“Difficult?” I interject bitingly. “Why would it be difficult? It’s perfectly logical. There are seven worlds. Not two. Not one. Not five. Seven.”

I feel sweat gathering at my temples. Dots begin to float and spin.

I need air. I need to get out.

“You OK?” Malik asks.

I shake my head, make an abortive attempt to say something, and then my knees give and I sit.

I grip the sides of the table and feel a light touch against my fingertips. A glass of water is put in my hand. I take a sip, groggily. Then I cross my arms and drop my head on my forearms. The table swims and my lids close.

Words bloom in my head like ink on blotting paper.

She is a liability.

I know—I feel—it’s Akuji again. Her thoughts. Telepathy, Vidhan called it. And then I realise I’m not really hearing her words, I’m feeling them, almost seeing them. They vibrate, and move, and form clear pictures in my head. Bleed into my thoughts as if they’re my own. But they’re not. Encoded in the words is a feeling of the person speaking—thinking—them.

She’s in shock, Malik answers, his words float into the mix, as hers fade and drift away. You remember what it was like. She’ll be fine.

Akuji: She fainted!

Vidhan: She’s only a bloody Noob.

Akuji: Can she fight?

Malik: She’ll learn.

Akuji: Does she have her weapon?

Malik: Obviously not. But she will, once we find Mother.

Vidhan: Think she’s listening? Reading us now?

Malik: Hard to say. She’s quick and she’s smart, like Issi. Stubborn and full of grit. It’s uncanny. Only…

Vidhan: Issi’s gone, Malik. Ya know it.

Malik: I know she’s not Issi. But there’s something about her. I can’t put my finger on it. She’s important.

Malik’s words distort. I feel a blur of emotions—pain, guilt. Feelings that seem to scramble the thoughts, make them indistinct. Suddenly, a crisp voice again.

Akuji: I do not trust her. She could be one of theirs.

Malik: She’s not.

Akuji: How do you know?

Malik: I know.

A pause.

Akuji: One day, that is all. One day, and already you take her side.

Malik: Cut her some slack, will you? You know what it’s like.

Akuji: This is a mistake. Let her join another clan.

Malik: Kuji, c’mon. One out. One in. That’s how it works.

No answer.

Malik: Prof? Where are you on all this?

Vidhan: I gotta say, I’m with you, Malik. She’s all right.

A mumbled response, something else I can’t catch.

The air is heavy. The words blur again. They warp.

Then darkness.

16