I wake up in a six by six cell, barely enough room for me to lay down. The walls and floor are concrete, excluding the metal bars closing me in, and a monotonic buzz is filling my head with an overwhelming use of my amplified senses. Even though the only light shining on me is a blue panel overhead, I still coil away, the smallest glare magnifying the pain of my migraine. It takes a moment of regaining consciousness to realize the wound on my right leg is healed, and Devon's seated in front of my cage.
"Awake?" He stands up to stare down at me in front of my cell door. "Oh, your leg?" he asks, referring to my confusion as to how my stab wound was miraculously healed. "We had one of our special assignment Karmas deal with it, her Telum species is healing."
"Telum species?" I scoff at the phrase. "Exactly how many type fives do you have stashed away?"
"Enough to get the results we desire. It's a shame you're not as useful as she is. All you can do is inflict damage whereas she can fix what you destroy."
I ease myself against the wall so that our conversation can continue with us facing each other. "What am I doing here?" I ask, growing tired of the small talk we've done thus far.
"You're the key to our success, I'm sure you're aware of that. But what else do you know?"
"I know Dad's alive." Devon's jaw tightens at the mention of our father. "I don't know how, but I know he is. I know you sold me out for a pretty penny, sure hope it was worth it. And I know you'll rot in hell for it, even if I have to put you there myself."
He chuckles at my threats, "My, my, what bold language for someone behind bars right now. I don't believe you can do anything to me from there, especially without your gun and knife."
I remember him stealing my weapons earlier, and snarl at my sudden helplessness. He missed the hidden blade I keep in my boot, but I can't use it until I coax more information out of Devon. Maybe one of my powers can break me out of here instead. My flames were of no use in or out of this cell, so I doubt it can burn through the iron, but I might be able to change the state of it to water.
"Don't bother with any of your abilities either," he says as if reading my mind. "That light above you neutralizes any type five phenomenon. Good luck breaking it too, it's a ten-foot high ceiling." Dammit.
"I have the only key, and I promise you, you'll never get it. Face it, Cas, you're trapped." He laughs in his maniacal manner, his face contorting into a grotesque grin of satisfaction at his final victory over me.
"What do you want, Devon? Why are you helping Dad? I thought you hated him as much as I did."
"He's our father, of course I love him. Besides, filial piety aside he offered me the cushy life you've been living at Cardinal. He tried to give it to us earlier but you just had to quit the Karmas. Not only that but you hid all of your payments from me."
"To protect you."
"Bullshit!" he yelled, his voice resonating through the surrounding empty prison cells, "They gave you cantos, and you never told me about them. Do you realize how great of a life we could've been living? How many years we wasted groveling in a Tetra province? How many death threats we could've avoided had you just agreed to stay?"
"Is that what you care about? Cantos? A higher social status?"
"What more could we want?"
"My sanity!"
"Don't be so demanding." Devon's pacing in front of my cell, moving out of view every now and then before turning back seconds later. He looks as he did when I was first brought into Cardinal, and his behavior then is suddenly much more clear.
"Anyway, Dad eventually got smart and asked me for help," he boasts, proud at the fact that he was clearly an afterthought.
"Yeah, help to get to me," I mutter under my breath. I know that he hears me, he just chooses to ignore the fact. "You know, it isn't too late to join Cardinal, I'm sure Kai would be more than happy to see an old friend."
"Malachi Blaire? He's just as bad as Monica, maybe even worse. But you've grown quite fond of him again, haven't you?" He delights in my evident disdain at his mocking Kai. I didn't think it would bother me as much as it does.
"He's not going to be in the picture any time soon." Devon stops walking and finds himself fixed in front of my cell door. "I thought you had more sense than that."
"What are you planning Devon?" My lip snarls into an unflattering grimace and I'm about to snap at him.
He ignores my question, and instead continues spouting cryptic nonsense about Kai. "Besides I doubt you'll be able to save him after today."
"What are you going to do?" The anger beneath my skin starts boiling, the thought of something bad happening to Kai bothering me much more than I anticipated.
"And your other friends, you'll never see them again either. Except for Aria when we use her like we're going to with you."
"Dammit, Devon!" I kick the iron, rattling the bars on its frame.
"Oh Castelle, It seems like you do have an emotion. Frustration." He's right because, for the first time in a long time, I'm trapped. "It's not too late to be compliant. Come on, we've stayed together all our lives, do you really want to trade that for some people you've hated no more than three weeks ago?"
"You know nothing about them," I say, inching my hand forward slowly towards my boot. I need to get out, now, I think, I need to find Kai and the others and warn them.
"But I know everything about you." He laughs a bit to himself, "I know you're incapable of actually feeling something for anyone, so stop pretending like you care about these people. We're vigilantes, Cas, join us, join the rebellion. You know our cause is righteous and justified, so stop fighting it because of whatever prejudice you have against Dad."
"I've driven my life down that road. I've been a part of this masquerade, prancing around in a facade of false strength and superiority. You're nothing like that so stop trying to be! I've seen it all before. Your greed, how you're blinded by the glory, the idea that you'll take over the oppressors and become your own tyrant. I know how amazing whatever they're offering you might be, I also know there's no convincing you to stay with me, but while you're doing what you think is right, I'll do what I know is right."
He turns around, something about what I said disturbing him. Now's my chance. "What? You're turning on your family, your life, you're turning on me? And for what! A bad reputation we picked up thanks to the scum we decided to take off the streets?" He turns back around, and I rise to meet his gaze, the blade hidden up my sleeve as I trot towards the door.
"You're not a hero," he continues, "so stop acting like one! These people, they've tortured us, humiliated us, locking themselves away from the cold winters while we freeze right outside the door, and you still choose to defend their petty actions just because they offer you a warm meal? A nice apartment? You can have all of that if you joined us! Castelle, please, if you want to be a hero, be our story's hero."
I grab his collar, pulling him against the bars, and slide the knife from my sleeve, pressing it against his throat. "I'm not a hero."
"You're fighting for the wrong side Cas."
"I fight for myself. Not Trinity, not the Karmas, not you. You can't use me."
"You don't have a choice!" He's laughing the same disturbing laugh of a psychopath. For being held at knifepoint, he has an annoying amount of confidence exuding from him. "Do it. I know you can't."
I press the metal into his throat ever so slightly, a drop of blood escaping from the fresh wound. His expression wavers a bit, collapsing in fear, but I can't seem to press further. I try to convince myself that I never really cared for him, but I did. Despite everything he's done, all the lies he's told, I still can't find myself killing him. A few seconds pass by before he smiles, pleased with the fact that he predicted the outcome of this exchange so easily.
I don't get much more time before a set of footsteps runs above us followed by a round of loud voices barking orders at each other. I look up at the flickering lights with concern, Devon looks up with delight.
"What's happening?" I asked, pulling his collar closer to the iron bars.
"Now that we have you, we don't have to hold back anymore." He has the audacity to look proud, almost enlightened like he's just saved the world.
"What does that mean?" I ask growing tired of him dodging my questions. He looks back down at me, an amused expression shadowing his face, a tone of anticipation filling his voice.
"Say goodbye to Cardinal."