Asleep

53 His Plans for Her

"An interesting idea."

I stop, my heart pounding. "Don't you understand sarcasm?"

"You're a Class One."

I feel the ground open up underneath me. "No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"I'm not going to get Nora pregnant."

Clicking his tongue, he strolls past me. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

I follow him out of the room. "Don't get ahead of myself?"

He waves his hand with a flourish, dismissing my question.

We enter the Hall, walking between the rows of dreamers before stopping in front of Nora's bed. Her long brown hair fans around her face, her neck, her shoulders. Her eyes are shut, hiding the blue that's underneath them and her lips are barely parted.

She's one sleeping beauty in a room of thousands.

There's a faint smell of lemon verbena soap, which means someone must have recently washed her. I usually do my best to avoid thinking about how when I'm in the dream for long periods of time, someone has to partly undress me in order to clean me off. I've never allowed myself to ask who on the staff washes the dreamers.

"I know I warned you about getting attached to her—that she's mine, but having her take her father's place, that's wholly unoriginal of me. Your idea though is so inspired."

I feel myself shrinking into my body, curling into a dried-up husk. When I brought up the pedigree comment, I was angry—disgusted at him for choosing her as the next master dreamer. In that moment, I wanted him to know just how awful I thought he was.

"Of course," he continues, "we still have to determine whether she's a Class One. Why don't you arrange for her to have dinner with us at your house? Call it your first date."

I keep my eyes on Nora's face. "It wouldn't be much of a date if you're there."

"I want to meet the girl my son's dating."

I tap my fingers against my leg. "We're not dating. You just decided on this inane plan. And you've already met her. You'll recall the last time that you did caused her to hate me."

Shaking his head, he eyes me and lets loose a huff from his nose. "Hewn can take care of that. Make her forget that day. He can even make her completely and entirely in love with you."

My knees threaten to buckle, and I try to subtly lean against her table. "If you want us to have children, you'll have to wake her up, and those feelings would be gone, replaced with the memories of what we did." Grandpa made sure memories in these dreams aren't wispy like those from normal dreams.

He eyes me long and hard. "There'd be no need to wake her up."

The bagels and eggs in my stomach rise up my throat, and I breathe deeply, trying to make my breaths even.

"Charlie?" Dad places his hand on my shoulder.

"Give me a chance to talk to her before you go to Hewn, please." My voice sounds distant, the colors in the room grayer, more muted. "If you don't need to alter her memories, leave them alone. Besides, you don't know how altering her memories could affect her discovering her powers."

"I want the dinner arranged for tomorrow night."

"Dad, be reasonable for once—"

"If I were to have Hewn take care of this, the dinner could be tonight."

"You have a meeting with Cobbs tomorrow night."

"And? Cobbs can reschedule. Take care of this, Charlie. Or I will."

He leaves me, and I try to get my bearings back. I pull out my phone and text Hewn.

I'm coming to meet with you now. It can't wait.

Hewn: I'm in my office in Somnia

As I'm deleting the texts—I don't trust Dad not to read them—a text from Nora comes through.

Menagerie?

There in front of me is Nora asleep, but within her mind she's living her life, texting me without any idea that I'm standing over her right now.

Communication between the dream and reality has always been a part of my life—a fact. I don't imagine Nora would be able to accept so easily just how blended reality and dream are here.

I delete her text and head for a launching room. I'll respond to her after I ensure Hewn will leave who she is intact.

*****

Hewn's office in Somnia is orderly. Tidy. All smooth surfaces and curves.

He looks up over the edge of his holo-screen, the picture of bored, not the least bit startled at me appearing in the center of his office only seconds ago. "How can I help you?"

"I've got a problem." I debrief him on what Dad plans to ask him to do to Nora's memories.

He shuts off his holo-screen and folds his hands together. "What Dad wants, he gets."

"I'll tell him about the res."

Hewn rolls his eyes. "We went through this. He won't believe you."

"That may be, but I just got a long story from Dad about what he does to people who go behind his back. Are you willing to take the chance he won't believe you and risk losing the western facility? I'm sure Thomas would love a promotion."

His throat bobbing, he drums his fingers against his maple-wood desk.

"Of course, no matter what he does to you, Sabine's punishment will be far worse. She did invent the res."

His fingers curl into a fist. "You would stab your family in the back over a girl you can't even consider a friend?"

I place my hands on his desk and lean forward. "Absolutely."

Silent, he stares at me, his jaw clenched. Finally, he says, "Very well."

I back up, feeling some of my tension fade. "Thank you." Now I have to convince Nora to act as if she's falling in love with me or at least act like she's open to the possibility. I know she could pull it off. I just don't know if she would.

"Don't ever ask anything of me again, Charlie."

"I'd prefer not to."

Exiting his office, I pull out my phone and text Nora.

Care for a trip to the jungle?

Pace has been manipulating Nora's life since before she was even born.

Also I'm participating in the BootcampMentors bootcamp as a mentor again this year. You can find details on their profile in their guidebook about how you can apply to work with a mentor!