Amazingly, despite all the crazy conditions, I did finally fall asleep. And even more incredibly, I found myself being swept into a spirit dream by someone else. As a lush tropical garden slowly materialized around me, I knew who the dream’s creator was even before she appeared.
“Hello, Sonya,” I said.
She emerged from behind a honeysuckle bush, wearing casual gardening clothes but with her red hair immaculately styled. “Adrian,” she said, by way of greeting. “You’re hard to find in sleep these days. I can’t tell what schedule you’re on.”
“Not much of any,” I admitted. “Haven’t had much sleep, really. We’ve been busy.”
“I’ve gathered as much. Rumor has it the Alchemists know you left Court now.”
“Afraid so.” I leaned against a palm tree. “You could have called if you wanted to talk.”
She nodded. “I know. But I wanted to chat face-to-face. There was also something you could only see in a dream. Or rather, someone.”
It took me a moment to realize what she meant. “Nina.”
Sadness filled Sonya’s features. “Yes. Her waking condition hasn’t changed very much. She’s not exactly comatose, but she’s also not particularly responsive. If you put food in front of her, she’ll eat it. Turn on a shower, she’ll stand under it. But she makes few decisions that aren’t initiated for her. And she never talks.”
The shock of that news made me reel, and I used a small bit of spirit to create a bench to sit on. “Is there any hope for improvement?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Sonya sat beside me. “I mean, I’m praying there is. I never want to say there’s no hope. But that spirit overload . . . it was too much, with too little preparation. She was in such a fragile state already from excessive use and in no way prepared to handle what she summoned. The scarring from it was formidable.”
My heart plummeted. “I should have stopped her somehow.”
“I don’t think you could have, Adrian. She was intent on doing whatever she thought she had to do to find her sister.”
I hesitated, almost afraid to speak my next words. “I found her. I found Olive and learned why she ran. But . . . well, the story doesn’t exactly have a happy ending.”
Sonya didn’t press me for details. “I’m not sure I’d tell her that.”
“Tell her?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you. When Nina wouldn’t respond in person, I tried reaching her in spirit dreams. That didn’t work either at first. Then I was able to—in a way. I’ll show you.”
She fell silent and stared off at a clearing in the garden. After several moments of intense concentration, a huge rectangular block of stone appeared. A small opening was cut into it, but that opening was covered in bars. I stood up and peered inside, gasping at what I saw. Nina sat there in the small stone cell, on the floor, wrapped in shadows.
“Nina!” I exclaimed.
She stared off at the stone wall, saying nothing, her face expressionless.
“Nina? Can you hear me?”
Sonya came to stand beside me. “I think she can, but I just don’t think she’s capable of responding.”
I gestured to the portable stone prison around her. “Where did this come from?”
“Her mind,” replied Sonya. “This is how she sees herself: trapped. But honestly? The fact that she appears this way at all is promising. Before, there wasn’t enough of her mind to form any sort of connection with. I’m hoping, in time, that she’ll advance further, so I try to talk to her either in person or in dreams. I thought you’d like to know, in case you want to visit as well.”
“I do,” I said, still coming to terms with the shock I felt at her condition. Even while imprisoned and tortured, Sydney’s mind had remained strong enough to connect at the spirit-dream level. What kind of damage had been done to Nina to put her in this state? Was this the danger I was courting with my continued spirit use?
“I think it’s good for different people to talk to her,” said Sonya carefully. “But I think certain topics are best avoided until she’s recovered. Like unhappy endings.”
She didn’t need to elaborate for me to understand. Knowing the truth—that Olive was dead—was probably not going to be therapeutic for Nina’s immediate recovery. I nodded and stepped back up to the stone cell’s window.
“I’m glad to see you again, Nina. There’s so much I want to tell you. A lot of it’s about Olive. And some of it . . . some of it’s really incredible.” I smiled as Declan came to mind. “You’re definitely going to want to hear about it, so you need to come back to us soon, okay?”
There was no response or change of expression, not even at the mention of Olive’s name.
“It’ll take time,” said Sonya, gently touching my arm. “But all of this helps.”
“Thank you for letting me know about her,” I said. As my gaze shifted back to Sonya, it hit me that she too would probably be very interested in knowing about Declan. I didn’t know for certain, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the way spirit was infused in him was exactly the feat she was trying to replicate for her vaccine. If she could see him, she might make incredible progress—and yet, that was exactly what Olive had been trying to avoid. It was what she’d died for.
“What is it?” asked Sonya, seeing my scrutiny.
I gave her a weak smile. “Nothing. There’s just a lot going on.”
“I can imagine—and I won’t keep you. I just wanted you to know Nina’s progress and see how you could talk to her.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving a Sonya a small hug. “I’ll keep checking in with her. Let me know if she wakes in the real world.”
The dream dissolved, and I returned to my own sleep, surprising myself when I slept in to almost noon at Howie’s. When I woke, another meal of junk food followed. I’d never wanted a salad so much in my life. I also learned from Marcus that Sabrina had sent an update from the Warriors’ compound. They were all inside and safe, and so far, their cover was holding.
That news got me through the day until evening came around, and an unknown car pulled up outside our safe house. I could see Marcus starting to freak out until I recognized Neil in the driver’s seat.
“Jackie Terwilliger sent me to fetch you,” he explained. “I helped get her out earlier and shake the Alchemists who were watching her house. She’s getting things ready for Alicia now.”