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Caelan’s head snapped to his advisor. “What?”
Rayne frowned and stared ahead of him, but his gaze was unfocused, as if he were lost to his own thoughts. “The power is everywhere. How can it get everywhere without us being able to see it? It’s not above our heads. You’d be able to spot it.” His eyes suddenly jumped to Vitor. “What’s under the city?”
Vitor stiffened and straightened even further in his chair. “I beg your pardon?”
“Under Brightspire, what’s down there?”
Caelan nodded. It made sense. Underground was an excellent place to hide the godstone. They’d already encountered that with the Fire Stone. It had been hidden under what was the abandoned Hayashi manor. Other than being watched by the Takahashi, no one had taken an interest in it, and no one would have guessed that the property protected a godstone.
“I…I don’t know. I don’t think anything is under the city,” Vitor stammered.
“You’re sure?”
“There’s nothing down there,” Davi confirmed.
“Really? You’ve seen it? You’ve been under the city? Walked in the sewers?” Rayne prodded.
“No, but—”
“What about underground parking? How deep does it go?”
“Just one level,” Vitor murmured.
Rayne continued to push, and Caelan watched as both Vitor and Davi’s expressions glazed over. “You’re sure? What about tunnels? A subway?”
“There’s nothing down there,” Davi repeated.
Vitor nodded. “There’s nothing down there.”
Caelan looked at Nina, who shrugged, staring very confused at him. “Really, there’s nothing down there.”
Something about their answer was off. They sounded almost robotic, as if they weren’t thinking about their answer. It was what they were programmed to say.
Caelan glanced over at Rayne to see his brow furrowed.
“What’s going on?” Eno growled. “Have they been brainwashed?”
“What?” Davi gasped. “That’s fucking ridiculous.”
“Forgive me, Lord Bevyn, but that’s impossible for me,” Vitor added.
A soft sigh lifted from Caelan as he pushed to his feet. “No, I’m afraid it’s not.” He crossed to where Vitor was sitting and placed his hand on the man’s stiff shoulder. “Close your eyes. I want you to think about what’s under the city. Imagine you were going to climb into the sewers.”
As Caelan spoke, he gathered up a touch of Tula’s gift and tried to gently press into Vitor’s mind. He didn’t want to go too far, invading his privacy. The man’s brain held countless secrets. Yes, it was for the good and protection of Erya, but Caelan had little doubt that there were some things he was better off not knowing. At the very least, he didn’t need the distraction.
The roadblock snapped up almost immediately in his thoughts. There was nothing else. Just a massive stone wall within Vitor’s mind that screamed that there was nothing under the city. It didn’t feel like it was one of Vitor’s thoughts, but something imposed upon him.
Caelan pulled the power back and moved his hand from Vitor’s shoulder. “How long have you been in Brightspire?”
“On this trip, three weeks,” the Gray Fox immediately replied.
“And you’ve made many trips?”
“Countless. Cumulatively, I’ve probably spent a few years here in Brightspire.”
And Davi had been here almost his entire life. Caelan walked over to the younger man and repeated the test only to find the same wall.
“Davi, think about your favorite food,” Caelan asked. Instantly, the wall disappeared, and he was hit with images of deep-dish pizza. “Think about where you grew up.” The pizza disappeared and he was lost in a sea of faded images of an austere institute crowded with kids in matching uniforms.
