by T. G. Ayer
But I wasn’t afraid of a bad ending. I was afraid of having no ending.
Not knowing was always worse than knowing the horrible awful truth. Being alone and not knowing was infinitely worse.
And it was worse too when the truth was something terrible. Because there was power in the truth, a power that you could only acknowledge when you’d lived a life blanketed in shadows and lies.
In truth, lies held an infinite power.
I just had to hope that my own truth would provide me with even a little bit of power, because if there was one thing my gut was telling me it was that Ari posed a danger both to Samuel and to me.
And though what that danger truly translated to, was still undefined, I promised myself I wouldn’t run headlong into the shit.
Because now there was more involved than just finding Ari.
Now, I had to find Samuel and maybe, just maybe, it was possible I’d have to save him from Ari.
Chapter 33
Logan lowered his gaze, though the action appeared to be one of difficulty. I narrowed my eyes. “What is it? I can tell you’re conflicted about something else.”
Logan chuckled. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”
The snort I let out was something hoarse and almost cackling, a sort of laugh-sob-snicker thing that had Logan’s head snapping up, concern in his eyes.
“Sorry.” I gave him a twist of a smile. “Not entirely sure what that was. And, in answer to your question, not really. Too much has gotten by me and this shit has to stop.”
“And you’re starting with me?”
“Sorry. You have crappy luck.”
Logan grinned and shook his head. “Okay. I know I have to tell you, but I feel as though I’m betraying her confidence.” Then he took a deep breath. “So you know how we’ve ascertained the bad-guy MindMelder who is currently scrambling Saleem’s brains used to work for Omega?”
I murmured an agreement and offered him a wary nod.
“Well, Ward has a little bit of a past history with one of our team members and it’s something at least some of us have to be aware of in case we need to contain it or to protect her.”
I tilted my head and studied him. “I was going to rip the name from you but I think I can guess it’s Darcy, right?”
Logan’s eyes were wide and very fiery. “How did you figure that out?”
I shrugged. “Brains. Experience. Smarts. And she’s the only other MindMelder we know of who also worked for Omega under duress. And she’s been a little skittish over the last few days.”
Logan sighed and sat back, at last giving up his worry. “Okay. At least that gets me off the hook a little. So you know how MindMelders delve inside a person’s mind and that sometimes they leave little traces behind?”
“That’s how other MindMelders can possibly ID the previous mage who messed about in there,” I said.
“Exactly. Well, sometimes when a mage is exhausted or if they drop their guard for some other reason, the meldee is given a glimpse of what’s inside the melder’s mind.”
I hid a smile at Logan’s naming and simply nodded. “I’d hazard a guess that sometimes it isn’t exhaustion that could cause that to happen. Maybe it can happen too if the trauma of the memory is too much. Or even if the memory has been removed or blocked from her, it’s likely you could have seen something that she doesn’t remember.”
“Yep. This whole MindMelding thing is a bit of a mindfuck.”
“A bit?”
I laughed and shook my head then waved at him to keep going.
“Well, when I confronted her about what I’d seen, she went into some sort of shock. When she finally did talk to me about it she asked me for details of what I’d seen, and then she confirmed Ward was the guy who had tried to mess with her head.”
“Was he a coworker?”
“Mentor. Lover. He used her for her power because she’s likely the most powerful MindMage in existence.”
“In the Earth-World? Or the realms?”
“I’m saying Earth-World for now because I need a little less epic.”
“Okay, so would he have trained her? If so, he’d have a strong hold over her. Which makes me worry that she may not be strong enough to fight him if she ever meets him face to face on the mission.”
“I’m not sure he has that much of a hold on her any longer. Not in the sense that you or I would think. She told me she’d believed him to be dead. She was pretty damn certain.”
“And how would she know for certain? We live in a world filled with magic beyond anyone’s comprehension. It’s possible he’s been resurrected? Or maybe even recovered from his injuries?”
Logan shook his head. “No. She was pretty sure. One hundred percent positive.”
“How?”
“Because she killed him.”
“Oh,” I said the word on a whisper. “That’s one way to know for certain.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty shaken up—even now. She’d moved on, believing she’d killed her nemesis and now, on the eve of battle, she discovers he’s very much alive and very dangerous too.”
“Shit.”
“Is that shit-we’re-all-in-for-a-tough-fight. Or shit-she’s-going-to-be-a-liability?”
Logan’s tone was filled with worry, and I knew how he felt. He was worried for Darcy, both for what might happen in the next few phases of our mission, and what was even more likely to happen if she didn’t get the chance to face her demons. I was worried about the same thing.
“Look, I don’t think we need to be doing anything drastic like telling her she can’t come with us.”
“No, I wasn’t thinking that in the least. We need her skills. But she’s vulnerable. Even if she’s capable of fighting him again and defeating him again, that darkness is her vulnerability and should he see her at any point, she’ll be in trouble. And by association, so will we all, including Saleem. We’re going to need to tread very carefully here.”
“I can hear those cogs turning. You have a plan to hide her well enough that Ward won’t see her?”
I nodded. “Yes. I would have had a plan.”
“Care to share.”
I grinned sadly. “If the world is full of magically powerful people who use glamors to hide themselves, glamors to make themselves look like other people…”
Logan snapped his fingers. “Then we can find her a glamor that will make her look like someone else entirely.”
I smirked. “It would have been a good idea to pull in the help of our resident ShapeChanger. She may have had some input. And we also could have used her as a decoy if Ward sees Darcy.”
“Lead him on a nice wild-goose chase across the city? I like it.” Logan was nodding, his expression fake serious, probably seeing the plan play out in his imagination had we only had a ShapeChanger hanging around.
I had to admit it would have been a grand plan. A brilliant idea that had no hope of happening.
And now I had to come up with an actual plan.
Chapter 34
Fathima hadn’t lied about the transition to Kenitra. The ether felt heavy with energy and Kai had struggled. Jumping someone through the either who didn’t have the power to teleport was easy enough to do, but having to be both a battery to drain energy, and additionally a power source when they began to fade, wasn’t at all a simple effort.
The hazy darkness in Kai’s brain hadn’t faded, though thankfully the dark splotch didn’t appear to have worsened. I counted that as a positive as we transitioned through the Veil with Fathima assisting Darcy and Akbar aiding Logan who didn’t appear to need the assistance.
He’d remained poker-faced after his admission and I felt a ripple of worry that I would have to talk to Darcy soon. We arrived at the Veil access that led to the small city, and when I projected I had to stifle a gasp of horror.
We were staring at rows and rows of giant cylinders. From a distance, it was easy enough to assume the hundreds of little dots that patterned the exterior of the three-story
high drums were nothing more than bundles of wires.
Only when we drew closer did I understand the horror of it all.
Someone let out a low sob—it took a second to sense my own vocal cords were responsible, but when I looked around, I understood that the volume of my verbal outburst had only been louder because Darcy had echoed my stricken cry with her own.
Kai’s face had lost all color, leaving her looking like a newly-created vampling. Logan’s jaw tightened but he remained stoic.
I wasn’t as strong.
Eyes filling with hot tears, of anger, horror, grief, I looked over at Fathima, shaking my head slowly, allowing myself to hope I was imagining it. To hope this wasn’t real.
But the warrior’s face held no comfort.
I shifted my attention back to the scene, an enormous warehouse filled with rows and rows of six-story high cylinders, batteries being charged by the energy and power drawn from each and every djinn currently attached to it with copper wiring.
I frowned, a brief thought flickering through me. Fathima may have spotted my expression because she said, “And no, what you are seeing here is not the method our scientists came up with. This is all EarthWorld government. The lives of the djinn people mean less to them than that of a cockroach.”
“So the secret of your clean energy production is the use of a djinn’s essential power?”
“Yes. And that production was always on a volunteer basis. We tended to ask the military and the more adept and powerful djinn to assist in our energy production. And you can rest assured our process looked nothing at all like this atrocity.”
I sucked in a breath. “I believe you. I’m sorry...this is just horrible. I want to go in there and save each and every one of them.”
But Fathima was shaking her head. “Their lives are not truly in danger. Division 7 has killed hundreds of our people, but that was before they understood the value of the lives of their living battery chargers. Children are not strong enough to supply this type of energy, and the elderly fade away fast if they are attached too long. Our old people are not different to the vanilla humans. Division 7 had to adjust their methods to ensure the longevity of their batteries, and this was the result,” she waved a hand to indicate the warehouse floor which buzzed with an undercurrent of energy that seemed to want to pull me along like an undertow.
“I just don’t understand how this could have even reached such proportions. I’m assuming they had a lot of help from the djinn people?”
“Sadly, yes. For various reasons, Blake and his goons have the assistance of some of our committee. As my commander said, they prey on your insecurities and promise the safety of your children, they promise food and clothing, rations, and education. Everything that is their basic right is now traded for energy production.”
“This is monstrous. I want to kill the bastard right now.”
“There’s already a pretty long line.”
“I’d like to know how he ended up here in such a position of power on Division 7’s behalf?”
“Well, perhaps we’ll get our moment to understand him better, but right now, for all intents and purposes, he is the mastermind. Whoever he is playing puppet to, they aren’t here, and on the pecking order in Mithras, he’s the highest ranking pecker.”
I wanted to laugh. Would have too had Kai not made a low noise deep within her throat drawing my attention to her face with a snap of my neck. I watched in fascination as her skin rippled, translucent one moment, covered in sleek black fur the next.
The emotional toll had affected her control over her panther and it seemed to want to force its way out. And I was glad when Logan reached out and ran a hand along her upper back, offering her a little comfort.
Moments later, she took a ragged breath and straightened all signs of her shifter-self faded away. She looked around and met my eyes, her expression pained and filled with fury. “This asshole’s time is up. He’s put me—us— through enough personally, and then Logan as well for years. I’ve had as much of his shit that I can take.”
Fathima frowned. “What had this Agent Blake done to you?”
Kai grunted, anger rippling through her face as her panther still clawed for release. “He tried to frame me for murder and almost killed me and Mel in the process. He was also involved in a string of killings targeting children with paranormal powers. He seems to be cropping up everywhere and just leaves behind mayhem and destruction in his wake.”
“I see. This man has much to answer for.” Fathima’s voice was hollow. She shook her head, as though her dark thoughts were a veil she wanted to cast off. “We’d best be getting back. There is little point in watching and wishing we can save them. We have everything planned and ready for a simultaneous attack at every single one of these power plants. A synchronized takedown will work better as they’d have little chance to regroup and begin a search for their captives. Before they know it, their living batteries would have scattered and gone into hiding. So, for the time being, they will endure. Should we attempt to free them now, we run the risk of jeopardizing our entire operation.”
I nodded, impressed at the breadth and scope of the rebel’s plan. We retreated to the ether and were back at the city within minutes.
Distance though, did not make me feel any less like relieving Blake of his ability to breath.
Chapter 35
My mind was rolling over what Logan had said about Darcy and I had to admit that I was concerned because of the ramifications. There was always every possibility that one’s emotional issues would negatively affect one’s perceptions, especially when under a great deal of stress.
And our mission translated into stress.
Especially having seen with our own eyes the horrors suffered by the djinn people at Division 7’s hands. Was Darcy keeping it together enough so as not to harm herself and her teammates while in Mithras? I didn’t know. And the only thing I could do now that made the best sense was to bring it out into the open.
I hoped Logan wouldn’t be mad but I didn’t want him to have to make that decision. Even if he was running point, the issue was on some level personal and it made the most sense for me to take responsibility for it.
The floorboards creaked as Darcy returned from the bathroom and I looked up as she approached.
“I’m glad you’re here. I need to speak to you about something.” She gave a sheepish smile and I had to wonder if she suspected Logan had spilled the beans on her secret.
Still, I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and besides in most cases with a strong and cohesive team, lies tended to float to the surface all by themselves.
So, I smiled and said, “Sure. What’s on your mind?”
Darcy strode toward me and dropped her rucksack on one of the chairs that sat around the desk. “You first. What did you want to talk about? Sounded serious from what Kai said in the bathroom.”
I sighed and sat back. Did I lie and avoid the chance for her to offload? I knew how cathartic unburdening oneself was so I crossed my fingers and hoped she’d forgive me.
“It’s mission-related so it can wait”—which was truth enough for me to feel less bad about it.
Her lips twisted into a ghost of a smile and she rested a hip on the desk in a half-sit half-stand posture—something I did when I didn’t want to be all relaxed.
Tension radiated from her and I took a slow breath, afraid that any sudden sounds or moves would make her change her mind.
She sighed. “We’re in Mithras to get Saleem out, and I’m all-in, one-hundred percent with you. But there’s something I feel you need to know. And if you decide it’s too much of a danger to the team and the mission, I will completely understand if you decided not to have me along.”
I raised my eyebrows, all the while feeling like crap. Okay, maybe this is how a therapist felt when talking to a patient whose condition they could see plainly, though they had to keep their mouths shut in order for the truth to make its way out in a more natural fashio
n.
So I remained silent and gave her an encouraging nod, hoping my smile matched.
She tapped a nail on the desk. “You know how I said I’ve been through the mill in my past.” I nodded. “So it all goes back to how I ended up working for Omega in the first place—way back when I was an innocent kid who thought she had some cool powers. Then someone came looking for me, whether it was the Ni’amh prophecy, or maybe someone sensed my powers, but they knew my ability was valuable.”
Darcy shifted in her seat and when she spoke again, her voice was low and gritty. “That was when I met a man who saved me from the bad guys and showed me how to hone my powers. He became my teacher and then, not much later, I fell for him. But somewhere along the line, he also became my captor. I knew it, but the reality had been couched in so many layers of praise and romance that when I finally admitted it to myself it was too late.
“I tried to leave, to hide. And I succeeded. Briefly. He found me and took me back, and this time it was different. He proved to be far more brutal than he’d shown before. He used my family, threatened harm, even kidnapped my brother and father a few times when I rebelled.
“And eventually, he removed his chains but by then I knew what was good for my family. Their lives were all that mattered. So he broke me. Used me. Sold my services to the highest bidder—including Omega. I’m not proud of that. I did many things, many terrible things that I will never be able to erase from my soul. But my power only grew as time went.”
I could see where this was going. “And you became stronger than him?”
Darcy smirked coldly. “Yeah. The pupil out-powers the master. He didn’t like it one bit. Especially when Omega and Sentinel approached me independently of him. They didn’t know the extent of his hold on me though. But I kept going, hoping one day I’d find an opportunity to release myself from his hold.”
Now, Darcy got to her feet and began pacing, her heels clacking along the warped floorboards. “And one day, there was just such a chance—he handed it to me, so he didn’t appreciate the irony. Our battle was long and dangerous, fueled by his rage at my betrayal.” Darcy laughed. “You know, he was actually hurt that I wanted freedom from him. And he was surprised when I beat him. When he knew I’d inflicted the death wound, his dying words were mostly of shock at my betrayal.”