Ablaze (Indestructible Trilogy Book 2) (12 page)

I stumble from the lab to find the corridor empty. No trace of blood. No sign Jared’s been here.

Where is he?

I walk. My head throbs with each step, greeting me with another flash of pain. Every muscle screams at me to get a move on. But I’ve no idea where I’m going.

Without warning, the corridor darkens, and the sound of dripping water reaches me from the head. The ground grows softer under my feet, like I’m walking on earth, not stone. When the wall’s suddenly not there anymore, and I’m standing in the middle of the unknown with nothing to support myself.

Arms wrapped around my chest, the dagger cold and damp with blood. Dried tears on my face. The walls here are stone, not plaster, and there are no more doors. Maybe I’ve reached the end of Jared’s place. Maybe this is just regular caves.

Pain splinters through me again. I’m hardly aware that I’ve fallen to the chilled earth, that my head’s dropped to my knees. I’m done fighting. The fire is out, and there’s no light in this darkness.

CHAPTER TEN

I’m trapped behind glass. The room is bright, unbearably so; the world on the other side of the glass made of gleaming pieces. None of it makes any sense. I’m propped up on my feet, knees bent, arms dangling at my side but hooked up to some kind of machine. A machine made of metal and glass.

I feel like I’m drowning, like the water’s surface is above my head but something holds me down, keeping me from a life-giving breath. I make a feeble movement of my arm. Nothing happens. Everything’s blurred—I can’t even recognise the person on the other side of the glass.

I can’t even tell who
I
am. Not Leah. Leah’s in the darkness, alone.

Cas is trapped with Jared. I have to wake up. I have to go back and save him.
Wake up!

But the vivid, too-bright room becomes clearer, not fading away like my other visions.

The face on the other side of the glass comes into focus. It’s not Jared. It’s Cas. And he looks livid. Which means… I’m not seeing through Cas’s eyes.

I’m me. A prisoner. Again.

But why’s Cas here? I’d have thought Jared would have taken it out on him. Inflicted more horrible pain on him. Even killed him. I’m the indispensable one.

Which I’d guess is the only reason I’m alive.

I try to speak, but there’s no air. A thousand questions scramble for attention, and from the expression on Cas’s face, he can at least guess some of them. Even though he can’t read my mind.

What the hell is he doing? I twist my head to see the machine beside me, though God only knows what it actually is. What it’s pumping into my body. I feebly move my arm, but it barely shifts an inch. Damn. I’m stuck.

Cas glances over his shoulder, at a door in the periphery of my vision, walks right up to the glass. A quiver of betrayal goes through me, though I can’t know for sure what the hell’s even going on. Is Jared manipulating him? Seems likely.

Cas fiddles with something on my right, and the front wall of the glass springs open. I startle as oxygen floods my lungs. I hadn’t realised Pyros don’t even need to breathe, apparently. Or maybe it only applies to people like Cas and me.

I take a couple of breaths before I remember, again, that I
can’t
die from asphyxiation. I choke and end up in a coughing spiral of hysterical laughter. Cas watches, one eyebrow slightly raised.

“What…” I try to say between coughs. “How—how did I get here?”

“I brought you here.” His tone is flat. Emotionless. That mind connection would come in handy right about now.

“What… about Jared?” He can’t be dead. If Cas is under his control or even putting on a show, it must mean he survived what I did to him.

“He wants you compliant.” He indicates the machine. “This is a combination of fiend’s blood and Jared’s own. The same thing he uses in the tattoos. It’ll make you obey his every request. Fight at the head of his army. And, even if he killed me right in front of your eyes, you could never harm him again.”

I lunge forward, trying to pull the tubes from my arms, but I’m still weak. Cas grabs my arm and pushes me back into the case, and my legs all but give out from under me.

What have they drugged me with?

“You can’t. A hundred guards are on both sides of the corridor outside. You’ve no chance of getting out unharmed, and Jared will make things even harder on you.”

“Jared.” I cough, again. “That guy just won’t die, huh?”

The slightest flicker of a smile. “Apparently not.”

What’s his game?

“So, that’s it? I’m his everlasting servant, now? Same as you?”

“If you want things to be easier…” His voice drops to a whisper. “You’ll need to be as convincing as possible. Act like he owns the earth. Like you’re really, truly sorry for defying him. Like there’s not a chance you’ll avoid fighting his war for him.”

My heart lifts slightly. “And he wants me to declare my undying love?” Cas is on my side, after all. Whatever’s in the machine is harmless. He’s working against Jared.

“Stay there,” he says. “When he comes back, he’ll question you. Answer like you’ve had a complete change of heart—if you do, things’ll go the better for both of us. If we’re lucky, he’ll put you in training right away. I’ll talk to you then.”

He turns to go.

“Wait!” I say. “How did I get in here so fast?”

“Fast? It’s been a day,” he says. “He used our… connection to subdue you. Then he sent me to find you. You won’t remember a thing, but the drug’s wearing off if you can speak.”

I shake my head, but it hurts. “I can’t believe he wants me to fight for him after that.”

“He can only fight one-handed now.” His eyes gleam, almost amused. “Pity for him. Stay there, and be prepared to put on your best performance when he comes back.”

He closes the glass case and disappears.

I stare after him. Nothing should surprise me by now, and I suppose Jared does need me for his army. Even if I did cut off his hand. He forgave me for stabbing him before, but this might be a step too far. Now he’s decided to really bring out the guns. Or, the instant-obedience injection.

Good job I’ve got Cas on my side. The idea of bowing down to Jared makes me feel sick. His heart stopped beating, so how can he still be alive?

Damn. I really should have made a plan. If I can’t kill Jared, the only option is for Cas and I to leave and find the other Pyros. The war’s the important part.

But where did I end up? That dark tunnel wasn’t part of Jared’s hideout.

I make a mental note to ask Cas the way out, next time I see him. I hope he knows what he’s doing.

Then Jared walks into view and makes all other thoughts seem insignificant.

My heart contracts, and I almost shrink back. I’m not ready. I let my head fall to my chest, so I don’t have to look him in the eyes. So he doesn’t see the lies lurking in there.

At least his having Cas’s blood doesn’t give
him
any insight into my mind.

I let my arms lie limp; my chin falls to my chest. The soft thud of each of his footsteps is distinct even from behind the glass case as he gets closer. An unmistakeable clicking sound as he unlocks the door.

Nowhere to hide.

“Are you awake, Leah?” Jared’s voice is soft.

I give the faintest nod.

“Good. You might feel a little strange at first, but you’ll be fine. I think you’ll prefer it this way, Leah. A life without anger or frustration. You’ll be free to fulfil your purpose without emotion holding you back.”

As he speaks, he’s pulling the wires from my arms. I barely feel them. Head down, I step out of the glass case, shakily. But I’m in my own mind. A cold breeze from somewhere makes me shiver.

“Leah, how are you feeling?”

I can’t get away with staying silent this time. I can sense his eyes boring into me, and lift my head slightly. A mistake—now I can see the stump of his arm, wrapped in a bandage, and above that, his oh-so-deceptively calm face. My throat closes up, and sweat breaks out on my forehead. Any second now, I’m going to lose it and attack him again—or worse, panic and run.

But I hold myself together. Somehow.

“I’m fine”’ I say, slurring the words, like I’m drugged-up.

“Good. I worry about you, Leah.”

Now he sounds like some demented parody of a father-figure. Ugh.

I don’t say anything to that. I might have to put on an act, but over my dead body am I kneeling down and licking his shoes.

My skin crawls when he takes me by the hand like a child and leads me from the room. I have to clench my other fist to keep from letting fire flare from my arm and sever his other hand. I don’t know what he’s done with my dagger, but I have a feeling I won’t be getting it back any time soon.

Soon enough, I start to recognise that he’s leading me back to my room. Strange. Like nothing’s happened. Nothing—and everything.
Act stupid. Act like you need instructions from him before you do anything.

“Your lessons will begin tomorrow, Leah,” says Jared. “Go and clean yourself up, and I will have a guard bring you food later. Rest up and be ready for a full day’s training tomorrow. I have something to show you. I think you’ll be interested to see.”

The slight edge to the word
interested
makes the hairs on my arms stand up. Has he seen through me that easily? Is there something I’m supposed to have done, or something else that’s given the game away? But I can’t look up and check.

A pause, then he says, “I worry about
all
my Pyros.”

I hear a hidden emphasis on
my,
and suddenly, it feels like I’m about to walk into a trap. I’m certain, absolutely certain, he knows the other Pyros are still alive. And some of them are bound to him by the tattoos.

Silently, ignoring the implied threat, I walk into my room. It’s the same as before. Clean clothes laid out on the bed. No booby-traps. The door shuts behind me with a
snick
.

Get cleaned up. Right. My clothes are torn all over and I’m covered in some sort of slimy substance from inside the glass case. I shudder, and glance at the door to make sure no one’s going to come barging in.

I take my time showering and eating, later, when a hooded guard brings me another bland meal. I don’t know what I’m expecting—poison, maybe. Some kind of sign Jared’s watching me. Other than the obvious presence of the guards. But I suppose I’m meant to be his obedient servant now. No room for insubordinate thoughts.

Right.

I practise in front of the mirror in the bathroom, making my face go carefully blank. I don’t like looking in mirrors much these days, because the changes remind me of time passing, of things that can’t be undone. Every scar, every inch of sunburn. But now, there’s not a blemish on my face. Even childhood scars from silly accidents have vanished. Even more serious cuts from the few times I narrowly escaped the fiends. My skin’s as smooth as though I’ve never stepped a foot out of doors.

It’s not Jared’s doing.

Transcendent.
But what’s the use in being Transcendent if I can’t get out of here, with Cas?

Maybe that’s not what I should be doing. Maybe I need to get Jared alone instead, so I can use my Transcendent powers to finish him off.

Even if Cas doesn’t want to be rescued, Jared’s too unstable to leave alone to carry on with his crazy experiments. If I leave now, assuming I even find the way out, I’d be drawing attention to my friends, and the other Pyros linked to Jared via the blood tattoos. Maybe I imagined his implied threat, but I can’t afford to risk it.

I drift off to sleep with unease brewing within me, and wake to the sound of my door unlocking. It takes everything I have to appear politely puzzled at the intrusion and not leap to my feet and attack, but when Jared himself comes in, I know I made the right choice. He nods, as though pleased with something, while I give him a bland, bleary-eyed look.

“Meet me outside in five minutes.”

I nod. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

Fully dressed, I meet him outside and walk through the corridor in silence. Head down. Meek. Obedient. Through corridor after corridor, in the opposite direction to the way I went yesterday. Past Jared’s rooms, and down a set of stairs.

I’m buzzing with curiosity. What does he want to show me? A new weapon, maybe? We’re now walking through a weapon’s room, walls covered in axes and swords and daggers. On the other side, there’s a door, and he takes out a key and unlocks it.

“Hello?” he says, startling me.

I squint into darkness, but my sight rapidly adjusts. Dim lights come on over glass cases, lying on the ground like coffins, containing…

People.

And they’re sitting up. In unison, a dozen people or more—men and women, blank-faced and dressed in identical uniforms—sit up. Even though they don’t
look
alike, they move in exactly the same way. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about any of them. Except that they majorly creep me out.