02 Seekers (37 page)

“Shhhh!” a voice hushed us from down the hall.

The hall went silent. I sensed the others in their jail straining to hear what the lookout had heard.

The booted feet of the jailer were returning. I scrambled away from the door and sat on the chair trying to look disoriented. He might treat me differently if he thought I was too weak to fight. He stopped in front of my room, and I heard the keys rattle again.

“Come,” he commanded when the door was open. I stood, obeying his command without

argument. I kept my head bowed and stumbled as I walked forward. I sensed some of his

alertness fade. “They just aren’t making Watchers the same anymore…” he mumbled as he took my arm.

He pulled me out of the room, and we started down the hall. His grip was firm, but not as

absolute as Anna’s had been.

Before we turned a corner I saw Twitch’s face peeking out at me.
Clare?

The concern and terror in his voice was enough. My necklace, which had been dark for far too long, brightened the hallway. My jailor dropped his hand in sudden pain. I took advantage of his pain and rammed him into the wall with my shoulder. His head knocked in to the thick stone.

The stone crumbled around him, but it wasn’t enough to knock him out. Shaking the dust from his head, he came at me again. I danced out of the way of his grab, working hard to get angry enough to use my super strength. Why wouldn’t it come at will? Why, when I most needed it?!

As much as I refused to hit him, because it could possibly break something else, my necklace kept him from touching me. I used that to my advantage. I stopped dodging and brought my hand toward him. He backed away slowly, searching for a way to take me down without the pain. He opted for grabbing me around the middle, where my skin wasn’t exposed. He picked me off the ground, giving me a bear hug and pinning my hands to my side. I kicked and struggled against his touch.

“Bitch!” he said as I tried to squirm out of his grip.

“Let me go, and I’ll show you one!” I said.

“What’s going on here?” I heard a man ask from behind me.

“One of Lorian’s fighters is trying to sell us this one. Damian wants to see her,” my captor explained.

“Oh…can’t handle a girl, huh?”

“Her necklace is some kind of weapon…it hurts to touch her.”

“Really?”

My jailor gripped me tighter as the man stepped closer. I felt a blade touch my neck then it lifted and cut the chain to my necklace. I stopped struggling as the light died.

The new man laughed. “That wasn’t so hard. You’d better hurry up and take her. Damian doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“Thanks, Orion.”

My jailor kept his grip around my middle as I started fighting again. As he walked me down the hall, I saw the man who had been addressing us. Though ‘saw’ was an exaggeration. He was

covered from head to foot in that black cloak everyone seemed so fond of here. Even his hands were covered from exposure. I watched as he bent down and picked up the necklace I had worn since I was twelve; my only link to my father, my only defense against the darkness. He studied it for a moment then stuck it in his pocket.

“Give that back to me!” I called after him. “Let me go!” I yelled at my jailor. “Get off me!”

I kept yelling, despite knowing it was useless. The man stopped in front of a door and waited for a brief moment. Around my yells, and my fighting, I heard what my captor was waiting for.

From inside I heard a man say, “Enter.”

My jailor pushed open the door then threw me to the floor. I rolled, stopping dead center of the room. I glared at him, wanting to hurt him back, hating that I couldn’t then focused on the room.

It was familiar.

The opulent throne, the lavish decorations, and the man occupying the throne were definitely a sight I could have lived without seeing again for the rest of my life. Damian’s expression when he saw me was one of surprise and anger. He recognized me in an instant. “Fetch me Aaron,” he said to one of the men gathered along the walls. One of the figures detached themselves from their statue state and left through the door I had been thrown through. “Well, this is a mystery,”

he said to me.

Anna was lounging on a chair near Damian, her leg thrown over the arm. “What is?”

“I’ve seen this one before. She barged into this very room, in fact.”

“Hm. Maybe, I should charge double, then,” Anna said.

“Oh, no, the standard rates apply…though it does make me curious as to how she escaped. You wouldn’t be trying to sell me something I’ve already killed, just to make a profit, would you?”

“I do enjoy a good profit, but do you really think I would be stupid enough to sell you something you’ve seen before?”

“Hmmmm…You say she is a Watcher? She doesn’t look like one to me. More human than

anything,” Damian said.

“She can block thoughts,” Anna pointed out.

“I’ve met humans who can block thoughts. It’s not so great a thing,” Damian replied.

“Are you trying to weasel your way out of paying me more?” Anna asked.

“Are you trying to pretend like she’s a Watcher to get a higher price?” Damian asked back.

“Of course not…”

Damian looked closer at me, noticing the blood on my face. “Look at it…it bleeds red. Surely, you noticed that?”

“I…”

“Human, how old are you?” Damian asked me with no attempt at hiding his sneer.

“Young enough to know a monster when I see one and old enough to not fear it,” I said.

Damian’s body tensed. I saw my death in his tense frame. Before he could give the order to have me killed, a figure stepped out of the line of Seekers guarding the room. The figure was hooded, its features masked. It crossed the marbled floor swiftly and stopped in front of me. The person pushed back his hood, and I saw it was Daniel. My heart lifted a couple of inches, even though his face was neutral, and I saw no recognition in his green eyes – merely indifference. I couldn’t help the hope that he would help me. In the blink of an eye, he bent down and slapped me in the face, adding to the pain already radiating from my nose. It wasn’t full strength, but it still stung. I put my hand to my face in shock. He had hit me. Daniel had hit me.

“Watch your tongue,” Daniel commanded.

“I can’t. My nose gets in the way,” I said.

He slapped me again. This time it was harder, a lesson to keep my mouth shut. I felt tears well in my eyes. My initial feeling of hope at seeing him fled from my heart. His indifferent face, his cool eyes, his brutal slap, let me know I had lost him. My words had forever severed something between us.

Damian laughed, the murderous rage leaving his body. “Isra…you’ve got more patience than I.”

Daniel turned and bowed low. “It comes with years of waiting, my lord.” Daniel gestured back at me. “This one has a lot of fire…it could serve us well.”

“I noticed that the last time it was here,” Damian said. “Bring it here.”

Daniel grabbed me on the arm and forced me to stand. I struggled against his hands, which felt unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. His skin on mine created an instant connection between us. His thoughts reached out to me:
Clare…
I shoved up a black wall against his thought, too angry to listen to him. He was one of them.

Damian leaned forward on his throne and surveyed me for a long moment. “It’s obvious you are not a typical human. You know who we are, and why you are here. You’re not even bothering

with the usual stupid questions that plague most humans. So, either you are a human who has encountered our world before, or you have not yet changed. Which is it?”

Daniel squeezed my arm. I knew if I answered sarcastically he would slap me again. That

thought was more unbearable than the actual pain the slaps caused.

“Both.”

Damian was thoughtful. “Both…hm.”

The door opened and Damian glanced away, releasing me from his black stare. I kept my eyes focused on the side of his face, so I wouldn’t have to look at Daniel and feel the pain lashing at my insides. Damian’s pointed features changed as the person at the door stepped into the room.

“Aaron. I believe we have a dilemma on our hands,” Damian said.

“My lord?” Aaron asked.

Damian gestured at me. “It seems you did not lock this one away securely enough…or did you get it in your head you would try and sell her without my permission?”

“Sell her, my lord? No…no of course not. I locked her away as you asked. Ask Paul…ask

Michael.”

“Why do I sense a lie in your words, Aaron?”

“I would never lie to you, my lord.”

“You know I can see through any lie, Aaron. My gift is unbeatable,” Damian said.

“He’s not lying,” I said. “He put me in a coffin in that cemetery you like to leave people in. It was very scary.” Everyone stared at me, including Daniel. Aaron’s face was incredulous. I shrugged at their shock. “It’s true. No sense in wasting time getting all mad at him. Anna needs to sell me, so she can get back home, and I need you to buy me, so I can have some time to think about ways to kill you, so…”

Daniel’s hand was gripping me so hard I was sure he wasn’t far from cutting off the blood

supply. I ignored him, though, afraid if I looked at him, my whole façade of bravado would crumble. That would just get him killed. However mad I was at him, I didn’t want to see him dead.

Damian leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know, Anna, it might take more to break this one.

Those kids you sold me will be great for experiments…but this one. Hm.”

“The wildest ones make the best soldiers in the end,” Anna said. “You know this.”

“Yes, but it will take longer. A decreased price seems only fair to me. Besides, she’s technically still a human.”

Anna jumped out of her chair. “Technically, my foot! I captured her fair and square!”

“Where exactly?” Damian asked.

Anna lowered her eyes. I sensed she didn’t want him to know about her swords. Though she had them tucked safely in the sheath on her back, it was obvious the others weren’t aware of their full potential.

“Lies…lies…lies…I do hate them,” Damian said around her silence.

“Where I found her doesn’t matter. What matters is cash. I’ve been good to you. Compensation for the ones I bring in shouldn’t be out of the question.”

“I wonder how your boss feels about that?”

“He appreciates initiative,” she said, stepping closer and crossing her arms.

Damian leaned forward, and they started to negotiate back and forth about what I was worth and why I was worth that amount. Damian kept trying to downplay my benefit to the Seekers, while Anna kept mentioning my potential. I sensed their ritual bargaining was par for the course whenever Anna brought in someone to sell. The comfortable nature of it made me ill. I listened to them with growing hatred, the desire to stop them increasing with every second.

Clare…listen to me!
Daniel had finally penetrated my mental shield.

There’s nothing to listen to,
I thought back.
How does it feel to sell your soul to the devil?

You know me better than that.

Do I?

I don’t have time for this now. Listen to me. You have to escape. I heard from Damian today that
one of Marcus’s lieutenants is coming to check on the progress of the nest. Damian’s been busy
getting everything perfect, threatening the scientists…
Daniel paused.
Damian might not
recognize you, but one of Marcus’s lieutenants definitely will.

Yeah, I’ll just leave.
I started to pull away, but he kept his grip on me.
Oh, yeah, prisoner here. I
forgot.

Can you fight?
he asked me.

My whole body was trembling with adrenaline, but I knew I couldn’t fight a whole room of

Seekers. There was only one of me.

I can try. I won’t leave without the kids, though.

Clare…

No! I won’t. You may not care, but I do. I’m nothing if I can’t save them!

“Done,” Damian said.

“Done,” Anna agreed with a nod.

“Isra…take my new purchase to the initiation room, and make her behave.”

“Yes, my lord,” Daniel said with a low bow.

I wasn’t sure what made me do it. It could have been Daniel’s question about my ability to fight.

It might have been my irritation at seeing Daniel bow to complete evil. Or maybe, it was my incorrigible, rebellious spirit. Whatever it was, I knew I wasn’t going to go quietly.

I hit Daniel in the stomach as hard as I could, which turned out to be pretty hard in my irritated state, and he grunted and fell to the floor. I rushed to Anna, who was still facing Damian. Instead of attacking her, though, I went for her sword. I managed to grab one out of her sheath before she could react. Her face went from extremely pleased to hard in an instant. I swung the sword at her, figuring her to be the biggest threat in the room. She had her sword out of the sheath before the blow was complete. I didn’t waste time on being impressed, I swung at her again. Her eyes widened as she blocked me – she obviously hadn’t thought I would react so quickly to her armed state. We spun apart and came at each other again. As we did, I noticed Damian gesture the others to stay out of the fight. He was obviously curious about how the fight would end. Daniel watched with wide eyes from where he had dropped to the floor, frozen in the moment.

Anna moved with the skill of someone used to sword fighting, used to carrying out a secret war with only her sword as a companion. I moved like Jackson and Margaret had beaten the lesson of survival into me. It was a lesson I was suddenly appreciating. We blocked and parried, coming together then dancing apart again. I slowly pushed Anna back. She gave ground grudgingly, my anger making me fierce and deadly. Three steps into her retreat, she started using her talent of levitation. Chairs, pictures, anything that wasn’t in use, flew at me. I ducked under what I could and let the rest hit me, indifferent to the pain. Cuts and gashes formed, but I kept my attention on Anna – to me, beating her was the same as freeing the kids.