I came to with a rapid heartbeat and wide eyes. My body tried to stand up and escape. The world spun as I fell back to the ground with a fresh groan of pain. A bullet had pierced one leg. Feverishly I tore at the bindings to check the damage.
Where blood had been spilling out there was now barely a scar. Time had passed, certainly, but how much? Once a wolf had torn my legs to shreds, that took nearly two days to recover. A cracked rib mere minutes. A clean gunshot wound might be easier.
What time was it? My head shook back and forth trying to pull together any brain power just laying around. A quick test on my connections to home and Candy revealed that it was nighttime. It was obvious from the lack of warmth spreading through objects as my senses spiraled around.
I started to pull together all my abilities and lay claim to this entire place. Conquest helped fuel the perception and soon parts of this terrible compound started to worm its way into my senses. There was enough to feel like escape from this slice of Hell might be possible.
Rachel was in the next room. I needed to start there. Details and perceptions about her started to come together. Claiming a person wasn't the same as linking with an object. An object's link could break easily. A person's link lingered on, always there, always present.
Rachel’s key features went through my mind in order to try and establish a clear link. She was short, stout, and cooked like a fiend who truly loved being in the kitchen. Her constant focus had been preparing meals for other people. To my knowledge she didn’t have many other friends outside the group, but cared for me. The house had always been clean and tidy so Rachel clearly hated messes. Roy knew her and said the woman was family.
I let my eyes close and tried to push my senses outward. Forming a connection with Rachel would be hard but every link helped give me fuel. Reconciling the events here in Tennison with my prior life as Jay kept throwing me off.
Found connection. Stray thing long unused. All gravel, sand, and dirt. Rough against senses. Pull connection. See into other room. Gasp with surprise.
What the hell? Whatever was connecting me to Rachel went directly to a statue and not a lively plump woman with a spatula. I tried not to get upset. Maybe this was part of her Hidden nature. It was night, and not once had I seen her when the sun went down. Did she turn into this object?
Fly closer. Hover. Look. Uncertain. Brush against sculpted dirt. Feels solid. Warm. Almost breathing. Shape resembles her. Den Mother.
My other mind thought of her as a den mother, but not my actual mother. She wasn’t like me but qualified as family. Before I realized it we were connected by a thread. Similar to how I could feel Evan, or Kahina, or even Candy. This felt like finding a strange spot in the house that had gone unnoticed until now. Her connection was deep brown and gritty like loose soil.
Next, would be Tal. Hopefully he was nearby and in decent condition. He hadn't talked to me like Rachel did. They weren’t like me in that sense. Roy’s entire tribe, the last tribe, were a much different sort of beast. They were hulking battle crazed thugs.
I tried to picture the man and felt around carefully for the edges of what made him tick. We had practiced together multiple evenings. He moved in a calm, steady manner and used a relaxed laugh. For some reason I always expected him to be militaristic and extra strict, but he always came off as relaxed.
Tal had been one of the three holding me down that night in the Pit. He chanted along with Roy, telling me to let it all out in order to release a building flame. His grip had been weakened by age, but still felt familiar and dependable. The man held up his end of the beat without skipping a note. I called him something before. A name given by my other thoughts. Mountain Elder.
Connection Weak. Unwanted. Male.
I tried to knit together the bridge between us. Focusing on ownership of a living being felt almost dirty. In another sense, there was nothing more natural. Family mattered intensely, and something about the entire tribe felt distantly related. We were beyond cousins but less than blood relatives.
Mountain Elder's thread weak. Lackluster. No vibrancy. No thrum. I pull carefully. Dragging myself through dense wall. Across humid path for Pink Meats. Another cage. Bars. Strong. Laden. See Mountain Elder.
I stared at his body through the tactile feedback provided through my link. He looked and felt terrible. I tried not to creep myself out at the near intimacy of my connection. Everything about this felt weird. His body was in terrible shape. My gun wound was a paltry thing next to what had happened to him.
A multitude of bruises lined most of his skin. His jaw cracked along the back end. One eye felt swollen shut. Still, Tal was toughing it out. He sat up despite the pain and managed to maintain a firm position with both hands folded across his lap. Every bit of advice his family had ushered out to us during practice was being demonstrated. His spine was tall with the head pried back, both eyes were closed and a slow hum reverberated out.
Study. Touch carefully. Feeling outer edges of wounds. Could heal. Maybe. Would need to be closer. To command.
My head shook and thoughts were brushed away. Healing took a lot out of me. I still didn’t know how it happened the first time. That was assuming I could even figure it out. I blacked out through nearly all of it. Something about my blood on the wound, and an order, and fighting a militaristic compound afterward sounded terrible.
The connection was there at any rate. I could use them as anchors for my possessive mindsets. Everything around felt easier to register. Next, would be a matter of when. Daniel had said let it build but listening to his advice after being shot wasn't appealing.
I checked my other links. Kahina was where she should be. Or at least in the right direction. Back east many miles. Candy was clearly out of range as well, though her help would be questionable at best.
Evan's cord was surprising. Instead of being East back near home, his link connected to the trees outside this compound. I pulled the rainbow colored cord in desperation.
Brightly colored link. Incomplete Servant. Near. Close. Can almost touch him. There. Lays in car. Huddled under woolen blankets. Flinches away from door. Heart erratic even in exhaustion. Jumpy man is nearly asleep.
Evan should be able to see me like this. We had conversed before, and must be out here because of Daniel. That agent was the only man who might know all the different parts of my life enough to pull them together.
I tried to get a feel for what was around the elf by following the air’s path as it swirled. My senses traced along vehicle curves and around three heavy bodies which sat in other seats. Two in the back were nearly identical with an older one up front. His face less broken. There were spots on their skin which felt different from tattoo markings.
These three were Roy and his sons. Only the twins had passed their rite to manhood, I vaguely remembered saying they were no longer runts. Part of my still unsorted and half-buried memories suggested these two would be considered Warriors now.
There were a lot of things to piece together. It didn't make sense and barely made any now. Being alone in the cell for hours helped give me perspective.
I had to get Evan to wake up from his reverie. After that would be the matter of talking to him and hoping we could coordinate somehow. Communicating while in this form barely made sense but there was no time like the present to learn.
Evan should feel my efforts to draw on our connection. Back in the cell, I sat resting against a wall with one hand clutching the wounded leg. Hopefully, anyone watching on the camera would be none the wiser to my actions. A Hunter might be able to sense me laying claim to people or believe this was part of an escape attempt. What exactly did using abilities feel like to Daniel?
Back stretches. Shoulders roll. Left side uncurls. Right stretches. Brush through concrete. Heavy, dense. Oppressive. Pink Meats' walls are sturdy.
What I was doing now felt more intense than mere tracking. It was like dragging my senses in their entirety to another location. Normally this happened when I dove fully into the connection.
Bound up then rush past concrete walls and through forged metals. Path goes past wired fences then over trees. Destination in offshoot path. Inside the front was a complex twisting of objects. See darkly tinted pink meat transportation. An engine. Such strange contraptions. Sons of the Mountain sit inside.
I pulled on Evan' connection again. One part of my senses focused on the multicolored cord that linked us. The gap between here and there was miles yet felt only a small bit away. Both lungs were filled with air as I waited for a response.
A brush of wind startles an owl who rouses from listless watching then hoots. Air ripples with noise. Animal scurries in fear. Fuzzy tiny thing dashes across metal. Paws sliding and clicking.
Incomplete Servant starts awake. His pulse is erratic. Face heavy with moisture then crinkles in worry.
"Lord?" Words vibrate with panic. Incomplete Servant flushes with heat. He looks around. Can feel muscles tense and eyes strain. They narrow, close, and his head tilts to a side. His hand reaches for cold glass then presses against it. I watch with annoyance and amusement.
"Is it James?" a second voice thick and garbling asks. His sound tries to shatter objects. There is barely disguised ferocity with anger from the Last Chief.
"Lord?" Incomplete Servant ignores Last Chief. Unwise. "If you're there, I can't see you. My vision is still bound." Air glows then fades. Incomplete Servant is unable to perform his duties but knows he is being called.
Hell. Evan could tell I was here but was nearly useless since Candy had bound him. It had to be past the year and day he'd been restricted for. Right? I rattled through the months in my head. Maybe Candy had renewed it somehow. If that was possible.
Irritation ripples. I huff. Rushing air slams into windshield. Small Pink Meat vehicle rocks.
I pulled on Evan's connection softer the second time. The elf winced and was either too weak or exhausted in general. His constitution had been crap since Candy screwed with him.
"That's James then. Ask him if my father is there."
"The Hunter told us..." Last Chief reaches back. Smacks younger warrior on head. Echoes. Other warrior sits. Passive. Unflinching.
"If that Hunter was truly on our side then our family would never have been kidnapped." Last Chief’s voice is stern and odd. Feel curve of face with prominent canine teeth which makes speaking a challenge.
Incomplete Servant's face presses against clear frail shield to peer outward. Breath coats glass with moisture.
Listening to them argue was strange. I felt like a cat watching mice squabble below me. Instead of pouncing it was more interesting to swivel my attention back and forth in amusement. Every so often part of my face would twitch, back would roll and it felt like a tail curled.
"Tell James to get our father out. Him and Rachel. We are too few to lose someone here." Last Chief shakes for a moment. His anger is barely under control.
"He can hear you," Incomplete Servant whispers against glass.
"We'll meet him near the gate. If he can get this far we'll carry the others. My boys are strong."
"You place too much faith in a stranger."
"He is no stranger to us," the Last Chief says.
"We hardly know him!" One of Two whines as noise fills vehicle.
"We should go get Grandfather on our own," Two of Two took up his brother's protest.
My other thoughts grew increasingly annoyed. I had been viewing Evan, Roy, his sons, as rodents beneath my notice. Now they were doubting me. Roy with his words, 'if he can get this far' and both twins with their disbelief.
I felt anger slowly creeping up on me. Normally I kept it suppressed by indifference, or channeled into my job. Drowned in drink. Any number of coping methods built up over a lifetime. But I was locked in a cage and the only thing to punch was a wall.
Small irritation is growing. I growl but they are oblivious. Hard to reach them. Not close enough. Frustration increases. I stand then spread arms and all limbs wide.
All presence and energy slams down. Like log falls. Heavy and unerring. Pink Meat vehicle jolts then bounces. Fingers curl into hood and pierce through. Paint tears, cool metal screeches. Lines etch the surface.
Parting sounds surround my retreating presence. Roy's hand slaps both brothers with a force that could turn rocks to gravel. Evan whimpered in awe. Tree branches fell down near the car.
Stolen novel; please report.
Everything faded. Whatever trick allowed me to physically interact with their car took a lot of effort. A river of sweat pooled on my face. Steam filled the room and oppressive heat made breathing harder. A few hot rocks and some disturbing old men would complete the picture.
I laid there, contemplating exactly how to move from here. The car served as a good destination to escape to if getting out of here without being shot was an option.
The door opened but no one stepped in right away. I heard the sound of mild cursing as cold air swirled into the room. Hopefully, this wasn’t Daniel, being shot again would suck.
Sergeant Eddy ass-hat walked in. I turned with a wince away from the door. Dealing with anyone else was beyond me at the moment. The undercover agent pulled up a stool that he brought in with him and sat down facing me. His back was to the camera. I didn't even have to see him to get that much response from my abilities. This place was starting to feel more like home now that I established connections to Tal, Rachel, and found Evan so close.
My problems had increased too. Claiming ownership over things made me extremely possessive. A person was that much worse. Needing them to be safe gave me a boost but also turned my thoughts into a worry wart. Caring for Kahina during her transition had been one of the worst times of my life.
"Audios out for thirty seconds, so listen close,” he said.
I looked over my shoulder at Eddy for a moment, then turned away again.
"You have to move before dawn. That's an hour away. The Government's moving in just after sunrise. Half the compound is gone already. Those that left last night never returned, scattering to predetermined points."
A shoulder lifted in a shrug. At least Eddy would know I was paying attention.
"Those left behind aren't our men. Crumfield's got two meeting points after passing his loyalty test. Father Tom will be leaving soon. It's you, me, and a handful of the less faithful."
My forehead slipped down and one eye closed. "What about you?" I asked.
He sighed. "I didn’t pass the loyalty test. That's fine. This operation ends and I get to see my son."
That was strange.
"They're still ordered to kill anyone who escapes. I'm just asking that you try not hurt them on the way out," Eddy said.
A few people with guns, especially the type they all seemed to carry, would be more than enough to kill me, Rachel, Tal, Roy, everyone that mattered to me. Roy's family might be strong in hand to hand combat, but this place was armed to the teeth.
"How do I manage that?"
Eddy didn't respond. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder with the barest movement of his head. Guess our thirty seconds were up. If the place was half empty then who might be listening? Father Tom?
"It doesn't matter. You and the other three are history. After we're gone the prison goes up like a Roman candle. No way we're going to just let you monsters roam the streets."
That got me off the cot. I stood up and limped toward the bars. My leg brought zips of pain with each step.
"What?" I reached out for the bars. "What does that mean?" My demands for answers were ignored. Not that they were needed. I knew what it meant. The Order of Merlin loved their explosives.
Eddy just shrugged and let himself out the door.
"Hell." I stood there running my hands up and down the bar. They were damp from the cooling room.
What had he said before leaving? There were three others here. I hadn't tried anything with the White Lady next door. Connecting to her like I did Rachel and Tal was out of the question, but freeing her? Using her as a distraction? Would she kill people?
Did I care? Not really, if Order members died it wouldn’t bother me.
After a few deep breaths, I managed to brave the approach to her side. One hand tentatively slid across the materials separating our cells. Nothing felt different between this wall and the other two. The sensations were standard for a building, grainy, lumpy, and cold all the way through.
Above and to the right, hanging less than a foot away on the other side, sat a small rock with a worn through hole in its center. The object functioned as a lock for her cage. I could feel it through my links as the building grew clearer. Hovering in the room sat an uneven presence, the White Lady.
What did she do when no one was looking? Daniel had implied that the White Lady took over other people's bodies. So the figure inside wouldn't be an old lady but might be something else. Could she be a disembodied version of the energy I saw while people moved around?
If any of those things were remotely true, then this would be one of my stupidest ideas to date. I extended my senses into her wall and let myself pass slowly through. Mentally laying claim wasn't the point. I wanted to know more about this creature before trying to risk my family.
A figure sat still without even the standard heartbeat or breath of air. The being sat in the room’s center. The wrinkle of her cheeks felt both old and young, fresh and glowing. She didn’t breath and clearly that was as unneeded for her as it was for any vampire. All that existed inside was a heavy silence.
After a minute, the White Lady took a breath and let out a sound far different than the scream I braced myself for. She sang. Without instrument, without accompaniment, and without rhythm. From the first muffled note, I was enthralled.
She sang with such raw, unchecked emotion that it felt like the world was mourning with her. It wasn't like other songs on the radio. There was no world ending. There was no last goodbye and the pain of parting.
It was impossible to tell if she was truly lamenting about those people, or if she merely inspired the emotion of loss. Her vocals quavered in and out, weak one moment, strong and sudden a moment later. Each second she managed to push through was a hollow triumph of will. I wanted her to stop. Yet going into that room, facing her, had nearly driven me mad. Knowing she was capable of this kind of emotion? It made me wonder who the real monsters were.
Her tune filled my head with images of a world that had already ended. The nonexistent words made me think of a billion lives lost. Places that were long forgotten with people, families, loves and entire tapestries of history that were reduced to a dream. Each vibration of her voice sung out in reverence to the existence of those never allowed to be born.
In her song, there was no hero. There was no redemption. No one died for a cause. No families were torn apart with the hope of reuniting. Normal songs presented people who lost a link between themselves and someone important. This was worse. Worse because those connections had never existed in the first place. Were never allowed to exist. Lives lost and lives never lived were much different in their sorrow.
If Daniel was right, if I was a reset button like so many feared, then this song was my fault. My fault, and those like me. If we didn't exist then perhaps there'd be no need for this kind of sadness to ever exist again.
Snot bubbled up. The song actually turned me into a sobbing mess. I was ashamed to even overhear her song. My kind had done this. That the existence of my species had allowed this kind of pain to be given to anyone was beyond redemption. I deserved a special spot in hell for even being related. Or maybe I was doing what people had done for millennia, filling in an empty meaningless situation with my personal fears.
It felt like an eternity before she stopped singing. Her tone went on long enough to leave me exhausted, drained, and speechless. A creature capable of that kind of sadness couldn't be trapped here. Not with the Order’s monsters. I wanted to free her too, consequences be damned. After this place I would get Evan, or Candy, to show me these Sins of the People. The White Lady's song would be tied to those events somehow.
I sat there breathing slowly and gathering what little wits could be claimed. My heartbeat was erratic, face flushed, and the heat of this room had barely gone down. Time passed, ten minutes, twenty, maybe more. Pushing my senses elsewhere caused distortion. I had to act soon before the human government did.
Both arms braced against the wall. I checked again on Tal and Rachel. My mind tugged on the connection to Evan in warning. There wasn't much time for a better plan. Honestly, thinking ahead wasn’t my forte anyway.
I grabbed everything available to me. My need to get this patchwork family out here added to the inner fire. The desire to survive and return home added more kindling. Finally, a nearly suffocating rage that I worked hard not to acknowledge. Hatred for the people that had done this to what was mine. The anger that always bubbled around me lit the pyre of my powers aflame.
Energy rushed through my shoulders. Muscles bulged then briefly warped. With a sudden scream, one fist broke through the brick wall. Pain lanced up past the shoulder, stuttering my heartbeat, jarring everything. A gasp escaped, then panic kicked in. That thing was on the other side and no amount of tear-jerking music made me comfortable sticking an arm into her cage.
Fingers flexed to test my responsiveness. Their response made me hopeful, and I stuck my arm in further. My elbow bent and hand reached around blindly for the hollowed out stone. It was easier than expected to find. The little charm fell off the wall with a clatter.
There wasn’t any more time to worry about it. Fast movement would win the day. Retribution is swift, I thought. With the video cameras going other Order members could be here in moments.
My hand bled and tingled. Fingers barely acknowledged an attempt to form a fist. The fact that bones hadn't burst through my skin was a good sign. Next, would be the jail cell doorway out.
Footsteps. Pairs. Running. Heartbeats pulse through air. Erratic. Mountain Elder tenses. Head tilted toward door. One eye puffy.
I had to retain some control over this. Putting too much effort into my powers might cause me to black out. Now would be a terrible time to lose myself.
Feel metal of door. Seek weak spots. Joints. Lock. Too tough. Ceiling. Cracks line. Loose. Bar rolls in its seating. There.
A few of the cages bars were damaged from being shaken earlier. Either the Order hadn't noticed when I was ranting at Father Tom, or they hadn't cared. They were abandoning this place soon.
The pole rattled as pressure was applied. Both arms strained and I pulled back. Muscles in my shoulders burned with the effort. It wasn't enough to break the bar loose, but it bent enough to squeeze through. Thirty seconds or so had passed since starting this escape. Screaming came from behind. My back twitched as I slowly turned.
Empty eyes. Bottomless. No orbs. Air loses motion near White Lady. Cold. I draw back. Not in cage.
Hell. That wasn't a good thing. She must have stepped through the wall and seen me. The White Lady stood there, like an old video tape paused during static. The creature stared at me and with black eyes. They went wider still while her mouth opened slowly like every scared woman I had ever run across.
White Lady takes breath. Cold air sucks in. Energy in her form goes wild, lashes around room. Leeches room of life and causes dimness.
Whatever she was doing managed to numb my senses. It was similar to when I tracked dead people. The connection just stopped existing. Whatever I had been tied to simply stopped having any life.
Scream pours forth. Slithers across room. Vibrates walls, bars, and ceiling. My ears protest against the piercing sound. Teeth hum painfully as room heats. Foul undead thing dares confront me. I free her and receive disrespect as repayment? Will correct her understanding.
Before it fully registered my foot stepped toward the White Lady. Fear meant almost nothing to the other voice in my head. That other presence ruled my actions with all the strength available to me. Fire hovered inside my mind, blurred the edges of vision with a flickering red haze. This heat was normally restrained by my worry of damaging other people.
The screaming intensified as black pits which obscured her eyes faded. There sat startlingly human eyes wide in fear. Her body wavered as any person trembling in fear might. The sudden change to something recognizable halted my aggressive movements for just a moment.
I took another step and growled. The White Lady shifted to her insubstantial form and fled through the wall, howling all the while.
Feel footsteps. Difficult past constant vibration of White Lady. More, something beyond that. A net. Area lights up with little whispers. Feel it. Chatters. Something. All around. Unsure. Hard to understand.
There was always a moment of calm serenity before something goes wrong, where everything freezes as if to taunt me with the inevitability. Seeing the White Lady pass through that wall was my moment. This had been a huge mistake. Daniel had said her scream meant one thing, death.
The feel of footsteps pounding down our little hallway broke put my mind toward more important matters. Someone was outside the door. Heavy items in their hands. The smooth metal and odd balances, air bent around stock and barrel. They all carried weapons of some kind.
One opened the door and I threw the dish that had been left behind with a little too much force. It connected with one man’s head. I leapt through the doorway, barely avoiding the initial burst of bullets, and punched another man. My form wove in between them, throwing out more blows than needed. When they hit the floor I felt both proud and disappointed.
Scream continue. Cuts through everything. Endless. Feel Incomplete Servant move locations. Mountain Elder attempts standing. Shakes. Weak. Knee broken. Feel pain as he stands anyway.
I fiddled with the keys from a defeated Order member. Tal stood defiantly near the bars inside. His swollen eyelids probably inhibited recognition. My own gaze went around the room, looking for a ward or other mumbo jumbo. Nothing special lined his room.
"James?" One eye was swollen completely closed. Dried blood pressed into his clothes. He held an arm across his gut while the other clutched at a bar for support. His face resembled a large boar with two slight tusks rippling under the bottom lip.
"Or Jay. Your son’s outside, if we can get to him," I said.
"Son? They said you were dead." Tal's confusion was obvious. He winced, either from the background noise or pain.
"I got better." I opened the cell then dashed back to the hallway door. Tactile feedback told me there were no other people inside the jail cell. Screams from outside sunk into the walls.