The pressure slowly receded, and Eric leaned back and relaxed a bit. As much as I wanted to hurry things along, I had to bide my time and wait for another opening or risk Eric punting me out of his waking dream. I crossed my fingers and hoped time passed differently in this vision than in the real world. It had in Master Saito’s cavern. Maybe there was still time before my mother, or Sanrin, caught up with us.
We rode in silence after that. The car’s purr grew to a full-throated growl when we slid out of the congested downtown traffic, then rose to a banshee’s howl as we merged onto the highway. Sacred energy crackled around the vehicle, holding it above the pavement and launching us forward like a rocket. The automatic navigation system guided us around slower vehicles that we passed in a blur, and soon we were climbing our way up into the mountains that looked down on the City of Angels. The streetlights became winking jewels, a scattered constellation of rubies and emeralds, glowing amber and the blue-white of nearly perfect diamonds.
“What made you decide to leave your tower?” Eric asked at last. “Nobody’s seen you on the mainland for a couple of years.”
Eric’s talk of a past I didn’t know made me uneasy. I didn’t want to upset him, but I also didn’t know what had happened in his world. “What kind of friend would I be if I missed your big fight?”
“You know,” Eric said as we rounded a hairpin curve, “Los Angeles is the only major American metropolitan area without an overcity. When your dragons chase the smog away, I can see all the way to the ocean from my place. Sometimes, I sit on the deck and look through my binoculars. Sky ships, dragons, screamer bikes, those golems who keep an eye on things for you... There’s a million things to watch down there. But you know what everyone down there was watching tonight?”
The car had glided through a pair of towering gates flanked by security cameras. A modern mansion loomed ahead of us as we threaded our way up a tree-lined driveway. It was a massive structure of chrome and glass, held together by a combination of the best construction techniques and enough sacred energy to light up a small town.
“You,” I said. “I bet there were a billion people tuned in to that fight. Farcaster companies probably made a fortune off watching you get your head banged in.”
“Just a scratch,” Eric laughed and gingerly probed at the edge of his black eye. “I’ll be fine by morning. Kincade did throw a heck of a punch, though.”
A garage door opened and swallowed the roadster. A pair of security guards waited outside the vehicle as its gullwing doors slid open, nasty-looking jinsei blasters cradled in their hands. Sunglasses hid their eyes, but I felt their attention slide over my core, then drift away. It was a casual visual pat down, but I knew if either of these men sensed a threat, they’d shoot first and worry about where to dump my body later. Of course, if they tried that, they’d likely be the ones in graves.
“He’s fine,” Eric said. “But you won’t be if you point any of those beamers at him.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, trying to calm the guards down. “I’m just here as a guest. You have nothing to fear from me.”
The guards faded away, drifting back to whatever post they occupied when Eric didn’t need them. My host guided me through a door that opened into a mudroom bigger than most apartments I’d seen. A pair of scrivenings activated and slurped the dust, pollen, and other stray pollutants from my boots and the hem of my robes. Eric’s bare feet got the same treatment, then we headed deeper into the house.
“This is the kitchen. Looks nice, right? I don’t think I’ve ever used it,” he said with a chuckle. “The theater room’s over there, down the hall past the common area. Four bedrooms upstairs, and a library full of books I keep meaning to read. There’s a bunch of other stuff around here, but it’s just for show. The whole reason I bought this place is out here.”
We walked up a short flight of stairs on the west side of the common area and through glass doors that slid out of our way. A broad deck surrounded the side of the mansion, and Eric walked toward a low, wide cabinet set against its railing. He fished a decanter and a pair of glasses rimed with frost out of the cabinet, poured me a glass of amber liquor, and handed it over.
“It’s probably not as good as you’re used to, but it’s top shelf for me,” Eric said, and raised his glass. “To Jace, the scariest friend I’ll ever know.”
“And to Eric,” I responded, “the best champion the IBF will ever have.”
My friend downed half his drink in one swallow and let out a gusty sigh of appreciation. He pressed the frosted glass to his bruised eye.
I, on the other hand, barely managed not to choke on a burning sip of liquor. It tasted like kerosene smelled and smoldered in my stomach like a droplet of lava.
“That’s, uh, great,” I managed to say. “Really good.”
“You’ve been acting weird all night. And you look the same as you did when we were in school. Not to mention your jacked-up robes.” Eric peered at me over the rim of his glass. “Now you’re choking on whiskey you introduced me to. What’s going on, Jace?”
I tried another sip of whiskey to hide my discomfort. Eric was so close to the truth, but he wouldn’t quite make the leap. It was time for another nudge. I crossed my fingers and hoped he wouldn’t try to expel me from his vision again.
“Eric, I need you to open your mind and really hear what I’m about to tell you.” I put the foul-tasting drink on the
