“What did the Gamekeeper find?” Bruce asked.
“That isn’t confirmed yet. But he had something in his hands. A vial.”
“I don’t understand,” Ava said. “How can her blood save him?”
“With a little help, it can be used to turn their bodies into Seraphim.”
A sharp laugh burst out of Bruce. “This is more than we’d hoped for. Our original plan hinged on this body having the Gamekeeper’s teleporting powers so we can travel to activate the star-gate from the Empire. But if we can find a perfect match to the queen’s bio-key—here—we can open the gate from Earth. After thousands of years, we can go home, and obliterate everything that bitch touched.”
Ava sneered. “You can turn her loved ones against her, just like you did in the beginning.”
Bruce glared at her. “We don’t speak about that aloud, Ava.”
Had he been behind the prince’s rebellion against his mother? The one who pulled the strings, creating those evil creatures that almost overran the planet? That must be what he meant. He turned her loved ones against her.
Cash. Marc. Kitty. All my loved ones in danger.
You touch a hair on their heads and I will end you, I screamed, hurling myself against my cage.
My body flinched and stumbled.
“Is everything okay?” my father asked.
“Fine,” Petra said. “She’s just a noisy passenger.”
Petra heard me when I screamed. That meant Leila could too.
Leila, don’t let her win. Stop her. Help me take control back.
My body doubled over, clutching the edge of the dining table.
“Petra, do you have control?” my father demanded.
“Yes,” I said, shaking my head. “She will run out of energy soon. Then she will be quiet.”
Leila. Leila. Please. Over and over I pleaded, watching the struggle in my body as Leila tried to take control. But it was short lived. I almost missed Leila’s whispered “I’m sorry” before the struggle was over and Petra stood my body tall.
“Is this going to be a problem?” Bruce asked, laser sharp focus on my face.
“No. I have had hundreds of years practice with possession. It’s a process, that is all. She won’t be lucid for long, and then she will feel nothing but vague moments passing her by.”
Possession?
As she said the word, darkness grew around me. She was right, I was tired. What was happening to me was a form of possession. With witches, they pushed the human soul out because there was no room for two. But with my Nephilim body, there was room for more.
The hour of battering against my confines had taken a toll. Exhausted. Keeping focused was an effort.
“No, not yet.” My father’s voice swam into my mind. What had I missed? “We need to get the vial off the Gamekeeper. Petra, well done. Very well done. When you complete your mission, you will have earned your place in our world.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“So, what now? We wait until the Gamekeeper reveals himself,” Ava suggested.
“We know their weakness and should use it against them. Fight now.” The words came out of my mouth.
“No. For now, go about your day without any attention. If we can get this finished without exposure until production is complete, then our jobs will be easier. Start the third trial tomorrow as usual. I will think on the next course of action and let you know.”
Those were the last words I heard before exhaustion won and darkness closed around me.
Chapter 32
When I came to, we were above ground in the Royal Botanical Garden. The same place I’d met Marc the night before… or had it been longer? Lincoln was there with arms folded, glaring at Drew and Crank with Lyra House a few feet away. Epsilon House contenders, Ava, Rus and Val stood next to me, muttering. The haze around my vision cleared a little, and I saw more people chatting in the warm weather, as though it were any other normal day. The midmorning sun broke through the trees to dapple faces with light amongst the shade. Nature called as though a living thing. Life and energy sang out of reach. I wept from my confines. I wanted to touch it, bring it into me, soak it up. But I couldn’t.
The second trial must be over, and this was the start of the third.
Who knew how long I had been out of it. Sometimes The Others had been quiet for days.
I watched Petra speak to people around us, quietly and briefly, pretending to be me. Sound came in and out of focus, some fuzzy and some clear. I couldn’t decipher what they said and tried to read lips. Not my forte. But Lincoln’s facial expression was wary as he watched me from the corner of his eye while he spoke with another. I wondered, how much did he know? I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t hurt to see him here, with them. But he hadn’t been at the meeting last night with my father and Ava. Perhaps they didn't trust him. Did that mean I could?
This was the first time I’d seen him since his trial, and there had been a remarkable change. His clothing was on the correct way, not inside out. That made me sad. No more rebelling against my father. He’d given up.
Something made a loud sound and everyone looked a certain way.
Jacine stood at the front of the crowd, speaking. Next to her, someone held up an enormous map of the local area.
“Alright, doves, it’s time for your final trial. Get through this and you will be freed into the Game after the Libertine Ball.”
A murmur of appreciation rose around me.
“Today, your task is to get across the harbor and all the way down to this point.” She pointed at a spot on the map. “This is our very own Race Around The World. You have a time limit, no money and nothing but your wits and skills to get you there. You slip and reveal your abilities, you’re done. Just like that, game over. Oh, and good luck getting public transport—it’s Christmas Day.”
It was the one day a year where shops shut down and public transport ran on a bare minimum. It was basically a ghost town out there, so if there were accidental slips of secret abilities, the Tribunal would clean up the mess and hide our presence from the world.
I scoured the crowd for Marc. Surely he’d be here. If my body got in front of him, surely he would know it wasn’t me driving this body. He could sense auras as well as me. He should know. But he was nowhere in sight.
No battering against my cage today. I conserved my energy hoping I’d have the strength to persuade Leila to work with me. She’d had a few moments where she’d been able to break apart from Petra and write me a note. My hope was she could do something now. I needed to warn my friends… I slumped. What friends? I’d alienated Cash. Marc was missing. I hadn’t spoken to Wren since the day she learnt I attacked her brother. My human friends were back in Margaret River, completely unaware of what was happening to me.
I was exactly where I was afraid I’d be, all because of my stupid pride. Alone, afraid, forgotten.
But I couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t. I’d find a way to get out of here. If Petra could do it, so could I. The Book of the Dead had been unblocked. I knew how to split her soul, to weaken her. I just had to bide my time until I could take control of my body back.
I searched for Cash. Not here. Why would he come when I’d told him it was over? But then my vision cleared, the people around me came into crystal focus. That tiny spark of hope flared to life again. He must be near.
“Roo, I’d like a word.” His voice, behind me.
My vision panned to Cash, tense and determined.
“I told you, I want nothing to do with you.” My voice was cold, flat.
“You heard her,” Ava said.
“Since when did you speak for her?” Cash countered.
“Since our Houses are aligned.”
“What she wants is irrelevant. I’m her mentor, and I need to speak with her before her last trial. Privately.”
Petra gave a quiet nod to Ava then turned my body to Cash. He placed a palm on my back and guided me to a spot a few feet away. At his touch, ever
ything inside me surged, stronger, more alive, but Petra’s words coming out of my body cut like a knife: “Don’t touch me again.”
Before Cash’s hand dropped from my back, I caught the sharp flare of his nostrils and the twitch in his eye. He smelled something. His gaze bored through me, assessing. “Roo. Why are you doing this?”
“Because I can.”
“This isn’t you.”
“You haven’t been around long enough to know.”
Cash! I yelled from my prison. It’s me! I’m in here.
But he didn’t hear. He stood, arms folded, watching intently.
Leila, help me. I need to get a message to Cash.
My body flinched.
I pushed with all my energy. I tried to pilot my body myself, to make my lips move, to do anything to show him I was here, but Petra was too strong. All I achieved was a hiccup.
“I’m not backing down,” Cash said.
A frustrated growl came out of my body. She controlled my voice, my breathing, my face. I wanted that growl to come from me, but it was from her.
“What’s it going to take, then?” Petra continued. “You only understand pain, is that it? You need to see for your own eyes that I don’t care anymore?”
Petra stepped my body sharply to the right and grabbed the nearest person. She yanked him to my mouth and kissed him in front of Cash.
Stop!
I lashed out and my body trembled, confused. Then Petra pulled on the man’s energy, siphoning for strength against the clarity Cash brought me. My soulmate. I felt a foreign spark of life infuse Petra with strength and vibrate through our bones. She kept sucking, draining, but without blood, it was just a pick me up. And pick me up, it did. It connected with me. Woke me up.
The more energy she siphoned, the more I dragged into myself, away from her. She let go and shoved the dazed man away from us. He stumbled back, lifting his surprised gaze to catch with Cash over my shoulder.
When we turned, I expected to see heartbreak on Cash’s face, but he smiled darkly, and it turned my blood to ice. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why, because you’re jealous, because you want me all for yourself? I told you, I’m done with us. When is that going to get through your thick head?”
“Never, because you fucked up, Petra.”
I could’ve wept for joy at his words, jumping up and down in my metaphysical cage, but Petra stood back, shocked—caught out. Cash moved forward, his large, lean body imposing, looming. “You think I can’t tell the difference between your scent and hers, or the way you talk and even walk? I’ve known from the moment you woke up at the librarian’s.”
I saw my hands lift in front of my body, palms out, ready for attack.
“Careful, now, Petra. We’re not in the Ludus anymore. You attack me and I’m free to attack you back. And your powers don’t work on me.”
“You won’t hurt this body. Not while I have your precious cargo inside.”
“She’s survived cyanide poisoning, a bomb, being thrown into a pit and much more. I think she can take what I have to give.”
“If I die, her soul is the only one inside me to sacrifice.”
Cash paused, eyes assessing.
A hand slapped me on the shoulder. Bruce.
“What’s going on, here?”
“Your game is up, Bruce,” Cash warned. “Hand her over before things get messy.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. In case you haven’t noticed, the trial is about to begin. So, if you’ve finished doing what second rate mentors do, I’d like to speak with my daughter. Alone.” His fingers grasped my upper arm and tightened painfully. “Come with me.”
“I don’t think so.” Cash’s hand grasped my other shoulder and pulled.
My body got caught in a silent game of tug-of-war.
“Is there a problem here, doves?” Jacine walked up, hands behind her hips. “You’re making a scene. Whatever it is, wait until after the trial. Hunter, I’d like to speak with you.”
Cash’s steely gaze locked on us, but he let go. “After the trial.”
Bruce pulled my body across the garden to an isolated spot under a tree. He used his enormous bulk to block us from the rest of the gathering.
“What the hell was that?” he growled.
“He knows. He’s known from the start.”
Bruce’s lips flattened into a hard line. “Then we don’t have much time. Advance the plan to the next stage of testing. You know what to do. Call me when it’s done.” He glanced to his side. A few feet away, Lincoln spoke with one of the Epsilon boys. Bruce lowered his voice for our ears only. “If he causes trouble, get rid of him, and anyone else on the list.”
Shock radiated through me. The list. This was it… well, the start of it.
I felt my head nod and my face pull taut with a smile, but inside I seethed.
I would find a way to stop him. I had to. We were running out of time.
The trial began, and we walked in a group away from the gardens, back to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Most contenders rushed off to find their way across town. A few flagged down stray cars, others used mind control… but there weren’t many cars around. The streets were empty this early in the morning, and the people I was with—Epsilon House and Lincoln—took their time.
Did they all intend to fail?
Ten minutes later and we’d crossed the bridge to the other side of the harbor. Instead of continuing toward the national park, we veered left, to the foot of the bridge where a large screaming mouth of a clown-like-face marked the entrance to Luna Park. When we approached the wide mouth entrance, my arm flew out, power burst from my hands and the gate broke under the pressure of telekinesis, clearing the way forward.
“Why are we going here,” Lincoln asked. “We’re running out of time. The way to the finish line is that way.”
Ava’s poker face angled his way. “Then go.”
Lincoln hesitated and looked at me for guidance. “Roo. Come on. Let’s leave these idiots.”
But my body didn’t move, didn’t make a sound.
Lincoln’s focus narrowed on my eyes. “It’s not Roo, is it?”
“Clever boy.” The words fell out of my mouth.
Tension filled the air between us, and then Lincoln shook his head. “Fine. Do what you want. I’m leaving.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, little brother. You know my secret.” My body advanced on him. “You cannot be allowed to leave.”
“But, you’ll all fail the trial. You’re not all in the breeding program. You’ll have your game ended.”
Petra laughed. “Don’t you get it? Soon, there will be no Game to worry about.”
Epsilon House snickered. Each had found a spot of the bent metal fence to lean against, arms folded, waiting for the show to begin.
Run! I screamed. Run, Lincoln.
Chapter 33
Lincoln tried to run away, but Petra used my power to stop him. She enveloped his body with air and squeezed. He choked, gasping, body trapped.
“As much as I’d like to stay and play with you, time is of the essence. Boys, collect our friend. Ava, move ahead and secure a room.”
“I don’t take orders from you.” Ava folded her arms.
“If you want to live, you will.”
There must have been something in my eyes that affected Ava because she hesitated and eventually conceded. She jogged into the deserted amusement park decked out in primary colors, swirling red, blue and yellow. Stripes and swirls decorated everything.
“Where do you want him?” Rus said.
He and Val held Lincoln between them, like a stiff store mannequin.
My hand gestured toward the park where the open clown’s mouth marked the entry. We walked through the clown’s teeth and stopped to gain our bearings while waiting for Ava to return. The sun shone in our eyes, blinding us in the heat. To the left, a Ferris Wheel swayed and creaked in the wind. To the right, a carousel looked lonely
with no children to ride it. Up ahead sat sideshow alley, frozen rides, and more empty attractions. The soundless, hot atmosphere was odd. A ghost town.
But private.
Perfect place for them to do whatever they planned to do.
“In here,” called Ava and took us to The Lighthouse Café. She’d busted the doors open and walked us to the vacant epicenter of the room. There were tables void of people, counters missing hotdogs and mustard, and air stuffy and thick.
“Put him over there.” Petra pointed to a corner of the room. “I might need him for energy.”
Poor Lincoln. Just like me, a prisoner. Unable to move his body, forced to watch from afar. Wait, what did she say? She might need him for energy?
Over my dead body.
The realization washed over me like a wave.
Maybe that’s what I needed—to die. To end up back in my body wherever that was. And Petra… she’d be easier to kill. Cash wouldn’t hold back if he knew I was out of here. A stone of resolve dropped in me. If that’s what it took, then that’s what I’d do. But the question was, could I do it without getting out of my metaphysical cage?
“Okay, what now?” Val asked.
“Now, we need cables and electricity. Split up, and look for wires, cords, anything we can attach to a point and conduct power through. Try the cash registers, computers, extension cords.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Ava argued. “We don’t need to tie him up, just cut him down.” She strode over to the kitchen counter and rifled around until she discovered a sharp range of kitchen knives. After selecting her favorite, she deftly rotated it in her hand.
“Do as you’re told.”
“My idea is better.”
“Ava. We don’t have time for this.” Power shot from my hands and knocked the knife from Ava’s grasp. It clattered to the counter.
Ava growled at me.
“Ava, the trial will be over soon, and people will notice we’re missing. We’ve only got one shot, and the Gamekeeper’s no ignorant Player.”
“I can take him.” Ava retrieved the knife and flipped. It sliced through the air, spinning, until it landed hilt first back in her palm.
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