Ten Thousand Skies Above You Read Online Free Page B

dozen times, but it’s the kind of explanation you need a graduate degree in physics to fully understand.
    All I know is that I can go to any dimension and remain in total control. Where to go, who to see, what to do: It’s entirely up to me. I also know that you can create only one traveler like me in any given universe. (Apparently, creating more than one exception to the laws of physics can seriously destabilize reality.)
    But I still don’t understand why Wyatt Conley makes such a big deal out of it. “Other people can travel through dimensions! Okay, so, it’s more of a hassle. It doesn’t matter. You’ll use Nightthief on anyone—you proved that much. And you can travel as well as I can, so you can run your own creepy errands! So why do you keep after me?”
    â€œImportant work is coming.” Conley’s smile fades. “Tricky work, some of it in universes I can’t reach. Triad needs you on our side, and soon. Be fair—I tried gentler persuasion, didn’t I? If you work with me, you’ll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. But it looks as though more extreme measures are necessary to get you on board.”
    â€œLike kidnapping Paul into this dimension, just like you did my dad?”
    To my surprise, Conley shakes his head. The flickering orange light of the torches casts eerie shadows on his face. “Not exactly. This time, I’ve given you a challenge.”
    â€œYou mean, because the reminder didn’t work.” How was Conley able to prevent my Paul from waking up? The Firebird seems to be functioning normally, except for this strange, unique reading I don’t understand.
    Conley walks to the arched window and looks out, though in a world without electricity the view isn’t much to speak of. Moonlight paints the city dimly, a sprawl of buildings beneath the high hill of the castle. He says, “I told you already, but I suspect you were too upset to listen.”
    â€œTold me what?”
    He turns back to me, once again cocky as he leans againstthe stone wall, arms folded across his chest. “Haven’t your parents discovered the danger yet? The possibility of splintering?”
    My parents have never said word one about “splintering,” unless they were talking about literal splinters to be removed with tweezers. I open my mouth to tell Conley to stop playing games—
    â€”before realizing my parents did talk about this. They didn’t have a name for it yet, but they’d glimpsed the danger. But we’d had no idea how close that danger really was.
    Did that conversation happen only five nights ago? It feels like long, hard years have passed since then.
    â€œWe ought to have recognized the potential before,” my mother said, talking about what I now know is called splintering. “Consciousness is energy. Energy consists of packets of quanta. It stands to reason that those packets could become . . . disassociated.”
    â€œFragmented,” Paul said, his mood black. “The danger—”
    â€œIs remote,” my father cut in. The three of them were seated around the rainbow table, piles of paper and a glowing laptop evidence that they were hard at work, even after dinner on a weekend.
    Normally, Theo would have been working alongside them, but it was my turn to do the dishes, and he’d volunteered to help. Still, he couldn’t resist weighing in. “Are you sure of that, Henry?”
    â€œIncredibly sure. The odds against it are staggering. You’dalmost have to do it on purpose, not that anyone’s likely to try such a damn fool thing.” Dad began typing on the laptop with such gusto that I knew he was trying to find something similarly unlikely to compare it to.
    â€œGreat,” Theo muttered as he dried the salad spoons. “Like the Firebirds needed to get any more dangerous.”
    I tried to reason with him. “You’re like one of those