Asylum

Proper Motivation

I look up at him, hands clenched so hard that even through the material of my gloves, I feel my nails digging into my palm. I was right – he was with her when Kya was taken. And from the sounds of it, it seems like Alistair is acquainted with the Reaper. Did he give Kya to her? Did he lure Kya into a trap? "Oh, my," Reaper coos, looking at my hands, which are covered in a thin layer of a sputtering flame. "Well, isn't that embarrassing?"

Every part of me wants to wrap these fiery hands around Alistair's neck and let him burn and bleed to death. He let Kya go. But there are two things that stop me. For one, he's here because he also wants to get Kya back, and against the Reaper, we need all the numbers and strength we can get. The second thing is that, really, I'm the one who let Kya go. If I could just wrap my mind around the fact that not everything in the past repeats itself, then I would never have pushed her away. And if I never did that, then who knows? Maybe it would have been us dancing together in the square, or even me who stole her first kiss. Kya's kidnapping is as much my fault as it is his.

"Answer me, Reaper," I growl, pushing thoughts of what could've been aside.

Coldly, she stares at me. In this moment, there is no emotion in her irises whatsoever. There's no ambition or anger or sadness. It's like she's a robot, calculating the impact of her next moves, waging the pros and cons of what she might say. Here, it's painfully apparent that human life means nothing to her. For a dreadful minute, I think we might be too late, and that Kya is already dead. It's enough to my stomach lurch and my knees quiver ever-so-slightly.

Until Reaper speaks in a monotone voice. "She's with Sarah and Leo, right about now."

"Did you hurt her?" Alistair asks, voice timid and eyes swimming with concern. If he cares so much about her, why did he trade her in? What did he get in return?

The side of Reaper's mouth quirks. "I did what I had to." Before I can tell myself no to, my body takes a step towards Reaper, heart beating so fast that my body starts to go numb. "Not so fast, Dragon. If you still want to see her alive, you're not going to lay a finger on me."

Alistair talks next, which is fine by me. I don't trust myself to speak; I can't tell if I'd be shouting at the top of my lungs or whispering in a hoarse voice. "How bad is she injured?"

Nonchalantly, Reaper shrugs one of her shoulders, knowing that the more she makes us wonder, the more malleable to her will we become. It's an excellent tactic. "Why don't you see for yourself? She's right through that door, but before you move," she emphasizes as I take a step backwards. "I need to cuff you both. If either of you get any funny ideas, you won't be paying for your mistakes. Kya will."

Her condition is that we walk in cuffed? Sounds fine to me. I can easily melt through them when the time is right. Cooperatively, I turn and bring my wrists together. I'm wound tight like a spring and my breathing is too fast for comfort, but I force myself not to jump when Reaper tightens the restraints around my skin.

I hear the clicking of hand cuffs around Alistair, who stares at the door so hard I think he might just be able to see through it. "Very well," Reaper praises. "I'll have Cerberus bring in an extra chair." She puts a hand on each of our arms, guiding us forwards. I'm terrified what I'll find past the door. Under her breath, Reaper whispers, "Let the games begin."

We couldn't get to that door fast enough. When Reaper opens it, I'm shocked by the blinding vastness of the bunker. This room is enormous, with a white interior. Set along the wall are four chairs, two of which are being occupied my Sarah and Leo; both of them look loopy and exhausted, and I wonder what happened in their hall. In the corner, there's Cerberus, crossing his arms and surveying the room like the standard Asylum guard he is. In the center of the room is a fifth chair, the person in it slumped over. I recognize the clothes and the hair, as well as the inexplicably serene feeling I get around her, and I know instantly that it's Kya Carter.