by M. L. Greye
“Normals?” Will frowned.
“The ungifted,” Hillary returned.
“Porter didn’t seem to have any trouble discussing his gifts,” Olinia muttered.
“Why does DS want a generation of gifted individuals?” Will asked.
“Porter’s not a student anymore,” Hillary told Olinia. “He’s a Seeker. At DS, Seekers can basically do whatever they want as long as they find more gifted kids. By the time students become Seekers, they’re already brainwashed enough to do whatever DS wishes without much of a fight.” To Will, she said, “I’ve wondered the same thing for over a year now. It makes me nervous how much control DS has over their gifted.”
“How does DS control people?” Will was still frowning.
“And what about you?” Olinia pointed out.
Pink touched Hillary’s cheeks again. “This is where my gift comes into play. It allows me to avoid DS limitations without them knowing.”
Will’s brow furrowed. “What’s your gift?”
“I can show you.” She extended her hand to Will. “Can I borrow your cell?”
“Where’s yours?” Olinia asked.
“In the car,” she answered as Will slipped his phone into her hand. “It’s too tempting to play with it for me to have it all the time.”
“Why is it wrong for you to play with it?” Will said, watching her.
“The way I play is wrong.” Hillary threw a quick scan of the empty basement before holding out her hand in front of her, the phone flat on her palm. “Watch.”
Will leaned back in his seat, waiting. All at once, the smartphone came to life, flickering between multiple images. It was as if someone were skimming through a bunch of different apps, except no one was touching the screen. Will stared, transfixed. He tossed a glance at Olinia and saw her inspecting it as well.
“My gift is electricity,” Hillary confessed, smiling slightly to herself. “I can jump start a car by touching it, drain a whole neighborhood of power by snapping my fingers, talk to electronic devices, and catch lightning with my hands.”
“I couldn’t understand your thoughts when you did that.” Olinia sounded as if she were in awe, her eyes still on Will’s phone. “Controlling electricity – I wondered if it were possible.”
“My thoughts?” Hillary blinked and the phone’s screen went black again.
Olinia nodded. “It’s another one of my gifts. I can hear people’s thoughts.”
“How does DS control people?” Will repeated his previous question to Hillary.
Suddenly, Olinia cried out beside him, clutching her left arm to her chest. Hillary jumped to her feet and took a step towards Olinia, obviously surprised. Will grimaced. He knew what would follow. He stood and grasped onto Olinia’s shoulder, nodding for Hillary to do the same. “Come with us.”
“Where are you going?” Hillary gripped Olinia’s right arm, just as Olinia lifted her left. Blue light erupted from Olinia’s fingertips and then spread outward, creating a new scene.
: : : : :
“Well, this feels familiar,” Tiara muttered, tilting her head back against the side of the now moving van. She was sitting on the van’s floor beside Archrin and across from Sazx. All of their handcuffs had been removed – not that they had ever really needed the restraints since they’d surrendered willingly.
Archrin rubbed his eyes with his hands. “I swear you trap trouble like a fly in honey.”
“What is Lady Aeorin doing outside of Relivaynt?” Sazx asked.
“You know her?” Archrin glanced up.
“Just by reputation,” Sazx replied. “We have never met.”
“She thinks I’m Olinia.” Tiara knew they already knew this but felt like bringing the topic up. “I guess it makes sense. In Aeorin’s mind, there’s only one person who looks like Olinia, and that’s Olinia. She has no idea I exist.”
“Who was her friend?” Sazx frowned. “He seemed to know the princess.”
“I don’t know,” she answered. Then, remembering her Globing escapade with Olinia and Will, she said, “Aeorin’s supposed to be getting married to Talik the Velvitor. Why would she be here in Ethon?”
Sazx grunted. “Talik must have received his wish.”
“What do you mean?” Archrin furrowed his brow.
“Talik used Dagon’s Nagreth to attack Relivaynt,” Sazx told them. “He wanted Aeorin to be forced into the role of his new bride. Who else would be the king that she spoke of?”
Tiara let out a short laugh, remembering her Globing trip with Olinia and Will. “She didn’t need much forcing. She almost suggested it herself. If she’s here in Ethon, Talik’s got to be the one who sent her here. But how would Aeorin know that Olinia is here too?” Tiara ran her tongue along the back of her teeth. “Why do I get the feeling I’m being pulled into something I shouldn’t be?”
“Legann was in here,” Archrin said it almost matter-of-factly.
“What?” Tiara blinked.
“Legann was in here,” he repeated.
“Do you smell him?” Tiara found it hard to believe that Legann had been in the back of a van recently, especially one belonging to Aeorin.
Archrin nodded. “There’s a hint of his scent on the floor.”
“Only a hint?” She frowned. “Are you sure he was really here? A hint isn’t much to go off of.”
“Maybe not for a Saerd,” he retorted.
“Why would Aeorin want the young Lantz?” Sazx asked before Tiara could make a rebuttal.
“I’d assume for the same reason why she wants Olinia,” Tiara replied. “She wants power over High Royalty.”
“I think you should pretend to be the princess.”
Tiara turned to her fiancé in surprise. “You do?”
“I agree,” Sazx added.
“But I’m not a Wend,” she pointed out. “I can’t do what Olinia can.”
“Feigning to be Olinia may keep you alive longer,” Archrin explained.
“Just me?” She pulled a face.
“Sazx and I are trained soldiers,” Archrin told her. “Even though we may not know Ethon warfare, we are more prepared for a fight than you. Right now, your safety has the greatest risk.”
Tiara sighed, resigned to the idea. “Alright, I’ll be Olinia for as long as I can.”
Just then, the van came to a stop and its engine turned off. Tiara grimaced. Hopefully I can be convincing, she grumbled to herself.
Muffled orders were shouted outside and the three Other Worlders shifted in their spots. The van’s back door opened to five of the men in black, their guns pointed at their prisoners. Beyond the men, Tiara could see that it was late afternoon.
“Come on,” one of the men ordered, “out with you.”
Archrin went first, followed by Tiara and then Sazx. The man who had ordered them out lowered his gun to help Tiara down from the van, but raised it again once she’d gained her footing. Tiara was surprised he had helped her at all.
Tiara noticed that the van had deposited them on a wide, flat road with small, red reflectors lining either side. A little ways off in the distance, she could make out a row of buildings.
She frowned. “Where are we?”
“An airport,” Sazx answered from her left.
“You’re taking us on a plane?” Tiara blurted, turning to one of her capturers. “Where are we going?”
“To California,” he smirked.
13
------------------
The basement of the library gave way to a sterile hallway. Fluorescent lights were embedded into a white panel ceiling. White tiles with pale gray grout made up the floor. The smooth walls were painted a pallid white color. All the white made Olinia’s skin crawl. It was like a badly designed hospital meant to make invalids uncomfortable.
Beside her, Hillary was gawking. “What gift is this? Where are we?”
“Are we in some mental institution?” Will stepped up to Olinia’s left.
As if to offer a clue to his ques
tion, a tall, thin woman with long red hair slicked back into a ponytail rounded the corner at the far end of the hallway and began right at them. She was dressed in a pair of maroon scrubs and a long, white doctor’s coat. The coat hung open around her, and she had her hands stuffed into its pockets. Some sort of identification card was dangling from her neck on a bright red lanyard. It bounced a little against her chest as she walked, her gaze straight ahead.
Hillary blinked. “Sasha?”
“You know her?” Will frowned.
“Yeah,” Hillary waved a hand in greeting.
Sasha didn’t turn. Instead, she continued heading right at Hillary, completely oblivious. Olinia quickly reached out and yanked Hillary out of Sasha’s path before they could collide. Olinia wasn’t too certain of the outcome should they actually touch and wasn’t really in the mood to find out.
“You’re not really here. You’re just experiencing something that has already happened,” Olinia explained to Hillary.
“You mean we’re in the past?”
“Basically,” Olinia replied.
“How do you know her?” Will’s gaze was following Sasha’s back.
“She went to DS with me. She graduated at the end of my freshman year.” Hillary looked at Olinia. “I think we’re in the DS labs.”
“Where?” Olinia raised her eyebrows.
Hillary turned to Sasha. “We should follow her.”
Olinia exchanged a quick glance with Will and then followed after Hillary. Sasha had just rounded a corner at the end of the hallway. As Olinia did the same, she noticed that the new hallway was almost identical to the one she’d just left, excluding a couple sporadic white doors with gray, square security identification boxes, located to the right of the doorknobs. Olinia watched as Sasha paused at the nearest door, lifting her hand to the security box.
After a moment, the box flashed a bright blue and the sound of the door unlocking filled the hall. Sasha pushed her weight against the door and entered the room within. Before the door had the chance to shut though, Hillary slipped into the opening, holding it ajar for Will and Olinia to pass through as well.
Inside was some sort of lab with basically the same interior design as the hallway. The only real differences were the stainless steel tables and many glass test tubes arranged on the tops of the tables, filled with translucent liquid in varying shades of yellow and red. In one corner of the room, two large computer monitors sat with a skinny Asian man – appearing to be in his thirties – inputting data into a spreadsheet on one screen. The other display showed an array of multi-colored strands of what Olinia assumed was DNA. Several other men and women of different nationalities clustered around the tables, all appearing to be younger than forty. Most looked like they were in their early twenties. All were dressed the same as Sasha.
Hillary gasped. “That’s the Green Strand.”
“Green Strand?” Olinia strained to see what Hillary was pointing at.
“Yeah, my DS instructor has been teaching us about it.” Hillary moved over to the monitors, inspecting the one with the DNA.
Will joined Hillary. “What’s the Green Strand?”
She brushed her fingers over the screen. “This is. It’s the sign of the gifted.”
“What do you mean?” Olinia frowned.
Hillary turned. “The genetic structure of the gifted is significantly unique than that of the ungifted. It’s like we’re a completely different breed than the Normals. DS has named the alteration in our DNA as ‘Green Strand.’ It’s one way they can know if we’re really gifted.”
Olinia blinked. Although the concept of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA, was something new to her when she arrived in Ethon, genetic structure was not. In the Other Worlds, it was widely known that you looked the way you did because you had inherited the mystical “genes” of your parents. But that was really all anyone knew there. Genes were not explained further than that. In truth, Olinia wasn’t exactly sure where the knowledge of genes in her realm even spouted from. As for the gifted being a separate breed, though, she’d always been aware of that. There were three major breeds in the Other Worlds: Craeles, Saerds, and Eves.
“Are you serious?” Will leaned in closer to the monitor. “Has DS really been able to isolate the genetic deviations of the gifted into a single strand of DNA?”
Olinia stared at Will, surprised. Hillary only nodded. “It’s basically how they’re able to control us.”
“Control you how?” Olinia was reminded of their earlier conversation. “Do you not have the Green Strand? Is that why you’re not limited?”
“No, I have the Green Strand.” She shook her head. “My gift just lets me trick the Bead.”
“Bead?” Will repeated.
“What are they working on in this room?”
Olinia’s entire body stiffened. That voice was all too familiar. Will spun around, startling Hillary. Olinia didn’t need to look. Even though it was no longer as airy as it had once been, the voice still held the same underlying tones, and it had just spoken in Eveon.
“They are refining the strength of our Drainers,” a deeper voice answered back in Eveon.
Now Olinia whirled. Drainers were a Kendren tool used in the Other Worlds, not Ethon. Drainers were meant to weaken those with Eveon blood in battle with the Kendrens. As far as Olinia knew, Dagon had never touched them. The Kendrens were dead, though, as was Dagon supposedly. Who would benefit from the Drainers now?
Just as Olinia had expected, Aeorin stood in the middle of the room, observing the work around her. She was dressed in a pair of dark purple stilettos, a gray pencil skirt, and a loose blouse the same shade of her shoes, tucked into her skirt. She was practically the only source of color in the room. Olinia had not previously thought her to be a tall woman, but next to her short, stocky companion she was very imposing. The little man was pale, bald, and attired the same as the workers.
“What’s wrong?” Hillary asked in Saerdian.
“Excellent.” Aeorin grinned. “Any progress toward weakening a Wend?”
The bald man shook his head. “Without a sample of blood, we cannot be certain if our Drainers will accomplish what we want.”
Aeorin pursed her lips. “Well, we shall simply have to find you a blood sample. I should not need to remind you how important this work is. The Wends are all that stand in the king’s way to the Other Worlds.”
“I understand, your highness.”
All at once, a wall of exhaustion hit Olinia like a truck of bricks. She stumbled backwards, reaching out blindly behind her in an attempt to find something to lean against.
Will was suddenly at her side, holding her up on her feet. Olinia gazed up at him hazily, struggling to focus on his face. It was all too tempting to close her eyes and give into the pressing urge to sleep.
“What’s going on?” Hillary’s frightened voice drifted to Olinia as if from somewhere far away. “What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s time to go,” Will told her. “Grab onto her arm.”
Olinia felt a hand wrap around her right bicep as Will lifted her left arm in front of her. The lab slowly dissolved into the library’s basement once again. Will lowered her onto a stuffed chair, eyeing her carefully.
Just as she released herself from the conscious world, she heard someone screaming her name inside her head. It sounded like Legann.
: : : : :
A splintering migraine was the first sensation Legann woke to, followed closely by a strong craving for peanut butter M&Ms. His mouth felt pasty and his stomach empty. Not necessarily the best wakeup scenario. Releasing a groan, Legann opened his eyes to a white curtain. Somewhat startled, he quickly scanned the remainder of his surroundings. Unfortunately, the images his eyes were greeted with didn’t shed any light on his location.
Well, he was definitely in a hospital bed, but he had no memory of climbing into it. Nor did he remember being strapped to it. Yet, there he was – on his back with his wrists and feet secured to the be
d by thick black strips with Velcro as the bond. What kind of “sick” was he that the hospital had to restrain him?
Legann pulled himself up slowly to a makeshift sitting position, inspecting his shackles. He noticed a clasp over his left index finger with a wire shooting out of it, and an IV in his left forearm that he had missed earlier. The clasp’s wire led to a silent monitor on the side of the bed. He guessed by the rhythmic pattern on its screen that it was meant to gauge his heart rate. As for the IV, he had no idea what the hospital was feeding into him. He hoped it had something in it to take away the pounding in his skull.
He didn’t like being a prisoner to his bed. It was also a little weird that for being in a hospital he didn’t seem to have any injuries and was wearing his regular clothes, complete with shoes. Shouldn’t he be in an ugly open-backed gown if he were a patient? He was confused as to why he was there. Other than his headache, he felt fine.
With a grunt, Legann yanked at his left hand, testing how tightly he was bound. The bed rattled a little, but his hand didn’t even budge. He tried again and then again. Still no change. The straps were far stronger than he had anticipated.
He could see his heart rate increase on the monitor as he struggled to get free. His mind began to race with questions. Who would want him a captive? Where was his sister? Was she aware of his hospitalization? If so, why wasn’t she with him?
Just then, a noise resembling air released from a pressurized valve – like when he would take off the cap to a bike wheel – sounded from behind his bed. Legann whirled in time to glimpse a clear liquid inch its way down a tube leading to where the IV bags dripped into his actual IV. An uneasy feeling filled his insides. What drug was this?
The answer to that came fairly quickly. Almost immediately, he began to feel drowsy. The drug was meant to put him back to sleep. His increased heart rate must have caused some machine to release the sedative.