Bryde didn’t answer right away. He let the wind buffet him; that was the way to keep from being knocked off the board. To bend, not break. Then he said, “A healthy body can withstand illness. Can live alongside it. A world full of ley energy doesn’t support dreamers and dreams only along the lines any more than a healthy body is only vital directly along the veins. It is vital from head to toe. Brain and lungs, kidney and hands. Fix the ley lines, and dreamers and dreams simply exist wherever they like.”

A world where Matthew could just live.

A world where Ronan could just dream.

A world where every dream was clear and crisp and easy to navigate, so there were never accidents or nightmares.

He wanted it.

It had been so long since he’d wanted something to happen, instead of wanting something to not happen. He’d forgotten what it felt like. It was equal parts great and terrible. It burned.

“Restoring the ley lines is a game of dominos,” Bryde said. “If we addressed each domino separately, we would never be done. Dominos would be set back up as soon as we turned our backs. And we’d be stopped before we were anywhere close to done. But instead we focus only on the dominos that will knock over many others.”

“Cool metaphor,” Ronan said. “What are the dominos?”

“You already know,” Bryde said dismissively. “All the obstacles blocking ley energy. Human noise.”

“And what is ‘knocking them over’?” Hennessy said. “Please tell me it’s blowing shit up.”

“Sometimes,” Bryde admitted. “Often.”

Hennessy made a contented noise.

“Do other people get hurt?” Ronan asked.

Bryde hesitated for only a second. “Not if we are creating nuanced solutions instead of hammering our way through. We’re dreamers. We can step lightly.”

“What’s the first domino?” Ronan asked.

“That’s not the right question,” Bryde said. “Always ask, ‘What do we do last?’ And then you work toward that. The man who thinks step by step sees only his feet. Eyes up. What do we want?”

“Save the ley lines.”

“Step back from that,” Bryde said. “What’s one step back from that?”

Ronan thought. “Save Ilidorin’s ley line.”

“One step back from that?”

Ronan was once again curled in Ilidorin, connected to everything. A thrill chilled him as he said, “The dam.”

“Yes,” Bryde said. “But there are steps between us and that still, too. There’s no point moving the dam without freeing up the tributaries first. Why throw the switch with no lamps plugged in? First we have to remove obstacles from farther down the line and adjacent lines. Ilidorin’s line will be the first and the hardest. But it is a fine domino. It will knock over many others after for us. Hennessy, you’re quiet.”

A thin gray cloud passed between them and the world below. The patchwork fields disappeared and reappeared.