"Can't you tell? The time out there," Maya gestures towards the door, "moves not like there at all. It's… It's faster. Not by much, but still. This isn't something I see every day!"
I look at her, shocked. She can really just tell this? Something that I can't even guess? A warm feeling surges through my chest. I smile. Of course she can. She's so special—my Maya, my Lock…
"Your senses are keener than ever, my Maya. I can only imagine how sharpened they will become with some more practice… But a slight change in the flow of time won't hurt us. We—"
I pause. Something tries to reach me. A mind, a conscience, and a tendril of power so familiar, it's eerie to see it not under my control. What's this?
"Zeke?" Maya asks, wary. "Something doesn't feel right."
*Listen to me,* a voice whispers in my head, barely audible. *I need you to listen and to trust me. It's the matter of life and death—and not even ours.*
