Chapter 9
Nine
“Cazzo.” Silva slammed her hands against her desk.
“Yeah,” Dani said. “Pretty much.” She didn’t speak Italian, but between the professor’s inflection and the fact that they had just finished telling her about their visit to OneiroLabs, it wasn’t hard to infer.
She and Oliver had escaped OneiroLabs without interception, thanks to Max sneaking them out through the service entrance.
They’d had to wander the streets a bit before the enchanted car found them, but the ride back to Fox’s Leap had been blessedly uneventful.
Once they were settled in the back seat, Dani noticed that Oliver was shaking as they stared out the window.
Words feeling inadequate, she reached over and touched them lightly on the forearm.
Oliver put their own hand on top of hers and squeezed; they sat quietly for the rest of the drive, each processing what they’d experienced.
Dani still wasn’t sure how she felt. She definitely didn’t love what she’d done, pushing Dr. Rodriguez and Max with her ability.
It had left her with a sensation of griminess that was more than skin-deep; but there was also an undeniable curiosity.
She’d never played around with her power much, not wanting her parents to use it in even more inventive ways.
It was weird to think she might be able to do things with it that she didn’t even know about.
But all that paled in comparison to what she’d witnessed at OneiroLabs.
None of it seemed real. Professor Silva had made everything sound so simple when she’d talked Dani into helping her—but now it was clear nothing could be further from the truth.
What OneiroLabs was doing was messy and unethical and probably illegal.
Right now, all Dani wanted was to get the rest of her money and let the expert take it from here.
Professor Silva sat back in her chair and let out a long, agitated exhale. Outside, the afternoon’s drizzle had abated, but Silva’s skylight told a different story, with a false storm throwing itself against the glass.
“I’m sorry,” Silva said. “I’m not upset with you. You performed brilliantly under the circumstances. I just—I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy as to saunter in and ask them what their formula is.”
“Well, we did find out that it’s plant-based, like their other products,” Oliver said with an upturn of hope in their voice.
“That doesn’t help us create an antidote unless we know what plants they’re using, and what magical elements are influencing them,” Silva said.
A crease appeared between Oliver’s eyebrows, like they were puzzling something out.
“I could probably help with that,” they said slowly.
“I mean, I’m not an expert on oneirogenic arcanobotany, but people have been using plants for dreaming since ancient times.
I’m sure with a little research I could come up with a few likely suspects on their ingredient list. Artemisia vulgaris comes to mind—sorry, I mean mugwort. ”
Silva gave them an approving look. “That would certainly help us get a better understanding of how to counteract the effects, or at least slow their progress,” she said. “But it won’t be enough for a cure. For that, we’ll need the exact formula.”
“Not sure how you’re going to get that,” Dani said.
“The guy we talked to said they could sue him for the little he told us.” She and Oliver had agreed not to disclose Max’s name to anyone.
“I don’t think even my ability could weasel out all the ingredients from the few people who know what they are. ”
“You’re correct, of course, Miss Lionet,” Silva said. “OneiroLabs, and this Dr. Rodriguez, will not surrender the formula without a fight. And with our newfound knowledge about the clearance needed to access it—”
A sudden knock on the door made Dani and Oliver jump. Silva, on the other hand, remained unfazed. “Non ti occupare. She’s here on my invitation,” she told the two of them. “Come in!”
The door opened to Katya, the girl Dani knew from la ruota, who’d brought Silva to the game in the first place. She was wearing her usual outfit—a collared shirt under a V-neck sweater and a pleated skirt with knee-high socks. She didn’t look at Dani or Oliver as she shut the door behind her.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said to Silva. “My forensics teacher talked my ear off about the presentation I gave today. Did I miss the important stuff?”
“Not at all,” Silva said, beckoning her closer.
Katya came to stand on Dani’s left, finally acknowledging her and Oliver with a nod.
“We’re still talking everything through.
Miss Novak has been helping me with this project for a few weeks now,” she explained to the other two.
“She did an internship with OneiroLabs over the summer and has been able to provide some insight from her time there.”
“Doing what?” Oliver asked Katya.
“Security,” Katya said, like the question bored her. “I’m an arcane technology major, with a concentration in security systems.”
“Could you tell Miss Novak what Dr. Rodriguez said regarding the security surrounding the product?” Silva said.
Dani related what Dr. Rodriguez had told them about the high clearance. Katya pursed her lips when Dani was finished.
“Yeah, that’s what I suspected,” she said. “That’s why I haven’t been able to touch it with a ten-foot pole.”
“Touch it?” Oliver asked. “Wait, are you guys, like, hacking into the OneiroLabs system?”
Katya and Silva exchanged a look. “We have experimented with exploring their digital network, yes,” Silva said. “Purely in the hopes of finding details that could help us piece together the formula.”
“And now we know why we haven’t turned anything up,” Katya said. “Their high-clearance shit isn’t something I can just waltz past from out here. We’ll need to find out who exactly has that clearance.”
Dani was starting to feel like she didn’t want to be part of this conversation or where it might lead.
Silva must’ve sensed her unease because she held up a hand, saying, “That’s for me and Miss Novak to discuss.
As for you, Miss Lionet, you’ve done everything I asked, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
You’ve earned the rest of your payment.” She reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled out an envelope.
“Thanks,” Dani said, taking it. “But what about Oliver?”
“I’ve got the charm ready, as promised. I’m hopeful that it might keep some of the symptoms at bay, though it’s not a permanent solution.
I’ll consult with some of the arcanobotanists in my organization as well—although I suspect Mx.
Izumi’s input may prove to be more useful.
After all,” she said to Oliver directly, “you are in the unique position of experiencing this firsthand, while also being a fledgling arcanobotanist yourself. In fact, if you have a few minutes, perhaps you can stay a bit longer to talk it through?”
Oliver nodded, the tension in their face easing slightly. Dani couldn’t help but feel a little relieved, too. She’d begun to consider Oliver a friend, and didn’t know what else she could do to help, besides making them a mean cup of coffee.
“You’re free to go, Miss Lionet,” Silva said. “Thank you again.”
“Oh. Um,” Dani said. She looked at Oliver. “Do you want me to wait for you outside?”
They started to shake their head, then stopped themself. “Actually, that would be nice, but only if you’ve got time?”
“Of course,” Dani said. “I’ll just be in the lobby.
” She tucked the envelope into her back pocket and stepped out into the hall, breathing a little easier once the door closed behind her.
Katya showing up had been a bit of a mind-warp; it felt like this thing was getting bigger and bigger, drifting further out of her control.
But hey, at least her part was over, and she could feel good about having helped Oliver and having made some extra money.
There was nothing wrong with that, right?
She went to the lobby, which was mostly abandoned except for a couple of students on their quartzpads.
Seeing them on their devices reminded her; she perched on a chair and pulled her own quartzpad out of her bag, booting it up with a hopeful bubble growing in her heart.
It swelled against her breastbone when she opened her inbox and saw, sure enough, a new message from none other than Kass, subject line Party details.
Inside was the promised address and one sentence: I hope you’ll be there:).
Dani turned off the quartzpad and hugged it to her chest.
“Hey,” came Oliver’s voice, and she glanced over to see them emerging from the hall, smiling. “Thanks for waiting for me.”
“For sure,” she said, getting to her feet. “Today was kind of a lot. Hey—I’m supposed to meet my friend McKenna at the dining hall. Do you maybe wanna grab some dinner with us? She’s cool, I promise.”
“I’d love to,” Oliver said. “I signed up for one too many classes this semester, and now with all this happening, I haven’t had much chance to hang out with anyone other than my roommate. Sadie’s lovely, but she’s a music major, so we don’t run into each other much outside the dorm.”
“I feel that,” Dani said. She’d expected a friend group to materialize around her the moment she set foot on campus; the reality, of course, had turned out quite different. “Well then, shall we?”
The rain hadn’t yet started up again, which meant they didn’t have to rush the ten-minute walk from the OS building.
Oliver showed her the charm Silva had given them—a small glass bottle filled with crushed amethyst, a hummingbird feather, sea salt, and a coin with a sigil carved into it—that they now wore around their neck.
Oliver already had a few ideas about herbs that could strengthen its properties, and seemed excited by the prospect of heading to the arcanobotany department’s private library to do some more digging.
“So you’ve been into plants all your life?” Dani asked.