Apollina looks at her watch and says, “The drugs should be in full effect soon. Then we can begin the procedure.”
She pushes a button and speaks. “Date: Monday, March ninth, one thirty p.m. Subject: Metis of Lysithea. Procedure: Dreamcatcher.”
Thane cannot stand being there any longer and walks out of the room. He needs to find Officer Scylla—any one of them—before the Interpreter can put her claws on Aris. He brings his watch up. Before he can speak, he sees the man in the brown fedora walking toward him.
“Hello, Thane. I need to speak with you.”
“Officer Scylla, I need your help. The Interpreter is going to use the Dreamcatcher on Aris, and she didn’t do anything to warrant it. You have to stop it.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Thane notices a book in Officer Scylla’s hand. The cover is faded. Thane can barely read the title.
Love in the Time—
Thane’s breath catches in his throat. He thought the book did not exist. He thought Metis lied.
The officer holds it up. “You were looking for this, weren’t you?”
Thane does not answer. He takes a step back and wonders what is happening. He feels as if he were in a weird dream.
The man in the brown fedora says, “One of the responsibilities my brothers and I were entrusted with is to protect this book at all cost. This old book existed long before I was born. And it will exist long after I’m dead. Do you know why?”
Thane shakes his head.
“Because he can’t live without her,” Officer Scylla says.
Thane cannot understand him. Does he mean Metis? But it does not make sense. Nothing makes sense.
“I’m afraid we both may have strayed too far from our intentions,” Officer Scylla says. “We all want to keep peace in the Four Cities, but the Interpreter Center has been erasing people’s dreams without their consent. That’s not sanctioned by the Planner. The problem is, everyone whose dreams were erased is dead. I have no proof.”
Officer Scylla is right, Thane thinks. He is far from his intention. When he first accepted Professor Jacob’s request for help, all he wanted to do was keep peace and the Four Cities safe. He did not know the path he took would lead to Benja being dead and Aris hating him. He needs to make amends, even if Aris could never forgive him.
“If I help you, will you make sure Aris will be unharmed?” Thane asks.
“I’ll do everything in my power.”
“Then you have me. I know everything.”
The Officer smiles. “Now let’s go fix this.”
The first image appears on the copper-colored cloud. It is of her and Metis sitting side by side at a piano. They are in Metis’s Victorian home. It’s dark except for the flickering candles that make shadows play on the walls. There is no sound, but Aris knows what song is being played.
Aris is determined not to cry. She does not want the pain to leak out of her. She needs it inside to cement this moment in her memories.
The door opens. She looks over her shoulder and sees Officer Scylla. Next to him is Thane, the man she once considered a friend. Loathing bubbles beneath her skin. She turns away to look back at the copper cloud.
“What do you want?” she asks, her voice hard.
“You need to come with us,” Thane says.
She ignores him.
“Please, Aris,” Thane says. “I know you hate me, but this is for your own safety. You need to come with Officer Scylla if you don’t want your dreams erased.”
“No. I’m not going anywhere. I can’t leave Metis here alone,” she says.
“I know you don’t believe me, but dreams are portals to the past.” She points to the cloud. “You know, I don’t remember that memory, but it happened. And now Metis won’t have it either. I’m going to lose him like I did Benja, and I will never let myself forget how much I hate you.”
Suddenly the image on the cloud cuts to black. Aris wonders if it is all over. Has the Interpreter erased all of Metis’s dreams?
The Interpreter enters the room. Her usually emotionless face is filled with rage. The skin pulls taut on her face, making her look as if she is being suffocated by a thin plastic mask. Professor Jacob appears next to her. He is staring at Thane with disappointment in his eyes. Aris regards the old professor in his fake glasses and wonders how she ever thought he was brilliant.
“What are you doing with my patients?” the Interpreter asks. She looks at Thane as if she wants to tear him to pieces.
“They’re not your patients,” Thane says. “They don’t belong here.”
Officer Scylla says, “You’ve been erasing dreams without consent. That’s not legal.”
Apollina squares her shoulders. “All my patients agreed to undergo the Dreamcatcher procedure. What proof do you have?”
“He has my words,” Thane says. “I told him everything I did for you and this place. The spying. The lying. The stealing.”
“How dare you use those foul words to describe what we’ve entrusted you to do in the name of peace!” Apollina screams. “Our responsibility is to the Four Cities. To the vision of the Planner.”
Officer Scylla pulls out a silver bracelet and advances toward the Interpreter. “You should not use the Planner’s name to advance your illegal activities. Your actions led to, whether you meant them to or not, the deaths of several citizens of the Four Cities. I’m not going to ask again. Stop the procedure on Metis and release him and Aris to me.”
The Interpreter steps back. “Under whose authority?”
“The highest.”
Chapter
