Шеннон Мессенджер - Keeper of the Lost Cities

“They have to get rid of him.”

Please! she transmitted. Please help us . She pushed the message as far as it could go.

“The girl’s awake. I can hear her transmitting for help.”

A strong hand squeezed her arm like a vise. “Stop it, Sophie! Do you hear me?”

“Relax. She can’t reach anyone from here.”

“I don’t care. Knock her out.”

Sharp sweetness tickled her nose, and she sank into the dark oblivion.

TIME LOST ITS MEANING INthe blackness. Each second felt like the next—until a burning in her nose jerked her back to reality. She wanted to sneeze and gag with every breath.

“Are you sure this is necessary?” The voice loomed over her.

“It’s either this or give up.”

A very loud sigh.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Her chest constricted, heaving into a cough—but a cloth blocked her mouth, keeping the cough in. Her body thrashed in pain.

“ The gag is choking her.”

“She’ll live,” a gruff voice insisted. “I don’t want her talking.”

“This better work,” someone else added.

The choking grew worse and she started hyperventilating.

“Wonderful. Well, go ahead—before she suffocates.”

It felt like they pulled off her lips when they ripped the gag away. Her throat was dry and a sick, sour taste coated her tongue, but the cool air felt wonderful. She gulped as much as she could, coughing and hacking until her chest calmed down.

“Don’t even think about screaming, Sophie. No one will hear, and you will not like how we’ll punish you. Nod if you understand.”

Her head felt like lead, but she managed a couple weak nods.

“Good. Now let’s get this over with.”

Rough hands pressed against her temples, squeezing her already throbbing head.

“Why?” she croaked. She tried to open her eyes, but something covered them. “Why are you doing this?”

“You’ve served your purpose,” a ghostly whisper hissed. “Now alter her memories so we can relocate her.”

She held her breath, wondering if she would actually feel her memories being stolen—if it would hurt. But she felt nothing.

“Is it working?” the gruff voice demanded.

Silence, followed by an exhausted grunt.

“No.”

The single syllable echoed through the room.

Something heavy hit the wall. Then a sweet cloth pressed over her mouth, and the drugs pulled her back to the darkness.

“WAKE UP, SOPHIE,” SOMEONE CALLEDthrough the swirling mist of her mind. Her nose stung again. Then the coughing started.

She wasn’t gagged this time, but her eyes were still covered and she was strapped to a chair, bound by her wrists and ankles. “Who are you?” she whispered, struggling to pull her mind from the haze of the drugs.

“That’s not important,” the ghostly whisper informed her.

Shivers tickled down her spine. “What do you want?”

“Me? Oh . . . many things. Would you like me to list them all?” His voice was hollow, empty. She wished she could recognize it, but she’d never heard it before.

“What do you want from me?”

“Ah, see, that’s much more specific.” He laughed an eerie, breathy laugh—more like a wheeze. “I want to know why you’re here.”

“You tell me,” she spat. “You’re the one who captured me.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean here . I meant why you exist at all. Why anyone would go to so much trouble to create such a unique little girl? And what are they hiding in that impenetrable little brain of yours?” Venom seeped into the last words as hot hands brushed across her temples, leaving a trail of warmth everywhere they touched. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me what you’re hiding in there?”

“Get your hands off me.”

Another breathy laugh. “You’ve got gumption—I’ll give you that. But you leave me in quite a predicament.”

Steady footfalls told her he was pacing.

“The easiest thing to do would be to kill you and your little friend and be rid of you both. But it’s never easy, is it? Sure—it is with your friend. He’ll be disposed of soon enough.”

“Why? It’s me you want. Why don’t you let him go?”

“And cast suspicion on your disappearance? No, we can’t have that. Don’t worry, he won’t feel a thing. I’m not a monster, after all.”

“You’re worse than a monster!” she screamed. “You kill innocent children and don’t even have the guts to show your face.”

“Innocent? Innocent? ” She could feel his hot breath on her face and pressure squeezing her arms. “If you’re so innocent, how did you know the location of Elementine? How do you know about Everblaze?” He released her arms and the blood rushed back in a throb of pain. “No, Miss Foster. You may be ignorant, but you are certainly not innocent. The Black Swan made sure of that.”

“Wait. Aren’t you part of the Black Swan?”

He laughed—louder this time—almost a cackle. Apparently, that was all the answer she would get.

“So what do I do with you?” he asked, mostly to himself. “Do I keep you here so I can see what you can really do?”

“I can’t do anything,” she screamed. “I’m not special—I’m just me .”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You’re their little puppet. So maybe I should just get rid of you and take their precious toy away.”

Panic made her shake despite the bonds. Would he kill her now?

“You’ll never get away with this,” she whispered. “I already gave the Council the sample of the Everblaze. They’ll come for you.”

“How will they know it was me?”

“Because you’re the only one who can ignite Everblaze.”

“Am I? And I suppose you think you know who I am.”

“You’re Fintan.”

He laughed. “I guess you’ve got it all figured out, then.” He rushed her, gripping her arms again. “Tell me what your mind is hiding and maybe I’ll let you live.”

She screamed as the burning increased—like her skin was melting. “Please, you’re hurting me.”

His breath was hot on her face. “This is your last chance.”

Please! She tried to concentrate so she could send out one last desperate call for help. She had no idea if she could reach anyone, but it was her only hope.

Her mind buzzed with a reserve of energy as she pictured Everglen until it was all she could see. Fitz, she transmitted, imagining him inside, eating dinner in the dining room. It seemed so real she could see his beautiful eyes widen in surprise. Please, Fitz. I need your help. If you can follow my voice, please find me.

But you’re dead, he thought, his face twisting with pain.

I’m not dead—yet. Please, they’re going to kill us.

“She’s transmitting again,” someone warned.

The pain in her arms became so unbearable she lost her connection—if it had even been a connection.

“Is that true?” the ghostly voice hissed as his hands squeezed tighter, twisting her raw skin.

“Stop,” she screamed, contorting from the pain. “Stop, please.”

“Knock her out again. And make the poison—I’m done with both of them.”

“No, ple—” The sweet cloth blocked the rest of her plea, and she was jerked back to the dark.

HER MIND SWAM THROUGH Apool of thick, inky black for an eternity. Sometimes she could find the clarity to picture Fitz’s face and send another desperate plea for help, but most of the time she just drifted, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and wondering which breath would be her last.

At first she didn’t realize she was moving. A rush of air across her face brought her to her senses.