The way he said Erik’s name with such familiarity sent a chill up my spine to settle at the base of my skull, giving me a cold headache like I’d eaten ice cream too fast. This wasn’t the first time Crane had discussed Erik with the council members, I realized. They were all aware of his situation.
I looked around the table at their eager faces. Ten sets of eyes were glazed with anticipation, like they couldn’t wait to get their hands on him. To study him, learn from him, dissect him. Not just Erik, I reminded myself, Penny and me, too. Several gazes flicked to our end of the table, turning those ravenous looks on more immediate prey. I swallowed hard. This evaluation was going to suck.
“Mr. Kelley was in need of medical attention, precipitating a stop at the Underground station in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Using a tracker implanted in Mr. Kelley, TOXIC forces followed us to the station and launched a retaliatory attack. The death toll is still undetermined.
“Up to this point the Coalition has been passive, playing defense in the hopes of providing a peaceful life for those wishing to live outside of TOXIC’s rule. But that is no longer an option. I have verified that TOXIC is using the creation drug, in direct violation of UNITED mandate 1216.45, which prohibits use and experimentation of the same. You have asked for proof. Today I have asked you here to deliver that proof.”
Crane’s speech, much like all our outfits, seemed formal.
“All three children have agreed to the evaluation?” an auburn haired woman asked, a strong British accent flavoring her words.
I blanched at her characterization of us as “children.” We were hardly children. I’d killed for TOXIC, and now for the Coalition, that definitely classified me as an adult in my book.
“Why don’t you ask them yourself, Victoria?” Crane suggested mildly, and gestured to where Penny and I sat.
Victoria turned to stare at us with gold eyes that seemed to shimmer in the fluorescent lighting. She radiated a cool calm that wasn’t exactly unpleasant so much as odd when it touched me. I felt that she was kind but clinical, a scientist with a heart. I decided to reserve judgment for later.
Under the table, Penny reached for my hand. I squeezed hers to let her know we were in this together. Apparently she was more nervous about the evaluation than she’d let on.
“If it helps stop Mac, then I’m in,” I said, meeting Victoria’s gaze with a confident one of my own. At least, I hoped it was confident since nerves were swimming in my stomach like sharks.
“Natalia Lyons, I presume?” Victoria said, making it obvious she knew exactly who I was. This fact did nothing to lessen my fears.
I nodded mutely.
“What about the boy?” a man with bushy black eyebrows and a pronounced overbite asked in German. “Why is he not here?”
My upbringing had involved a lot of travel because of my father’s job for the Italian Government. Between that and being a mind reader, I was fluent in a number of languages, including German.
“The boy,” I said through clenched teeth, “is still unconscious. While I’m sure he’ll agree, you’ll have to wait until he wakes up.”
The German councilman raised those caterpillars several millimeters to show his surprise at my understanding of his native tongue. His thick lips twitched a little and I thought maybe he was impressed.
“I, for one, would like to hear what the young women have to say,” another man added in a soft voice.
I focused on him, smiling a little at the respect he’d shown by calling us “young women.” His almond eyes were kind, and I found I liked him instantly.
“There will be time for that in their individual evaluations, Michael,” Victoria said.
“Yes, of course, Councilwoman, but not all of us will be taking part in the evaluations. I would like to hear it now.”
Twenty eyes turned on us in unison. Crane nodded, giving an unspoken cue that it was our turn to speak.
Next to me, Penny released my hand and stood slowly. She gripped the table with white knuckles. Her arms trembled slightly, but her face remained expressionless.
“Hello, my name is Penelope Crane,” Penny began, her voice low and even. The room went silent, everyone giving Penny their undivided attention.
Her story was nearly verbatim the one she’d told the soldiers before the attack on Tramblewood. Every so often one of the council members would politely raise his or her hand and ask a question for clarification. A beautiful olive-skinned woman with startlingly light gray eyes and a faint Portuguese accent was nearly as vocal as Victoria. She recorded Penny’s answers on an electronic tablet on the table in front of her. Michael showed the most deference, and any time Penny tripped over a question, he gently prodded her in the right direction. I wondered how much of this he already knew.
When Penny finished, it was my turn. My story was considerably less eventful than Penny’s. I carefully edited the encounter with Crane in the basement of his Nevada home. It wasn’t really important, and didn’t help my case for sanity. Sure, I’d just been acting in self-defense, but my actions could be termed dangerous. I doubted the Council would care that the incident had occurred prior to receiving the creation drug.
I was shocked and a little relieved to realize that many of the council members found my story as appalling as Penny’s. Though, I thought it had more to do with the fact that Mac had infected his son than the accidental transference to me. Honestly, that was what had been hardest for me to digest, as well. How any parent could knowingly put his child in danger was beyond me.
“You were infected eighteen months ago?” Victoria asked me.
“Yes.”
“Yet you still have the ability to morph? Fascinating.” While she phrased it like a question, I wasn’t sure whether she actually expected an answer.
“I do,” I confirmed, just in case she did want an answer. I was doing my best to appear obedient and helpful.
“That is highly unusual,” the Portuguese councilwoman commented.
This time, I said nothing. I knew created talents faded with time, and was well aware that mine lasting this long was rare. For once, I hated being unique.
“She was talented to begin with,” Michael pointed out mildly. “We know the drug works better in the talented.”
“How many different forms can you take?” Victoria asked me.
“I don’t know. All I’ve attempted have worked,” I said.
“And those would be?” Victoria prompted impatiently.
“Um, well, I’ve morphed into a wolf and a bird,” I said. “Oh, and a person.”
This got their attention. Several of the UNITED council members sat up straighter in the chairs. An ancient woman with folds of skin weighing down her eyelids studied me with new interest.
“You have successfully performed a human transformation?” Victoria asked, sounding intrigued if not impressed.
“Sort of,” I amended. “I changed my eyes to imitate another’s. For a retinal scanner.”
“Truly remarkable,” Michael said, nodding his head appreciatively.
“Yes,” Victoria agreed. “Quite.”
From there the questions turned towards my emotions and feelings. The UNITED council wanted to know what made me angry, sad, happy, and had that changed since my infection. I hated how they kept referring to it that way – infected. It made me feel dirty. Every time someone uttered that word, my temper rose a degree. Constant mental reminders from Crane, and waves of calm from Penny were all that kept me from verbally lashing out.
Exhausted from the rapid-fire questions that felt much like an interrogation, I was finally allowed to sit back down. Frederick patted my leg under the table for support. He’d been quiet through both mine and Penny’s question and answer sessions. I wasn’t sure why he was there, but I was glad he was.
The council members began conferring among themselves. All of them understood English, but several insisted on speaking in their native languages. I followed the conversation easily, keeping up a running tran
slation for Penny, who wasn’t so fortunate.
“The German guy wants to do our evaluations tonight. But he doesn’t want to make a decision before Erik wakes up. The old guy is French, or at least speaks French, but his accent is weird. He wants to bring in reinforcements now. He’s heard enough,” I told her.
“I think that is premature, Barbar,” Victoria retorted, addressing the maybe-French guy. “I agree that we have to take action, but I’d like to have a better idea what we are up against. The evaluations will show us that.”
“Have not these young women been through enough?” Michael asked.
“We can’t know what TOXIC’s army is capable of unless we dig deeper,” Victoria shot back. “We need to be prepared.”
“I am not convinced,” a dark-skinned man interjected in clipped English. “I’d like to wait until we have the girls’ blood samples. That will be concrete proof.”
This debate continued so long my vision went blurry trying to follow the threads. It was hard to tell who was winning. On the one hand, a lot of the Council did think that our stories were proof enough to intercede. Some of those same members still thought the evaluations were necessary. Others wanted to launch an airstrike on Washington, D.C. this very minute. Ultimately, the decision would be Victoria’s. She was the undisputed leader, even if no one actually stated that. Hers was the opinion that mattered in the end.
I was on the edge of my seat, ready to interject my own unwanted advice into the mix, when Victoria declared, “This is how we shall proceed.”
Penny clammy fingers found mine again. I felt like I was holding hands with an octopus, but I squeezed back with as much reassurance as possible.
“Councilman Neumann,” Victoria continued, turning those gold eyes on her German colleague, “you will return to Bern and inform the rest of the Council of our decision to take action against TOXIC. From this moment on, persons associated with TOXIC are wanted for questioning for the illegal use of the creation drug. Have a formal declaration sent to Director Danbury McDonough, inviting him to voluntarily come before the UNITED Council to plead his case. Should he refuse, which I assume he will, then make it clear the Council will launch an attack.” She turned to Michael. “Councilman Tanaka, your job is to, discreetly, meet with the conservative nations. Once TOXIC’s use of the creation drug becomes public knowledge, those countries will declare war. The United States' polices protecting the talented have not endeared them to the less tolerant nations, who would like nothing more than mass genocide of our kind. TOXIC’s violation of rule 1216.45 will be used as pretense. Let them know UNITED will handle the situation.”
“President Crane, if you would be so kind as to lend us the use of your facilities, I want to have the children evaluated immediately. As I expressed earlier, I want to know what we are up against. I understand the boy cannot be evaluated yet. The girls, however, can be.”
“Of course, Victoria. Whatever you need,” Crane replied.
“How is your team progressing with the cure?” Victoria asked him. “You are still researching the cure, are you not?”
“Dr. Patel’s research had been stagnant until recently. I am confident with Penelope, Talia, and Erik here it will pick up. He will find one soon.”
“Wonderful. It will be invaluable. If TOXIC has succeeded in making a created army, we need a way to deal with them. We cannot have the created running loose in the world. Whether they have been infected with the beta version of the drug or the long-lasting version, they are too dangerous to be roaming free.”
So not the words I wanted to hear. It sounded like Victoria had all but sentenced us to containment. I couldn’t keep quiet.
“Not all of us are dangerous,” I interjected. “I get it, the power is hard to control for people who haven’t had it their whole lives. But what about those of us who have? I’m not a danger to society.”
“Debatable,” I heard Brand mutter under his breath. I shot him a nasty glare.
“Ms. Lyons,” Victoria began in an extremely patronizing tone that suggested I was five, “the drug was outlawed for a reason. Part of that reason was to prevent exactly what TOXIC has done. Injecting unwilling recipients is abhorrent, I think we can all agree on that. Even more disturbing are the long-term ramifications of the drug. The original study showed that even recipients who were naturally talented were unable to handle the additional power. Without exception, the test subjects’ minds slowly deteriorated. The Council was left with a contingent of people who needed to be contained.”
“Institutionalized, you mean,” I retorted, a mixture of anger and fear bubbling up inside of me. I saw her point. Really, I did. But I wasn’t like those people. Penny wasn’t like those people. Erik wasn’t like those people.
“Yes, Ms. Lyons, institutionalized. For their own good and the good of society.”
“So these evaluations are just a courtesy to Ian? You’ve already determined we’re a threat?” I wanted to scream.
“Talia, it isn’t like that,” Crane said with a warning note in his voice. His mind pushed on mine and I knew he wanted to tell me to cool off before I nailed my own cell door shut. I didn’t need the reminder. I was fully aware that openly arguing with Victoria wasn’t the smartest idea I’d ever had.
“You, Ms. Lyons, have always been a threat,” she said coolly. “Mind Manipulators are the most dangerous of Talents. Katerina knew that. Why do you think she insisted you not parade your abilities in front of others?”
The blood drained from my head, leaving me dizzy and disoriented. How dare she bring my mother into this.
“Victoria, really,” Michael admonished.
“No decisions have been made, Talia,” Crane said quickly. I could tell by the way his dark eyes went wide, he feared I was about to give the Council members a front-row show of just how dangerous I really was. “Isn’t that right, Victoria? I had your word the children would be evaluated on an individual basis. Talia has lived for almost eighteen years without incident.”
Victoria’s high-pitched laughter was grating to my ears. Another councilperson snorted and someone coughed to discreetly cover a grunt. Apparently the Council had a dossier of my exploits. Not good.
“And they will be, Ian,” she said with a smile. “Do not worry, Ms. Lyons, I will be evaluating you myself.”
My mounting outrage had caused my mental barriers to drop, and I was projecting like crazy – or maybe just projecting crazy. Crane read the words out of my head before they formed on my lips.
“Don’t. Let it go. You can trust me, Talia. I won’t let them put you in containment,” he sent.
I swallowed the nasty retort I’d been about to make and said, “I look forward to it Councilwoman.”
Chapter Ten
Thankfully, when Victoria had said she wanted the evaluations done “immediately,” she really meant the following morning. Now I had roughly eight hours before my big mouth got me contained. Awesome.
The meeting had been productive, though. The fact that the Council was taking action against TOXIC was a huge load off of my mind. No, I didn’t actually expect Mac to voluntarily appear before UNITED to answer for his crimes, which meant a war was inevitable. But at least the Coalition wouldn’t be fighting alone. Mac and his army of Created, if he’d succeeded in making one, had to be stopped, and I wanted to be part of the solution. I needed to be part of the solution. The more I thought about the Mind Manipulator from Gatlinburg, the more sure I was that Mac had succeeded. That person had mostly likely been spawned from my blood, which made me feel responsible for his actions. No way was I going to let him wreak havoc in the world.
Brand had shepherded Penny to her bedroom the moment we’d been dismissed, insisting she needed to rest, despite her protests to the contrary. Frederick and I had returned to the medical floor together, him leaving me at Henri’s door with the promise to visit me in the morning before my evaluation. I’d thought about visiting with Henri for a while before returning to Erik’s room, but deci
ded my time was better spent by Erik’s bedside.
I was sitting vigil in my chair, holding Erik’s cold hand and telling him all about the heinous Victoria and the other Council members when the soft squeak of the door hinge made me jump. I turned, expecting to see Frederick. Crane stood in the doorway, an oblong triangle of light shining onto the stone floor in front of him, one hand rubbing back and forth against his short hair.
“I figured you’d still be awake,” he said softly.
“Too keyed up to sleep,” I replied, in a voice slightly louder than the one he’d used. Crane didn’t have Morph hearing like me.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
I glanced back at Erik’s blissfully unconscious form. As badly as I wanted him to wake up, as many times as I willed him to do so, he wasn’t going to tonight. Dr. Patel thought tomorrow at the earliest. Besides, Crane and I had a lot to discuss. I kissed the hand of Erik’s that I still held in mine before tucking it safely under the patchwork quilt.
“Sure,” I said, gesturing to the other armchair.
While Crane settled in, I dragged my chair over to the sitting area. Crane hadn’t changed after the meeting with the Council. He still wore his suit pants, but they’d lost their crisp clean look and were now tired and wrinkled, much like Crane himself. His button-down appeared looser than it had earlier, like he’d shrunk under all the stress. I felt bad for him.
“I know you’re upset about the evaluations,” he began. His muscled forearms rested on the arms of the chair, and he studied me with his intense eyes.
I shrugged like it was no big deal. “The Coalition can’t defeat TOXIC on its own. We need their help. They need proof. The evaluations are necessary for that proof. I get it.”
“I meant what I said, Talia. I won’t let them contain you. It’s in nobody’s best interests. You’re an asset in this war. You know McDonough better than anyone else on our side. Deep down, Victoria knows that.” He paused, waiting for some reaction I wasn’t willing to give. Crane sighed. “Mind Manipulators are, by definition, dangerous. But having one as powerful as you on our side is beneficial. She knows that. Just keep calm and answer her questions tomorrow, and you’ll be fine. Let her see how strong your talent is. UNITED recruits the best and the brightest from around the globe. If her desire to have you on her team outweighs the risk you pose, she won’t lock you up.”