Disciple: DreamWalkers, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

He didn’t want to think of Maggie pulling stunts like Lillian did. Ranting and raving to anyone who’d listen. Endangering herself.
    He didn’t want—he really didn’t want—Maggie coming to the notice of the curators. She was the kind of powerful, unusual L5 they liked to…engage.
    And then he’d never see her again.
    He couldn’t want her. Couldn’t have her. He’d gotten over that fantasy real quick when a couple vigils had chewed him out after he’d collared her. With the tangible—and his history—they intended to place her far away after she graduated. He’d been not so politely requested to forego any ideas about romancing her.
    Ever.
    He hadn’t told her. She didn’t seem like she cared anymore, anyhow.
    “Not bad,” he told her after she’d held the shield ten minutes. He wished there was a way to let a few wraiths into his outer shield. Would a limited number of monsters freak her shit out, or could she swing them? “Expand your barrier edge to mine and we’ll locomote. See what you can sustain.”
    She nodded. He felt her shields supplement his. They had more harmony in here—the harmony Adi wanted them to have out there. But how could he be mellow and teacherly around a woman he frequently imagined taking to bed? The best remedy for his situation was being unfriendly to her. It didn’t cool his jets, but it pissed her off enough that she was more likely to punch him than kiss him.
    He just wished he was a better teacher. Or something. His mixed feelings about Maggie—wanting her for himself yet not wanting to screw up her training yet not wanting anyone to know he might indeed be screwing up her training—were probably causing as many issues as her fear.
    Zeke mentally sped them through the dreamsphere on a path that kept their psychic presence far from base. Dreamsphere travel was a hell of a lot faster than terra firma travel. Too bad you couldn’t pop out wherever you wanted and drag your body with you. That would cut the Somnium’s gas budget exponentially, and maybe he could get some new damn equipment.
    Gorgets. The teams really needed fang-proof gorgets.
    The wraiths tried to keep up with Zeke’s pace and failed. The black swirls next to his shields dissipated. The faster he went, the more the dreamsphere lightened. Many alucinators couldn’t maintain a shield at this pace.
    When the sphere looked normal—pale gray and cloudy—he slowed. Wraiths gradually congregated around them like iron filings to a magnet, cutting off their window to the outside.
    Maggie pulled a face.
    “Where are we now?” he asked her.
    She’d remained on the other side of the bubble from him. Since the shield covered three hundred square feet, it wasn’t so dark that he couldn’t read her expression. The illumination came from the watery gray of the ground, where wraiths didn’t appear. She glanced at her feet, at the paleness there, as if it would display their coordinates.
    “One hundred and ten miles south-southeast of base,” she said after a minute. “In the same remote area in the mountains we used last week for training.”
    Time for another head pat. “You’re good at that.”
    Her lips quirked in a smile. “I’m glad I’m good at something.”
    “You can also lock your conduit as tight as a cat’s ass.”
    “Lovely imagery.” She smiled fully instead of just the corner of her mouth.
    Had he been taking the wrong approach, not wanting her to get a big head? Compliments earned him smiles. Maybe they’d earn him some better shielding.
    “You’re good at arguing too. You have a lot stamina for it. Your brother can’t hold a candle to — ”
    She held up a hand, palm out. “This is a Hayden free zone.”
    He could respect that. “Ready to shield solo again?”
    “No.”
    He couldn’t respect that. “Want to make your shield small or keep it large?”
    She scooted over to him. “I’ll shield, but I want to hold your hand.”
    She should be past the need for link