The Dream Crafter(76)

Zen.

“The view. I get how it might be nicer than staring at stone walls, but don’t you think it’s kind of stupid to have something which is so obviously. Not. Out. There.”

She was waiting on his answer, looking as intent as the guards did when asking about a missing package or contraband, which was ridiculous for the small talk of an ice breaking question. “I’ll face reality,” he said, that he responded a surprise to his brain, which was only now catching up to the fact he answered as well as the low, serious tone he answered in.

She nodded, sitting opposite from him and kicking her legs on the table. “I figured you’d take that view. You and your sister, headfirst facing reality. I admire that.”

The word sister had only just finished passing through his brain when he sprung up, chains groaning against the stress. “What are you talking about?” The berserker began to wake, opening its eyes to see the view.

“Sit down, Nakoa. We don’t want to worry anyone.” She lifted her chin in a dismissive motion, and his fist clenched in involuntary reaction. “I’m here to talk. Hells, I’m here to give a measure of good news. Don’t you want to hear about big sis?”

He didn’t sit, the chains still holding him back. “Talk,” and his voice was taking on the growl, the blood moving through his veins faster, muscles twitching with the stimuli, and the berserker was now fixated on her.

“Ah.” She nodded, got up, began walking towards him. “I see. We can go that way too.”

Now near him, she touched the edge of the chain closest to her, and the chain began unravelling, falling away from his body. As the last chain cleared his body, the woman looked him over. “Let it free at me, if you want.”

Confusion slowed everything in him, the berserker rearing back to study her. “What?”

“You heard me. Now’s your chance. I’m the dumbass that unchained you, and if you attack me, it’s not like they can do anything additional to you, is there? So make your choice. Attack, or listen.”

Red hair fell across her face and down her shoulder, the same red as the blood that splashed freely when flesh was torn apart, and the metal in her gaze was a weapon cleaving through bone and marrow and the strings that kept soul attached to body.

When Nakoa first came here, a terrified kid, a lifer guided him and trained him. Dez showed him how to survive, and in here, that meant showing him who to watch out for.

You a berserker. That’ll keep away most, yeah, but don’t get cocky. You gotta watch for them that ain’t scared of you. Not them like me, ones who got nothing to lose and’ll use you for suicide duty. The ones you be on guard against, you’ll know ’em. You’ll feel ’em. Air changes around ’em. Your skin, prickles. You’ll wanna challenge ’em, and you’ll wanna run away.

The berserker stilled, focused, and, for the first time in its existence, hesitated as it took in the woman standing before him. She was weaponless, a woman trapped among the most dangerous of men, and here in front of her, he understood those words.

She studied him for several moments, and when he had no reaction, moved back to the end of the table, releasing him from the magnetic energy which surrounded her. Beautiful air filled his lungs again, the only clue he hadn’t been breathing as she stood before him.

Such a worthy opponent…

Red hair and gold eyes…

click

“Fallon?”

Like quicksilver, the fierce attitude left and now she looked pleased, almost abashed. “Really? You guys talk about me in here? Excellent!” And she sat back down across from him.

Fallon. The Guild. His sister.

Fucking gods, what was going on?

“Where’s Amana?” He wasn’t going to deny it. If they were here, they knew enough. The only thing that meant a damn to him was Amana’s safety.

She pointed at him, motioning between his still standing body and the chair. “Are you going to go beast-mode, or can we talk? Because we are going to be talking of unpleasant things, and I don’t want to put you down, not after the bitching I had to deal with to get here.”

“The berserker doesn’t control me.” Not yet.

“Don’t imagine I can’t see that little addendum you added in your head right then, but that isn’t my concern.” She leaned back, her eyes steady on him. “Don’t bother lying to me, just listen to my words. Your sister was working for us, and the terms of the deal were if she helped us, we’d get you out.”

Something had gone wrong. It was the only explanation, because Amana wasn’t here, and he wasn’t breathing the free air. Not that anyone trusted the Guild, but they wouldn’t be here to gloat over him. Something else was happening. “Where is Amana now?”