88
Rook knew the guard would catch up with her eventually. In fact, she was a little surprised that she had made it all the way to the Central Providence before he did.
Tolan had always seemed like the type to hunt alone—a lone sniffer, so to speak— so Rook was surprised to see a whole group of guards with him as they approached. She pulled the hoofer to a stop, and luckily, it obeyed. She had bought it off of someone in the East with the velvet coin purse she had stolen back from Quazier.
The guards were approaching quickly, and Rook slipped off the back of the beast. She made no move to free the trade leader, however. "Quit thrashing, or you're going to fall on your face," she pointed out softly as Quazier squirmed. He said something back, but it was unintelligible from under the gag. With his hands and feet tied, he couldn't do much about his position thrown over the back end of the hoofer.
Rook could make out Tolan's expression now, and she wasn't sure how to interpret it. Instinct told her to draw her knife and prepare for a fight, but she fought the urge. Instead, she held up her hands in surrender. "I was wondering when you'd catch up," she called out, trying to let him know that she had expected this.
By now, the guard had pulled his own hoofer to a stop, and he signaled the other guards to do the same. Rook watched as he dismounted, and she was relieved when he didn't draw his katanas. His hand rested on one hilt as he studied her, and he finally motioned to the guards near him.
Rook kept calm as the Central Fortress guards surrounded her and Quazier. She tried to tell herself that this was all part of the plan, ignoring the voice that insisted that this was the pivotal moment, and it was more likely to end against her than in her favor.
Tolan approached now, and Rook met his eye confidently. After a moment, he gestured to the figure squirming on the back of the hoofer. "Who's this?"
"Allow me to introduce you to the great Quazier, leader of the slave trade," Rook said with a bitter flourish. "Apologies if he's not in pristine condition...I may have had a little too much fun taking him down."
Tolan's expression flickered, and he motioned for his guards to pull the battered man down off the hoofer. Quazier landed in the dirt, his expression furious as he squirmed against the bindings Rook had tied. He was still dressed in his finery, the jewelry winking in the sunlight. Tolan studied him a moment longer before glancing at Rook. He motioned at the guards again, and Rook stiffened as a few of them came to apprehend her. Everything in her wanted to resist the arrest, but she forced herself to stand down. They pulled her hands behind her back, tying them up.
Rook looked up to meet Tolan's eye. "Is this really necessary?" she asked.
"You escaped from the dungeons and skipped out on your trial. Did you really think you could talk your way out of arrest?"
Rook huffed, blowing her hair out of her face. She had pulled it back again, but there were a few stray strands hanging down. "I suppose I knew the arrest would be necessary. I meant tying me up—I already came all the way back here, and I was planning on taking him all the way to the fortress. Do you really think I'm going to run?"
"I really don't know what to think, but I know I don't trust you with your hands free." Tolan's expression flicked over to where Quazier again. "This is really the trade leader?"
"That's him all right. You can ask anyone in your dungeons if you don't trust my word for it."
Tolan walked up to the man, and Rook noticed his grip tighten on the hilt of his katana as he finally drew his weapon. Rook raised an eyebrow as she watched the guard's steeled expression darken, and for a moment, she thought he was going to run the blade right through Quazier's middle. Not that she would have stopped him, but if they were just going to kill the slave trade leader, she almost wished she had gotten to do it herself.
Quazier had paled considerably, and he watched Tolan's katana warily. After a moment, the guard scoffed, his gaze icy as he studied the slaver. "So... you're the one who hurt my daughter, and sold my nephew? You'd better hope that you're worth keeping alive, because if not, I'm going to enjoy ending your miserable life." The tip of the Katana came to rest on Quazier's chest, right above a gaudy necklace. Quazier didn't make so much of a sound, but Rook could see the confusion in his eyes. Rook was confused as well, and her mind struggled to keep up. Theo had mentioned that Tolan's daughter was missing at one point, right? Had Quazier really been stupid enough to kidnap the daughter of such a high-ranking guard?
After what seemed like a long time, Tolan finally withdrew the katana, though he didn't re-sheath it. He turned his gaze back to Rook, and she fought the urge to shudder. She didn't blame him for being angry, but she was beginning to really question her plan as she saw the murderous glint in the guard's eye.
"Did Theo let you out of the dungeons?" His tone was hard to interpret, and the question took Rook by surprise.
"He told you?" she blurted before she could think better of it. Tolan's expression darkened further.
"He didn't tell me anything...but that's the only thing we could think of. Unless you've got the ability to walk through walls." He gestured to Quazier with his blade. "Is this why he set you free? So you'd track this waste of life down?"
"I don't know why he let me go," Rook admitted, though it made her shiver as she wondered if Theo really had let her go because he knew she would find the trade leader. Did he really know her that well? Was he truly that far ahead of her, at any given moment? "I'd love to take credit for a masterful escape...but no, I didn't get out of there by myself. He used that power of his to take me to the middle of nowhere and then just left me there." She glanced over at where Quazier panting on the ground, looking like he couldn't decide whether to be furious or terrified. "Theo didn't ask me to find Quazier. He basically just told me to get out of his life, and that he never wanted to see me again."
"Yet here you are," the guard pointed out dryly. He shifted, the weapon still balanced in one hand. "You saved me the trouble of having to track you down, I suppose. I was sure I'd be tracing your trail through the realm for a week or more before we caught up. Seems I overestimated your ability to disappear."
"I could have disappeared if I wanted to!" Rook snapped, looking back up at him again as fury coursed through her. "I could have made it so you'd have never found me. I came back on purpose, and I brought you the leader you were all desperate to find to boot."
"Why?"
The question hung in the air, and Rook drew herself up. "As you've probably guessed, I didn't do it out of the goodness of my heart," she said, maintaining eye contact.
Tolan scoffed darkly. "Look...you can't buy your own freedom just because you were willing to throw someone higher on the food chain into the line of fire. For what you did to Theo, you'll be locked up with the rest of them. That you can be sure of."
"I'm not trying to buy my freedom," Rook said darkly, though she felt cold at his words.
"Then what exactly were you hoping to get out of this exchange?"
Rook huffed, her heart beating loudly as her mind screamed at her for being a fool. At this point, she had no other cards to play—no other moves to make. She met Tolan's eye firmly, hoping that this didn't end up all blowing up in her face. "I brought you the leader of the slave trade, and in return, I want one more conversation with Theodynn."
It was the design that surprised Zerek the most. He had done his own experiments in an effort to create something similar to what Julien had managed to put together, but none had been as compact, or as concise. He scanned the machine again, taking in the various components. It was complex, yes, but also far simpler than he had thought would be possible. With a core of chronosteel, Zerek would have thought such a machine would be impossible to power...but that was the beauty of Julien's design. The machine didn't need to be powered, for it had no function other than to hoard energy...and it did so beautifully. Perhaps Julien would not think he had accomplished anything that Zerek would not have been able to himself...but the way the machine was created, and the use of both chronosteel and vengestone in the design...such procedure was unfamiliar to Zerek in any robotics research he had conducted or looked into. Whether Julien had relied on the shrouded techniques of the android who had raised him, or whether the boy himself was able to see angles that no robotics engineer had thought of was inconsequential. Either way, Zerek had been right in eliciting his assistance.
"Fascinating," the lead scientist murmured again, his final scan complete. He turned to the staff member closest to him. "I have mentally reconstructed ze blueprints, Tventy-five. Zey vill be available on ze main database vithin ze hour. Should ze next experiment go vell, your team vill begin ze construction of furzer models."
The android next him nodded once and disappeared down one hallway to begin gathering materials. Zerek continued on his way, entering into the northern hallway of Estyeer. He had debated where to conduct this experiment, and had finally decided on the room with the Cerebral Analysis Mechanism. The CAM would be able to track the more minute details of the subject's vitals, while Zerek himself would scan for the more obvious patterns and signs of stress. He would like to use the chamber, but the oni had already damaged several of the sensors. That experimentation had also proven that the boy would need to be restrained for all further probing, as he could not be trusted to behave properly. It was a shame, really. Subjects tended to suffer from anxious spells when restrained, but Zerek supposed it just could not be helped.
There was a staff member at the door who opened it for the lead scientist. Zerek breezed in and was happy to see that his staff members had already brought the boy in and gotten him positioned on the chair. It seemed the subject had recovered fully from the gas Zerek had used to subdue him after his outlash in the Chamber, as the boy was now wrenching and cursing from his position in the reinforced chair. He looked up as Zerek entered, and his heart-rate increased further.
"What do you want?" the boy demanded, seemingly close to tears. "Why do you keep doing this?"
"Do not fret, Teag," Zerek offered as he approached. A staff member moved a small table so that it was in front of where the boy was sitting, and Zerek placed Julien's machine onto the table. "Ve vill not be manipulating your emotional state tonight. Zere is a much more...delicate experiment to do."
"What is that?" Teag's eyes were trained on the machine, and Zerek picked up on spikes of adrenaline. "Is it...is it going to make light, like the other one?"
Zerek smiled tightly. "Zis machine is far more complicated zen a mere circuit vith a lightbulb, but I do not blame you for not being able to recognize zat. You are a simple-minded creature, after all, and your species has not evolved to creating such technology." The android scanned the child, trying once again to trace the internal power structure he possessed. The complicated problem Zerek was facing was that the aura structure was not as visible as, say, one's skeletal system. It was hard to trace, but Zerek reasoned that the boy had been able to power the lightbulb circuit using his hands. It was a good place to start, even if he discovered more effective connection points down the road.
The boy continued to panic as Zerek carefully wrapped his bound hands to chronosteel wire before then connecting the wire to the machine's battery ports. Nothing happened, but Zerek knew that the vegestone still cuffed to Teag's wrist would probably make it difficult for the machine to work.
"What is this thing?" The subject demanded again. There was a lot of fear in his voice, and Zerek wondered briefly if he should try to make the boy feel something else before the experiment began. However, he discarded the idea. Better to make sure it worked first—he could tamper with the effects of emotional signatures on total power yield at a later time.
"Just relax, Teag," Zerek offered as another staff member began to remove the vengestone cuff. "Zis experiment vill not last long."
The boy hardly seemed comforted as the vengestone dropped away, but his look of concern vanished as his body lurched and agony overtook his expression. The machine began to hum, and Zerek smiled softly as he watched the effect and began tracking the effects of the drainage on the subject's body. The screaming would signify that the process caused pain, but it wasn't just the nervous system that seemed to be affected. Heartrate was sporadic, adrenaline levels spiking and falling. It was as if every other organic system within the subject was fighting against the battery that was connected to him.
A minute passed, and the subject's fighting waned. His skin paled further, dark circles appeared under his eyes, and his face became gaunt. The CAM beeped wildly, warning of dropping blood pressure, and Zerek noted that the heartrate was in decline.
"Stop."
At the command, the staff waiting nearby immediately pulled the wires from the machine's battery ports, ending the process. The subject slumped, apparently comatose from the experience. Zerek waited a few moments to see if the organic systems would stabilize, and he smiled as they slowly did. A few more seconds, and the boy would have died. The scientist pulled out the small tablet he kept in his pocket, typing into it. One minute and forty-three seconds was all the more an Oni body seemed capable of supporting...though Zerek supposed there were far too many other factors to take into consideration. The boy's age could affect the length he was able to support Julien's machine, as could his natural power signature. Zerek had no other power signature to compare the boy to, besides Amber, but it was already known that a Xinta would have a much higher capacity for power. He wished he knew whether Teag's was an average signature, or whether his was higher or lower than an average powered oni.
"Take ze boy to our care unit and do vat you can to bring his body back to stable conditions," Zerek ordered softly as he scanned the boy's face. The forcible drainage of power seemed to have caused negative effects on the subject's overall health—to the point of nearly killing him. Zerek had wondered if an Oni's aura system was connected to the other systems of their being, and this experiment seemed to prove that was exactly the case. It was a bit disappointing, in all honesty. Had Oni power been like elemental power, then its user would be nothing more than a vessel, and the power could be taken out or put inside without overall wear-and-tear on the vessel itself. However, the loss of power from an Oni seemed more like the loss of its very lifeforce. Zerek would not be able to drain them as often as he would like, and only further experimentation would show how many times the oni body could undergo such an extraction before the heart and other systems gave up completely.
"Zo ze boy is strong," he mused to himself, cupping the subject's chin as he studied his lax expression. "Vith a few days to recover strength in between each session, perhaps he vill last longer zan I assume."
He turned his attention to the machine, allowing the boy's head to drop once more as he released his face. There were bars along the side of the machine's metal frame that allowed Zerek to view how much compressed power it contained, and he smiled as he took in the results of the test. Two high voltage batteries had only filled a few of the bars...but now, following a full oni extraction, the machine reading was showing it to be two-thirds of the way full.
"Such power, in such a small frame," Zerek mused to himself. "Vonce I crack ze key to unlocking further power systems, I vill have a nearly unlimited, natural supply." He turned his attention back to the child. His staff members had managed to free the boy from his restraints and were now carrying him from the room, heading for the medical room on the west side of Estyeer. Zerek watched him go, still contemplating.
"Oni are able to live vithout power before it unlocked...and yet, it seems vonce zat power is available, removing it leads to death." He turned back to his tablet to record his theories. "It seems zat zis process of "unlocking" is more zan flipping a svitch, so to speak. Perhaps it more resembles a metamorphosis—a change from one organic system to anozer, like a caterpillar changing to a butterfly. Ze new body contains new systems...and new restraints. An ability to vield power, yes...but also a dependency on zat power in order to support ze newly formed system. How very intriguing." Zerek swiped onto the tablet to access the mainframe, and after a moment, he had managed to connect to one of his staff members. "Tventy-five, ze experiment vas a success. Begin vork on further machines immediately." Zerek turned to look at the machine, studying the bright glowing bars along the sides. "I am eager to learn how many an oni can fill before the body gives out."
Theo stared at the crowds, still chanting, but he still couldn't understand what they were saying. He leaned heavily on the railing of the balcony, feeling tired and frustrated. "I gave up the title!" he yelled down at them. "I'm not the ruler...I'm not anything anymore!"
The crowds didn't seem to care, still chanting up at him. At times they sounded angry, and at times they sounded desperate. The ex-Heir cursed to himself, glowering down at the faceless Oni, wondering if he even wanted to know what they were saying.
"I'm not the Heir!" he yelled again, his throat feeling tight. "Leave me alone!"
He turned and headed back into the fortress, and the darkness of the building swallowed him whole. He paused, glancing around, but the doorway and the crowds were gone. Theo exhaled slowly as he realized that everything had suddenly gone silent, and he wasn't even sure where he was. Everything around him was shadowed and strange, and it was hard to focus on anything. A scream echoed through the darkness, and Theo whirled around as his blood ran cold.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
"Thee-thee?"
The voice came right into his mind, and as Theo turned again, he found himself in a small room. Against one wall, there was a box, and Theo frowned as he stepped closer. The walls of the box were made of metal mesh—and the glint of brass among the black made it clear that it was made of vengestone. As Theo studied it, he noticed something shifting from within. He felt sick as he realized that it wasn't a box, but some kind of cage.
"Thee-thee!" A voice called from within the cage again, and Theo swallowed hard. There was only one person who called him that, and as he squatted down, he could make out two large eyes staring back at him with copper streaks in them. A small child sat huddled in the center of the vengestone box, sitting on its wooden floor as if he were afraid of touching the walls.
"Raiyn?" Theo breathed.
"Help Teag," the child blubbered. "Tent men hurt Teag...Tent men hurt Teag!"
"Who put you in there?" Theo asked, staring at the child in horror.
"Tent man! Hurry, Thee-thee...Tent man kill Teag!"
Theo jerked awake, his heart pounding as he tried to make sense of the dream. He had never had one quite like that before, and he found it left him in the same swimmy state of mind that he had been in after talking with Jarule. But that doesn't make any sense, because I didn't drink the tea, he reminded himself as he sat up and cradled his head. It was just a dream, Theo...a strange dream.
All at once he was aware of someone knocking on the door—no doubt that's what had woken him in the first place. He had been in bed for quite some time, and he wasn't even sure what point of the day it was. Despite the fact that he knew there was no point in staying in his room any longer, he felt acutely annoyed that someone was trying to get in once again. He had spent the morning ignoring all the visitors he had received, not even sure how to answer their accusations that he had released Rook. He had, but he didn't feel like explaining why to anybody. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone, period.
The knocking continued, and Theo huffed angrily. He crossed the room and threw the door open. "Just leave me alone!" he shouted, but the anger in his system vanished as he realized who was standing outside his door.
"Prince Theo?" Pippa's eyes were wide, her hand still lifted as if in mid-knock. Guilt washed over the young man, and he sighed as he looked away in shame.
"I'm sorry," he offered. "I'm just not in the mood to talk with anyone right now."
The girl lowered her fist, but she made no move to leave as she continued to stare at him. He knew that she had never heard him yell like that, and had certainly never been the target of his anger. Part of him wanted to slam the door and wallow in his shame and anger, but instead he wiped at his face as he forced himself to stay in the doorway.
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked.
"We came looking for my dad." Her voice was soft, as if she wasn't sure how he would react.
"Tolan's not here. He's out looking for..." Theo trailed off, not sure how to explain the situation Tolan was in at the moment. Luckily, Pippa spoke up and saved him from further explanation.
"I know. Jaqah told us."
"Us?"
"Me and my mom. We're going to stay here till Dad gets back." Pippa's gaze finally shifted away, and Theo studied her carefully.
"Did Jaqah tell you to come talk to me?"
Pippa shook her head. "I just wanted to," she admitted.
"Why?"
She finally looked back up, and as she met his gaze, Theo realized that he could make out bruises on her face. He remembered what Tolan had mentioned, and felt a twist of anger as he realized what had happened to the girl in front of him.
"Did you find Raiyn?" Pippa blurted. Theo froze, his mind immediately going to the dream he had just woken from. Pip noticed his hesitation and hurried on. "Jaqah and Uncle Hershel said you didn't. But...but I wanted to make sure. I just..." Her eyes filled with tears. "It's all my fault!"
Theo swallowed as he watched the girl break down in front of him. Pippa was not usually one to fall apart, and the young man studied her in concern. "What do you mean?" he finally asked.
"I told Imgloss!" Pippa said, burying her face into her hands.
Theo's frown deepened at the mention of the Ancient, and he took a step closer. "Told him what?"
"I was trying to get him to let us go," Pippa insisted miserably, her face still covered. "I told him that Uncle Hershel still had powers...I told him that he would kill him, if he didn't let us go. And then I told him that if he let me and Raiyn go, then Uncle Hershel would undo the spell he put on him. I lied...I lied and Imgloss hid Raiyn somewhere, and nobody can find him! And I'll never see him again because Uncle Hershel doesn't have powers so Imgloss will never give Raiyn back..."
"Pippa, slow down," Theo tried, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Have you told your parents about this?"
A sob escaped as Pippa shook her head. "I didn't tell anybody," she whimpered. "They'll all hate me if they know that it's all my fault."
"No one thinks this is your fault," Theo assured. "You were taken by bad people, Pip. It's not your fault that—"
"I should have protected him!" Pippa argued, looking up again to meet Theo's eye. "I should have fought harder! I should have kept him safe...he's just a baby. Now we'll never find him!"
"We've got people looking," Theo assured, not sure how to comfort the inconsolable girl. "The traders told us that Raiyn got put with the other slaves, and my parents and Master Hershel and Myrah all went to Ninjago to look for them."
"They sold Raiyn?" Pippa's expression clouded, and then anger mixed with her grief as her eyes flashed. "They told me they wouldn't...that fat trader said that he wouldn't sell him if I did what he said, and I did! He lied!"
"My parents are going to find them," Theo repeated.
"I want to look too!" Pippa turned, her expression becoming determined. "That's the other reason we came here—Mom and I are going to help. I want to go with you, Prince Theo...I want to find Raiyn and Teag."
"Teag," Theo murmured. He had heard that the boy was mixed up in all of this as well, and Tolan had mentioned that he had also been sold. However, as he thought about the young teen with dreadlocks, all he could hear was Raiyn's wailing from his dream.
"I hate him," Pippa said angrily, but then her expression crumpled. "But I can't stop thinking about him. They beat him bad before they sold him...what if they've hurt him more now? What if they kill him before we can find him? And if they have Raiyn too..." Pippa shuddered, her hands flashing with aura. "I have to help! I'm going to find them...we have to find them!"
Theo stared at the young girl, trying to figure out how to tell her that there was no way anyone was going to let her go anywhere after what she had been through. "You really should be resting..." he finally started.
"NO!" Her eyes flashed brightly as she stepped back defiantly. "Everyone keeps saying that...but I can't rest! I can't do nothing!" Her expression seemed betrayed as she stared at Theodynn. "You're supposed to be on my side, Prince Theo!"
"I..." He shook his head, confused. "What side? Pippa..."
"When your sister got taken, you went and found her!" she shouted. "And when your parents got taken...you went with my Mom and Dad to the Island and brought them back. You're the one who found the traders, and you stopped them. You're the one who never quits! Together, we can find Teag and Raiyn, I know it!"
"It's not that simple," Theo argued. "Pip...just because things worked out in the past doesn't mean that I was the one who fixed them. If anything..." he trailed off, suddenly unable to meet the child's eye. "I'm a failure, Pip," he finally admitted.
"No you're not!" Pippa clenched her flaming fists. "You're a hero! You found me...you can find them too! But we have to go now!"
"I'm not allowed in Ninjago," he said, his tone become firm. "I'm sorry, Pip...but we've got to leave this to my parents and your aunt and uncle."
Pippa stared at him, and then her gaze became murderous. "I'll find them without you, then," she hissed, though her voice broke. She turned around and sprinted down the hall, and Theo shook his head.
"Pippa!" he called after her, but she ignored him. Theo watched her go, feeling conflicted. He doubted she could transport to Ninjago herself, as she never had before...but he had to admit that it was probably possible. She had been there before, after all, and she did have the ability to transport. Cursing softly, Theo moved to follow her.
89
Myrah hadn't spoken most of the time they had been in Ninjago. It wasn't that she didn't have things to say...it was mainly just difficult for her to process this different world. Theodynn had told her about it in length in the past, but actually seeing the things he had described astounded her. Buildings as tall as rock formations, vehicles that moved on their own. There were no hoofers, and hardly any plants in this place they had appeared in. At the moment, they were seated in a very large building made of materials that Myrah could only guess at. The Rulers mentioned that they had to wait for Tobias Bentworth, who apparently was still speaking with the council on their behalf. This "Council" was apparently the ruling force here in this realm, and Myrah tried not to feel small. Ever since becoming the Western Leader especially, it was rare for her to feel cowed...but her limited knowledge of this place made her feel uneasy at best.
"There's Tobias," Cole pointed out, and Myrah and the others turned to see the ambassador coming down the hallway. In all her interactions with Tobias, Myrah had found the man to be optimistic and cheery to the point of ridiculousness...but at this moment he seemed concerned as he tugged at his mustache. It seemed she wasn't the only one who realized, either.
"What's wrong?" Keyda demanded, pushing herself to her feet. "We came straight here, and followed all protocol. Surely, they cannot find fault with us, especially considering the reason..."
"It's not about protocol, Queen Keyda," Tobias offered, but his attempt at smiling fell flat as his expression clouded once again. "I was able to plead your case before the council and they are not going to press charges against you for this unexpected visit. It's...another bit of news they wanted me to pass on to you."
Myrah studied the Rulers' faces, and then she and Hershel made wary eye contact.
"What news?" Cole finally asked. "Do they know who has the slaves?"
"They know absolutely nothing about that, but they promised that they would be looking into it with the utmost haste." Tobias tugged at the collar of his shirt as he looked up to meet Cole's eye. "The news is actually concerning your daughter, Princess Amber."
Myrah could almost feel the tension in the room increase as the Rulers stared at the ambassador. "What about her?" Keyda demanded, and a whip of wind rustled through the hallway.
Tobias sighed. "She's missing."
Dread hit hard as Rook was pulled through the doors of the fortress. It was the second time she had been dragged into this place, her hands and feet bound. She had been in and out of these same doors loads of times before that as she visited Theodynn, but it was strange how foreboding these same hallways could be, now that she was prisoner rather than guest.
Theodynn won't even talk to me. You really think he would talk to you? Tolan's voice echoed in her head, and Rook fought the tears that wanted to come. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of breaking down, but it was hard not to when all she could do was curse her own stupidity. Had she really thought that they would listen to her, Quazier or not? Despite her hopes that turning over the leader of the slave trade would be enough for at least a conversation, it seemed that in their eyes, she would always be a criminal...and they didn't barter with criminals.
Rook turned to glare at the guard holding her as he turned her forcibly down another hallway. "I can walk myself," she growled, but Tolan called back from his place in front of them.
"There should be a guard in front of her cell at all times, as well as the trade leader. They'll be down there a while, until the Rulers have time for their trials. Make sure to keep an especially close eye on that one." Tolan met her glower easily. "She's the one who betrayed Theodynn and almost cost him his life."
"I'm not the villain here!" Rook couldn't help but snap as she turned to glower at him. "If you would just let me talk with him..."
"Dad!"
Rook blinked in surprise as she watched someone come sprinting down the hallway toward them. Tolan turned immediately, and it seemed the fluffy-haired girl belonged to him, after she barreled into him.
"Pip," Tolan managed as his daughter clung to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Mom and I came looking for you!" she said. "And I wanted to talk to Prince Theo, but he..." The child trailed off as she turned and noticed the two prisoners flanked by further guards. The girl's eyes skipped over Rook completely, and she stiffened as she caught sight of at Quazier.
Her father seemed to notice the change in attitude, and he glanced at the slave leader himself. "Pip...is that the man who hurt you?" His words were soft, but loud enough that Rook could hear him. Rook turned to look at Quazier, and realized that he seemed very pale all of a sudden as he stared at the girl.
Rather than answer, the girl suddenly broke free from her father's hold. Screaming with a rage that rivaled her size, the girl barreled into Quazier with flaming fists. Rook gasped as the guards holding her jerked her out of the way, and the ones holding Quazier seemed unsure what to do as the one called Pip knocked the slave leader to the ground.
"Pippa—" Tolan started, but the girl wasn't listening as she grabbed Quazier by his dusty collar.
"Where's Raiyn?" she screamed at him, her eyes blazing. Rook watched it all wide-eyed. She had heard that there were children in the realm with powers, but she had never seen one before. However, if the girl was powered, it made more sense why Quazier would have risked taking her.
Quazier said something unintelligible under his gag, and the girl landed a strong blow across his face. Rook whistled low as she watched it—the girl could obviously hold her own, despite her age.
"You said you wouldn't sell him!" the girl continued, striking him again. "Where is he? Where did you send him and Teag? Where are they, you fat, ugly..."
Tolan finally pulled his daughter from the slave trader. "Pippa," he murmured to her. All at once, the girl sagged as she began to sob.
"He sold him, Dad! He sold them both and I don't know where they are."
Quazier was trying to speak under his gag once again as the guards jerked him back to his feet. His face was splotchy, and no doubt the bruises from the girl's blows would join the ones that Rook had given him. As he regained his footing, the girl looked up with blazing eyes again.
"Where's Raiyn?" she demanded again. Tolan had one hand on her shoulder, but he was looking at Quazier like someone would look at a cockroach in their meal.
"I guess that's proof enough that you really are the worm who took my daughter...the leader of the slave trade." He scoffed, his eyes glinting darkly. "Maybe Cole and Keyda will allow an execution, just this once."
He drew his katana, and Rook watched as he stepped closer to the slave leader. Quazier's eyes grew wide, and he made a strangle sound as Tolan lashed out with his sword. However, instead of burying it into the large man, the katana cut the gag from his face, leaving a shallow cut behind on Quazier's face.
Quazier cursed in pain, his own expression twisting with rage and fear. Tolan hardly seemed apologetic as he fixed the trade leader with a long look. "Well?" he demanded at last. "Where's my nephew? What did you do with those slaves?"
"I'm going to kill you, for selling Raiyn!" Pippa added, tears still streaming down her face as she glowered. "I told you I would...and I will."
"Can't do anything to me...not without the leader's say so," Quazier pointed out, though Rook didn't miss the tremble in his voice. "I'd be willing to part with information...but not for free."
"You're hardly in a position to strike a deal, Quazie," Rook pointed out dryly. The leader's expression twisted with contempt as he turned to face her.
"You savage harpy," he spat. "Turning me over...was it worth it? You're right here with me, you realize. Your brilliant plan failed, Rookie...Seems your freak of a lover is as tired of you as I am. Maybe if you were a little better looking or a little less useless..."
"You sick, pretentious—"
"Take her down to the dungeons, and take the leader here to a room for interrogation," Tolan cut in, his gaze hard as he placed the tip of his katana against the man's neck. "I suggest you get ready to part with the information, as you put it. There will be no deal in your favor...but keeping quiet will cost you your head."
"What are the chances you let me be the one to finish him off?" Rook asked bitterly as her guards began hauling her away toward the dungeons once again. Tolan ignored her, and Rook debated whether to repeat herself or sink back into self-deprecation. Just as she was about to turn away from the guard and his daughter, she saw another figure enter the hall, walking quickly. As she realized who it was, Rook's mouth went dry. After a moment's hesitation, she began fighting against her captors as she called out. "Theodynn! Theo!"
The prince had nearly reached Tolan, but as he heard Rook, he seemed to freeze. She saw him look up, and Rook swallowed as they made eye contact. The guards didn't stop trying to cart her away, so she continued to fight.
"Just let me talk to him! Please!" she demanded, wrenching in the grasp of the guards. One landed a painful blow to her side, knocking the wind out of her. She gasped, and they began hauling her off again. She could no longer see Theodynn, and she continued to call out. "Theodynn! They said I could talk to you, if I handed over Quazier!"
"We didn't say that," Tolan's voice assured dryly.
"I have important information!" Rook pleaded, her voice breaking as hope began to die. He wasn't going to listen to her...and if he didn't listen to her now, then she really would be spending the rest of her life behind bars.
"Wait."
The guards stopped dragging Rook at the Prince's command, and she was trembling with relief as they turned her around. However, the relief faded as she got a good look at Theo's expression.
"What in Ancient's name are you doing back here?" he demanded darkly. "I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see you again."
Rook opened her mouth, but her words seemed stuck in her throat. She could feel everyone watching—the guards, Tolan and his daughter...even Quazier. At last, the once-assassin swallowed hard and spoke. "I...I wanted to prove that pawn or not...I could still take down the King." Theo's expression hardened further, and Rook tried to straighten as she gestured at the slave leader with her chin. "That's Quazier—the leader of the slave trade. I tracked him down, and I brought him back here."
"Thanks." Theo's tone hardly seemed thankful, and he turned away.
"Do you not even care?"
"I'm not the Heir anymore, remember? My parents will deal with both of you when they get back."
A flash of rage filled her. "You can't give up, you pig-headed fool!"
"You watch your mouth," the guard next to her growled as his grip on her tightened, but Rook continued to scream after Theodynn.
"If you hate me, then fine—but you're turning your back on more than just me! What about all the slaves, huh? What about all those children you talked about back at the orphanage? The ones who are in chains, being beaten or who knows what else..."
"Are you serious right now?" Theo turned, and his eyes blazed with a furious light. "Whose fault is it, that those children are in chains?"
"I know that I've done wrong, but I'm trying to fix it!"
"You can't fix it! You a liar, and a murderer, and who knows what else!"
"And you're a coward!" the words left Rook's mouth before she could think better of them. Theo froze, and she could see Tolan moving to draw his katana in her peripheral vision. Rook knew she wasn't doing herself any favors, but she was too angry to care anymore. "I know I'm a liar...I lied to you about my intentions, I lied to Quazier about my loyalties...I lied to myself, about what I wanted for my future. But you're a liar too, Theodynn, if you're just going to give up on all those people you swore you'd help, just because your ego wasn't stroked enough by taking down us traders."
"I don't have to listen to this," Theo muttered darkly as he turned to leave.
"Good luck, running away from it all!" Rook snapped. "Go back to hiding behind your stone walls...but you won't be free of all this until you see it all the way through!" Rook wrenched, wishing desperately that she was free so she could go grab him and force him to listen. "The Buyer was willing to pay Quazier more than a leader makes in a year for you, Theo! Do you really think that he's going to give up, just because we traders couldn't deliver?"
Theo paused, and Rook continued darkly.
"He wanted you delivered to him alive...and he wanted it badly enough to risk the whole of our trade to make you a target. If I know anything about criminals, it's that they don't give up easily on the things they decide are worth big risks. He's going to come for you, in one way or another...unless you get to him first."
"Who is the buyer?" Theo's voice was soft. Rook hesitated, and suddenly Quazier spoke up.
"Rookie doesn't know anything about the buyer," the trade leader sneered, turning to glower at her. "As I'm sure you've learned firsthand, she's all talk. If you want information, then you'll have to reach an agreement with me."
"I know what the Buyer looks like," Rook blurted at last. Theo turned to look at her, and her heart pounded. It was her last card...the last bit of information that she had. After giving it up, she wouldn't have anything left to offer. If Theodynn didn't think it wasn't enough, she was going to get dumped into the dungeons for a lifetime sentence, or worse.
"You little liar," Quazier sneered. "You've never seen the Buyer in your life."
"I did...two years ago," Rook countered. She addressed Quazier, but her eyes were still trained on Theodynn. "When you were too busy looking into setting up a trade route to the north and couldn't meet the Buyer yourself for one of the transports. You told Imgloss to do it...but that lazy lump didn't feel like it...so he deferred to me. I didn't feel like doing it myself, but I didn't feel like I could say no to an Ancient, after all." Rook swallowed, thinking back to that day. It wasn't a memory she liked dwelling on, but she had to now so she could get the details right. "I met the Buyer while the others got the slaves on the dragons, and we discussed payment. I don't know his name...but I know what he looks like, what he sounds like..." she shuddered, remembering the strange, emotionless man. Something about him had made her incredibly uncomfortable, and she had made sure never to be around for transports after that.
Theo's expression was hard to read. "Dragons?" he finally asked. Rook swallowed.
"He's got a fleet of them—that's how he brings the payment, and how he gets the slaves back to his realm. Your father's home realm...at least, I think."
"What do you mean, you think?"
"The buyer and his men don't sound like your father," Rook offered, feeling slightly hopeful that he was at least listening to her. "Your Dad has an accent, compared to Oni...but the Buyer speaks even more strangely. In fact...he and his men sound more like the Deep Raviners."
"Don't listen to a word she says," Quazier offered at last, his own tone tight. "She's a good liar, I'll give her that, but there's not much else to my Rookie. Such a useless little investment she turned out to be."
"I am not yours!" Rook whirled to glower at him again, and the slave leader narrowed his eyes.
"Well, your beloved Prince here doesn't seem keen on claiming you, does he, sweetheart?"
"You'd recognize him, if you saw him? The buyer?" Theo's tone was cold, and Rook turned to see him staring at her with a hard expression.
"Yes."
"Theo." It was Tolan this time. He had listened from one side, observing the conversation with a hard expression. His tone was full of warning, and Theo turned to face his guard as Tolan continued. "I already asked her about the Buyer, and she claimed she had never met him."
"I wasn't going to tell you what I knew," Rook argued, shooting Tolan a deathly look. "I owe you absolutely nothing. But, Theo..." She glanced back at Theodynn, but his expression didn't soften at all.
"Your boss is right," he finally offered. "You're a good liar, Rook. But I'm not falling for it again."
Her small flame of hope extinguished. Theo turned and walked away, and the guards once again began to drag Rook to the cold, damp dungeons below. Despair coursed through her, and she couldn't help but yell out one last time.
"Those slaves' lives are on my head, and I know that!" she yelled after Theo. "But if you sit back and do nothing...then their lives are on your head too! You can't give up! The game is still going, Theodynn...and if you give up then the Buyer will win, and it will be your fault because you decided to stop playing!"
Her words didn't seem to affect him as he disappeared back around the corner of the hall.
The hotel room was small and cramped. Mia sat on the lumpy mattress with her chin resting on her knees as she stared down at her phone screen. Their attempts to get information from the police had proven fruitless. They claimed they already had all the information that they had tried to give, while also refusing to give Ashley and the twins access to the information that they had gained...including how to locate and question Matilda O'Keefe.
"Ugh! Why is the internet so useless?" May demanded from the other twin bed. She tossed her tablet onto the ugly hotel duvet in annoyance. "If we had Julien, he could hack into who knows where to figure out how to find Matilda...but I can't do anything!"
Mia didn't answer, still looking at her phone screen. After a moment, May came over to sit next to her sister.
"Having better luck?" she asked, but when she got a look at the picture on Mia's screen, she went quiet. Mia stubbornly refused to look at her sister, fighting back tears as she continued to stare at the picture that Dani had posted onto her Vistacloud account. She had pulled it up at first hoping to scour the photo for any clues...but eventually she had found herself studying her brother. He looked so happy...dressed up in a nice suit, at a fancy party, with Dani on his arm. Thinking that all his dreams had somehow come true...
Except it was all a lie.
Mia finally switched her phone off, and she could see her pale expression reflected back in the dark screen. She felt sick to her stomach, and the more she thought about her brother, the worst it got.
"What's she done with him, May? It wasn't enough for her to build up his hopes just the crush them? She had to take him? Or worse?" The tears were winning the battle, and Mia wiped at her face. "What if we can't find him? Or what if...what if we're too late?"
May was quiet, and Mia knew she wasn't answering because she had all the same fears. After a moment, a sob escaped from the younger twin, and May finally moved to wrap her arms around her sister. She shocked her once or twice with built up static electricity in the process, and May grimaced in apology before speaking.
"Tomorrow, we'll meet up with Mom and Dad and the others, and together, we're going to find Matilda, and we're going to stop her."
Mia didn't answer, but she closed her eyes as she embraced her sister back.
90
Amber had thought that the large, white chamber had been unnerving from the observation booth...but now that she was seated in the middle of it, staring at her own gaunt reflection in the one-way mirror, she realized it was so much worse from this side.
"Why do I have to do it in here?" she demanded again, wishing her voice didn't shake so much.
"I vould like to monitor ze process...it is all part of ze learning experience for me, you understand."
Amber swallowed hard, glancing around the room. There were areas that looked messier than other—sparking machinery, or what looked like burn marks splattered across some areas. The mirror was broken as well, and the spiderweb cracks warped her reflection across all the smaller surfaces.
"What happened to this place?"
"A malfunction vith my powered Oni...but be assured I vill take further caution in ze future."
Amber's already twisting stomach lurched as she took in the damage with new understanding. She pictured the boy she had seen in the chamber the day she had confronted Zerek in the observation booth, and her heart ached. "What did you do to him?" she whispered.
"Ms. Axel and ze elemental Master's friend are on route. Are you ready, Amber?"
The xinta clenched her jaw, wishing that she could attack the walls with as much vigor as the other powered oni obviously had. But even once they removed her vengestone cuff, she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything. Even if she could somehow manage to get Dani and Agatha out, Zerek still had Colby, Julien, and M. locked up in other parts of the fortress. In trying to escape, Amber knew she would doom one or all of them...and it wasn't a risk she was willing to take. Even if it meant she had to do the unthinkable.
"Did you sleep vell?" Zerek asked conversationally over the intercom. "My staff informed me zat you took ze tea last night, but zat you vould not eat zis morning. I vant to be sure you vill have strength to do both memory alterations."
"I'm not hungry," Amber muttered, hugging her middle. It was more than she could force herself to do, eating the tasteless porridge that morning.
A hissing sound alerted her that the door on the wall was opening, and she looked over to see it slide away from the wall. A spike of adrenaline shot through her, and she could feel her hands becoming clammier.
I can't do this...can I?
Her anxiety only grew as she watched the sunglassed androids drag a thin figure into the room. It was the first time that Amber had seen Agatha since before they had all been taken, and she was shocked at the state of the generally collected female scientist. Her blonde hair was matted, and her face was splotchy, like she had been crying. However, Agatha wasn't crying now as she held her head up high, but the stoic look on her face wasn't able to hide the fear that Amber was able to sense coming off of her in droves. Just as Agatha's gaze caught sight of Amber, another figure was pulled into the room. Rather than walking herself, Dani was dragged in screaming and fighting. Amber got to her feet, her heart in her throat.
"Dani!" At Amber's cry, the hysterical pianist looked up. The Xinta reached her quickly, dropping to her knees next to her friend. "Did they hurt you?" she demanded. "Are you all right?"
Rather than respond, Dani lurched into Amber, clinging tightly to the Oni's grey jumpsuit as she sobbed. The oni pulled her close, feeling sick with the cacophony of emotions coming out of Dani. She had never seen her resilient friend like this before, and she trembled as she wondered what Zerek had done to her.
Unlike Amber, Dani and Agatha were not dressed in grey jumpsuits. As she held her friend, Amber studied the clothing that the other women were wearing. They looked like their normal clothing...but their shirts and jeans were torn and muddy, and Dani only seemed to be wearing a single shoe.
"What did Zerek do to you?" Amber asked again, her voice quiet with horror.
"Surely, he dressed us like zis so zat ven zey find our bodies, it vill look like ve got lost hiking," Agatha said dully. Her normally bright eyes were clouded with fear and resignation. At the mention of bodies, Dani wailed louder, clinging tighter to Amber.
"He's not going to kill you," Amber contradicted, and Agatha shook her head softly before looking around the room.
"Zere is nozing else for him to do. Ve are useless to him...and ve know too much."
"Velcome, Ms. Axel, and friend of Mr. Valker."
At the sound of Zerek's voice, Agatha stiffened with hatred and Dani looked up in fear. Her gaze finally seemed to focus on Amber, and she shook her head. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Where's Colby? Amber, what have they done with Colby?"
"Colby is...he's alive," Amber offered, but she couldn't offer any more comfort than that.
"Just kill us already and get it over vith!" Agatha shouted, her fists clenching. "You've already starved us for days...broken our vills in self-isolation...vat do you gain from toying vith us, you heartless monster?"
"You should know me vell enough to know I do not vaste time playing games, Ms. Axel. Zis this is all part of ze process...and if Amber does her part vell, you and ze ozer expendable vill not experience any furzer discomfort."
Agatha whirled to face Amber, her expression tight with betrayal. "You vould make Amber kill us?" she hissed in disbelief and fear.
"No!" Amber cried, trying to reassure her while also trying not to throw up. A wave of terror washed over her, coming from the pianist in her arms.
"You're...you're working with them?" Dani breathed.
"I'm going to help you," Amber promised, gripping Dani's arms like a lifeline. "I...I have to do this, so that Zerek won't hurt you. So that he'll let you go!"
"Do vat?" Agatha demanded
Amber hesitated, and Dani began to sob once again. For a moment, she tried to pull away from Amber, but she seemed to lack the strength, so instead she sagged in defeat.
"Are you certain you cannot complete ze procedure ven zey are unconscious? It vould prove easier."
Rather than answer, Amber turned to glower at the broken one-way mirror, hoping that Zerek would get the hint and shut up. He was making all of this that much harder. Already, Agatha had backed away from Amber, pressing her back against one of the other walls as she studied the oni with mistrust.
"Do not do zis, Amber," she said. Amber's eyes filled with tears, and she didn't turn to look at the Metallonian scientist.
"It won't hurt," she promised softly. "You'll be fine after...I promise..."
"You were supposed to get the police!" Dani wailed. "Why are you helping them? I don't understand...I can't do this anymore!"
Amber's chest felt tight, and she knew there was no point in delaying the process. As she studied her inconsolable friend, she prayed that by erasing the horrible memories of Estyeer, Dani would be able to go back to being her usual optimistic self. It was agonizing, seeing her best friend in this state.
The Xinta swallowed hard as she moved her hands to either side of Dani's head. "Just relax, Dani," she murmured. "Just relax, and everything will be all right."
Dani flinched at Amber's touch, but she made no move to pull away. Her dread was palpable, but it seemed she was too tired to try to fight back. She had given up, and Amber couldn't stop the tears that filled her own eyes as she realized it.
The Xinta took a shaky breath as she closed her eyes. She had only ever made an empathetic connection twice, and she hoped that she would be able to do it with Dani. They had been friends long enough that it shouldn't be too difficult.
There was resistance at first...but it faded as Amber continued to force her power into Dani's mind, which was no doubt weak from hunger and fear. It felt wrong—she couldn't have felt worse if she had broken into Dani's home and vandalized everything she cared about. She could feel Dani shuddering under her touch, no doubt horrified by the violation, but Amber continued to tell herself that it wouldn't matter soon. Dani would forget...she would forget all the awful things that had happened to her here. She would go home to her family...back to school...back to graduation...and she would be safe.
At last, the world around them seemed to fade as she entered Dani's mind. Feeling like a trespasser, Amber sifted quickly through her friend's memories as if she were rifling through a box of sheet music. She skipped over the days Dani had spent here, locked away in isolation. Eventually, Amber came across a memory of her friend in a fancy limousine, and she paused. There was Colby, she realized...and Matilda O'Keefe. In her hesitation, the memory filled in around her.
"Honestly, I wasn't going to involve you at all, you stupid girl...but now you've gone and forced my hand," Matilda said as she stared condescendingly at her prisoners.
"What have you done to Colby?" Dani made a move to attack Matilda, but the guard next to her pulled her back to her seat.
Amber watched in horror, standing in the middle of the moving vehicle. The participants of the memory ignored her, because she wasn't really there. She felt sick as she watched the memory unfold—it was one thing to have received the message on her phone and know that Matilda had taken her friends, but it was another to watch the horrid woman mock them in their fear as she carted them to Estyeer. Amber lifted her hands, ready to tear apart the terrible memory, but then she hesitated.
"I called the police, you horrible witch!" Dani was saying now as she trembled with anger. "They'll be looking for you!"
I have to go back further, Amber realized. This might have been where Dani had been taken, but it was clear she had suspected Matilda before this point. The Xinta forced herself back out of the memory, sifting back further and further. She watched as Dani made the frantic phone call, and a horrible guilt overtook her. What if she and Julien had never told Zerek about the phone call? They could have reached the police—they could have reported the kidnapping and they could have found Dani and Colby. If nothing else, they could have made it impossible for Zerek to say their disappearance was an accident.
The memories continued to rewind, and Amber watched in shock as Dani used a motorcycle to chase down the limousine, threatened the guards standing at the front of some fancy business building, and yelled at a young woman inside what looked to be a fancy house full of art. But then, all at once, Dani was calm. The anxious, protective Dani that had been in all the memories since this point was gone, replaced by a calm and laid-back tourist. Amber swallowed, pausing to let the memory play out.
"I hope whoever his benefactor is, they're nice to him," Dani was saying to the other girl as she studied small green figurines. "I know how rich people can be. He's been nervous about this meeting all week."
"He should be nervous. Ms. O'Keefe is both particular and hard to please. Your boyfriend will need to vatch his step," the other girl offered.
Dani's smile vanished as she froze. "Wait...what did you say?"
"I'm not trying to be rude. He vill have to vatch himself to make sure his manners—"
"No...who did you say he's meeting with?"
This is it, Amber realized. This was the moment that Dani had realized that Matilda had been involved. Taking a deep breath, the Oni delved deeper, but everything she witnessed past that point confirmed what she had assumed. Dani had no knowledge of Matilda—or Zerek or any other danger—until that moment with this random girl.
Amber closed her eyes. She had only ever destroyed memories once—when she had taken apart Theo's memories of the departed realm. However, she had nearly gone too far when she had done it all those years ago, and her hands trembled. What if she went too far now? What if she did something that damaged Dani...something that couldn't be undone? What if she somehow erased more than she meant to, and her friend woke without any memories at all...
A sob escaped, but then the xinta steeled herself. She could do this. She had to do this. If she refused to, they would hurt Dani. If she did it wrong, they would hurt M. You are a Xinta, she reminded herself. You have the power to save your friends...even if it isn't how you want to save them.
With that thought powering her actions, Amber lit fire to the memory. She kept it from racing backward and destroying the precious moments that had come before all the bad. She wanted to leave Dani with as much as she could, without giving her anything that could lead her to Zerek. Despite her desire to take the android down, she couldn't risk it for M's sake.
The memory-fire devoured Dani learning about Matilda's identity. It raged onward, dissolving her confrontation with the men at the building, her motorcycle chase, and being taken by Matilda. The days spent in isolation in the cramped cell vanished in smoke, as did the very moment they were in right then—when the hysterical pianist had learned that her own friend was going to assist a villain in harming her.
At last, the final incriminating memory dissolved to nothing, and Amber opened her eyes. She was back in the chamber now, having left Dani's mind completely. Her friend's head was still cupped in her hands, though Dani's expression was now lax. For a moment, it seemed that Dani was unconscious, but then her expression flickered. Amber swallowed hard, not sure what to expect when her friend opened her eyes. She prayed that she really had only erased the memories that she had meant to.
Before Dani could wake fully, a hand clamped over her face. Amber watched in horror as the sunglassed man pressed a rag to Dani's mouth and nose. The pianist jerked for a moment, but then her body went limp.
"What are you doing?" the Xinta demanded, catching Dani before her head could hit the ground.
"A natural anesthetic...ve must be sure she does not vake until she is safely avay from ze valls of Estyeer, or all ze vork you put into erasing her memories vill be for naught, Amber. Do not vorry...ze anesthetic is harmless. It vill not even show up in her bloodstream."
"Erasing her memories?" Agatha's voice was soft with horror, and Amber turned to see that the Metallonian woman was being held by two of Zerek's cronies. "Zat is vat you are doing?"
"I..." Amber's defense trailed off, and she was overcome with a wave of shame and guilt.
"How else could I release you from Estyeer alive?" Zerek offered over the intercom.
Agatha's expression darkened with hatred as she turned to yell at the mirror. "Zat is vie you said I vould vork for you again? Because you vill just erase all evidence out of my mind against you..."
"It vill be good to have you back on ze team, Ms. Axel. You have alvays been a promising scientist."
The woman cursed loudly in a language Amber didn't understand before continuing. "I vould razer die! I vould razer you kill me now, zen ever go back vorking for you!"
For a moment, there was no answer, but then Zerek spoke again. "Very vell."
Before either woman could react, one of the androids restraining Agatha pulled something from the pocket of his labcoat. Amber got to her feet, but it was already too late. Agatha gasped in pain as the android grabbed her arm and forced the two long needles of the syringe into it.
"NO!" Amber blasted out, launching the man and his needles across the room. Agatha dropped to her knees, grasping her arm with her other hand, her expression tight with pain. "What have you done?" the Xinta demanded, running for the injured scientist. As she drew closer, she could make out two pricks of blood welling up on Agatha's forearm, and the blonde woman cursed as she cradled the wounded limb.
"Ze Metallonian Rock Viper is quite a common danger faced by people traveling across ze Metallonian vilds."
"You poisoned her?" Amber realized numbly, dropping down to her knees next to Agatha. She stared at the blood on her arm in horror, trying to think of something she could do.
"You filthy, cowardly machine," Agatha hissed, though her anger couldn't mask the fear that wafted off of her.
"Ze venom of an adult Rock Viper is treatable...if von can make it to a hospice in time. Ozervise, it can kill a healzy adult vithin forty-eight hours. Considering Ms. Axel's already veakened state..."
"You promised you wouldn't hurt them!" Amber screamed, turning back to the mirror as her hands and eyes blazed with aura. "You said if I did this, you would let them go!"
"Ms. Axel decided she vould razer go zis route, instead," Zerek offered unapologetically. "I am happy enough to oblige her, as either method serves my needs just as vell."
"You could have at least killed me quickly," Agatha hissed through clenched teeth as she stared down at the death sentence that had been injected into her.
"Zere are more painful venoms I could have used," Zerek mused over the intercom. "Ze Vilderness Rattler, for instance, kills victims far more quickly and painfully, but as it is a rarer breed of snake and not often found during zese springtime months..."
"You have to fix this!" Amber shouted. Realizing that Agatha was going to die—that she was probably dying already—had caused the Xinta to break down at last. Her vision swirled with tears as she sobbed. "Get her to a hospital, or I swear..."
"If Ms. Axel vill allow you to erase her memories, zen perhaps she vill be discovered by zose searching for her in time to be given adequate medical attention. If not...zen her body vill be recovered post mortem."
"I vill not go back to being your naïve lackey," Agatha said as she glared at the one-way mirror. "I vill not choose a route zat could end vith me assisting you in any vay..."
"You have to let me do it!" Amber begged. Just that morning she had been sick at the thought of erasing the memories of her own friends, but now it felt like nothing in the world was more important. "Please, Agatha..."
"I cannot let you into my head...not if it vill benefit Zerek in ze long run." Agatha's face was pale, but her gaze was as determined as it was fearful. "I already knew I vas going to die, Amber."
"Forty-von, escort Amber back to her cell."
The Xinta whirled as the other android approached her with the vengestone cuff, and her hands blazed with power. Aura winds whipped around the chamber, and she shook her head. "Don't you dare!" she screamed. "You have to fix this!"
"Go vith Forty-von, Amber. Your resistance vill only condemn Mr. Openheimer to a similar fate as ze von Agatha has chosen."
"No!" Amber turned away from the android, and before the scientist could stop her, she put her hands on the sides on Agatha's head. Amber closed her eyes as she tried to force her way in, and Agatha gasped as she resisted the intrusion. Her mind was harder to break into than Dani's, and Amber was aware of the android coming closer behind her. She grit her teeth as she forced her power deeper, fighting against Agatha.
"Stop..." Agatha managed, and Amber could feel her trembling.
"You have to let me do this," the Xinta argued, tears stinging her eyes as she forced her power deeper. Agatha continued to resist, and Amber grasped at one last straw. "What about Julien? What will it do to him...if he learns Zerek killed you?"
A sob escaped from the scientist then. All at once, Agatha's defenses crumbled, and Amber tore into the scientist's mind at last.