A thread of worry twisted inside of me at the sight of my friends. Whatever they were experiencing, it seemed totally real to them. I wasn’t sure if I should try to shake them out of their visions. I’d always heard it was dangerous to wake someone from a dream because of the damage it could do to their core.
Abi stirred on my shoulders and cried out. His words were so distorted I couldn’t understand anything he said. My friend sounded desperate and combative, as if he were trying to talk someone out of something. He struggled against my serpents, the stumps of his legs battering the supernatural limbs. He thrashed and cried out, his motions so violent I was afraid he’d slip out of my serpents’ grasp.
I lowered him to the ground in the middle of the passage and stepped back. He cried out and punched at the air, as if fighting something off. Clem and Eric had both wandered farther away, and the hallway seemed wider now. My friends were nearly lost in deep shadows. They’d be out of sight very soon.
Something terrible was happening. I had to figure out what that was before it was too late.
I focused my attention on Abi and searched his core for any damage. His jinsei levels were low. That made sense, though. He’d suffered terrible wounds to the channels in his legs, and his body would burn sacred energy to keep him alive until his wounds could be properly treated. His aura was plagued by pain and exhaustion aspects, but that wasn’t unusual considering how badly he was hurt. From a distance, I couldn’t see anything wrong with Clem or Eric, either.
If their cores and auras weren’t affected, then there was something else, something deeper and more insidious at work here. I didn’t know what Clem or Abi saw, but Eric’s posture and beaming smile hinted at his future in the Battle Federation as a prizefighter. He’d seen the same thing in the cavern where we found Saito’s tomb.
My friends’ vision of their destinies held them prisoner. They were seeing their place in the Grand Design, and it was so real they didn’t know it was a waking dream.
If that was true, then maybe, just maybe, I knew how to reach them. I dropped to the floor, crossed my legs, and rested the backs of my hands on my knees in a classic full lotus pose. Years of conditioning triggered a smooth and easy breathing rhythm, though I was surprised when no jinsei flowed into me on the inhalation. There was so much power in this place, and none of it was sacred energy. I pushed those thoughts aside and let my mind ease into the nothingness that surrounded each breath. My core pulled the blank slate of my thoughts into its depths and encased me in a warm golden light. I rested there for a moment, steeling myself for the challenges ahead, and then let myself slide even deeper into meditation.
The sound of waves lapping on a sandy beach reached my ears. Flashes of warmth shot over my skin in random patterns. The smells of cotton candy and hot dogs, spilled beer and fine whiskey tickled my nostrils. The waves grew louder as they crashed onto land, faster and faster, their volume increasing with every passing second.
I opened my eyes to a crowded arena filled with ecstatic fans. Powerful spotlights swarmed across the arena floor, where Eric stood with his arms thrust into the air, a golden belt clutched in his fists, while another fighter was slumped in a corner with coaches and medical staff clustered around. Applause shook the entire building and glittering confetti rained down on the floor streaked with the competitors’ blood.
I’d been right. This was the future that waited for Eric if he stayed on the path laid out for him by the Grand Design. He’d win the federation championship and spend the rest of his days enjoying the riches and fame that came with the title. It was all my friend had ever wanted, and it warmed my heart to see him achieve his dream.
Before I could bask in the reflected glory for long, though, I plummeted through the arena’s floor and into a cold, dark hallway where Clem leaned against a stone wall. Tears streaked her face, and she stared through the bars of the cell across the hall from her. She crossed and uncrossed her arms, clearly nervous and distraught. She angrily wiped a tear from her eye, then stood up straight.
“She didn’t have a choice,” she said, echoing the words I’d heard earlier. “With everything that happened, my mother had to take a stand. She didn’t make the laws, she enforced them.”
A bitter laugh sounded from the cell. A shadowed figure sat on a narrow metal slab attached to the wall, gleaming eyes fixed on Clem.
“This is the second time your mother has had me imprisoned,” I said defiantly. “The first time, she did it to save me. This time, though, she did it to save herself. You think I don’t know what they gave her for locking me away? I hope your family enjoys their new lives, Clem. It won’t last. You know that. Because this cage can’t hold me. And when I get out—”
“Are you threatening me?” Clem surged across the hall, her voice an angry shout. “What happens when you get out, Jace? You’ll kill my mother? You’ll kill me? That’s why you’re in this cage. You have to know that. My mother sentenced you for crimes you committed. She didn’t kill the sages. You did.”
“Because they...”
I fell again.
I opened my eyes in a small stone building lit only by a pair of guttering candles that flanked a long table against the wall opposite its open doorway. Wind, hot and gritty, gusted through the room, drawing sweat
