Jed laughs. “I am not dead, S’ven. That is not a nice thing to say to your husband. Especially when it is our wedding night. And we want to have the perfect time.” He pauses, and I look around. “Come on. I will show you what to do. Do not worry, I will look after you. I am very gentle.”
There’s a bed behind us; then we are on it. So quickly, just like that. I lie on my back, and he leans over me, a knee either side of my hips. He bends down, until his lips brush against my neck.
“Arch your back,” he whispers.
I do it without hesitation: before he’s finished saying the words, I’m doing it. I haven’t got a choice. I’m being controlled. No. No. No. Anger flares through me.
I feel Jed’s hand close over mine, and then he’s moving my hand, moving it onto his body, onto his chest, then over the taut muscles of his stomach. Jed grunts as he kisses my neck.
The world darkens.
“Use your Seer powers,” Jed says. “You cannot be controlled all the time. You will not be helpless.”
I wake with a start.
Raleigh leers over me. “I said it is time to use your Seer powers, Shania. There’s no time like the present.”
I am tied to a chair by a thick rope that coils around my torso and makes me think of the kavalah snake spirits. Another rope binds my legs. But my arms are free. That’s good. Except Raleigh’s not letting me move them.
Raleigh stands in front of me, with a small Enhanced girl with long blond hair.
I look around. Not my cell. He’s moved me. My head pounds. I shake it, then test the strength of the rope around me. I can move half an inch, within the coils, at the most.
“Have you found Corin?” I look around again. “What’s happening?”
Raleigh clears his throat. “This is Elia Jackson.” He places his hands on the girl’s shoulders.
“Where is Corin? Is he okay?” I grit my teeth, and a huge part of me hopes that Raleigh doesn’t know—because that means Corin’s still out there.
But if he’s out there, he’s suffering…like you are.
No. I shake my head, breathing hard. Being Untamed isn’t suffering.
Oh Gods. I’ve got to get away. I can feel the pull of the augmenters in me—the desire for more. But I’m still fighting it for now—I’m not completely one of them—yet I know I haven’t got long.
I swear under my breath.
Raleigh points at the girl. “She will be helping us today—and I’ve got many more participants for when your powers are developed enough.”
I take a deep breath and try to believe that that’s a good sign. If Corin was here, Raleigh would delight in telling me, I’m sure.
“Come on, Shania. Say hello to Elia.”
I stare at the girl. She’s about eight years old. Or maybe a bit older. She just looks so young because she’s small. Her mirror eyes are on me, but there’s something different about them. She’s not looking at me—not looking at anything. I glance back up at Raleigh. He’s looking at me, glaring right at me—the intensity of the mirrors on me says that. But she… No, she’s just blank.
A horrible taste flares in my mouth. Saliva pools on my tongue, and I lean over, spit it out.
“You won’t get rid of the augmenters that way,” Raleigh says. “I injected them straight into your blood when you were asleep. A huge dose. Loyalty, Calmness, Obedience, and Compliance, ready for our session.”
“Session?”
He smiles. “Yes. Before we work out how you’re going to use your powers to save everyone, I need to know exactly what you can do, what your powers are, what stage you’re already at.”
I breathe deeply, press my lips firmly together. It’s too hot in here.
“Shania? Come on, my dear butterfly. Let me in. We’re going to do great things together.” He pauses. “Let’s just think of this as a getting-to-know-each-other session.”
“Getting to know each other?”
“Yes. Each Seer’s powers are slightly different. I need to know what you’ve already unlocked, and then I can teach you, guide you, help you develop your abilities until you’re ready. So, Shania. What can you do?”
I try to move my foot. My bare foot. Imagine myself kicking him. “Nothing.”
For a second, irritation crosses his face. “This isn’t helping. It’s wasting time. Just tell me what you’ve already unlocked yourself.”
Pain sears behind my eyes.
“Tell me, Shania.”
“Nothing. It’s the truth.” I hold his gaze—or what I think is his gaze—for as long as I can, trying to block out the fiery serpents’ tongues, but they push through, push into my brain. I imagine them slinking and slithering into the gray matter, digging deeper, burning everything within their reach. “And it’s going to stay that way. You’re not using me.”
You don’t want to save everyone? That’s very selfish, isn’t it?
I squirm, feel more sweat line my forehead. No, I insist to myself, to those thoughts. It’s not selfish. Not at all. Because the Enhanced are bad. They’re wrong.
The corners of Raleigh’s lips tug upward. He shakes his head. “You forget that I have your soul. With your soul, I can control you. I can control your body—and your Seer powers. Now, it’s a lot easier if you work with me. It will be less painful for you. But I can get direct access to your Seer powers myself, if I need to. Come on, Shania, I know you’ve got powers. And I’m being nice here, offering you a less painful way. Because we are going to do this.”
“No.”
He bites on his bottom lip slowly. “I think you need some more Loyalty.”
I snort and meet his eyes, see my own mirrors in his. I look Enhanced, but there’s still some Untamed in me—and I concentrate on that. I have to. I have to keep it alive. “So your control over my soul isn’t strong enough on its own,” I say. “You need me drugged to do this. And you think you’re powerful.”
Raleigh bends down, until his head is level with mine. “Oh, my powers are plenty strong enough. But the Untamed part of you is clearly still controlling you, and you’re suffering. I’m trying to make this easier for you, kinder. I really am, poor girl. The Untamed within you means you can’t see me for what I am.”
“I can see you fine,” I spit out through gritted teeth.
He reaches into his pocket and produces a green vial.
My mouth dries, and I inhale sharply.
Don’t look at it.
But what’s the point? They’re already in me… I know that, yet I don’t feel calm or obedient or loyal. It’s not like before. I’m fighting it—really fighting it—and I’m fighting the pull better this time than ever before.
But there are only so many augmenters I can fight, I know that.
“No,” I whisper. “I don’t want that.”
“Of course you want it. And you need augmenters. They’re what make this world bearable.”
My chest shudders. “No.”
He flicks the lid off and grabs my face with his other hand. His fingers try to hold my chin still.
“No!” I kick out, but the ropes don’t give me much room, and—
I feel the vial against my lips—the coldness of the glass—swiftly followed by the sweetness of the Loyalty.
Heat floods my body; for a second, I can’t move, can’t—
“You’ll work with me now, Shania. Won’t you?” Raleigh pulls back from me, straightens up, smiles. His teeth are too white. Yet…beautiful… No.
Yes.
“Shania? We can work together now—save you from suffering, yes?”
I struggle to keep my lips together, but there’s something building inside me, trying to push its way out.
“Shania?”
Whatever it is tickles my throat, and my eyes water.
Say yes. You want to help everyone.
And I do… I want to… I need to be faithful… These people are good, they’re helping…and Raleigh’s going to show me how to help, how to….
Think of
the bison!
“Shania?”
“Yes.” The word is a squeak, but it comes from me. Sweat drips down my back, cold and savage.
“Good,” Raleigh says, smiles brightly. “Now, what powers have you already accessed?”
“I… I haven’t.”
“You haven’t? No, Shania. You must’ve. Come on, push that Untamed part of you away. It’s making you lie to me, and lying is an evil trait. Just tell me what powers you’ve accessed. Give me something to work with—to work with you on. Working together is better than me controlling you, I promise.”
I shake my head, eyes still watering. “I haven’t got any Seer powers. There’s nothing for you to use.”
“Oh, you’ve got powers all right.” Raleigh sighs. “We’ll start with the basics then, before we move onto the more advanced abilities—like how you’re going to find all the Untamed. Yes? Good.” He rubs his hands together. “There’s one power every Seer has. It’s a defense power, and I know you’ve got it, so don’t pretend you haven’t. But I need to check that you can do it adequately, efficiently, and quickly—you should be able to, you’ve been a Seer for long enough. It’s perhaps the most important power.” Raleigh turns and points at Elia Jackson. “Kill her.”
My head tingles, and all the muscles in my face slacken. “What?”
The girl doesn’t react. She just stands there, as if she hasn’t heard, hasn’t understood.
Raleigh gives me a vexatious look. “Those wild men will want to kill you, Shania, when they realize whose side you’re on. And this girl is expendable. She knows what greatness her death would bring us, don’t you, Elia? Yes. Good girl.”
My eyes widen. “No one is expendable. And…and you don’t believe in violence.”
I feel stupid as I say the last words. I know it’s not true—but it’s what I was taught. It was drummed into me from a young age.
Raleigh smiles, but there’s a warning within it. “Elia realizes you need to practice on real people, and she’s honored to be your first test subject.”
He reaches down and ruffles her hair. She doesn’t react, and, though I can’t see any detail in her eyes, I’m sure they’re unfocussed…still.
“It makes sense to practice your killing power first,” Raleigh continues. “Killing is, after all, the best method of defense in case the Untamed you attempt to convert try to fight or kill you. You can zap their life away. Now, show me what you can do. Don’t make me force you to do it—because that would hurt you. See? I don’t want you to suffer, Shania. But you will do it.”
I stare at him, feel my shoulders tighten. No. This can’t be real. Can’t be. I shake my head. “I’m not killing anyone.”
He stretches his hand out toward me, and a bulb of bright white light grows from his palm. “You won’t need to kill anyone with it after this. Not unless it’s necessary,” Raleigh says. “You control the strength of it.” The globe of light gets bigger. “But I need to know that you can protect yourself to the highest degree should you need to. Self-preservation is important for you. And Elia is a willing participant.”
I point at the girl. She’s still just standing there. But I know now there’s something wrong. It’s like she’s not here. She seems empty.
“No,” I tell Raleigh. “I’m not hurting her.”
“She’s given her consent.”
“That doesn’t mean anything—she doesn’t understand, she’s not even speaking.” I fold my arms, keep my eyes on the white light cradled in Raleigh’s hand. “And I’m not doing it—I can’t anyway, so don’t torture me. I haven’t got that power.”
“Every Seer has that power.”
“Not me.” I flex my fingers against my arms and try to look around for something that might help me. But my eyes just fall on the girl. Would she?
Raleigh lets the white light die as he leans toward me, until there’s less than an inch between our faces and he is all I can see. “Of course you have this power. Shania, I understand that you don’t want to kill anyone. None of us do, but sometimes we need to. For the greater good.”
I resist rolling my eyes. “But I can’t do it.”
“You can. All that’s stopping you is your negative attitude.”
“I haven’t got any Seer powers.” I keep my words firm. “I never have. I’m not like you—or Jed. I saw him do that power, and guess what, Raleigh? I even tried to use it. I tried to use it against Jed, but I couldn’t. I haven’t got that power.”
Raleigh exhales hard, and his sour breath washes over my face. “Well then, I’d better help you unlock it. You need this power. Self-preservation is of the utmost importance.”
I glance back at Elia. “I’m not killing her—or anyone.” Least of all any Untamed. His plans are useless. He’s not using me, not for killing or converting.
“Of course you’ll kill people.” Raleigh laughs as he steps away. “You’re a Seer of Death. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to work with me and try to find this power? Or are we going to do this the hard way? Because the more control I have to use, if you resist, the more painful it will be for you.”
“You already said that.” My voice is sulky.
“And you haven’t given me an answer.”
I look at the girl. “I’m not killing anyone,” I repeat.
“Very well.” Raleigh steps around behind me, then his fingertips touch my head. He flattens his fingers against the side of my face, applies a little pressure against my temples. I squish my face up, try to get away, but I can’t because of the rope and him and—
Sharp pain digs into my skull.
I inhale quickly, gasping.
“I can quite easily make you do this,” Raleigh says. “So, let’s unlock your first power and kill this girl. I’ll show you how easy it is.”
“Get off me!” I try to move, try to kick out, but it’s useless.
“None of that, Shania. Or do I need to give you even more Loyalty?”
I call him the rudest word I know, and I keep shouting it. His fingers dig into my head, his nails sharp—I scream.
Hot white pain flashes into my eyes, my vision blurs. Everything starts swimming.
“Come on, Shania, tell me. Where do you keep your Seer powers? I know they’re in here.”
“No!” I shout, my word dragging on and on, on and on.
Sweat drips into my eyes, burns. I twist around, manage to move. I fight the rope, turn my head, see Raleigh for a second, see the maliciousness in his expression.
“Come on, Shania. Hurt me. You want to hurt me! You want to kill me with the power in you,” he yells. “Or I’ll keep hurting you. Fight me!”
I screech. No! Can’t! Mustn’t! It’s what he wants. Because I know if I do somehow manage to hurt him with my abilities, he’s going to control the power—redirect it to the girl.
My breath comes in short, sharp bursts. Too rapid. He’s going to make me. He’s got control of me. I can’t stop him. Only the Gods and Goddesses can break the connection between us.
I scream again, but this time I scream Waskabe’s name. I force myself to look upward, imagine the Dream Land, hope that Death is still watching, that he’s seeing this…and even though the Gods and Goddesses see fragments and distorted versions, I hope they’ll see the pain…that they’ll see the truth when they didn’t before…that maybe this pain will take me straight into the Dream Land, somehow….
“You won’t get anywhere near there,” Raleigh snarls. “It’s no use. No Enhanced Seer can break into the Dream Land.”
Enhanced Seer.
Rage fills me, drips through every part of me. I am not an Enhanced Seer.
Raleigh’s pain digs deeper, tunneling into every part of my brain, then down through the sinews of my body.
“Fight me, Shania! Use your powers to fight me. Come on—search for your powers and break the seal.”
I scream. He’s shaking. I’m shaking.
Give him what he wants!
No!
My
neck stiffens.
But it’s what you want really. Surrender completely, and you won’t hurt anymore… And you’re hurting now so much… And it can stop… It can all go away if you—
No.
“Very well, Shania.” Raleigh’s breath is torrid against the back of my neck. “Very well, indeed.”
Something stabs me in the back.
I shriek, try to move, but can’t. The dagger—must be a dagger… It moves, waggles, side to side. I shriek even louder, redness fills my vision. For a second, I see the girl in front of me. She hasn’t moved, hasn’t reacted. She’s just…there. Not even my screams have changed her.
And then—at first, I don’t feel anything. Not anything different… But then there’s something in my head, moving—like a mouse digging and—
He’s close to my powers—I know he is. Oh Gods! And I don’t know how I know—I’ve never used these Seer powers before…only used my intuition, my access to the Dream Land…but….
“Run!” I yell at Elia, but my vision’s jumping about and blurring, and I can’t see her properly. She’s just a smear of color that dances before me.
“Come on, Shania. Show me where your powers are,” Raleigh growls. Each word is drilled in with another movement of the dagger in my back—and an echoed movement of the mouse in my head, digging harder, faster. “Reach for your powers.”
I gasp, try to breathe. Need to breathe. I try to pull away from him, but the movement flares up more pain and—
Raleigh laughs. “I’m enjoying this, you know. But only because I know pain is the gateway—it will help you, help us all, in the end.”
My stomach twists, and the—
Protect yourself! Use your Seer powers! Fight him!
No!
Heat rushes to my hands. My fingers are on fire, burning hotter and hotter. A jolt of electricity flies through me. My skin, no—it’s going to peel off, lift away in great rugged sections, going to—
Raleigh laughs. And then my hands rise—no, they’re pulled up. I can barely see, but I can see my hands. They’re shaking.
“Come on!” Raleigh yells.
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