by Jaime Rush
“She has nothing to do with whatever plan you’ve got cooked up. Leave her out of this.”
“Can’t do that. Like you, she’s trouble. You’ll have to be satisfied with your sister’s safety.”
The thought of Violet dying crushed Kade’s heart. All he could hope for was that she was clever and strong enough to evade them.
The man—Purcell, he thought his name was—opened the box and grabbed a black thing the size of a cockroach that tried to jump out. It wriggled in his hand where he held it tight.
“No doubt you’ve heard of the Black Bore Orb,” the man said, as though they were having polite conversation.
Every cell in Kade’s body froze. “Stories about them. I’ve never seen one.”
“Well, you are about to get to know one very well. It bores into a person’s memories, fracturing them like a mirror being hit over and over, until all the pieces are so fragmented, they make no sense at all.”
Ferro stared at the orb with gruesome fascination. “Will it hurt?”
“I don’t think it’s terribly painful, per se, if their hands are bound and they can’t scratch at their heads or eyes to tear the thing out. It’s hard to tell. The recipient always screams, but I believe that to be the result of the chaos of distorted memories that’s going on in their minds.” The man turned back to Kade. “Soon it won’t matter because your mind will be gone.”
Was that supposed to comfort him? Kade couldn’t take his eyes from the squirming orb, so eager to do its job.
Ferro asked, “How long will it take?”
“In three hours’ time, his mind will give up trying to make sense of what doesn’t make sense.”
Ferro’s expression turned grim. “Do it.”
The man stepped forward. Kade tried to evade him, jerking his head away. But he felt it drive into his ear with a suction sound, muffling everything but the horrid scrabbling sound as it pushed its way into his brain. He hit his head against the wall, trying to dislodge it. Pain washed through him, but it didn’t stop the orb.
Memories tumbled through his mind, like a deck of cards thrown up into the air. Mentally he grabbed for them, as though he could keep them safe. He latched onto one: making love to Violet. He saw her beautiful face as he touched her, kissed her…and then she fractured.
Chapter 18
Mia walked into Headquarters, passing through the secure side door with her identity card and walking into the pit area. Violet walked in right behind her, so close she could smell the woman’s shampoo.
Several officers who were clustered together looked up, and their conversation came to an abrupt halt. They stared at Mia, some with pity, some with derision.
Nobody saw Violet. She was surrounded by a glass orb, similar to the illusion orb Kade had created on the Slade property. Mia said it made whatever it contained invisible and was better suited for well-lighted areas than the mirror orb. It looked as fragile as a bubble, the same way the mirror orb had. Violet kept her hands at her sides, afraid to accidentally poke it and have it burst.
Ferro came out of the unmarked door leading to the prison area. Violet knew the layout, had imprinted it during the short drive from the marina. The prison was on the third floor, up a dedicated passage.
Ferro’s face was pale and drawn, but he recovered his cool expression when he saw Mia approaching.
“I want to see him,” she said, her voice filled with emotion Violet knew was genuine.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. He had a reaction to the anti-psychotic meds. I’d rather you wait until he calms down.”
“No, I want to see him now.” Her voice was raised, shrill enough for anyone in the pit area to hear. And they did, turning their way.
“Very well, but it’s not pretty.”
This is probably the first time Kade has been called unpretty, Violet thought with an edge of hysteria.
Everywhere signs warned RESTRICTED ACCESS. Ferro led the way past the double doors that housed the morgue. Violet shivered.
He’s not in there.
But Ryan and Jessup would be waiting on the other side of the rear exit. Mia said there were usually only one or two employees in there at any given time. Violet took note of where the fire stairs came out, almost across from the morgue. Good.
Squeezing into the elevator scared the hell out of Violet, who held her breath as the door slid soundlessly closed. The lurch of her stomach had nothing to do with the quick lift of the car to the third floor. The door opened to a security station armed with a guard. Violet bet the wall separating the small foyer and the prison consisted of bulletproof glass. Maybe even magick-proof glass, if there was such a thing.
Ferro signed in for both himself and Mia. The guard on the other side of the glass punched in a code that Violet memorized. Once the door slid open, he gave a respectful nod to Ferro, but his eyes narrowed as he assessed Mia. Could he sense Violet? The door closed with a loud clang, snapping against the bubble.
Please hold, please, please, pretty please.
Mia glanced back, her expression tight. They followed Ferro down a hall lined with cells, two guards monitoring the area. One greeted Mia with a nod that indicated recognition. When Violet had hoped Mia could use her connections, she explained that once she’d chosen not to remain in the prison, the staff cut ties to her. A necessary prejudice, she said, as the prison and psych ward staff didn’t mix with the other Guard staff.
Several prisoners sat or stood around in their cells, coming to attention when they caught sight of Mia. Violet had seen movies where the convicts hooted and hollered when a woman entered their domain, but these did not. Mostly men, one woman, and more empty cells than filled ones. No Kade.
They turned the corner, finding another security checkpoint. This man wore a white uniform, and his shaved head reflected the harsh fluorescent lights above.
“Back already?” he said to Ferro, then took note of Mia.
“Beckett, this is Kavanaugh’s sister. She wants to see him.”
Something in his eyes softened with pity. “I would say ‘good to see you again,’ but it doesn’t seem quite appropriate, does it?” His mouth tightened when he looked at Ferro as he stood and pulled out the keys.
Violet sized him up. He was big, muscular, but she could take the Deuce. Mia had described the cuff that the orderly would use to restrain an out-of-control inmate. It hung from his belt and gleamed with Lucifer’s Gold.
There were no other prisoners—or were they considered patients here? No other staff either. That would make things easier. Violet took note of the emergency exit door that led to the fire stairs.
Three cells down, Ferro stopped and faced a window reinforced with wire mesh. Mia gasped, throwing her hands against the glass. The bubble shimmered as she lost her focus on it.
“Mia,” Violet whispered. The bubble started to disintegrate.
Mia jerked her head to Violet, who stood beside Ferro. The bubble snapped together again. Only then could Violet turn to look at what had upset Mia so badly.
She couldn’t gasp, couldn’t breathe. Kade, bound in a straightjacket, banged his head against the wall and uttered words that made no sense. They funneled out through a speaker.
“Bore…bore.” He let out a groan. “Don’t leave, no. No!”
Ferro pressed the button, which muted it. “He’s been muttering nonsense since we brought him here.”
“This is from a reaction to a drug?” Mia nearly shouted to Beckett, her hands curled at her sides.
“We had to get him under control quickly,” he said in an unconvincing tone.
“What drug? What did you give him?” Mia asked in the same high-pitched tone.
“Just a standard pharmaceutical. I’ve never seen a reaction like this before.” He consulted a chart. “It’s—”
Kade threw himself at the window, hitting his forehead so hard that it cut the skin and left a bloody smear across the glass. His eyes were wide, but they flickered with recognition at Mia. Vi
olet saw the stark fear in those eyes and…something else. She blinked and focused on them. Not the mist, but something dark moving across his irises. Mia saw it, too. And from the horrified expression on her face, she knew what it meant.
“That’s enough,” Ferro said. “It’s hard for me to watch him. I imagine it’s much more painful for—”
The bubble disintegrated at the same moment Mia sent a wall of hot, sharp magick at Ferro. He stumbled and fell, taken off guard. Violet Catalyzed and rammed him before he could even begin to get to his feet. He skidded down the hall, arms and legs flailing.
“Open one of the empty cells, Beckett!” Mia ordered, pinning him against the wall with a magick “net.” She grabbed the cuff, unsnapping it the way she might have many times in her stint here, and tossed it to Violet.
Beckett nodded and pulled out a card like the one Mia had used. He swiped it in the lock of the cell beside Kade’s, and the door opened.
Ferro vibrated, about to Catalyze as Violet approached. He was a First Gen, and from the scales she saw shimmer at his skin’s surface, an Obsidian Dragon. She launched at him and slapped the cuff on his wrist. He yanked her, sending her crashing to the floor with him.
He got a good look at her. “How in the hell…”
She shoved him into the cell and opened her mouth to tear out his throat. A force, hot and heavy, pushed her back out into the hallway and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked all by itself.
How in the hell right back at you.
“Violet, I need help!”
Mia was struggling with Kade, who was now out of his cell and dashing himself against the walls.
Beckett was still held in the net, though he didn’t seem to be doing much to break free and stop them. He only gave them a sympathetic look as they pulled Kade down the hall to the fire exit. They weren’t going to risk the elevator, navigating the stairs instead. Not easy with a thrashing Kade.
They burst out of the fire exit door, and Violet whistled the Get ready! signal the moment she opened the door. Jessup’s presence inside the room surprised her, but only a little. The plan had been for her brothers to wait outside, but Jessup had never been one to follow directions. He helped them get Kade through the morgue. Ryan held the other door, and Violet barely noticed the man tied up on one of the exam tables, a terrified look on his face.
“How’d you get in?” Violet asked once they exited.
“Guy came out for a cig break. We were ready; we saw the butts all over the ground.”
They pulled Kade toward Violet’s SUV. Ryan opened the back door, pushed Kade in, then followed him, having to fight him the whole way. Even with his arms immobile. Mia climbed in with them. Jessup and Violet jumped into the front seats, and she sped off.
Ryan sat on Kade, holding down his shoulders. “What the hell did they do to him?”
“Bore!” Mia cried, her wide eyes going to Violet. “That’s what he said, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, but I have no idea—”
“Bore orb! Oh, gods.” She gasped, covering her mouth. “I see it in his eyes.”
“Mia, what’s a bore orb?”
“It’s an orb. Oh, gods, oh, gods…”
“Yeah, I got that.” Violet was about to explode. “I saw something dark moving in the mist of his eyes. What does it do?”
“I’ve never seen one, only heard about them. They come from Shadow Magick. Black magick,” she clarified. “It bores into a person’s mind, makes them insane.”
Violet shot a quick look at Kade, who was moving the only thing he could beneath Ryan’s weight: his head.
“Dad… ,” he uttered, pain in his voice.
“How do we get it out of him?” Violet asked.
“I…don’t know.” The first bit of hope lit Mia’s face. “I can call my professor in the Guard Academy. She knows about Shadow Magick.”
“Try not to sound too freaked out. You don’t want to raise suspicion.”
Mia’s hands were shaking as she went through her contact list on her phone. “Professor Double, it’s Mia Kavanaugh…good, thanks.” Mia grimaced at the lie. “I need your help on…a case. Someone was given a Black Bore Orb…yeah, it’s awful.” Her voice broke. “We need to know how to get it out.…No, we aren’t in a position to bring the patient to you. Can you talk me through it?”
Mia nodded as she listened. “Uh-huh…oh. I don’t know how long ago he got it, but—”
“He called me two hours ago,” Violet whispered. “I think that’s when he was caught.”
“Two hours, probably less.” Mia’s face fell again. “We have to try. All right, I’ll call if I need you.”
“Should we take Kade to this person?” Violet asked.
“No, she’s bound by duty to report it.”
Violet searched for a place to pull over. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Keep going. Where are we going, anyway?”
“To the Fringe. It’s our territory…when they come for us.” She knew they would. “We need to bring Kade back around before then. What did she say?”
Mia straddled Kade, but he continued to buck and refused to calm down. “It’s not good, not good at all. It’s going to, oh, gods…”
Ryan shook her shoulders. “Calm down and speak, woman!”
Mia’s eyes blinked, and she took a breath. “The Bore splinters a person’s memories. Three hours after getting it, Kade will be insane.”
“What if we stop it before then?” Violet asked.
“I don’t know. The outcome sounds iffy.”
Jessup said, “Do you want me to drive? You’re looking back there more than you’re watching the road. And all of your blood just left your head. You’re as pale as a swamp lily.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll watch to make sure we aren’t being followed. You watch the road. Ryan and Mia can handle Kade.”
Violet wanted to be back there with them, but there was nothing she could do. The glow of Mia’s magick in the rearview mirror caught Violet’s eye. Mia created a clear, glassy orb like the one she’d made to camouflage Violet, only smaller. She leaned forward, her eyes pinched shut as she concentrated. “Come on, come out of there, damn you,” she said, her voice grinding with her effort.
Minutes dragged by as Violet tried to keep her focus on the road. It sounded as though Mia were wrestling with a demon back there.
“You’re getting it!” Ryan said. “It looks like a black bug coming out of his ear.”
Mia screamed.
“Damn, it went back in. Mia, get hold of yourself and try again,” Ryan said.
Violet gripped the wheel, frustration at Mia growing.
“Okay, I will,” she said, her voice resolute. She formed the bubble again, grunting with the effort. A thousand minutes passed, it seemed.
“It’s coming out again.” Ryan braced his hands on her shoulders, leaning over her to watch. “Stay with it, Mia. Don’t freak out.”
With a gasp, Mia fell backward against Ryan. The orb floated, containing a disgusting-looking bug thing crawling inside.
“Kill it!” Violet screamed. Bugs she didn’t care about, but that thing terrified her.
Mia straightened and, with her hands, sent a dark orb that swallowed up the clear one. With a loud smack both orbs disappeared.
“Kade!” Mia leaned forward, out of Violet’s view. “Kade, can you hear me?”
“Is he conscious?” Violet asked, her heart teetering between fear and hope. She could hear him murmuring, but it sounded like nonsense.
“No. He’s not in pain anymore, not making that horrible grimace anyway. Kade!”
More murmurings, no actual response.
“Is he still fighting?” Violet asked.
“He’s struggling to get out of the straightjacket. I’m afraid to release him.”
Violet shook her head. “No, leave it on, as awful as it is. We need to keep him constrained while we’re on the road.”
The bore wasn’t in there
destroying his mind anymore. Violet took comfort in that as it took friggin’ forever to get home. But how much was gone, destroyed, altered?
Once they reached the less congested roads of the Fringe, Violet sped. They drove past her ma, who was pulling weeds in the flower beds. She stood, giving her a curious look at the sight of Ryan and a strange woman crouched in the backseat. Violet gave her a wave and bright smile but didn’t pause to talk. Gods, if she only knew…
Her brothers carried Kade into her home. His legs were stable enough to stand, but his eyes…hardly any mist, no sign of recognition now as he twisted in his constraints.
Violet stepped forward, trying to figure out how to free him. Mia helped as they unbuckled the straps.
Jessup said, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Violet gritted her teeth at the effort. “Yes. I can’t stand him in this thing for another second.”
It took several seconds, but she and Mia finally unraveled the thing. Kade fought them, pushed them back, and flung the jacket.
“Kade,” Violet said, standing a foot in front of him. “Kade, look at me.”
He did, his eyes wild. Suddenly he swung his hands out, and Jessup pulled her out of the way as magick shot out and shattered her ceiling light. He blew Ryan back against the table with another blast.
“Die, you son of a bitch!” Kade shouted, manifesting his dagger. He saw something, but it wasn’t them.
“He’s caught in a memory fragment,” Violet said. “Not fighting you but someone in his past.”
Ryan picked himself up as Kade swung the dagger in arcs. “That doesn’t help keep my ass in one piece.” He slapped his hand against his chest. “My Dragon wants out bad.”
“No, your Dragon will kill him.” She turned to Kade. “Kade!”
He stopped, looking past her, as though he’d heard a distant sound.
“Stop, Kade.” She walked closer to him. “It’s Vee. Do you remember me?”
He took her in, narrowing his eyes. Yes, she was reaching him.
“Kade, please stop fighting. You’re safe now.” She put her hand to his cheek. “Please.”
He said something unintelligible and raised his dagger again. Jessup knocked him back, sending him rolling over her coffee table and onto the couch where they’d…
