a secure Rêve not even Chimera could reach. He didn’t like it, but there was no time to think or pull back. “Hands on.”
When all three of them were touching the column, he hit EXECUTE . The Sweet Sixteen Rêve evaporated immediately, and in its place, a serene child’s playroom sprang up. The only sound was the buzz of propellers from the small, retro airplane slowly circling a young child as he watched from below.
“ Maman !” the boy cried, scrambling up. He was towheaded like his mother, with curls and a big sloppy smile. And then there were his eyes…predictably unnerving.
The plane took a nosedive toward the playroom’s mock field. Crash! No fire in this child’s dream.
Mirren picked up the boy and hugged him. “David!”
No one else was in the dream. No Lambert. No babysitter even. David had been unattended.
“We’ve got to go while we can, before Chimera gets the override from your father.” Or Lambert himself showed up. Rook looked at the column’s display again; there was no getting out into the Agora at this point. Chimera had already flagged the Rêve. “Waking up is our only option.”
Then it would come time for Mirren to make good on her promise and set him free. Chuck would argue against it, and he could be persuasive.
Mirren smiled at Rook, stars of happiness in her eyes. “Yes. Thank you.” She lifted David up a little higher to get his attention. “We have to wake up now, sweet boy. You follow Mama, okay?”
“You could wake,” Murs said to her, “but there’s an alternative.”
Mirren cut back. “You do whatever you want. My f ather —”
“—wants Malcolm Rook more than he does David,” Murs finished.
“What?” Mirren said, eyes wild. A frenzied feeling came off her in rough waves.
But Rook understood. That’s why Murs had cooperated so easily. Rook had thought he’d intended to return Mirren to her father, but instead it was so they could catch the opposition. “You promised to let me go, Mirren.”
Murs cocked his head and frowned, as if she should reconsider. “I know your father, darling, and while he’s taken an interest in little David, his current preoccupation happens to be Malcolm Rook and his associates. Give him Rook and I guarantee your father will leave you and David alone.”
She snorted. “My father will never leave us alone.”
And yet, the waters were full of truth. Murs believed Lambert would agree to that exchange. So, unfortunately, did Rook.
He tried to lift out of sleep, but dizzying vertigo blurred his vision. She was still keeping him under.
“You promised,” Rook said. “We have to go. Now.”
“Your father will leave you and the boy alone,” Murs said. “For a while, at least. Maybe even a long while. And do you know why? Because you are a god like he is, and it is inevitable that you will have to stand with him to survive.”
Rook shook his head. Not that he was surprised, but he had hoped for a moment that she’d keep her word. From almost the very beginning of this stupid escapade, when he’d first noticed her standing in the stretch of light behind Chuck in that studio apartment, he’d known he was caught by Lambert. There’d been a short delay was all.
“Why Rook ?” she said. The kid was wiggling in her arms and jabbering in a foreign language.
“Because he opposes your father, and where there’s one there are others.”
Rook knew the others to whom Murs referred. Mirren had even encountered a couple of them today.
“Hold Rook here while I get your father,” Murs told her. “Don’t run. Make a deal . Make a deal to keep your son.”
“If I stay, my father will have me, too.”
“If you stay,” Murs said, “you negotiate the terms of your freedom.”
“Freedom doesn’t have terms,” Rook said.
She looked over at him. “Even you said to find a different way. I’ve been running, but I’m not getting anywhere. He’ll just keep after me.”
“He’s got you already,” Rook said.
When all three of them were touching the column, he hit EXECUTE . The Sweet Sixteen Rêve evaporated immediately, and in its place, a serene child’s playroom sprang up. The only sound was the buzz of propellers from the small, retro airplane slowly circling a young child as he watched from below.
“ Maman !” the boy cried, scrambling up. He was towheaded like his mother, with curls and a big sloppy smile. And then there were his eyes…predictably unnerving.
The plane took a nosedive toward the playroom’s mock field. Crash! No fire in this child’s dream.
Mirren picked up the boy and hugged him. “David!”
No one else was in the dream. No Lambert. No babysitter even. David had been unattended.
“We’ve got to go while we can, before Chimera gets the override from your father.” Or Lambert himself showed up. Rook looked at the column’s display again; there was no getting out into the Agora at this point. Chimera had already flagged the Rêve. “Waking up is our only option.”
Then it would come time for Mirren to make good on her promise and set him free. Chuck would argue against it, and he could be persuasive.
Mirren smiled at Rook, stars of happiness in her eyes. “Yes. Thank you.” She lifted David up a little higher to get his attention. “We have to wake up now, sweet boy. You follow Mama, okay?”
“You could wake,” Murs said to her, “but there’s an alternative.”
Mirren cut back. “You do whatever you want. My f ather —”
“—wants Malcolm Rook more than he does David,” Murs finished.
“What?” Mirren said, eyes wild. A frenzied feeling came off her in rough waves.
But Rook understood. That’s why Murs had cooperated so easily. Rook had thought he’d intended to return Mirren to her father, but instead it was so they could catch the opposition. “You promised to let me go, Mirren.”
Murs cocked his head and frowned, as if she should reconsider. “I know your father, darling, and while he’s taken an interest in little David, his current preoccupation happens to be Malcolm Rook and his associates. Give him Rook and I guarantee your father will leave you and David alone.”
She snorted. “My father will never leave us alone.”
And yet, the waters were full of truth. Murs believed Lambert would agree to that exchange. So, unfortunately, did Rook.
He tried to lift out of sleep, but dizzying vertigo blurred his vision. She was still keeping him under.
“You promised,” Rook said. “We have to go. Now.”
“Your father will leave you and the boy alone,” Murs said. “For a while, at least. Maybe even a long while. And do you know why? Because you are a god like he is, and it is inevitable that you will have to stand with him to survive.”
Rook shook his head. Not that he was surprised, but he had hoped for a moment that she’d keep her word. From almost the very beginning of this stupid escapade, when he’d first noticed her standing in the stretch of light behind Chuck in that studio apartment, he’d known he was caught by Lambert. There’d been a short delay was all.
“Why Rook ?” she said. The kid was wiggling in her arms and jabbering in a foreign language.
“Because he opposes your father, and where there’s one there are others.”
Rook knew the others to whom Murs referred. Mirren had even encountered a couple of them today.
“Hold Rook here while I get your father,” Murs told her. “Don’t run. Make a deal . Make a deal to keep your son.”
“If I stay, my father will have me, too.”
“If you stay,” Murs said, “you negotiate the terms of your freedom.”
“Freedom doesn’t have terms,” Rook said.
She looked over at him. “Even you said to find a different way. I’ve been running, but I’m not getting anywhere. He’ll just keep after me.”
“He’s got you already,” Rook said.
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