The Thought Readers (Mind Dimensions #1)(26)

As blown away as I am by this realization, something prevents me from sharing this information with my new friends. They looked awestruck at the mention of two days. What would they say to a year? And how do I reconcile this and being a half-blood? How powerful is Sara, to give birth to someone like me?

“What’s the maximum power a Reader can have?” I ask instead.

“That’s something even people who are part of the regular Reader society probably don’t know,” Mira says. “And even if they did, they wouldn’t share that information with us.”

“There are legends, though,” Eugene says. “Legends of the Enlightened, who were wise well beyond their years. It was as though they’d led whole extra lifetimes. Of course, some of these stories seem more like mythology than history.”

Myth or not, the stories sound fascinating. Before I get a chance to think about them, however, I’m interrupted by the waiter who brings our check. I insist on paying despite a few feeble complaints from Eugene. It’s part of my thank you to them, I say.

When we exit the restaurant, I tell them, “I wish we could talk for hours on end, but there’s something I have to do now.”

“You could pull us into the Mind Dimension and chat away; this way you wouldn’t be late for your appointment,” Mira says, giving me a sly look.

“Mira.” Eugene sounds chiding again.

She must be breaking another Reader social rule I’m not aware of. Using someone for time, perhaps? It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t mind doing what she’s asking if I wasn’t dying of curiosity. “It’s not about being late,” I explain apologetically. “It’s about asking my mom some serious questions.”

“Oh, in that case, good luck,” Mira says, her voice sympathetic for the first time.

“Thanks. Do you guys know where I can rent a car around here?”

Going to Staten Island from Brooklyn, or from anywhere for that matter, is best to do by car. There’s a ferry from downtown, but no thanks. That requires taking a bus afterwards. And the ferry is unpleasant enough by itself.

Though Eugene and Mira don’t know about rentals, my trusty phone does. According to it, there’s a rental place a couple of blocks away. Since it’s on the way to their apartment, I get an armed escort to the place—Mira with her gun. I’m grateful for that, as I’m still not a fan of their neighborhood. On our short walk, we talk some more about Readers. Despite Mira’s complaints, Eugene starts telling me about his research.

It sounds like he’s trying to find neural correlates that accompany what Readers do. That discovery might lead to knowing how the process works. He thinks he knows approximately what goes on, all the way up to the Split. After that moment, things get complicated because technology is finicky in the Quiet, and the instruments remaining in the real world don’t register anything—proving that no time passes in the real world after we phase in.

I only half-listen. It all sounds fascinating, but in my mind, I’m already having a conversation with Sara.

When we reach the rental place, I enter both Eugene’s and Mira’s phone numbers into my phone, and they get mine. We say our goodbyes. Eugene shakes my hand enthusiastically. “It was great to meet you, Darren.”

“Likewise,” I say. “It was great meeting you both.”

Mira walks up to me, and gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I stand there wondering if that means she likes me, or if it’s just a Russian thing. Whatever the reason for her actions, it was nice. I can still smell a hint of her perfume.

When they begin to head back, I turn to enter the car rental place. Before I do, I’m pulled into the Quiet again.

It’s Mira.

“Darren,” she says, “I want to thank you. I haven’t seen Eugene this happy, this animated, for a long time.”

“Don’t mention it. I like your brother,” I say, smiling. “I’m glad I had that effect on him.”

“I also wanted to say that, as he is my brother, I, above all, don’t want to see him hurt.”

“That makes sense.” I nod agreeably.

“Then we have an understanding,” she says evenly. “If this whole thing is a lie, I’ll be extremely upset.” Her eyes gleam darkly. “To put it in other words, if you hurt my brother in any way, I will kill you.”

She turns around and walks to her frozen body, which is standing a few feet away.

I don’t get a hug this time around.





Chapter 12


I’m driving the piece-of-shit car I picked up at the rental place. They didn’t have anything nice, but at least this thing has Bluetooth, so I’m listening to Enigma’s “T.N.T. for the Brain” from my phone on the car speakers. I raise the volume to the max.

In a confused stupor, trying to digest everything I’ve learned today, I follow my phone’s GPS directions. I know I need the Belt Parkway and the Verrazano Bridge after that, but once I get on Staten Island, I typically get lost—usually only a few blocks from where my moms live.

I called ahead to make sure they were home, but mentioned nothing of what I want to discuss. I plan to ambush them with my questions. They deserve it. I love them dearly, but I’ve never been angrier with them than I am now—not even during my rebellious mid-teen years. I’m especially mad at Sara.