getting tired. He had to help Kendi and get back to her. He hit the block with a fist, and yelped in pain. Nursing bruised knuckles, he next concentrated on his body. It was solid now, but when he reached toward the block, it would be insubstantial. It would be insubstantial now.
Sejal reached. He encountered solid stone.
“Dammit!” he spat. “Kendi! Let me in!”
The block remained unmoved. Frustrated, Sejal kicked it, though not hard enough to damage his foot. No reaction. Katsu would be more tired now. Perhaps he should give up and leave. Perhaps he should Then he felt it. Another familiar mind, one that wasn’t in the Dream but was nearby nonetheless.
“Ben,” Sejal whispered.
He had always gotten the impression that Ben and Kendi were close friends, though Kendi had almost never talked about him. Ben might better know what to do. Sejal closed his eyes, feeling for Ben’s mind. When he found it, he reached.
Ben looked down worriedly at Kendi, lying motionless on the bed in the empty cabin. It seemed like Ben had done this too many times before. Kendi was always falling into trouble. Getting arrested, being abducted into the Dream by Sejal, going suicidal on Bellerophon. Now Kendi was spending time in the Dream when it was dangerous to do so, and according to Ben’s watch, he’d been in there far too long.
Ben sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He should walk away, sever all ties completely instead of waffling back and forth. A relationship with Kendi meant spending a lot of time waiting for him, and Ben hated the very idea. But then he would look at Kendi’s face and his resolve invariably failed him. Kendi was infuriating, irreverent, and impulsive. He was also funny, kind, and suprisingly romantic. He could always think of something fun to do when Ben got bogged down by work. And Ben never felt like he had to be so damned competent at everything when Kendi was around.
Kendi’s face was relaxed in Dream sleep. Ben brushed his fingers over the smooth dark forehead. Maybe a little worry was all right. Concentrating on Kendi was one way to keep thoughts about his mother at bay. Maybe he should try to wake Kendi up, bring him out the ~Ben.~
Ben’s head snapped up. “Who’s there?”
— Ben, it’s me. Sejal.~
“Sejal?” Ben echoed stupidly. “Where are you? What’s-?”
— I’m in the Dream. I’m talking to you from the Dream.~
Ben blinked. “How can you talk to me from the Dream? I’m not Silent. What is this, a joke?”
— Ben, I don’t have time to screw around. I can’t leave Katsu alone much longer. Kendi needs help, but I can’t reach him.~
Chill fear stabbed through Ben. He glanced over at Kendi, who hadn’t moved or otherwise changed.
“What do you mean he’s in trouble?” Ben demanded.
— He’s inside some kind of stone block and I can’t get him out. The falcon is screaming bloody murder, but I don’t know what to do. Can you get him out?~
“I’ll try.” Ben leaned over Kendi and shook him. “Kendi, wake up! Snap out of it!” No response. He slapped Kendi’s cheeks and pinched his wrists. Still no response.
— That’s not what I meant,~ Sejal said impatiently. ~I need you in the Dream. You’ve known him longer than I have. Maybe you can reach him.~
A stab of fear. “I can’t reach the Dream, Sejal. I’ve tried, and it doesn’t work for me.” But even as he said it, an inner voice began listing contradictions. Genetically, he was Silent. There was really only one thing that had kept him out of the Dream all this time.
His own reluctance.
— You’re Silent,~ Sejal countered, paralleling Ben’s thoughts. ~That’s why I can talk to you. And if I pulled Kendi into the Dream, I can sure as hell pull you in, too. You ready?~
“No!” Ben had to shout to hear himself over his own pounding heart. “Sejal, I can’t. I can’t enter the Dream. It’s impossible.”
— Shit, Ben.~ Sejal’s voice was startled. ~What do you mean that-oh. Oh shit!~
“What?” Ben said. “What’s wrong?”
— You and Kendi. Shit. He never told me, but now I can feel it. My God. I knew you two were friends, but Kendi never said you two were in-~
“I can’t do it, Sejal,” Ben interrupted. “I just can’t. Can you get him out? You’re supposed to be some kind of super-Silent.”
— I’ve tried, Ben. He’s locked himself up in some kind of psycho-fantasy or something. I don’t know him well enough to reach through that, and he’s strong enough to keep me out. He may not be able to keep you out, though. You love him.~
It was very odd hearing it from someone else. Ben swallowed.
— Ready?~ Sejal said. ~I’ll bring you in. One…two…~
“Wait!” Ben shouted. His breathing had gone short and panicky.
— Ben, I can’t wait. Katsu needs me. Ready?~
Ben looked down at Kendi’s motionless form. Sejal was going to take him into the Dream, the Dream that swallowed people up and took them away from you. The Dream that made people ordinary. If Ben entered the Dream, he’d be just like the rest of his family. Ben had defined himself as special, as non-Silent, for almost twenty years. If he entered the Dream, he wouldn’t be himself anymore.
And the Dream had killed his mother.
The memory of finding his mother’s crumpled body at the base of the talltree flashed before him. Yes, his mother was dead. And her death had given him the strength to act, to get Kendi to safety. Now Kendi needed him again, and he was shying away? New resolve filled him.
“Bring me in, Sejal,” Ben said firmly. “Go!”
'You got it.'
There was a twist, and suddenly Ben was standing on a blank plain. A diffuse sort of light came from no discernable direction. The air was calm and still. In the distance lay a roiling black mass, and beside him stood a massive stone block. So this was the Dream. In wonder, Ben touched his own chest and arms. They felt solid, just as they did in the real world. A wild cry sounded overhead and Ben looked up. A falcon was circling above him.
“You made it.”
Ben whirled around to see Sejal. His dark hair was tousled, and his pale blue eyes looked tired in his brown face. He seemed far older than sixteen.
“Kendi’s in there,” Sejal said, gesturing at the block. “I have to get back to Katsu.” And with that, he vanished.
“Wait!” Ben shouted. “What do I do? Who’s Katsu? How do I get back?”
But he was talking to empty air.
Ben licked his lips, trying to remember everything he had heard about the Dream and how it worked. Reality was supposed to shape itself around him, becoming whatever he expected it to be. Sejal said Kendi was trapped inside the stone block. Since there were no other Silent around, that could only mean that Kendi himself had, for some reason, created the thing and he wouldn’t-or couldn’t-come out. But why had he created it in the first place? Ben had no idea.
Best to get him out, then, and ask.
Ben put a palm on the stone. Like a sudden jolt, he felt Kendi inside. It was almost the reverse of the terrible loneliness he had felt back on Bellerophon. Kendi was there in a way that Ben had never felt before, even if Ben couldn’t see or touch him.
Kendi was also terrified right down to his bones.
Even more worried now, Ben pushed on the stone. It was thoroughly solid. Ben paused and imagined his hand going through the rock. That was the way the Dream worked-if you imagined it, it was so. But Ben’s hand remained stubbornly on the surface of the block.
“Kendi!” he shouted. “Kendi, let me in!”
No response. The falcon continued to circle overhead. Kendi had mentioned his animal friend, a fragment of Kendi’s own mind, but Ben didn’t see how knowing this could help.
