BooksBarbecue
Back Reverie
Chapters (53)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Letter from the Author
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. • One •
  7. • Two •
  8. • Three •
  9. • Four •
  10. • Five •
  11. • Six •
  12. • Seven •
  13. • Eight •
  14. • Nine •
  15. • Ten •
  16. • Eleven •
  17. • Twelve •
  18. • Thirteen •
  19. • Fourteen •
  20. • Fifteen •
  21. • Sixteen •
  22. • Seventeen •
  23. • Eighteen •
  24. • Nineteen •
  25. • Twenty •
  26. • Twenty-One •
  27. • Twenty-Two •
  28. • Twenty-Three •
  29. • Twenty-Four •
  30. • Twenty-Five •
  31. • Twenty-Six •
  32. • Twenty-Seven •
  33. • Twenty-Eight •
  34. • Twenty-Nine •
  35. • Thirty •
  36. • Thirty-One •
  37. • Thirty-Two •
  38. • Thirty-Three •
  39. • Thirty-Four •
  40. • Thirty-Five •
  41. • Thirty-Six •
  42. • Thirty-Seven •
  43. • Thirty-Eight •
  44. • ∞ •
  45. • Thirty-Nine •
  46. • Forty •
  47. Epilogue
  48. Acknowledgments
  49. Excerpt from Be Dazzled
  50. One
  51. Two
  52. About the Author
  53. Back Cover

It was nighttime in the reverie, but dawn glistened upon the utmost edge of a far-off sea. The scene before Kane was a futuristic city. Buzzing neon signs hovered over bladelike buildings, casting grainy colors into the low clouds so that the city lay cradled in a dreamlike, candied haze. Whirring aircraft dipped through the clouds, their spotlights sweeping the streets below, and far off in a residential district there were sirens. But that was the only noise. The city returned the echoes with silence that felt more than indifferent. It felt enforced.

There was a curfew, and someone had just broken it.

Kane drew into the breach, turning to explore the wrecked skyscraper. It was full of forgotten junk, as though abandoned midway. Graffiti covered everything. OUR SOCIETY IS A SCAM, read bloody letters. Another slogan said: KNOW THY UNHOLY HISTORIES.

The most vibrant graffiti was on the back wall: a glove, palm up, a moth alighting upon gently curled fingers. Beneath it in block letters was DAMNATIO MEMORIAE. All of it was brilliantly white against a panoply of flyers calling for the capture of a group called the Archivists. Kane grazed the graffiti with his fingers; the paint was fresh. Had his character done this?

A crash sounded in the depths of the building, and the cords in the elevator shaft whipped into a frenzy. Kane hid beneath an overturned desk, watching as the elevator lurched up to reveal, miraculously, Sophia. He stood up, not even thinking they might be enemies in this world.

“Brother!” Sophia cried. She wore a structured jacket and high-waisted slacks that made her look like a matador, and her hair was tucked up into a wide-brimmed hat. Her whole outfit was a deep, lusterless green, except for her gloves. They were so white they glowed, dazzling Kane as she clapped her hands over his face and said, “We have a most distinguished guest!”

In the elevator was the narrow shape of a girl. Adeline. She wore a gray shift dress and a gray headband. She was handcuffed, and the look she gave Kane meant he better not ask about it.