not wish to leave him here.

Taking one last
glance, I set the charge and walk through the portal. It implodes behind me,
creaking and moaning until nothing is left but silence.

How many more
will fall?

I try to
suppress my next thought, but it shoots through to the surface of my mind: will
they all? Will I? If only I could bring my team to my realm, again, I might
have a real chance of shielding them.

My teeth grind
together as I stalk away. No more will succumb if I have anything to say about
it. The Erobos may have taken Daniel from me, but I will not let them have
anyone else. Before I return to Amelia, I visit my team, one by one. They have
dwindled in numbers, which makes them only the more precious to me.

By my last
visit, my heart has loosened somewhat. I still ache for Daniel’s loss, but my
team remains strong.

With Amelia, we
might just have a shot at winning this war. A smile washes over me and I take a
deep breath, letting the cleansing light of her essence wash over me. With her
help, I could get Daniel back. I’ve left his world intact for now. Only if I
must will I seek the aid of my brothers to destroy it. He is worth saving. I
just hope he has the strength to shed the darkness.

With most of my
tasks out of the way, I make a detour. I have a certain dreamer to visit before
I locate Amelia.

Once Maybell
led us to the dark sector, she and Zed left it to me to locate Nabeel. I still
don’t know his last name, but it doesn’t much matter. His soul is in every part
of this place. He’s got quite an imagination, or whatever drives the landscape
here.

That being
said, the connection between waterway and regular streets wasn’t as monumental
as I thought it would be. We didn’t shoot down a gigantic waterfall onto a
spongy Park Avenue or anything like that. We came to a dock and parked our
boat, got into a deserted car, and headed for the inner city.

Maybell was
right. This entire area is not only dark, it is devoid of light, other than
that generated by the cars. Traffic continues to congest the farther we travel.
Along the way, I establish another connection with Nabeel.

He paces in
front of the long window, growing more agitated the closer we come to him.
“He’s freaking out,” I say.

“Define
‘freaking out,’” says Zed.

“He knows we’re
coming. I can’t be sure, but someone might be with him.”

Maybell’s cool
fingers come to rest on my forearm. “Calm him. Assure him we are here to help.”
She turns to Zed, who has taken on a smile. “We don’t know that it is Olivia.”

“How am I
supposed to do that?” I hiss, bringing her attention back to me. “I’ve never
even met this guy!”

Her voice comes
out soft, as if she is cooing a small child. “Let your intuition guide you. You
need to trust your instincts.”

My heart won’t
stop racing no matter how many calming breaths I take. Sweat drips down my
forehead and into my eyes. I wipe my brow and curl myself into a ball to keep
the pressure at bay.

Maybell bends
beside me. Her hand finds mine and pulls it out in front of her. Using broad
strokes, her fingers circle the inside of my wrist. “You mustn’t let his
emotions overwhelm you. Back away from him. Move to his periphery.”

With every
second that passes, my chest tightens. My breath is so rapid my head is
swimming. “How!”

“Focus on
my
voice,
my
touch. You are in control. You guide him. Slip away slowly.
Allow him to feel your retreat.”

As soon as the
words register, my mind clears enough for me to distinguish his emotions from
my own. He calms down slightly, but is still wary.

I can’t really
blame the guy. If this were me dreaming I would probably be thinking I was
having a nightmare. Is this how the Erobos affect people? The nightmare I
experienced in Charlotte’s dream was more than a feeling. It was an actual
presence. I can’t let my mind dwell on the Erobos.

One thing is
for certain. I don’t want to be Nabeel’s nightmare.

With tiny
movements, I approach him until he registers my presence again. I stay far
enough away that, hopefully, he won’t be threatened.

His heartbeat
flutters. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I speak to him. “Nabeel,
we’re here to help you. I need to tell you something very important. I want you
to be able to work on your satellites. To do that you need to convince Mr.
Motwali that your plan is the best.”

His interest
spikes, so I inch in closer. “Please, let us come up to your apartment so we
can talk.”

He doesn’t
respond right away, but it doesn’t take him long to lower the barrier that has
kept me from pinpointing his location. His soft voice in my mind startles me.
“You may come up. Only you.”

I glance at
Zed. “He wants me to go alone.”

Maybell shakes
her head, her eyes widening and her jaw slackening. Worry radiates from her,
but Zed stands with his legs wide apart, stroking his beard. He doesn’t say a
word. He just lowers his head in a nod.

I nod back
before I take off, adrenaline pumping through me. Amped up as I am, I bypass
the elevators and take the stairs. My feet fly up each step until I come to his
floor and race down the hall. At the end of the hall, a shabby green door shows
layers of red and yellow paint between the cracks in the finish.

My fingers
slide around the metal and twist. Nabeel waits for me on the other side.

“Come in,” he
says, grasping my wrist and pulling me through the doorway.

Heat engulfs me
and I gasp. Stagnant air tightens my throat. This is all wrong. Something isn’t
right here. I whirl around, expecting to see big brown eyes watching me.

The eyes are
brown, but the keeper of those eyes sneers at me. The man’s body grows and
fills in, his features morphing into the last man I want to see. Well, maybe
not the last, but close.

“Ian?” I choke
out, covering my nose and my mouth to keep the haze out of my lungs.

Behind him, a
body is sprawled out on the floor. Nabeel, no doubt. The real one.

“What are you
doing here?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at Seth’s volatile brother.

He ignores my
question, moving toward Nabeel.

I rush forward.
“Leave him alone,” I tell Ian, intending on booting him in the head if he does
anything suspicious.

He scoffs,
rolling his eyes. “Help me. We don’t have much time.”

“I don’t trust
you,” I tell him.

A dark grunt
rushes out of him. “Shut up and secure the room.”

“What?” I cross
my arms, trying to cover my choking with a smirk. “You mean you’re not going to
kill me?”

He smirks back.
“Later. Right now, we have to help Nabeel.”

I press my lips
together, taking in his long frame and violent eyes. “Not really seeming like
the good guy to me. How do I know you didn’t set this up?”

Ian straightens
and takes a step toward me. “Shut up and secure the room!”

Stiffening, I
give him the stink eye. “Why don’t
you
shut up and secure the room; I’ll
see to Nabeel.”

He doesn’t say
a word, but he watches me as he backs away. That’s right, keep going. I’m
tempted to gloat, but I’m too worried about the man at my feet.

I kneel beside
him, and, as absurd as it is, I feel for a pulse in his neck. “Can you get rid
of this smog, or whatever the hell this stuff is?”

“I’m working on
it,” says Ian, casing the room.

I cup Nabeel’s
cheeks and tilt his head back and forth. “Nabeel?” I say. When he won’t rouse,
I slap his cheeks lightly. “Nabeel, you need to wake up.” The absurdity of my
comment isn’t lost on me. We’re in his dream, after all. “Nabeel,” I say in a
harder tone.

His eyes
flutter and he groans, but he doesn’t wake up. A ginormous cockroach flits
across the floor near the top of his head. Vomit rises up my throat. Who the
hell dreams about cockroaches?

Before he can
pass out again, I lift him to a sitting position. He’s not much bigger than I
am and he’s way skinnier, anorexic thin. I sure hope he’s not this bad off in
real life.

The reason I’m
here hits me again. With my mind finally focused on my task, I move to help him
to his feet.

Finally, his
eyes open and settle on me. “Who are you?” he asks, wariness written all over
him.

“Amelia. I’m
here to help you.”

Nabeel looks
over at Ian, still skeptical. “What about him?”

I shrug. “No
idea. Look. This is a dream, but I need you to remember a few things when you
wake up. It’s important that you listen to me.” He nods. “You need to go see
Mr. Motwali. Your plan is too out there for him, so you need to tone it down.
Tell him you’d like to enhance wind turbine output.”

“How am I
supposed to do that?” he says, indignant. “My life’s work has been in solar
energy.”

“It doesn’t
matter. You have to get him on your side. Once he knows you can work and have
new innovations, your solar idea will be easier to sell. Use an in-road of some
kind to work over to solar. The most important thing for you to do is talk to
him about baseball.”

He blinks his
big eyes at me a few times. Man, I’d kill for those lashes. His voice holds a
level of amusement amidst clear confusion. “But I don’t know a thing about
baseball.”

“You don’t need
to. All you need to do is notice his game ball and ask him what it is. He keeps
it on his desk, so it should be pretty obvious. He also has a picture of Babe
Ruth on his wall. Ask him who he is. Chat him up. Do whatever you have to do to
make him laugh.”

He cocks his
head. “How will that help me secure the grant? I can no longer sustain myself.
I eat one meal a day. If he doesn’t choose me, I will lose everything I have.
All of my work, my research, will be for naught.” He pales to the point that
he’s nearly see through.

I clasp his
arm. “Don’t think about that. Convince him you’re the best man for the job.
Show him how versatile you are. The Japanese will approve his recommendation.
If he’s behind you, you’re golden.”

“How will I
ever remember all of this?” he asks.

Ian walks over
to us, irritation eating up his features. “Close the deal, Chit. We need to
leave.”

The minute
we’re out of here, I’m going to find a way to cause Ian pain. “What’s going
on?”

“In case you
didn’t notice, we’re surrounded by Erobos.”

A chill slips
over me. I focus on Nabeel. “You need to wake up now. Remember what I told
you.”

Nabeel looks
from me to Ian and back again. “How do I wake myself up?”

Ian huffs. “We
don’t have time for this.” He walks over to Nabeel, picks him up, and hurls him
through the window. Glass shatters and scatters everywhere, following Nabeel to
the pavement below.

My scream catches
in my throat as Ian stalks toward me, his intentions clear on his face. I throw
out my hands to stop him. He said he’d kill me later, but I didn’t think he
would attempt it this soon. And I sure as heck didn’t think he’d kill our
target in the process.

Even though I’m
fast, I’m not fast enough. Ian’s strong arms band around me, but instead of
tossing me like he did Nabeel, he jumps out the window with me in his arms.
What is it with these guys and falling?

Ian twists me
around, midair, so I’m pressed to him, front to front, staring over his
shoulder at the gaping hole we just came from. Daegan stares back at me, pure
hate in his light eyes. I glance at Ian, not quite sure how to react now that I
know he was telling the truth. Do I know he hasn’t been lying? Is this some
sort of trick?

“What? No
brilliant retort you want to share?”

“Thanks,” I
say. “That was close.”

“Hold on to
me,” he says. “This is going to be rough.”

“What are you
talking abou—”

The world
around me twists, collapsing in on itself like an accordion. Gigantic buildings
deflate as if the air is being let out of them. Ian pulls me tighter against
him. The pavement rushes toward us. I cringe the moment before we hit. I’m
going to die. I’ve been here before though, and I didn’t die. Besides, the real
me is tucked away in Seth’s library.

Ian’s feet bang
against the pavement and we spring forward toward the sparkling windows of the
skyscraper in front of us. Instead of using the gleaming surface as a portal,
he twists at the last second and screeches to a stop.

Maybell crashes
around the corner, followed by Zed.

“Where’s
Nabeel?” I ask, searching for him amidst the rubble.

Ian places me
on my feet. “No time.”

“Portal?” asks
Maybell.

Calm as ever,
Zed lifts his brows. “Follow me.”

“What about Olivia?”

“If she’s here,
she will find a way out.”

He doesn’t even
run, but he’s moving so fast it’s an impossibility. Still, he’s doing it. I
rush forward, nearly keeping up, but not quite.

Maybell turns
around to come after me. Ian lifts his hand and she shrugs before he even
speaks. “I’ll get her.”

She picks up
her pace and catches up to Zed. Since it’s Ian, I don’t want him near me again,
so I find a way to move faster. He laughs when I pass him, which makes me want
to blow past him completely.