Payal had to take a moment to think about that, consult with Canto, then check the vital information left by past anchors. “It’s possible,” she said at last. “All most people should feel is a headache that should pass within the hour, but a few may panic.”

We’ll need Krychek’s voice.

Payal agreed. “Kaleb, you have the loudest psychic voice in the room. We’ll need you to blast a message across that area of the PsyNet, warning people of what is to come—we don’t need cooperation, but it might stave off the panic.”

“Give me the text of the warning, and I’ll adapt it to what’ll make the populace behave as needed.”

That was why Kaleb had become a Councilor while Payal hadn’t; he understood how to manipulate people in ways she never had. Lalit had the same skill. So did the empaths—though they didn’t think of it as manipulation. Es had a tendency to gently nudge people toward certain behaviors with the full cooperation of the patient.

Jaya, for example, was teaching Payal how to modify her own behavior.

But even empaths must have their bad seeds, so the same skills could conceivably be used for evil.

“I have to leave to work on the occlusion,” she said. “Our aim is to do this within the next twenty-four hours, though that will depend on technical considerations. We have some room to maneuver, but the longer we wait, the harder it’ll be on the anchors in Delhi.”

Payal had managed to maintain to date, but it was getting more difficult with each day that passed, psychic exhaustion a constant threat on the horizon. Prabhyx and Virat were the same, while Shanta—the oldest of them—was starting to sleep fourteen hours a day as her mind and body began to overload. Payal would’ve urged Nikita to hurry if she hadn’t been aware of the intricate series of actions required to open the archive without damaging the data; Nikita had sent a copy of the process to her, so she could follow along as it progressed.

Now Payal opened her eyes on the physical plane and looked at the man who would take the next step. “Do you have it?”

He nodded. “They were brilliant, our psychic forefathers. Why did we forget?”

“Because our people like to forget things. Apparently, we believe ignoring and forgetting is as good as actually fixing problems.”

“Wish I could argue with you on that.” Scowling, he turned to the door. “I’ll contact the others. Arran and Suriana will assist, I know. We’ll leave Ager and Bjorn out of it unless we’re desperate.”

“Yes, they’ve earned their rest.” She glanced at her organizer. “Ruhi has been trying to get in touch with me. I’ll need to make a few calls to keep certain balls in the air.”

“You can do that while I gather our team.”

Payal held his eyes when he glanced back at her. “I’ll have to go back to Delhi for the occlusion.” She’d have had to return soon regardless, but she’d been hoping that her brain—calm and rested—would allow her to push things a little, give her an extra day or two before her need for the tumor medication went critical.

Yet there was no other viable choice.

They were anchors.

The first and last guard of a failing system.

This was their duty.

Canto turned right back around and moved until his chair was beside where she sat, the two of them facing in opposite directions. Reaching out to cup the back of her neck, he tugged her close for a kiss long and deep. “I’ll always be there.” Hot breath against her lips, his forehead pressed to hers. “A single thought and I’ll find a way to be by your side.”

Payal fisted her hand in his shirt. “Maintain the surveillance inside Vara.” Some might consider that a strange choice, but for Payal, it meant that in a place filled with enemies, she’d have one person on her side.

Her Mercant knight.

“A single thought, Payal.” Canto squeezed her neck. “And if I see a threat to you, I’ll take care of it.”

Payal felt no need to argue with him—she’d destroy anyone who hurt him, too. That was what it meant to be someone’s person.

Her temple pulsed softly, a whisper from the tumors growing deep in her brain.

Chapter 41

Research. Research. Research.

—Unofficial Mercant motto (per posting on family message thread)

AFTER CANTO PUT together the anchors who’d assist with the occlusion, they practiced the maneuver in the Substrate. “It’s so simple,” Canto said, his mind already working on multiple other possibilities using this technique. “Hard on my energy levels, but the merging with other anchor minds? It’s not difficult. Actually feels like I’m stretching out kinked muscles.”

Payal gave him a penetrating look. “For you,” she said precisely. “I’ve shadowed you on every merge, and I think you were born with the ability to be the nucleus for such large-scale actions.”

The nucleus.

That was exactly what it felt like, as if the other anchors were becoming part of him, part of a living cell. “What if I couldn’t do it?” he asked, his jaw clenching. “We’d have had the plan, but no one capable of putting it into play.”

Payal turned the full force of those beautiful, intelligent eyes on him, unblinking in her focus. “Canto, do you really believe it’s a coincidence that the anchor who reached out to bring us all together is also the same anchor with the ability to be the nucleus of a large-scale action?”

“I hear sarcasm, 3K.”

“You’re imagining it.” Straight face, but he felt her amusement in the bond between them. “I’m just asking a fact-based question.” She held up a hand when he would’ve argued—regal as a queen—and said, “What set you on the course of connecting us all? Do you remember?”

“Seeing the empaths rise and gather.” A once-stifled designation that was now a powerhouse.

“Was that the trigger, or did it just help you form your thoughts?”

Canto frowned, considered it. “I had a dream,” he said softly. “I’d almost forgotten that. It was this crazy, disjointed dream that showed anchors linked together in a constellation rather than as separate stars.”

Again, the image flared vividly against the screen of his mind. Of that constellation linked by lines of energy, so vivid and strong. Far stronger than the lonely stars alone in the Substrate. “It was so broken, that dream. But that image, it stuck with me.”