YAAF
Are you sure?the collective directed at Number One, meaning that telling Sullha was dangerous, that she didn't need to know about the assassination plan, that it might impact her feelings for Yaaf.
He didn't answer directly, letting them instead absorb the feelings he couldn't articulate without giving them much more thought.
He needed to share this with Sullha because, at some point, she had become his partner. On some level, he'd started to think of her as the ninth member of their collective, just without the direct access the other eight enjoyed. He needed to tell her what the others learned directly from each other's minds.
The collective responded by calming the surge of thoughts and expressing acceptance. They understood.
Yaaf reached into Sullha's mind, and with him, his seven counterparts reached as well. They were gentle, circumventive, implanting a light suggestion of keeping what he told her a secret. They laid the small, careful instruction over the newinformation she was about to receive and set it to engage only if she tried to speak of it to someone other than Number One.
It took no longer than two seconds.
Sullha blinked.
"Are you done?" she asked.
He nodded.
"I didn't feel anything."
"I told you that you wouldn't."
"What will it do exactly?"
"You won't be able to talk about this with anyone other than me."
The corner of her mouth lifted in a little smirk. "What if I write it down and pass someone a note?"
"You won't be able to do that."
"Are you sure?" Her voice carried a note of challenge. "What if I write the note now, while I'm with you, put it in my pocket, and give it to someone later?"
He had to smile. "You have a devious mind, Sullha. I didn't know that about you."
"You must have forgotten. I was always devious."
He tried to remember what she'd done as a kid that could be classified as crafty, but the worst thing Sullha had ever done was filch a double serving of dessert, and she'd done it for him because he was obsessed with anything with chocolate in it, and the kitchen had served chocolate pudding.
"Are you talking about the pudding?"
She laughed. "You remembered that. I'm impressed. There was more, but I want to hear about that thing that is more dangerous than your escape plan."
Number One drew a deep breath.
He hadn't planned to tell her about the assassination plot, let alone how to tell her. The others were right that he had no reason to tell her about it. He didn't need to burden her with the knowledge. Still, he felt like he had to, like he needed to invite her into the fold, and to do so properly, he had to start at the beginning.
"I assume you know that Lord Navuh has sequestered himself in his harem, and that his son Losham is in charge."
She nodded. "We've heard rumors. The servants who shuttle laundry to and from the barracks talk, even though they are not supposed to. That's how we knew about the rebellion, but they never mentioned anything about enhanced soldiers. I didn't know about that until you told me."
"They could've been thralled to forget about the enhancement experiment," Number One said. "Lord Navuh didn't want people remembering his failure."
"So, why did Lord Navuh decide to sequester himself? Was it because of the rebellion?"
"Not exactly." Number One ran a hand over the back of his neck. "The rebellion of the enhanced was quashed, and nearly all of the enhanced soldiers were eliminated because they were deemed too volatile and uncontrollable. Only the Eight of us were spared because Lord Navuh refused to give up on hispet project, and he needed test subjects to refine the program. He had new scientists brought to the island to design a better protocol."
He could hear Sullha's heart rate accelerate, and her hand came to her chest. "That's horrible. Were you imprisoned?"
