AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The voice wavers, momentarily so quiet that I can barely make out the words.Kind of. I’m alive. And I can do this now. I had this… this feeling that you were reaching out to me.
I hesitate. How much should I tell him about what I’ve been doing with Griffin’s powers?
Balthazar couldn’t know about our ability to swap talents yet. Even if Ajax doesn’t want to help the psychopath, I know far too well that he might not have the choice.
I was thinking about you, I settle on as a vague answer.You and the other shadowbloods. Are you alone or with some of the other kids?
Balthazar’s people don’t let us mingle much. There are adults here who have powers too—they get pretty brutal if we don’t listen to them.
My stomach knots. So Balthazar has his new, morally questionable shadowbloods enforcing his rule over the kids when he’s not there.
I can only imagine how badly that situation could go wrong for the younger ones.
I’m sorry,I say.We—the Firsts—managed to get away from him. We’re going to do everything we can to get you all out too.
That promise isn’t giving away anything Balthazar shouldn’t already know. I just can’t share any specific possible strategies with the boy who’s trapped thousands of miles distant.
I get the impression of a sigh.Well, I’m hanging in there. I’m mostly worried about Devon. I haven’t seen him since Clancy’s island.
It doesn’t surprise me that Balthazar has been keeping the two separate. He must have realized they were more than just friends. He split up Nadia and Booker once they left his villa too.
Losing his wife seems to be what sent him right over the deep end. I guess he’s self-aware enough to realize that we shadowbloods will be even more motivated to fight back if we can see the people we love most in peril.
Unfortunately, I can’t offer Ajax much comfort about his boyfriend.I saw him a few days ago. He was still alive then.Have you been able to talk to him like you are with me?
Ajax’s tone turns mournful.No. I’m not sure why this worked. Before, I had to be able to see a person to read their thoughts or send my own. Even with the way my power’s grown, I haven’t been hearing anyone much farther than this building we’re in.
It must be some synchronicity sparked by my use of Griffin’s talent. In a way, I was “seeing” Ajax when I found him on the map.
Has Balthazar amped up Devon’s powers too?he asks into my pause.
I don’t know,I admit, thinking back to our brief confrontation.
Nadia definitely used her light-based talent, and one of the kids I don’t know as well must have been responsible for the wind. Devon was able to project heat with his mind—when I was around him before, he could melt very small bits of metal, but that was about it.
Who knows what he’s capable of now.
I grimace to myself before going on.I’m guessing he’s done it to all of the shadowbloods he can. He’s got a lot of work that he wants done. I assume the other kids with you have had their abilities enhanced too?
Yeah. Ajax goes silent for long enough that I start to worry I’ve lost the psychic connection completely.I hope he’s okay. With the others… It hasn’t just improved their talents.
Something about his tone sends an icy finger down my spine.What do you mean?
There’s this thing we get injected with, and also pills we’re supposed to take… I’ve been able to skip some of the pills without being noticed, so maybe that’s why I’m okay. The other kids here have gotten really on edge. Bad tempers. Yelling and getting violent if they’re even a little upset. Even their thoughts are all jangly and mean. It seems like more than them just being frustrated about what he’s doing to us.
My spirits sink. Yes, it does. It could be that effect explains the aggression I sensed in Nadia’s and the others’ stances when I encountered them in the tunnel.
Were they standing in our way only because Balthazar forced them to? Or has he messed with their heads as well as their powers to make them feel they need to fight anyone in front of them?
I don’t like the sound of that, I say.Keep doing what you’re doing if that’s been saving you from the worst effects.
I’ll try.I get the impression of a rough laugh.Some days I actually miss the guardians. Although maybe they’d have done this too if they’d known how.
I know what he means on both points. There’s nothing I can think of to say that would really comfort him, and a throbbing pain has formed at the top of my spine.
I rub my neck, measuring out my last words, wishing I had more I could offer.I’m sorry. We’ll get to you as soon as we can. I don’t think I can keep talking like this for much longer right now. Do you know where you are?
No idea,Ajax says apologetically.We were unconscious when we got here, and there are no windows. Reach out again if you can. I’ll see if I can find out anything else.
