I could tell from Neil’s expression that he was hoping that had made sense to me, but I was more confused than ever. A particularly resistant person could make it difficult for a spirit user to form a dream connection, but the rest made no sense. “Olive’s not a spirit user,” I told her. “She can’t do anything to the dream without your permission. You wield the ultimate control.”
“She can, she can, she can.” Nina began tearing up the magazine with renewed energy. “Each time I try to talk to her, she throws up some obstacle! Things I never even thought of. Her nightmares, my nightmares. Someone’s. I fight them. I do. Really, I do. But it takes so much spirit.” She abruptly stopped the shredding and stared off into space bleakly. “It’s exhausting. And by the time I get through, she’s slipped away. She wakes herself up, and I can’t talk to her. Can’t ask her why she left me. Do you know?” Nina’s eyes flitted from me to Neil. “Do you know why she left?”
“No,” I said gently. “All I know is that you need some serious rest.” I started to put a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked away, anger glinting in her eyes.
“Don’t torment me,” she said in a low voice. “Don’t come here and act like you’re my friend.”
“I am your friend, Nina. No matter what happened—or didn’t happen—between us, I’m your friend. I want to help you.”
Her anger instantly flipped to despair. “No one can help me. No one can—Wait.” Unexpectedly, she grabbed my arm, her fingers digging in with astonishing—and uncomfortable—strength. “Maybe you can help me. You’re the best dreamer. Come with me the next time I visit Olive. Then you’ll see—you’ll see how she’s controlling the dream! If we combine our powers, maybe we’ll be strong enough to stop her! Then we can talk to her!”
I shook my head. “Nina, there’s no way she can—”
Those fingers bit deeper into my arm. “She is, Adrian! Join me, and you’ll see.”
I thought carefully before responding. Nina was right about me being the best spirit dreamer (that we knew of), and I’d never seen any sign of a non–spirit user being able to take control of a dream. Nina clearly believed that was the case and that it was preventing her from making contact with Olive. I didn’t dare say it, but I wondered if Nina had been using so much spirit lately that her control was faltering. That would explain why she was having difficulty forging a dream connection, and in her addled state, she’d come up with the idea that Olive was interfering.
Yes, but what has she been using so much spirit on? asked Aunt Tatiana.
It was a good question. Looking over Nina and her state of disarray, I found myself at a loss. Even if she tried to form a spirit dream connection with Olive every day, there was no way that alone could’ve driven Nina to this state. What else was she using magic on? Or was her mental deterioration being accelerated by something more than the magic? Was it a culmination of that and personal stress—like Olive’s disappearance and my rejection?
“Adrian?” asked Neil tentatively. “Isn’t there any way you’d consider helping?”
Not knowing my thoughts, he believed my hesitation was over a refusal to offer assistance. The truth was, I just didn’t know how. And honestly, Nina needed a lot more than help with a spirit dream. She needed help with her life.
“Okay,” I said at last. “I’ll help you connect to her in a dream—but only if you get some sleep.”
Immediately, Nina began shaking her head. “I can’t. I’m too excited. I have to keep looking. I have to—”
“You will get some sleep,” I ordered. “I’m getting Sonya here, and she’s going to bring you a sedative. You will take it. And you will sleep.”
“Later I will. Right now, we need to reach Olive. She’s on a human schedule. She’ll go to bed soon, and I can’t be asleep. We’ll reach her first and—”
“No. No deal.” I made my voice as firm and harsh as I could. “If she’s waited this long, she’ll keep waiting. Sleep first. For God’s sake, Nina! Look at yourself. You’re—”
“What? What?” she demanded, that earlier feverish look returning. “A mess? Ugly? Not good enough for you?”
“Exhausted.” I sighed. “Now, please. Let me call Sonya. You’ll sleep today, and we’ll look for Olive tomorrow. If you’re rested, you’ll be better able to, uh, fight her control.” I still didn’t buy that, but Nina did, and she finally conceded.
“Okay,” she said. “You can call Sonya.”
I did, and Sonya was relieved to hear I’d made progress, small though it was. She promised to come over with something to help Nina sleep, and I promised to hang around until then. When I disconnected, Nina returned to her shredding and began humming what sounded like “Sweet Caroline.”