Empath Reborn

by J. A. Culican

  His smile fades, but his voice is no less confident as he replies, "That's where you're wrong. Firstly, I am sorry you feel trying to save him is somehow disrespectful to his memory. He was a good man."

  Talon mutters, "Despite being a Shade. And that got him killed."

  Dawson nods slowly. "Yes, I understand what you're saying. But being a good man, as you put it, only got him killed because of this war. And that leads me to my second point—"

  "Which is?" I glare at Dawson, unflinching.

  "Simply this, my dear girl. Magic alone failed to resurrect the ones we chose for our first attempts, and our successes were only temporary at best. But I've spent most of my life working on a machine to harness that magic and then amplify it."

  "Amplify magic? Like some artifacts can?" asks Talon.

  "No, those just increase how much power is channeled through the one casting the spell. My machine is like a transistor, amplifying the magical energy without increasing how much the caster must try to channel. It has to synchronize that energy's wavelength to create a harmony with the subject's own brain waves—which is just energy—which we can see by applying a small amount of electricity to the brain's—"

  "Dammit, stop fancying it up and tell me what you think it'll do, or get out of our way." I hate it when people try to bamboozle me with B-S.

  "Right. Okay, never mind all the technical aspects. The point is that, after spending a lifetime and several fortunes on this, I finally made my machine work. We can raise the dead. We can give back everyone we lost prematurely due to some Shade's fireball, or from some Wraith's telekinesis. Coincidentally, the same magic restores their bodies and brain tissue to whatever state it was in when they died."

  Talon's mouth makes an O-shape. "Even brain tissues?"

  Meredith says, "There wouldn't be much point otherwise, since brain tissue begins decaying almost immediately after death. No one wants their loved ones to come back with a half-melted brain."

  Talon pauses, but to my joy, he furrows his eyebrows as he says through clenched teeth, "If this machine is such a miracle, then why haven't you brought Luka back yet? Show me who you've made it work on, if not him."

  I could almost cheer. He's not buying it, either.

  But then, Dawson replies, "Unfortunately, it requires a particular kind of magic. Specifically, a telepath of—"

  "Shades have telepaths,” Talon objects. “Next excuse, please."

  Meredith shakes her head and puts her hand on Dawson's shoulder. "Not just any telepath will do. It has to be one with abilities... How do I say this? Abilities that are relevant. It must be someone whose magic relates to death."

  My knees buckle and I stagger back a step, putting one hand on a countertop to brace myself. They can only be talking about one person. Me. This was all a setup to get me here.

  Were Glenn and Ida in on it? My eyes click over to stare at them, but just like Talon, they're staring at me with shocked expressions. Glenn has one hand held out toward me like he can save me, while Ida's face has gone three shades paler. They didn't know they were being used to bait a trap. That makes me feel a little better. Not much, though.

  "You'll die before you touch her." Talon’s sword is out in a flash, its lethal point aimed at Luna. Both Glenn and Ida step between me and the Shades with hands on their weapons.

  My hands find their way to my daggers, as well. I glare at Luna with narrowed eyes. She killed Luka, and I've never wanted to hurt anyone before her. I almost welcome the coming battle, despite the odds. "I'll kill you myself before I go down, Luna. I swear it on Luka's memory and on my Gift."

  She laughs at my threat, but as her laughter echoes in my ears, I can hear the fear buried beneath it. I grin at her. "I've seen your death at my hands, Luna. I don't care much what happens to me after that."

  Her expression loses its cocky sneer, and her face pales for a second. Then, she steps toward me, her face twisting in outrage.

  I draw the two knives destined to kill her, relishing the sensation of their etched hilts in my hands, and I grin because, for her at least, I know how this will end.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I take a step toward Luna, and my friends follow my lead as the Shades move toward us in response. Meredith bolts to the far side of the room. Dawson, however, doesn't run. He steps between us and them.

  "Get out of my way, Dawson. If you try to control me, you die first." I'm deadly serious, too.

  In the back of my head, I wonder how I became this person who attacks instead of freezing up, but I know I'm still not brave. I'm just a desperate person in a desperate situation.

  "No," he replies flatly. “Ela, stop and think. Look past the hate and consider the future you want for the world. Making peace is the right thing to do, and you know it. Your powers... With my machines, you can restore life to cancer patients. War victims. People around the world dying unfairly. Don't they deserve a second chance? Work with me, and you can give it to them."

  I glare at him. He's pushing the right buttons, and though I know he's manipulating me, he could be right. I hadn’t considered that aspect. I lower my dagger tips, just an inch, caught by his words. Maybe we could—

  From the corner of my eye, I see Luna's expression shift from angelic to cunning, her eyes narrowing a bit, lips pursing in anticipation. The glance she shoots Dawson behind his back speaks volumes. I've seen that look before, the day Luka died. People are who they are, and as long as Luna leads them, peace is just a fantasy.

  "Dawson, I respect what you're trying to do," I say, forcing myself to relax. I can't look tense. But I also have to at least try to save Dawson from his own naivety. "But Luna can't be trusted. She'll murder you the first chance she gets, and then the only people your machines will save are the ones she thinks are useful to her goal of conquering the world.”

  "Aw, Mirela, you wound me," Luna says, smirking, though her voice sounds utterly sincere. Dawson can't see her because he's watching me, but I can. A savage grin crosses her face. "You wound me, but you won't kill me. Shades, go get them. Bring her alive. I don't care about the rest."

  Dawson's expression shifts from hope to shock as her words seem to penetrate his thick skull.

  I'm not waiting for them to attack first, though. Before she even finishes her evil-villain monologue, I bolt for the only way out, the one window left halfway uncovered. As I rush toward it, I fling one of my throwing daggers at it to shatter the glass.

  The hilt strikes it just as I'd planned, but it bounces off. For a split second, my mind doesn't process what I see, but then I realize why. Safety glass—thick and embedded with wire, like they use in schools.

  I skid to a halt, turning. My friends, hot on my heels, nearly run into me as they stagger to a stop, too. We all look at Talon, as if he's going to see some way out we don't.

  He only shrugs and turns around as he gets into a combat crouch. Glenn and Ida spread out to his sides.

  Talon says over his shoulder, "Don't let them get her, no matter what it costs. Ela, use your Gift and forget about your knives. We need your magic more."

  They nod back at him, looking grimmer than I've ever seen either of them. I think we all know we aren't getting out of here without a fight where the odds are stacked against us. They outnumber us by two, and one of them is Luna herself. There's no way I'm going to put away my knives, no matter what Talon says.

  As the Shades approach us, Dawson staggers out of the way, horrified.

  Talon looks back at me. "I said, put them away. The only chance the rest of us have is if you weaken them all. Drain what you can from all of them at once."

  I've never tried that. Still, he has a point. Killing Luna may be my destiny, but will it matter if I get the rest of my friends killed when I do? I tuck my blades away, even knowing it probably means Luna gets to live to fight me again someday. At least that fact gives me hope that we'll be able to fight our way clear of this mess.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I quickly chec
k my friends. In front, Talon has his shorter sword out, standing crouched and ready to burst into action. Glenn has dual daggers rather than his sword, which is a good choice in the tight confines of this lab. His body language shows his fear, though, as he stands sideways to the Shades with his shoulders hunched. Ida has a short-spear in her hands, which she could only have stashed under her jacket, broken down into sections. Cute trick.

  Talon calls back, "Ela, work on that window and do your thing. We'll hold them off."

  He sounds dead serious, but it’s absurd. There are six Shades, including Luna, facing off against my three friends. Without my help, they'll lose quickly. We'll probably lose with my help, too, but hopefully we can make them pay for their victory.

  And who knows? We could get lucky. I ignore him and ready my blades, making sure my throwing knives are accessible in their hidey-spaces.

  I'm suddenly hit with a vision—a lightning bolt arcing up from the metal floor, through Ida, lighting her up.

  "Ida, jump," I shout, stepping toward her, and then I remember not to touch her.

  Sure enough, a thick, forking bolt of electricity shoots up from the floor—but Ida's feet already broke contact. With her mid-air, the electric bolt zaps up to the ceiling and disappears, leaving temporarily blinded by a bright, white light. From the corner of my eye, though, I see the Shade who did it. He’s the deadliest threat in here right now.

  Talon is watching Luna, and Glenn is facing away from Ida, so I'm the only one who sees the electric Shade. But at least Ida's still alive.

  I'm immediately hit with another vision. Same situation, but this time, it's Glenn I see getting fried. I cock back my arm to throw one of my daggers, but I don't have a clear shot. Talon's head is in the way. Dammit, if they weren't trying to block me in, I could throw—

  Another idea hits me. I fling out my hand to help me focus and hold my breath. Desperation and more practice hours than I can count make a strong connection between me and Electricity Guy even before I recognize the feeling of his energy and mine connecting.

  The sudden burst of magical power makes my head reel, but I'm turbo-charged with his energy.

  In my peripheral vision, I see the Shades spread out to fight each of my friends. Luna hangs back, of course, watching and waiting for an opportunity. Ida faces off against one, while Talon and Glenn each face two Shades.

  Glenn gets knocked out of place by a flying filing cabinet—Luna's work, I think—and Electricity Guy turns to face him, grinning while his partner edges his way toward me through the gap that leaves, despite Talon's best efforts to make that space a dangerous place for him to be.

  My vision tells me what's about to happen, but it's not fated. I can change it. I square my shoulders and will my newly expanded energy into draining more from my target. I have to pull enough of his power that he can't fry my friends with his electricity bolts.

  I realize too late that it won’t be enough. He drops and hits his knees, but his eyes still glow.

  I need more power to drain him faster. Fine. I can do this. I reach out with only my mind, intent on drawing energy from all the Shades. I can't drain them completely, but I gather enough magic.

  Abruptly, his glowing eyes go dull, and I get a strange sensation. He's like a toy making its final, weak spin at the end of its battery charge, and my connection with him vanishes. Poof, it's gone.

  The effect on me is immediate. Like in a game of tug-of-war where the other side lets go of the rope, I stagger back, slamming into the wall. The effect on him is just as immediate, but a lot different—he flops over on his side, vacant eyes staring at me from a fear-etched face, and doesn’t move again.

  I look around, dazed, but I can't make sense of anything. My power is a whirlwind inside my head, and my thoughts spin around with it. They’re going nowhere as I try to understand what just happened.

  Hands under my arms help me get up, and I mumble my thanks. Then it hits me that they should be fighting the shades, not helping me. I look up to say as much, but then I freeze. The helping hands aren't theirs. Two Shades are holding me up, and I hadn't even seen them coming.

  Glenn is struggling to his feet, too, but no Shades face him. He must have let my two get through, but I can’t be too angry about it. I know he did his best. In a way, I'm glad because, if they hadn't come for me while I was down, Glenn would likely be dead now.

  Luna, facing Talon and the others, points at me. "Shades, stop," she commands, and the ones fighting step back, just out of range of Talon’s and Ida’s weapons.

  Talon glances over his shoulder, following Luna’s pointing finger, and his eyes go wide. I guess he hadn't seen them slip by Glenn, either.

  Glenn is back on his feet, weapons in hand and glaring at the two holding me. "Damn. I'm sorry, Talon."

  Talon seems about to snap something he'll regret later, so I interrupt. "It's not your fault. Thanks for risking so much to protect me."

  The heat leaves Talon's expression.

  Luna should be laughing with joy at her victory, but she's not. Her voice is calm and steely as she says, "Surrender now, Wraiths, or your friend dies."

  She looks at the Shades holding me. "If any of them move, kill her. If they're still holding weapons in five seconds, kill her."

  There's a standoff as Glenn and Ida stand ready to lunge at my captors, while Talon stares at Luna. I can't see his eyes, but I imagine the look he's giving her.

  Four.

  Talon roars, voice husky with rage, but he doesn't move.

  Three.

  Luna and Talon stare at one another. Crap, I might die. Where's my vision, though?

  Two.

  Metal clanks on the floor as Talon tosses his blade to the ground.

  One.

  Ida and Glenn follow suit. My friends are all helpless, now, and it's my fault.

  Luna makes a tsk, tsk sound with her tongue against her teeth, then takes a step closer to us. "Bind them all. Make sure there's no escape."

  Looking around frantically, I see there's already no escape. I'm at the mercy of my worst enemy, an enemy who has no mercy. Someone roughly clamps something soft over my mouth and nose and the harsh, chemical odor overwhelms my sense of smell. A moment later, my vision dims.

  Then, everything goes black.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  When I regain consciousness, the first thing I notice are muffled voices that sound like we're underwater. I keep my eyes closed, because I saw a movie once where the hero did that to buy time for his senses to clear. I start to tally everything my senses are telling me.

  First, I hear three voices that seem to come from one man and two women. I can't make out the words, but the conversation sounds heated. From the way their voices seem to ring, I think it means I'm in a metallic room of some sort.

  I can feel that I'm standing, but only because my arms are held up and out to my sides. Something hard and cold is clamped around each wrist. There’s something around my ankles, as well, but over my pants fabric so it isn't so cold. My arms hurt from hanging there by my wrists, which also hurt. I do my best to accept the pain and stay motionless.

  I can't smell anything but bleach. It’s faint, like the room had been sterilized a while ago. This matches my impression of being in a metal room.

  In the middle of my little situational assessment, Luna's voice rings out, "Good morning, sleepy-head. You can stop pretending. Your breathing pattern changed. It was a good try, though."

  I crack one eye open. Yep, a metal room. I'm dangling inside some sort of glass tube, but a section in front of me is actually a door, which someone slid to one side. That explains why everything sounded funny, coming to me through that opening.

  Off to my left, Talon, Glenn, and Ida are on their knees, hands behind their heads. A Shade stands behind each of them with swords in their hands. All three of my friends are staring at the floor before them. All three look like they've been beat up.

  "How long was I out?" They aren't the most poetic f
irst words. Oh, well.

  Secretary Dawson, standing with Luna and Meredith on my right, takes a step toward me. "About forty-five minutes. Long enough to take the fight out of your short-sighted friends over there. They should be clamoring to join us, but instead, Talon is as stubborn as his mother was. Or is, rather—though not for long. Nothing stands in the way of progress, you know."

  "You call this progress?" I look at Talon again, expecting him to say something, but he stays motionless on the floor. They must have really beat him, or maybe they threatened to kill me if he didn't settle down.

  Dawson smiles at me. "Of course, I do. What else do you call it when the power to free all humankind from the shackles of death is standing before you?"

  "Wait, what? You mean, me?" Oh no. I don’t think I'm going to like what's coming.

  "I did say you held the key to defeating death, did I not? Luna, explain the process to her." He half-bows to her, holding one hand out toward me with a flourish.

  "It seems like a waste of time, but whatever." She shrugs and looks at me again with her blank expression, devoid of human emotion. It looks natural on her.

  She says, "You still contain your own tremendous magical power in full. You also contain some from everyone here, including your friends. What, you thought you could take it from only my people? Maybe with practice, but not today. Anyway, you also hold all the magic from what's-his-name, the electroid you drained. That's a really big power, too. In other words—"

  Dawson cuts in, grinning and bouncing from foot to foot, "You have all the power you'll need to bring back someone who died well before their allotted time."

  "Never this," I hiss between clenched teeth. I don't care what the cost, I won't help them. They'd misuse this power to take over the world.