"Raguel." Jarred kneels down and tosses the twisted metal off of him. He presses his fingers to the archon's neck and sighs. "He's dead."
Katarina goes into the hallway and cups her hands around her mouth. "Hello? Is anyone there? Someone say something to let me know you're alive."
A tiny weak voice comes from inside the kitchen. Katarina ties the sling around her and rolls up her sleeves. Climbing over the pile of debris and dead Blood Force agents, Katarina follows the sound until she sees the tattered wings limply fluttering against the table. "Blice!" She runs to the table and takes the purple butterfly in her hands. "What happened?"
He is very obviously in pain as he struggles to speak. "Blood Force . . . took everyone."
"Where did they go?"
"Friedhof."
"What about Zodiac?"
"Gabriel . . . bonded with him, but he . . . didn't use the negator."
Zach runs into the kitchen and takes Blice. "Just hold on, Brother. I'll hook you up to a computer and reboot your system. You're gonna make it."
"Let me die."
"No! We can put your microchip into another body. We made you a human body."
Blice goes limp and his voice is barely audible. "Just let me die. Please."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Let me be with Isidore."
Zach opens a small box and takes out a razor blade. Placing the dying butterfly on the table, he quickly slices through the body and pries the tiny microchip out with a pair of tweezers. "Farewell, friend. That's it, then. Blice McSage is no more."
While he may have actually died many years ago, this hits Katarina harder than she imagined it would. Even with all the terrible things Blice once did to her father, he was her friend. But ever since Isidore's death, Blice hasn't been the same. Some part of him died that day as well. The dreaded tears sting in her eyes so she turns away from Zach. She has to be strong, but every time things begin to turn around and go right in her life, something devastates her, leaving her hopeless. The numbness only lasts for so long. Now there won't be any numbness or a chance to cope with this because she has to continue dealing with the dire situation unfolding around her. Her husband and friends are missing, injured, and possibly dead. Then there's little Zodiac who will be dead within a week if he doesn't get the negator fluid to counteract the lethal nanobots in his bloodstream from bonding with Gabriel. No matter what she tries to think about, one person continues to press into her thoughts. Doss. She just got him back. She can't lose him again.
* * *
Jayce is curled up on his bed, trying desperately to keep his mind from falling apart. Every last scrap of his sanity is precious. He groans in pain from the intense burning of alcohol that Clark is dabbing on the deep wounds on his back. To keep himself strong, Jayce has pulled up the picture of Jarred in his mind that he took from one of the security cameras. It is the first thing he's seen in the full vivid detail of reality since losing his eyes. Jarred's smiling face comforts him enough to stay strong, even through the near constant torture that Clark is putting him through.
Clark puts down the bottle of alcohol. "I have a present for you, Jophiel."
Oh hell. What now?
"It's time for us to complete your transformation. Today is your last day as your own man. From here on, you don't get to have your own thoughts. I will be wiping your memory. You won't remember anything and you'll be just a shell for my own plans. How does that sound?"
His memories? That's all he has left. This can't be real. "Master?"
"Yes?"
"Are you really going to erase my memories?"
"Indeed. You'll be free from the burden of self awareness. What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"Oui."
Clark slaps him hard. "What did I tell you about speaking French?"
"Forgive me, Master. Please don't take my memories."
"You don't have a choice." Clark says. "When the time comes where your loyalty is tested, I can't have you betraying me. Get one last look at that picture of your husband. Once I turn this device on, your brain will be wiped clean. You won't even know who he is."
Faced with this horrible fate, Jayce is reduced to begging for anything he can get. "Master?"
"What now?"
"Can I write something first?" Jayce asks.
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Have I not attempted to obey your orders, to take whatever punishment you've given me, and to learn what you want from me?"
"Most of the time."
He reaches out and takes Clark's hand. "Please give me one last thing. Let me write a letter to Jarred and Zodiac to tell them I love them and to say goodbye."
"What did I tell you about things you want like food?"
His heart sinks. "There's always a price."
"I guess the question I have for you is if you're willing to pay that price."
"I'll pay anything. Do whatever you want to me."
"As much as I would have fun with that, I have some bad news." Clark says. "Your husband and son were killed by my Blood Force agents because you weren't good enough. I warned you not to challenge my authority, but you let Jarred in here so he paid the price for you. It's all your fault. You killed your family with your stubbornness and arrogance. Poor little Zodiac kept crying as he watched his daddy be skinned alive. Then he met the same fate. We're inventing creative ways to use human skin."
"You're lying!"
"I'm not. But if you don't believe me, then you can still take a beating and write a letter to your dead family which I'll just burn. Face the facts, Jophiel. You're mine now and only mine. That's why I'm erasing your memories so I'll be the only person you know. I will write whatever I want there. Say goodbye."
* * *
Katarina looks up from changing Nova's diaper as someone's hand grabs her shoulder. She spins around and looks into familiar eyes. "Oh my God. You're alive."
"Velex! What's going on?" Jarred asks as he comes into the room and takes his daughter in his arms.
"Dressler has been assassinated and every member of the Inquisition died protecting him. Ninety percent of the military has been killed off as well trying to defend against Clark's Blood Force and the Shadow Spies."
"Aren't you one of them?" Jarred asks with his suspicion reflecting in his hazel eyes.
"I never claimed to be. Are you going to let me explain what happened or not? Anyway, this is all Clark's doing. Everyone was taken to Friedhof. We're going to get them back now so do whatever you need to do then get to the airbase."
"Why did the Blood Force take them prisoner instead of killing them?"
"They wanted Kazimir and the archons to work on the Paradise Awakened Project."
"I think we deserve answers." Katarina says with her hands on her hips. "What exactly is the Paradise Awakened Project?"
"I can't say."
Jarred hands Nova to Zach and motions for Katarina. "Kat, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure." She follows him outside where the chaos is beginning to slow down. "What's up?"
Jarred pulls her to the side of the building. "I don't like this."
"No one does."
"More specifically, I don't like the Velex situation. I don't trust him."
"Why not?" Katarina asks. "Velex is a good guy."
"How can you be so sure? Think about it. Dressler is dead, the Inquisition is wiped out, and most of the military has been killed. Then everyone in the lab was attacked and taken from the planet. Where was Velex? He just happens to show up after we get back without a single scratch or burn on him? Then he already knows where everyone was taken even though he claims he wasn't here? You watch. Velex knows exactly what is going on. He was either directly involved or let it happen and did nothing to stop it."
Velex's laughter makes the hair stand up on the back of Katarina's neck. He leans in the doorway where the blood seeps through his pants from the corpse he's standing next to. He kicks the dead Blood Force agent over with his foot. "
Normally when people find a double agent, they don't talk about him within earshot."
"What have you done?" Katarina asks as she backs away from him.
"Only what needed to be done."
Jarred glares at him. "So you confess?"
"I don't confess to anything. You can try all you want, but you'll never get me to talk. You think you're so tough, Jarred. But you can't take me down. I will always win."
She has to know. "Where were you?"
"Where I needed to be." Velex says then turns to Jarred. "And where were you, Nymph?"
"That's none of your business."
"Then how about you don't ask where I was and I won't ask where you were?"
"Fine, but this isn't over."
"You killed Blice!" A sudden surge of rage fills Katarina and she lunges at Velex, pummeling him with her fists. In a blind fury, she continues to hit and kick him as she screams uncontrollably, unleashing all of her pent-up anger, frustration, and helplessness. It's his fault this happened. In her mind, Velex is the enemy, no matter what kind of excuses he has. "Where were you? You killed them all! Son of a bitch!"
Jarred's muscular arms wrap around her waist and pull her off of Velex. "Kat, stop."
She pulls against her owner, vowing to fight him too if she has to. "I'll kill you, Velex!"
Jarred throws her down on the pavement and holds her there as she struggles to get away. "Calm down."
"Never!" Now her tears stream down her face uncontrollably. All of her writhing and shouting are futile against Jarred's brute strength and iron grasp on her arms. Her fortitude has vanished. How much lower can she fall from being pinned down on the blood-soaked pavement with ashes and snow falling on her and hysterically crying with no hope of ever stopping? At this lowest point, nothing in life makes sense. Nothing matters anymore . . . except killing Velex.
Jarred is shaking her and yelling, but Katarina can't understand him. His hand clamps down over her mouth and nose. He's killing her. She can't breathe, but even her frantic thrashing doesn't free her from his suffocating hands.
Her vision begins to turn black. The last things she sees are Velex standing over Jarred's shoulder and swinging a metal pipe, hitting him in the head. Jarred falls lifeless to the street. Too weak and afraid to take action, Katarina is helpless as Velex swings at her. She blacks out before feeling the impact.
* * *
When Katarina wakes up, her head hurts and the bright lamplight next to her isn't helping the situation. As her eyes adjust, she looks around at the grey cinderblock walls and the water dripping down from leaky pipes to the cold stone floor under her feet. A man is screaming from somewhere nearby sounding as if he's in terrible pain. Katarina is more concerned with her own fate. She's sitting in a metal chair with her arms secured behind her around the back of the chair. What happened? No matter how much she struggles, she can't pull free from the handcuffs and chains around her arms. Then she feels the warmth of a human body behind her.
The man speaks softly to her. "Take a deep breath."
She knows that voice. "Jarred? Oh, thank God."
"Focus on my voice and remain calm. Understand? Answer me."
"Yes, sir."
Through the back of the metal chair, Jarred is able to hold her hand despite the handcuffs. "I need you to remain silent and composed. I have to be able to depend on you like I would Jayce. I know this kind of situation is new to you, but I've dealt with it many times. The number one most important thing is to stay calm. Whoever has us trapped here, don't let them get to you."
"What's going on?" Katarina asks.
"You know as much as I do. Someone knocked us out and has chained us to these chairs."
She remembers the last thing she saw before it all went black. "Velex."
"Huh?"
"It was Velex. I saw him. He attacked you then turned on me when you were trying to calm me down outside the lab."
"I trusted that bastard." Jarred growls.
"We both did. Everyone did."
"Oh my God."
"What is it?" Katarina asks.
"Nova."
Oh no. "Maybe Zach got away."
He squeezes her hand tightly. "Can you sing?"
"What?"
"Usually when Jayce and I were held captive like this, he would sing in French to keep us calm."
"I guess I can try."
Just as she starts to sing, the door at the top of the steep stairs swings open and light spills down into the darkened room. A man holding a hammer descends the stairs and flips on the bright lights in the ceiling. "You're awake."
It's Zach. "Zach! Help us."
"I don't think he's here to free us, Kat." Jarred says.
Zach taps the hammer against the side of his leg as he circles around them with a dark grin on his lips. "You've done this before, Jarred. You know how the procedure goes. I ask you questions and you tell me what I need to know or I hurt you until you do. Simple and effective."
"And messy." Jarred quips.
"Okay, smart ass. You're first. Hold on. I want you two to see each other so you can watch the other squirm." Zach forces their hands apart and drags Katarina's chair over in front of Jarred. "There. Awe. You look so concerned. We haven't even gotten started."
"How can you do this?" Katarina asks. "I thought we were friends."
He roughly grabs her chin and forces her to look up at him. "Oh, angel, that's not how I do things. I've never had friends and I don't intend to start that now."
"So you and Velex have been working together this entire time?" Jarred asks.
"Velex? You think I'd ever work with that ignorant imbecile? I do have standards."
Jarred scoffs. "Says the man with a bloody hammer and two people chained to chairs in a basement."
"Okay, then. I can see this is about to get unpleasant."
Katarina asks a question she's scared to know the answer to. "Where is Velex?"
"You didn't hear his screams?"
"That was him?"
"He decided not to cooperate with my methods. You missed a lot when you two were unconscious. Velex wanted you for his own purposes, but as he got the jump on you, I got him and both of you as well. It was quite sneaky on my part. I'm actually really proud of that."
"Where's my daughter?" Jarred asks.
"In surgery."
His face turns red with anger. "Surgery? What the hell have you done? That's my daughter, you motherfucking bastard!"
"Language. And I'll have you know that while I am technically a bastard, I haven't been with any mothers."
He looks at Zach confusedly. "That's . . . insults just go right over your head, don't they?"
"You were trying to insult me? I don't understand."
Jarred sighs and rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot."
"Not nice, Jarred." Zach says.
"Stop playing games." Jarred says. "Let's get this started."
"So eager? While you may be accustomed to torture, your little android isn't. I'm going to break her and enjoy every second of it. You will learn that Zach Montgomery doesn't appreciate being scorned and thrown away in exchange for an archon."
What? She gasps. "Is that what this is about? You're jealous because I married Doss?"
"It's not jealousy. It's just revenge." Zach says. "But sadly, no. I'm not doing this only to hurt you. Fine. We'll get down to business. I want two things that I know you have. One of you knows where they are. First, I need the omega code. It was on a strip of microfilm in Byron Erikson's neck. Next, the rejuvenation ring which was also in his body. If you hand these items over or tell me their location, I will release you and you'll both be free to go."
16
The tears running down Katarina's cheeks only serve to burn in the long thin cuts from Zach's razorblade. She can't stop staring at the blood that has soaked through Jarred's shirt from his nose that looks to be broken. Dark bruises shine below both his eyes and sweat beads up on his face. His trembling is only getting worse, but he
shows no fear. Jarred is stalwart, steady, and somewhere else entirely in his mind. He is eerily removed from the pain and the fear, even as Zach brings the hammer down on his fingers. There is sickening crunch and popping sound. Now Jarred begins to silently cry.
Katarina closes her eyes. She can't stand to look at it any long. If she sees or smells any more blood, she is going to be sick. The scratching of Zach's shoes on the now sticky floor causes her to look at what horrible act is going to be brutally performed now. Her eyes meet the blood-crazed eyes of a man she used to care about and even slept with. They were friends and could have had such a wonderful future, but now those same hands that caressed her body are bruising her bare legs. The same body that she shared with him is being abused, defiled, and tormented.
Zach finishes cutting open the front of her camisole. "There. That's better, don't you think? What's wrong, Kat? You're shivering. Are you cold?" He goes into the corner and retrieves a bucket of ice cubes and water which he proceeds to dump over her body.
She screams as her skin turns pink then to red with the biting cold. Gritting her teeth to stop the chattering, Katarina knows she can't endure this for very long. She can't let Jarred down. He has already taken so much more than she has because he's been taunting Zach so he couldn't focus on her.
Zach yanks her hair forcefully. "Tell me where the ring is."
"I don't know."
"Listen, bitch, I can make you suffer. Maybe I'll start with this." He runs his hands up between her legs.
"Don't." Jarred orders. "That's too far even for you."
"Too far? No." Zach slides his fingers higher and roughly kisses her.
A searing pain shoots through her torso as his fingers drag the razorblade across her sensitive flesh. Every part of her body is screaming out for him to stop, but she knows that she has to be strong like Jarred. Finally, the pain stops as someone opens the door at the top of the stairs.
"Master Zach, Velex is ready to talk." A man calls down into the room.
"Perfect. I guess even the great Axel Velex can't take electricity for that long." Zach wipes his hands on Katrina's hair and slaps her twice across the face. "I'll be back for you, my angel."
An almost overwhelming sense of relief falls on Katarina as she listens to Zach leave. This isn't working. Nothing she can think about takes the pain away. She's failing herself and Jarred. Why can't she be stronger?
Paradise Awakened Trilogy Page 56
