Ai was an apprentice Pathfinder, in training to guide the great Darkjumpers through interstellar space. But sporadic attacks of blindness seemed likely to end her career before it had truly begun. Desperate, she sought the counsel of an old family friend. But she found him lost to a living death, his mind mysteriously siphoned off in the Dark of space. So she brought his body back to Scholar Emrys, the one man she thought could help him. Years before, a bond had been forged among a group of scholars in an unusual experiment led by Emrys. None of them had ever realized quite how strong that bond could be. Now Ai's problems—and her special gifts—could lead them to the answers. Cover art by David Schleinkofer