A man was arguing with several people gathered around a table. His hands rested on its edge. Even seen from the front, his face was a blur. The voices blended together until the man raised his own.
"We can't do that to them. They're living beings, not cybernetic automatons."
The image blurred again.
A dark sky. In the distance, explosions lit up the buildings.
A corridor with white walls. People were running. The only sound was their footsteps.
Iara jolted awake.
"What the hell was that dream?" she murmured.
Nagano, Japan. Minamoto family facility.
"Noah, lower your arms. You can let go of the earrings now."
Eleonor waited. Noah was still standing in front of her, the fingers of one hand beside his ear. His gaze hadn't shifted since he'd put on the second earring. When she stepped aside to make room for Sophie, his eyes didn't follow her.
"He doesn't see me," she said.
Sophie took his wrist and brought one of her devices closer. Haruki moved the lockbox out of the way so they would both have room to catch him if he lost his balance.
"Is he going to collapse?" he asked.
"I don't know," Eleonor replied. "In Canada, I had time to catch him because he took two steps before his legs gave out. This time he hasn't even lowered his hand."
Sophie checked the reading again.
"He's breathing on his own. His pulse is fast, but it's steady."
"How was he in Canada?" Haruki asked.
"He was struggling to breathe. By the time I got to him, he'd already used the bracelet to freeze a Claimoor." Sophie looked up. "This time he hasn't had to use his magic against anyone. That should make me feel better than it does."
Irina, who had been using her magical sight to watch the gems, came closer from the other side.
"Haruki, did anyone in your family ever wear both earrings before you moved them here?"
He shook his head.
There was a small spot of blood on the fingertip he'd cut to open the seal. He wiped it off with a handkerchief and went to the door. He asked the guard in charge to alert the medical staff and keep the corridor clear. When he came back, Eleonor was still holding Noah by the arms.
"You tried to reach him in China, too," Haruki said. "What did you do to bring him back?"
"Nothing," Sophie replied.
Haruki looked at her, waiting for her to go on.
"Eleonor and I tried to enter that darkness. We couldn't. Then Iara showed up, and by the time Noah came out, her serpent already had Eleonor in its coils."
"I didn't even see him come back," Eleonor added.
"What I remember is opening my eyes and finding out he was fighting outside. And when I finally got to him, he was lying on the ground. That's what I remember about the last time he found a relic. So don't ask me to stand here and wait calmly just because he's still breathing."
Eleonor looked up. Sophie was holding Noah's wrist with one hand. For a while now, she'd been trying to undo the clasp on her case with the other, without letting go of him. Eleonor opened it for her.
Sophie took out a sensor and fastened it just below Noah's shirt collar. This time they could both see his pulse on the screen.
"What if we take one off?" Eleonor asked.
No one had to ask what she meant.
"He could still move after he put the first one on," she continued. "We saw him raise his other hand. It was the second one that left him like this."
"I saw it," Irina replied. "But taking one off now isn't the same as never putting the second one on. What if we interrupt something he needs to find his way back?"
"Can you tell if they're hurting him?"
The blue glow faded from Irina's eyes.
"I can see how the gems are reacting, Eleonor. I can't see what he's seeing. I wish I could tell you he isn't suffering."
Eleonor looked at the earrings. They were within reach. All she had to do was let go of one of his arms and undo one of the clasps. Just a few minutes ago, he'd looked her in the eye and told her that yes, he wanted to put them on.
"We'll leave them on," she said at last. "But if he starts struggling to breathe like he did in Canada, we're not going to stand here arguing."
"We agree on that," Sophie replied.
Haruki pulled a chair up behind Noah so they could ease him into it if his legs gave out. Then he stayed beside him. For a while, the sensor was the only sound in the room. Then Eleonor asked Sophie a question without taking her eyes off Noah.
"Back in the infirmary, when you asked him who he'd be when he got his memory back, did he seem scared to you?"
"He said, 'Both.' At the time, he seemed more certain about it than I was. Why?"
"Because in China I asked him what would happen to him when he brought the relics together. And that time he told me he didn't know."
Eleonor straightened his jacket collar where it had folded under the sensor. That very morning, she'd grabbed him by that same collar when he called her "Mom." She could still picture his face when he realized she was fast enough to catch him.
"We were all so focused on making sure no one found out where the earrings were," Haruki said after a moment. "Even I had to get permission to come in. And now he's right here in front of me, and I don't even know if he can hear us."
"Then talk to him as if he can," Eleonor replied.
Haruki leaned forward a little so Noah would see him if his eyes focused again.
"You're still in Nagano, Noah. You're here with us. I've already called the doctors. There's a chair behind you, so when you can move again, don't try to take a step. I'll help you sit down."
Irina stayed beside him. Sophie kept watching the sensor, but Eleonor took her eyes off the screen. She'd spent all this time asking him questions he couldn't answer.
She slid one hand down Noah's forearm until her fingers slipped between his.
"And I'm still here," she told him. "I promised you I would be, before you put them on. You don't have to answer me."
A moment passed. Then Eleonor felt one of his fingers curl ever so slightly around hers.
"Sophie…"
"What is it?"
She almost told her that Noah had heard her. She wanted to believe it, but the movement had been so slight she couldn't be sure. Instead of answering, she loosened her grip and waited, letting him be the one to make the effort this time.
Noah's gaze was still fixed. The earrings were still in place.
Then his fingers closed around hers again.