The Stolen Star

9

I awaken to the sound of the door opening. I jolt upright and earn myself a stab of pain from my chest and my ankle. It’s Saia and the giant Ghiatam soldier. Ikyrus isn’t with them.

“Get up,” Saia orders.

“I can’t walk,” I reply.

“I don’t care. You’ll come with me, and I don’t care if it’s a pleasant experience. Ikyrus values your life. I don’t.” She brandishes her electric prod, a smirk on her perfect face. “Now get up.”

I weigh my options. Rise, and I’ll fall. My ankle is swollen, shaded black and blue with bruises. Sit and…I don’t know.

Maintaining eye contact with her, I struggle to open the communication link.

I send out a call for Ikyrus.

His response is slow, distant. I can’t hear him like I could hear Monster. Maybe it’s because he’s Ghiatam, and Monster is Nexari. Maybe I’m not supposed to be able to communicate with the Ghiatam as I can the Nexari, the race that created me.

Saia advances on me. She’s seething.

Her anger is palpable. Even the soldier seems a little concerned. She lashes out and seizes the front of the gown. She jerks me forward. To keep from falling, I have no choice but to stand.

The agony is immense. Consuming. I stumble and end up on one knee, my broken ankle twisted beneath me. Sweat and tears pour down my face.

Saia grins, an evil grin that frightens me to my core. I scream over the comm link for Ikyrus.

He hears me, even though I can’t hear him.

Saia punches me. The force of her blow knocks me to the cold, smooth floor. Blood splatters from my nose, speckling the floor with vivid crimson. The giant shuffles forward a step, but doesn’t move to help either of us. He’s a drone, Monster said.

Help won’t come from him.

Saia lands a kick to my ribs. She reaches down to grab my gown. I catch her off guard and clamp my hands around her upper arms. She’s strong, but we’re almost matched in strength.

Another code scrolls across my field of vision, too fast to comprehend more than a blur of symbols that awaken something new. Energy, pure energy, pours from my hands into Saia’s body. She convulses and utters a choked scream. The giant lurches into action, snatching her away from me. Ikyrus skids into the room.

I scramble backwards until I touch the wall. My vision is blurry and my limbs feel weak and shivery. If I had anything in my stomach, I would vomit.

Saia continues to shudder and shake from the seizure I induced. I know how it happened. I changed her brainwaves with that blast of energy. I could have stopped her heart.

I could have killed her.

The codes are flying across my field of vision. Where to strike an assailant to do maximum damage. How to access their interface with just a touch. How to deactivate their interface temporarily.

How to override their minds with my own will.

All this new knowledge is overwhelming.

The one code I wish for, the one I’m not even sure exists, is the one to override my own sense of pain. The codes taper off, leaving me with enough knowledge to destroy a nation but with nothing I can use now.

Saia’s seizure tapers off and she sits up with the help of the Ghiatam drone. Ikyrus looks from me to her and back again.

Under his gaze, I crumble. I can’t keep from sobbing into my cuffed hands. Bloody trickles from my nose and split lips, staining the front of my gown, dripping down my clasped hands.