He clears his throat. "Perhaps I should clarify. You're in a unique position, Mirela. You have the opportunity to bring back Luka, the only other friend you ever had in this world. He died for you, and you can make it right. Or, we can just kill you all and figure out some other way to get the power needed to charge up my beautiful machine."
Luna smirks at me, eyes suddenly looking alive instead of soul-dead. "Or, we can kill them one at a time until you crack and give Dawson what he wants."
"You mean, until I give you what you want." I don't bother to hide my anger. Screw them.
"Does it matter?" She walks to something a few feet from her, something covered in a canvas tarp, and yanks the covering off.
Luka’s dull, vacant eyes stare back at me, and I shudder.
Dawson walks up to me and purses his lips, shaking his head slowly. "My dear, don't do it for me. Certainly not for Luna. Do it for him—for Luka. Bring him back, like he deserves. Only you can do it, and with my help, now you have the chance. Take it, Ela. Take that chance like a pit bull with a bone and don't let go."
I can save Luka. I can save my friends. The thought echoes through my head over and over, and though part of me knows this is a really bad idea—there will be no stopping their mad, egotistical plans once I prove it can be done—another part of me knows with equal certainty that I'm going to do it. I look away, exhaling and slumping in my bonds. I'm defeated, and I know it.
They know it, too.
"Excellent!” Dawson claps his hands with excitement. “You're such a smart young lady. I am proud of you. I know it's scary, taking these huge leaps of science, but you're making history today. So, shall we begin?"
I wish I could say no, but I hear myself say, "Yes, let's."
Damn.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dawson smiles at me. "Don't look so down. You're correcting a terrible wrong done to Luka."
Funny, I don't feel proud. Hitler made history, too, but that didn't make it right.
Luna frowns at him. “Hey, it was a battle. Crap happens.”
He holds his hands up, pleadingly. “I don’t judge it. Just a statement of fact.”
I tell myself that Dawson is smart enough to survive Luna's plots and schemes, and decent enough to put the brakes on her worst excesses. I can only hope I’m right, but we’ll deal with that later.
For now, I say, "None of that matters. I'm doing this for my own reasons. So, how do you turn this machine on? Let's do this."
"It's already on." Dawson gestures toward Luka floating in a vat. "You know how you take energy from someone. This is basically the opposite of that.”
“Okay, but how do I do it, exactly?”
“Focus on channeling all that delicious power into Luka instead of draining it out, and my machine handles the rest. But you must focus, tuning out every other thing in the world, every other thought. Dedicate yourself to one purpose. Send your power into him and don't worry about anything else.”
“Then what?”
“Once you succeed, the sensors and monitors will help me improve my algorithms for the next one, but for this first one, you must find your own energy path."
"What happens if I have any other thought?"
"Simply put, the process will fail and you'll have to start over. Each attempt, though, drains a little bit of the energy you stored up inside you."
I shudder. If I lose so much magic that I simply can't power up this machine, the first thing Luna will do is try to force me to drain one of my friends to death. I'm pretty sure that would put a dent in my ability to focus on the energy transfer. Well, then, I'll just have to make this work before my power gets too low.
Looking at Luka, the fact that he's dead makes this uncomfortable. That's a distraction. The vat he’s floating in makes the whole scene look creepy as hell—another distraction.
I can’t let that get in my way, though. I take a deep breath and shove aside those thoughts to focus only on him and on sending my energy into him.
At first, nothing happens, but after a few moments, there’s a tingle in the back of my mind. I ignore the sensation, furrowing my brow as I concentrate on Luka. The more I focus, though, the more the tingle grows. The process must be working. I'm doing it! I’m sending energy into him.
It starts as merely a trickle, but as the novelty of this new sensation wears off, I can feel the energy flow quickening. Something behind me lets out a loud beep, startling me. The machine's hum, which I hadn't even been aware of before, grows louder and chugs twice like a car engine turning over before it goes silent. I may not have noticed that hum before, but now, its sudden absence is jarring.
"What's going on?" As if I need to ask.
Dawson is looking at an instrument panel. Without looking up, he replies, "You failed, obviously. It's quite alright, though. No one expected you to get it right on the first attempt.”
Luna says curtly, “I did.”
“We're covering new ground, after all, Luna. Ela, I'm sure you'll do better the next time."
Luna bangs her fist on the wall, the metallic sound startling me. "What she needs is the proper motivation, not your damn emotional support. Here, let me show you how to properly motivate a test subject."
She grins, but her smile screams with menace as she reaches up to the machine beside her. On it, she grabs a large switch that looks like something out of a Frankenstein movie. I don't know what the machine is, just that it's part of the transfer process, but I'm absolutely certain I'm not going to like what she’s about to do.
Dawson's expression turns angry and he spins to face her, but before he can say or do anything else, she flips the Frankenstein lever, slamming it home. Immediately, electricity courses through me. Every muscle locks, all of them flexing at once. My back arches, and all I know is pain. It goes on and on... It feels like it goes on forever.
Eventually, though, it stops. I don’t know how long she shocked me, but as I look around in a daze, I see Talon struggling to get to his feet. His guard shoves him back down to his knees, though.
Dawson now stands between Luna and the device, his hand on the switch. He must have turned it off. He’s shouting at her, but I can't hear a thing over the ringing in my ears.
From her place against the wall, Meredith is also watching me, but her face is a stone mask that reveals nothing of what's going on in her head. I don't know why, but I suddenly wish I knew what she was thinking.
When my hearing comes back and the ringing fades away, Dawson has quit shouting and is talking to her quietly. Judging by their expressions, it isn't a friendly conversation.
Abruptly, Talon's voice rings out as he shouts, "Do that again, Luna, and I'll kill you myself." Talon’s darkness never frightened me before, but the way he says it sends a chill down my spine.
Luna, though, seems unaffected. She smirks. "Perhaps I'll ignore Dawson's instructions and just have you killed."
As her patented smirk returns, I seethe inside and shout, "That will never happen."
Luna and Dawson both spin to face me at the same time, and for a moment, I have their undivided attention.
Before she can reply, I continue, "You need this project to work if you want any hope of crushing the Wraiths and taking over the world. If you hurt my friends in any way, though, I swear on my mother's soul that I'll never help you."
"Ha, we'll see about that. If I torture them enough, you’ll break eventually." The look in her eyes makes me shudder. She actually enjoys the thought.
Well, I don't care. I meant what I said. I stare her in the eyes, unflinching.
Dawson puts his hand on Luna’s shoulder. "No, actually, there will be no torture today. You can't do that."
"No, actually,” she says, mocking his voice, “I'm pretty sure I can."
"You don't understand." Dawson's tone rings with urgency. "You can torture her until she begs you to let her bring back anyone you want, but breaking her spirit won't give us the win we need. You don’t really believe any
one could concentrate after going through all of that, do you? I don't."
Luna's smirk transforms into a scowl, and I feel a little thrill at the sight. “I hope you hate it,” I mutter, but not loud enough for them to hear it.
Luna replies, "I'll do whatever I damn well please. And in my experience, people focus best when that's what it takes to keep you from chopping off their other fingers, one knuckle at a time."
I recognize the tone in her voice. It's the one she gets whenever she feels someone has threatened her authority. She may have sworn herself and the Shades to Dawson, but that could only be a means to an end. Even if he's too foolish to realize the danger he's in, I'm not. I believe him when he says her plan won’t work, just as much as I believe she'll do exactly what she says if she thinks it will give her what she wants.
I don’t want her to realize she could just torture my friends, and I don’t want her and Dawson to have the inevitable power struggle right now while my friends are in the crossfire. So, I shout, "I'll do it. Luna, I'm sorry I got distracted. I won't let it happen again."
Luna’s eyes twinkle when she looks back at me. “See? Like I said, proper motivation.”
Glaring once over his shoulder at Luna, he comes over and looks me in the eyes. "Don't worry. I am in charge here, and she swore loyalty to me if I can end the war. Which I will, once you succeed in bringing Luka back to life.”
“If I can,” I say, breaking eye contact. I’m not that confident in his machine, nor in myself.
He wears a smile that reminds me of the one my dad used to get when I was a kid too afraid to try something. A patient smile. “I have every faith in you, my dear lady. I know you can do this, even if she has her doubts, and even if you doubt yourself."
I can't think of anything new to say, and he’s making me feel kind of awkward, so I look at Luka instead and start to clear my mind. It’s harder than it should be, but I’ve just been threatened with torture and death. I'm determined, however, so I keep at it.
At first, my mind keeps spinning in place, preventing me from focusing, but then an idea hits me. I imagine a sheet of white, blank paper. Then, I focus on that image until all the other background noise in my mind drifts away. I square my shoulders and let that image fade away, too, leaving me with nothing to focus on but Luka.
The tingle in the back of my mind returns, but this time, I expect it. I don't let it distract me.
Take my power... Rise again... The tingling grows more intense. I think I bite the inside of my cheek, but I’m so focused that I hardly notice. The tingle becomes almost a burning sensation.
Luna says, "Can't we go any faster?"
The buzzer sounds again, and the machine makes the weird chugging noise.
Dammit, she distracted me.
I glare at her. "I almost had it. This would be a lot easier if you could just shut your damn mouth, but—"
She flips the switch again, interrupting me with thousands of volts of electricity.
Dawson spins to face her, but I can't hear what he's saying over a long, drawn-out noise that sounds like an animal growling. I’m the one making that terrible sound, I realize.
She should have stopped by now. She has to stop. Doesn't she? No, she doesn't have to. The volts continue on and on, locking up every muscle in my body. I think she means to kill me, no matter if it would destroy her plans. My instincts and the primitive parts of my brain are convinced I'm about to die. My hazy, semi-conscious mind believes it, too.
With every second that ticks by, I feel my magic and my strength draining away, and I can’t think straight. If she doesn't stop soon, it won't matter whether she kills me now or gives me another chance at resurrecting Luka, because I won't have the juice to do it.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Abruptly, the electric shock stops and I collapse. Every muscle goes limp, leaving behind the pain of a hundred muscles cramped up. I can only dangle from my manacles.
I try to look up at Luna or Dawson, but I can't lift my head. The best I can do is to sort of roll it to one side, revealing Dawson with his hand on the switch. Luna is right beside him, red-faced, jabbing him with one finger and shouting, "—and if you ever speak to me like that again, our deal is off. I swore the Shades to you, but you will not speak down to me like that ever again. Is that clear?"
Dawson takes his hand off the switch to bat her hand away from him. "Your Shades have honor. If you break your word, they won't follow you. You'll walk out of here weaker than when you came in, and you’ll still have no Luka."
Luna throws her head back and laughs. "You don't honestly believe that, do you? Why would they follow you without me telling them to? To them, you're just a treacherous Wraith. You're breaking your word to Birka, and that only proves it. So, why wouldn't they break their word to you?"
I try to speak, but all that comes out is a groan. I start to work on simply getting my tongue to move left and right when I want it to. Baby steps.
Dawson says, "Do what you will. You can even take my machine. But you and I both know it won't work without me."
"Don't test me with empty threats, Dawson. If I did that, I’d just leave here no better or worse off than when you first came to me. I can live with the old status quo. Can you?"
I try again to say something that isn’t gibberish. "Shtoppp. Ic'n dit.”
They look over at me, and Luna cocks her head to one side. “What?”
“I. Can. Do. It," I say, concentrating on every word and pausing between each one. It seems I'm regaining some control over myself again.
Luna glances at me only briefly before she goes back to staring Dawson down. "Fine, we'll do it your way. But I'm warning you, she'd better get results soon or I’ll have to rethink our arrangement."
"What if it takes a few more tries? Or even a few days?”
“You don’t have a few days, Dawson.”
It’s his turn to glare. “Our entire plan is based on this. Be patient. It takes a special kind of magic to bring back the dead, and Mirela is the only one we've found so far who can."
"Just make this work. Whatever it takes." Luna takes a step back from him, clenching her teeth.
Dawson walks up to me and, standing only a foot away, he says almost under his breath, "Ignore all of that. You can't afford to feel the pressure. Understand me when I tell you, though, it's important to get it right quickly. I'm not sure how much farther I can push her before she pushes back harder."
I wobble as I rise up to my feet again, and although my leg muscles are cramping, it's still a relief to take my weight off the metal bands around my wrists. "At least you’re honest. I'll be honest with you, too. Every time she shocks me, more of my magic drains away. I don't even know if I have enough left to make the machine work after what she just did to me."
For a split second, his eyes go wide, but he immediately regains his bearing. The smile he flashes me is probably the same one he practices in a mirror, but his wide-open pupils tell me a different story. "Seriously, you needn't worry about her as long as you're giving this your best effort. If you don't have enough power, we can always get you more.”
The room suddenly feels cold. “I won’t hurt my friends or anyone else for you.”
He shakes his head so subtly that I almost think I imagined it. “There are enough people here, even in just this room, for you to take all you need without harming anyone else. Okay?"
His tone is so earnest that I almost believe him. Maybe he believes I don’t have to worry about Luna, but I know her better than he does. She means every word.
Chapter Thirty
I'm still wobbly as I turn back to Luka. It's hard to concentrate on him when I also have to focus on not falling over.
The buzzer rings again, and I spin toward Luna by reflex. Even before the three-second failure alarm finishes, Luna flips the switch and electricity knocks me off my feet, spasming every muscle in my body again.
I try not to scream from the pain of a thousand Charlie horses, but I ca
n't help it. I've never been in such pain or felt such terror before, and I don't recognize the sound that comes out of me.
That guttural noise must satisfy Luna in some twisted way, because she flips the switch to cut the power. Instantly, every muscle in my body gives out at once, and I dangle by my wrists
Dawson turns on Luna with his fists clenched at his sides. "What are you doing? Are you trying to make our mission fail? Because this is how you do that."
There's a sudden commotion to my left, but I can't turn my head to look. It sounds like someone is moving things around. No, it’s the sound of a fight. Luna's sneer vanishes. For the briefest moment, fear flashes across her face. What in the world is going on? I wish I could see whatever she’s staring at.
Just as that thought crosses my mind, though, a human-shaped blur streaks into view, and the sound of fighting ends. It's Talon! How is he free?
Before Luna can do anything, he comes to a stop only two feet from her, staring her in the face. I watch for half a dozen seconds, but neither moves. He has a sword in one hand and he’s holding the tip at Luna’s throat. "Stop now, Dawson, or Luna dies. I'll cut her throat if you get any closer to Ela’s machine."
Every muscle in my body still hurts intensely, but I bite the inside of my cheek to force myself to stop screaming. I need to be able to hear what's going on if I want to get out of this alive. That doesn't stop the tears streaming down my face, though.
Dawson turns his back to me and raises his hands, palms toward Talon. "Go easy. You have no idea what you're doing, do you? This is the most important—"
"Shut up. You lost the right to have an opinion, traitor." Talon maneuvers so that Luna is between him and Dawson and the Shades, all without ever letting the sword tip waver from her throat.
Dawson's hands fall to his side and he looks helplessly at Meredith, who hasn't moved this whole time. "Dammit, don't just stand there. Use your power."
"No." Meredith’s face is red. "I had my reservations about this whole thing, but you convinced me it was for the greater good."
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