Cloak of Deceit

Chapter Thirteen

Hey, it's me. My phone got wrecked in a rainstorm on the camping trip, and I'll have to get a new one. I got a real bad bout of the flu, and I don't think I'll be in class this week. Or it might have been food poisoning. Some bad beans, or something. But don't worry! I'll be fine. I'll call you this weekend when I get a new phone. I love you. Bye." I hung up Carl's phone with a guilty sigh.

"Will she really buy that?" Carl asked.

I shrugged. "As long as I call her regularly, she's usually too busy to check up on me."

He blinked at me blandly, as if not sure how to take that.

In the past three days, I'd gotten better at keeping my emotional projections in check. The first couple of days with the collar, I'd been oozing my feelings all over the place. It was a small victory to leave him wondering, but totally satisfying. I gloated silently as we made our way to the lounge.

Three days with no word from Julian had left me two options — go stir crazy, or find something to do. Luckily, activities abounded in Monique's cast-away clubhouse. The Madame herself remained very elusive, but Carl, Dawn, and Ian had gladly taken me under their wings. I'd gotten my tour, and discovered the compound was much larger than I'd originally thought. The basement level, where we boarded, was only one third of it.

The two levels above ground were the front of the whole operation, which was disguised as a community center and counseling office. They housed a full gym, swimming pool, offices, and Monique's behind-the-scenes laboratory. That's where it got interesting. She had made a business out of psychic research. Volunteer guinea pigs only, but some of the contraptions in those rooms made me feel lucky I'd gotten off with just a collar.

My favorite place was the rooftop, which had been converted to a playground and garden. It was great to get fresh air, to feel the night sky draped around me, to see the moon and stars, and know I wasn't going to be entombed underground forever.

At least I had some friends to help the time pass.

My new friends, as it turned out, were some of Monique's star pupils, now her employees. They had stayed on with her into adulthood. Most of the other people our age or older were transients, there to recover from some trauma or lay low. The rest were Monique's staff. Men and women in white coats worked in the labs, and a host of normal folks worked at the community center among those with a psychic slant — a perfect cover. Carl was a counselor there. I thought it was a little unfair to read people's minds and call it therapy, but who was I to judge? The only other people I encountered were inconspicuous men who always seemed faded into the background. These, I'd learned, were armed guards.

The bulk of Monique's boarders were orphans and runaways. Though, I hadn't seen any. Whether by luck or some other means, she'd cleared them out and sent them on a retreat right before Julian and I arrived. I didn't mind. It was easier to get along with fewer people, even if the place felt like a ghost town sometimes, especially late at night when I was the only one awake; patrolling the halls alone, pining for Julian.

Julian, off somewhere, immersed in subterfuge and danger...

Carl snorted and shoved the lounge door open. "Please. Don't get me started."

I rolled my eyes. Carl hadn't been pushy, per se, since Julian had left. Needy was more like. It would have been annoying, if I hadn't enjoyed his company so much. Every time he caught me thinking of Julian, he had to get his dig in. So far, though, I'd been true to my word. Carl's blood was tempting in comparison to the bottled stuff Julian had scavenged, and so was his body. But not more tempting than what Julian had promised. Safety. Security. Seduction...