She checked his pulse then called out something over her shoulder. I’m guessing it was ‘He’s alive’ because she picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Relief that he might still be alive warred with fear of what was going to happen to us. I squirmed and my captor pinched the back of my neck. To my dismay, I went completely slack.
He tossed me over his shoulder in the same undignified manner that Nathan was being carried.
We were joined by the other male and female who were half-carrying, half-dragging Ammon onto the platform. He didn’t look so hot.
But who among the three of us did?
Once we were all on the platform, it started its descent back into the bowels of the earth.
It was hard to measure how far down we went. It felt as we’d been moving for a long time, but our scenery remained basically the same. At first, it was light colored dirt mixed with small rocks and delicate roots but over time that changed. Now, it was only rock all around us.
There was no natural light, and my brain reminded me that soon there would be no air. I was going to die here, any minute now. Already in my grave, deep underground.
I started to hyperventilate. The blond bastard holding me noticed and started to laugh. My hatred intensified. If I just weren’t totally tapped-out of magic, tossed over his shoulder like a sack, and completely unable to move, why I’d… I’d…
The blond man made some comment and rest laughed with him. Except for the dark guy. He remained stoic.
The red-head put his hand on the clear “elevator” wall and strange symbols lit up where he touched it. He said a few words and the symbols changed. It seemed like a menu of some sort, some advanced operating system.
He started scrolling until he found what he was looking for. He pressed something and, just like that, our scenery changed.
Along the walls, light shimmered then transformed into images of open space. The rocks around us became blue skies and beautiful green meadows, dotted in wildflowers, and with snowy mountain tops in the distance.
Even the sounds of nature were present, so it as if we were standing in our box surrounded by nature.
It was beautiful, and it helped. My claustrophobia subsided, and I no longer felt like I was going to be buried alive. I still knew none of this was real but my eye enjoyed the scenery, and that was enough.
The redhead smiled at me as if he’d been my knight in shining armor. If he expected gratitude, while his friend still held me captive, he’d have a long wait.
Besides, my body was giving out again. By now, I figured I must have been awake for over twenty-four hours. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold up. At this point, all I could do was hope that Sara and Caleb were safe, wherever they may be. And that Sara would forgive Caleb, me, and herself for all that had happened.
After an eternity we came to an abrupt stop then began to move sidewise. My body swayed along as we whooshed toward whatever destination they had in mind.
I was too tired to even lift my head to see how Nathan or Ammon fared. It was quiet though, the only sound those of artificial nature pumping through whatever advanced sound system they had.
When we finally came to a complete stop, the walls of our bizarre conveyance parted with a soft burst of air. We went through an area that, even from my upside-down position, I recognized as being similar to the place Ammon had shown Sara and me the Sleepers. As we crowded onto a small platform, I closed my eyes, now prepared for the cleansing mist.
I wondered if it could get blood out of silk. I nearly laughed out loud at that.
My head bounced and rolled side to the side as we strode through several rooms and corridors. We passed through one place where I could see five empty pods. I guessed these guys came from there. But it did make me wonder why they were separated from the rest, in the first place. Maybe they didn’t trust Ammon to keep them safe, even though that was his job. But he’d admitted he wasn’t always that great at it.
Maybe they were more important. Perhaps that’s why they were so deep underground. Or possibly, they were more dangerous.
I didn’t want to think about that.
We passed through yet another door and this time, there were rooms lined up on one wall, stretching down a large corridor.
Ammon’s captor took him into one. I didn’t have a chance to look inside because the door promptly closed behind them. The same thing happened with Nathan and the next room. A few feet more, and I’d correctly deduced it was my turn for whatever little shop of horrors lay beyond door number three.
The blond guy dumped me not too gently on a table that looked exactly like the one doctors had in the exam rooms.
The door snapped shut by itself, locking me inside with him. The room was bare except for the bed and some cabinets.
I had no means to defend myself. My panic, and finally, my voice returned with vigor.
“Please...”
“Be quiet,” he snapped in perfect English.
I blinked. Of course. They were proclaimed to be advanced, and even the ancient shut-in Ammon knew English. And these guys dressed as if they’d mingled more recently in society.
Lousy bastards.
I tried to sit up but, even though my voice was back, my ability to move wasn’t.
Dirty, rotten, low-down, mother-f’ng bastards.
He opened a narrow cabinet near the ceiling and pulled out a syringe with a long needle.
My throat constricted, making it hard to speak. “What are you doing?” I gasped.
His eyes were devoid of all emotion as he approached. “I’m going to check your background, and if you’re deemed worthy, I’ll heal you,” he stated flatly.
I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if I wasn’t deemed worthy. As he drew nearer, my heartbeat pounded from my chest up through my head.
I was one-hundred percent screwed.
Twenty
He walked to the other side of the room, frightening me even more because I couldn’t see him then. I could only hear a series of clicks and beeps.
“Do you know your genome serial number, by chance?” he asked.
A laughing cough tightened my chest and escaped in a huff. Sure, yeah. It’s ABC-123-hashtag-howtheHellwouldIknow?
I resolved to ignore him.
“I asked you a question.”
My resolved snapped. “So what? I asked a dozen questions, and you all ignored me. You knew the language. Why didn’t you speak to me then?” Instead of dragging me, paralyzed, to your secret lab, was implied.
“There was no need.”
“Jerk,” I mumbled.
He returned within my field of vision, glanced over me dispassionately, and then spoke more as if to himself than to me. “You are a Mutt. That much is obvious.”
Did I misunderstand or did he say ‘mutt’?
“A mutt?” I asked.
“I just need to figure out what kind,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Make sure you are worth our time.”
He finally looked me full in the face. “So, it is time you learn your place and be quiet.”
“You know what? You can kiss my ass.” I delivered as much attitude as possible from partially paralyzed, one-eyed, one-handed girl, spread out on a table at his mercy.
That finally changed his expression. I doubted he could look more shocked.
Even I was surprised by that little outburst. But my limit of feeling helpless and scared had been reached a few minutes before. I allowed my anger take the driver’s seat and it felt great. Might get me killed, but it sure felt good at the time.
I grinned.
He glared. “I don’t sleep with Mutts,” he sneered.
Wait, what?
“Oh, my God, I didn’t mean that literally. Ew!”
“That is what you said.”
“But I didn’t mean it.”
“Then why say it?” he argued.
“Aren’t you aware of the concept of a ‘figure of speech’?” I asked.
“Yes. A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning. It can be a metaphor or simile that’s designed to further explain a concept. Or it can be the repetition of alliteration or exaggeration of hyperbole to give further emphasis or effect.”
Hello, Sheldon Cooper.
“So…” I prompted.
“So, I know I am handsome, but you should be more realistic about your appearance. You are far below my station and, furthermore, I don’t sleep with mongrels. So, there is no need for you to try to seduce me.”
Dear lord, he was serious. Completely serious. It took me several seconds to find my tongue again. “Look, creepy old dude, I wouldn’t in a million years try to seduce you.”
“Excellent.” He nodded, apparently glad that I finally saw reason. “But now hold still.”
He jammed the huge needle in my ear before I had time to process his intent.
“Done,” he announced over my screams. “Now you can understand everyone.”
“What did you do to me?” My ear hurt like…like he’d jammed a big-ass needle in it.
He sighed, clearly annoyed. “I just told you, I made you understand us.” He took hold of the sides of my face, turning it side to side. “Did you hit your head on top of your other injuries?”
I growled in frustration and he turned to the wall. He ran a hand over it and it flared to life just as the platform walls had. The transparent, built-in monitor was split; one side appeared to be letters and symbols flying by, and on the other was an X-ray type of image of a human form. All insides, no outside. It came out from the wall to float in the air, three-dimensional.
It appeared to be female and from the lack of its hand, I suspected it was me.
It was a little unnerving.
He came back to me and pulled a strand of my hair.
There was a split second where I wondered whether I should yell ‘ouch’ or something, but I settled for, “Hey, watch the wig. It was expensive.”
If I managed to survive this, I was going to give my wig guy a massive hug. I mean, it was a little battered now, sure, but it was still on.
He looked more closely at what he held between his fingers, then back at me. He moved even closer to inspect it thoroughly.
I tried not to be bothered by his proximity or the fact that he was inspecting my scars and all the damage I had caused. But the key word was ‘tried’.
He sighed and his warm breath blew over my face. I closed my eye and felt sick. It wasn’t that his breath was bad; it was just that he was too close. His bright yellow eyes were odd from a distance, but up close, they were so foreign, so clearly ‘other’ I thought I might hyperventilate again. It was like staring a lion in the face from two inches away.
You just don’t want to be that close.
“Since the hair is unusable,” he said, apparently oblivious to my reaction, “I need a sample of your saliva or blood. Your choice.”
“How about neither.”
“If you don’t provide it willingly, I will have to take it.”
My eye flew open. “You mean like you just jabbed me in the ear?” Good sense out the window, I spat in his face. “How’s that for a sample?”
We both went completely still. I couldn’t believe I just did that, nor could he. Those glowing gold eyes flared then narrowed, turning deadly.
And what do you know? I was scared again. After so many death threats, I thought I’d made peace with the fact that I’d probably die in here, but something told me this guy could do so much worse than kill me.
He straightened then wiped his face clean.
“That sample would not be viable because it got mixed with my own DNA.” His calm tone was more frightening than if he’d shouted.
I heard a sound like a drawer being opened at the side of the bed, and metal rattling.
“Blood then,” he said. Without warning, he punched a large needle into my arm, right into the knife wound that Ammon had given me.
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed and continued to shower him with tender words.
All the while he ignored me and took his fill. Afterwards, he strapped me to the bed. First my legs and then my good arm. He paused with the other arm, apparently not sure how to strap it at the wrist. He settled on making it extra tight around my bicep and elbow.
“Sadistic much?” I sneered then closed my eye. If I hadn’t been strapped down, I would have kicked myself. What had gotten into me? I used to be so meek and mild.
Oh, right. That was before I’d entered crazy land.
He remained silent, now adding my vials of blood into some kind of tray that he’d made come out of the wall.
“Was this really necessary?” I continued to complain against my own best interests. “You know, I still can’t move from the neck down over here.”
As soon as I said it, I realized that the paralysis must be temporary and about to wear off. Otherwise, the straps wouldn’t have been necessary. That was why the creep had gone fifty shades on me.
It gave me a modicum of hope.
Until just before he left the room and pressed something on the wall.
The bees were back in full swing and my head felt like it would explode.
I guess one shouldn’t poke the mad scientist.
I gritted my teeth and tried to concentrate, but every time the noise and the pain shattered my concentration, blocking me from raising any power until only the maddening sound of their buzzing remained.
A stray thought managed to emerge. Maybe that was their purpose, to block magic?
Did that mean that Caleb also couldn’t get to me? I tried to remember exactly when and how I’d first heard the noise. I thought it was in the cave, or even before, so maybe blocking magic wasn’t the purpose.
I squeezed my eye closed against the pain. Those evil, sadistic bastards.
At long last, everything within me gave out. I surrendered to the exhaustion, if only to relieve the pain.
I had no idea how long I’d been out. It took a few moments to get my bearings and for the stomach-dropping feeling to reappear.
Everything appeared as it was before. The light was on and I’d long since lost track of time. It was more disorienting than passing out after pulling an all-nighter. Had I slept a day? Five minutes? What had happened to Nathan and Ammon?
For that matter, what had happened to me while I was asleep? I tentatively tried to move my fingers and toes and was rewarded with a little movement. I was still strapped down, so there wasn’t much else I could do.
An eternity later, the door opened and after three footsteps, the red-haired giant stood beside me.
I didn’t know whether to be relieved that blond bastard hadn’t returned, or worried that this vision of malice loomed over me.
He smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. Of amusement perhaps, but didn’t fully reach his eyes.
I realized I wouldn’t like this guy either.
“Well, well, little lady,” he said, coming closer. “You sure are a lot of trouble.” He chuckled.
I looked away and kept quiet. I figured he would say and do whatever he wanted, regardless of my involvement in the process.
“Don’t feel like talking?” His smile grew. “Never mind, I know you can understand me now, so I will carry on the conversation for the both of us, Izzara.”
My head snapped back and he laughed out loud.
“Ammon was always the foolish one,” he continued. He opened a cabinet and started looking at the instruments, rustling paper and metal. Now and again, he would turn his gaze back at me. “I don’t know why Azkuran insisted on keeping him as a Watcher,” he added conversationally, like I should know who Azkuran was.
“He betrayed Menhable and still Azkuran kept him on.”
It was clear he didn’t approve. The name Azkuran didn’t ring any bells, but ‘Menhable’ tickled at my memory for a second. Ah, yes! Nasty king who’d killed Izzara.
He returned to my side and leaned
on the bed. He bent his head conspiratorially, and whispered, “I guess it was a good thing our quintet had a separate bunker. Or we would have also gone down in a blaze of glory.”
I tried to ignore him, but it was impossible. “Where is he now?”
“Ammon?”
“Yes, Ammon. And Nathan too.”
“Ah, yes,” he mused, nodding. “The other mutt. They are being taken care of.”
“What does that mean?” It was better to ask than to let my brain come up with various scenarios by itself.
“Don’t worry about them,” he waved his hand. “There is something more important for you to concentrate on.”
“Meaning?”
“What are you going to do?” He jabbed me with a finger, emphasizing each of his words.
“From here? Strapped to the table?”
He rolled his eyes.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
His lids went half-mast as he considered me. “What it’s going to be, Izzara? Are you with us or against us?”
“Stop calling me that.” I raised my head as much as my restraints would allow, so I could properly glare at him. “My name is Phoebe.”
“Phoebe.” He repeated it a couple of times, testing it for a size. He shrugged. “I suppose it fits you. You are not quite our Izzara anymore, are you? More like a little wounded bird. Although, besides the bird, the name ‘Phoebe’ also means ‘shining one’.”
His lips twisted into a wry smile as he looked at me. “Don’t think that quite fits, either.”
I gritted my teeth, swallowing the insult. Because in truth, I was and wasn’t Izzara.
At the Well of Truth, only I saw my reflection. Sara was too fascinated and scared to notice, and Ammon was focused solely on her. But the image that greeted me wasn’t something I could easily forget, no matter how much I wanted to.
The reflection that stared back at me, in the same position I was, was the one identical to the one on the dais. Almost identical to Sara. But whereas Sara and Izzara were not perfect copies of one another; Izzara and I were.
Ammon might have missed it in his excitement and desperation, but all the small differences between Sara and Izzara were completely removed from my own reflection. I wondered if Izzara had a sister that history had forgotten. Because the likeness between Sara and Izzara was uncanny, though not absolute.
Reluctant Gods (The Awakening Book 2) Page 20