Rhys and Matt both gaped at the hobgoblin, and I probably would’ve too, if I’d been capable of gaping. I could barely keep my head up.
“You say the girl is in need of a doctor?” Loki asked, his eyes resting on me. He regarded me with the same mild curiosity he had before.
“Kyra did that?” the hobgoblin asked, his voice unexpectedly deep for such a small creature. He looked to Loki for confirmation, shaking his head at the damage she’d inflicted on me. “She needs to be put on a leash.”
“I don’t think she can breathe,” Matt said.
Matt’s features hardened to with restraint. I’m sure my condition was the only thing keeping him from attacking Loki. If he hurt them, they wouldn’t be able to help me.
“Well, let me have a look.” Loki walked over to me, his strides long and purposeful.
The hobgoblin stayed by the door, guarding it from Matt and Rhys, but they were too focused on me to consider escape.
Loki crouched down in front of me, looking me over with something that resembled concern. I was in too much pain to feel real fear, but I’m not sure I would have been afraid of him. Physically he was much stronger than me, and he had some kind of ability that could knock me out, maybe even more than that. But somehow, I knew he’d help me.
“What hurts?” Loki asked.
“She can barely breathe, let alone talk!” Matt yelled. “She needs immediate medical attention!” Loki held up his hand to silence him, and Matt sighed heavily.
“Can you talk?” Loki kept staring at me.
When I opened my mouth, instead of speaking, an excruciating cough rose up in me. Closing my eyes, I tried to fight it. I coughed so hard, tears streamed down my cheeks, but I felt something wet. I opened my eyes to see bright red splattered all over my legs and Loki’s feet. I was coughing up blood, and I couldn’t stop.
“Ludlow!” Loki shouted at the hobgoblin. “Get Sara! Now!”
4. Vitriol
Loki stayed crouched in front of me, keeping Matt back. Matt’s inclination would be to hold me, and Loki didn’t want me moved, afraid that it might rupture something. Matt shouted frantically, and Loki kept insisting that everything would be alright.
Within moments, a woman appeared in the room. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she knelt down in front of me, pushing Loki to the side. Her eyes were almost as dark as Finn’s, and I found something comforting in that.
“My name is Sara, and I’m going to help you.” She pressed her hand hard against my abdomen, and I winced.
It hurt so bad, I wanted to scream, but then the pain began to fade. A weird numbing tingle ran through me. It took me a second to figure out where I had felt that sensation before.
“You’re a healer,” I mumbled, slightly dismayed that she was helping me. The pain in my chest and stomach had disappeared, and she put her hand on my face, fixing my black eye.
“Does it hurt anywhere else?” Sara asked, ignoring my statement. She looked worn out, a temporary side effect from healing, but otherwise, she was incredibly beautiful.
“I don’t think so.” I felt sore all over, but that was still lessening.
“Kyra went way overboard,” Sara said, more to herself than me. “Are you okay now?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Excellent.” Sara stood up and turned to Loki. “You need to control your trackers better.”
“They’re not mine.” Loki crossed his arms over his chest. “If you have a problem with how they do their job, take it up with your husband.”
“I’m certain my husband wouldn’t like how this situation was handled.” Sara looked at him severely, but he didn’t back down.
“I was doing you a favor,” Loki replied evenly. “If I hadn’t been there, it would’ve been worse.”
“I’m not having this discussion now.” She glanced in my direction, then walked out of the room.
“Is that everything, then?” Loki asked us once she’d gone.
“Not even close.” Matt had been sitting next to me but he got to his feet. “What do you want with us? You can’t just keep us here!”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Loki smiled emptily at me and turned to leave the room.
Matt tried to rush him, but Loki was already out the door before he got to him. He slammed the door and Matt flew into it. There was a loud clicking as bolts locked, and Matt slacked against the door.
“What is going on here?” Matt shouted and turned to look at me. “How come you’re not dying anymore?”
“Would you rather I be dying?” I pulled the sleeve of my sweater down and wiped the blood away from my face. “I could get Kyra in here to finish the job.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Matt rubbed his forehead. “I want to know what’s happening. I feel like I’m in a bad dream.”
“It gets easier,” I said and turned to Rhys. “What the hell was that hobgoblin thing that came in? Was that an actual troll?”
“I don’t know.” Rhys shook his head, looking just as bewildered as I felt. “I’ve never seen one before, but everyone goes out of their way to make sure mänks don’t know anything.”
“I didn’t think there were real trolls.” I furrowed my brow, trying to remember what Finn had told me about trolls before. “I thought they were just myths.”
“Really?” Matt asked. “After everything that’s happened? So you pick and choose what mythology you believe in?”
“I’m not picking and choosing anything.” I got to my feet. I still felt sore all over, but it was light years better than I’d felt when I woke up. “I believe what I can see. I hadn’t seen this before. That’s all.”
“Are you okay?” Matt watched me as I hobbled around the room. “Maybe you should take it easy.”
“No, I’m fine.” I brushed him off. I wanted to get my bearings in the space, maybe see if there was a way that we could get out. “How did we get here anyway?”
“They broke into the house and attacked us.” Matt gestured to the door, referring to Loki and the Vittra. “That guy knocked us out somehow, and we woke up here. We hadn’t been awake very long before you woke up.”
“Lovely.” I touched the door, pushing on it as if I thought it would open. It didn’t, but I had to try.
“Hey, where’s Finn?” Rhys asked, echoing thoughts I was starting to have. “Why didn’t he stop this?”
“What does Finn have to do with this?” Matt asked with an edge to his voice.
“Nothing. He used to be my tracker. It’s sorta like a bodyguard.” I took a step back, staring at the door and willing it to open. “He tried to protect me from all of this.”
“That’s why you ran away with him?” Matt asked. “He was protecting you?”
“Something like that,” I sighed.
“Where is he?” Rhys repeated. “I thought he was with you when the Vittra came.”
Matt started yelling about Finn being in my room, but I ignored him. I didn’t have the energy to fight with Matt about propriety or his feelings for Finn.
“Finn left before they broke in,” I said, once Matt had finished his tirade. “I don’t know where he’s at.”
I don’t know what had happened that kept Finn from protecting me. Maybe he had really left. I had thought that had all been a bluff, but I don’t know why he wouldn’t have been there.
Unless something bad happened to him. The Vittra could have gotten to him before they came after me. He cared too much for duty, even if he didn’t care enough for me. The only way he wouldn’t keep me safe is if he couldn’t.
“Wendy?” Rhys asked.
I think he’d been talking before that, but I hadn’t heard anything he’d said. I’d been too busy thinking of Finn and staring at the door.
“We have to get out of here,” I said and turned to Rhys and Matt.
“Obviously,” Matt sighed.
“I have an idea.” I bit my lip. “But it’s not a great one. When they come back, I can use my persuasion.
I can convince them to let us go.”
“Do you really think that’s strong enough?” Rhys voiced the concern I’d had myself.
So far, I’d only used persuasion on unsuspecting humans, like Matt and Rhys, and Finn had told me without training, my abilities weren’t as strong as they could be. I hadn’t begun my training yet in Förening, so I had no clue how powerful or weak I might be.
“I really don’t know,” I admitted.
“Persuasion?” Matt raised an eyebrow and looked at Rhys. “Is that the thing you were telling me about? That mind thing she can supposedly do?” Rhys nodded, and Matt rolled his eyes.
“It’s not supposed.” I bristled at his skepticism. “I can do it. I’ve done it to you before.”
“When?” Matt asked, still dubious.
“How do you think I got you to take me to see Kim?” I asked, referring to when he’d taken me to see his mother, my “host” mother, in the institution.
He hated her and didn’t want me to have anything to do with her. I’d used persuasion on him, even though I’d felt guilty about it, but it was the only way I could talk to her.
“You did that?” His shock and hurt were instantly replaced by anger. He looked like he’d been slapped in the face. I lowered my eyes and turned away. “You tricked me? How could you do that, Wendy? You always say you never lie to me then you go and do something like that!”
“It wasn’t a lie,” I said sheepishly, trying to defend actions I couldn’t even justify.
“No, it’s worse!” Matt shook his head and stepped away from me, as if he couldn’t stand to be near me. “I can’t believe you did that. How often did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “For a long time, I didn’t know I was doing it. But once I figured it out, I tried not to do at all. I don’t like doing it, especially to you. It’s not fair, and I know it.”
“Damn right it’s not fair!” Matt snapped. “It’s cruel and manipulative!”
“I’m really sorry.” I met his eyes, and the hurt in them stung painfully. “I promise I won’t ever do it again, not to you.”
“I hate to break up this moment, but we need to figure a way out of here,” Rhys interrupted. “So what is the plan?”
“We call someone,” I said, happy for the reprieve from thinking about how much Matt must hate me.
“What do you mean call someone? Do you have your cell phone?” Rhys asked excitedly.
“No, I mean, summon someone. The way Matt did before.” I pointed to the door behind me. “Knock on the door, say we’re hungry or cold or dead or whatever. When they come, I can use my persuasion on them to get them to let us out.”
“You think that will really work?” Matt asked, but the disbelief had dropped from his voice. He was only asking our opinion now.
“Maybe.” I looked at Rhys. “But I have a favor to ask. Can I practice on you?”
“Sure,” Rhys shrugged, trusting me immediately.
“What do you mean ‘practice?’” Matt asked with a concerned edge.
He moved a bit closer to Rhys, and I realized with some surprise that he finally believed Rhys was his brother. He wanted to protect Rhys from me. I felt some relief and happiness knowing that he’d started accepting him, but it hurt a little – okay, a lot – to know that Matt thought of me as a threat.
“I haven’t done it very much.” I didn’t like the way Matt scrutinized me, so I paced the room, as if it could alleviate his gaze somehow. “And it’s been awhile since I’ve done it all.”
That last part wasn’t entirely true since I’d just used it on Rhys the day before, but I didn’t want him reacting the way Matt did. This whole process would go a lot easier the less people hated me.
“So what do you want to do?” Matt asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, unsure of what exactly I planned to do. “But I just need to practice. It’s the only way I can get stronger.”
Despite Matt’s obvious reservations, Rhys went along with it. It felt very odd to have someone witnessing persuasion, especially someone clearly against it, but I had no choice. I couldn’t send Matt into the next room or something.
Matt watched me intently, and I could see him out of the corner of my eye. It was distracting, but that was probably better practice for me. I doubt I could get one of the Vittra to step aside to a quiet place so I could try to use a bit of mind control on the guard.
I decided to start simple. Rhys and I were standing, facing each other, so I started repeating in my head, Sit down. I want you to sit down.
His blue eyes met mine evenly at first, then something foggy passed over them. His face seemed to slack, and his expression went completely blank. Without any acknowledgment, he sat down on the floor.
“Is he okay?” Matt asked, growing nervous.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rhys sounded like he’d just woken up. He looked up at me, his eyes dazed. “So, are you gonna do it or what?”
“I already did it.” I had never talked to anybody after using persuasion on them, and it felt strange to be open about it.
“What are you talking about?” Rhys’s brow furrowed, and he looked between Matt and me, trying to understand.
“You sat on the floor,” Matt attempted to explain.
“Why did you sit down?” I asked.
“I…” His face scrunched up in concentration. “I don’t know. I just… I sat down.” He shook his head and looked up at me. “You did that?”
“Yeah. You didn’t feel anything or sense anything?” I asked.
I had never known if what I did hurt people. They never complained of pain or anything, but maybe they couldn’t. Not if they didn’t understand what was happening.
“No. I didn’t even…” He shook his head again, unable to articulate what he meant. “I expected there to be a blackout or something. But… I knew that I was sitting. It was more like a reflex. Like, I breathe all the time, but I don’t think about it. This was the same.”
“Hmm.” I looked at him thoughtfully. “Stand up.”
“What?” Rhys asked.
“Stand up,” I repeated. He stared up at me for a second, then looked around. His eyes hardened and his eyebrows pinched up.
“What’s going on?” Matt asked, moving closer to us.
“I… I can’t stand up.”
“Do you need me to help you up?” Matt offered.
“No. It’s not like that.” Rhys shook his head. “I mean, you could pull me up. You’re stronger than me, and I’m not physically pinned to the floor. I just… forgot how?”
“Weird.” I watched him with fascination.
Once before, I made Matt get out of my room, and it’d been awhile before he’d been able to go in there. But he had been able to this morning, so it meant my persuasion did eventually wear off.
“Weird?” Matt scoffed. “Wendy, fix him!”
“He’s not broken,” I said defensively, but Matt glared at me in a way that made me want to crawl under a rock. I crouched down in front of Rhys. “Rhys, look at me.”
“Okay?” He met my eyes uncertainly.
I wasn’t even sure if I could reverse the process. I had never tried to undo persuasion before, but I didn’t think it’d be that hard. And if I couldn’t, then he’d just have to sit down for a week or two. Maybe.
Instead of worrying about the possible repercussions, I focused all my energy on him. I just said Stand up in my head over and over again. It took longer than it did last time, but eventually his face started to fog over. He blinked at me a few times and got to his feet.
“I am so glad that worked.” I let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you sure it worked?” Matt asked me, but his eyes were on Rhys. Rhys stared blankly at the floor, looking more out of it than he had last time. “Rhys? Are you okay?”
“What?” Rhys lifted his head. He blinked at us, as if he’d just noticed we were here. “What? Did something happen?”
“You’re standing up.” I
pointed to his legs, and he looked down.
“Oh.” He lifted one of his legs, making sure it still worked, and didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he looked at up at me. “I’m sorry. Were we talking about something?”
“You couldn’t stand up. Remember?” I asked, but my stomach twisted up. I might really have broken Rhys.
“Oh. Yeah.” He shook his head. “Yeah, I remember. But I can stand now. Did you do that?”
“Wendy, I don’t like you playing with this,” Matt said quietly.
Matt faced Rhys, but he gave me a sidelong glance. Matt tried to keep his face hard, but his eyes betrayed the fear he had.
I had scared Matt, and not in the same way as when I’d run away. He had an actual fear of something I could do, and it made a painful knot in my chest.
“I’m done now.” I stepped away from Rhys.
My dark curls hung around my face, but I had a hair tie around my wrist, so I pulled them up into a loose bun.
“What?” Rhys asked, sounding alert.
He had fully come out of the trance I’d had him under, but I didn’t even really want to look at him. Matt made me feel ashamed about using persuasion, even if Rhys was aware of what I had done.
“Sit down,” Matt suggested.
“Why? I don’t wanna sit down.”
“Sit down anyway,” Matt said, more firmly this time. When Rhys didn’t respond, Matt repeated his command. “Rhys, sit down.”
“I don’t get why it’s so important to you that I sit down.” Rhys grew more agitated as Matt pressed him, and I’d never really heard him sound irritated with anyone. “I’m fine standing up.”
“You can’t sit down,” Matt sighed, looking over at me. “You broke him a different way, Wendy.”
“Wendy did this?” Rhys furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand. What did you do? You told me not to sit?”
“No, I told you to sit, and you couldn’t stand. Then I told you to stand, and you can’t sit,” I said. “Now I don’t know what to say! I don’t really wanna say anything anymore! I might make it so you stop breathing or something!”
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