To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1) (13 page)

He turned toward the door at the sound of the lock clicking. The door eased open and Daro saw a pair of brown leather boots enter the room, the door closing behind. The light was dim; he couldn’t see any windows. A woman knelt down next to him, holding a tray of food. He blinked slowly and looked at her, noticing her dark blond hair, tied back at the nape of her neck, and her sleek brown clothing.

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. Her eyes were a swirl of brown mixed with blue, the two colors mingling around her dark pupil. Daro didn’t like the way she looked at him, like a predator with captured prey. The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile, but her eyes remained cold. He would have to tread carefully with this one.

She set the tray on the floor near his face. He already knew the length of his chains; there was no way he could reach the food. He wasn’t sure he wanted any. His stomach still protested, but the smell of the food woke hunger behind the nausea. He wondered how long he’d been unconscious.

The woman stayed motionless, watching him. He wondered if she expected him to speak but decided to stare back and remain silent. He buried his burning concern for his wife and his flurry of questions and let his mind go blank. Focus. One task at a time. She held all the power in this situation and he doubted demanding answers would avail him much.
Here I am. Your move.

“Hmm.” Her voice was deep, yet still feminine. “Are you injured?”

He couldn’t place her accent, but she didn’t sound Halthian. “No.” Simple, direct. No more.

“Good.” She sat down, crossing her legs, and scooted the tray out of the way. “I am Sindre, and you and I are going to get to know each other very well. Here is what we are going to do. I am going to let you eat today, but you have to be good for me.” Her eyes flicked to the door. “None of that now. There is nowhere for you to go.” Daro remained silent. “I would like to unlock your chains, but you have to be good, or I’m going to chain you up again. It is very difficult to eat with your hands bound.”

Daro debated what to do. He had no idea where he was. He could be at the top of a tower, or deep in an underground cavern. If he did overpower this woman, he didn’t know what would be outside the door—guards, weapons, a maze of hallways? He needed more information. And something told him he ought to eat. It would be more difficult to create an escape plan, let alone execute one, if he was weak from hunger.

He nodded once and waited.

She unlocked his chains. He sat up and rubbed his sore wrists, then silently ate the food she gave him, taking his time and trying to ignore her disconcerting stare. She sat across from him, motionless, watching with her strangely colored eyes. When he finished, she moved the tray to the side.

“We are so pleased you could join us,” she said and pulled a necklace from inside her shirt. A flat disc of gray-and-green marbled rock hung from a thick silver chain. She fingered the rock, turning it over in her hand as she gazed at it. “We are doing important work here and your contribution will be extremely valuable. But for that, we need your cooperation.” She met his eyes. “Your complete cooperation.”

Daro remained silent. He had no intention of cooperating, but saw no reason to say so.

She continued rubbing the rock between her fingers. “I want you to understand from the beginning that it is not a matter of whether you will cooperate. It is only a matter of when. It would be easier for both of us if you come around quickly. But I don’t think that will be the case, will it?”

She looked down at the dull rock in her hand and closed her grip around it. A spasm of pain shot from Daro’s neck down his spine. He arched his back and clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. The pain vanished as quickly as it had hit and Daro sat, breathing heavily. The woman watched him with dispassionate eyes.

Something on the back of his neck felt warm and he reached behind his head, expecting to find blood. His fingers brushed something hard and cold at the base of his neck. As he probed with his fingers, his heartbeat quickened with alarm. A small, hard disc was embedded in his skin, the edges flush as if it had grown from the inside. It felt like a smooth stone but was shaped like an elongated diamond, the two shorter sides coming to a point at the top. He looked up at the woman. “What is this? What have you done?”

Her lips curled in another cold smile. “The means of your cooperation,” she said. “And the way you will further our work.”

Daro’s fingers clutched at it, trying to find a way to dig it out of his skin. It was embedded too deep. His fingers brushed along the surface and scratched his skin.

“I suggest you stop,” she said, her voice casual. “You will only hurt yourself.”

Daro grabbed at it with his other hand, to no avail. Heat began to spread down his back, although the stone in his neck felt unchanged. The heat built and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

“Lower your hand,” she said as she clutched the necklace in her fist.

Daro locked eyes with her, his hand still behind his neck. Her strange eyes narrowed and the heat intensified, sweat running down his back. He stayed motionless, refusing to give in.

“Fine,” she said, and another stab of pain shot down his back. He flinched, grinding his teeth and grunting. The pain built, and he toppled to the side and writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at the stone in his neck.

The pain disappeared and he was left panting.

“The faster you learn, the more productive our time together will be,” she said. The pain spiked again and Daro cried out, despite his clenched teeth. The spasm was over in seconds but left him gasping in the wake of its intensity. “If you are good for me, I won’t have to do this.”

“What do you want from me?” he asked, between panting breaths.

“Cooperation,” she said. “With time, you will learn to obey. And then, when you are ready, we will tap into the power inside you and unlock it.”

“Power? I don’t have any power.”

“Oh, but you do.” She trailed her fingers down his arm. “Whether you realize it or not.”

Daro cringed at the woman’s touch and struggled to sit up. “You can’t keep me here.”

“No? I think you’ll find it exceedingly difficult to leave. Without me, and this,” she said, holding up her medallion, “your implant will kill you. If you did get out, you might last a week, but no more.” Daro’s neck prickled. “The sooner you accept things the way they are, the better. You will learn. And I am afraid I don’t have nearly as long as I would like to get you ready. I will have to accelerate our program. But I have high hopes for you. There is much work to be done, so best we get on with things, yes?”

She pulled some black fabric from inside her jacket. “We find it helps our subjects progress if we take certain steps. It helps them to accept their new life more readily.”

“I don’t care what you do to me. This is not my new life.”

She smiled and smoothed out the fabric in her lap. “As I said, you will learn. Typically I wouldn’t start with this, but the nature of things requires a certain haste.” She held the fabric out to him. “Put it on.” He stared at her, unmoving and silent. She hesitated a moment, her arm outstretched.

“Very well,” she said.

Sharp pain flashed down Daro’s spine again, radiating out into his arms and legs. It was intense, but he held his ground. He clenched his fists and locked his jaw. The pain vanished and the woman held the fabric out again.

“Put it on.”

Daro said nothing and locked eyes with Sindre. She twitched and the pain returned. Heat spread from his neck and beads of sweat trickled down his back. He stared at a point on the wall and took deep breaths through his clenched teeth.

The pain ended and she once again held out the fabric. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “Put it on.”

Daro remained still and his heart raced in anticipation. The pain hit like a blow from behind and he fell sideways, crying out despite his attempts to remain silent. He writhed on the floor, as agony spilled through his body. The sensation ended and he lay on the floor, panting.

“We have much to explore together, you and I,” she said, her voice smooth. “It seems unpleasant at first, but you’ll grow to appreciate what I do for you. We have so much to show you, so many gifts to give you. One day you will thank me.” She stroked his hair back from his face. “Now, you will put this on.”

Anger mingled with fear as Daro caught his breath. He sat up, set his jaw and stared at the wall. His muscles were tense and he waited, knowing the pain would come back.
I will not give in.

She let out a heavy sigh. “You try my patience. I don’t think you understand the position you are in.”

Daro’s body went slack and he slumped to the ground. He tried to move his arms to catch himself, but they wouldn’t respond and he hit his head on the floor. His body was twisted in an awkward lump, but he couldn’t move. His eyes darted around, and his breath came in quickening gasps as panic built. It was as if she had detached his body from his mind.

“You see,” she said as she began to move, twisting him around to lie flat on his back, “I am in complete control. If you are good, you will be allowed to move freely. If not…” She paused and gripped the necklace again. “I do what must be done.”

Daro’s eyes strained to look sideways at Sindre. She leaned over him, picked up his head with one hand, and pulled the black fabric over his face. It was a mask that covered his head to his shoulders, with only a slit for his eyes. She adjusted the fabric so he could see, plucking at it with her fingers until it was fitted properly.

Daro struggled, desperately trying to force his arms and legs to move. He could feel the hard floor beneath him, his warm breath on the mask, but he couldn’t move anything but his eyes. He blinked, as if moving the one responsive part of his body would somehow coax the rest into cooperation. But he couldn’t so much as wiggle a toe.

“There, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” She sat back on her knees, almost out of Daro’s field of vision. “Trust me when I say this is for the best. It will help you adapt.” She leaned in close to his ear, her voice a soft whisper. “I mean it when I say I am looking forward to our time together. You are a most interesting subject.”

She moved away from his face and the room went black. Daro blinked, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again, to no avail. He saw nothing. His breath came in rapid gasps and his mind filled with a cloud of panic. His eyes darted up and down, but there was nothing, no light, form, or shadow. Only darkness. His unresponsive body lay limp on the floor, his mind desperately trying to regain control.

“I will leave you for now and I trust when I return, you will be ready to work together.”

Inwardly he beat against the unyielding wall that bound him, and his mind was drenched in a soundless scream.

13. AID OF THE CROWN

Cecily pulled in the reins of her horse as she approached the palace gate. Merrick had accompanied her to Halthas, riding by her side and keeping her to a reasonable pace. The wait drove her mad. She knew each day that went by increased the chance of something horrible happening to Daro. But she was still recovering, and pushing herself to exhaustion wouldn’t help. Merrick peeled off, leaving her at the gate, and headed toward the southern city to find rooms at an inn.

Two palace guards stood on either side of the Shaper-wrought black gate. One stepped forward and held his tall spear upright. “State your business.”

“Lady Cecily Imaran, here to see the king,” she replied. She kept her chin up, turned away and nudged her horse forward, as if there was no possibility of being denied entrance. Her body ached but she refused to let it show. She needed to be Lady Cecily, someone with every right to see the king without question. She didn’t have the patience to explain herself to every guard in her way.

The guard nodded to someone on the far side and the gates swung open, revealing the inner courtyard. She kicked her horse forward.

The immaculate courtyard spread out before her. Master Garden Shapers had spent years cultivating the trees and plants, training them into intricate designs. The trees flowered year round, blossoms in shades of peach and white adorning the branches. Ivy trailed up stone pillars and over delicate arches. A wide stone walkway led to an enormous fountain in the center of the courtyard. Behind the fountain was a maze of hedges, trimmed to perfection.

The palace loomed above the courtyard. The central building was gleaming white stone, tall spires rising from the top. Gigantic stone lions stood at the four corners of the main structure. Legend held that the hill on which the palace complex stood had once been a mountain. Shapers had spent a hundred years training the rock, Shaping the palace out of the raw stone of the mountain. Cecily didn’t know if that was true, or even possible, but even in her haste she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the imposing palace.

She dismounted and a groom took her horse’s reins. She nodded to him and walked to one of the outer guards. “Lady Cecily Imaran. I am here to see King Rogan.”

The guard glanced her up and down but opened the huge wooden door. “Wait here, milady,” he said as they walked in.