Curses, Fates & Soul Mates

by et al Kristie Cook

  The door clicked behind me and I turned to find Elara. “Thank you for waiting,” she said.

  I pointed to Jet and Hera. Kale said their last name was Phoenix. “These were our friends. Why did you lie to us back there?”

  “There was already too much tension. There was no need to escalate the situation.”

  “So, what are they doing in there? Can’t you bring them in here so I can speak to them?”

  “You wish to speak to them?”

  “Um … yeah, I’d like to. They were our friends.”

  Elara pursed her lips, her blank eyes falling on Jet through the glass. He glared back at her and pounded on the window. “It is my duty to show you the truth.”

  “The truth?”

  “The man you call your friend, Jet Phoenix, attempted to destroy Central Control. We found evidence of explosives.”

  The memories continued to trickle in. “No. He dismantled them. He had nothing to do with those explosives.”

  “We brought both him and the girl in for questioning before execution … unless you wish to select them as recruits for Foundation Zero. If that is the case, they must undergo various rounds of testing and training.”

  “Wait, execution? And I can do that? I can save them and bring them with us?”

  “That is your decision. You are the Seventh Shepherd. You have final say.”

  “And why is that?” I turned my entire body toward hers, intrigued and borderline desperate for the answer.

  “In time, you will receive your answer.”

  “No, I want to know now. Stop dodging our questions. You want us to cooperate? Then you need to be straight with us.”

  “Right now, I have other information to report.”

  “And that would be?”

  “Not only did we identify Jet Phoenix as an enemy to our kind—which, shall I remind you is where your loyalty now lies—but we also have proof that he is an enemy to you, as well.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You call these people your friends.” She shot a glance at Jet and Hera, who were still pounding away at the glass. Jet was screaming, but I didn’t hear a lick of it. All my mind could focus on in that moment were Elara’s words. “But they are far from friendly. Hera, the little girl you know as Jet’s adopted sister, has done nothing but resist our direction in the children’s training camp. She has attempted to sabotage our control rooms, she has rebelled against authority at every turn, and she even helped fellow children recruits escape. Luckily, we caught her before she escaped, too.”

  “Well, your kind was holding her prisoner. She’s a child. She’s afraid, and she misses her family.”

  For the first time since I’d met Elara, a hint of irritation flared on her face. Her eyes were no longer lifeless, but full of offense, and the lines around her mouth quirked with impatience. “You mean our kind.” She snapped to the left and raised her hand, summoning the control keypad she’d used earlier to show us images of the seven prototypes. It materialized at her side and she clicked away at the buttons. This time, the transparent projector screen rolled out in front of the glass, dropping a thin shroud between us and Jet and Hera. I could still make out their faces through the screen.

  “Not only is Hera a threat to our mission, Jet cannot be trusted, either. You thought he was on your side?” She smiled a smooth, knowing smile, and it sent goose bumps up my neck. “The man behind that glass is on whomever’s side is convenient. See for yourself.” She tapped the floating keypad again and pointed to the projector screen. I watched as Jet’s eyes studied the images. He said something to Hera, his gaze glued on the screen, and his expression turned from one of confusion to absolute horror.

  I peeled my eyes from Jet’s face and forced myself to hone in on the images to see what was shaking him. A picture of a pet store appeared, and it was one I knew well. It was the pet store I used to work at in downtown Morton. Suddenly I appeared on the screen, running down Main Street and around the side of the building, down the little alleyway that led to the back door. I was sneaking around, looking scared out of my mind.

  It didn’t take me long to register what this footage was from: the day the Invaders attacked Morton. The day I fled the house after my parents were killed and dashed into town to free the shop’s animals.

  “How do you have this footage?” I asked, my voice a weak whisper.

  Elara sounded pleased with herself. “We have the ability to review the memories of anyone who is implanted.”

  I kept staring at the images as they played out before me.

  I reached the back door of the store and slammed into it, frantic to unlock it, but relieved that it hadn’t already been broken into. I steamrolled inside and started unlocking cage after cage, urging the kittens and puppies to jump out of their pens. I moved to the rabbit bins next, tipping them over and shooing them toward the back door. It was total chaos as I rolled the birdcages to the back door and snapped open the cages. My fingers trembled while I worked to unlock each one.

  And that’s when I saw him.

  Jet Phoenix, standing at the edge of the building in the small back alleyway, just watching me. “Well, are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going to help me?” I shouted at him, my eyes latching onto his.

  He flinched a bit when he realized I had caught him watching me, but he stepped out of the shadows and cautiously started forward. He glanced over his shoulder and drew his uneasy gaze back to mine. “I want to, but I … uh …”

  “You what?” I snapped, pushing more birds from their cages. Their wings flapped wildly around my head as they lifted off into flight.

  “Yo, Phoenix!” another voice sounded from behind him. He cursed and spun around, meeting another military-clad guy with a big gun and even bigger biceps. “Well hello, baby,” the guy said, and whistled. “Good work, man. She’s gonna be a fun one.” He wiggled his eyebrows and checked me out from head to toe.

  “She’s, uh …”

  I looked at Jet and my vision instantly blinded me with a rush of hot tears. My gaze darted to the pet store’s open back door and the countless cages that still housed so many innocent animals that needed to be set free, before Morton went to hell in a hand basket.

  “Yeah, she’s fit for training,” Jet said, nodding. “I can take care of her, man.” He jogged forward, his expression hesitant.

  “Suit yourself, brother. But hands off, okay? I want first dibs on that when we get her to the prison.”

  “Fuck off, Brandon,” he tossed back. “Leave her alone.”

  “Whatever, you pussy. I’ll let you have a piece. Get her in the truck, let’s go.”

  Jet slowed as he reached me, his crestfallen gaze holding mine.

  “Please,” I begged him. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I’m so sorry….” He shot a look over his shoulder at his partner. A glimmer of something harsh glowered there—rage, I thought. “But I really do.”

  “Just let me finish letting these animals go, please.”

  “Phoenix, let’s go!” his partner shouted at him, lingering in the alleyway.

  “I’m sorry.” A weapon I now recognized as a Venom Sphere appeared in his hand, and he reached forward to grasp my elbow.

  “Please!” I screamed. “Don’t do this!”

  Jet’s eyes fluttered to mine and his cheeks puffed out with a heavy breath. He plunged the sphere into my skin, and I cringed at the feel of the needle. The toxin took over and I immediately went limp, my body transitioning to paralysis. His arms shot out to catch me, his big body shifting to lift me off the ground. Adjusting my legs, he cradled my waist as he carried me. The sound of his voice was disorienting as I faded out, but I caught one last thing before the darkness took over completely.

  “Tell me your name,” he said.

  My lips were lead as I tried to speak. “Skylla.”

  “You always put animals first when the world is ending, Skylla?”

  “Mmmhhmm
m,” I breathed. “They need someone to watch out for them.”

  “And that someone has to be you?”

  “If not me, then who?” My head rolled back against his arm, and I was gone.

  As I dragged my focus away from the image, my gaze landed on Jet—the real, live Jet—looking back at me through the glass. His face was panic stricken, his fists thumping violently on the window. Hera’s hands were cupping her ears as she cried, stepping backward, away from her brother.

  I looked away.

  “I’ve seen enough,” I said quietly. It didn’t matter that I didn’t feel any emotional pull toward Jet and Hera anymore. Seeing someone—even a stranger—hurt you in the flesh was damaging. Jet had been right the day I’d woken up in the prison. The toxin they used to collect me did mess with my memories of the capture, because I hadn’t remembered much of what just played out on that screen. I’d remembered running to the pet store, but after that, things were fuzzy.

  Now I knew, and oddly, the truth hurt.

  Elara punched a number on the keypad and the projector screen vanished. “His crimes are punishable by death. Killing fellow guards in your prison cell, removing his chip, escaping with you, joining a rebel movement—we saw it all when we searched your memories. It’s unacceptable.”

  “Then why have you kept him alive? I’ve done all those things, too. And Kale? Kale is guilty of the same.”

  “You and Kale are Shepherds. Those crimes do not apply to you. You have chosen to surrender. And you, Skylla, are not just any Shepherd. You’re the Seventh. You are sacred to us. This human meant something to you, and we believed we owed it to you to show you the truth. I doubt you oppose execution now that you’ve seen Jet Phoenix’s true nature.”

  “I don’t want anyone to be executed.”

  Another glimmer of annoyance danced across Elara’s pristine features before it shifted to determination. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “He cannot be trusted.”

  “Did you not just see me on that screen? I can’t stand the thought of an animal suffering, let alone a human being. Now, I’d like to speak to him. Please.”

  “I cannot allow that.”

  “Do I or do I not have the final say where his fate is concerned? Then what’s the big deal? It’s not like my emotions will get in the way.”

  Elara eyed me warily, then dropped her hands to her side with a frustrated breath. “Come with me.” She turned for the door. I trailed behind, letting her lead me to another entryway and into the room where Jet and Hera stood.

  “Skylla!” Jet raced forward but Elara tapped a button on the wall and an invisible shield sent him crashing straight into it. “Turn that thing off!” He pounded his fist into it, and his wild eyes bounced to mine. “Skylla, I swear on everything, I didn’t want to turn you in. I was only doing my job. I never meant for my patrol team to find you. I was trying to take a breather, went walking down the alleyway near your store when I saw you come out the shop’s back door. I was curious … intrigued, just watching you. So I stepped back and stared, like a complete stalker. I’m sorry, please, you have to believe me.”

  Elara sighed impatiently, calling on her trusty keypad device again. The projector screen appeared before us. “I did not want to have to do this, Skylla, but I suppose it is necessary.”

  “Wait,” Jet shouted, “what are you doing now? Skylla, don’t listen to her! She’s trying to turn you against me.”

  “What is this?” I asked, scanning the screen. An image of the Abyss appeared, the last Black Hole we’d stayed in.

  “We not only have access to your memories, we have access to a record of your entire past. Things you could not or were unable to see. To experience the full effect of how truly deceptive this human is, we must do this.” Elara cued up the video footage and punched in a command on the keypad. “You will feel slightly disoriented. Do not be alarmed. I am temporarily restoring your emotive memory. Stand by.”

  “What are you—”A wave of lightheadedness washed over me and I swayed to the right. Elara’s stiff arm caught and straightened me.

  “Skylla, are you okay? What are you doing to her?”

  “Easy,” Elara’s voice soothed me. I swallowed and squeezed my eyes, pushing down the nausea swirling in my gut. Emotion flooded me like a monsoon, each and every feeling I’d had for Jet coursing through me at lightning speed. I opened my eyes and raised my gaze to his, and it was like seeing him for the first time.

  “Skylla,” he choked out, the recognition sweeping his face. “What have they done to you?”

  “I … remember,” I whispered.

  “You remember what?”

  “That I love you.”

  Elara shifted at my side and pressed play to resume the footage, sending the images rolling in a dizzy disarray. Jet and me, in the hallway in the Black Hole. Him looking down at me like I was a dessert he was about to eat. Kale showing up and asking where we’d been. Kale and Jet exchanging tense words. Me finding Jimmy so I could help train Zeke.

  And then, a flash of gold.

  Blonde, to be exact. A pretty blonde, the one I’d seen leaning against Jet when I left the Abyss pool to search for and confront him.

  “What is this?” Jet yelled, trying to get Elara’s attention. “Hey!”

  Elara remained expressionless as I took in the footage.

  “I’d love to show you a good time,” the blonde said, pulling Jet to the side when Kale disappeared down the hallway.

  Jet’s gaze traveled down her body and my stomach rolled. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Mmhhhmm.” She leaned into his ear. “I know just the spot.”

  “Lead the way,” Jet said, flashing her a sexy-as-sin smile.

  My eyes snapped shut and I turned away, unable to look at the screen. I instantly missed the numbness that accompanied the absence of my emotive memory. This was cruel. “Stop,” I said to Elara.

  “Skylla, that never happened!” Jet insisted. Hera’s crying grew louder, echoing from somewhere in the corner of the room. “Listen to me, Sky, this is all a lie! What they’re showing you, it’s a lie! I don’t know how they’re doing it, but I never touched that girl. Look at me, damn it!”

  I spun around to lock gazes with him. “And you collecting me? Turning me over to those men? Was that a lie?”

  He ground his teeth. “No. That part’s true. You knew I collected you.”

  “You could’ve let me go. Those Collectors never would’ve seen me if you hadn’t been standing there, spying on me!”

  “You don’t think I tell myself that, every second of every day? I know it’s my fault they found you … it’s all my fault, everything you went through since that day. But I never, ever meant to hurt you.” His voice cracked and wetness glistened along the edges of his baby blues. “God Skylla, if I could take it all back …”

  “Do not listen to him, Skylla Warden,” Elara chimed in, stepping in front of me. “He is lying to you. He had sexual relations with the blonde behind your back. We have all of the footage if you wish to see.”

  “You bastards!” Jet exploded behind her. “It’s all fabricated, Skylla, this is bullshit! Hera, tell her.” He turned and grabbed Hera, guiding her forward to look me in the eye. “Please, Sunshine, tell her how much I love her. Tell her. Skylla, she knows. I’ve told her what you mean to me. We need to get out of here. They’re brainwashing you. This is all wrong, do you hear me? It’s wrong!”

  A searing tear ripped clear across my abdomen, pain so strong it cut me in half. The image of Jet ogling that girl, the closeness of their bodies, his voice, her words … their secret spot. Likely the same spot Jet took me to.

  “Stop this,” I turned my back to Elara, my chest heaving in anger. “Now, please.”

  “As you wish.” Elara raised her thin fingers to the keypad and threw a quick glance to Jet before reversing the emotive memory control. A jolt of energy zinged from my head to my feet and with it, all the heart-crushing emotion I’d felt for Jet whooshed from my sys
tem.

  So. Much. Better.

  I turned and faced Jet, my face falling blank. “I don’t want either one of them executed, Elara,” I instructed, keeping my eyes on him. “Don’t send them back to Prototype Seven, either. I’d like to recruit them for Foundation Zero.”

  “But—”

  “Jet Phoenix still saved my life. His intentions were good. Hera is an innocent child. They go to Foundation Zero.”

  Elara’s wary look passed between my friends and me. “Affirmative. As you wish.”

  Breaking my connection with Jet, I started for the door, not bothering to look back at him or Hera. The excruciating pain brought on by the betrayal I’d just witnessed not once, but twice, was thankfully dulled, but the pain brought on by knowledge was another matter. This man and his sister were virtually strangers now, just two people I shared memories with—a short, fleeting journey. But Jet Phoenix, whoever he was and whatever I’d meant to him, deceived me one way or another. Walking away from this place, from Elara, meant not only letting down the human race, but also losing implantation permanently, which meant having to live with the hurt of Jet’s betrayal for good—having to feel every ounce of it, while it swam raw and festered in my heart. There would be no more numbness, and no escape from what I’d done: allowing the human race to rot when they could have had a chance at a brand-new home.

  All of that rested in my hands now, and I’d made up my mind.

  “Jet, whatever you had with me … let it go. It’s over. I wish you luck. Take good care of Hera.” The sounds of his protest reverberated throughout the room, but I was already two steps out the door.

  CHAPTER 16

  The next day began with a rush of events. The first night in my new room—if you could call it that—in Lucenta was beyond surreal. Elara had led all Seven Shepherds to their sleeping quarters, which were actually lavish bedrooms with fish tank-like walls and floors. My room was right next to Kale’s, and we could see each other through the glass.