Chapter Three: The Price of a Gatekeeper

As its wound healed, three clear drops crystallized on its antlers. Su called them mist amber. Each could stabilize the dreams of a severely traumatized patient and was worth a fortune on the black market. Lu Chen sold none. One drop woke a ground-crew worker from a three-month coma. One purchased his permanent contract from the Administration. He reserved the last for the deer's future care. The public bravery award and smuggling bounty paid his most urgent debt. “You could have become rich overnight,” Su said. “Selling patients who can nod would also make money,” Lu Chen replied as he changed the deer's bandage. “What then?” She smiled for the first time. “Then you would make a terrible Gatekeeper.”