The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Deal

Raveena dreaded falling asleep.

The first night after the altered had been rescued from SCI, Malcolm had showed up in her dream to inform her he was busy with something else at the moment, and he'd come back to get her help in a couple of days.

That time had finally come. By the time Raveena came to her senses in her dream, Malcolm was already waiting. The world around them was dull, a faded memory of an office building Raveena had spent a few weeks hiding in last year.

"All right," Raveena said, folding her arms. "What do you want from me?" Maybe she could get this over with quickly.

Malcolm swept his gaze across their surroundings. "I need you to help me retrieve something," he said. His gaze returned to Raveena. "But it's in the Dreamvoid."

Raveena ignored the chill that ran down her spine. She'd known this was coming. "Okay, how do we get there? You can transport us, right?"

"I could, but you're not close enough," Malcolm told her. "I can only access your dreams from a distance. I need to be much closer to move your consciousness into the Dreamvoid. Just like how I can't force you to fall asleep from down here."

Realization dawned on Raveena. "You need me to come to the cell block."

"Exactly."

"How am I supposed to do that without getting caught?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Others have managed it."

"What?"

"A few other people have come to talk to me already."

"Why would they do that?" Raveena asked, frowning.

Malcolm flashed her a grin. "I'm very popular."

Who had talked to him? Eric, maybe? Sam? Raveena wouldn't put it past them.

"Listen, the cell's not closely guarded. They don't check on me at night, and they rarely look at the cameras," Malcolm continued. "You'll be fine."

"I don't know." Raveena shifted nervously. She wasn't even sure what kind of trouble getting caught would entail. But finding out probably wouldn't be fun.

Malcolm lifted his chin. "You should be far more scared of me than any consequences you'd face if you got caught."

Raveena's eyes narrowed. "And why is that, exactly? You said yourself you can't put me in the Dreamvoid from this far away."

"Maybe not. And I've yet to gain much control over people's dreams."

"Yet?" Raveena muttered.

"But I have been practicing," Malcolm said. "I think I can push your mind in the right direction. Even from the other side of the ship."

The world around them shifted. The white walls of Scorpion's old lab closed in on Raveena, sending her heart racing. "Wait—" she started.

A younger version of Claudia appeared behind Malcolm. Light glinted off the gun in her hand.

It's just a dream, Raveena reminded herself as Claudia walked toward her. I'm in control. She concentrated on making Claudia disappear. As the woman vanished, another copy of her appeared.

"You want to test my power?" Malcolm asked. "I can do this all night."

Raveena spun around as more copies of Claudia emerged from the walls. When she found herself facing Malcolm again, she willed him to leave to the dream, but he stayed where he was. "I really can't kick you out of here?"

Malcolm laughed. "You can't control me," he said. "Claudia's a product of your dreaming mind, but I'm real."

Raveena's fists clenched. She had no choice. "Fine," she said. "I'll come to the cell block."