by Chanda Hahn
“Oh, Talbot, it’s you. Do you know her?” the man carrying me asked. He must know Talbot and know that he is a close friend of the family.
“Yes, she is the guest of honor at the party and she ran off. I’ll take her around the back so no one will be the wiser.”
The stranger carrying me shook his head and carefully set me down feet first onto the ground. Weakened, I leaned against the closest building for support. “Alright!” The stranger spoke. “Just make sure she seen to right away. She’s apparently sick and running a high fever.”
“Wait,” I called out. But the stranger, having done his good deed for the middle of the night, turned and ran back home.
I clutched the wall and glared at Talbot as he came near me. “Is it true?” he asked.
“Is what true?”
“Are you running a fever?” He stepped closer to me and raised his hand as if to feel the temperature of my skin.
Turning my head I avoided his touch. “Not anymore,” I lied.
“Do you have cramping in the stomach? Does it feel like you’re on fire?” He asked quietly, surveying me with his dark eyes. A chill went up my spine as I stared at him, trying to place that cold calculating stare.
“Sometimes.”
“Hmmmm, Thalia, Thalia, Thalia.” He chanted, walking around me while still keeping me pinned between the wall and himself. “What am I going to do with you? You were the only one worth keeping. At first, I thought you wouldn’t survive, but you’re stronger than that. You’ve surprised me. And now you are proving me wrong again. Even as we speak, you are trying to resist.” He stopped pacing and leaned towards me. “But you can’t.”
Fear shot up my back and I froze at his words. My heart began to race and I could hear its frantic thud loudly in my ears. The dark eyes were suddenly familiar; only, I had seen them watching me from behind a silver mask. Here was Raven in the flesh. I felt myself go weak with terror at facing my greatest nightmare.
“You are coming with me.” Talbot grabbed my wrist and commanded me to follow him. Out of fear, I followed for a few steps and then I resisted. He pulled on my arm again but I was tired and weak so I dropped like dead weight to the ground and pulled away from him. “All she was supposed to do was make you drink,” He snarled angrily at me. “You didn’t drink anything, did you?”
I smiled weakly at him in triumph.
“Stupid girl,” he spat out. Whether he was talking about me or Gloria, I wasn’t sure. “I’ll show you,” he threatened and grabbed me around the throat. I felt a jolt of power slice through me and I went limp. Talbot grinned evilly and sweat dripped off his bald head. He was tired, weaker now, but so was I.
The jolt, paralyzed me, and Talbot grabbed me under the arms and started dragging me down an alley, murmuring curses under his breath. “Stupid female couldn’t even follow one instruction. How in the world you figured out about the drink, I don’t know, but it would have made it much easier if you hadn’t.”
He fumbled with his jacket and pulled out a small packet. He dumped a few seeds on the ground as he reached for another and tried to shove it in my mouth. I bit at his fingers and felt the bitter familiar taste of the drug used to paralyze me in prison and that Bvork had used to incapacitate me in a solid, concentrated seed form.
Talbot forced one into my mouth. I pushed out the seed and bit down with my teeth to keep him from forcing another one in. But I was already feeling the effects of it being in my mouth and a numb feeling started to take a hold of my senses.
“I hate wasting the nulle seed. They are so few and rare. It’s why I prefer to shave it down and use it in drinks. It stretches farther,” he chuckled.
My eyes started to get heavy and I felt him grow larger in my sight.
“When used in the right dosage, it’s also a great mind control; did you know? Mona, of course, didn’t have the gift of persuasion until we stole it from a poor little Denai. It’s sad that Mona was only able to retain that one ability.”
I had no choice. I was losing this battle, so I decided to give in to it, let him think that I had swallowed the whole seed. Pretending to go limp in Talbot’s arms, I let him drag me down the street, waiting for the perfect opportunity to surprise him. Plus, I needed to see where he was going to take me.
“You probably wonder whose Denai gifts we gave you. But ah, ah, ah, that would be no fun. I’m interested to see what you retain and which ones are still developing. You are a conundrum. I’ve counted four denai gifts running through you, and it seems that another one is going to appear soon. I know, I always know. Headaches, stomachaches, fevers. It will be so much fun to recreate our studies. Mona has asked if, when we are done with you, she could have your gifts. You think the girl would be satisfied, but no, not that one.”
“Stop!” a voice yelled out of the darkness.
Talbot froze and dropped me on the ground but stood over me, keeping his hands free; eyes darting back and forth, looking into all of the shadows for the speaker.
“YOU!” the voice yelled again. “How dare you!” I took this moment of distraction to roll into Talbot’s legs and knock him off his feet. His moment of surprise didn’t last long as he scrambled to his feet, but I was already scrambling away towards the now familiar voice of Fanny.
Fanny stepped into the street carrying a torch, which lit her copper curls to look like a ball of fire. “How dare you take my invention and turn it into a means to inflict pain.” She shook with anger and I tried to stand next to her and take the torch from her shaking hands. Fanny shook me off and stepped forward to confront Talbot. “You stole my designs and perverted my creation.”
“No, I didn’t. I made a few changes and it has been immensely useful to me. It is helping us make the world a better place.”
“I highly doubt that,” she growled, clenching a hammer in her hands that she pulled from her work belt.
“Oh, but it has. Even now, after all of these months, it is still affecting her, changing her, making her stronger.”
“What have you done to me?” I had found my voice and for once I could get my answers. “What did you do to Kael?” I screamed at him.
“Why, I’ve started the wheels of fate in motion. I’ve released your true form. You can feel it, can’t you, Trying to get out? It’s going to break free. There’s no stopping it now. I injected the serum and the machine has activated it.” Talbot spoke but took a step backwards away from me.
“That’s not an answer.”
“That’s all that the answer you’re going to get.”
“Why me?” I yelled at him.
Talbot didn’t answer but looked at me, eyes squinting joyfully, knowing that he held the answers I was so desperate for.
“Why not?” He intoned taking another step away from us as Fanny and I took a step closer to him.
“Where’s Tenya? Where is Joss’ sister? What have you done with her?” The questions poured out as I realized he was starting to play a game and was refusing to answer my questions. I desperately needed him to answer these ones, if any.
“Oh, she is far from here. Don’t worry. She is safe in the hands of my faithful Septori, experiencing their humble hospitality.” Talbot spoke with his hands dramatically; he cocked his head to the side as if he were listening for something. “But I fear my welcome here has come to an end. It’s such a pity that you chased away Xiven. I’m very eager to personally see how strong you’ve become. But that will be another day.” The noise Talbot was listening for became louder and drew closer.
Unsure of what Talbot’s next move would be, I tried to prevent him leaving by draining him of his life energy. If I could drain him and make him pass out then he couldn’t escape. But it wasn’t there; there wasn’t any power or life force for me to steal. How could it be? Was he somehow shielded from me?
“I’m tired of playing games with you, like a cat and mouse. This time you will come to me and I will show you what your greater purpose is. I shall be waiting for you, Thalia.” Talb
ot bowed deeply before us and waved farewell. “Till then.” He turned and walked into the shadows.
“Stop him!” I yelled to Fanny. “Use your powers.”
She turned to me with defeat on her face. “I can’t. I only have powers of healing, nothing more.”
I took off at a run but found that I could only stumble along painfully after him into the darkness. “Kael!” I yelled loudly. “Kael, help! Where are you, you stupid SwordBrother? Kael!”
A shadow jumped from one of the balconies of the Jesai home and landed in front of me, grasping my shoulders to steady me. “Thalia, what’s the matter?”
Swinging with all my might at him, I pushed Kael roughly into the wall, not bothering to notice the blood and ripped shirt he already sported. “Where have you been? Where were you when I needed you?” I cried desperately, my hands shaking as I grabbed his shirt. “Go after Talbot. It’s Talbot. Talbot is Raven and he is getting away.”
Kael looked at me, his face a blank mask. A deadly blank mask. He only spoke one word. “Where?”
“He went that way.” I pointed into the darkness and Kael flew after him. His hands reaching for the throwing knives he kept hidden within his vest. Kael’s footsteps were silent as he chased after him and I wondered to myself how long it took him to learn to run so silently.
A soft hand touched my shoulder and I turned quickly to see Fanny. Standing this close to her, I realized how petite she was. She was even a few inches shorter than I.
“I’m sorry, Thalia. You must hate me. I’ve disappointed you twice now.” Fanny looked devastated as. Her head dropped in shame and she dropped her hammer into the dirt and fell to her knees. “I couldn’t stop him. I’m not strong outside of my workshop shield. Plus, there wasn’t anything I could have done.”
I dropped to my knees next to her and put my arm around her. “No, Fanny, don’t blame yourself. I’m not disappointed. It was wrong of me to ask you to do something I couldn’t. I just assumed you had other gifts besides healing. It was my fault.” I wrapped my arms around her and comforted the older woman.
“I was coming to tell you that I found the information you asked me about. I didn’t think you wanted to wait until morning so I was going to leave a message at your home. I was on my way when I heard his voice. I would recognize that voice anywhere, although he wasn’t speaking with an accent. I hung back in the shadows to be sure and when I saw him, I knew it was him.”
“What did you find out?” I asked.
“Well, I was right about the fake name.” She ruffled in her apron pocket and pulled out a much worn, yellowed piece of paper. “The order was placed by a Balto Varen from Thunder Valley. That man was definitely him except that when he spoke with me he wore a wig and spoke with an accent.” Fanny stood up and I walked with her as we headed to the closest entrance to the Jesai home. We parted ways and I told her to come by if she remembered any more information for me. Heading up the stairs to the main room door, I opened it to find that the place was quiet, empty.
Was I gone so long that everyone had departed and gone to sleep? That’s when it hit me. I had forgotten about Mona. She was a traitor, in league with her father. I flew up the stairs as fast, or should I say as slow, as my wobbly legs let me and burst through the observatory door. What I saw left me speechless. The room was destroyed.
Chapter 26
Furniture was broken, tables overturned with food spilled all over the floor. What looked like either blood or wine was splashed across the marble walls. People were lying in heaps on the floor. I saw Berry’s body lying protectively over Avina.
Crying in fear, I stumbled through the room and knelt down to them, touching their skin. It was warm. In fact it was too warm. And that’s when I saw Berry’s eyes wide with fear blink at me.
She was alive! I moved Berry’s hair aside and saw that Avina was alive and well too. They were only paralyzed. Avina tried to speak through frozen lips.
“Shhh, shhh. It’s going to be all right.” I tried to comfort them. “It will wear off in a while and then you will be good as new. I promise.” I knew all too well the emotions they must be feeling. First it would be fear and helplessness, followed later by anger.
Standing up, I surveyed the rest of the room and damage. I checked every guest in the room and all of them were no worse for wear. A few bumps and bruises; a couple cuts and scrapes as some guests were unlucky enough to fall on glass. But everyone was in the same condition; paralyzed, but alive. Had Mona done this? What had happened after I had left?
Hemi, Joss, Nero, Gloria, Darren and Mona were unaccounted for. I tried to reassure everyone that was still in the room that I would be back in a moment and began a hunt for the missing Jesai family. It wasn’t until I had checked in Gloria’s room that I found them. They were mostly unharmed.
What surprised me the most was that Mona was gagged and tied up in a corner of the room. She had been tossed there like a bag of rotten potatoes. Joss had a fat lip, and Nero sported a bruised cheek. Both of them were sitting on either side of Gloria’s bed, clasping her hands. Darren stood guard over Mona and kept giving her disgusted looks. As soon as Hemi saw me, he rushed over and picked me up, giving me a large hug. He then crushed my wrist within his large hand and held on for dear life as if he were afraid I would disappear again on him.
“What happened?” I asked. My voice sounded loud in the near silent room.
Joss glanced at me but looked away from me in shame, refusing to make eye contact. Nero’s shoulders were shaking as if he was crying.
It was Darren who finally answered me. “We aren’t really sure what happened. One minute we were happy and celebrating, and then the next we were all fighting amongst ourselves like dogs. I can barely remember who started it. But I think it was meant as a distraction. Only I don’t know how it happened or why.” Darren gave a seething look at Mona before looking over to Gloria again.
“It’s the drink. The more you drink, the more she is able to control you,” I spoke. Mona’s head snapped up and her eyes glared angrily at me. “I ran into her father, Joss, and he said as much.”
Joss didn’t even look at me but hung his head in shame and buried his face in his hands.
“Joss,” I said his name trying to get him to look at me. “Joss, please look at me.” He didn’t move and I was getting frustrated. “Joss, Talbot is the Raven. Talbot has your sister.” When my words sunk in, Joss turned and flew from the bed in a single motion to face me.
“Are you serious?” Now that Joss faced me I could see that he had been crying.
“Yes. Talbot is the Raven and he said he has your sister. He ran away, and Kael is looking for him.”
This time it was Nero that spoke up. “Why? Why her?” Nero was in shock and clasped the hands of his wife. I wasn’t sure whether he was talking about his daughter or his wife.
“Nero, what happened to Gloria?”
“When we started fighting amongst ourselves, there were only a few not affected. They tried to stop us. Kael knew something we didn’t and went straight for Mona. She tried to defend herself against him. If what you say is true and she can control others, I think she lost her hold on them and everyone just fell to the ground. Kael subdued her, as you can see.” He motioned to the tied-up Mona, who at the mention of Kael’s name screamed in rage against her gag.
Darren nudged the raging Mona with his foot and she tried to kick him. When she had stopped fighting, Nero looked at me again with a look of utter helplessness. “It wasn’t until after Mona was tied up that Gloria started to have a seizure. She hasn’t spoken or moved since. She’s fading away fast and is resisting our efforts to heal her.”
I let Nero’s words sink in and I tried to think of something to do, anything. Should I run and find Fanny? Would that even help? It wasn’t until my eyes rested on the cup that was on a table next to Gloria’s bed. She had been drinking the concoction made by Mona a couple of times a day for months or even years. By now Gloria was nothing more than a dr
ug addicted puppet.
Closing my eyes and opening them again, I looked deep into Gloria and sought after the glow: her life energy. It was strong and blazing bright; but shadows surrounded it, squeezing, trapping, trying to subdue the light. I picked at a thread of shadow and followed it with my consciousness and it didn’t surprise me one bit when the thread of shadow led to Mona.
“It’s Mona. She’s still controlling her. She’s been doing it for months, making Gloria believe that she’s ill when in fact she’s not. She’s trying to trick Gloria’s body into thinking it is dying.” It all made sense. If Mona was under attack by Kael than she knew she was in a fight for her life, and she would do everything she could to keep the upper hand. And in the palm of her hand was Gloria’s life. She couldn’t control everyone, so she released them to take hold of her weakest-willed puppet, a puppet she’d controlling for months. It was her only bargaining tool and that was why she hadn’t killed Gloria yet.
I relayed my thoughts to Joss and Nero and both of them turned angrily on Mona. Her eyes lit up in triumph when they realized that she was the one holding the power. Nero stormed over to her and shook her shoulders, demanding for her to release his wife. When Nero shook her I saw her torn dress move an inch to reveal something dark underneath.
“Stop!” I touched Nero’s shoulder and he stepped away from, her, turning his back on her in anger.
“How could you do this to us? We took you in, you were like family!” Nero’s shoulders quivered in anger. Mona’s eyes flicked between Nero and Joss and then to the floor.
Kneeling before Mona, I reached towards her shoulder and torn dress. She hissed and tried to kick at my hand. I jumped back because she startled me. “Darren, hold her please.” Darren did as I asked, holding her from behind, but looked as if he would rather do anything else than touch her.
Stepping close to Darren, I looked sadly upon Mona’s torn dress. It was beautiful at one time but would be headed for the trash bin. What had caught my eye wasn’t the dress but rather the large tear that started by her collarbone and ended by her shoulder blade. Pulling Mona’s long braid aside I lifted up the flap of silk to reveal a familiar brand on the back of her neck. Two slash marks surrounded by a circle, the hidden mark of the Septori. I dropped Mona’s braid back down onto her back as if it had burned me and I stepped away.