"So if we stopped the rebellion, then things would go back to normal?"
"No, not normal."
Lucy scowled. She knew this was all bullshit, but his next words surprised her.
"Better than normal. It's clear to me now we should have been honest with you all along. No more lies, no more cover-ups. I will personally make sure that everyone knows the truth."
"I want to believe you, but you've blocked my powers. If you're being honest with me, why not let me confirm what you've said?"
The Seeker chuckled. "I blocked you so that you would listen to me as a human being. I wanted you to look into my eyes as we talked, and assess at a basic human level if you could trust me. We are still people, you and I, and we deserve the courtesy of simple human interactions. You can feel what is right and wrong without your powers. We tend to rely too much on our extraordinary gifts, and not enough on our most remarkably ordinary talents."
The candle by the bedside flickered out and left them in darkness. Lucy reached over, lit a match, and the candle came to life once again.
The Seeker continued. "I can see that this is hard for you. If it makes you feel better, I will drop my protection and you can test me."
Lucy perked up at this. She'd gotten better at trusting her instincts, but with so many lives on the line, she'd much rather have her power to help her.
"First, I shall lie. Hmm... what shall my lie be? I have only three toes on one foot and one of the toes knows how to sing and dance to Irish limericks."
Lucy smirked. "I didn't expect you to have a sense of humor."
"Yes, people seldom do. I have unexpected depths, you know. All right, I assume you felt the lie in that, as I do not, in fact, have limerick-singing toes."
"Yes, I felt it."
The Seeker then repeated everything he had said about wanting to help her and Luke, about his care for Sam and Drake and his sadness about the recent tragedies.
"I have arranged a memorial for the boy who was killed. I know you dislike Mr. Black, but his job is to keep all of you safe, and he is good at what he does. As for you and your brother, there is no assignment. You are free to go back to your dorm, but I would recommend checking in at the hospital to get some medication. You'll likely need it. I've enjoyed your company, Lucy. I hope you will consider all of this carefully."
Moments later a guard came and escorted Lucy out of the building. The Seeker actually let her go, and gave her a lot to think about in the process. Could it be that Darren was right when he refused to join the Freedom Fighters? Were they safer here than anywhere else?
On her way back to the dorm, the warmth of Lucy's sphere washed over her. Her thoughts spun, conflicted and confused. If there were organizations bent on destroying her kind, would they even be safe if they escaped, or would she be leading these kids from bad to worse? They'd have no money, no identification, no resources, and no way to protect themselves. Then what would they do? Where would they go?
The honey-and-wine voice of the Seeker filled her veins, pulsing through her like a second heartbeat, enticing her and drawing her closer—but another, darker power kept her from succumbing.
She pulled the sphere out and clutched it, letting the cool metal ease the feverish state of her body.
The Seeker was good, but not as good as he thought.
Chapter 49 – Drake
Drake crouched in the dark Montana wilderness and rubbed his hands to keep warm. Sam shivered beside him despite the many layers he'd insisted she wear. This part of the country had skipped fall altogether and gone straight to winter. An early snow dusted the land around them and enveloped them in the kind of silence only the cold could usher in.
Sam held up the drawing she'd made from her dream. Her teeth chattered as she spoke. "There are guards by the front gate, and guards in and around each building. The Seeker is likely located in what was once the main office. We need to get in and find him."
"I have a plan for that." Drake knew she wouldn't like it, but he could see no other way. "We take control of the guards' minds and pretend to be prisoners. They'll take us directly to the Seeker."
Sam didn't reply, but Drake could practically hear her mind as she tried to think of any solution other than mind control.
"It's better than fighting our way through," he reminded her.
She flinched and pulled away from him.
His heart sank. It was bad enough that she would never forgive him for beating that man, but he had to battle his own self-loathing as well. He would do anything to protect his family—even if that condemned him in the eyes of the one he loved most—but it did little to ease his conscience.
"Sam, we won't hurt them. We need a way in, and this is the easiest and safest way for all."