Mammon

by J. B. Thomas

  ‘You are. You’re seventeen, right? And Joe’s eighteen?’

  Grace nodded.

  ‘Thought so. Armin and Maya are nineteen, Seth and Malcolm are both twenty-one, and I’m nineteen.’ Sarah slowed her pace. ‘Sorry. I tend to gallop along . . . I already told you our fearless leader is twenty-one – although he seems about a decade older. He’s impressive, isn’t he?’

  Grace looked down, hoping that Sarah wouldn’t notice the blush forming on her cheek. ‘Yeah, he’s good.’

  Sarah smiled. ‘Most of the girls here think he’s pretty cute.’

  Grace kept her tone casual. ‘Does he have a girlfriend?’

  ‘No. There’s one girl who likes to think of herself as his chick. But he’s never really shown any affection towards her in public, despite her efforts.’ Sarah pushed her hands into her pockets. ‘Your brother’s nice-looking.’

  Grace made a puking sound. ‘Whatever you think.’

  Sarah laughed. ‘You’ll settle in fine here, Grace. Just ignore Armin and Maya. They’re like two lost souls who found each other, being from the same part of the world and all. People tend to hang out with their own kind, don’t they?’

  ‘They’re just so unfriendly.’

  ‘They’re like that with everyone. Don’t take it personally. I try not to. It’s better that way. They are very good mercenaries, and if they get to like you, you will have their loyalty for life. At least they don’t try to pull rank all the time, unlike my stepbrother.’

  Grace stared into the forest. It was true – Malcolm had been out to show his authority from the moment they met. ‘Why does he do that?’

  Sarah smirked. ‘Out of desperation. He wants to prove to everyone that he is worthy of being Ivan’s second-in-charge – and not because his dad gave him the position. I think Marcus is disappointed, though!’

  Grace grinned at Sarah’s singsong voice. ‘So, Marcus is your stepdad.’

  ‘Right.’ Sarah raised her eyebrows, grimacing.

  ‘What about your mum?’

  Sarah looked away. ‘She died when I was five.’ She shoved her hands into her pockets.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Grace.

  ‘It’s okay. I feel like I’m past the worst of it. I’m over eighteen and don’t have to do what Marcus says anymore.’

  ‘He seems very . . . controlling.’

  ‘Yeah. Lucius is the one who’s supposed to be in charge of us. But he always ends up doing what Marcus wants. I suppose it’s because Marcus is the older brother, he thinks he’s the boss.’

  ‘I wouldn’t let Joe boss me like that.’

  Sarah glanced down at Grace’s foot. ‘How’s your ankle healing up?’

  ‘It’s okay . . . just twinges every now and then.’

  They stopped next to the light blue picket fence. Sarah swung open the gate and gestured for Grace to go ahead. ‘Welcome to my veggie garden.’

  ‘Yeah, Diana showed us this morning.’ Grace stepped around an overflowing bag of pebbles and inhaled the rose fragrance. ‘It’s really nice.’ Rows of dark ivy, littered with white flowers, crawled up the walls that overlooked the beds of lettuce, cabbage and carrot.

  Sarah pointed to a chicken-wire barricade in the corner of the garden. ‘And that is Snowflake.’ A large white rabbit sniffed the air and then plunged its face into a bed of leafy greens. Sarah wandered across to crouch in front of the hutch. She reached over and scratched the rabbit’s chin. ‘Been enjoying a nice feed?’

  Grace sank to her knees and pressed her finger through the wire. The rabbit ambled across and sniffed it.

  ‘Is this your rabbit?’

  ‘Snowflake’s one of the residents.’

  ‘Does she live here? In this garden?’

  ‘She lives in the hobby farm. Snowflake drew the short straw today; the others are snuggled up together.’ Sarah stood up. ‘Now – look at her, Grace. That rabbit’s got a mind of her own, hasn’t she?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And do you think you can teach her to follow instructions?’

  Grace glanced at the rabbit. ‘I guess she could be trained.’

  ‘How about making her follow instructions . . . without saying a word or even moving your arms?’

  Grace thought of Joe, hearing her on the other side of the bedroom wall. ‘I suppose it’s possible.’

  With a tilt of her head, Sarah turned to the rabbit. ‘I’m going to tell Snowflake to walk to the right-hand wall.’

  ‘Right.’ Grace stood up and folded her arms. Her eyes darted between Sarah, whose own eyes were deep with concentration, and the suddenly still rabbit.

  Snowflake turned and plodded towards the wall.

  Sarah turned to look at Grace.

  Grace shrugged. ‘Maybe she decided to move on her own.’ She squinted at the dark corner where the rabbit chewed a lettuce leaf. ‘That’s where the food is. A coincidence – she happened to be hungry.’

  ‘Mmm. Yeah.’ Sarah grinned. ‘Coincidence.’

  Grace scowled. ‘Are you making fun of me?’ Burning anger spiralled up from her stomach. It receded, she slumped; her arms felt as if someone had attached weights to her fingers.

  ‘I think I’m going to sit down.’ She slid into a plastic chair.

  ‘Okay,’ said Sarah.

  ‘I feel so tired.’ Grace closed her eyes. She began to drift into a warm darkness.

  Wake up!

  Grace’s eyes flew open.

  Sarah watched her with a small grin. ‘You okay?’

  ‘That felt strange.’

  Sarah crouched in front of Grace and rested her hands on the armrests. ‘I was able to get inside your head just then. I inspired anger and then fatigue. Finally, I told you to wake up. And I never spoke a word.’ She pointed to her head. ‘The element of surprise. You didn’t see me coming.’ Nodding in the direction of the hutch, she stood up. ‘Why don’t you try?’

  Crouching, Grace laced her fingers in the chicken wire.

  A picture – that’s what she needed. Yes . . . that was it. An image to plant in her mind.

  Snowflake looked up, stared for a moment, and turned. She plodded steadily towards the hutch. Without slowing her pace, she proceeded inside.

  Grace let out a long breath and stared at the hutch. ‘Unbelievable.’ If only she’d been able to do that to Jesse Tyler.

  ‘Grace, it took me three days of practice to learn that. You’ve done it on your first day.’ Sarah pressed her hand to her forehead. ‘I can’t believe it. Ivan has got to see this.’ With an excited gleam in her eye, Sarah stood up. ‘What are the others going to say? No-one’s ever been that fast . . . I can just see their faces now! Come on. There are still more tests to do.’

  Bolstered by the praise, Grace followed Sarah out of the garden and on to the gravel path that led them back to the Residence. They entered the double green doors and continued down the warm yellow passageway, past the empty recreation rooms and the large kitchen, where the mid- morning sun reflected off the stainless steel benchtop.

  ‘So what now? More animals?’ Grace lifted her chin and took a deep breath, savouring the thrill of adrenaline, the confidence surge. She could do anything . . . anything at all.

  They reached a door at the corridor’s end. Sarah opened it; three people looked up. ‘Morning,’ they echoed.

  Nerves needled up Grace’s spine. ‘Humans? Real people?’

  ‘You forget – demons were human once,’ Sarah whispered. ‘They still retain some aspect of their humanity. This is the closest simulation we can provide. Unless you want to go to the asylum on your first day of training?’

  Grace shivered. ‘No, thanks.’

  Sarah held up three fingers. ‘You’ll do three simple tests in here. Subject number one has three cu
ps of water in front of her. Using telepathy, tell her to drink them in a particular order.’

  Grace nodded. ‘Not too different to Snowflake, right?’

  ‘Then, with subject number two, plant some words in his head. The exact words you want him to say. Anything – just try not to humiliate him. He’s doing us a favour.

  ‘The third and final test is open to you. Do not give subject number three a command. Instead, try to plant an idea in his head. That he has an uncontrollable itch on his chin. That he has an irresistible urge to dance the samba.’ They both giggled. ‘This guy’s a good sport, so he won’t mind. The point here is that you create a desire that he cannot resist. That’s the key.

  ‘Oh, and you should know that Lucius and Diana are watching.’ Sarah pointed to a camera hanging over the door. ‘So do the best you can, okay?’

  Sarah stepped out of the room and walked across the hallway. She knocked once and entered the room. Diana and Lucius were sitting at the desk, watching the monitor.

  ‘Looks promising,’ Sarah said. ‘Snowflake was no challenge at all.’

  ‘Yes, well we’ll see how she goes with human minds,’ said Diana. ‘She must learn to use the gift properly.’

  ‘Look!’ Sarah leaned closer to the monitor. ‘She’s already done the first test!’

  The first test subject raised a cup to her mouth, then she put it down. With slow, purposeful movements, she drank the other two – her eyes never leaving Grace.

  ‘I can’t hear a thing.’ Lucius reached over and turned up the volume. A crackling hiss resonated through the speaker, as the second test subject, a young man with dark sideburns and Manchester United football t-shirt, stared at Grace with calm eyes and said, ‘Chelsea are the best team in the league. They will win the premiership this year, for sure.’

  Sarah laughed. ‘Nice one.’ She leaned forward, elbows on knees. ‘Okay. Number three is the critical one. If she can’t do it, she won’t stand a chance in the kill room.’

  The young man sat quietly for several seconds.

  ‘Nothing’s happening,’ Diana muttered.

  ‘Quiet!’ Lucius leaned forward. ‘He pointed to the screen, where the third test subject was staring up at the roof, an alarmed look on his face. Next, he jumped out of his chair and crawled underneath the table.

  ‘Looks as if she’s done something,’ Diana said.

  Grace looked up at the camera. ‘Finished!’ She gave a thumbs-up. The third subject was peering up from the edge of the table, eyes darting back and forth. Grace reached out a hand. ‘It’s okay. You’re safe. It was just an illusion.’

  The man smiled. ‘Oh.’ With an embarrassed smile, he got up and slid into his chair. ‘You really got me there.’

  The door burst open. Sarah walked in, closely shadowed by Diana and Lucius, who pushed forward. He reached out and patted her back. ‘Well done, Callahan.’

  Diana nodded towards Subject Three. ‘What did you tell poor Adam here? That there was a giant spider on the roof?’

  The man glanced up with a smile. ‘Very funny, Diana. No, for the life of me, I would have sworn that a bomb was falling on the building. Felt like I’d travelled back in time to the Blitz.’

  ‘Well.’ Lucius took a deep breath. ‘I think Grace is ready to move on to full-scale training.’ He shot a look at Diana. ‘She has potential.’

  ‘She must be given time to develop properly. Sarah, I’m trusting you to make sure that happens.’ Diana glanced at the three test subjects. ‘Shall we break for coffee?’

  She ushered the visitors from the room. Lucius was the last to leave. He gave Grace a wink as he closed the door.

  Sarah leaned on the table edge. ‘You got off to a great start there, Grace. What you just did is known as “telepathic influence”. Masking and influence are the two major skills that a telepath needs in this job.’

  ‘What’s the masking part?’

  ‘Making sure your enemy doesn’t know you’re there. Creating an illusion. You’ll get the chance – sooner than you think.’

  Grace raised her eyebrows. ‘So, what now?’ She stretched her arms in front and smiled.

  Sarah bit her finger nail. ‘I wasn’t planning to do this, but I want you to try a telepathic assault before this afternoon’s exercise. I’d rather not let you in there with them until you can do it.’

  ‘In where?’

  ‘The kill room.’

  ‘What the hell is that?’

  ‘A training room . . . Look, I want you to try something. Imagine giving me a bad headache. Just like you told Snowflake to go into her hutch. Go on!’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I can take it! Come on. Do it. No . . . don’t close your eyes. Look at my forehead. Think of the kind of pain you want me to feel. A sharp attack of pain, like a really bad migraine.’

  Staring at Sarah’s forehead, Grace imagined a hot white bolt of pain . . . digging. She broke off, closing her eyes. ‘I really don’t want to.’

  Sarah sighed. ‘Focus, Grace. You need to go on the offensive. They won’t be expecting this.’

  Grace took a deep breath. Okay. She had to hurt her. Past the skull and into the brain.

  Suddenly, Sarah’s face stiffened. Her hand shot out. ‘Whoa!’ She breathed heavily, her hand pressed against her heart. ‘You’re good.’ She touched her forehead. ‘Wow, that really burned.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘No, don’t be.’ Sarah rested her hand on the doorknob. ‘It’s great! At last, someone I can work with.’ She opened the door. ‘Come on. I want to show Ivan what you can do.’

  IN THE MIDDLE of the forest lay a sunken arena, surrounded by three rows of grass ledges. Above, Joe and Ivan were standing on a metal walkway from which observers could watch the action below.

  Grace touched her forehead, imagining the burn Sarah had felt. ‘Have you ever used that on anyone? A demon, or –’

  Sarah kept walking. ‘A human. Someone here. I’d rather not say who.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘He was beating someone up, someone I cared about.’ Sarah pushed aside a large branch. ‘This is the mercenaries’ turf. It used to be an outdoor theatre.’ She gestured for Grace to go ahead.

  Armin glanced up. ‘Back already?’ He raised his eyebrows at Sarah.

  Grace looked up at Joe, who was hanging his arms over the walkway railing like a monkey. Ivan peered down at Sarah. ‘How did she do?’

  ‘One hundred per cent pass. No problems at all!’

  ‘So?’ Maya stood up. ‘She’s yet to impress us.’

  Sarah looked around at the group. ‘You’re going to pee your pants.’

  The mercenaries exploded into laughter – except Malcolm, who stood rigid, arms behind his back. It was obvious he was trying to give off the aura of leadership. Grace’s eyes flicked from him to Ivan, who was leaning over the railing. Comfortable, relaxed – and yet so in control.

  ‘Yeah, right!’ Armin tugged a strand of Sarah’s hair. ‘She’s going to put me flat on my back!’

  ‘Get away, you loser.’

  Seth frowned. ‘Why write her off so quickly?’

  Armin threw his arms up. ‘It’ll be a waste of time! We should give her weapons training instead!’

  Joe slid down the ladder and strode towards Armin. ‘What are you so scared of? That she’ll be better than you?’

  Armin scowled. ‘No. Her witchcraft won’t work on me.’

  Joe stared at him. ‘Perhaps mine will.’

  Tension filled the air as Armin and Joe eyed each other.

  Grace tore her gaze away to see Ivan drop down the last ladder rung and jog across. ‘All right, enough. Back away, both of you.’

  He stood firm. Slowly, both boys took a reluctant step back. />
  Ivan glanced at his watch. ‘It’s twelve-thirty. Break for lunch, then meet back at the training room.’

  * * *

  GRACE CHEWED SLOWLY on her sandwich and stared at the table, trying to ignore the scornful stares coming from the mercenaries’ table. They’d come in first and their table had filled up quickly. Grace glanced around the packed cafeteria. As Sarah had said, ‘It stinks of bravado in here.’

  Although Grace was relieved that she didn’t have to join them, it had left a cold feeling in her chest to see Joe sitting with the mercenaries. Especially after how Armin had acted towards her. But then again, Joe seemed to be engrossed in everything that Ivan was saying.

  Ivan.

  A warm feeling ran through her body.

  He looked over – Grace felt the heat rising in her cheeks. He’d caught her staring at him. A quiver ran through her insides.

  A girl sauntered across and straddled the bench next to Ivan, facing him.

  ‘She’s the one I was telling you about,’ Sarah said.

  The girl wore a mercenary crest and looked very fit. Grace felt a stab of envy as the girl flicked her long dark hair over her shoulders and sent a sweeping look around the room. Her gaze stopped on Grace for a few seconds. Grace met her stare. The girl grimaced, as though she’d stepped in something foul, and placed a hand on Ivan’s back. He leaned closer as she whispered something in his ear.

  Grace tore her eyes away and yanked the straw from her drink bottle, taking a long gulp of water. She fixed her eyes on Sarah. ‘You didn’t tell me she was so gorgeous.’

  ‘I don’t see much beauty in her. She’s not a very nice person.’

  Grace slammed the bottle down. ‘We’re pretty outnumbered, aren’t we?’

  ‘There are over forty mercs and twelve engineers, but only two of us. There aren’t many with our gift, Grace. Don’t know why. I was pretty happy to hear there was a new telepath coming, let me tell you.’

  ‘They don’t seem to like us much.’ Anger simmered in Grace’s stomach. She peered over at Armin. What a rude, horrible rodent.