“Stay with me, Tal. You need to stay with me,” Erik urged, frantically shaking my shoulder.
“I’m here,” I mumbled, reaching my hand towards the sound of his voice.
“Open your eyes,” Henri ordered harshly. I tried desperately to obey, but couldn’t manage more than small slits. I felt Erik pick me up again. The sound of his footsteps changed as the ground underneath segued from dirt to something smoother, concrete maybe.
“Where are we?” I choked out.
“The Barn,” he replied, tersely.
He shifted me slightly as he walked up a set of stairs. I winced, but managed to keep in the howl climbing in my throat. He set me down on a hard mattress at the top of the stairs. I heard Henri come in after us, and then the space filled with a faint blue glow. I managed to open my eyes wide enough to see Henri flipping switches on a panel that was similar to the one that in the control room of the safe house. The computers hummed quietly as they sprang to life.
Henri started pulling gadgets out of his pack and setting them on the floor next to the mattress.
“I need to take off your suit so I can do a body scan, and see if the blade hit any of your organs before I take it out. The imager won’t work through the material,” he said quietly, searching my face for a sign that I understood him. I nodded that I did. He unzipped the suit down to my waist, and slipped the imager underneath the parted fabric, next to where the knife was piercing my skin. His hands were surprisingly soft, and his touch was light as he probed the area surrounding the knife. The sight of the cold gray handle protruding from my flesh made me dizzy. I looked away as bile rose to the back of my mouth. I searched the room for something to focus on, and found Erik standing a couple of feet behind Henri, his arms crossed, nervously chewing his thumbnail. He met my eyes and locked me in a stare. The pain dulled slightly. I breathed out, and felt the stomach acids trickle back down.
“Good news. It went cleanly through without hitting any organs,” Henri smiled at me. I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Erik. “I’m going to take it out, but I need to test your blood for poison before I can sew it up. It should only take a minute.” I gave another barely perceptible nod. Henri stood to get what he needed to test for the poison, and Erik moved forward, dropping down to kneel next to my head. Concern rolled off his body in waves.
“Give me your hands.” His voice was not unkind but had a firm, authoritative feel to it; I couldn’t stop myself from complying. He laced his fingers with mine and the pain dulled a little more.
“Ready, Tal?” Henri asked, bending back down. I nodded and gritted my teeth.
“Open your mind and focus on me, Tal,” Erik said in the same firm tone. Still helpless to say no to him, I submitted. The pain didn’t completely subside, but it did lessen considerably. Henri placed one hand on my hip and one hand on the end of the dagger. In one swift motion he extracted the long, hooked blade. I’d expected blinding agony, but it didn’t come. There was an odd sensation as it moved through my muscles, but otherwise my body felt almost numb. My eyes were still locked on Erik’s, and when his face contorted and his eyes filled with tears, I understood what he was doing. I admonished myself for not having realized it earlier.
“No!” I shrieked. I tried twisting away from Erik, but he had a firm grip on my hands, and Henri was holding clean towels firmly to both my stomach and back, immobilizing my body. I managed to break eye contact, and the moment that I did a hot burning pain shot out in every direction from the wound. I gasped as the pain spread, writhing on the bed as hot tears filled my eyes. Erik refused to let go of my hands. He was so much stronger than I was, and in my weakened condition I couldn’t even put up a real fight. He pulled them behind my head and held my face in a vice grip with the muscles in his forearms.
“No,” I repeated, this time, with much less conviction.
“Tal, stop. You need to relax and stay still. He can’t give you painkillers, this is the only option that you have,” Erik’s face was only inches from mine, his breath hot against the cold sweat covering my face.
“Your blood is clean. I’m going to sew up your cuts now,” Henri interrupted. “I need to take your suit completely off so that I can get to your back.”
Erik quickly worked my arms out of the suit and pulled it down to my waist. I thought I would be more embarrassed, lying half-naked, but the pain was excruciating and I found decorum the least of my concerns. I ground my teeth, and tried to fight the feeling of nausea that was quickly overtaking me. Erik grabbed my hands again and pinned them back behind my head. His elbows dug into my collarbone, but I barely felt it over the pain radiating through my side. He rested his forehead against mine, and I had no choice but to look into his eyes.
Erik may be able to mimic my abilities, but he can’t match my strength. I’d had years to perfect my Talents; he’s had only weeks to work with them. I knew that I could’ve fought against his mental invasion, but my resolve was weak from the events of the night. While I wanted to be strong, and not let him do this, I wanted for the pain to stop more. I stopped fighting him and opened my mind, the pain easing immediately. I felt myself losing control as Erik took over but I was beyond caring. In the end, Erik pulled all conscious thought from my mind. The pain completely dissolved.
“Ready?” Henri’s voice asked, from a place that sounded a million miles away.
“Yeah,” I heard myself say, in a mechanical voice that sounded nothing like my own.
I felt disconnected from my body; my alternate reality consisted only of Erik’s eyes. Some part of me felt the tug of the thread that Henri used to stitch my wounds. While I felt no pain, Erik’s eyes filled with tears. I watched in wonder as they filled to the brim, and then slowly cascaded down his face.
“I can give you something now, Talia, that will make you sleep for a while,” Henri’s faraway voice came again.
“Okay,” I said in my mechanical voice. I became aware of my arm as a dull chemical sensation spread from the crook of my elbow, making it heavy.
“Sleep, Tal.” Erik’s mental voice was heavy with exhaustion.
“I think I will,” I replied drowsily as I closed my eyes.
Chapter Seventeen
I fluctuated between varying levels of consciousness. Sometimes I enjoyed a dreamless sleep. Sometimes I dreamed only of crying turquoise eyes. Other times I thought that I might actually be awake, but I couldn’t be sure. During one of my seemingly-conscious periods, I thought I heard Henri and Erik talking.
“I never thought I would see the day,” Henri teased, his tone light even though I somehow knew that the underlying mood in the room was heavy.
“What day?”
“The day that Erikson Kelley would genuinely care enough about a girl to ease her pain instead of causing it.”
“I’m offended! I always try to comfort girls in pain,” Erik responded, with mock indignation.
“Yeah, girls suffering from broken hearts, who need a shoulder to cry on and a body to keep their bed warm,” Henri laughed.
“Comfort all the same, buddy.”
“Seriously, Erik, what you did for her was really amazing. The mastering of her Talents alone was pretty impressive, but taking the pain . . . WOW.”
“I would do the same for you,” Erik sounded embarrassed.
“Really? Really? You’d take the pain of having a blade that had run completely through your side being pulled out and the wounds stitched up, without any painkillers or anesthetic for me?” Henri demanded.
“Of course I would. I would even suck poison out of the wound for you,” Erik’s voice had a light joking tone.
“Ew, no way, man. If I somehow get injected with poison, or bit by a poisonous snake, or whatever, promise me that you won’t stick your mouth on my skin. I’ve seen some of the women your mouth goes home with, and I’d rather take my chances with the poison,” Henri laughed. There was a dull thud, and then Henri saying “Ouch,” followed by Erik’s laughter.
/>
“Erik, promise me one other thing,” Henri said, his voice turning serious again.
“Sure, what?”
“You need to put aside any feelings that you have for Talia.”
“I don’t have feelings for her, Henri,” Erik insisted, his voice so low that I thought I might have misunderstood him.
“Okay. You want to play it that way? Fine. Just remember one thing – she has been dating the Director’s son for practically her whole life, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
“Donavon’s an ass,” Erik said emphatically.
“You know I don’t disagree with you there, but that doesn’t give you the right to mess with his girlfriend.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept with another guy’s girlfriend for that reason,” Erik tried to lighten the mood.
“Talia isn’t really the kind of girl that you have a one-night-stand with,” Henri switched tactics.
“What makes you think that it would be only one night?”
“Because you’re you. You’ve never had more than a one-night stand. You’re not the only one who cares, and doesn’t want to see her hurting.”
“I’m not the one you have to worry about hurting her,” Erik said quietly. Henri gave a loud sigh, and I imagined him slowly nodding his head.
“Yeah, I know you’re not,” he replied. “Just promise me that you’ll leave it alone?”
“Whatever, man.”
“Erik, you’ve been different since you met her,” Henri insisted.
“She makes an incredible first impression; there aren’t too many girls who can kick my ass,” Erik mused.
I smiled at the memory.
****
The first time I’d met Erik was at my Placement Exams for the Hunters. The last scoring phase was a five-round spar. Five rounds of hand-to-hand combat against members of the Hunters. No weapons were allowed, only Talents and raw physical fighting. Oddly, of all the rounds of qualifying tests to become a Hunter Pledge, this was the one that I had dreaded the least. I knew that most, if not all, of my opponents would be male. I knew that Mac had personally selected the best fighters. I also knew that most of them would be Morphers. Most importantly, I knew that none of my opponents would be prepared for what I could do. The first four I had beaten because my Talent was stronger, not because of my combat skills. I’d used my mental abilities to dictate their moves for them. I’d choreographed the blows, the final act ending with my victory, before they realized what was happening. I was cocky by the time that I got to the fifth competitor. I knew that being last meant that he was the best, but I hadn’t known that he was a Mimic.
At first, he fell prey to my mental manipulation like the others, but he quickly realized what I was doing, and was soon using my own abilities against me. I’d never met a mimic, or another Elite-Level Manipulator, so I was unprepared. I was already drained from expending so much mental energy on the previous fights, and when I realized that I would have to fight him for real, I panicked. I had never envisioned a future where I didn’t become a Hunter, and I wasn’t about to let him change that. I went at him with everything I had, and then some.
Our fight had been dirty, no-holds barred sparring. When it became obvious neither of us would concede victory to the other, Mac declared the match a tie. At the time I’d been incredulous that I’d have to take a draw for my last fight. Later, on my first day of training at Elite Headquarters Henri informed me that it was the first time Erik hadn’t won. Ever.
****
“Talia, it’s time to wake up,” Erik whispered, close to my ear.
“Not ready yet,” I replied, sleepily. I could feel him smoothing the damp curls that were stuck to my forehead. Why was I so sweaty? Why was Erik whispering in my ear to wake me up? My eyes flew open, and I tried to sit up, but my stomach muscles protested so much I was barely able to lift my back off of the bed. The sudden and intense throbbing in my side made me fully conscious, like a cold bucket of water to the face.
“Easy,” Erik smiled at me. “We have time, you don’t need to rush.”
“I think I might need help getting up,” I said sheepishly.
“Hold still so I can check your stitches, okay?”
“As long as you promise that it won’t hurt,” I tried to joke, but instantly regretted it when the memory of what he’d done for me surfaced.
His hands lightly touched my bare stomach and I froze. I felt a jolt of electricity where his fingertips lingered. My whole body was overcome by a pleasant, tingly sensation and my heart started racing. I gasped involuntarily. I felt the blood rush to my face, and I tried to hide my humiliation over my body’s reaction.
“Did that hurt?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. “I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful.”
“No, it didn’t hurt,” I whispered. “I’m just jumpy,” I added lamely.
“I won’t hurt you,” he promised. I instantly recalled the conversation that I’d heard between him and Henri, wondering if it had, in fact, been a dream.
“Where’s Henri?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Packing the car, and getting things ready for us to leave.”
“What all does he have to do to get ready for us to leave?” as long as I kept talking, I could ignore my body’s involuntary response to Erik’s contact.
“Burning all the stuff with your blood on it.”
“What? Why? I thought that he said my blood wasn’t poisoned?!?” I said frantically, trying to sit up again.
“It’s just protocol, Tal,” he soothed. “After I get you up and dressed, he’ll burn this mattress and the sheets, too.”
“Oh right, protocol.”
“Your stitches look good. Let me help you up so I can re-bandage them.”
Erik slowly lifted me into a sitting position. I sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only my bra and underwear, feeling more than a little self-conscious. Erik carefully covered my stitches with bandages, and then wrapped gauze around my entire mid-section to secure them in place. He was careful to only touch at my wounds with his long, rough fingers. He handed me a black tank top, and I pulled it on over my bandages.
“Stiches feel okay?” he asked.
“As okay as they can,” I answered.
He helped me to my feet and handed me a pair of my loose cotton pants, but I couldn’t bend over to put them on myself.
“I feel like a little kid,” I lamented, as Erik helped me into one leg and then the other.
“No way. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve done this for Henri,” he winked at me.
I rewarded his attempt at humor with a small snort of laughter, but instantly regretted it when pain exploded down my left side.
Once my pants were on, Erik guided my feet into leather flip-flops and wrapped a lightweight jacket around my shoulders.
“Ready?” Henri asked, walking through the door.
“Yeah,” I smiled. “I’m ready to go home.”
“Erik, get her into the vehicle while I finish up with the mattress and sheets.”
Erik half-carried me down the stairs from what I now realized was a loft in the barn. Once I was as comfortably settled as I could be in the backseat of the car, he went back to assist Henri finish cleaning up.
I noticed, as soon as we got in, that this vehicle was even nicer than the previous one. For starters, it was a lot bigger and had a lot more gadgets. There was enough fire power to outfit an army in the doors, and the front passenger seat looked like a mobile command center.
Henri opened the driver’s side door and hopped in. Erik climbed in the passenger seat, and started up all of the monitors and display screens. Apparently it didn’t just look like a mobile command center – it actually was one. We drove through the open barn doors, and I realized that it was dark outside.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked.
“Only about three hours,” Henri answered. “We couldn’t spare any more time; I wanted to leave wh
ile it was still dark.” Shame washed over me at his unspoken meaning. We had to drive because I wasn’t in shape to make the trek on foot, or even riding on Erik’s back.
“Why don’t you lie back down and sleep. It’ll be a couple of hours until we get to the pick-up location,” Erik added.
“What are you doing?” I asked, nodding towards the monitors.
“Checking in. The Director wants us in constant contact with him, he’s worried about you,” Erik added. Great, Mac already knew that I’d screwed up my first mission.
I was still in a lot of pain, and woozy from the drugs that Henri had given me earlier. I curled up in the nest of blankets and pillows he’d made in the backseat, and instantly fell back to sleep.
I slept during the entire drive, only waking when the vehicle stopped. Henri parked outside of a huge old house. It looked like it had once been beautiful, but had succumbed to neglect and age. The peeling paint revealed wooden boards underneath, and the windows were so thick with grime that it was impossible to tell if curtains hung inside. A white wraparound porch marked the entrance to the house, but I doubted that it would hold my weight, let alone the boys.
The sun was fully up, shining brightly in the sky, and I guessed it was late morning by the angle.
“Where are we?” I asked drowsily.
“About five miles from the hover plane,” Henri answered. “Erik will morph, and carry you the rest of the way. It’s too risky to drive into town.”
“I can walk,” I insisted.
“No, you can’t,” Erik interjected. I gritted my teeth and sighed. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I was weak and in a lot of pain, and it was unlikely that I’d make it the entire way. Even more than I disliked admitting that Erik was right, I hated that he knew how crappy I felt, because he was reading it out of my mind. I didn’t like having the tables turned on me.
Erik morphed into a large black horse as soon as he exited the vehicle, and Henri lifted me easily on to his back. Once I was settled, the three of us set off towards the town. Erik trotted at a moderate pace, and Henri ran alongside of us, ready to catch me should I fall. Each step sent a jolt of pain up my side, but I knew that this was better than the alternative: walking.