“I noticed that,” Fiona said. “But I’ve never heard it mentioned before either.”
There was a noise like a sigh from Quin’s bed. Shinobu was still asleep there, lying in almost exactly the same position he’d been in all night and most of the previous afternoon. She looked up at him, saw him shifting beneath the covers.
“Maybe he’s finally going to wake up,” she whispered.
Fiona nodded and got to her feet. “I’ll go to Master Tan’s and fetch his tea for today,” she said.
Master Tan had been making Shinobu a medicinal tea every morning, using herbs from his famous collection. The tea was, according to Shinobu, very disgusting, but it was effective in accelerating his recovery.
Fiona squeezed her daughter’s shoulder and passed out of the bedroom. Quin thought that squeeze carried more than comfort; it felt as though her mother were saying, You brought this one home…He’s yours to look out for now.
When Fiona was gone, Quin got up from the floor and seated herself on the edge of the bed. At the shifting of the mattress, Shinobu came awake with a start.
“Quin? What…”
“You’re alive,” she said quietly, touching his cheek. “A couple of times I thought you might be dead.” That wasn’t quite true, but his unconsciousness had been so deep she’d been reluctant to leave the room all night. She was more relieved than she could easily admit, to see him awake and speaking.
Shinobu glanced at the clock, and she watched him try to make sense of the numbers. “Have I been asleep since yesterday afternoon?” he asked.
“You have.”
He dropped his head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. “How?”
She ran a hand through his hair. “I think the focal made you extra alert by draining all of your energy.”
He blinked a few times, then passed a palm across his forehead and rubbed his eyes in a gesture that was so boyish and unguarded Quin had the very strong urge to draw him into her arms.
“It was so interesting when I wore it, Quin. It was like I could see and understand everything. Like the world was so clear. Like my thoughts were lining up all by themselves.”
Hearing his description, she could appreciate why he’d enjoyed it so much. “It’s called a ‘focal,’ so I imagine its whole purpose is to help you focus,” she told him, “but the first rule for using it is ‘Be firm in body, in good health.’ You’re not quite there yet.”
“You think that’s why I fell asleep for so long?”
Quin shrugged. “Maybe.”
He sat up, and the covers fell off his bare chest. He was still in only his underwear, just as he’d been when she found him covered in acupuncture needles. She looked at the scar along the right side of his abdomen. It was much, much better than it had ever been, but it was still an ugly purple line seven inches long. And he was too skinny.
“Quin, I want to use it again.”
“The focal?” She laughed, then stopped. He wasn’t joking. Scoffing a bit, she asked, “You want to use the thing that made you pass out for nearly an entire day?”
“It was doing something for me. My thoughts are still more—more logical than they were before. Whatever it did for me has lasted all night. I still feel it, Quin. And I want to let it finish whatever it was doing.”
“That’s not—”
“So what if I sleep a lot? I could use the rest anyway. I felt all achy yesterday—”
“Because of the helmet. You were in pain when I took it off you.”
“I just want to use it for a little while.”
He’d put a hand on her arm and was staring at her with an intensity that reminded her of how he’d looked while wearing the focal. It was troubling. Quin had treated many drug addicts during her time as a healer—drugs were always a problem on the Transit Bridge—and this was exactly the sort of thing an addict would say when trying to convince you they were making good choices. It was particularly troubling coming from Shinobu, who had only recently stopped using drugs. He was such a good fighter and so tough from years of Seeker training that, she suddenly realized, she hadn’t been as alert to his weaknesses as she should have been.
“Shinobu,” she told him gently, “let’s not think about the focal just now. I’ve put it away.” He looked disappointed at this and glanced restlessly around the room as if planning