to go through the Rêves to see if Lambert is inside.”
Jordan wasn’t satisfied. “Lambert could be in the EU’s Complex, though, or the black market, or even in someone else’s dreamscape.”
Vince had come out of the room and was leaning in the doorway, listening to her half of the conversation.
“Well, we don’t have access to any of that shit,” Maisie said. “And apparently, Lambert has been working out of the Agora lately. Fawkes did his proxying thing the other night, so we know Lambert is playing there. Maybe he’s holding the kid there, too. If so, that’s where Malcolm will be headed.”
Okay, fine. It was something at least. “So where and when do we meet?”
“We haven’t gotten that far yet. Fawkes just made a couple of calls. His contact is going to look into it, and you’re going to have to chill for a while.”
No way could she sit around waiting. “I can’t chill.”
“Yeah, I know .”
“So what do I do?”
“Practice.”
CHAPTER SIX
Rook squinted against the stinging grains of Scrape sand to the light in front of him. Where before the Agora had been an oasis in the storm, now the shining wall surrounding it looked like the fortification of a prison, one he had to get past without capture. The dust storm raged at him and Alec Murs, but though Mirren’s hair was whipped around, she seemed otherwise unaffected. Lucky her.
Rook put his hand to the wall to get a sense of what kind of dream was beyond it and discovered many revelers in a crush, which made him think, Party . He could use that to his advantage: it would take Chimera longer to get to them if people were in the way. He’d have thirty seconds at most to locate an Agora column’s interface and use its controls to access the secure Rêve where Murs thought Lambert was holding the boy.
“You’ll have to be ready with the codes for the Rêve,” Rook said to Murs. “We won’t have time.” They’d probably get caught. And if they didn’t, then any number of things could go wrong. For example, Lambert was probably in there with his grandson.
Which was most likely why Murs was helping Mirren.
It was probably a trap, but Rook couldn’t do anything about that now. He’d have to improvise when they got there.
Rook pushed against the energy that comprised the Agora wall, and the light went hazy, dimmer. First Murs crossed, then Mirren, and then finally Rook.
The party bounced around them— oh God, some rich kid’s Sweet Sixteen . The flashing lights were blinding, with fireworks exploding the night sky overhead with the name KAILEY appearing in gold sparkle script while a castle rose out of the ground, lifting some revelers up with the turrets and bulwarks. The air smelled like champagne and sugar. The birthday girl was astride a white unicorn, which Rook thought was supposed to symbolize innocence, but she had so much cleavage spilling out of her red bustier that he shook his head and got to work.
A wave of his hand and an Agora column suddenly speared up into the sky, dotting Kailey’s i . The columns meant safety for revelers, but they also acted as the hubs from which Chimera agents worked to search, control, and access Rêves. Rook found the control panel and tapped the screen to display a menu of active Rêves. “Which Rêve is it?”
Murs took his place at the column’s control. With a little too much familiarity, he brought up the search and entered David Lambert’s name.
Rook craned his neck to look for any pursuit. Two Chimera—Marshal Stacey Talbot and some other guy he didn’t recognize—were phasing in and out of the castle walls to get to them, but teenagers stalled their approach, patently ignoring the agents’ attempts to get them to move out of their way.
“Well?” Mirren was trying to hide behind a column so that they wouldn’t see her. Too late—Chimera could see everything.
“Done,” Murs said.
Rook glanced at the screen—as he expected, they were headed into
Jordan wasn’t satisfied. “Lambert could be in the EU’s Complex, though, or the black market, or even in someone else’s dreamscape.”
Vince had come out of the room and was leaning in the doorway, listening to her half of the conversation.
“Well, we don’t have access to any of that shit,” Maisie said. “And apparently, Lambert has been working out of the Agora lately. Fawkes did his proxying thing the other night, so we know Lambert is playing there. Maybe he’s holding the kid there, too. If so, that’s where Malcolm will be headed.”
Okay, fine. It was something at least. “So where and when do we meet?”
“We haven’t gotten that far yet. Fawkes just made a couple of calls. His contact is going to look into it, and you’re going to have to chill for a while.”
No way could she sit around waiting. “I can’t chill.”
“Yeah, I know .”
“So what do I do?”
“Practice.”
CHAPTER SIX
Rook squinted against the stinging grains of Scrape sand to the light in front of him. Where before the Agora had been an oasis in the storm, now the shining wall surrounding it looked like the fortification of a prison, one he had to get past without capture. The dust storm raged at him and Alec Murs, but though Mirren’s hair was whipped around, she seemed otherwise unaffected. Lucky her.
Rook put his hand to the wall to get a sense of what kind of dream was beyond it and discovered many revelers in a crush, which made him think, Party . He could use that to his advantage: it would take Chimera longer to get to them if people were in the way. He’d have thirty seconds at most to locate an Agora column’s interface and use its controls to access the secure Rêve where Murs thought Lambert was holding the boy.
“You’ll have to be ready with the codes for the Rêve,” Rook said to Murs. “We won’t have time.” They’d probably get caught. And if they didn’t, then any number of things could go wrong. For example, Lambert was probably in there with his grandson.
Which was most likely why Murs was helping Mirren.
It was probably a trap, but Rook couldn’t do anything about that now. He’d have to improvise when they got there.
Rook pushed against the energy that comprised the Agora wall, and the light went hazy, dimmer. First Murs crossed, then Mirren, and then finally Rook.
The party bounced around them— oh God, some rich kid’s Sweet Sixteen . The flashing lights were blinding, with fireworks exploding the night sky overhead with the name KAILEY appearing in gold sparkle script while a castle rose out of the ground, lifting some revelers up with the turrets and bulwarks. The air smelled like champagne and sugar. The birthday girl was astride a white unicorn, which Rook thought was supposed to symbolize innocence, but she had so much cleavage spilling out of her red bustier that he shook his head and got to work.
A wave of his hand and an Agora column suddenly speared up into the sky, dotting Kailey’s i . The columns meant safety for revelers, but they also acted as the hubs from which Chimera agents worked to search, control, and access Rêves. Rook found the control panel and tapped the screen to display a menu of active Rêves. “Which Rêve is it?”
Murs took his place at the column’s control. With a little too much familiarity, he brought up the search and entered David Lambert’s name.
Rook craned his neck to look for any pursuit. Two Chimera—Marshal Stacey Talbot and some other guy he didn’t recognize—were phasing in and out of the castle walls to get to them, but teenagers stalled their approach, patently ignoring the agents’ attempts to get them to move out of their way.
“Well?” Mirren was trying to hide behind a column so that they wouldn’t see her. Too late—Chimera could see everything.
“Done,” Murs said.
Rook glanced at the screen—as he expected, they were headed into
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