The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(33)

“And there’s one in every city?”

He shakes his head. “There’s usually one in strategic locations. New York has had one for a while. After he died, George looked after things from New Jersey, but with the Washington Ambassador retiring, I think George will be sent there, so someone will need to handle affairs in New York.”

“You’re very well informed for someone who doesn’t yet have an official job offer,” I say, not surprised. Bill always had a way of knowing things; Bert and I are just one of his many means of acquiring information.

“So why are you here?” Bill asks. As usual, he doesn’t take the bait to reveal how he knows things he shouldn’t. “You only told me what the Elders want from you, not the reverse.”

“If I tell you, will you be obligated to tell the Elders?” I shift my weight from foot to foot.

“Certainly not.”

“Would you be offended if I don’t tell you why I came? It’s not that I don’t trust you . . .”

He shrugs. “Do what you want. I was only trying to help.”

I make a quick decision to tell him at least one part of what I need. After all, the Super Pusher is aware of my Level 2 capabilities, so that topic is safe to broach. “I want to learn how to Split once I’m already in the Mind Dimension.”

“You want to learn what?” he asks, frowning.

I proceed to explain the concept of Level 2, and a look of recognition soon replaces the confusion on his face.

“Why that of all things?” he asks. “I’m not sure it can even be learned. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the whole idea isn’t just a convenient rumor to make everyone respect the Elders that much more.”

“It’s not a rumor. It’s a fact.” I try not to feel smug; I’m rarely better informed than Bill. “How else would you explain someone pulling me into this ‘rumored’ realm right before I came here?”

Bill looks stunned but recovers quickly. “So you’re telling me all this mumbo jumbo about Nirvana is true?”

I must be looking at him as if he has two heads, because he explains, “Nirvana is what the rumors call that place, if it can even be called a place.”

“Nirvana,” I repeat. “It didn’t feel all that heavenly, but it sure beats saying, ‘The realm you go to when you Split while in the Mind Dimension.’ Hell, it’s better than my term, Level 2.”

Bill stares at me. “If those rumors are true, then only extraordinarily powerful Guides can reach it. From what I understand, the Reach required is—”

“Yep,” I say, this time unable to fight my smugness. “I have some very good genes, you see.”

Bill’s eyebrows draw together again. “This is very worrying. Tell me, is it true what the rumors say? That you can’t reach Nirvana while you’re in someone else’s Mind Dimension?”

“No Level 2—I mean, Nirvana—access from someone else’s Mind Dimension?” I repeat slowly, giving myself a chance to think. “No, I never heard of that. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” he says, looking relieved.

“I know you, Bill. You never utter a word without a reason.”

“I just had a scary thought, that’s all.” He gives me a nervous smile. “In hindsight, it was silly.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” I say, more teasingly than I’ve ever allowed myself to act around my boss.

“I was wondering whether the reason I’m not ready to fire you yet has nothing to do with my wishes, you see.” As he says this, he looks atypically insecure.

I try not to chuckle, finally understanding his earlier discomfort. “You think I might’ve gone to Nirvana and Guided you?”

“If we were in your Mind Dimension, it would’ve been a real concern,” he says. “Come, we both know you’re precisely the type of person who would do something like that if you could.”

His words don’t insult me, partly because he’s right. If I wanted to keep my job and if I had to Guide him to do so, I’d do it. The whole ‘No level 2 from someone’s Mind Dimension’ makes a strange kind of sense. Eugene told me that you use up the other person’s Depth when they pull you into the Quiet. Going into Level 2 when you’re using up someone else’s Reach sounds like an activity that can deplete that someone’s Reach very quickly, and perhaps our minds protect against it.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Bill says, peering at me. He still looks uncomfortable, as confirmed by him saying, “Maybe I should fire you, and also stay as far away from you as possible in light of all this.”

I can tell that he misunderstood my silence, and that he’s only half kidding.

“Doesn’t the fact that you can even consider firing me prove that I haven’t Guided you?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” Bill says. “Maybe I’m able to consider it because you can’t get to Nirvana right now. Maybe once you can, I’ll feel like you’re indispensable.”

“You’ll know for sure when you decide to give me a two-hundred-percent raise.” I give my voice a mockingly ominous tone.

Bill chuckles and then says, “Seriously, though, I’ve treated you well over the years. Promise me you wouldn’t use that shit on me, even if you could.”