"Trouble maintaining your leash?"

I startled and turned from my hunting gear to find the Primary in my bedchamber. "Sir?"

The indigo Tritan crossed the room and peeked at my pack. "The days ticking away inside your head before you destabilize. Is this your way of managing it? The leash?"

I frowned and tried to keep him from seeing my wounded pride. "I hunt what I can to prolong it. My... leash."

I had so many questions. Why only one month? Why can't I touch? What does it mean to destabilize? And could they take it out? I didn't feel welcome to ask.

He tsked and shook his head. "This will not do. You put everyone at risk. How much time is left?"

"Thirteen days."

The Primary paced from my bed to the window and back again. "There is an emotional component we can experiment with. It means the emotional stimuli will mirror the physical ones, but I believe you may find that impossible to manage."

"Why is that, sir?"

"As you can hurt animals to supply the leash--draw out their pain--you can hurt other persons with your words and distance just the same. Any negative infliction on another will feed the leash."

I frowned, trying to fully comprehend the consequence. "I--"

"But!" He pointed a finger in my face. "The same is true for starving the leash. You cannot pay positive emotions toward others. Kindness, love--these things will reduce the days and hours. And any kindness and unkindness paid toward you will also deplete the leash."

"Forgive me, sir. As I understand you, that may place me at even greater risk to destabilize."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

He rubbed the back of his neck and stared out the window, thinking. "Perhaps we can adjust it." The Primary muttered to himself, "Fear and torment on others. That can be done. But love from others... may not be optional."

I sat down on my bed and stared at the instruments of torture in my pack. For half my life now, I sacrificed beasts on the altar of time. Wrenching thirty days from blood and bone. Could I even remember my life before this? Sadly, yes. The nacre forbade me to forget it. I wanted to weep.

"Do not distress, son."

I winced at the term of endearment and couldn't hide it.

He continued anyway, "You have done well protecting Xelan, so I will grant you an upgrade to your nacre that absorbs more varied stimuli to feed the leash. Meet me at the cave tomorrow. We begin then."

The Primary made his way to leave, and I called after him, "Physician?"

He kept his back to me in the doorway. "Yes?"

"Were you here to visit me?"

"No. I delivered a special soldier for your father's army from another world. A lost Icarus. You may favor him. Close to your age." The Tritan turned around with a grin. "And he catches arrows."

The upgraded nacre increased my strength, speed, and repair systems. It also included new triggers for stimulating the... "leash."

I hate that word for it. I won't use it with you. I don't want you to ever feel like the Tritans hold the key to your power, Rayne. Only you do.

It took me a very long time to deprogram that mindset.

After I awoke, the Primary tested my agility. Mid-exercise, he closed his fist. My stomach rolled into a knot and shoved into my throat to choke me. I couldn't even scream.

Satisfied, he said, "Very good. That went according to plan."

With sweat on my lip, I stared at him from the cave floor. "Sir, why?"

"What good is a leash if it is not used to rein the dog in?"

I lowered my head to hide my fury. "The upgrades, sir? How do they work?" Did he even install the ones he promised?

He nodded, solemnly. "Right. You can feed the time with enough negative, emotional stimuli."

"I must be..."

"Cruel. Ruthless. If you wish to increase the time. You must also avoid kindness from others. It will steal your time away. Much less so than physical contact, but you will see."

But... "What about Xelan?"

The Primary smiled as if pleased with my question. "Yes, I added him to a special exceptions list. For contact, as well. Positive or negative stimuli from Xelan will not affect your leash. Likewise, I am the only one who can pull on it."

Again, I hid my rage.

This time he crooked a finger under my chin to raise it. "You are not loyal to me, but you will obey me nonetheless. Scheme with your mother for your new Cinder. I care not. But do not kill my puppet until it is time for you to wear the strings."