Ellucid (Ellucid #1) ★

Seven

"How does this work?" I ask, stepping inside.

He crosses the threshold and shuts the door behind us, switching the lock. "It's nothing special. We own the entire apartment complex. The bedrooms take up a tiny percentage of the building—the rest is a labyrinth behind the walls. Our headquarters are well hidden."

"For sure." The hallway is tight and Emery and I can't walk side by side without bumping shoulders. As we move, lights detect our movement and switch on, paving the way for us.

When we turn the corner, the hallway opens into a giant lobby, so sleek and modern I feel like we walked straight into a government base. A winding glass staircase is the focal point of the room. It stretches past the lofty ceilings, which create an illusion of a soaring atrium. The room doesn't have much furniture other than a few chairs and tables, but at least a dozen hallways lead away from it like spokes on a wheel.

"Do you work for the government?" I ask Emery, turning a slow circle. The room is well-lit considering the same black curtains on the windows in my room stretch across the massive picture windows on the far side of the lobby.

"No."

I squint my eyes at him as he holds back a smile. "Are you just required to say that?"

"No! We're an independent organization." He places a firm hand on my elbow, guiding me forward. "I'll give you a tour later, if you want. First, though, I want you to meet Adrienne and Carolina."

I'm not sure I'm ready to dive headfirst into this place. But Emery won't take no for an answer—he propels me down one of the smaller hallways, past expanses of blank all-white walls.

"Where's the doors?" I ask—it's the only of my many questions I can formulate.

"All our doors are like the one in your room. But if you squint you can see the grooves where the entrances to different rooms are."

Sure enough, I identify the next room we pass by a glowing rectangle I assume is the doorframe—light must flood through from inside.

The hallway dead-ends into a conference room with all-glass walls, and inside are two girls sitting at a huge mahogany table. One of them—a redhead—is on her phone, but the girl with darker hair sits rigid, gazing at an indecipherable part of the opaque curtain she faces.

When we walk inside they both turn towards me, eyes scanning me. The one with red shoulder-length hair has so many freckles across her nose and cheeks that they run together. The dark-haired girl has thin lips folded into a frown and perfectly arched eyebrows, and she looks Asian.

I take a seat across from them and Emery sits next to me, swiveling in his chair. "That's Adrienne with the red hair and Carolina beside her," he says, tilting his head in the direction of each as he introduces them. "Adrienne's the one who brought you here last night."

"Thanks," I say to her. She returns my smile, her lips curving upward softly.

"I don't know how much Asher told you about people with dream powers," Emery continues, propping his elbows on the table, "but only teenagers have the power. The phenomenon is so new that they may keep their power into adulthood, but we don't know yet."

"Okay." I've been wondering why so many young people are involved in something so complex. Top-secret organizations wouldn't usually go around recruiting teens.

Adrienne tucks her hair behind one ear. "How much does Gabi know about our powers?"

"Next to nothing. That's how it needs to stay." Emery turns to me, his voice a notch lower. "You understand the need for secrecy, right? You don't tell us your power, and we won't tell you ours."