CHAPTER 19

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Zoë and I sit in Dr. Milton's intimidating office, awaiting his arrival.

The bookshelf covered walls and heavy wooden furniture look like something straight out of an early 1900s library. A retro stereo behind his desk plays soft classical music, setting a commanding tone and leaving no doubt that the occupant of this office is a person of high power with meticulous taste.

Zoë listens to my complaints about the Dr. Hoque situation before offering some advice. "Em, I know there have been a lot of lies thrown at you, but don't you think maybe his being here is a good thing?"

"My entire relationship with him is a lie! How do I get past that?"

Grabbing my hand, she comforts me. "I get it. I do. You're just holding on to a lot of anger right now. I think you need to let go of some of it before we do this."

"How?"

A low chatter in the hallway signals the arrival of Dr. Milton and ends our conversation. He glides behind his desk dropping a handful of manila folders onto it before settling into the chair. "I trust neither of you will object to discussing the results of your tests in front of the other."

"No," we say in unison.

"Well the good news is you've both been cleared to begin your journey. The bad news is that Miss Carver's neurological exams were inconclusive in regards to compatibility with our monitoring devices."

"What does that mean for Zoë?" I ask.

"It means we won't know for sure we can offer her the same protection we're able to offer you until the time comes to use it."

Things just got more dangerous than I was expecting. "If both of us received this ability through witchcraft, shouldn't we both be wired the same?"

"The difference lies in her ability to perform witchcraft. Her basic wiring is very different from ours. I could explain what happened during her simulation, but perhaps it'd be best coming from her."

I turn to Zoë. "What's he talking about?"

She sighs before making eye contact with me. "I made it through the initial MRI with no problems. Then they hooked me up with the virtual reality portion. When the sim started—the scary parts of it anyway—I don't really know what happened. I think I was just terrified and my body reacted instinctively. I sort of, broke the machine."

"Miss Carver, I believe you're leaving out some information."

"Right," she responds to Dr. Milton before turning back to me, biting her bottom lip. "I also fried the computer system, made all the light bulbs in the room and surrounding halls explode, and locked Dr. Alvarez and his staff inside the monitoring booth."

My eyes bulge from my head. "Wow," I chuckle out of complete shock.

She shrugs and smiles smugly.

"I think it's safe to say Miss Carver needs a little practice with her self-control before we can entrust her with your safety."

Fearing a delay Natalie can't afford, I step up to her defense. "Zoë and I have dreamwalked together thousands of times and she's never once hurt me. She wouldn't do that, no matter what."

"I've never had access to this side of myself before though. I hate to say this, but he might be right."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Well what are we supposed to do? How can she practice?"

"We have someone here who can help."

Thirty minutes later we're walking into a vast gymnasium surrounded by security.

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