Chapter 15
Axira
I knew she would come to see me.
I doubted he would. I’d seen Jason Singh’s face after he’d believed Hendra’s lie that I’d attacked her. He’d looked at me like I was a monster.
A monster….
I’d been a monster for centuries, I could be one for another few days. Until I sorted this.
I still didn’t know what I should do. I was still torn between revealing my identity now and proving Hendra’s treachery, or waiting to see if another option would arise.
Right now I pushed to the edge of my cot as Cadet Elle Singh approached me.
There were two security guards with her, even though I was behind a containment force field. After she assured them she’d be fine, they wandered off, just out of earshot but not out of sight.
“I heard what happened,” she said.
I waited for her to tell me I was a monster, to reject me, to do something other than offer a commiserating smile.
“And I don’t believe it for a second,” Elle continued.
I couldn’t contain my shock.
By now I knew Hendra would have spread ‘memories’ of my attack.
If she was as skilled as I now suspected, I imagine she would have also planted ample evidence.
….
So why would Elle still believe me rather than the apparently substantiated allegation?
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Elle continued. “She’s hiding something.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
I couldn’t speak, though – I didn’t know what to say.
This was the first time someone had ever defended me like that. The first time someone had chosen to believe I wasn’t a monster, even though there was ample evidence to prove I was.
I stood up. “Thank you,” I managed after a substantial pause.
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m not going to stop until I prove you’re innocent. I’m going straight to my mom—”
“You don’t need to get in trouble for me,” I counseled quickly.
“If you can’t get in trouble for your friends, who can you get in trouble for? Plus, I wouldn’t still be in the Academy if it weren’t for you. The least I can do is return the favor and prove this is wrong.”
“Thank you, Elle,” I repeated.
“First thing I’m going to do is work on my idiot brother. I cannot believe he bought Hendra’s act so quickly. All he needs is one pretty smile, and he’ll forget all his training and sense.”
I didn’t comment.
“You just sit tight. Trust me, I can do this. Hendra’s going to assume everyone believes her. I’m going to have an advantage as the only person in the whole Academy who isn’t so goddamn gullible.”
Despite the situation, I let out a small laugh.
I’d underestimated Elle, hadn’t I? Sure, she couldn’t run fast or fight well, but that did not mean she wasn’t a formidable warrior.
“Sit tight. Next time I see you, I’ll get you out of here,” she promised. She offered me a friendly wave, a brave smile, and even a sloppy salute. Then she walked out.
….
I stood there and stared.
I didn’t know how I felt. Before Elle had walked in, I’d been plotting how to take Hendra down. I’d been after revenge.
Now my attitude had shifted.
I didn’t want revenge – I wanted to protect Elle and the rest of the Academy, even if she was the only person on the entire campus who had any sense.
This was what Ma’tovan had been on about, I suddenly realized. The difference between being a warrior and a guardian.
A lesson I was about to learn.
…
Jason Singh
“I cannot believe you are such an idiot.” My sister rounded on me. She’d found me in the corridors. Now she practically pinned me against one of the walls with her fury.
“Elle, what are you talking about?”
“All it takes is a pretty smile, right? Some girl offers you one of those then you don’t stop to think.”
My jaw hardened.
“She didn’t do it. I can’t believe you even think she’s capable of something like that.”
“… Elle, just calm down.”
I knew my little sister liked to protect her friends, but this was ridiculous. There was no doubt Em had done it. I’d seen every awful second – by proxy, but it still felt as if I’d endured it myself.
“No, not until you come to your senses.”
“Elle, I saw it myself. Hendra shared her memory with me,” I heard bitterness twist through my tone as my heart pounded harder in my chest.
“No, brother, what you got was a complete fantasy. And what you’re feeling now – all that rage and shame – that’s a fantasy too. She planted it in your mind. She’s a telepath – she can do that. I can’t believe you were stupid enough to accept her memory. It’s influencing you when you should be stepping back and realizing what’s actually going on here.”
“Elle,” I tried to use a soothing voice.
“Jason,” she shot back with a snarl, “Listen to me. Think about this. Why would Em agree to a meeting in public, then go into Hendra’s office and beat her up? You think Em is that stupid? If she wanted to punch that idiot telepath in the nose, she would have just done it. This makes no sense. Why would someone plan an attack like this? There would be no way to get away from it.”
“Elle, Em is… unstable. She would have seen it as an act of power, of dominance. She would have thought she could get away with it, because in her mind she’s untouchable.”
“Oh my god, I can’t believe you are this stupid. You know telepaths can create memories, right? Manufacture feelings.”
“Hendra isn’t that powerful.”
“How do you know that?”
“She was tested before she was brought onto Academy grounds – all telepaths are. It’s dangerous to have a powerful telepath walking around; they can glean secrets from passersby…” my voice trailed off.
“Em already told me that Hendra is telling everyone she’s been leaking Academy secrets. Hendra is using Em as a scapegoat while she’s the one spreading secrets.”
“… Em told you this?”
Elle nodded her head resolutely. “Just before Hendra beat herself up and ran screaming into your arms, she confessed to Em. Told her she was going to use her as a scapegoat, took pleasure in the fact no one would ever believe Em. Hendra is the psycho, not my friend.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
“Think about it, brother. How would Em be able to discover so many secrets? She might be a really good runner and great with a gun, but the Academy has incredible security. She wouldn’t be able to walk into someone’s office and snoop through their computer, not even if she was the best hacker in the world.”
“We’ve already found experimental hacking equipment in her quarters,” I countered. I shouldn’t have – that was a secret my sister didn’t need to know. Yet I wanted to make her see she was wrong.
Em didn’t deserve her protection.
“Which would have been planted there by Hendra.”
“Elle, you just need to accept—”
“I don’t need to accept anything. We’re going to find proof.”
“… What?”
“The assassins you have in cold storage – we need to check them.”
“What? How do you know—”
“The rumor is all over the Academy, brother. Now listen to me. I’ve been doing a bit of research on Kore assassins – actually, it’s been for a project, and I think I’m going to ace it. Anyhow, aren’t they modified depending on their task?”
I stared at my sister mutely. Where was she going with this?
“They are,” she answered her own question. “What’s more, there are certain assassins that can receive telepathic information, right? There are,” she answered her own question again. “Now, all we have
to do to clear Em is to walk into cold storage and check those assassins. If we find evidence of telepathic ability, then we’ll know Hendra is lying.”
I couldn’t reply. I wanted to point out the numerous flaws in her reasoning, but I was too stunned by what she was suggesting…. And worried.
Could it be true?
I shook my head as soon as I thought that.
Elle leaned in and grabbed my arm. “Come on. You owe it to her to try.”
I felt cold at her statement.
Did I owe it to Em to try?