In the distance, it placed limbs to expand and stretch out my room. When it tore up and removed panes of glass and those solar panels that were black except where they caught direct light and reflected gold, those things remained expanded, distorted in dimensions. Arms hauled them up to the core, feeding them into that quicksilver flower that it had teched up.

The metal-on-metal scream was joined with the sound of glass scraping and breaking, churned up by a blender. The quicksilver flower was soon decorated, gilded with gold-tinted glass and the black panes of the solar panels.

The noise set my nerves on edge. Good thing I have less nerves than I had when I entered this fucking place. I smiled at the dark thought.

“Hey, hey,” Sveta said. Her hand was very cool against my cheek, sparking pain while being welcome at the same time. “Stay with us.”

“With you,” I said, before trying again. “I’m with you.”

“She okay?” Tattletale asked.

“Victoria wants us to go after Cradle,” Sveta said, not answering the question.

“I want to go after Cradle.” I identified the voice as Darlene. “He hurt Candy and Precipice.”

I heard Chicken Little but didn’t make out the words. He might have been talking to Rain.

“What’s the logic?” Tattletale. “It means going the opposite way we’ve been headed, chasing down a guy who doesn’t want to be found.”

“He’s this thing’s host,” I managed. I started to cough and stopped myself, because I knew it’d make my whole body move and I wouldn’t be able to stop. I choked on the next word I intended to say instead. “Cut him off and maybe we cut off the power?”

“Might kick us out of the dream,” Tattletale said.

“Wouldn’t object,” I grunted out the words, suppressing another cough. My throat still burned with acid. “This dream sucks. Can’t believe Rain had to come here every night.”

“Precipice,” Sveta said, quiet.

“The way looks clear,” Tristan said. “We could make a run for it.”

“It won’t look that clear when you get there,” I said. “It’s a feint. It can hear us. Everything in this room.”

“You know this?” Tattletale asked.

I shook my head slowly, feeling skin at my neck crack. “But it makes sense.”

“Come here,” Tristan said, as he settled beside me. I saw Kenzie just a short distance away, her back to shelving, her attention divided between me and the sky above. Tristan muttered, “I don’t know enough medical stuff, but…”

“Get Cradle,” I said. “Take him out and this might all stop.”

He touched a finger to my throat. “Your heart is hammering. I can’t even count this fast.”

I winced at the shock of crushing pain through my left arm as he leaned in. “Makes some sense. Just… go? Stop kneeling on my elbow and shit while you’re at it.”

“I’m not,” he said.