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horrified. ‘Oh, my dear. We wouldn’t subject you to that. No robot dispensers here, only real, live, flesh and blood doctors with the best training.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    Allen rests his slate on his lap. ‘You suffered some frostbite and your hands received the worst of it. But they should be fine.’ A considering look enters his eyes. ‘Not many non-sliders survive the slipstream. You made quite the entrance here. You certainly caught the eye of the academy director.’
    â€˜It’s nothing I’d like to repeat.’ My eyes fix on my hands and I’m really hoping he’s not going to ask me what it was like. I don’t want to remember that screaming void of blazing light.
    â€˜You must be wondering how we found you.’ Allen’s voice turns soothing.
    I shift in my chair. ‘I’m taking a wild guess that my anonymous email wasn’t so anonymous after all.’
    â€˜A necessary deception, I’m afraid,’ Allen admits, unruffled. ‘It is important for Helios to give the illusion of secrecy to individuals who might be concerned for their safety. I can assure you, we do not abuse this information.’
    â€˜And … Blake,’ I say. ‘The slider. He’s been hanging around my uncle’s shop. He was spying on me?’
    â€˜Reconnaissance and preliminary assessment of a potential recruit.’
    â€˜Did he tell you what happened?’ I remember how we’d both nearly been tagged by law enforcement out the back of the Crystal Cave. ‘There was a … misunderstanding, you see, with the law.’
    â€˜Yessss.’ He drew out the word. ‘You’ve been identified as a person of interest by your local law enforcement. We are monitoring the situation, but we haven’t disclosed your location to them. Yet.’ Allen smiles again. ‘Of course, I can assure you that at Helios, we always look after our own. If you decided you wanted to stay, I’m sure there’s something we could do to sort out this … misunderstanding.’
    Though my stomach is doing excited flip-flops, dread settles on me as I imagine Bobby’s reaction when officers show up at our home searching for me. Third strike. I was out.
    Maybe not.
    Allen interrupts my thoughts. ‘Let’s start with the basics, Josie. Can you tell me what talent you are?’
    â€˜I’m an esper.’
    â€˜Of course you are. But do you know what sub-designation you fall under? After all, there are many. And please, I need you to be very honest. Your application to Helios depends on this.’
    The answer is on the tip of my tongue. Threader . But years of hiding make the word catch in my throat like a stone.
    An irritated look passes over Allen’s face. ‘Josie, we both know why you were able to enter the slipstream with Blake. You’re a threader, having both a telekinetic and telepathic ability, which you are able to merge with other talents. Correct?’
    â€˜Yes. I think.’ My voice is tiny, my pulse pounding loud in my ears. It’s possibly the first time I’ve had an open, honest conversation with someone about both of my talents. The air in the room feels heavy and my breath turns quick.
    Allen sits back in his chair. ‘Did anyone teach you about your talents?’
    I shake my head, concentrating on slowing my heart rate down. ‘I’ve never even threaded before. At least, not that I’ve known of.’
    Allen frowns, like maybe he doesn’t believe me. ‘That must have been difficult. But you’re not in trouble here for anything. The ability to control or assist another talent is quite a valuable skillset, particularly within Galloway Industries. There are only a handful of threaders in its employment and most of them are with the nanobotics or security sectors.’
    â€˜I don’t do that,’ I say quickly. ‘I don’t control people’s