Chapter Three: The Shared Dream

Shen Yao fell through the glass. Power returned. She woke on the intensive-care floor, something rusty cutting into her palm. It was the key. No longer merely an object inside a memory. Lu Zhi crouched beside her, staring. "Impossible. My sister held that key seven years ago. I watched Gu melt it down." Zhou stopped convulsing. When he opened his eyes, fear finally seemed to belong to him. "It moved," he said. "What moved?" "The door. It used to be inside the minds of the unconscious. Now—" The dark window reflected the entire ward. Every doctor, nurse, and patient had one reflection. Behind Shen Yao stood two. One wore a white coat. The other wore a red raincoat. Zhou closed his eyes. "Now the door is inside you."