Page 111 of The Bone Season

My unproven ability. A theory.

Jaxon had broached the subject not long after I started working for him. He had invited me to propel my spirit into his dreamscape, to see if I could take control of his body. The idea had shaken me. At the time, I had barely known how to broaden my perception of the æther. Nick had stopped him asking me again, but only for a while.

Maybe I could have done it. Maybe I could have seized his body and stubbed out that wretched cigar – but it frightened me, that I had that potential. Even with the promise of a pay rise, I had been too afraid to try.

‘I’ve never done it,’ I said. ‘You can’t make me do it, either, regardless of our agreement.’

‘It would be a formidable weapon,’ Warden said.

‘Let’s say I can learn. You think I want to hand that sort of power to Nashira?’

‘You agreed to practise with me in good faith. Do not do it for her, but for yourself.’

‘I won’t be able to possess you. Reph dreamscapes are too strong,’ I said. ‘So far, I’ve caught you all by surprise, and you all slammed me back out.’

‘I do not expect you to possess me.’

‘What, then?’

Warden looked across the field. I followed his line of sight. The doe took a long drink from the river, then scuffed a hoof against some flowers.

‘Nuala,’ I said.

‘Yes.’

I rarely dealt with animal dreamscapes. When I had joined the syndicate, the challenge had been tuning them out. In the early days of scouting for Jaxon, they had been an overwhelming distraction: the birds flying over the citadel, the rats scurrying in its sewers, the insects.

It might not even be possible for me to fit my human spirit into an animal dreamscape. It might drive me to insanity, or hurt the deer, or both. Would she be able to resist my infiltration, or let me straight in?

‘I don’t know,’ I said, after a moment. ‘She might be too big to control.’

Warden rose. ‘I will find something else.’

‘I hate to keep reminding you that I don’t have an oxygen supply, but I’m going to do it again.’ I stood as well. ‘I’ve never eventriedto possess anyone. We have no idea what it will do to me.’

‘So far, your heart is coping,’ he said, even as he walked away. ‘Our training sessions would have killed other humans, but your body seems built to handle your gift.’

‘You’re still gambling with my life.’

‘I will not allow you to leave your body for long.’

‘Nashira really has ruffled your feathers.’ I strode after him. ‘Hey, if you insist on doing this, you realise she could possessyou. You’d trust her with your body when you can’t even tell her you’re fighting the Buzzers?’

He turned to face me. I stopped, arms folded.

‘There are reasons,’ he said. ‘Only trust that I want you to reach your full potential.’

I held that flaming gaze, trying to read him. Their faces really did ward off emotional guesswork.

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘An insect or a rodent, then. Or a bird.’

Warden gave another nod and left, pursued by a deer. I waited for him by the broken wall.

Nuala wandered back after a while. By then, a deep chill had set in. My breath came in clouds as I huddled against the wall, rubbing my raw hands together.

‘Hello,’ I said. ‘Did your apple dealer get lost, Nuala?’

She looked hard at me, then folded herself down like a clothes rack.

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