The Mind Control Telepath

by Evelyn Lederman

  The temperature dropped, as soon as they entered the basement prison. He could feel JoAnna shiver, as they made their way deeper into the room. If the chill was not bad enough, there was a strong smell of disinfectant. Koel could only imagine the living conditions the men and women, who temporarily resided here suffered. He placed his arm around JoAnna’s shoulders and brought her into the warmth of his body.

  They were led to a makeshift conference room in the middle of the basement. Two armed guards stood outside the cordoned off space. The guard who had led them from Jarlyn’s residence had a short whispered conversation with the taller of the two sentries. Communal pathways could only be used if the information shared could be broadcast to a large audience.

  “I am joining you.” Solfa made a sudden appearance. Koel was grateful for her involvement in what was about to happen. She was a brilliant strategist and would quickly abort the interview if she felt JoAnna was in danger. He also did not miss JoAnna becoming a lighter shade of pale in response to Solfa being present. Although Koel was glad Solfa was here, his soul mate did not share the sentiment.

  They entered the room and Koel was shocked to see the prisoner was no more than a boy. He could not be more than seventeen years old. No wonder the Prime Ruler said he was obsessed with women, most boys his age were. The suspect was chained to the chair, as well as the ground. Unless he had superhuman strength, the prisoner did not present a physical threat.

  “Traves Choaks, you are being detained for the murder of Sharla Klepper.” Solfa got straight to business, casting her cold stare at the boy before them. “JoAnna Carlson is a mind control telepath, who will assist me in this interrogation. She has the ability to enter your mind, whether you agree to her entry or not.”

  Koel watched, as the boy’s eyes left Solfa and lit onto his soul mate. There was something wrong with the way he looked at JoAnna. He had an uneasy feeling about the look and the danger the prisoner presented to his soul mate. Koel had seen sexual hunger before, this was something different. The boy shifted in the chair, trying to get closer to JoAnna.

  “Hold off entering his brain for the time being.” Koel communicated through the warrior channel, allowing both Solfa and JoAnna to hear his order. “Solfa, were any of the mind control telepaths who were part of the earlier interrogations women?”

  Solfa reached for the file on the table and reviewed its contents. After she finished reading what had been documented, she went through it again. “All the people who have been involved in questioning the prisoner have been men. Why do you ask?”

  Koel struggled to translate a feeling he had into words in order to explain the vibe coming off Traves Choaks. “I need to know what telepathic abilities the prisoner has and how brutal the murder was. Plus, have there been any unsolved similar crimes that have not been communicated through the communal pathways? What telepathic powers did the victim or victims possess?” Koel noted JoAnna had been looking at him from the time they entered the room, not making eye contact with the prisoner. “JoAnna, keep your focus on me. Under no circumstances do you look directly at the prisoner.”

  “I need to further debrief my associates,” Solfa announced to the other officials in the room. She obviously wanted answers to Koel’s questions and some of her own. “Koel and JoAnna, we will meet in my office.”

  They exited the room and hurried to the third floor where Solfa conducted business. As they made their way up from the basement, Solfa barked orders to her staff through the communal pathways for every bit of information available on the case. Koel contacted Candy and requested she join them. He needed to know everything he could about her premonitions related to JoAnna. Something did not feel right.

  “What is going on, Koel?” Solfa asked as soon as Candy arrived. They had worked together long enough for Solfa to respect his instincts.

  Koel wiped the sweat from his brow, as he tried to make sense of the array of thoughts that assaulted his mind. When he thought he had a fully coherent storyline to tell everyone, more nuances of what he feared was occurring came to light. He needed to get a grip and construct a lucid explanation for the three women before him.

  “This may sound insane, but have you heard stories about succubus? I am not referring to the stories of females who feed on the life force of others. There is a particular legend related to a male telepathic being who could steal the gifts of a female mind control telepath and leave her a hollow shell. Legend tells us you can identify these creatures by a flash of yellow light emitted from their eyes.”

  “I believe they are called incubus, if they are male,” JoAnna commented. He could not help but give her a questioning look. “I loved the series Lost Girl and read some of the lore on the subject. They are more into sexual energy, then pulling telepathic power.”

  Solfa turned a light shade of green and quickly picked up one of the files on her desk. She shuffled through the papers until she found what she looked for. “The victim had her head bashed in and there was very little brain matter. They explained it away by documenting there had been a rodent infestation in the area.”

  “Gross,” Candy and JoAnna said in unison. If the conversation was not so serious, Koel would have laughed at the girls having the same reaction to a bunch of rats living off whatever they could eat.

  “Jeryl Jarlyn has never had issues sentencing people to death or the penal colony without a shred of evidence,” Koel informed the group. “Now he personally interviews a suspected felon. He cannot reach inside his mind, so he asks JoAnna to do it. I swear, I saw a flash of yellow for an instant.”

  “It does not make sense, Koel.” JoAnna sounded as frustrated as he felt. “Why would he blackmail us into making love and go through the evolutionary change, just to have me fall victim to this male incubus. By the way, I do not believe in such creatures, regardless of the entertainment value they provide on television.”

  “I do not know,” Koel admitted. “It is just a feeling I have. Something is off about this whole situation. We need to take the threat seriously, even if the prisoner is not what I fear he is. Candy, have you been able to pick up anything?”

  “Nothing concrete. I have had feelings that something bad would happen, but my anxiety level has reached critical this time around. It is all directed at Jo Jo.”

  Every instinct Koel had cried out for him to take his soul mate and leave this world. Perhaps he should take JoAnna and join his cousin in the penal colony. There she would be safe and they would work with Benko Jarlyn to overthrow his father. The Prime Ruler seemed to have set his sights on destroying his soul mate and Koel was not going to let it happen. However, it was questionable whether they would be allowed to walk out of The Palace.

  Chapter 17

  JoAnna gripped her soul mate’s hand, as she attempted to enter Traves Choaks’s mind. If he was the creature Koel thought he was, the boy presented a threat to her. She needed to face him where she had control, not being overtaken in some dark alley one day in the future. Not only was she a fifth-generation mind control telepath, but she was a mated one. With everything she could gather about telepathic strength, she was almost invincible. Now would be the best time to confront the beast within the boy or discover he was harmless. Either way, she was not going to live her life in fear, always looking over her shoulder.

  She had a natural ability to block other mind control telepaths from her mind, which was reinforced by the same gift manifesting itself in her soul mate. Together, she prayed they would be able to counter anything thrown at them. JoAnna felt Candy’s presence behind her, it reassured her she was well protected.

  The boy’s stare unnerved her. JoAnna nearly came out of her chair when Candy thrust a knife into the table. “You keep looking at my friend in that manner, I will put the dagger’s partner in your chest.” Traves Choaks did not even blink at Candy’s threat. The sick grin on his face only got larger.

&n
bsp; JoAnna needed to concentrate on the boy and ignore all the distractions. The pounding of her heart made it difficult for her to focus. It was almost deafening, as it beat a rapid rate.

  “Solfa, please start asking him questions,” JoAnna requested. She needed the prisoner to focus on something other than her. Solfa’s glare usually was enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone. JoAnna was intimidated by the woman who sat next to her. Unfortunately, it did not appear Traves Choaks had the same reaction.

  “Tell me about your relationship with Sharla Klepper,” Solfa said. “Did she turn down the repulsive thought of having sex with you? How badly did you want to hurt Sharla?”

  Traves Choaks continued to stare at JoAnna, rather than respond to Solfa’s taunts. His silence was unnerving. She felt as if something was trying to break through her natural telepathic shield. The sensation was not dissimilar to the start of a pressure headache. She decided it was wise to break eye contact with the boy and shifted her gaze over to Solfa. Perhaps if she concentrated on Traves Choaks, she could enter his mind without staring directly at him.

  Solfa continued to drill questions at the prisoner, while JoAnna tried to project herself into the boy’s mind. She caught glimpses here and there, but nothing concrete. It was like a bad movie, flashing on parts of a woman’s anatomy, like a strobe light effect. Jeryl Jarlyn had mentioned he had only been able to pick up the thoughts of girls when he tried to enter Choak’s mind.

  The boy’s continued silence added more tension in the room. Solfa’s voice kept getting louder as she fired question after question at him. Traves’s only reaction was to stare at JoAnna.

  JoAnna reached beside her, she grasped Koel’s hand. No one had mentioned soul mates became stronger with physical contact, but at this point, she was willing to try anything. Besides, it comforted her touching him. Koel tightened his grip on her hand, communicating he was there to support her. JoAnna knew he was opposed to her trying to enter Traves Choaks’s mind.

  “Try and project your mind into his, Koel.” JoAnna was willing to try anything to break through the boy’s initial layer of thoughts. Perhaps the soul mate link between them would enhance the gifts she already possessed.

  JoAnna felt an all-consuming kiss between Traves Choaks and another person she could not identify. She sensed the pull of energy from the unknown woman powered the young man. It was unclear what type of power he was drawing from her. JoAnna needed to go deeper into the memory. With the precision of a surgeon, she focused in order to determine what the energy consisted of. She entered the vortex of the power, almost like something out of The Outer Limits.

  “We are done here.” Koel’s voice penetrated her mind, as she felt her body being lifted from the chair. They were out the door before JoAnna was able to identify where she was. “What were you thinking? The bastard was draining you of energy right in front of us!”

  None of this made any sense to JoAnna. “No, that isn’t possible. He would need to have physical contact with me, like the kiss we experienced.” JoAnna was still a little dazed from the experience. She was not sure how she knew what she communicated was true, JoAnna just knew it.

  Koel placed her on her own two feet. JoAnna grabbed the door frame for balance, a bit shaky after her experience. It had all been so surreal and she struggled to come back to reality. When she closed her eyes, she could still see the boy staring at her with insanity in his gaze.

  “Jo Jo,” Candy said, “I felt you drift away. All my premonitions have been physical, but this one was more metaphysical. It is hard to describe. You were being drained of your telepathic ability, I am sure of it.”

  JoAnna started to spin, while the world stood still. She had heard acquaintances talk of vertigo attacks, but until this moment, she had never experienced one. It took all her effort to walk a straight line. “I am going to be sick,” JoAnna said, as she put out her hand and placed it against the wall.

  Hands grabbed her waist and pushed her through an open door. JoAnna fell to her knees, as Candy grabbed a waste basket and placed it in front of her. As the world continued to spin, JoAnna emptied her stomach.

  Koel stood helpless, as his soul mate retched into the container Candy had placed before her. He had felt waves of nausea, as he had carried JoAnna out of the interrogation room. It was clear he had a mild case of whatever had impacted her.

  He had not entered Traves Choaks’s brain, chosen to unite minds with his soul mate instead. It was fortunate he had, since Koel had been able to feel the attack on her mind. As soon as he had felt JoAnna’s diminished capabilities, Koel severed the connection his soul mate had with Traves. To play it safe, he also removed her physically from the incubus’s presence. There was no longer any doubt what he now dealt with.

  “Get in here and close the door,” Candy ordered, as Solfa entered the room. “We need to elevate her feet and let the vertigo spell run its course. If you have something similar to an antihistamine, we should give it to her.”

  “Med-tech to room B108 in The Palace immediately,” Solfa communicated through a communal pathway. He was not sure if a med-tech could help JoAnna, but it did not hurt to have her looked at. He never should have allowed her to enter that psychopath’s mind.

  “Tell Jeryl Jarlyn we saw the bastard kill the girl,” Koel said. As far as he was concerned, whoever that girl Traves Choaks had kissed had ended up dead. The monster would pay for at least one murder.

  “We can’t be sure of that.” JoAnna sounded weak and her voice was shaky. It was clear she was still in the grasp of the vertigo attack. Candy readjusted his soul mate’s feet, making sure they were higher than her head.

  “Yes, I can,” Koel responded back to JoAnna. “The freak is guilty as far as I am concerned. I saw him take the last breath from that girl, as he took her telepathic abilities. Although I was linked in through you, I felt him drain her.”

  “I will document the results of the interview accordingly,” Solfa commented. “We should be able to get a conviction and execute a sentence. Although I was horrified by our policy related to the Nightshade universe, I cannot imagine a more fitting fate for Traves Choaks to suffer. Let him get drained by a vampire, as he drained those poor girls. There have to be a dozen open homicides with similar particulars.”

  “Jeryl Jarlyn would never get away with sending another convicted murderer to the Nightshade universe,” Candy said.

  “Traves Choaks is too dangerous to house in our world. I will advise our Prime Ruler he does not have to worry about this animal any longer. Shirl will open a portal and only a few of us will know where he ended up.”

  “What if he asks?” Candy inquired.

  “Gatherers have been combing parallel dimensions for dissidents,” Koel said. “We merely have to let Jeryl Jarlyn know we abandoned the prisoner on a deserted world. I imagine our new allies in the Nightshade universe would be quite happy to relieve us of a deranged criminal who represents a danger to JoAnna.”

  “It’s not right,” JoAnna mumbled. Koel watched as his soul mate worked to sit up. She was still very shaky and ended up laying back down.

  “Where is the med-tech?” Koel took her pulse. It was thready, scarcely perceptible. If help did not arrive soon, he would find a med-tech kit and take care of his soul mate himself.

  Soon after Koel had that thought, a female med-tech arrived. She took JoAnna’s vitals and packed up her kit. “There is nothing I can do here. She will recover from the equilibrium imbalance shortly and will be fine.”

  Candy appeared to be as unsatisfied with the lack of care given JoAnna as he was. “Don’t you have an Antivert?”

  “I do not understand what you are asking for. Your friend will be fine. There is nothing I can do for her.” Obviously, the woman had other places to go and did not want to be delayed with a female who suffered a dizzy spell.

 
Candy tried to stop her from leaving, but Koel stymied Candy’s efforts. “Let her go. If JoAnna does not feel better soon, we can have Shirl head to Ginkgo Terra and pick up the medications you mentioned.”

  “I feel so stupid,” JoAnna said, as she once again tried to sit. This time her complexion had color and she successfully sat. Candy pulled over a chair and helped JoAnna to her feet and then into the chair. Although JoAnna had only been at the orphanage a short period of time, Candy treated her like she would Alex and Shirl. It was a relief how these telepathically superior women were looking out for his soul mate.

  JoAnna placed her elbow on the desk next to her and balanced her head on it. Koel did not like the way her complexion was once again paling. Fortunately, this time around, JoAnna did not have the green tint she had earlier.

  “Take her home,” Solfa ordered. “I will report to Jeryl Jarlyn. As soon as I have the go ahead, I will communicate through the warrior link our plans to escort the prisoner to the Nightshade universe.”

  Solfa left the room, as Koel checked on the condition of his soul mate. He took her into his arms. “Let us get out of here. I will take you to the Childers’s residence. Knowing Leenea, she will have some herbal remedy to help you.”

  Koel exited The Palace with his soul mate. His mind was racing with concerns related to why Jeryl Jarlyn had involved JoAnna in Traves Choaks interrogation and the upcoming trip to the Nightshade universe. He glanced at Candy, whose face reflected the worry Koel was dealing with. His soul mate was still in mortal danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

  Chapter 18

  JoAnna stretched out, as she woke from her nap. Her body was still fatigued from her vertigo attack. Koel had carried her home and quickly left, rather than remaining with her. He had muttered about not trusting himself and that she needed rest. They had not made love since the initial night they had been forced together. She realized a tremendous amount of events had occurred, but she still yearned to touch and be with her soul mate.