by C. C. Lynch
“Abrielle,” Osiris’s voice was gentle as it pried me from my trance, “we would like to discuss our plan with you.”
“Our plan? Do you mean your plan?” My tone was apathetic and dry.
“All classes at Glaston Academy have been suspended until further notice. Jay and Draxe are monitoring the residence hall for any nefarious activity. Curtis and Vlaine will help the students transport safely to Intervael Academy and I will take you to the Think Tank.”
My stomach swiveled into my throat and I did my best not to show any reaction to the plan he had just revealed. Once again the man was in a hurry to get me to the Think Tank.
I thought of what Erik had told me about his father working at Intervael and replicated the music translation gift so Osiris could not read my thoughts.“Why send them to Intervael Academy and not Valdor? It seems silly to bring everyone across the country.” The fact that he was trying to split me up from my father and Vlaine bothered me too.
He adjusted the platinum watch on his left wrist and shifted his weight to the same side before offering me a monotone answer. “Intervael Academy is prepared to take a large influx of students. They have the extra beds as well as the necessary resources.”
Vlaine’s brow twitched as he picked up the music notes dancing from my mind. Interweaving our fingers, he thought, what is it?
How could I tell him that I did not trust his father? That with each passing millisecond came reasons for me to believe Osiris fit into the Replyx scheme far too well: Intervael, Erik, Professor Horicon, private ISE classes. Everything was starting to trickle into a mortifying puzzle before my eyes.
I gave Vlaine’s hand a tight squeeze before I let go and teleported out of the room.
My heart raced as I picked myself up from the ground facing the back door of the residence hall. Thrusting it open, I ran up the stairs and burst through my old dormitory room. Liz had been pacing when I flew through the door.
“Give me your hand,” I shouted, “we’re not safe here.”
Rushing over, she placed her delicate hand in mine and I teleported us to the gymnasium where Vlaine and I had practiced together so many times.
“What’s going on?” Concern kept her eyes fixed to me.
“I knew it didn’t make sense,” I began as I led her to the locker room where I had hid a bag full of clothes and snacks before I had been taken. “It didn’t make sense that someone as strong as Osiris could not tell that his own employees were working for Jeremiah. Or the fact that he had people standing guard when the attacks happened, but he was never there to protect us, his sons were never injured in the attacks, and he keeps trying to get me away from everyone to take me to the Think Tank. He’s with Jeremiah!”
“Osiris is one of the twisted branches at the tree house?” Liz’s voice was full of anger and anguish.
I nodded and handed her the provisions I had set aside months in advance. “Luther is a good guy.” I let my words hang in the air cautiously before continuing, “and he may be the only one that knows where and how far the roots of that place run.”
“What are you thinking, exactly?” Liz shook her body and composed her posture.
“First of all, we need to get somewhere safely, somewhere that no one would think of. Any ideas?” I pouted, hoping that she had already thought these scenarios through.
Her eyes lit up with a hint of mischief I had never seen from Liz before. “Do you like skiing?”
I giggled, my mood lightening with her playfulness. “I’m willing to give it the old college try.”
Without any vehicles for the taking at Glaston, we put Liz’s invisibility to use. She snuck into the barn and stole Cinnamon to take to some stables about ten miles from the school. From there she would either hitch a ride or take the bus to a ski resort near Lake George. If all went well I would just meet her before she needed to find transportation. I felt confident knowing she had the bag of supplies on her back, some money, and the gift of invisibility to keep her safe.
Before separating, she took my arm and told me that she trusted Draxe and Vlaine. It was something that I needed to hear because my dependability radar felt a bit too damaged after everything that had happened.
I stood at the hidden door where I had left the men and sucked in a three second breath of bravery. Pushing the wall aside, I made my way down the stairs into the shelter. Six eyes stared at me as I walked cautiously towards them.
“Sorry,” I chuckled nervously. “I got a little overwhelmed and needed to get some fresh air.”
My dad’s eyes were gentle and understanding, the complete opposite of the hard gaze I was receiving from Vlaine’s father. I began to panic and my hands were growing sweaty, despite the frigid air that had froze my nostrils and stung my eyes before descending underneath the stables.
Keeping eye contact with Osiris, I straightened my back and showed no fear when I made my request. “Can I just talk to Vlaine alone for a few minutes before we set this plan of yours in motion?”
“We don’t have time for this imprudence.” His lips puckered angrily.
“Yes we do.” Vlaine pushed past his father and took my hand in his. His eyes were cold and threatening, daring his father to decline my request again. Without hesitation, he led me outside where we were far from earshot.
Once we came to a halt I crossed my arms against my chest, trying to figure out how to say what was on my mind. Vlaine’s fingers interlaced with mine again and I realized that I did not have to say anything. He could find out everything he needed to know without causing me the discomfort of vocalizing my suspicions. I opened my mind and showed him everything I could, all my fears, memories, and the plan that Liz and I created to get away from Glaston.
Vlaine’s hands cupped my face gently and he placed a light kiss on my lips before whispering, “I believe you.”
“Thank you,” I sighed. Relief flooded through my body knowing that Vlaine would be by my side.
Our noses were touching and my face was still cradled in his hands. My breathing hitched, still unfamiliar with our romantic proximity. Time held still for those moments before he broke my stupor. “Let’s get the hell outta Glaston.”
Whether Vlaine was going to confront his father or take off discreetly was answered when he thrust his hands forward and blasted the hidden door down the stairwell. Frozen in fear of what I was about to witness, and the possibility that I could be captured once more, I remained outside until Vlaine was out of sight. Once I was able to gather my wits, I ran down to see Osiris and Vlaine in an intense gaze.
Hatred, anger, hurt, jealousy, turmoil, fear, and love created an empathic doorway to the room.
“Dad ,” I shouted into the room, while putting my hands over my ears as if it would help the emotions fighting to break my sanity. “We need to go, now.”
His motions were slow, allowing me time to watch Vlaine work his mental magic on his father. At least, I hoped it was that and not vice versa. My father put his hand on my elbow and in an instant we were outside the barn.
I held onto my father’s arm and teleported us into a mound of snow in an open field near the stables that Liz was sure to be approaching on the back of Cinnamon. I wanted a decent amount of distance from our intended meeting location in case Osiris caught wind of my thoughts and was planning on getting there to deter our plan.
“Meet me here with Vlaine once his mental battle with his father is complete. Try to get Draxe too if you can.” He gave a quick nod before blipping out of sight. “Thank you,” I spoke to the empty space where he had just been standing.
I knew that my father could find me whether he had an exact location or not so I continued on walking, teleporting ten feet ahead or so every now and again. However long it took them to return felt like a lifetime. The fear of not knowing if they were okay kept me in a constant internal battle of whether to go back and help or to stay and keep my eye out for Liz and Cinnamon.
In the middle of my mental struggle Curtis, Vlaine, a
nd Draxe appeared ahead in the distance. The expressions on the faces of the twins were grim at best. As they came closer into view I could see red splotches on their faces that matched the other’s knuckles. Part of me wanted to know what exactly happened and the other part simply felt ashamed that I may have caused a rift in the Josnic family.
Neither brother said anything when we grouped together. They were both in a silent state of contemplation and I allowed them to remain that way.
11
We trudged through the snow laden Adirondack field, my muscles burning to give out after only a few minutes of our trek together. Water seeped into my shoes and saturated my socks as bits of snow fell inside, making my toes burn with numbing tingles. The bottom of the Replyx sweatpants sopped the precipitation in a similar manner with a line of water running up to my knees. Had time not been of the essence, I would have changed out of the Replyx Corp. outfit. The only benefit it served was that it made me harder to see in the wintry field.
“How is Cherie these days?” My father broke the silence, distracting me from my emotional turmoil.
“Oh you know, I’m but a mere speckle of dust from that ray of sunshine.”
He guffawed. “She was not always so frigid.”
“Well, getting abandoned does that to people.” I spat before he could continue.
I heard his jaw clamp shut. The story behind Curtis and Cherie was something I would never fully understand, but I owed him a chance. Acting spoiled and stubborn would not bring back the years I had lost with him, only continue my missed opportunities.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “It’s been a long few weeks… months? It’s been a long time. My mom is not my favorite thing to talk about. Anyhow, the stables are just ahead, about a quarter mile. I was hoping we’d have seen Liz by now, but I haven’t heard or seen anything yet.”
My dad gave me a bitter look. “You’re a telepath, Abrielle. Why don’t you call out to her?”
With a sour face I replied, “I may be a telepath, but I’m not a very good one. I have a problem communicating with people from a distance. I mean Erik had me basically mentally trapped at Valdor and I couldn’t even tell Vlaine that I needed help because we were too far away.”
“The distance should not have affected it,” he thought out loud.
“That’s what Vlaine said.” I shrugged looking quickly to Vlaine then pulled my arms into my shirt for some extra warmth.
“A father’s worst nightmare,” he scoffed quietly, “their daughter dating a manipulator.” He turned, pointed to me, and added humorously, “and a Josnic boy, to make things worse.”
I could not hold back the smile that formed from him saying that I was dating Vlaine. A mental manipulator was just one of the things to describe him. Vlaine was also loyal, intimidating, intelligent, powerful, patient, and devastatingly handsome.
“I feel safe with him,” I whispered to my father. “I always have.”
The stables were in our view and I could see movement from afar. Nothing extreme was happening as we moved closer, so I assumed they were either workers or friends. As we approached, the dark masses formed into faces. Liz was standing there with two older women. I picked up the pace and jogged towards her.
A thousand watt smile spread across my father’s face and he worked some manipulation to get the women to agree to have Cinnamon stay in the stalls for no charge.
I gave the horse a quick hug before the two women walked with Curtis to put her away in a stall. Turning to my friends, my eyes found the black boots pressing into the ground, traveled up the stonewashed dark jeans, lingered on the sweatshirt hugging a lean abdomen, and finally fell upon the chiseled jaw line of Vlaine.
“Hey,” I spoke bashfully. “Are you okay?”
He gave me a quick nod then Draxe stepped around him.
A bright red color contrasting against the snow drew my gaze to his red swollen knuckles. Since both Vlaine and Draxe had the indications of a grapple, I assumed a bit of physical coercion was needed to get Draxe to believe that their father was tangled in the Replyx web.
“I heard we’re going skiing.” Draxe laughed lightheartedly, though his smile did not meet those eyes that were traveling between Liz and me.
Liz’s eyes lit up as she answered Draxe. “I figured Jeremiah’s ego would make him think we were hiding in a missile silo rather than somewhere somewhat close and fun.”
The girl had a point. If I had chosen the place where we would gather our thoughts and figure out the next course of action, it would have been somewhere discreet and, most likely, dank.
“Where’s Jay?” I asked sheepishly.
“Back at Hagan letting them know what’s going on.” He looked away quickly, hiding his emotions.
My father returned before the silence could get too awkward then teleported us to our destination. He worked his charms at the inn once again to avoid paying money. I made a mental note that I would pay the lodge back once I had the chance. He was doing the best he could considering the circumstances.
Once we made it to the room I parted from the group and took over the restroom. Finding a balance between slumping into a hot bathtub and simply allowing my body to thaw slowly was close to impossible. Watching the water flow into the white free standing resin tub made my body shake. It was too similar to the pod of hallucinations that I was forced into at Replyx. Knowing that I needed to warm my body and bathe outside of captivity, I adjusted the water to be cooler than my body temperature.
Slinking into the bathtub, I held my body under the water. I could hear everything from the reverberations off the floor, vibrating off the walls of the tub. Hearing their conversation was peaceful, a comfort that I could not have expected to come from something so mundane.
A delicate knock sounded at the door of the bathroom. “Yep,” I called out as politely as I could. I pushed myself against the tub so that only my head could be seen from the doorway.
Liz slipped through the crack of the door and put some folded clothes onto the sink. “Curtis got you some dry clothes from the gift shop. The clothes in the bag got wet too.” She paused before leaving and with her face inches away from the door, she whispered, “are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I sat up and folded my arms over the edge of the tub, keeping the rest of my body hidden in case she turned around. “I should have taken the time to put a jacket or boots on, but there’s no permanent damage.”
“I meant from being at…” she began, her voice cracking.
“I know,” I stopped her from having to say the name.
She turned around and sat in front of the tub. Still naked over here, I thought to myself with only 3/8 of an inch of material blocking her view of me.
“What did he do?” Her eyes were pleading and sorrowful.
“Honestly, Liz,” I exhaled and grabbed a towel from the floor and wrapped it around my chest, “I was lucky. I’m missing some bits and pieces here and there, but the worst thing was the demonstration room. I mean, I saw a bunch of other Glaston kids all drugged up, but I was pretty lucid comparatively.” I looked down at the water in the tub and released the plug quickly before continuing on. “The isolation tank may have been the worst.”
“He put you in 12F?” She gave me a knowing glance, one that I did not need to respond to.
Drying off in the tub then motioning for her to turn around, I got dressed before continuing on with our conversation. I hated where it was going because the memories only seemed to be a source of torment for her. She was so strong in many ways, but Jeremiah had really done a number on her.
“I was in solitary more than the tank. The thing that was weird was Erik. See, if I asked him for something, he would give it to me. It was like they were making me depend and trust him. I mean, I guess in the middle of breaking me mentally, they were directing my trust so that in the end it would fall to one person.”
Her eyes were in slits. “I never did like that boy.” She crinkled her nose into a smile, “I am glad that you
’re back.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” I began with caution, “what did they make you do while you were there?”
She leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, distant memories flashing anger in her eyes. “I think my experience was a little different. I was in with a group of people. We were like mice in a maze for them. They were watching us, testing us, torturing us, breaking us down.” Rolling her head down slowly to meet my gaze, “I’ll tell you someday. Just not yet.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” I nodded.
We walked out to the room together, meeting the gaze of Draxe, Vlaine, Luther, and Curtis. I felt Liz’s body tense up next to me. I knew that the addition of Luther must have caused a string of unpleasant memories on top of the conversation we were just having.
Draxe must have been reading Liz or sensed her apprehension because he quickly stepped forward. “I think we should go grab some food to bring back to the room.”
My father quickly added, “I’m going to stop by my office quickly to see if there’s anything salvageable.” As quickly as the words came out of his mouth, he was gone.
Vlaine mentally asked if I wanted him to stay with me. I shook my head discreetly. My eyes were glued to Vlaine’s back as he walked out of the room leaving me and Luther alone. I looked over to the man that had assisted with my detainment then subsequently my release to see him juggling small orbs of fire in his hands.
I whispered astonished, “You can teleport and you’re a pyro?”
His brow rose. “Well you’re not the only bloody person in the world that can mimic tricks.”
“Oh.” I let out a drawn out breath. “You’re a replicator too? Is that how you met my dad?”
“Yes, all us replicators meet for tea on Tuesday afternoons.” He let the flames disappear with a sardonic glance. “No, we went to university together.” He rolled his eyes as if I should have known the answer and I was wasting his time by asking it.
