mine, I suppose you could say.”
He coughed. His arm jerked uncomfortably to the side. “I don’t understand.”
“You harness a weapon, correct? Why not a person?” She stepped forward until she was near enough to touch. “Our first attempts were sloppy. Scientific waste. But with Avery, I’ve got my first living, breathing weapon. She brought me you. She’s proven my success.”
Cassius grit his teeth. “Mind control? You’re telling her what to do?”
“Harnessing.” She grabbed his chin and pulled his head up, forcing him to look at her. “The vocabulary is very important to me. She can still process ideas on her own, but it’s within a framework of my design. As long as the apparatus remains under her skin, I own her instincts.”
“You and your microchips,” he muttered.
She pulled away from him. His head slumped to his chest before he could get control of his muscles again. “It’s a simple process—a slim device inserted at the back of the neck, connected to a similar device of my own … ”
“You’ve already gotten to me, haven’t you?”
“The cocktail Avery injected into your system enabled installation of the device. You can’t feel it, but it’s there. Your synapses are ready for reassignment. You’re mine again.” She crossed her arms and appraised him. “I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
“You won’t get Fisher, you know. No matter what you do.”
“Oh Cassius. You never see the big picture.” A smile crept over her face. He didn’t understand how he could have mistaken if for love all those years. There was no warmth left in her.
Madame grabbed his arm, gently shaking his wrist in excitement. “I’ve already got your brother,” she said. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”
9
It’s late. These are the hours that Alkine knows to watch for me. Every time I’ve tried to pull something, it’s been at night. They’ve taken to stationing guards throughout the hallways. Alkine says it’s in case the Unified Party comes knocking on our door, but he can’t fool me. Some of the guards are here for me. I know this because there was one stationed outside my door tonight.
Eva and I sit in the cockpit of a shuttle in the smallest and darkest of the Academy’s docking bays, waiting to take off.
“Do you think he’s coming?” Eva whispers. “Three more minutes. I say that’s all we give him.”
“He’ll be here,” I reply.
I have Skandar to thank for getting rid of the guard outside my door. Just after midnight, he came strolling by my dorm room and told the guy he’d seen me sneaking around the Level Five rec room. I pushed my ear against the door and listened as the guard questioned him. In the end, the guy insisted that Skandar lead him to the spot he’d seen me.
That’s the slight wrinkle in our plan. Now we’re waiting for Skandar to come back. Who knows what kind of questions the guard could have asked him.
Eva shivers. “We could leave without him—”
“No.”
I need my friends here. If we’re really going to see Ryel and the other Drifters, I want witnesses. Otherwise, anything I say to Alkine afterward will be twisted into the ramblings of a crazy teenager.
I stare out at the stars beyond the opening of the bay. I was up there, once, shuttling between planets. It seems so impossible.
Eva squirms in her seat. “I think I see him.”
I turn to watch a thin shadow creep through the empty bay. The shuttle shudders as Skandar steps onboard and seals the entrance behind him. “Whew.” He takes a seat behind us. “I thought he’d never let me go. It’s okay, Jesse. I think we’ve bought ourselves some time.”
Instead of answering, I begin to power up the shuttle.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to do the piloting?” She grips her seatbelt.
“I’ve got to learn. Just tell me if I’m about to do anything stupid.”
Her teeth clench. “Can I preemptively tell you now?”
I flip on the radar. “Very
He coughed. His arm jerked uncomfortably to the side. “I don’t understand.”
“You harness a weapon, correct? Why not a person?” She stepped forward until she was near enough to touch. “Our first attempts were sloppy. Scientific waste. But with Avery, I’ve got my first living, breathing weapon. She brought me you. She’s proven my success.”
Cassius grit his teeth. “Mind control? You’re telling her what to do?”
“Harnessing.” She grabbed his chin and pulled his head up, forcing him to look at her. “The vocabulary is very important to me. She can still process ideas on her own, but it’s within a framework of my design. As long as the apparatus remains under her skin, I own her instincts.”
“You and your microchips,” he muttered.
She pulled away from him. His head slumped to his chest before he could get control of his muscles again. “It’s a simple process—a slim device inserted at the back of the neck, connected to a similar device of my own … ”
“You’ve already gotten to me, haven’t you?”
“The cocktail Avery injected into your system enabled installation of the device. You can’t feel it, but it’s there. Your synapses are ready for reassignment. You’re mine again.” She crossed her arms and appraised him. “I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
“You won’t get Fisher, you know. No matter what you do.”
“Oh Cassius. You never see the big picture.” A smile crept over her face. He didn’t understand how he could have mistaken if for love all those years. There was no warmth left in her.
Madame grabbed his arm, gently shaking his wrist in excitement. “I’ve already got your brother,” she said. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”
9
It’s late. These are the hours that Alkine knows to watch for me. Every time I’ve tried to pull something, it’s been at night. They’ve taken to stationing guards throughout the hallways. Alkine says it’s in case the Unified Party comes knocking on our door, but he can’t fool me. Some of the guards are here for me. I know this because there was one stationed outside my door tonight.
Eva and I sit in the cockpit of a shuttle in the smallest and darkest of the Academy’s docking bays, waiting to take off.
“Do you think he’s coming?” Eva whispers. “Three more minutes. I say that’s all we give him.”
“He’ll be here,” I reply.
I have Skandar to thank for getting rid of the guard outside my door. Just after midnight, he came strolling by my dorm room and told the guy he’d seen me sneaking around the Level Five rec room. I pushed my ear against the door and listened as the guard questioned him. In the end, the guy insisted that Skandar lead him to the spot he’d seen me.
That’s the slight wrinkle in our plan. Now we’re waiting for Skandar to come back. Who knows what kind of questions the guard could have asked him.
Eva shivers. “We could leave without him—”
“No.”
I need my friends here. If we’re really going to see Ryel and the other Drifters, I want witnesses. Otherwise, anything I say to Alkine afterward will be twisted into the ramblings of a crazy teenager.
I stare out at the stars beyond the opening of the bay. I was up there, once, shuttling between planets. It seems so impossible.
Eva squirms in her seat. “I think I see him.”
I turn to watch a thin shadow creep through the empty bay. The shuttle shudders as Skandar steps onboard and seals the entrance behind him. “Whew.” He takes a seat behind us. “I thought he’d never let me go. It’s okay, Jesse. I think we’ve bought ourselves some time.”
Instead of answering, I begin to power up the shuttle.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to do the piloting?” She grips her seatbelt.
“I’ve got to learn. Just tell me if I’m about to do anything stupid.”
Her teeth clench. “Can I preemptively tell you now?”
I flip on the radar. “Very
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