Sun Touched (Diamara Book 1)

by J. C. Hart

  She contemplated for a moment whether to lie, whether to drag out this interlude a little. She deserved some fun, didn't she? She bit her lip. "I think we're okay."

  He moved away from her. The heat of his touch drained from her skin and she shook her head to free herself from the desire he'd drawn out of her. Garrett pulled her close to his side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leaning into her again. "Do you think you can keep the act up? Lovers for the night?" A smile played on his lips and it was all she could do to stop herself from kissing him again. She put her arm around his waist and slipped a hand into the back pocket of his pants.

  "How's that for familiar?"

  His smile cracked wider and she could see that he swallowed a laugh. "It's a good start. Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." Before they moved off he leaned down and kissed her again.

  "So tell me, do you do this with all the women who call on you for help?" She braced herself for the answer, sure that it couldn't just be her.

  "Only in special cases." He winked, then led her down the street.

  There was a scuffle behind them and Garrett pulled away from her. "Stay in the shadows."

  She leaned away from the wall to watch him as he moved towards the sound, and then there was a hand around her mouth and an arm around her chest, tugging her back. She tried to cry out but the sound was muffled.

  "Be quiet, Madea." The voice was gruff, but unmistakably Sullivan. "It's not like I'm enjoying this, but it has to be done."

  The feel of a needle sliding into her arm made her try to scream louder, but the drugs flooded her system too quickly and she blacked out.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  When she came to, she was strapped to the Hollowing chair. The cables and tubes stretched out above her and she screamed into the gag in her mouth, straining against her bonds. She couldn’t see who was doing this to her, unable to believe it could be Sullivan. Her vision swam and she could hear voices, but couldn't seem to separate any into one she knew.

  Sarai's face came into focus in front of her, and she ran a hand across Madea forehead. "It's okay, Madea. We're going to help. Stay calm. I'm going to remove the gag."

  Madea stilled, waiting for the release. When the band holding the gag loosened she spat the wad from her mouth and inhaled deeply. "Why am I here? I shouldn't be here Sarai, I shouldn't. This isn't right."

  "Daddy said that you're Touched, Maddy. He said your baby—" Sarai averted her gaze, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t want to believe it, but it's for the best. I'm sorry."

  "How could you do this to me?" Madea strained against the bonds again, felt them cutting into her skin but didn't care. She had to get out of here. She couldn't let them Hollow her, because what would happen to her baby? What would happen to Jaxon?

  What would happen to her? She didn’t want to be nothing, a drone, only able to do repetitive tasks.

  She lowered her voice and tried to sound calmer. "You have to help me get out, Sarai. Please?" The pitch of her voice made her think of Janae. She was a mirror image of the other woman right now.

  Sarai leaned down and brushed her lips against Madea's cheek in a soft kiss. "I wish I could. I really do." Sarai squeezed her hand and walked away, but Madea could hear her sob as she left the room.

  Her father stepped into view then, his expression flat. "I wish it didn't have to be this way."

  "You don't even know if I'm Touched," she spat at him. "You think I am and this is the most convenient thing for you." She writhed in the chair, not caring if she looked insane. Nothing she did would change his mind anyway.

  "Sullivan," her father called.

  Sullivan stepped forward, tightening all the straps. He gazed into her eyes, holding a jinweed injection up. "It will make it easier."

  "What if I don't want it to be easier? What if I want you to know that I'm suffering, that you are the one doing this to me? To your baby?"

  He swallowed, measuring his words. "If the baby survives, if it's not damaged, I'll make sure it's looked after. Okay?" He raised an eyebrow as she ground her teeth together. He pressed the needle to her arm, and she spat at him, the thick globule landing on his hand.

  "Maddy. I'm only trying to help." He shook it off.

  "No, you're trying to destroy me." She sucked in a breath, trying to calm the beating of her heart. This couldn't be happening. She needed to get out of here. Her father stepped forward and clamped the gag over her mouth. The smell was vile, like they didn’t even bother changing it between Hollowings, and bile hit the back of her throat. Tears trickled down her face as hopelessness set in. It was over. There was no point fighting.

  And did she really want to be aware of the Hollowing? Did she want to be conscious as her memories, her personality were stripped from her? The whine of the machinery began to fill the room as the device warmed up, and Sullivan slipped the needle into her arm.

  This was it. It was happening.

  The door banged open. Multiple people, by the sound of it, boots thudding against the cold concrete floor.

  "Turn off the machine and step away from her," a man demanded. He came into view. Garrett. Madea sighed with relief for a moment, as Carson bolted for the other exit, but then Sullivan flipped the switch. The room hummed and the air vibrated and she wanted to puke. She could feel the energy travelling up her arms, radiating out from the pads against her skin, her scream added to the intensity in the room. She pressed her eyes shut, just as Garrett swung at Sullivan. And then the tension dissipated and the pain stopped. Her skin itched, but the machine was off. She was safe.

  Madea burst into tears, unable to form a single word. Garrett moved swiftly to her side, undid the clasps which held her bonds in place and helped her from the seat. Her body shook uncontrollably and she couldn't stand on her own, so he scooped her up, his arms gentle but firm.

  "Let's move out before they send reinforcements," he said, giving a nod to the others in the room. Madea rested her head against his shoulder, unable to focus on anything but the fact that she was safe. At least for now.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When he closed the door behind them, Madea found herself staring at a dome within the domes. Lamp light filtered down through the tinted glass ceiling, casting a rainbow of colours on the floor. She felt her mouth open in awe as Garrett placed her on a bench seat. "Where are we?"

  "Back when Diamara was first colonized, they built churches, like back on Earth. They've fallen out of use, for the most part, so we use them when we can—salvation for the Touched."

  She turned towards him at those words. "Speaking of the Touched. How did you know?"

  "How did I know that you were?" He raised an eyebrow, lips quirking into that ever ready smile.

  "Yes, that."

  "What did your father say when he saw the seal?" He plonked himself down, leaving a foot of space between them.

  "He said that he'd been asked to do something. That someone threatened to— You did this to me." She thought her heart might stop beating. She sat still but she could feel the blood rushing through her body, her heart pounding in her ears. "You..." She rubbed her wrist. There had been that sting she'd thought was an insect.

  "I had a part in it, yes." Garrett stood, moving away from her. It was lucky for him, because she felt the urge to hit someone. "But there's more to this than you know."

  "So tell me!" She stood too, her hands curling into fists which she pressed against her thighs. Her legs were still weak, so she plonked back onto the seat. "Tell me. You made me Touched, and then you send me into the lion's den and reveal it to my father. Give me a reason not to walk right back out that door."

  "It's not my place—"

  "What the hell do you mean it's not your place! You either know something, or you don't."

  "Fine. Fine." He held his hands in front of his chest, palms facing her as though he could calm her with his gentle pushing motions. "Being Sun-Touched isn't what you think it is, Madea.
"

  "What do you mean? It makes you crazy. Everyone knows that. People who are Touched eventually lose it, and they end up hurting other people, usually their loved ones." The pitch of her voice rose as she spoke.

  "Sometimes they do hurt people, but that's only if no one is there to help them. What people who aren't Touched don't know is that it's not really madness."

  "What do you mean? Stop talking in riddles and tell me what you're on about!" Madea pulled her fingers through her hair, tugging strands as she did to try and wrangle in her growing rage.

  "There are things on this planet, things that regular people can't see. We call them ether creatures." Garrett stopped talking, as though he were waiting for the words to sink in.

  "What?"

  "The Touched aren't mad, they just see things that the un-Touched can't."

  Madea closed her eyes and let her head rest on her knees. "I don't get it. If I'm not going mad, what's with the dizziness, the blurred vision, the whispering in my head?"

  "If you've been told you're going to go mad, don't you think you'll over analyse everything that goes on up here?" She assumed he was tapping his head, but she didn't want to look. Couldn't bring herself to. He'd done this to her.

  "You're not mad, Madea." He spoke softly as he stepped closer to her. "You're not going crazy. It takes some time for your body, your mind, to adjust to this new way of seeing the world."

  "If it's not madness, then why are people dying? Why do we—why do the Touched—get violent?"

  He stood before her, his face relaxed, as though he'd said this all a million times before. As though he actually believed it. "The creatures, they move right through us." Garrett dropped to his knees. "If you saw things moving in and out of people, strange creatures, sometimes frightening to look upon, might you not feel like you're in danger? Like your loved ones are at risk? Is it not possible you'd take a weapon, try to slay these creatures, protect your family, yourself, but end up hurting the ones you love?"

  Madea took a deep breath, trying to decide whether she could buy into this or not. What reason did he have for lying to her though? "I haven't seen these creatures."

  "It's still early. You mentioned that you'd been hearing things. The blurred vision?"

  "Sometimes. I thought it was stress, or the madness."

  "It's the change. It won't be long and you'll start to see them." Garrett had a gleam in his eyes, like maybe he was remembering his first sighting with fervour. "They are strange, beautiful but so very different from us. Just wait. It won't be long." He smiled and placed a hand on hers. "Knowing this makes it easier. When it happens, you'll know what it is. We try our hardest to get to those who've been Touched before the Council does, before they start seeing things, before they get Hollowed."

  She shuddered.

  "There's something else you need to know," Garrett said.

  "No, I don't want to know anything else. Not right now. I don't think I can handle it." She kept her eyes tightly shut. Garrett placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed until she had to open them, had to look at him.

  "You want to know this. Trust me." He nodded, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

  "I don't, I really don't." Tears slipped free and tumbled down her cheeks. "I can't."

  "Your mother sent me. She was the one who set this whole thing in motion."

  For the second time, she thought her heart might stop. She pushed aside the flutter of hope, drowning it with all the stories her father had told her of her mother's death—she'd died outside the domes, on an excursion. There was an accident and her body was beyond recognition. They'd driven past the crash site, seen the twisted metal shell of the transport, the scraps of fabric swaying in the mild western wind, the blood peppering the ground.

  "You're a liar. My mother is dead." Madea pushed herself up from the seat and stepped away from Garrett. His presence gave her no warmth now, and there was no comfort in his smile.

  "Madea, I'm not lying." He stepped forward, one hand reaching toward her.

  "She's dead! How dare you try to tell me otherwise? Did you think you'd fool me with your lies? I can't believe anything you've said." She took a few more wobbly steps, backed into one of the benches and barely stopped herself from tumbling. The wood scraped through her pants but she couldn't think of the pain. She had to get out, get air, get away from him and the lies he told, lies which made the hollow place in her heart burn with sorrow.

  The air outside was only mildly cooler. It wasn't fresh, wasn't new, but at least she wasn't confined within that building, that building which gave false hope. Like Garrett. Tears streamed down her face as she ran. She didn't know where she was, didn't know where she was going, only knew that she had to move and move now.

  Madea had barely made it ten metres before she could hear Garrett giving chase. What did he want with her? What game was he playing? She couldn't fathom what he could gain by telling her that her mother was still alive. She was dead, Father had said. He was many things—power hungry, manipulative, controlling—but he'd never lie to her about something like that.

  "I can prove it!" Garrett shouted at her, his words muffled by the sound of her feet against the pavement. "Give me a chance! Don't you want to see her?"

  Madea’s feet thudded against the concrete road, unable to process where she was going. Her breath came in shallow gasps and then she doubled over as a cramp gripped her. Garrett caught her before she fell the ground.

  "The baby," she gasped.

  "What baby?" Garrett shook his head in confusion.

  "I'm pregnant." She cringed, pressing down on her side with both hands. "It hurts."

  "We have to get you to a medic." He scooped her up in his arms and she had no will to fight as unconsciousness pulled her under.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A chill seeped through her skin, bringing her back to consciousness. She struggled up before she'd even opened her eyes, the sensation too similar to that of the Hollowing chair, but firm hands pushed her back.

  "Just lie there, darling."

  She opened her eyes, her vision swam for a moment. A woman, familiar and yet changed, hovered above her, that voice one from her past. The stark light of the room made her blink, but for a few moments more her brain couldn't make sense of what she could see.

  "Mum?" Madea whispered the word, her brow furrowing. Tahra was bending over her, older, but still so familiar. Her cheekbones, her full lips, her blue eyes and that smile, the same smile she'd given Madea whenever she'd been a good girl.

  Garrett hadn't been lying after all.

  "Oh, Madea." Tahra's words caught in her throat as she grasped Madea's hands. "It's been too long."

  "But you died. Father said."

  Tahra chewed her lip before speaking. "He lied. He couldn't have his wife Touched. Couldn't have her Hollowed. It would look bad for his career, he said. So he faked my death and sent me out of the domes. I consider myself lucky. If he'd had no love for me, he'd have actually had me killed." While the words said she had been lucky, the bitterness in her voice told a different story.

  "You were Touched?" Madea sat up, pulling her hands back from her mother and tucking her legs beneath her. "I can't believe he lied to us. I can't believe that you had me Touched knowing what he might do to me."

  "I—" Tahra stroked her hair, tucking it behind her ear before chewing on a nail. She'd always been so composed in the past that Madea wasn't sure what to make of her actions. "We didn’t know for sure what he would do, but I would never have let you be Hollowed. Never. If you believe nothing else today, believe that."

  Madea crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't believe you're here, alive. I went to your funeral. I cried. Do you know how hard that was? Growing up in a house with him and being so like you? Do you have any idea?"

  "I’m sorry. I've always been there, keeping an eye on you. I couldn't find a way to get in touch with you and still keep you safe. You have to believe your safety has always come first."

&nb
sp; "So why now? Why after years of silence? What's changed?" Madea demanded. "What was so important that you had to ruin my life too?"

  "I..."

  Madea pushed herself off the table, scanning the room for an exit. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to expose me."

  "Maddy," her mother said, her voice soft, pained. "I thought it was better to leave you with your father, to have the life you were used to. It's not been easy these last years, finding a way to survive, missing you and your sister. But I did it because I had no other choice—it wouldn't have been fair to take you with me. Besides, he never would have let me."

  "You are my mother! And more than anything, I needed you." Madea tried to hold back her tears. "I'm going to ask you again, and I want you to think carefully before you answer. What has changed, what was so important that you felt you needed to get in touch with me now?" She took a shaky breath and faced her mother.

  "I've learned things about these ether creatures. They are amazing, Maddy. I wanted to share that with you. I want to share it with everyone, eventually, but you, first."

  "And what about Sarai?" Madea raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest again. There was a flutter of something—satisfaction? Joy?—that their mother had thought of her first. She'd always thought she was her mother's daughter, whereas Sarai was definitely Daddy's girl, and this confirmation sent a surge of warmth through her body, brief and soon swallowed by renewed anger, at both Sarai and their mother.

  "We'll get Sarai soon, as soon as we can." Her mother crossed the room and placed a hand on Madea's folded arms. "When you can see what I see, when you know what I know, you will want her to be exposed too, you'll want to share this with everyone." Her eyes were lit up with that very same look Garrett had back in the church. Until that point Madea hadn't given a thought to how long she had been unconscious, or the fact that the pain in her abdomen was gone.