Chapter Thirteen:

"Pathetic," He growled, more to himself than anything as a wisp of anesthetic smoke swirled into the air from the tips of his fingers and vanished seconds after. "I can't keep it up long enough to do anything. It'll need to be a lot stronger than that to knock someone out. I doubt a human would fall to that."

Our training hadn't changed much since we'd started. I think it four days ago, but it could have been a hundred. Despite his scorn, I noticed subtle changes in the smoke that his gifts produced. It was a thick, steel colored substance somewhere between clouds and smoke. Days earlier, it had been pale and thin, almost like a fog.

"Well, try it on me," I suggested, looking up at him from my spot by the whole. For whatever reason, no one had come down in the last few days. I conjured up a thousand possibilities in my mind for what the reasons might be, but I never allowed myself to dwell on one for more than a moment.

He watched as the furls of the last attempt vanished completely before carefully maneuvering his body to sit across from me. "It's only been a few hours since I practiced on you."

"So, we think. Could have been a week. Who knows?

"It's not going to work." He said decidedly, scratching a small rut in the ground. "Why don't you try yours out for a bit."

I scoffed. "You'd rather become a puppet than try and make me go blind or deaf?"

"I would hope that you would have the common decency to not subject me to something that drastic."

Shrugging, I pushed myself up and focused on his face. In my life, I encountered a few vampires with a more direct talent for mind control. They could command someone to do their bidding and the response would be instant. For my power, I can't make someone act in a certain way. I just make them want to act in a certain way.

I fed sensations to his mind. A phantom itch. A pain in his right leg. An imperceptible amount of boredom and-.

"Fuck, this is ridiculous." He snarled, pushing himself up with a rapidness that caused him to yelp under his breath. "Are you going to do something or just stare at me?"

With a smirk, I met his eyes. "I got you to stand up, didn't I?"

"I did that on my own."

"Yeah, actually. I made you feel like your legs were cramping. Toss in a little boredom and a need to stretch and it was only a matter of time before you couldn't take it anymore." I grinned, immensely proud of such a small feat. "I wasn't about to make you do something dangerously. To control someone beyond just simple movements and vocalizations, it takes a vast concoction of emotions and sensations, as well as memories."

"You're dangerous." He said softly, but he wasn't scared. He was…. amused. I could see some new light in his eyes. "Do you want to keep going, or…?"

"Your turn," I declared, motioning to my body. He hadn't managed to get me completely under yet, but he'd promised before that he wouldn't keep me "unconscious" so to speak, for more than a couple of minutes. It could be mentally devastating, being alone in the dark. I felt I'd had plenty of experience with it by now, but he'd been insistent. "Why don't you try something new? We've been stuck on sight for a while now- we could try the sense of touch, or balance...temperature. Anything."

His eyes narrowed, tongue tracing across his bottom lip as he looked me over, thinking, choosing. "Your hands."

I held them out, palms up. He held his hands above mine, allowing the mist to swirl into them. Then, he pressed his index finger firmly into my skin.

"Do you feel anything?" He asked, meeting my gaze.

I frowned. "I feel… I feel the pressure. I know you're touching me, but I don't feel… the texture of your skin like I normally would?"

"I'll take it." He said with a grin, pulling back to allow my hands to drop. "But touch is about the least useful sense to take away. We'll need to do sight, sound, and scent if we're going to have a chance. I'd be happier if I could get them under entirely, but time is of the essence. Jane's probably dead by now, but… you did go to all that trouble to break the wall. Might as well finish the job."

"She might be alive, though." I murmured, taking a step back and leaning up against the wall, holding onto the stone to keep myself steady. "And if she is, I'll be sure to let her that you had such high hopes for her."

"I'm trying to be realistic here." He sighed, flopping down onto the floor at the opposite side of the room. "It would be nice if you could decide whether you want to be optimistic or pessimistic about this situation."

"I'm sure your sister was ripped to shreds as Audrey slowly mutilated her body," I conceded, "I have no reason to believe that she was left with a shred of sanity or treaty with a bit of mercy."

"Thank you."

"I'm here to lift your spirits. To spread hope and joy in this time of great despair."

Maybe, though, his sister would be alive. In the few moments that I met her, Jane gave me the impression that she wasn't someone who would go down without a fight.

"Uh-oh…"

I tensed instantly as Alec scrambled to his feet. Tamsin pressed her face to the bars of my now abandoned cell, grinning from ear to ear.

"Someone's been very naughty." She cooed, disappearing from the bars of my cell and reappearing in front of his. "I don't think Aro will approve of his prisoners intermingling with one another."

"What do you want?" He snapped. I stepped closer to him, my eyes lingering on her every movement. From behind Tamsin, another figure appeared.

Kiersten, at first glance, did not present herself to be someone who would be found in underground torture chambers. She kept her white-blonde hair tied into a braid at the side. I half-wondered if she'd watched Frozen when it came out four years ago, and choose to alter her appearance to better match that of the main character.

"Good girl, Tamsin," Kiersten cooed, her voice silken. Her fingers wove through Tamsin's, and she pressed a kiss firmly to the other girl's cheek. Tamsin glowed. "Audrey will be back in the morning."

"Back?" Tamsin squeaked. Taking advantage of the brief conversation, they'd conjured up between themselves, I crossed the room to stand next to him. "She's coming back already?"

Kiersten ran a delicate finger down Tamsin's cheek. I couldn't tell if the movement was genuine, or if the two of them had merely decided to put on a display of affection.

"They're mates?" I hissed, barely moving my lips.

"I don't know." He answered. "Maybe."

With them only coming into our lives to cause harm, it was hard to believe that they could form bonds with one another- or anyone for that matter.

"Kiersten." I began, allowing my body to move away from Alec, against the instincts that quelled in my stomach, screaming at me to stay right there. "I understand that you have your orders- but you really do not have to do this."

She turned, though just at the torso, so that most of her body faced towards Tamsin. "You have it all figured out, hmm?"

"I know you aren't like Audrey."

With a raised brow, her lips curled into a half-smile and a short laugh burst from her lips. "Oh? How do you know that?"

I lifted my hand just enough to indicate towards Tamsin. "Audrey wouldn't be able to so much as fake affection towards another person. Whether or not your actions with Tamsin were true or a put-on means that you're already a bit better than Audrey. You aren't evil, not like she is."

"My, what a naive view." She purred, her lips pulled into a wider grin. "There is no evil in the world, my darling. Not even with Audrey."

"You haven't spent enough time with her, then."

"Furthermore, my affection with Tamsin is true. My ability to have a mate does not negate my ability to kill you." I shivered. Slowly, I felt my plan backfire. "Besides, people hurt the people they love all of the time." She looked back, past me. "Right, Alec?"

Almost immediately, his eyes widened. My panic was inappropriately delayed. I hadn't understood what she'd done- not until his hands were around my neck.

With an amount of strength that he didn't have seconds ago, he hauled me to the ground, allowing my head to smash against the stone ground. His knee pressed into my ribs, cracking them under the pressure.

"You…" He snarled, his words like fire as his fingers tightened around my neck, the edges of his thumbs pressing into the sides. With any more force, I was certain that my trachea would start to crack.

"Al-Alec… Stop…" I whimpered, though my hands remained at my side, clenched into fists.

"Don't you remember what she did?" Kiersten purred, her voice miles away. "Alec? Don't you remember?"

His eyes flicked from mine to hers for a few moments. Then a snarl erupted, and his grip tightened. With a sickening crunch, my trachea shattered.

"Nothing." He breathed, his teeth grazing my nose as he snapped. "You stood there and did nothing."

I opened my mouth, but any attempts to speak were lost, transformed into nothing more than a pathetic squeak intermingled with scarcely distinguishable vowel sounds. "P-please...sorry…"

He grinned. "Sorry? Sorry doesn't help, my dear." He drew himself up, causing his knee to sink further into my stomach. "You didn't seem particularly concerned when I was fucking raped. But I suppose if they leave you alone, then who the fuck cares what they do to me. Hmm? Isn't that right Sarah."

"I…." My voice faded into the air, too weak to make much of a sound. Already, though, my body's healing capabilities had started to kick in, and I felt the bones knit themselves back together. "I tried…"

"I tried." He mocked, making his voice high and reedy. "You didn't try enough, did you? You didn't get them to stop."

A low yelp burst from my lips, but still, I refused to fight back. That would only make things worse.

"She didn't do anything," Kiersten grinned. My eyes drifted in her direction. Unlike Audrey, who liked to be right in the middle of her chaos, Tamsin and Kiersten appeared to be perfectly content to let the chaos they incited take its own course without much intervention. "She didn't try to get to you. If she broke down the wall days ago, she could have done it then. She could have helped."

"I'm sorry…" I murmured, my voice just a bit stronger. I could have thrown him off, but that would only incite his anger. "I s-should have...do-done...something…"

"Yes," He hummed, pressing his full weight onto me. Another rib cracked, causing my eyes to roll back into my head. "You should have. But you didn't. You decided to just bitch at Audrey. I thought you fucking understood by now that she won't help. You should have done something."

I knew. I knew that this wasn't really him speaking. It was just the effects of Kiersten's gifts. He could kill me before her powers wore off.

If he did...would my death cause him to come to his senses? Would he mind, when he realized that he'd killed me?

"I'll make it up to you," I promised, pushing myself up onto my elbows. The broken fragments of my ribs pressed against one another, bone scraping against bone. "I'll get you to Bosnia… I'll get you back to Jane."

"Empty words." He snarled, but something had changed in his eyes. Through the darkness that had settled there, I saw a small glimmer of light. "As always."

I shook my head. "No, it's not." With a wince, I gestured to the broken wall. "I got us this far, right? Look, I might not be the best person for the job, but I told you I would help you get to your sister, and I will. I don't care what happens. You can kill me after that if you want to. You can hate me. I don't care, but I do know that you can't make it to Bosnia on your own. I wouldn't be able to either."

His face twisted, eyes darting back and forth from me, and Kiersten, and even to Tamsin occasionally. "Bosnia?" He murmured, finally turning his attention back to me. "Jane?"

"Don't-" Kiersten hissed, her arm stretched out as though she could physically grab onto her power and shove it back at him.

"I promise." The grip he had on my body lessened, and he pulled his weight off me, allowing me a chance to breathe properly. By trachea had managed to knit itself back together, with my ribs nearly healed.

He blinked rapidly, and after a few seconds, his eyes had started to clear up. "Sao-Saoirse?" Brow knitted together, his eyes swept over my body. "What the hell…?"

"Don't worry about it." I assured, giving a dismissive wave. There would be a time to talk him almost killing me in the middle of a power-induced rage. This was not that time. "Just get your knee off my stomach."

"Bitch," Kiersten growled.

"Aww," I cooed, pushing myself up. "I'm sorry. Disappointed? I might be, too. Then again, I haven't known my gifts to outright fail."

I knew it was thoughtless to push my luck. For all I knew, there could have merely been a brief fluke in her powers- or worse, she had retracted them just to get me to brag and gloat about my own. Alec could very well go back into the state he'd been in moments ago, and I would be on the ground.

"Saoirse." He warned. "Careful. You don't want to mess with her."

"Good boy." She hummed, twisting a lock of hair around her fingers. "I see those boys put you right in their place, didn't they?"

Before he could protest, she strode forward and drew a finger down his face, nails scratching at his skin.

"Don't-" I hissed, but too late. His eyes widened and before another syllable could leave my mouth, his hand locked around her wrist and he had her arm twisted around.

From his hands, a thick smoke filled the air, surrounded Kiersten, wafting around her form as though his gift had taken on a mind of its own.

Within seconds, she had collapsed, and the smoke moved on to take another victim.

Tamsin fell to the ground, and he turned to me.

"Bosnia?" He questioned, barely sparing either of them a glance. I nodded, a twitching smile forming.

"Bosnia."