by Kaitlyn Hoyt
“No, I don’t,” I mumble as I lean back against the hard wall. Ever since Dravin tried to get me to use my magic against the Gadramicks, I’ve lost all appetite and desire to try and break out of here. I know he’s just trying to train his men to fight against me, but I’m not going to give him anything else to use. All it results in is me getting punched, kicked, and knocked to the ground. My body is sore from all the bruises on me.
Just yesterday, Natasha came into my cell while Liam was out with Adam trying to get food for me. She pushed me against the wall and attempted to asphyxiate me. I was able to throw up a small shield, but I still felt some of the affects of her power. She laughed as I fell to the ground gasping for breath.
“Colton’s not coming for you, Ryanne. He’s probably moved on to the next girl by now, maybe my twin. He’s always had a thing for blondes anyway.” She stopped attempting to asphyxiate me the second the guard left her alone, but her glare remained the entire time.
I blink back into the present when Adam walks into the room and sits down on the floor in front of me. His emotions run into me. He’s concerned, worried, and angry at Dravin for letting the men hit me. I know that he’s staring at the bruise under my eye and possibly the dark one on my shoulder. “Ryanne, eat.”
“Nope,” I tell him.
“What’s wrong, Ryanne? Really?” Liam asks.
I turn and look straight at Liam. He of all people should know what is wrong. I don’t answer him though. Instead, I turn back around, lean my head against the wall, and close my eyes. Maybe I’ll see Colton again.
It’s been two days since I last saw him. He told me they were planning a rescue mission, but I really hope he listened to me and put that plan on the back burner for now. It’s not safe. Something is stirring. Everyone is antsy. Change is in the air; that much I know. I can feel it.
I wince as someone’s anger barrels into me. It didn’t bother me at first, but the longer I’m here the more their feelings are affecting me. “Are you having trouble controlling them?” Liam asks me. I nod. I try to siphon the feelings through me, but have trouble. They’re lingering. If I don’t get a handle on this soon, I’m going to start acting out their feelings. Considering how strong their emotions are, I know it won’t be good for anyone to be around me during that time.
“Controlling what?” Adam asks. Neither Liam nor I answer him. Adam may be acting nicer, but he’s still a Gadramick. “Let me help you.”
“Adam, please stop,” I lean forward and run my hands through my hair. Placing my head on my knees, I groan. “I can’t handle your concern.”
“I’m worried about you, Ryanne.”
“I know. I can feel that,” I look up at him, “but please stop. I can feel all your emotions and being around so many people at once is starting to hurt me.”
“Oh.”
I wince as another wave of anger crashes into me. I can feel a few Gadramicks yelling in the hallway. Three Gadramicks run past the door of my cell, probably going to break up a fight. A sharp pain spreads through my stomach when the noises in the hallway get louder. Crying out, I curl in half, grabbing on my stomach, trying to stop the pain.
“Ryanne, focus on me,” Liam tells me. “Forget everyone else; just focus on me.”
He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand what this feels like. Whimpering, I lean forward and rest my head against the cool floor. “I can’t. I can’t, Liam. I can’t do it.” I gasp when the pain spreads to my head. A blinding headache lingers there and settles. Nothing makes sense anymore. “Make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts,” I cry. I feel my body shaking, but I can’t control it.
A wave of coldness spreads through me, offsetting some of the pain, but it makes my body react more violently. Pulling my knees under me, I fist my hands in my hair and pull, trying to feel something else, but nothing works.
“Adam, you need to leave,” Liam says. Though he’s trying to remain calm, I can hear the waver in his voice.
“But she’s…”
“She can feel your panic. If you can’t control your emotions, you need to leave. She’s only going to get worse if you stay.” I can’t handle it anymore. I scream. “Ryanne,” Liam grabs my shoulders and pulls me up, but my eyes are closed, so I can’t see anything. “Ryanne, look at me.”
I hear a door close, but the pain doesn’t lessen. I can’t open my eyes. The room is too bright; it’ll just worsen the headache. I can’t do it. Shaking my head is the only response I can manage. I’m not screaming anymore, but I can’t seem to form any sentences. I’m not sure I could even speak if I wanted to.
“Ryanne,” Liam pleads with me again.
“Move out of the way,” a deep voice says.
“No,” Liam says. “This is all your fault. She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you!” he shouts; his anger rising. I lean forward and rest my head on the ground again. There’s too much going on right now. I can hear Liam and Dravin yelling. I can sense the pain of the men in the hallway who are fighting. I can feel the anger pumping through everyone. I can still feel Adam’s concern as my condition worsens. Someone in the cell with me throws a punch and I feel the anger rise even further as the pain spreads through someone’s jaw.
I open my mouth to scream again, but nothing comes out. I don’t see how this could be any worse. The pressure inside me keeps building up. A loud buzzing fills the room as if a thousand bees just swarmed the area. I can’t control anything anymore. I can’t do it. Please make it stop.
Everything continues to build up. Though my eyes are closed, it’s not just darkness I see. A bright ball of white light in the distance starts flying toward me, and I can do nothing but watch.
The light overwhelms me until all I see is white…the soothing white light. The pain stops. The anger stops. Everything stops until all I’m left with is serenity. I’m alone with my own thoughts and emotions.
For the first time in a few days, I’m at peace.
The light dims until I’m surrounded by the dark again. I’m always surrounded by the dark. I can sense one other person in the room with me, but I can’t pick up on anything specific which tells me that Liam near. His control of his emotions is impeccable. He’s able to fully control his feelings, so it doesn’t affect me like everyone else’s does. Reluctantly, I open my eyes and look around the cell.
My eyes don’t travel far before I meet a pair of gray eyes. I don’t really know what happened, but based on the slight lingering headache, I know something did. My back aches as I try to sit up; I must have been in this position for a while. Liam shifts slightly and helps me up.
“What happened?” I groan when I’m able to stay up on my own. Liam removes his hands from my shoulder and runs a hand through his hair. Turning slightly so that I can see him, I gasp when I see the bruise along his jawline. “Who did that to you?”
“Dravin,” he whispers as he reaches out and fixes some of my stray curls. “Are you feeling okay? You’ve been out for a few hours.”
“A few hours?”
“Yeah, the pain of everyone’s emotions proved to be a little too much for your body and you passed out. Dravin came in and I think he was going to try and help you, but I kind of snapped when he came in and I swung at him. I did hit him, but not as hard as he got me. His guards rushed in and pulled me back before I could do anything else.”
“Liam…” My eyes linger on the bruise on his skin. I don’t know what I want to say to him, but I hate that he keeps getting hurt because of me.
“I’d do it again,” he whispers.
“Liam, I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but please don’t do anything that’ll separate us. When I was first thrown into a cell like this, I hated it. Being surrounded by all these Gadramicks, I’m glad I’m stuck in this cell, and I’m glad I’m with you. I don’t feel as lonely, and I feel safe with you. Take it from someone who’s known to push buttons: this is one situation where you want to listen. Something is happening here, and I need you with me.”
&nbs
p; I don’t want to think about what would have happened to me if he didn’t volunteer to come with me. Liam angles himself toward me and watches me for a few seconds. He doesn’t say anything; he just stares.
“What?” I ask when he doesn’t look away right away.
“Nothing,” he says right as the cell door opens and Adam walks in.
We both turn toward the door. A confused look crosses Adam face as he slows his walk to a stop in front of us. “Dravin wanted me to see if you were awake,” he tells me.
“There’s a window,” I remind him.
“I know.” He doesn’t do anything, but continues staring at me. The confusion remains though. Liam grunts beside me when he doesn’t look away.
“Adam, what’s your power?” I ask him when I start to get uncomfortable from his attention. I realize now that he’s never used any sort of magic against me, so I have no idea what he can do. Even the few times I’ve fought him, he never attempted to use any magic.
Adam leans back and looks at me. I can tell that he’s thinking about whether or not to tell me. “I can control people. Their emotions. Their thoughts. Their actions. Anything. I can control them.”
I sit up straighter. “Are you serious?”
“Yep,” he turns toward Liam. What he is doing? “Scoot away from her.”
I turn toward Liam who has a whatever expression on his face, but he slowly removes his arm from my shoulder and scoots a little over a foot away from me. My mouth falls open as I look between Liam and Adam. Liam looks extremely confused.
“Oh my gosh.” I turn to Adam. “Can you control anyone?”
“No. I can’t control you or Dravin.”
“Why?”
“Your mind is connected to your magic in some way. I can’t break through the magic barrier.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I’ve met someone whose power was Persuasion and his magic worked on me.”
“Persuasion and Control are two different things, Ryanne, so the magic works differently.”
“But Liam can go into minds. He can knock me out if my magic gets out of control and…” I’m cut off when the cell door is thrown open.
“Ryanne, I need you to come with me,” Dravin yells from the doorway. He looks anxious. He no longer has the confident demeanor he usually displays when he comes to get me to fight. Slowly, I stand and make my way over to him. Liam and Adam both stand up behind me. “Just Ryanne.”
I give them a small smile over my shoulder. I know that it won’t do anything because I look like crap, but it’s all the assurance I can give them right now. Dravin grabs my elbow and pulls me in the hall. Adam exits the cell and glances at me briefly before walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. I watch his receding form, waiting for Dravin to tell me what is going on. When the grip on my arm tightens, I gasp and look up at Dravin.
“I’ve tried to be patient with you. I even tried a different approach this time, but you’re pushing the limits. I can’t extract your magic, so you’re going to have to give it to me in other ways. You’re going to fight for the Gadramicks. You’re going to be our secret weapon.”
I gape at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m completely serious.”
“I’m not going to fight for you. I’m not on your team, Dravin. You are a little messed up if you think that I’m going be your “secret weapon,” and you have another thing coming if you think I’m going to let you have any bit of my magic in any shape or form. I’m not some pawn that you can just lock away until you need me.”
Dravin takes a step closer to me. Out of habit, I step backward and hit the wall behind me. “If you want to see that soulmate of yours again, I’d do as you’re told, Ryanne.”
“I’ve already accepted that I probably won’t get to see him again, so why get my hopes up? I know that you don’t plan on letting me leave here alive. You may have fooled Adam and Jedrek with that idea, but you haven’t fooled me. I’m not stupid Dravin. I know you. You’re a pathological liar. You get pleasure out of deceiving people. You’re smart and cunning, but easily angered—especially right now, when your perfect plan is slowly unraveling. You need my cooperation, but I’m not going to give it to you which means you’re either going to resort to physical violence or tricky mind games. Either way, I’m prepared, so try your worst.” Dravin narrows his eyes at me. Instead of reacting, he grabs my elbow again and pulls me down the hallway. “Where are you taking me?”
Wouldn’t you like to know? You think you’re so smart. Figure this out. I try to yank my arm away from him, but he tightens his grip. I stumble forward. We pass a couple Gadramicks in the hall, who step aside and let Dravin pass. Each gives me an evil glare as we make our way further into the compound. I recognize a few of them as men that Dravin tried to make me fight earlier. He stops in front of a set of doors and grabs the key ring out of his pocket. This door looks nothing like any of the other doors in the compound. Instead of the heavy metal gray doors, this one was is mahogany. Deep black swirling accents decorate its exterior.
“Dravin, what’s going on?” Again, my attempts to get free are futile. His grip is too strong and while I could use my magic, there’s no way I’d be able to get out of this compound alive on my own.
Instead of answering me, he thrusts an old key into the lock and turns. I try to move away, but Dravin is physically stronger than me. He forcefully pulls me forward and continues maneuvering through the compound. This section looks much older than where we previously were. Instead of electric lighting, the room is lit by candles. This was where I was when I rescued Larkin from Dravin. This is the hall from my nightmares. My airways constrict the further we go down the halls from the lack of fresh air.
Dravin’s grip on my arm tightens. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. I know that I’ll have a bruise from this later. Just another bruise to add to my collection, I guess. Dravin stops in front of a door and knocks once.
“Dravin!” I yell at him. He turns and looks at me. I shake my arm out of his hand. He grabs my wrist to keep me from running away. “What is going on? Where are we?”
“Come in,” a deep voice yells from the opposite side of the door. Dravin grabs the faded brass handle and pushes open the door.
If this were a movie, eerie organ music would be playing in the background setting the ominous scene. I can’t see anything in the room in front of me for it is pitch black. I look back at Dravin. I have no idea what he’s trying to do here. Dravin throws me inside the room and quickly closes the door. I fall to the floor, surrounded by darkness.
I cry out from the impact of the fall. My arms and legs start burning from scraping the hard flooring. I pause for a moment to collect my breath and let my other senses take over. Getting on my hands and knees, I feel the ground around me. “Really?” I mumble as I crawl forward…or what I think is forward.
I can’t feel anything around me. The floor is rough. Old wood? Dirty concrete? I can’t tell based on texture alone.
“You’re getting closer,” the deep voice warns. I instantly stop moving and turn to the right—toward the sound of the voice.
“Who’s there?” I ask.
The room is suddenly flooded with light. Small flames from hundreds of candles light the room. How did that happen? I look away from the candles and look toward the right corner. A tall man, around Bragden’s size is standing there, smirking at me. Without taking my eyes off him, I push myself up and stand.
Black hair, so dark the night is envious, is pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. A long scar runs across his jaw line and down his neck, disappearing beneath his shirt collar. Dark brooding eyes watch me as I assess him. He’s wearing a fitted black shirt and dark cargo pants. The tight shirt and the crossed arms accentuate his muscular physique. Involuntarily, I take a step back. This man could snap me like a twig if he wanted to.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ryanne. I’ve heard so much about you,” he tells me with a fake smile. I ta
ke another step backward when he pushes away from the wall and saunters toward me.
“You must be Zahtri.”
Chapter Eighteen
Colton
I duck the punch Travis throws and firmly plant my feet on the ground. When his arm stops its forward motion, I jump up and thrust my fist into his gut. He grunts, but doesn’t stop fighting. If a simple punch stopped him, I’d be concerned.
I hear the sounds of the others training around me. Bragden and Incendia are working on their magic. Streams of fire are soaring over our heads, as they work on their directional commands. Larkin and Kyril are sparring together, seriously this time. Usually Larkin transports to random spots through the training room and scares everyone instead of actually training. Logan and Lily are training together, while bickering like a married couple. They still won’t acknowledge their feelings for each other. If they don’t act soon, James will intervene. I’ve noticed him watching them more often lately. His “Cupid” senses must be tingling.
I turn my attention back to Travis. I bring my left arm up to block his swing as I thrust my other fist forward. Travis easily dodges my hit. My head starts to feel fuzzy. I can see Travis’s arm coming toward me, but I can’t bring my arm up to block his move. They fall to my side limp. My arms and legs feel like lead. No matter how hard I mentally demand them to move, they remain frozen at my sides. Travis’s arm connects with my shoulder sending me backward.
Before I hit the ground, I’m already gone.
“Colton,” a familiar voice calls out. I blink and look around. I’m standing in the middle of a cement cell, similar to one that Dravin held Liam and me in. Speaking of Liam…
“What’s going on?” I ask him.
“Are you guys still planning on coming?” he asks. I can hear the urgency in his voice.
“Yeah, tomorrow.”
“Can you come any sooner?”
“Liam, what happened?”
He starts pacing the cell. When he grabs the back of his neck, I tense. Like me, Liam does that when he’s in a situation he doesn’t want to be in. “Dravin took Ryanne,” he finally says.
