by Sophie Davis
Epsilon smiled sadly. “I know better than you. The majority of those brought to Clearwood in my year did not survive. We were not given a choice. But had we been given one…wouldn’t it have been our choice to make? Our lives at risk?”
Maybe it was the alcohol, but I couldn’t think of an intelligible argument. Instead, I took the conversation in a different direction.
“What about those who don’t want to be Talented?” I challenged. “I’m not talking about the haters, like Sons of After or whatever. I’m talking about norms who like being norms. What will happen to them in Gretchen’s Privileged world? Hmm? I’ll tell you. They’ll be lesser. They won’t be treated as equals.”
“I do not disagree with you. I believe the Dame’s vision for our world is wrong. The way she is going about it is horrible. Still, all I am saying is that all Privileged don’t deserve death. All they wanted was to possess abilities. While I do not doubt some agree with her ideals, most are never given the choice to decide what they believe.”
“You’re saying that she brainwashes them?” It wasn’t really a question, but Epsilon had a formal way of talking that involved using a lot of words when only a few were necessary. Normally, it was fine, and I had no trouble following him. But my thoughts were racing, and I wanted to make sure we were speaking the same language.
“Yes. Using compulsion mostly, as well as classic cult mentality. With the chaos she has created, those tactics will not be necessary in the future,” Epsilon replied.
“No, they won’t. She’s making it so norms hate us. Now, we hate norms for hating us,” I said flatly.
“Precisely.”
Epsilon stared into his mug once again, and I stared off into space. The conversation had been illuminating, just not in the way I’d hoped. I couldn’t decide if I still wanted answers to the questions I’d come to ask.
“I will tell you, if you want to know,” he said softly. “Though, I cannot say you will like my answer.”
I rolled my eyes. “When you put it like that….”
“I do not know, Erik. I do not know if Talia survives. I have seen many outcomes where she does.” Tears welled in his eyes, the first true emotion I’d seen him express. “And many where she does not.”
Again, I wasn’t surprised by the admission. Still, it suddenly felt as though the walls were closing in on me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think, except that I needed to get away from Epsilon and his predictions. Away from his visions of a fate I couldn’t accept.
I stood and started for the door. Just as I started to leave, I turned back to him. “What about me?” I asked. “Do I survive?”
“There is a difference between surviving and living,” he said. “Your future is as uncertain as Talia’s, because they are tied to one another. Though, there is a third who’s destiny has been written and will influence both.”
God, I really hate Visionaries, I thought as I walked out of the room.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Talia
The last time I was on Capri, in the house I called home, I was nine. Our family had been traveling more and spending less time on the island. My parents fought so much. They rarely agreed on anything except their love for one another and their love for me.
When we returned to the island, those were the good periods. The days, the weeks, sometimes even the months where my parents forgot their disagreements and we were a family. My father’s work didn’t get in the way, my mother didn’t live in a constant state of panic. And I was allowed to use my powers.
The moment the hover touched down on our private landing pad, I knew this trip would be different. Our normal household staff didn’t come to greet us. Soldiers did instead. A pretty woman with long red hair and midnight blue eyes hugged my mother, while the man beside her shook my father’s hand.
“You’re late,” the woman chastised my mother. Her tone was sharp, but her relief was palpable. “We’ve been worried.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Ellen.” My mother squeezed her friend tightly before letting go. “We ran into trouble in Florence.”
“TOXIC?” Ellen guessed.
Mom nodded and patted my head. “Luckily, someone is crafty.” She winked at me and nudged me toward her friend. “Natalia, you remember Ms. Ellen, right?”
I smiled politely. “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Ellen,” I said.
She knelt to my level. “You, too, darling. You’re getting so tall. Just like Penelope. She’s a weed. You’ll never recognize her.”
“Where is Penelope?” asked my father.
The man shook his head. “At the cottage, with Ellen’s brother.” His lime-green eyes flitted to me and he grinned. “She’ll be sorry she missed this trip. She’s going to be so jealous when I tell her you have a pool and your own playground and tennis courts.”
Propping one hand on my hip, I held up my index and middle fingers on the other. “Two pools. One inside. One outside. The ocean’s better, though.”
The man laughed as he tugged one of my curls. “How are you? Your dad tells me you’re fluent in French, is that true?”
“Not fluent. But I know a little,” I replied. “Je parle un peu francais.”
Another man, a younger soldier with short hair and a very serious expression, stepped forward. “Pardon me, but we should really take this inside. Just in case.”
My mother wrapped an arm around my shoulders. She guided me toward the house with Ms. Ellen on my other side. My father and the man with the green eyes, who Dad called Geo, walked a few steps behind us and spoke in purposefully low voices. They thought I couldn’t hear them, but my parents always thought I couldn’t hear when adults whispered.
“How’s Ian doing?” my father asked Geo.
“Same. It’s been rough. TOXIC’s been relentless. The council is still refusing to step in. They want proof,” Geo muttered.
“Proof?” scoffed my father. “How are we supposed to get that?”
“Kidnap one of the children, I suppose,” Geo replied.
“From where? The graveyard? Whatever institution Danbury locked them away in?” my father countered.
“Why don’t you go play in your room, baby?” my mother suggested. She used that voice that made my eyes cross and my thoughts run into one another.
“Okay,” I replied, even though I wanted to listen to the adults’ conversation.
I stayed in my playroom until the sun went down. Though I pretended to read, I really eavesdropped on my parents, Ms. Ellen, and Mr. Geo. It wasn’t hard; my father was such a loud thinker. Through him, I could hear most of the discussion. I understood very little.
They talked about “the boy” and said he was likely the proof they needed. They weren’t positive, because he seemed normal. My mother kept wondering whether to tell Ms. Ellen and Mr. Geo something that she worried would upset them, something my father didn’t want anyone to know. Mr. Geo suggested planting a spy at some school. Ms. Ellen volunteered, but my father thought she’d be recognized. If she was recognized, everyone agreed the people in charge would kill her.
Once the soldiers left, my father brought dinner to my room. I pretended to be asleep. I wanted my parents to talk more, so that maybe I would understand why my mother was so scared and my father thought this was the last time we’d see our house.
I waited until my parents went to their bedroom, then I crept down the long hallway and sat outside the door. Listening through my father was fine in a pinch, but I always heard more when I hid in the shadows. Mom’s orders had expired, so I didn’t feel obligated to stay in my room.
“We need to tell them, Frances,” she insisted.
Closing my eyes and leaning my forehead against the wall, I could see her sitting at her vanity in white silk robe. My father stood in front of a large open window, peering out at the dark sea below.
“We can’t tell anyone. That’s why I destroyed all my research.” My father tapped his temple. “The formula only exists up here.”
&n
bsp; Mom sighed loudly and rolled her eyes in the mirror. “Danbury has most of the formula, he’s only missing one ingredient.”
“One key ingredient,” he retorted.
“Don’t you trust Ellen and Geo? I do.” My mother turned on her stool and stared daggers at Dad’s head. “It affects their daughter.”
“And I’m trying to keep ours alive and out of a cage,” he snapped back.
“Natalia isn’t a Mimic. Penelope is. If anyone finds out—”
My father spun. “No one will find out. And it has nothing to do with trust, Kat. I do trust Ellen and Geo. But the fewer people who know the truth, the better off we all are.” His expression softened as he walked over to stand near my mother. “Penelope is safer this way, too. Ellen and Geo venture into TOXIC territory all the time. If one of them is caught and interrogated, there is nowhere their daughter will be safe.”
Dad placed his hand on her shoulder, and she covered it with her own.
“What about our daughter, Frances? Danbury knows about her,” my mother whispered, her voice cracking.
“He suspects, that’s all,” he promised.
“Is it?” Mom pressed.
“Kat, have a little faith in your own abilities.” He kissed the top of her head. “You are the reason we’ve been able to keep Natalia safe for all these years.”
“She’s too powerful to mask completely. Even commoners know she is different. You’ve seen the way they look at her.” Tears pooled in my mother’s eyes. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up. And I won’t be the reason they take our daughter from us.”
“Kat, sweetheart. Stop. Please.” He took both her hands in his and knelt in front of her. “No one is going to take Natalia away. Okay? Do you understand me? I will not let that happen.”
My mother shook her head, openly sobbing. “It’s not just TOXIC I’m worried about. UNITED will consider her dangerous if they find out how strong her powers are. They’ll say she’s a threat. They’ll lock her away. It’s our fault. I won’t be able to live with myself if something like that happens to her.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Stop saying you won’t let it. The vultures are closing in. I can feel them breathing down our necks. It’s only a matter of time. We need to do something.”
“Like what?” He stood and started pacing. “If you have a solution, I’m all ears.”
“I think we should make a trade with Danbury.” She swallowed thickly, afraid of how her suggestion would be received and yet confident she was in the right.
My father was incredulous. “You want me to give him the formula? Are you crazy? Do you think our daughter is going to thank you for her freedom when it came at the expense of other children’s lives? Even with the full formula, not every person can handle the power. You know that.” He stomped back to look out the window. “I regret the day I agreed to work on the creation drug.”
My mother was on her feet. She was still crying, but her voice was steady. “You’re right. The creation drug, even the perfected version, is too dangerous. Few who aren’t born with abilities can handle the power. That will always be true.”
He didn’t turn to look at her. “You want to give Danbury a way to make sure children are born with abilities.” Dad didn’t sound angry, maybe disappointed.
“He already knows there is one. The McDonoughs have been studying descendants for years. You know he worked with Karmine Pharmaceuticals to develop the prenatal vitamin.”
“The prenatal vitamin that didn’t work,” my father pointed out. “The few offspring of the mothers who were given the drug that actually were born with abilities—they’re not very strong. And a lot of them have issues.”
“But it could work. If we give him the lake water from Paradis. Karmine can isolate the radioactive isotopes, just like we did. They can make a vitamin that works, just like we did. Natalia is living proof that the stories are true. She is the strongest Talent born since Paradis was destroyed.”
My father finally turned to face his wife. “You would give Danbury—a man we know experimented on his own son simply because he couldn’t live with the shame of having a non-Talented child—that sort of power? The ability to play God? To decide who is worthy and who is not?”
“To save our daughter? I would do anything.” She spoke without hesitation, but I felt her conflicting emotions. “Why won’t you?”
“Do you hear yourself? If we tell Danbury what we did, if we use Natalia as proof it worked, do you honestly believe he’ll just let her be?” He placed his hands on her shoulders. For a second, I thought he might try to shake some sense into her. Instead, he looked deep into my mother’s eyes, his full of sorrow. “You’re right. Our daughter is the strongest Talent born since the destruction of Paradis. And she has the ability to control others. Wars could be won or lost depending on the side she chooses. Some will want her dead, if only to eliminate a threat. If we tell anyone how powerful she is, what she is capable of…Natalia will never be safe. She will never know peace. Is that what you want for our daughter?”
Her laugh was brittle as she stepped out of his grip. “Natalia will never be safe. She will never know peace. We sealed her fate the day I took that drug. If we strike a bargain with Danbury, at least we might be able to buy back her childhood.”
Chapter Forty
Erik
I spent the morning feeling helpless and adrift in a sea of uncertainty. While everyone was convinced Gretchen had taken Talia and Alex to the Privileged Institute in France, no one felt confident launching a full-scale attack without more intel. The information we did have was spotty at best.
For over seventy-two hours, a rotating team of psychic interrogators had been trying unsuccessfully to extract useful information from Gracia. Even if they did manage to find anything in that messed up mind of hers, we couldn’t trust that the intel was real.
The Privileged who were captured during the attack on the Presidential Estate were also proving uninformed and unhelpful. It seemed only those in Gretchen’s inner circle actually knew anything about the Institute. We still hadn’t even determined its precise location, safety protocols, or defensive capabilities. The members of her inner circle weren’t definitive, either, though we all had our guesses as to those names.
I sat with Ian in his study and watched parts of the interrogations live between status meetings with senators and UNITED councilmembers. None of the reports were good. While the Joint Nations had agreed to extend the Talent evacuation period, some countries didn’t feel obligated to honor the extra time. The Joint Nations also refused to enforce the mandate. Sons of After were ramping up the violence, particularly in less Talent-friendly countries. On top of that, we still had the problem of where to put all those in exile who’d been slated to relocate to the Isle.
Then, there was the issue of the hostages we’d thought were in New Mexico. We still had no viable leads on their whereabouts. At least half the politicians whose families had been threatened were prepared to capitulate to the kidnappers’ demands. Which left us with the likelihood of even more displaced Talented and nowhere for them to go.
“For now, let’s continue to bring everyone intended for the Isle to the States,” Ian told what was left of the UNITED council. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I’ve already sent scouts to rural parts of Texas, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. There’s a lot of uncultivated land. There are also some ghost towns that may be options until we can find a more permanent solution.”
“Any news on the situation in Interlaken?” asked Charlene Prinsloo, the councilwoman from South Africa.
Ian gestured for Michael to answer.
“We are still unable to contact our agents in the area. Drone surveillance indicates the Privileged are in charge. Beyond that….” Councilman Tanaka held up his hands, palms facing the ceiling. “We have a lot of Talented in nearby towns awaiting the decision about where to go next.”
“Interlaken could hold many more Talents than we originally al
lotted.” Charlene looked to the other nine councilmembers, all of whom appeared in hologram. “Not comfortably, of course. But we could erect tent cities there.”
“Are you suggesting we retake the region?” asked Alexi Astakhov, the Russian delegate.
“I don’t believe we have another option,” Charlene replied pointedly. “Switzerland is the only country entirely under UNITED’s control. Interlaken is, or was, the safest place for our kind.”
The councilmembers continued to debate whether to launch a raid on the Swiss town to drive out the Privileged and the various issues involved with coordinating such a massive undertaking. I was over politics, and I only half-listened to the conversation. My main concerns were Talia and Alex. I knew better than to mention their rescue in front of the council, though.
After a lot of hemming, hawing, and two votes, the council finally agreed that taking Interlaken was a priority. They decided to send in another round of surveillance drones to monitor the situation over the next twenty-four hours. Hopefully, the footage would provide us adequate intel to do just that.
“Why don’t we send surveillance drones to the general area of the Privileged Institute?” I asked Ian. The meeting was over, and the two of us were finally alone in the study. “Wouldn’t that provide us with the intel we need for a rescue?”
Resting his elbows on the desk in front of him, Ian laced his fingers and set his chin on his joined hands. He studied me for a long moment. Then, choosing his words carefully, he said, “We can certainly try sending surveillance drones.”
“Really?” I asked, more than a little surprised he’d agreed.
He chuckled softly. “Why’d you ask if you didn’t think I’d say yes?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure I think it will work. But I can’t just sit here while she’s….” I trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence.
