Alice shrugged happily.
“Obviously, you can’t,” Evelyn said triumphantly, smiling up through her tears at the Auditors. “You need us for something, right? You need to know something?”
“Nah,” Alice chuckled, turning to the masked man and exchanging a knowing glance. “We’re just sending a message. Don’t get delusions of grandeur because we’re here. You aren’t anything special. Any Witch will do, as long as your corpses are ugly enough to make the rest of you think twice after they see them.”
Evelyn gaped at the Auditor in dismay.
“Why, then? Why bother keeping us alive?”
“Because it’s good practice for the kids in the science labs at Central to have a real live Witch to tear apart, so they know how to do it when we catch one that knows something worthwhile.” Alice’s smile was crooked, and her eyes fixed on Nadia. “And because of those little girls, Witch. That’s a score I want to even.”
Evelyn’s let the idol tumble from her hands on to the carpet next to her.
“Enough with the bullshit. I’m getting bored, and we don’t need two, anyway. Burn the little one, Xia,” Alice said, nodding at Nadia. “Make it hurt. We’ve got time.”
Behind his mask, Xia gave Alice a short nod, and then his eyes narrowed, and he stared at Nadia, hard.
It took a long time before Nadia stopped screaming, her face reduced to charcoal and cinders. And then, when Nadia finally went, Evelyn felt that too, like balloon popping inside her, and then the tears came, when she realized that she was alone inside her head, for the first time in her life.
She felt bad for herself. She’d liked having sisters.
“Fucking hell, but that stinks. Well, it’s a start,” Alice said, leaning forward and crooking a finger at Evelyn. “Now crawl on over here, bitch. All fours.”
Evelyn did as she was told, tears dropping from her cheeks to the scorched carpet. The room reeked of burnt plastic and cooked skin, and she felt sick.
“Okay, now strip,” Alice said smugly, crossing her legs. “Clothes in a pile, along with anything else you might have on you.”
Evelyn numbly began to unbutton her dress. Her head ached horribly, where her sisters had always been.
“Xia, you are watching this shit, right?” Alice asked, bright-eyed and cheerful. “Don’t say I never did you any favors…”
Sixteen
“Do you want to talk about what happened this afternoon?”
Rebecca was perched on the front of Michael’s desk, a cigarette dangling from her left hand. She was wearing a pale yellow sweater and a loose cotton skirt, her hair tied casually back, and she didn’t seem mad at Alex at all.
“Not really. I mean, you already know what happened, right?”
Alex shifted uncomfortably on the crushed-down cushions of the aging couch in Michael’s office. It was so eerily similar to the one he had destroyed in Rebecca’s office that he half-wondered if it had been moved here instead.
“Sure.”
Rebecca smiled at him benevolently, drawing on her cigarette.
“I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I didn’t. But I’m interested in what you think about what happened. Don’t get me wrong, Steve’s a piece of work — if the kid didn’t have such combat potential, we probably would have bounced him out a while ago — but your reaction seems a little…”
“Disproportionate?” Alex smiled ruefully. “You’re probably right. I’m not totally sure what got into me. But when I hit people, I try to make it so they don’t get right back up again, you know?”
“You learn that in Juvenile Hall?”
He wasn’t surprised she knew. Honestly, he was surprised how many people couldn’t tell.
“Sure,” Alex responded earnestly. “Look, I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of psycho who goes around beating people up for no reason. I’d prefer not to fight with anybody. This was, you know,” Alex paused, searching for the words, “preemptive. I would’ve had trouble with Steve, eventually. That’s really all there is to it.”
“And Eerie?” Rebecca’s eyebrows arched. “What about her?”
“It’s true that I don’t like watching that kind of thing,” Alex admitted. “But, this was all about taking care of myself.”
Rebecca looked at him for a long time, and then laughed.
“You’re the kind of kid who keeps psychologists in business, you know?” She ground out her cigarette in the ash tray, and then hopped off the desk. “I can’t fault you completely, either. Steve did provoke you, and he was tormenting that poor Changeling girl. Not the first time he’s done that, either.”
“Changeling? Is she like those werewolves? What does she change into?”
Alex looked confused.
“No, that’s just an old name for the children that the Fey leave behind,” Rebecca said, as if that explained anything, sitting down next to him on the couch. “Eerie’s had a tough time. There isn’t much of a place for her, here or with the Fey.”
“I don’t get it,” Alex said miserably. “I’m really trying, Rebecca, but I don’t understand what is going on here.”
“I do want to help you, Alex…”
Rebecca looked at the clock and sighed. She was clearly not making her afternoon appointments today.
“You say that, and I think it’s probably true,” Alex responded, running one hand through his uncombed hair. “But I’m not stupid, Rebecca. You’re helping me because you want something from me. Everyone here wants something from me.”
“Does that bother you, Alex? That we want something from you?”
“Actually,” Alex said, smiling shyly, “I’m fine with it. It’s nice to be wanted — that’s all there is to it.”
Rebecca put a hand on his shoulder, and sighed again.
“I’m sorry, Alex, but I don’t have a lot of time today. Do you mind if we move on?”
“Sure,” Alex said agreeably. “I was wondering why you were here, and where Michael was. I thought I was going to get lectured.”
Rebecca frowned.
“I think you’ll find the consequences for today to be bit more severe than a lecture.” She leaned back against the cracked leather couch, clearly very tired. “But I’ll leave that for Michael. We have something we need to do.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s nothing bad,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Do you remember last time? When I built those shields in your head?”
“Yeah. I can still feel them,” Alex gestured vaguely around his head. “It’s a little weird.”
“You get used to it after a while,” Rebecca said, nodding. “Has anyone explained protocols to you, Alex?”
He shook his head.
“Have you ever heard of a hypnotic trigger?”
“Sure, I think so,” Alex said uncertainly. “It’s like, once a person has been hypnotized, if they here a certain word or something, it makes them do stuff, right?”
“Sort of. Close enough,” Rebecca shrugged. “That’s basically what protocols are, Alex. Implanted behaviors and routines, just like on TV where they make people think they’re a chicken or dance around or whatever. Except we teach our students to trigger the behaviors themselves, consciously. You follow?”
Alex nodded.
“I think so.”
“Good. Well, Michael plans on showing you how to use the Absolute Protocol. We already know from your activation that you have the affinity for it. So, he asked me to set up the routine to help you operate it. We call the process implanting,” Rebecca explained patiently.
Alex thought about it for a while, and then nodded.
“Okay, Rebecca. I trust you. Let’s do it.”
Alex smiled at her, and was rewarded by an even bigger smile in return. Rebecca leaned next to him on the couch, resting her head on his shoulder.
“That’s good, Alex. And I know that it’s the truth, too, I can tell,” she softly, her shoulder pressing against his own, her hair in his face. Alex fel
t almost as if he were melting. “It feels good. There’s nothing an empath values more than genuine trust and affection. May I use your power, Alex?”
Alex nodded, his eyes fluttering and his breathing growing deep, regular. Rebecca put the palm of her hand on his chest and pressed lightly.
“Oh my…” she said, after a moment, sounding surprised. “Alright. I’m going to implant the protocol now. It’ll sting a little bit, and you might get dizzy for a minute, but that will pass quickly, and I’ll be right here with you. Is that okay?”
Alex nodded slightly, his eyes fully closed.
“Okay, Alex. This is the Absolute Protocol. In three, two…”
Perhaps there was a ‘one’, but Alex never heard it. He was only aware of where Rebecca’s palm met his chest, and the copper-toned light that emanated from there. It shown so brightly that he could see it through his eyelids, through Rebecca’s hand. The radiance grew slowly, gradually encompassing his whole body, then both of their bodies, illuminating the room with a dazzling array of sparks and metallic light. Alex shook and writhed and moaned like a child in the throes of a nightmare. Rebecca increased the pressure on his chest, and for a moment the light flared and became entirely white, with only a hint of crimson in the blinding, all-encompassing luminescence. Alex could see nothing else, could feel nothing else but the searing radiance.
And then it was over. Alex’s head hurt a bit, and he felt a little dizzy, but not bad. He took several deep breaths, and then opened his eyes.
Rebecca smiled at him, patted him on the leg, and then walked back to the desk. When she tapped a cigarette from the pack, Alex noticed her hands shook slightly.
“Damn, kiddo…” she said after a moment, blowing smoke at the ceiling. “Okay, the protocol is implanted. I also reinforced those shields we built the other day — you should be good ‘til next week. Come back and see me on Sunday, and I’ll fix them back up for you.”
Alex rubbed the back of his head and sat up.
“How long till I can build them myself?” he asked, blinking his eyes and trying to regain his equilibrium.
“Not long. We’ll teach you that soon. A couple of weeks, on the outside,” Rebecca said dismissively. “Don’t worry about it right now. You need to start with the fundamentals, and then learn the applications, you know? That’s what Michael is waiting out on the practice ground to show you.”
Alex looked down at himself oddly, then back up at Rebecca.
“So this is it, huh? I’m actually going to do this. Be an Operator, I mean.” Alex’s voice was filled with wonder and doubt. “I’m a little bit scared.”
“Don’t be.” Rebecca beamed at him, her brown eyes warm. “Trust me, Alex. You’re going to be more than fine. You’re going to be amazing. You are going to be better at this than you’ve ever been at anything.”
Alex stood up. Despite himself, he found that he was smiling.
“Thanks, Rebecca. I guess I’m ready. Where do I go?”
Alex was again awed by how huge the Academy was — he followed the map Rebecca had drawn through a number of green practice fields, a handful of low stone buildings, and one long stretch of what appeared to be rolling, forested hills. It took him a quarter hour to find Michael.
The gap cut crudely into the side of a hill had obviously been a quarry at some point in the past, though it looked to have been abandoned years before. Alex walked along the ridge on one side and then down a hand-carved path into a deep depression that narrowed by long, circular steps, with one narrow, uncut ridge rising in the center of the quarry, about half the height of the depression. Michael stood on the edge of that ridge.
The path so narrow that Alex didn’t feel comfortable walking up it. He didn’t think he’d actually fall off of it, but he felt as if he might, and it was a long way down to the still water at the bottom of the quarry. The rough-hewn walls of rock all around blocked out the sun, and it was quite cool. The pebbles that rolled away from Alex’s feet rang musically against the limestone ridge, falling eventually into the dark water below.
Michael stood at the edge of the ridge, his arms crossed, smiling companionably. Alex was grateful to find that the path widened out in front of him, and sat down with obvious relief on a large rock next to Michael.
“How’s it going, Alex?” Michael’s voice was hushed, but the sound still echoed within the old quarry. “How was your first day?”
“It isn’t over yet, so it’s too early to say,” Alex shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
“Fair enough,” Michael agreed. “Let’s talk a bit about that altercation at the cafeteria. Did that work out the way you wanted?”
“What do you think? I mean, I knew something like that would happen eventually, with all the stories everyone has apparently heard about me. But, I didn’t want it to happen before I had a chance to talk with most of my classmates.”
“Uh huh.” Michael nodded and waited for him to continue.
“And yes, alright.” Alex waved his hands agitatedly. “I didn’t expect him to turn to stone. And that’s obviously going to be a problem, since he’s probably thinking about ways to kill me, right now. Unless,” he said hopefully, looking up at Michael, “you were planning on teach me how to fight a living statue today?”
Michael looked at Alex oddly for a moment, and then laughed.
“Not exactly what I had planned today, no. You have anything else you’d like to say about it?”
“Well, actually, I do,” Alex said softly. “Why did you pick Vivik to introduce me to everyone?”
“You don’t like Vivik?” Michael looked surprised.
“He’s a nice enough guy,” Alex allowed. “But that isn’t the point. He’s clearly the least popular kid in the class, not counting the two who apparently aren’t even human. So why pick someone that everybody already hates to introduce me to everyone? Are you trying to set me up for this shit? Or is this some kind of test?”
Michael looked at Alex for a long moment, and then had another laughing fit.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Michael wiped his eyes and composed himself. “It’s good that you’re thinking that way, Alex. A little paranoia will take you a long way at the Academy. But that’s a bit petty, for me. I like to think my plots are a bit more elegant.”
“So why Vivik, then?” Alex demanded.
“I thought you’d like Vivik.” Michael spread his hands innocently. “He’s a smart kid. He has some ideas you might find interesting. Plus, it had to be an orphan, right? Otherwise I really would have been setting you up.”
“Emily seems nice enough…” Alex said resentfully.
“I warned you about this, Alex.” Michael’s voice turned grim. “Emily is nice enough. I’ve been her teacher since she came to the Academy, and she’s a wonderful student and delightful person. She’s also an empath, Alex, and she was born into the Raleigh Cartel. They are one of the Hegemony’s oldest and most important cartels, as I’m sure you are aware. Did Rebecca tell you much about empaths?”
“She said that they tend to be in charge of things.” Alex kicked at the ground nervously. “Because people can’t help but like them.”
“That’s right. Even a moderately powerful empath is pretty much guaranteed to end up in leadership role in their cartel — empaths are rare, so there are more openings than empaths to fill them. Moreover, they’re inspirational and charming by nature, and like you said, pretty much impossible not to like. Born leaders, most of them.”
Michael reached absently for a pebble, and then tossed it out into the quarry, bouncing it off the rock face and down, into the water.
“Yes, empaths tend to rise to the top. Except for when they’re class-B empaths, that is. Like, say,” Michael rolled his eyes, “your new friend, Emily.”
“So? Doesn’t that make her even less of a threat?” Alex brushed his bangs nervously back from his eyes. He’d needed a haircut before he’d come to the Academy, and he hadn’t had time to ask about getting one, yet. “If
she’s so weak, then I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Emily’s future, as a class-B empath in the Hegemony, is to be a housekeeper and plaything for some middling-important cartel functionary. Most empaths don’t have much in the way of combat potential, and she’s no good with the sciences — though she is an accomplished humanities student,” Michael added positively, “and she has excellent taste in literature. But good qualities aside, Emily has a long, mundane lifetime to look forward to. Keep in mind, too, that her father is an important man in the Raleigh cartel, and she’s been raised as part of the upper crust — a position, as an adult, that she cannot maintain without consenting to an arranged marriage.”
“That is,” Michael added slyly, tapping his forehead, “unless she figures out a way to become a much more powerful empath. The kind of empath who can’t help but rise to the top. What do you figure the best way to do that might be, Alex?”
Alex felt ill in the pit of his stomach. His interactions with Emily flashed before him in rapid sequence, as he reinterpreted them all, with newly suspicious eyes. She had seemed, in a vaguely haughty way, quite friendly. Could he really have misread her so badly?
“Keep in mind that doesn’t make her bad person, Alex,” Michael said gently, “or that she doesn’t have your interests in mind, too. Actually,” Michael added speculatively, “an empath might make a very good partner for you, down the road. Their abilities would be complementary…”
“I don’t want to talk about this stuff,” Alex said, troubled. He didn’t accept Michael’s interpretation — not wholeheartedly. But he didn’t like it, or the implications.
“Fair enough. Can I remind you to be careful, then, Alex? You’ve got to exercise restraint if you want to make it here. You have tremendous potential, son, but right now you can’t even defend yourself,” Michael said, straightening up and yawning. “Try and only pick the fights you can win, if you must pick fights.”
“That’s it? That’s the whole lecture?”
The Academy tc-1 Page 16