Read Online Wild-born by Adrian Howell - Free Book Online

even more than usual.
    “You’re not my friend, Ralph,” I said, keeping my head turned away from him. “You made me follow you here. You’re a controller. Not a very powerful one. Not like that berserker, but you’re a controller too.”
    I heard Ralph snicker, and then he said, “I’m a man of many talents, lad. They wouldn’t have sent me alone if I couldn’t take care of myself.”
    My head was still clear. Ralph needed to look into my eyes in order to work his power on me.
    “Why did you try to control me?” I asked.
    “I needed you on my side,” said Ralph. “I needed to take you in quietly. I didn’t want you worrying about your sister when we had to get moving. I’m not like that berserker, lad. I wanted you alive.”
    “I need to find my sister, Ralph. I need to know she’s okay!” I sat up on the bed, keeping my eyes on the window, steeling myself for what I was about to do. “And Ralph?” I said, steadying my breathing.
    “What is it, lad?”
    “I’m not going to fight in your stupid war.”
    I turned swiftly, just enough to get a quick glimpse of about where Ralph was sitting. But even as I extended my arm out toward him, I already felt a wave of calm creeping over me. I heard my bedside lamp shatter as the room was suddenly alive with churning air, and the blankets whipped up around me. Still, I was ready, and I released my blast a moment later. I heard Ralph grunt in pain, and my calm vanished. The wind was weaker too, but I knew Ralph wasn’t badly hurt. I had only knocked him off his bed and onto the floor, and in a moment he would pick himself up.
    I stretched my other arm toward the window and blasted it out. Ralph would just have to get over his disappointment.
    I jumped out, hoping to make a telekinetically controlled descent to the street below, but suddenly a powerful rush of air pushed me right back into the room! I hit the floor hard, barely able to keep my eyes open because of the wind, which was stronger than ever. I groped around the floor until my right hand found the small, broken lamp. Squinting, I could see Ralph standing over me, and I tried to throw the lamp at him, but my arm stopped mid-swing. I couldn’t do it. He was just an innocent old man.
    “Oh, you’re a tough one, my little destroyer,” said Ralph, smirking. “You almost got away. But you aren’t going to do that again, are you?”
    “No, Ralph, I won’t,” I answered. And I meant it too. I felt really ashamed of what I had done. How could I have thought of running away when Ralph needed me so much?
    Ralph gently pulled me to my feet, saying, “No you won’t, lad. Not till you learn to block it, anyway.”
    We went downstairs and apologized to the hotel management. Ralph, pretending to be my grandfather, told them that I had accidentally knocked the lamp over and that it had hit the window. They gave us another room after Ralph agreed to pay for the damages.
    That night, Ralph told me that he was going to tie me to the bed. He said it was for my own safety. Though I didn’t know what danger I was in that required me to be tied down, nevertheless I was sure Ralph knew best. I removed my shoes and socks, but didn’t bother going back to the car for my pajamas, preferring to sleep in the clothes Ralph had bought for me.
    Ralph took a sturdy iron chain he had brought from his car and secured one end to the headboard of the bed. Then he wrapped the other end around my neck once, pulling it tight enough so that it wouldn’t come off over my head, and locked it in place with a small padlock through the links. I was basically a dog on a leash, but I didn’t mind it at all because I knew Ralph was my friend. I did feel a touch of fear when he put the chain on me, but soon I felt calm again. The chain drained my strength and made me drowsy.
    I lay there staring up at the ceiling until I could hear Ralph’s quiet snores from the other bed. I still felt extremely weak because of the chain, but my mind was