The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2) [MOVING JUNE 30]

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Deal

The Claudias disappeared. The white walls collapsed.

"Excellent," Malcolm said, as if he hadn't just threatened Raveena with endless nightmares about the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Did he even know what memory he was digging up?

Raveena sat up in bed, gasping for air, disoriented by the sudden shift. Her room was shrouded in darkness, and a glance at the alarm clock revealed it was nearly midnight. She wondered, not for the first time, if getting rescued from SCI was worth the deal she'd made with Malcolm.

She left the comfort of her room to creep through the quiet halls of the Fortuna. When she made it to the cell block, she wasn't sure whether she should feel relieved that no one had stopped her.

The door closed behind Raveena with an ominous clang. She walked to Malcolm's cell, still moving slowly. Quietly.

"Oh, good. You made it," Malcolm said. He sat up in his cot.

"Let's just get this over with." Raveena sat down and leaned back against the wall across from his cell. "How long will this take, anyway?"

"I'm not sure."

Raveena groaned. "Seriously?"

"Believe me, I want this over with as quickly as you do. But how fast we move will depend on your skill manipulating the Dreamvoid."

Raveena did her best to get comfortable, but the cold, concrete floor of the cell block made it impossible. Thankfully, she was only on the ground for a few seconds before unconsciousness washed over her.

Her eyes opened in a dark forest. "Seriously? A bunch of trees?" Raveena turned in a slow circle. "I thought this place was supposed to be full of nightmares."

Malcolm appeared in her field of vision as she turned, in a spot that had been empty a few moments earlier. "It could be, if I pushed it." He lifted an eyebrow. "Or you. I don't know exactly how much control you'll have, especially given that this area was formed from my mind, but you should be careful all the same."

"Great," Raveena muttered.

"Follow me."

A few minutes of walking in nearly unbearable silence brought the two to a clearing. A tower at the center rose into the darkness above them, and a warm glow emanated from the top. Raveena squinted, desperately searching for detail and finding nothing.

Malcolm pointed toward the tower's roof. "I need something from the top of that," he said. "An object."

"I don't get it," Raveena said, her eyes still darting up and down the tower. "If we're in another...dimension—" She felt weird saying that, but Malcolm didn't correct her. "—and this place is based on our minds, how does grabbing an object here give it to you in the real world?"

"Because the object in question is originally from the real world," Malcolm answered. "I've moved things back and forth before. However, I was previously able to retrieve objects from a place I had access to. I can't get into this." His expression darkened. "It's very annoying. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be able to use my powers in here, but something's...blocking me."

"But you think I'll be able to do it?" Raveena asked.

"The Dreamvoid is shaped by the minds of people who are in it." Malcolm strolled forward. "Usually, they create nightmares beyond their control. But since you're lucid, I think you'll be able to manipulate it." He stopped at the base of the tower and looked up. "The fact that you weren't confused when we entered is promising."

Raveena glared at the back of his head. His explanations seemed to be mostly speculation. Does he even know what's going on, or is he just acting like it? Either way, she hated how cryptic he was. She moved to stand next to him and rested a hand on the tower's cool metal wall. "Is there a door?" she asked.

"Not that I've been able to find."

"Guess I'll have to make one, then." Raveena concentrated on the wall and pictured a door appearing. A section of metal morphed into wood. A handle took shape. Raveena grabbed it and pulled the door open.

Dozens of shadowy figures flew at her face. She screamed and flung up her hands to shield herself. The figures—bats, Raveena realized—shot past her and disappeared into the night.

"What was that about?" Raveena exclaimed as she rose to her feet. Her heart hammered in her chest, refusing to slow its pace even though the danger had passed. She glanced back at Malcolm.

He shrugged. "The object we're after is ancient and powerful. Whoever put it here wanted it to be well guarded."

"Can't I just clear the tower?" Raveena asked.

"I doubt even you have that much control."

Raveena narrowed her eyes. "This isn't going to get me killed, is it?" Catching rabies from dream bats would be a terrible way to go.

"I assure you, no physical harm will come to you while you are asleep," Malcolm replied.

"But what about my mind? You've messed people up by putting them in here."

"They didn't know what was happening to them. And we aren't facing our worst nightmares." Malcolm gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"

Raveena took a shaky breath and forced herself to step inside the tower. She was greeted by a staircase that spiraled up into darkness. With a sigh, she started the climb up, vaguely aware of Malcolm following behind her.

As they moved up the tower, they encountered obstacles much worse than bats. The stairs randomly caught fire, requiring Raveena to quickly extinguish them. An axe swung at them from above, and they barely dodged it. A large boulder came barreling down the stairway. Raveena made it disappear inches before it reached them. The more they faced, the more exhausted Raveena grew.

She didn't trust her sense of time in the Dreamvoid, but her perception was even worse than she expected. After climbing the stairs for what felt like twenty minutes, Malcolm said, "It's almost morning."

Raveena paused. Glanced back. "What?"

"In the real world. You should leave."

"But what about reaching the top?" Raveena's gaze returned to the darkness above.

"We'll have to continue tomorrow night," Malcolm said. "When we return, we'll be right where we left off."

He didn't give Raveena a chance to protest further. She was suddenly on the floor outside his cell, awake in her body. A twinge of pain in her back made her grimace as she sat up. That wasn't her body's only complaint about the cold concrete. An ache had settled into her neck, and muscles were sore all over. Maybe she'd bring a pillow next time.

Malcolm was already standing next to the cell bars. "That was more successful than I anticipated. With a few more trips, I think we'll be able to make it to the top just fine." He grinned. "See you tomorrow."

Cursing herself for making the stupid deal in the first place, Raveena hurried out of the cell block and back to her room. Despite technically having been asleep the whole night, she felt like she could sleep for a week.

She eagerly climbed into bed. Maybe she could squeeze in a few minutes of normal sleep before it was time to get up for breakfast.

But just moments after her eyes shut, her alarm went off.