by Sierra Cross
“Oh, Liv.” I moved to go to her, to take her hand, reassure her she had nothing to feel back about. “It’s gonna be okay—” My attempt to comfort her was cut off by the baton’s tip zapping the skin on my neck. Biting my tongue, I crashed to the cold floor. My teeth clenched, and my body shook. I closed my eyes, so I couldn’t see the tears rolling down Liv’s face. I was so powerless I couldn’t even offer my friend solace.
The techs dragged me toward the crate next to Bethany, shoved me in, and locked the door with a resounding mechanical click. With equally machine-like efficiency, they moved Matt and Asher into cells across the way, on the same side as Liv.
“Hope you love your new digs!” Callista spun on those Jimmy Choo’s, calling over her shoulder, “Someone will be in to give you dinner and then right to sleep. Don’t worry, we’ll give you some time to recoup before we get started.” Callista’s excitement as she marched out of the lab was palpable. Why? Maybe it was just as Hayden described. The Splinter sought revenge against the people Callie loved most. Or maybe Callista had plans for us. What could those be?
I’d told Liv everything would be okay, but of course, I was bluffing. Would we even live through this? I was starting to have my doubts.
A tech wheeled in a stainless-steel cart. Through the bars, he handed me a sippy cup of warm gruel.
“That stuff’s even grosser than you might imagine,” Liv said quietly from her crate. “But it’s all we get in here, so drink up.”
“Can’t be as foul as this is,” Griffin offered, waving his blood bag. “I don’t even want to know who I’m drinking.”
“My money’s on recently deceased lab rats,” Asher said, “and I don’t mean rodents.”
Yikes.
“That’s grim.” Matt raised his cup, swallowed, and made a face. “Grim, but probably accurate,” he added.
Griffin took a small sip and gagged. “I’d kill for a single-malt whiskey and a few minutes with Crystal.”
Gross as my gruel was, I drank up every last drop.
We all took turns trying to coax Bethany into drinking hers, but her small form remained motionless. Had she given up? If only we could reach her somehow…as bad as this was, at least my coven mates and I had each other.
A dark thought plunged itself into my consciousness. We had each other, yeah—because we were all doomed. And as coven leader, I’d made the final calls that led us to this fate. My friends had trusted me to captain this ship—and I’d sunk us. I had to live with that.
Even if it wasn’t for much longer.
I could feel the drain of the lodestone, cutting me off from my power and slowly sapping me of all my strength. Then the lights shut off. And I passed out.
The lights flipped on, and my eyes screamed in protest against the invasion. Every bruised muscle ached, but my heart hurt worse.
Within moments, the room buzzed with techs. Several elevator cars worth poured into the lab, and I caught snippets of ordinary conversation—what they saw at the facility’s movie theatre last night, plans for the weekends. One guy even stuck his phone in other people’s faces to show bragging photos of last night’s dinner. From their casual chatter, I’d gathered that they were being housed—in style—in the upper levels of the building. My hands itched with hot anger, though no magic came to me. These people were waltzing in like it was just another day at the office.
Then again, for them it was. I guessed you could make anything feel normal if you did it day after day. Even torture.
I felt almost grateful when a man and woman in white coats walked in and the techs’ conversation hushed. Doctors, I assumed.
I heard the click of heels before I saw her. Escorted by the same two beefy techs as yesterday, the Splinter strode up to us wearing that bright Callie grin like a mask.
“No!” Liv cried out. “Not again, no, no, no…”
My stomach lurched, remembering what they’d been doing to her.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, you won’t be alone today,” Callista said reassuringly. “You’ll have your coven for moral support. That’s all that matters to you light witches, right?”
The techs unlocked Liv’s cage and pulled her protesting body out. She wriggled and dug in her heels, refusing to move as the techs wrestled with her.
“Oh for gosh sake, just carry her.” The Splinter was short on patience. “Grab the big guy next, then the warlock. Leave Alix for last. She’s their coven leader, if you can believe it.” Her gaze darkened. “I want her to see where her brilliant leadership has taken them.”
She was just saying cruel things to get under my skin, I reminded myself. She hated our coven because Callie loved us. Still, I had to turn away so the Splinter wouldn’t see how powerfully those words hurt.
One by one the techs dragged my coven mates into a room off to the side. I waited my turn, willing the guilty lump in my throat to go away. I couldn’t afford to break down in tears right now. Finally, they came for me, grabbing me roughly under the arms and leading me out of my crate.
The room they put us in had a picture window, like the one the witches had trained in. But where that room had been cavernous, ours was smaller than Asher’s guest room. Inside, it resembled an empty white box with a system of built-in, state-of-the-art restraints across the back wall. Matt, Asher, and Liv stood against the wall with their feet bound at the ankles and their wrists cuffed over their heads. The tech roughly shoved me into place next to Matt, adjusted the cuffs for my height and secured me to the wall. We turned to each other and his dark eyes searched mine in sympathy. I had to fight against the heavy shame and despair I felt—her brilliant leadership—to meet his gaze.
And that’s when I realized that what I didn’t feel in this room was lodestone. My magic was moving in my body, the sensation comforting. I welcomed it like a long-lost friend. Through our coven bond, I could feel all our energies swirling together. Hope rushed into my chest, intoxicating me. Maybe it would be enough to overpower Callista and her techs, and we could fight our way out?
The door opened, and Daria walked in, rolling an equipment cart in front of her. It held two monitors attached to plastic arms, a keyboard shelf, and several storage shelves lower down. Her long, lean body was clad in the same stretchy jumpsuit as other techs, but her jumpsuit was black with white piping. She also wore a holster with a number of different gadgets I couldn’t identify…and one I could: the grey alchemic cutter gun.
“You’re late.” The Splinter tapped her heel.
“Sorry,” Daria said, but didn’t give an excuse. She kept her gaze on the monitors, refusing to look at us.
“Well, this just got interesting,” Asher whispered.
“Next time you will have them in place and ready to go prior to my arrival,” the Splinter scolded. “Don’t just stand there, get to it. We’ll start with the skin penetration technique. I’ve been dying to try that one.”
If we were going to act, now was the time. I sent a pulse of power to my coven mates through our bond. Liv let out a little gasp of relief. I looked, at Matt hoping he’d follow my lead. I didn’t know if I could call my magic with my hands tied, but I sure as hell was going to try.
“Silly, Alix,” Callista teased. “Did you forget? I’m part of that bond too.”
Crap. How could I have forgotten that she would feel it too?
“But you’ve got the right idea. I do want that magic of yours swirling all pretty for me.” She waggled a finger at Daria. “That’s exactly why you can’t be late, missy. We need to prevent any shenanigans they will undoubtedly try.”
“Daria, you minx,” Asher said. “If you’d wanted me tied up, all you needed to do was ask.”
Ignoring him, Daria reached into a cardboard box from her cart and scooped a handful of small white discs that looked like wireless electrodes. Briskly she began attaching them in various points on our bodies. It didn’t hurt, but with each new disc, I felt the flow of my magic being cut off further till, like a horse corralled, it could on
ly wander a few inches in any direction. The rogue Fidei agent pulled an ultrathin tablet computer from her pocket and ran her fingers over the screen. My magic was still alive inside me, feeding every cell in my body, only now it moved at her command. Daria jerked her finger up, my magic followed. Down or sideways, it always followed. Rage stirred my blood, mingled with wonder that Fidei technology had reached this point; she’d caged something that was by nature meant to move freely inside my body. I felt like a wild beast that had been captured. It sickened me further to know Daria was probably taking pleasure in this.
“Daria, luv, I know you have your fetishes.” Asher tried in vain to engage her. “But this is a bit extreme even for you. Thank goodness we have a safe word, or I’d be worried right now.”
Still ignoring her former lover, Daria moved with technical precision, affixing larger versions of the electrodes to either side of the Splinter’s head. And, whoosh, my magic snapped to attention, moving without my permission. The Splinter was now directing our energy with her mind.
“Asher, you were always full of bluster,” the Splinter said. “Daria, why don’t we test the levels out on him before we begin.”
Was it my imagination or did Daria blanch?
“Go ahead,” the Splinter coaxed. “Don’t be shy. We all know you’ve heard Asher moan in pain before.”
Daria sucked in a sharp breath and walked resolutely toward Asher. She held out a thin plastic tube, like a scientific wand instead of a magic wand, touched it to the electrode on the side of his head, then pulled it back. A strip of light along one side flared to life, and Asher winced, cursing under his breath.
“Stop playing around and test it,” Callista demanded.
Daria placed the tip on the electrode on Asher’s left temple and slid her thumb up the length of the wand. Asher clenched his teeth and groaned as the lights on the wand flashed.
“Beautiful, Daria.” Callista smiled serenely. Then, out of nowhere, her face did that weird twitch again. What was going on with her? It was like she kept losing control…and part of me couldn’t help but hope that it was Callie in there, making herself known. My coven sister could never stand by and watch while her friends suffered. But did Callie have enough strength remaining to move their body?
It was just as likely if not more so that the Splinter was simply bat-shit crazy.
“Pineapple,” Asher croaked. “For the love of god, pineapple.”
What? I blinked at him. Why was he yelling about tropical fruit? Oh. Pineapple had been their safeword. It would be funny…if our situation weren’t so dismal.
“All the way,” the Splinter coaxed, and Daria moved her thumb again. Asher’s face twisted as his body thrashed.
“System checks out, no energy leaks.” Daria’s voice held no trace of emotion. “We’re good to go.” She pulled her thumb off the wand, and Asher went slack in his restraints.
“Bad girl, Daria. You’re not. Playing. By the rules.” Asher was trying to duct tape his bravado together, but his raspy voice betrayed the pain he felt.
Daria didn’t even look in his direction as she retreated to her monitor. She nodded at the Splinter. “It’s your show, Callista.”
“Oh, yeah, this is more like it.” Callista’s eyes rolled back in her head with pleasure. “That’s some power. Tenebris is gonna be so impressed.” I thought back to her wistful looks at the witches’ training session. Was her entire goal to prove her worth with Tenebris? In a way, it was pathetic. “He’ll forget about his dumb hybrid babies and make an army of Splinters…probably put me in charge of them all.”
I decided then and there that I wouldn’t let her do this. We couldn’t allow her to become stronger because of us. I pulled up hard on a flow of energy, willing it to stay with me—and to my surprise, it worked. I felt my coven mates do the same.
“Now, see, that’s what got Liv into trouble last time.” The Splinter’s voice was low and sharp. “I’ll give you one more chance to be nice.”
“You can’t make us give you our power,” Matt spat the words at her.
“Ha. Funny. That’s exactly what Liv said, too,” Callista said. “But you’re both very wrong, in need of correction as it were. Should we show them, Liv?” She walked over and ran a finger across Liv’s jawline. A blush of green magic shone on Liv’s skin, and her eyes flew open wide as she struggled to pull away from the touch. Callista turned to Matt. “How would you like a guardian-sized dose of correction?”
Matt’s gaze was defiant. “I don’t care what you do to me.”
“No, I’m sure you don’t.” the Splinter said in a pouty voice. Then she ran her finger down to the center of Liv’s chest. “But I bet you care what I do to her.” The green filament of power surged from her finger into Liv’s heart. My coven sister screamed in pain. Her face reddened, and her breath caught. The Splinter’s head did a double twitch, and the green filament vanished. Hope surged into my lungs like oxygen. It was Callie, had to be—no doubt using every ounce of energy she had left to try to stop this.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The Splinter shook it off and continued, pointing a finger at me. “Or how about her, guardian?” Without waiting for an answer, she launched a single strand of green power straight at my left eye.
It cut like a skewer plunging into my skull. Pain roared through me, then searing heat. Though I tried not to yell, a shriek escaped me. It felt like my eyeball was boiling in its socket.
“Stop!” Matt yelled.
Asher strained against his cuffs, his tattoos shifting back and forth in a strange windshield-wiper motion I’d never seen before. “We’ll do whatever you want!”
I felt a flood of magic surge forward into the Splinter, and my own power was swept into the current. At that moment, I knew she had us. None of us could bear to see anyone in our coven tortured.
And yet, right in front of us but just out of sight, our Callie was being tortured all the time.
“I forgot about your fancy Chimerian magic, warlock,” the Splinter mused, her rosy lips pouting. “It runs at a different frequency, doesn’t it? Lodestone doesn’t quite dampen it all the way.”
It didn’t? Asher could still access his magic...sort of? My mind raced with the possibilities. Till I turned to Asher, who looked like a man whose dog had just died.
“I couldn’t say anything in the lab,” he said. “I knew they were listening. I was waiting for the right time to use it.”
“Good thing we stopped that bad idea dead in its tracks.” The Splinter broke into a mockery of a warm smile. “A little adjustment to your containment, and we’ll make sure that if you access your tattoos’ magic it will burn you up from the inside out. Roasted Asher, yum.” She closed her eyes as if in concentration. “Whoa.” The Splinter slapped her hand on the wall to steady herself as the flood of our combined power suddenly hit her. She groaned with delight, eyes rolling slightly back in her head. I gagged and struggled for breath, thick-tongued and woozy. It felt like my very soul was being vacuumed from my body. It went on and on for what felt like an eternity. Daria kept her stare fixed on her monitors. I would have expected her to want to see what she was a party to, but she kept her eyes down. Maybe at this point, it was all just business to her.
“There it is,” Callista said as the rate of magical current slowed. “That’s some sweet juice, my little battery packs! And people said this coven was useless.”
Then it was over. I was a husk of a witch, the restraints the only thing keeping me upright. Asher groaned, and Liv quietly sobbed.
Daria pulled the electrodes from our skin in quick swipes, only getting as close as she absolutely had to. “I’m going to go input these results.” She pushed toward the door like she couldn’t get far enough away from this room.
Not from the room. From what she’d just done. She wasn’t enjoying this, I realized. Maybe torturing someone she knew and liked, Asher, had been too much even for her?
Callista waved her away, seemingly in a trance of pleasu
re as she took in the feel of our magic running in her body. Her eyes glowed green and electric current seemed to be playing with the ends of her hair. “Liv by herself was always so stingy. And her magic was bitter and metallic.” She took in a slow breath, heady with the boost she’d just received. “This is exactly what I need. I can change everything with this. You’ll see. My power will make his precious witches look like a bunch of loser—” Her smile twitched and stretched, and her head shook violently, so fast her face blurred like a scene from a freaking horror movie.
Callie. It had to be Callie.
Instead of finishing her thought this time, the Splinter glowered and snapped her fingers. Her techs scuttled in. “Darn it, it’s already fading,” she cursed to herself. Of course it would fade, I realized. Magic wasn’t meant to be captured this way. It would fight its way out of Callista sooner rather than later. In frustration, she waved her hand, and all our restraints released at once. Rendering us to heaps on the floor.
It took great effort to turn my head and look at the rest of my coven. They all looked as wrung out as I felt. With no danger of us running off, the guards dragged us one by one back to the elevator and into our home-sweet-cages.
Thankfully Bethany was passed out when we arrived.
Griffin’s crate sat empty, a sight that made my pulse race with worry. Where had they taken the vampire? Now that they’d already used his blood to reactivate the amulet, what were they doing to him? His kind was hard to kill, yeah—but that made them perfect subjects for medical experimentation.
