Hyacinth (16 page)

Maddox gave her
a sinister smile so reminiscent of Gideon that her skin crawled. “You let me
worry about that.”

Selene rose to
her feet, aristocracy evident in every line of her body. “I won’t marry you.”

“We’ll see about
that.”

Maddox opened
the door and accepted a tray of food from someone standing outside. He placed it
on the floor at his feet, and, without so much as a backward glance, he left
the room.

Selene waited
until she heard the sounds of multiple locks in the door before she sank back
on the bed. She had no doubt that Maddox had a specific plan and could do
exactly what he’d said. But without her powers, how was she supposed to get out
of this mess?

Mulling through
her options, Selene got the tray of food off the floor and sat back down to
eat.

*****

As far as Selene
could tell, she’d been held captive for a few days, which meant that she’d
missed Christmas with the family, but it wasn’t quite New Year’s Eve yet. The
only gauge she had to help her assess the passing of time was her meals. She’d
been served six so far. That and the fact that the lights would go off for four
hours or so after long stretches of being on. She assumed that meant it was
nighttime and would take advantage of the opportunity to sleep.

Unfortunately, Selene
had nothing to occupy her time during the day and was ready to go mad from
sheer boredom. Maddox had not returned; in fact, no one had been to see her
other than the faceless, speechless meal deliverer. She’d spent many hours
scouring every single inch of the room. But there was absolutely no way in or
out that didn’t involve the heavily locked door.

The faint turn of
one of the locks signaled that breakfast was being served. Selene remained on
the bed and propped herself up on one elbow as the tray was pushed into the
room.

“Hey, you…
whoever you are…” she called.

She listened for
a response. She hadn’t tried talking to her jailer yet, figuring it was
useless. She didn’t get an answer, but she also didn’t hear them walk away.

“If it’s at all
possible, I would very much appreciate a book or magazine. Something to pass
the time in here,” she called, feeling a bit like an idiot talking to a door.

As she heard all
the locks slide back into place, Selene let out a deep sigh.

At least the
food isn’t half bad,
she thought as she fetched her tray. She’d just resigned herself to another day
of staring at the ceiling and going stir crazy from boredom when the locks
started sounding again.

Selene watched
the door curiously as it opened wider than normal. Suddenly, a body was roughly
shoved inside. Selene gasped and jumped off the bed and hurried over to kneel
beside the young, unconscious girl. She had matted brown hair, cracked lips,
and was so pale she almost looked translucent.

“Oh my heaven,”
Selene muttered. She gingerly lifted the fragile girl in her arms and carried
her across the room. The tiny thing was skin and bones, so petite that Selene
worried she might break her.

She laid her
gently down on the bed. Then she removed the girl’s shoes and tucked her feet under
the covers. She brushed the mass of hair out of the girl’s face. Exhaustion was
written on her features in the form of shadows under her eyes so purple they
almost looked bruised. The girl looked young, maybe a hundred years or so younger
than Selene if she had to take a guess, but, of course, it was difficult to
tell age with their race.

Selene pulled
the blanket over the girl and then sat down on the cold floor. She wrapped her
arms around her knees and waited, her eyes never leaving the face of her
visitor who appeared to be in a dead sleep.

*****

Griffin paced
back and forth in Hugh and Lucy’s living room, where all of the family was
gathered. The place looked like a dorm room with sleeping bags and blankets
everywhere. With absolutely no lead to where Selene might be, Hugh and Dexter
had suggested they stay together constantly for two reasons: the first was to
protect themselves from possible kidnap, as Selene had been taken from them
without anyone having an inkling of it happening. The second reason was if
somehow Selene managed to contact them, they’d need to act fast.

But it had been
five days now. Five excruciatingly long days.

“Griffin, you’re
giving me whiplash,” Nate complained, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Then don’t
watch me,” Griffin snapped.

Nate settled
back in the couch and propped his legs up on the coffee table. “Hey, man, I
know you’re worried, but don’t take it out on me.”

Griffin paused,
raking a hand through his hair. “Sorry, Nate. I just hate feeling like we’re being
kept in a prison. Reminds me too much of when Ellie and I were on the run.”

“Is that what
you’re most worried about?”
Ellie thought to him. She was out on patrol in her
falcon form. She and Griffin had been trading on and off since Selene had
disappeared.

“Now’s not the
time,”
he thought back with a scowl.

“Now’s the best
time,”
his stubborn sister insisted.
“Why can’t you admit that it’s Selene whom
you’re most concerned about?”

“I’m not really
in the mood to analyze and catalog all my concerns right now,”
he retorted,
more harshly than he’d intended.

“Ellie,”
Alex’s voice
cut into both their thoughts.
“Sorry darlin’. I don’t know what you’re
saying to him, but Griffin looks like he’s ready to choke someone. And since
you’re not here to give him a handy target, I highly suggest you give him a
break.”

Griffin heard
Ellie sigh.
“Fine,”
she muttered.
“But don’t think that I’m done with
this topic.”

Griffin shot Alex
a grateful look and was just about to thank him when Oren’s form shimmered into
the room.

“Ellie—!”

“On my way,”
she called.

Oren got right
to the point. “Sheila caught a flash.”

“Of Selene?”
Lucy asked as she entered the room. She and Adelaide joined Nate on the couch.

Oren nodded.
“Yes. It was very fast. Not enough time for Sheila to get a solid location on
her, though she’s narrowed it down to the United States.”

“Is she sure?”
Alex pressed.

“That it was
Selene? Absolutely. Once Sheila has located someone once, she says they have a
unique signature that allows her to easily identify them after that. It was
definitely Selene.”

“So what now?”
Griffin pressed, anxious to be able to finally
do
something.

Oren bowed his
head. “Unfortunately, now we wait.”

Before Griffin
could come completely unglued, Lila reached over and lay her hand over his
forearm, gripping tightly. He felt a sense of calm wash through him. It wasn’t
peace — he was far too keyed up for her to affect him that much—but he was
definitely less agitated.

“This is good
news,” Lila reminded him. “It means Selene is alive. It means that whatever
she’s doing on her end to try to escape might be working.”

“You’re assuming
she’s not the one blocking Sheila,” he reminded her.

Lila nodded, her
resolve clear. “Yes, I am.”

Griffin looked
into Lila’s green eyes, took one more deep breath, and relaxed just the
slightest bit.

“Okay then. We
wait.”

Selene awoke
from what had been a fitful sleep. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat up
in bed, careful not to disturb the girl now sharing it with her. It had been
close to two days since her roommate had joined her, but the girl was still
out. Selene concluded that she must be in some sort of coma. People just didn’t
sleep like that. She was starting to worry a little bit about the girl’s
physical needs. The poor thing hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in two days.
That couldn’t be good. In an attempt to help, Selene had even tried to drip
some of the water she got from the sink into the girl’s mouth, but it had just
dribbled back out again.

Selene strained
her ears, listening for the noise that had woken her up, but heard nothing.
There weren’t any windows in the small room, just an overhead light that her
captors controlled, and that was presently turned off. So it wasn’t as if she
could really see anything.

Instinctively,
she stretched out with her powers. And that’s when she felt it.

Selene gasped.
Just a hint of a spark, but it was definitely there. She couldn’t see the color
yet, could barely glimpse the shimmer of light. But someone close by was using
their power.

She held onto
that spark. It wasn’t enough to do anything with—yet. But it was her only hope.

What the heck! It
was almost as if the invisible wall that had been blocking her powers – unseen
but definitely felt - had started to crumble under her constant attempt to use
her abilities, and she now was starting to break through.

To test her
theory, she pushed just a little bit harder at that spark. It widened slightly
and then shrank back as she felt the wielder amp up their own pressure on her.
But she could still see that miniscule flicker.

Now she had a
shred of hope, a possible avenue open to her. Selene increased the strength
behind her constant push to use her power. Not much, only enough to add
pressure, but not so much that the blocker – because there had to be a blocker
- might suspect anything amiss. With a small smile, she settled back into bed,
cramped as it was with the two of them sharing it, and went back to sleep.

*****

The lights
turning on woke Selene from the first relatively peaceful slumber she’d had in several
nights. She stretched and then glanced over at her companion, who had yet to
show any signs of life. Selene checked her pulse again, still worried about her.
She couldn’t go on like this much longer. Right?

Immediately, Selene
knew that her increased efforts to put pressure on the blocker were working.
The small light of the blocker was definitely getting larger. She could see a
tiny bit more. She frowned.

I’ll need to be
careful and time this well.
The blocker will know that I’m fighting them.
They’ll know I’m making headway here.

Breakfast was
delivered not long after the lights turned on as usual.

By dinnertime,
Selene could tell that her edge over her opponent was growing stronger. Selene
felt like a rock climber reaching for a cliff above her head and just barely
touching it with her fingertips. The blocker was just out of her reach, but
with a little patience, she’d get a grip on them.

“Sel—ne!”

The sound of
Oren’s voice cutting in and out had Selene jumping up off the bed with a gasp
and spinning in a circle, expecting to see her old friend standing beside her.
But other than her unconscious companion, she was still alone.

“Oren?” she
called out tentatively.
Maybe I’m finally losing it.
Selene moved into a
corner so she could see the entire room and waited.

“—lene. Can --u
he-- m-?”

The ghostly form
of Oren faded in and out before her eyes.

“I’m here,” she
called, careful to keep her voice quiet so her captors wouldn’t hear. She
reached out to the fading image. “Oren. Oren. I’m here.”

Selene fell
silent and waited, but Oren didn’t reappear. “I’m here,” she whispered,
desperation clawing at her. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

That blocker
must be holding back Oren, too. I have to be opening up holes in his ability to
contain me.

With a deep
breath, Selene sat down in the middle of the floor and crossed her legs. She
sat motionless with her eyes closed and concentrated on battling for supremacy
over the person who had held her captive. They were both clearly exhausted
after so many days of deliberate and constant effort to undermine each other.

The lights
finally turned off again hours later, but Selene didn’t move. She hadn’t
wavered for even a second from the silent battle in which she was engaged. Her
hair now looked like it was plastered to her head. She was soaked in sweat with
the effort of the struggle.

Suddenly, Selene
could just faintly make out a sound…

“Selene!”

Ellie’s voice sounded
as though it was coming through on a really old telephone. But it was
something.

Selene slowly
opened her eyes, careful not to break her concentration. But the lights were
still off, and she couldn’t see a thing through the pitch black. She didn’t
dare to try to talk back to Ellie for fear she’d lose the ground she’d gained,
but she could feel her in her mind, as though she stood on the other side of
the wall. Selene gave a last desperate push against her jailor.