The gray haired man lowered to his knees, his eyes never leaving mine. He lifted up my shirt just enough to expose my stomach. My chest hurt, as his gentle fingers rolled up the fabric. Please, no, I pleaded from within my head. His eyes fell to the floor before he stood.
“This is a bad idea, Christoph,” Adrianna said from behind him. She was tense. So was I, trapped in my body, unable to run, scream, or fight. The air was thin, ready to shatter.
Christoph didn’t look back at her. He only shook his head, before pulling out the needle. “It must be done.”
It was too big and too long to be meant for me. They wanted something from her, from my baby girl. My body thrashed inside. I won’t let you touch her! Every muscle in me was desperately trying to move. I went crazy within, flailing, screaming, panic-stricken mad as Christoph walked toward me.
Stephan’s evil grin fueled my rage. As Christoph placed a hand on my belly, I cried out inside my head, piercing and desperate. Tears blurred my vision, and my heart felt ready to burst. I willed my muscles to work, pulling strength from places I didn’t know existed. I had to break free.
Then, somehow my knee swung forward, overcoming Stephan’s hold and smacking Christoph in the face. He yelled with frustration and stared at me with wild eyes as his nose began to bleed.
“Hold her,” he growled. Stephan’s strong hands gripped my legs, pinning my still immovable body to the chair.
Quiet moans slipped past my teeth. Even Stephan couldn’t hold them back. I breathed like I was on fire. As the needle penetrated my skin, I didn’t feel the pain. I didn’t watch what was happening. I told her she’d be fine. It’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.
Stephan had no hold on her. She flipped and turned. My heart burned like someone had mashed it into bits with a hot poker. Tell me what to do, baby girl. Help me.
The needle was all the way in, and I was powerless. My mind went numb. My body gave up.
“All right,” Christoph said with a chipper tone to his voice. “Not so bad.” He looked at the syringe with satisfaction. I wanted to kill him. “You can take her back now, Philip.”
My muscles stayed locked in place as Philip slid his arms under my body and carried me into my prison. The moment I was free from Stephan’s hold I collapsed in agony on the basement floor. I clutched my belly in my arms, letting all of my angry cries spill out of me. I was sick with hate. I wanted him dead.
I felt a hand on my back, and I batted it away with force. “Get away from me,” I wailed, the garbled words lost to hysterics. I breathed in gulps of air as I cried and buried my face into the musty mattress.
That night, darkness was my friend. It helped me hide from myself, from everything. I never wanted to come out.
After that, I felt grateful for the days spent in the lonely silence of the basement. I got used to the quiet, the solitude. It comforted me.
On the days they came for more, those were the times I broke into pieces.
28.
I’D RIPPED NINETEEN tiny holes into the mattress when the basement door opened again, one for every day since the needles had started. Or at least what I was guessing were days. I knew what they wanted. The aching tightened in my throat, and angry tears welled up in my eyes when Stephan stepped down the stairs. Not again.
“Get away from me,” I said through clenched teeth, clinging to the darkest places of the room. The shadows only hid me for so long. Fighting back wasn’t an option. Not with Stephan locking up my bones and muscles until I was no more than a statue, trapped inside myself.
In the kitchen I was forced to relive my worst nightmare. The same people, the same chair, the same needle. I closed my eyes, my only defense, the only part of me that could move. It’s okay, baby girl, I repeated over and over, like the words would brace me for what was to come.
“I don’t suppose you’ve heard,” Christoph said as he knelt down in front of me with the syringe. “It’s getting quite chaotic out there in the real world.” My frantic eyes opened and watched as he lifted my shirt exposing my pregnant stomach. My chest heaved in and out with anxiety I couldn’t control. “If our people don’t start behaving themselves, the humans are going to retaliate, and what a pity that would be. Don’t you agree? No doubt we’d have to eradicate that kind of an enemy.” He pressed the needle in slowly, and I winced though my body remained still. I watched my stomach move as she twisted inside me. “And what better way to fight an enemy than with their own kind? My mutated human army against the human race. It’s brilliant, really. All we’ll have to do is sit back and watch as they destroy themselves. They won’t even know the difference. They’ll be like clones fighting in our place.”
I gagged involuntarily as he pulled out the needle. I could feel the bile rising, burning my throat. Tears wet my lips, but I couldn’t lick them clean. All I could do in my frozen state was stare at the man that was breaking me. Try to kill him with my eyes.
“There we go,” he said with a smile, examining the fluid he’d extracted. “The last batch killed the poor man I used it on, but we’ll make some adjustments.” He placed the cap on the needle and tucked it in his jacket pocket. “I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.”
It wasn’t until I emerged from my devastation that I began replaying it all in my head. What had he said? It was important, but in that moment, nothing was more important than my child and what was being taken from me.
One thing stood out. The words mutated human army, then something about the world in chaos, humans fighting humans. Whatever the details, what he’d said meant one thing—it was all falling apart. He was winning. I punched the wall in anger, and my hand burned as blood rushed to it.
Which Descendants were revealing themselves to the human world? My people? Or was it his? Did I do this? Was he instigating this chaos or letting the pieces I’d set up for him fall perfectly into place?
I covered my face with my hands and sighed into my palms. None of it mattered as long as I was in here. There was nothing I could do about any of it. Where was this prophecy savior now, because clearly I was never the one. How could I be? Not trapped in here while our world was crumbling. Maybe there never was a prophecy. Or maybe this was it. Would the humans be the last part of the equation, the final thrust that destroyed The Council?
I lay on the mattress, curled around my belly, and tried to bring my thoughts back to here and now. To my baby. To surviving. To holding myself together long enough to make it through this.
Over the next few weeks, my baby girl was all I had, helping me through the moments I felt like giving up. I never realized how much I’d grown to love her, never expected how fiercely attached I’d become.
“We’re going to get through this. Right, baby girl?” I whispered to her. I felt a nudge from inside and smiled. One thing that lived like fire inside me was the need to free her. Nothing could stifle that flame. Not Christoph, or needles, or the world coming to an end. None of it was more important than my daughter. I lived for her.
***
Any noise that broke the silence always got my attention, but it was never anything like this. A voice drew me to the right side of the room, a quiet hum that carried through the wall. A woman. My ears strained as I listened for the place it was coming from, and I found the grate in the corner. I wanted to lie on the floor and press my ear to the opening, but my belly had gotten too big for that, so I lowered into a squat instead.
“Hello?” I whispered the word into the vent, and the singing stopped almost immediately. I let my knees fall to the ground and waited for an answer. There wasn’t one. “Hello,” I said again, louder, but there was only silence. I waited, wondering if I should just let the woman be, but I couldn’t. What if she could help me?
“Who are you?” I asked, keeping my voice low. If Christoph found out, I was sure he would move us away from each other. The humming picked back up, sweet and comforting, a lullaby to nurture a lonely soul. “I know you can hear me.” I sighed, irritated that I was being
ignored.
“Ssh,” she answered.
I opened my mouth to reply. I couldn’t stay quiet now, but the sound of a scuffle kept me from speaking, then the clank of metal on metal, though no one spoke.
There was another voice, a low mumble. “The greater good,” were the only words I made out, before the latch of a door.
“Elyse?”
My fingers curled through the holes in the grate. “Yes,” I whispered. “Who are you?”
“Lilia.”
I felt lightheaded with a mix of hope and frustration. “How long have you been here?”
“Today.”
“Why? Will they take you away? Are you . . .” Was it too much to hope she’d want to help me?
“I don’t know,” she answered. “It’s Christoph and Adrianna’s turn to keep me.”
Without her near at least two members of The Council, none of them had any power. She was their key, but she was also mine. If I could get her away from them, Antec’s ability wouldn’t work and my friends would be free. I stood and paced along the wall like a wild animal trying to think its way out of a cage. In the end I was back at the grate on my knees.
“I can’t get out of here.”
“No. You can’t,” she answered matter-of-factly. “Can you help me?”
“No. I’m in chains.” She stayed quiet for a moment. “If you’re here, there’s no helping any of us.”
“Christoph lets me out sometimes.” I didn’t mention the needles. I didn’t like to think about it. “Is there any way to escape? If I can get outside the house—”
“No.”
The single word sank like a weight around my heart, taking the fleeting moment of hope with it.
I didn’t try talking with her any more that night, but I listened to her song. The clang of a plate on cement told me my dinner was there, but I didn’t feel like eating. I huddled in the corner of the cold room, welcoming the darkness. If there was no hope, why bother?
I spent days just a wall away from her, hoping that any moment I’d think of a way to escape and take her with me. I dreamt of releasing them, of finding William, but after a while even the sound of her song couldn’t bring me to open my eyes.
“Do you believe in fate?” Her voice echoed up from the floor.
I lifted my head from my knees. “I used to,” I answered in a whisper. “Not anymore.”
“The oracle told me you would save me. Back when I thought I knew what was right. I didn’t believe her. Then, I didn’t need to be saved.”
“She told me a lot of things.”
“Were they true?”
“Not always.”
I rested the back of my head against the wall and disappeared again inside myself. This was my fate now.
I didn’t know how long I was out. Maybe it was only a few seconds, maybe hours, but when I heard her scream my whole body jerked. That kind of scream meant fear or pain. I could still hear it when it was over. I swallowed saliva down my sandpaper throat. Was I next?
The latch on my door clicked, and I stood. Light spread across the room like an open fan. I was close to giving up, but I would not die tonight.
I waited. Still nothing came.
The door stayed open, inviting escape. I couldn’t resist. It had been weeks since I’d been allowed outside of my prison. I crept toward the stairs, protecting my belly with my arms.
The hallway outside was dark. I hesitated before I stepped beyond the threshold. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow to my left. I gasped with surprise and darted to the right, slipping through the first open door I saw. As I closed it behind me, I realized it wasn’t a door but a part of the wall, a secret entrance to a secret room.
When I turned around, I knew exactly where I was. A single window shed gray light onto the floor, and Lilia’s slim body hung in chains from the stone wall. Above her, her hands were suspended in shackles. Her knees hovered, not quite reaching the floor. She was slumped forward, causing her sleek blonde hair to hang over her face.
“Lilia,” I said, rushing to her side. I brushed her hair away, lifting her head. “Lilia, come on.” When I pulled my hands back, my fingertips were wet with blood. It was bright, like the only splash of color in a black and white world. The back of her head had been bashed against the wall, and if I didn’t stop the bleeding soon, she might not survive.
I needed her to live. Separating her from Christoph and Adrianna was my only chance at saving William, my only chance at saving any of them. If she died, Council abilities would shift to their heirs. I’d never get William back. The oracle told me you would save me. I couldn’t ignore those words. This was meant to happen.
My eyes scanned the floor for something sharp. A loose nail sat at her feet, and I dug the point into my wrist.
I pressed a hand to her forehead and lifted the other to her mouth, hoping to heal the wound from the inside out. I waited for her eyes to open, for her to groan and come to, but she hung limp, lifeless. “Come on!” I urged. Maybe I was too late. Then it hit me. My ability wasn’t working on her. It wouldn’t work on her. Abilities didn’t work on Council members.
I stepped back, grabbing my bleeding wrist.
“Keep going,” said a voice behind me.
I jumped and whipped around ready to fight for survival. “Philip?”
“I said, keep going before it’s too late,” he snapped.
I shook my head. “I can’t. It won’t work on her—”
There was a look in his eyes. It frightened me. “I really don’t want to have to force you, but I will.”
I pressed my arm to her lips once again, tilting her head back so the blood dripped down her throat. Philip watched me. I didn’t know why he was so adamant that I save her. Soon I felt the familiar heaviness begin to weigh me down with the more blood I sacrificed. The baby kicked nervously in my belly, sensing the stress. I started to worry. I wouldn’t put her at risk for this. It was useless anyway. I pulled my arm away to demand he let me stop, and Lilia inhaled like she was coming up for air. The chains jangled as she tried to stand.
“It worked,” I said under my breath.
She heard me. “Elyse?”
“I’m here.” I reached out to her. She took my hand, and our eyes connected for a moment before she saw him.
“No,” she whispered. “Don’t hurt me.” The way she withdrew into the wall, I knew he was the one who did this.
His fingers curled around my arm. I looked back to yank it away, but suddenly found myself trapped in white, breathless space. I realized who he was as I felt the familiar emptiness press in around me.
“Wait,” I said, when I could breathe again. I had to stop him before he bashed my head in next. “I know Alex.” I couldn’t see, but I recognized the dank smell of my prison.
“Yes,” he answered. “He’s my son.”
I stood still in the blackness expecting him to do something, but both of us waited in silence.
“Was it you?” I asked, once I realized he wasn’t going to attack me. “Why would you ask me to heal her if you meant to kill her?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” His voice was low and empty like he had given up on emotion. “You healed her. A Council member. It worked, even though it shouldn’t have.”
I nodded, still confused by it. “How did you know it would work?”
“I didn’t.”
“What if she had died?” My voice spiked.
“It was a risk I was willing to take,” he answered. “I needed to see the extent of your ability. Ensure it was strong enough.”
He switched on a small flashlight illuminating his face. It hung like he’d been hurting for longer than he could take. I knew that look. I knew what it felt like to lose the ones I loved.
“Alex and your daughter,” I said, seeing a way out. “You could free them.” My words became hurried, desperate. “If you took Lilia away from here, you could have your family back. If you—”
“You don’t think I’ve though
t of that?” he interrupted. “And then what? Run? I know what Christoph is capable of. It’s a death sentence. I don’t want my family to live that way. To die that way . . .” His voice trailed off.
“It’s worth it,” I continued carefully. “I’m the last healer. I’m supposed to bring The Council down. If you could get Lilia out, and if I could come—”
“I plan to,” he said, and suddenly a fire was ignited in me again. He took my wrist in his hand. “But I need you to do something first.” Anything, I thought as he slid a pocketknife across his palm and placed it on my wound. I hadn’t even noticed the pain until it was healed. “Take this.” He handed me the light. Then in a matter of seconds he was gone and back again. “Here’s some water and a towel for the blood. You can keep the light, so you can see in this place.”
“Thanks.” His eyes flashed up at me, glinting in the dark. They were sad. Desperate. So was I. “What do you want me to do?” I asked, though it didn’t matter what his answer was.I would do anything if it meant he’d help me.
“I want you to kill Christoph.”
I laughed a little. “What?”
“It’s the only way to be free.”
It was impossible. He had too many people’s abilities at his fingertips. Though the idea was tempting, I wasn’t in any position to kill him. “Why don’t you do it?”
“We tried.” His feet shuffled against the cement floor. “I watched a colleague shoot the man six times in the chest, and he didn’t even stagger. He’s gotten too powerful, developed new abilities somehow.”
The experiments. I remembered the blood dripping from his nose when I first faced him. He’d been experimenting on himself.
Uprising (Children of the Gods) Page 26