Chapter 4
There are
voices. They are hard to make out at
first, but slowly they come into focus.
“…strong. I nearly lost the fight.”
“But you
didn’t.”
“She couldn’t do
it. She had me dead to rights.”
“Maybe there is
hope for her yet.”
My eyes open
slowly, blinking several times. I am lying
down on a bed in what is possibly a hospital or medical ward. Except, something is off about it. I try to sit up, but realize belatedly that
my wrists are cuffed to the bed.
No, no, no, no!
I pull at the restraints, but all that manages to do was get the
attention of Professor Anders and Sam who are talking quietly in the corner of
the room. I try to back away from them
in terror, but I have nowhere to go.
“She’s terrified. That’s amusing,” says a voice that belonged
to neither the professor nor Sam. I look
around until my eyes fall on an older man with a full beard and unkind eyes who
I’ve never seen in person before be recognize immediately. Chancellor Maynard. He is one the Elemental Council members. Outspoken about eradicating my kind. Mom calls him an ‘evil douchebag’.
“She’s a kid,”
Sam says snidely. He seems to dislike
the Chancellor as much as I do.
“As are you,”
Professor Anders interjects. “You should
head to class now, we’ll take it from here.”
“I’m not leaving
her. She’s petrified. I saw everything. She was willing to jump into a fire to keep
from being captured. She thinks you’re
going to torture her!”
“Of course we’re
not going to torture her,” the man scoffed.
His eyes twinkle with something else.
A promise only him and I can know.
I glare back, trying to push the fear and terror away in order to
project that steely confidence my mother has down so patently.
“Class is not an
option, Mr. Mason, it is mandatory. The
girl will be dealt with.” Anders gives
him a placating smile. “We’ll talk this
afternoon.”
“Alright, but…” Sam
hesitates. He steps toward me. I flinch at the sudden movement. He slows down, but keeps coming, reaching out
and touching my arm. I am suddenly
filled with the feeling that everything is going to be fine. Professor Anders and Chancellor Maynard are
going to take care of me. Help me get
away from the Abusers. Then the feelings
are gone and so is Sam.
“Miss Valois, so
good of you to finally wake,” the Chancellor says. His voice is darker now. I swallow and think back to everything my
mother has taught me about the Elemental Council. They will do anything to stop us, the rebels, the freedom fighters. My heart pounds in my chest when I think
about what anything might entail.
“Let me go. This is a mistake. I was just playing a joke on Sam and it got
out of hand. Expel me if you want, but
please just let me go!” It is a weak story,
but I have to at least try it.
“Miss Valois,
I’m afraid we can do no such thing. You
are an Abuser. Worse, you were sent here to kill a Cambridge
Academy student. One of our most
promising warriors in training.
Expulsion is the least of your worries.”
My heart pounds
against my ribs. I knew this was a
possibility. All freedom fighters
do. It’s why they have torture
resistance classes at our academies.
Only I haven’t reached those classes yet.
“Please,” I
start to beg, when suddenly the air pressed down on me, suffocating me. I try to reach out for the elements, but
nothing happens. My head spins with
panic and lack of oxygen.
“We’ve sedated
you. Your elemental magic will be
impossible to grasp. Now, Miss Valois,
you are going to tell us why you were sent here to kill one of our
students.
Between the
professor and chancellor, I don’t stand a chance. Professor Anders steals the breath right out
of my lungs while the Chancellor makes me feel as though I’m drowning. I probably would have talked if they’d asked
me any questions I could answer, but they don’t. Instead they just assault me with questions
about why Sam Mason was a target, how did I infiltrate the school and where is
Joshua Bash, the leader of our movement? I have no idea on any counts. I was given a mission and followed through. My mother never offers details and I never
ask. I think this is why. None of the information they want I can give
to them.
After a couple
of hours (that’s how long I think it has been anyway) they let up and leave me
alone in the medical ward, chained to my bed.
When they return an hour later with new questions, I harden my resolve and prepare
myself for the onslaught of elemental power.
My body is so exhausted, I don’t know how long I will last, but I have
to at least try.
“We need to know
who sent you, Delilah,” the professor says.
She is using a soft voice. I
think they are going for good cop, bad cop now.
“Maybe we should
bring in Professor Jenkins?” the chancellor suggests. Jenkins is a fire wielder. I feel my pulse race. I want to beg them not to use fire, but bite
my tongue to keep from shouting out.
“You want to burn
her? Scar her for life?” Anders asks, her voice concerned. “We’re not barbarians, they are.”
I laugh at that. I don’t mean to, it is just too funny, and I
am so tired. They think they are so
righteous. We are the ones fighting for the rights of elementals. Not them.
“Bring a fire
wielder and she won’t be laughing,” the chancellor says darkly.
“Why are you laughing,
Delilah?” Anders asks.
“It’s just funny
that you call us the barbarian while you’re torturing
me. It’s hysterical.”
“Who sent you to
kill Mason!” the chancellor erupts in anger.
I feel like I’m drowning.
Chancellor Maynard has pulled the water from the air and forced it into
my lungs and windpipe. I choke and
gurgle, wishing desperately for air.
Spots form in front of my eyes.
Perhaps I will pass out. Or maybe
he will take it too far and finally just kill me.
“Chancellor!”
the professor yells.
Suddenly I can
breath again. I cough and sputter, but
the water is gone, pulled back by the Chancellor. It takes a second to pull myself back
together but when I do, I answer his stupid question because I’m so angry, and
so tired and I actually have an answer to this one. “My mother,” I finally spit, feeling almost
delirious
“Who is her
mother?” the chancellor asked Professor Anders.
Anders shrugs,
and I laugh again.
“Delilah, who is
your mother?”
I know it is a
very bad idea to give them anything. I
should just shut my mouth and take what they give me, even if that means they will
bring in a fire user. I want them to
know who I am, though. I want them to
know I am important. I’m not just some
‘Abuser’ they can push around.
“My last name
isn’t Valois.”
They look at me
like I’m an idiot. Of course they
figured that out.
“I am
Delilah. Delilah Savage.”
It feels like
the air had been sucked out of the room, but this time not because of an air
user. I laugh again. Their expressions are just so funny, so dumbfounded.
“Your mother is
Veronica Savage?” Anders asks.
“The one and
only. And she sent me to kill your
precious little Sam Mason.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” I
snap back.
“He’s just a
boy.”
“A strong boy.” An image of Sam from last night flashes before
me. I shake him from my head—not wanting
to think about him or my failure anymore.
“There are other
strong wielders. Why did she want Mason
dead enough that she would risk her only child’s life?”
I wonder that same
question myself, but when I asked she only said that it was important for the
movement. Said that he was too strong
and that I was the only one powerful enough to do it. It had felt good knowing my mother thought I
was powerful. I still hadn’t wanted to
do this mission though. I have never
killed anyone. I’m still in training,
only a first year at the academy. But
she insisted it had to be me. Now I am
going to die at the hands of the Authority and I still don’t understand why I
was chosen.
“This is bad,”
Anders whispers. “When she find outs her
daughter is caught here…”
“We can’t just
release her!” the chancellor snarls back.
If I had thought
my mom’s name would possibly get me released, I would have tried it a while
ago!
“Veronica Savage
is the face of the Abusers, second only to Joshua Bash. If something happens to her daughter,
hostages all around the world will get hurt.
We are one breath in the wrong direction away from being in all out
war.”
Hostages?
What hostages?
“Maybe we should
be!” the chancellor rages. “I’m sick of
kowtowing to radicals! This has been a
war for a long time, Melissa. We need to
start acting it. We need to make an
example of out this girl.”
“Girl being the operative word. She’s just a child and you want us to execute
her?”
“She tried to
kill a student.”
“And
couldn’t. Sam Mason said she’d had him,
she could have killed him, but she didn’t.
Maybe we can salvage her. Maybe
we can turn her to our side. If we have
Veronica Savage’s daughter on our side, maybe the radicals would lose
creditability. What we are doing is
right. More people will see that if we
weaken her.” Anders finishes her little
speech and then looks at me. I glare right
back at her, but that doesn’t do much.
“I don’t like
it,” the chancellor grumbles. “We can’t
control her.”
“We keep her on
the meds,” Anders counters. “She’ll be
guarded day and night. She’ll come
around. I know she will.”
“I still think
an execution is exactly what she deserves.”
The Chancellor stares at me with unbridled hatred. I’m not sure what I ever did to him
personally, but I can see he wants to see me hang.
“Give it a
chance,” Anders begs. “This is an
opportunity we can’t pass up.”
“It’s your
decision, Melissa. I’ll support you.”
“I know you
will,” she says softly, laying a hand on his arm. The small act of comfort unsettles me for
some reason. I look away and focus on
the blank white wall to my right.
“Fine. I’ll draw up the paperwork. The Council will
have to approve of course, but you’ve always been persuasive.”
“Thank you,
James,” Anders smiles. “This will
work. You’ll see.”
I listen with
quiet disdain as the whole conversation wraps up. If they think they’re going to turn me
against me mother, they are certifiable.
I love my mom. I believe in
everything she does. There is no way I
will betray her like that. With my life
hanging in the balance, though, I switch into survival mode. If going along with this charade it will give
me time to think of an escape, I will do it.
Rather than tell them they are nuts if they think I will betray my
family, I sit silently by.
The chancellor
leaves shortly after, and I am left alone with Professor Anders. I stare at her, taking in her ankle length
dress, pinned up librarian hairdo with matching thick-rimmed glasses. No one will be shocked hearing she is a
history teacher. She looks like she
lives and breathes old books even though she is only around my mother’s age. If only everyone knew how much of a punch she
could pack using air. I will have bruises
for weeks.
“Do you
understand who your mother is, Delilah?” Anders asks quietly.
What a stupid
question. “She’s my mother.”
“She is the
leader of a terrorist unit that hurts people.”
“You hurt people,” I counter. I couldn’t tell if I imagined it or not, but
I was pretty sure she flinched at that. It
gave me a strange sense satisfaction.
“What happened
today was different.”
Anger boils up
in me. Despite my need to play it cool
and get out of here, I can’t stop the words from flying off my tongue. For two weeks I’ve been listening to her lies
and propaganda. I can’t stand idly by
any longer.
“It’s not. She is fighting for the people’s rights! You are fighting to enslave your own kind. It’s sick.”
“You’ve been
heavily indoctrinated, Delilah. It will
take time for you to understand what is really going on. I want to give you that time. Once you see the truth—”
“I’ll what? Come to the dark side? Yeah right.”
The thought is absolutely laughable.
I will never come to understand their beliefs.
“It won’t take
much for the chancellor to schedule an execution. What you did…”
“Are you trying
to scare me?” I laugh. “I’m not afraid
to die.”
That is a lie. I
am terrified. But dying is better than
betraying my mother. I can never do
that. Just the thought makes me
physically ache inside.
“You’re not?”
“No.”
“That’s exactly
what Mason said. He said you tried to
jump into his flames even after you knew they would kill you. Maybe because
you knew they would. That is either very
brave or very stupid. Why would you do
that? Why are you so willing to lay down
your life?”
“I guess I
wasn’t looking forward to being tortured.”
“It’s a war
time. We do what we need to do to
protect elementals and non-elementals alike.
Though I abhor the practice, you endangered the life of a student and
could have information to help save lives.
I’m sorry for what we did, but we are responsible for everyone at this
school. I will do anything to keep them
safe.”
I roll my eyes
at that. They aren’t trying to protect
elementals. What a joke.
“Give it time,”
Ander sighs and quietly leaves.
Left in the
quiet and all alone, my situation settles upon me. I’m really here, caught by the enemy. My chest feels heavy and I think of
Jason. It’s not as comforting as I hoped
it would be.
#
With the exception of the nurse who comes in and gives me a salve for my bruises
and some painkillers, I don’t see anyone for the rest of the day. I am grateful for the solitude in a way. By
now, my mother will expect me back. The
message I sent had been for extraction.
When I don’t show up, she will be worried something happened. The information on who I am has bought me
time. Now I will need to think of a way
to contact her and let her know where I am.
She will come for me then—that is the plan.
“I’m not ready,” I grumble, chewing mercilessly
on my fingernails. I am so nervous it is
a very real possibility I will throw up.
That is the last thing I want to do in front of my mother.
Veronica Savage. She is a legend. An elite fighter, one of the most powerful
air users in the world, and leader of the revolution—one of them anyway. She has an essence about her…a presence. One that makes it difficult for anyone to tell
her no—even me. Still, I have to try. I not ready for a solo mission, let alone one
of this caliber.
“No one is ever ready for their first
mission, Delilah. You must overcome your
fears and persevere.”
Easier said than done.
“And if I fail?”
“You won’t.”
“But if I do?”
My mother smiles. It is a cool smile, but, to be fair, mother
has never had much warmth to her. “I
will come for you then, my beautiful daughter.”
She won’t leave
me here to rot. I just have to let her
know where I am. This time alone gives
me a chance to come up with a plan.
#
The next morning
Professor Anders comes back. I want to
protest her presence so when she brings food, I throw it across the room. It splatters prettily against the glossy
white paint and some even ricochets off the wall and onto Professor Ander’s
lovely library dress. It’s juvenile, but
the best I can think of on short notice and supremely satisfying to have
control over something—even if it is
flying cafeteria food.
“You should eat,
Delilah,” the professor says unaffected.
“You severely weakened yourself in that fight. Your power is strong but your stamina needs
tremendous work. Between the fight and
the inhibitor we’ve given you, you need to feed your body. I’ll have the kitchen send you another
plate.”
It’s unfortunate
that she makes some sense. If my mother
comes for me, I can’t afford to be weak.
Even if I can’t access my element, I have to be ready to go.
“Fine,” I say
simply.
Anders watches
me wearily, like she is reading my thoughts, but says nothing more on the
subject.
“I’ve spoken
with the Council and a decision has been made about your future. Delilah, the Authority has decided you are an
important asset in the scope of this conflict before us. To kill you or let you go would be
foolish. But locking you up does nothing
for our cause except bleed resources and convince you we are truly the
barbarians your mother has made us out to be.
We think that if you could see and understand the truth, you would not
be so quick to defend your mother or her cause.”
“You seem so
sure you can convince me of this,” I reply calmly.
“You have no
idea how sure I am that if you take off the blindfold your mother has placed
around your eyes, you will see the truth.
We will do our part, but you will have to do yours. For now, you will be assimilated back into
the student population. You will have a
guard with you at all times. You will be given a shot once a day to suppress
your elemental ability. You will be
unable to contact your family. But most
importantly, for the time being, you will have your life. Give us a chance to give you our side of
things. That’s all we ask in return.”
“I know your
side,” I spit, feeling venomous. The
Professor wishes me to feel grateful for her sparing my life. For some reason, all it does it anger me. I
have no wish to be indebted to these people.
Anders nods, but
says nothing more.
_______________________________________________________
Author's Note: let me know if you're reading. Drop me a note on twitter @WrittenDream. - Dani
