Аманда Хокинг: Torn

“I’m not having this discussion now.” She glanced in my direction, then walked out of the room.

“Is that everything, then?” Loki asked us once she’d gone.

“Not even close.” Matt had been sitting next to me but he got to his feet. “What do you want with us? You can’t just keep us here!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Loki smiled emptily at me and turned to leave the room.

Matt tried to rush him, but Loki was already out the door before he got to him. He slammed the door and Matt flew into it. There was a loud clicking as bolts locked, and Matt slacked against the door.

“What is going on here?” Matt shouted and turned to look at me. “How come you’re not dying anymore?”

“Would you rather I be dying?” I pulled the sleeve of my sweater down and wiped the blood away from my face. “I could get Kyra in here to finish the job.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Matt rubbed his forehead. “I want to know what’s happening. I feel like I’m in a bad dream.”

“It gets easier,” I said and turned to Rhys. “What the hell was that hobgoblin thing that came in? Was that an actual troll?”

“I don’t know.” Rhys shook his head, looking just as bewildered as I felt. “I’ve never seen one before, but everyone goes out of their way to make sure mänks don’t know anything.”

“I didn’t think there were real trolls.” I furrowed my brow, trying to remember what Finn had told me about trolls before. “I thought they were just myths.”

“Really?” Matt asked. “After everything that’s happened? So you pick and choose what mythology you believe in?”

“I’m not picking and choosing anything.” I got to my feet. I still felt sore all over, but it was light years better than I’d felt when I woke up. “I believe what I can see. I hadn’t seen this before. That’s all.”

“Are you okay?” Matt watched me as I hobbled around the room. “Maybe you should take it easy.”

“No, I’m fine.” I brushed him off. I wanted to get my bearings in the space, maybe see if there was a way that we could get out. “How did we get here anyway?”

“They broke into the house and attacked us.” Matt gestured to the door, referring to Loki and the Vittra. “That guy knocked us out somehow, and we woke up here.

We hadn’t been awake very long before you woke up.”

“Lovely.” I touched the door, pushing on it as if I thought it would open. It didn’t, but I had to try.

“Hey, where’s Finn?” Rhys asked, echoing thoughts I was starting to have. “Why didn’t he stop this?”

“What does Finn have to do with this?” Matt asked with an edge to his voice.

“Nothing. He used to be my tracker. It’s sorta like a bodyguard.” I took a step back, staring at the door and willing it to open. “He tried to protect me from all of this.”

“That’s why you ran away with him?” Matt asked. “He was protecting you?”

“Something like that,” I sighed.

“Where is he?” Rhys repeated. “I thought he was with you when the Vittra came.”

Matt started yelling about Finn being in my room, but I ignored him. I didn’t have the energy to fight with Matt about propriety or his feelings for Finn.

“Finn left before they broke in,” I said, once Matt had finished his tirade. “I don’t know where he’s at.”

I don’t know what had happened that kept Finn from protecting me. Maybe he had really left. I had thought that had all been a bluff, but I don’t know why he wouldn’t have been there.

Unless something bad happened to him. The Vittra could have gotten to him before they came after me. He cared too much for duty, even if he didn’t care enough for me. The only way he wouldn’t keep me safe is if he couldn’t.

“Wendy?” Rhys asked.

I think he’d been talking before that, but I hadn’t heard anything he’d said. I’d been too busy thinking of Finn and staring at the door.

“We have to get out of here,” I said and turned to Rhys and Matt.

“Obviously,” Matt sighed.

“I have an idea.” I bit my lip. “But it’s not a great one. When they come back, I can use my persuasion. I can convince them to let us go.”

“Do you really think that’s strong enough?” Rhys voiced the concern I’d had myself.

So far, I’d only used persuasion on unsuspecting humans, like Matt and Rhys, and Finn had told me without training, my abilities weren’t as strong as they could be. I hadn’t begun my training yet in Förening, so I had no clue how powerful or weak I might be.

“I really don’t know,” I admitted.

“Persuasion?” Matt raised an eyebrow and looked at Rhys. “Is that the thing you were telling me about? That mind thing she can supposedly do?” Rhys nodded, and Matt rolled his eyes.

“It’s not supposed.” I bristled at his skepticism. “I can do it. I’ve done it to you before.”

“When?” Matt asked, still dubious.

“How do you think I got you to take me to see Kim?” I asked, referring to when he’d taken me to see his mother, my “host” mother, in the institution.

He hated her and didn’t want me to have anything to do with her. I’d used persuasion on him, even though I’d felt guilty about it, but it was the only way I could talk to her.

“You did that?” His shock and hurt were instantly replaced by anger. He looked like he’d been slapped in the face. I lowered my eyes and turned away. “You tricked me? How could you do that, Wendy? You always say you never lie to me then you go and do something like that!”

“It wasn’t a lie,” I said sheepishly, trying to defend actions I couldn’t even justify.

“No, it’s worse!” Matt shook his head and stepped away from me, as if he couldn’t stand to be near me. “I can’t believe you did that. How often did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “For a long time, I didn’t know I was doing it. But once I figured it out, I tried not to do at all. I don’t like doing it, especially to you. It’s not fair, and I know it.”

“Damn right it’s not fair!” Matt snapped. “It’s cruel and manipulative!”

“I’m really sorry.” I met his eyes, and the hurt in them stung painfully. “I promise I won’t ever do it again, not to you.”

“I hate to break up this moment, but we need to figure a way out of here,” Rhys interrupted. “So what is the plan?”

“We call someone,” I said, happy for the reprieve from thinking about how much Matt must hate me.

“What do you mean call someone? Do you have your cell phone?” Rhys asked excitedly.

“No, I mean, summon someone. The way Matt did before.” I pointed to the door behind me. “Knock on the door, say we’re hungry or cold or dead or whatever.

When they come, I can use my persuasion on them to get them to let us out.”

“You think that will really work?” Matt asked, but the disbelief had dropped from his voice. He was only asking our opinion now.

“Maybe.” I looked at Rhys. “But I have a favor to ask. Can I practice on you?”

“Sure,” Rhys shrugged, trusting me immediately.

“What do you mean ‘practice?’” Matt asked with a concerned edge.

He moved a bit closer to Rhys, and I realized with some surprise that he finally believed Rhys was his brother. He wanted to protect Rhys from me. I felt some relief and happiness knowing that he’d started accepting him, but it hurt a little -

okay, a lot - to know that Matt thought of me as a threat.

“I haven’t done it very much.” I didn’t like the way Matt scrutinized me, so I paced the room, as if it could alleviate his gaze somehow. “And it’s been awhile since I’ve done it all.”

That last part wasn’t entirely true since I’d just used it on Rhys the day before, but I didn’t want him reacting the way Matt did. This whole process would go a lot easier the less people hated me.