Chapter 99: Dauphine

The dog is barking. The sound of it pulls at me through the darkness as surely as the statue drew me, as I now know Solo drew me, calling me to pay attention, to be careful. I'm aware I'm unconscious, fight to wake even as I want to simply slip back into the quiet peace of the beckoning black.

Her face appears before me, she's shouting for me, the one I love so much. My mother. But the dog is loud, so loud, I can't hear what she's saying over his barking.

Endless barking.

I lurch awake, to my feet, reaching for him, but I'm alone, his anguished cries for me only an echo. It takes a moment for reality to reassert, though I feel completely alert and aware. It's as if my brain needs to reboot, as though I'm like Duet, more machine than human.

For all I know, I am.