Chronicles of the Unknowns: Control

Chapter 23

Jake POV

"Augustus is dead," Giovanna said.

My mind couldn't quite wrap around that information. Augustus, the healer....dead? Impossible.

"I need your energy. It's time. I tried to do this the easy way, but Celeste has put me in a position where I have no choice but to do it by force."

Celeste? What was she talking about? Had Celeste's plan worked?

Giovanna is going to cast a stronger, more expansive illusion over as many people as she can, Jason's voice said in my mind.

I don't know if I'll be able to protect everyone here. Get as far away from her as possible!

I was about to do just that, but the image of my brother caught my eye. For everything Giovanna had done that was unforgivable and irredeemable...it didn't feel worth it to be forced to hurt my own family. If her ultimate goal was really to bring peace to Unknowns, was that so bad? Was that really a good enough cause to overlook the violence she had brought against the rest of humanity?

I didn't know. It didn't feel right to side with her. But it didn't feel right to turn my back on my brother either. For what it was worth, the others were important to me too. I hesitated.

"Procidat Deceptionem," Giovanna said, as Myra infused raw energy into her.

She repeated this phrase again, this time her voice echoing through my mind, drowning out all of my other thoughts. The internal conflict I was having disappeared altogether. Giovanna's voice eased through every crevice of my being, soft and smooth, comforting and alluring.

A feeling of calm washed over me. The battle began to fade. Some faint part of my mind knew what I was seeing wasn't real, but as each second ticked by, those thoughts were suppressed. In the distance, I could hear a familiar voice calling out to me.

Jake, try to get closer to me.

Slowly, I turned my head, looking for where the sound came from. I saw Jason, one hand placed firmly on Daisy Lynn's shoulder. He reached out with his other hand and Ken and Sakima were dragged closer to him by an invisible force. Not too far away, Dziko and Ayana were holding onto each other.

Again, a faint part of my brain told me to go toward him, but their forms were becoming less clear by the moment.

"Come to me, Jake. Let's go home," Ricky said, his voice crystal clear in my ear.

It was impossible to resist. And honestly, I didn't want to. I walked toward the sound of my brother's voice. Nearly everyone else in our camp had joined me. Jason and the elementals were the only ones who remained. Part of me knew this was not good, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

The fight isn't over yet. They're the enemy. Help me, Giovanna commanded.

We all turned toward the others who remained unaffected.

The strain on Jason's face was visible. He put his free hand up again and with a wave of his wrist, we were all sent flying back.

I don't want to have to hurt you, he thought, his voice sounded tired.

The power of Giovanna's magic was overwhelming. We all got to our feet and charred at them again, a flurry of various powers whipping through the air to attack them. But Jason, even in his exhausted state, was unmatched. His telekinesis halted an entire army of Unknowns, stopping us in our tracks.

Take your hostages and leave, Giovanna. Or else you'll have nothing left but corpses. The next time I won't hold back, he said.

I could feel her hesitation. But she acquiesced. The environment around me shifted, Jason and the others growing faint. Giovanna, who had created a clone of herself, slowly dissipated as well. I felt us get sucked in with her magic, before appearing in the real world again. The sudden change was disorienting, but when I looked up, I saw my brother.