Chapter 28

Pom showsup as soon as I enter the dream world, and I pet him to relax a little before attempting the multibody technique from Leal's diary.

Just as before, I create a second body for myself far away from where I stand, in case that helps. Next, I exit my current body and will myself to come back into both.

Nope. I end up in the original body.

I do it again, straining my willpower.

I end up in the farther body instead of the original, but not in both.

"I guess that's still something," Pom says dubiously. "You've learned a type of teleportation."

"Right, but that's not what I need."

Still, Pom has a point. This is a way to teleport around the dream world. Then again, isn't going to a different dream already teleportation? Or is that building reality around myself?

Leaving the metaphysics for later, I exit my body, create one in the tower of sleepers, and dismiss the original one. Reentering myself, I end up in the tower—functional teleportation.

Hey, it's something.

For good measure, I test out the multibody technique once more and fail. I guess there's no helping it. I'll need to deal with the werewolf the usual way, in one body.

I teleport to his nook, turn invisible, and touch him the same way I did in the waking world.

* * *

As soon asI materialize inside Eduardo's dream world, I see what the problem is—and it's a big one.

Somehow, the werewolf is having two dreams at the same time, something I've never experienced and didn't think possible. The two dreams are juxtaposed on top of each other, at least from my point of view, like two movie projectors playing different movies aimed at the same screen.

In one dream—a violent nature show—Eduardo is in wolf form, ripping a gazelle to shreds and relishing the feeling of warm blood in his maw. In the other dream, Eduardo the man is doing it doggy style—or is it wolfy style?—with a woman I don't recognize.

Could she be Albina?

It's hard to tell, especially with the sex and violence crossing over into each other.

The wolf abruptly stops eating, raises his bloodied muzzle, and sniffs the air. Looking right at me with animal eyes, he howls and bounds forward. At the same moment, the naked man stops thrusting and twists to look at me.

I want to run, but the two environments make it difficult to orient myself, and pain explodes in my neck as the wolf's teeth bite down.

Before he can shut those jaws and kill me, I wake myself up.

* * *

Back in my real body,my heart is hammering so hard I'm afraid it'll punch a hole through my ribcage. If the wolf had dug his teeth any deeper, I'd have died in the dream and would be homicidal right about now.

Speaking of homicidal, the way Kain is looking at me isn't good.

"I'm sorry." I back away. "I couldn't check his alibi."

"You what?" His fangs slide out.

"I knew this might happen. Werewolves are difficult to dreamwalk in."

Kain's eyes turn into mirrors. "Tell me the truth," he orders in a tense version of his usual honey-laced voice.

I speak robotically without meaning to. "He was dreaming two dreams at once, one for the wolf side and one for the man side. Before I could manipulate anything, he lunged at my—"

Kit bursts in. "What's going on here?"

"I release you," Kain spits at me. He turns to Kit. "I used glamour to finally get some truth out of this useless blood bag."

She frowns at me. "You're susceptible to glamour?" Glancing back at Kain, she says, "If you knew you could get her to tell the truth that way, why didn't you clear her of guilt at the hearing?"

Great question. I bet the answer is he needed me as bait to unmask the killer. Or maybe he'd hoped I'd actually solve the stupid case.

"Why are you here?" he asks Kit harshly.

"Isis woke me." Her anime-like form ripples and becomes the healer's. "She told me what happened to Albina, said Bailey mentioned a werewolf."

My attention drifts back to Eduardo. Despite seeing me in his dream, despite my waking up, and despite everyone's raised voices, the werewolf is not only still sleeping, he's dreaming like a baby.

"We should take this conversation elsewhere," I whisper, figuring that if they force me to go back into his dream—something I'd like to avoid at all costs—it's better if he stays in REM sleep.

They both glance at the sleeping werewolf and head out, with Kit assuming her usual guise on the way.

As we exit the apartment, a soul-wrenching noise blasts through the castle. It sounds as if someone's trying to replicate a bomb explosion with some infernal string instrument.

"What was that?" I exclaim when the noise stops.

My ears are still ringing.

Kit turns into a woman I've never seen. "Emergency meeting call for the Council."

"That sound could wake the dead." I sneak a glance at the werewolf's quarters.

"It's what happens when you let a siren onto the Council." Kain grabs my wrist. "Let's go."

I blink at that. "Your siren is a siren?"

"Hey, the monks used trumpets before that," Kit says, turning back into herself. "This is much better."

Without comment, Kain herds me through the corridors until I see Filth standing next to a familiar door.

"If she leaves her quarters, kill her," Kain tells him.

Filth gives me a look that seems to say, Please leave. Pretty please with a blood cherry on top.

"See you soon," Kit says as Kain pushes me in and slams the door behind me.

Great. The Council is going to meet, and I'm not going to be there to speak for myself.

I'm so screwed.

Washing my hands in the sink soothes me a little; sanitizing them after calms me even more. Grabbing a banana, I pace the room as I chew. When I tire of pacing, I sit on the chair and eat four more bananas in a row.

It's been at least an hour. How long does a stupid Council meeting take? I'll go crazy if I keep waiting here.

I grab hold of Pom's fur and enter the dream world.

* * *

"Doesn'tthis make the wait even worse?" Pom asks when I apprise him of my situation. "Time feels like it passes much slower here."

"But here, I have you." I fluff the fur on top of his head. "Besides, I can also do something useful here."

I teleport to the tower and float around a bit, looking at the sleepers available to dreamwalk in. There's Felix, but I leave him alone. He deserves some sleep after that sleep deprivation marathon I put him through. I look for Nina but don't find her, which is too bad. I want to discuss something important with her. It makes sense she's not here, though; she's at the Council meeting.

Interestingly, though, some other Councilors are sleeping—skipping the meeting to do so. This includes Eduardo the werewolf, the deep sleeper himself.

"Is that good for you or bad for you?" Pom asks when I point this out.

"Good, I guess. Most of the sleepers voted to kill me, so if there's another vote taking place right now, their absence will help my cause."

Pom gives the sleeping werewolf a pouty glare. "Do you plan to enter his dreams again?"

"No pucking way." I fly past the werewolf's room without a second thought. "I'll just work on Bernard again."

I approach the Mario/Wario doppelg?nger.

Yep. He's still got clouds indicative of a trauma loop—and I already saw his child get kidnapped and his wife leaving. How much worse can it get?

Bracing myself, I touch his forehead.

* * *

Bernard is sittingon the edge of his seat in a courtroom. His wife and daughter are in a separate section, and he gives them a longing look they don't return. He turns to glare at the defendant, a wiry, balding middle-aged man with shifty eyes. As if he feels Bernard's death stare, the man turns around and winks at him nastily, then looks back at the judge, who's holding a paper in her hands.

"The bastard did it," Bernard mutters under his breath. "He did it, and he's mocking me."

The judge begins to speak, commanding Bernard's full attention. He looks like he's holding his breath.

"…find the defendant not guilty," the judge states.

Bernard leaps to his feet. "That's bullshit! The—"

The dream cuts off before he can be held in contempt of court.

Wow. I feel another trauma loop coming on. This is probably a record number. Most people have one, maybe two. Did Valerian know how tough this job would be? Is that why he paid me extra? Or maybe he simply needs the final results that badly—results I've yet to produce.

Speaking of Valerian, I feel a sudden urge to take a break from Bernard's doom and gloom and revisit my uber-attractive employer in my dream bedroom. I can think of many ways his simulacra could make the time pass. He could feed me plump, juicy grapes, massage my feet with his strong, warm hands, use that sensual mouth for—

"Bailey," Kit's voice booms. "Wake up."

There goes that idea.

I come out of my trance, the taste of sweet grapes fading from my tongue.