Under My Skin (26 page)

My parents watched as I cut into the duck and slid it elegantly into my mouth. I smiled the whole time.

Not long after, Mom got to the point, like she always did. “What’s wrong with you? You’re acting weird.”

Before the General spoke again, he wiped off my mouth. I swooped in to try to get control, but all I could do was force the General to release his fork. “Maybe I just woke up. Do you think I enjoyed living in that hovel you call a house? I have servants now, expensive clothes, jewelry—”

Dad’s face turned to steel. “You don’t talk that way—”

“It’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking, don’t you think?” Dagon bit back.

I relentlessly wrestled for control. I tried to do as Quinn taught me. Focus. It was all a mental game of control to swallow the other consciousness, and I had to act before this situation spiraled into madness.

Dad stood again. Much faster than he used to.

The guard behind him took a step forward, trained his gaze on the back of my father’s head.

“Dad, no!” I managed to gasp. The single second of control had vanished just as quickly.

“Sweetheart?” Mom was close to tears. They pooled under her eyes and made the whole moment much more painful.

“None of this makes any sense,” Dad addressed Rebecca. “Your messenger brought us here so we can see our daughter.” His voice became louder. “Something’s wrong here. Is she on drugs or something?”

The guard grabbed Dad by the shoulder and shoved him down.

“Get your hands off of me!” Dad shifted to yell more at the guard, but stopped when presented with a las-gun to his chest.

“Are you ready to talk now, girl?”
the General asked me.
“You ready to tell me where you went on your little trips? Tap your fingers of your left hand against the table. One for yes. Two for no.”

If Quinn were at my side, he’d tell me to be strong, hold the line, and not allow the General to push me around like this. But I’d read General Dagon’s journal and seen Pete’s condition firsthand. I knew there was no line he wasn’t willing to cross to get what he wanted. When it came to my parents, I refused to put them in danger.

“Did you go alone?”

I tapped the table once.

“Don’t you lie to me. It’s unlikely you went alone. You were gone for a while. A flight, perhaps, after travelling on foot?”

Dread filled me. I tapped again.

“You’re getting bold and the attempted rescue right after the auction means someone on the outside wants to help you.”
He laughed softly.
“The Resistance?”

Hold yourself steady
, I begged myself. My fingertips trembled. I formed a tight fist to keep it in check. He wouldn’t know my secrets if I didn’t give in and tell them all.

“No need to answer me. You have no control whatsoever, but I’m rather delighted you managed a little jaunt every night to the Resistance. How clever.”

While my interrogation continued, Rebecca spoke to my parents. “Your daughter’s perfectly fine. She’s not Tate anymore. Master Dagon has adopted her as his daughter Elise now. Elise Dagon holds a vast fortune that will insure she receives a quality education and proper medical care.”

“You’re. Not. My. Daughter.” A tear slid down Mom’s cheek.

Dad tried to reassure her. “We need to get the enforcers involved, that’s all.”

A laugh escaped the General’s lips. “The enforcers? Who’d you like to contact? I have several associates with the local authorities if you’d like to inquire about our little conversation.”

With a twitch of the General’s fingers on my raised right hand, Rebecca handed him a personal comm-unit.

The General tossed it across the table. “Go ahead. Make your call. Save me from my new cruel home.” The General made me laugh again.

Deep down inside, I wanted my parents to leave, but they loved me and that’s what saddened me further. The General knew this would break me.

My parents exchanged glances while the General fished for more information.

“Where’s the Resistance base located?”
he asked me.
“North?”

Two taps.

He went through every direction, but, for once, I had no secrets to reveal.

“Are you holding back from me? Do you want me to tell my associates to open fire?”
He nodded to alert his men.

For some reason I stood and the General directed me toward the tea service next to the table. I sensed my parents looking at me, but General Dagon forced me to stare at my hands while he prepared a cup of tea.

“Let’s try this again, girl. And don’t do anything foolish while my men are aiming at your parents. We wouldn’t want fingers to slip, now would we?”

“Don’t you dare!” I whispered, now free again to speak. “Do you think they’d be foolish enough to just let me see the location of their base with you roaming around in my head?”

“So?”

“They covered my eyes and handcuffed me while I was there.”

“You’re a smart girl. You had to have seen some details and heard a thing or two.”

It took everything I had not to tell him to go to hell, to burn in the fire of his evil. Thank God Felicity and her men had protected not only themselves but me as well.

“We drove west for about ten minutes. Then the driver covered my eyes
.
” While the General browsed the sugar cookies on the tray next to the tea service, I quickly recounted to him every detail I could think of: the woods, the transport ship, the flight time, even the underground feel of the headquarters.

Once the General suspected I’d been to the headquarters, he sunk into me for more information: the number of men I saw, the weapons, the tech I’d seen.

“Don’t think I won’t know if you lie,”
he warned.

During the whole time, my parents were silent while Rebecca told them about how they’d leave here as a happier family, how they could afford better things for their son since they had the stipend.

A cup of tea in hand, he directed me to stroll away from the tea service toward the bay windows. The double windows revealed the snowy landscape outside, just another place to continue the interrogation.

Rebecca continued. “Your daughter has given you two a new life. Maybe you should have another child. You have a monthly income now thanks to the Water Bearer program. While she continues her work for this household, you can live a longer and healthier life.”

My heart sank to hear those words. All the while, I spilled more information. Even more painful—a semblance of my control sunk in. A single tear cascaded down my face. The General quickly wiped it away.

But my mother, ever observant, whispered something and interrupted Rebecca. “Do you need help, sweetheart?” Now she cried as well. “Just say one word and we’ll do everything to protect you.”

“I have everything I need to know
,” he told me. “
You’ve done well.”

After placing the cup of tea on the table, the General used his parting words to pierce the knife deeper into their hearts. “There’s no need for us to discuss this any longer. It’s all sentimental nonsense. I don’t need either of you anymore. Weaklings like you are
beneath
me.”

At the doorway, he turned to Rebecca. “Prepare the transport ship to leave now. I have business to conduct in the north.”

As we walked down the hallway, he had parting words for me as well. “
Too bad your parents left your brother behind today. Such a nice boy would make a fine successor after I use you, would he not?”

To me, war used to be merely words in books. I read about fighting and death, but I had no context. Living with General Dagon in my head had taught me that war wasn’t powerful words used to convey conflict, but it was something else far more frightening, far more deadly. I was an unwilling passenger with the General to the battlefield. I had to watch as he was shot in the shoulder and as he killed so many people without remorse. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine seeing his fleeing targets. I could taste their terror as their lives ended.

His troops stormed the Resistance base and the Guild’s enemies fell with ease.

And I had no control to stop any of it.

Rebecca planned a victory dinner for the General when he returned, but he was resting from his slaughter. The estate welcomed me with everyone lined up outside. The staff stood without smiles as I ambled out of the vehicle toward them.

“Welcome, home, Master Dagon,” Rebecca said. “We’re pleased to learn of your victory.”

I simply nodded. The General wouldn’t say much. He either boasted or walked past them with indifference. I chose the later.

Time to check the pink disk. A short trip to the study revealed a new message from Zoe:
Been taking the meds. Keep fighting, Z.

I touched the disk and re-read the message again and again. Somehow, I was still alive. I had a purpose and that was to help Zoe and take out the General in the process, not an easy task.

After a short nap, Des and Penelope arrived in the master suite to take care of me. They stripped me of my travel clothes and helped me bathe. At first, I cringed at the idea, but Des recognized me immediately.

“Welcome home, Tate.” She winked after she whispered it. For good measure, she said to Penelope, “Move faster now. The Master doesn’t like cold water.”

As Des tended to my wounds after bathing, I kept my gaze focused on something other than my body. Since I’d seen Alphonse’s body and the changes in my own, I preferred to stay oblivious to the growing dark blue marks. They wrapped around my ribs like a corset, waiting to squeeze my life force away from me. I didn’t know what the Guild had done to me, but I suspected, from what Des had told me, I’d eventually end up like the General’s previous body, one that had been used too long, shriveled and sucked of life, until the Guild member searched for another. That was their price for immortality.

“Your back’s healing well,” she whispered. She made no mention of the growing problem everywhere else. “I fix you up, and you go off and get shot.”

“The General got shot. I had plans to run in the opposite direction,” I corrected her.

Des and Penelope helped dress me for the victory party. A beautiful light-blue gown made of chiffon. The bodice glittered with crystal beads. Even the expensive high heels added the perfect touch. Des took the time to do my hair in the way I liked it. Everyone smiled when they put on my make-up. I enjoyed their time to make me feel special, since they weren’t sure how long I’d stay awake.

The dinner party came and went. The most I recalled was everyone surrounding me, but I couldn’t have felt more alone. Quinn was still gone, his whereabouts unknown. Every time my heart ached, a part of me left the room, seeking him out so that he could wrap his arms around me, kiss me, and make me imagine all this was nothing more than a nightmare and I’d wake up soon.

But he never showed up and my life had to go on. To distract myself, I began the process of helping Zoe. I had to use the General’s resources, whatever resources he had available, which had to be more than what the Resistance could do.

But the odds of helping my cousin weren’t in my favor. General Dagon flat out told me he didn’t trust me anymore. When I was awake and in control, I couldn’t do anything, which meant no more trips to the comm-console. I didn’t have access to the network anymore. I even had to wear a tracking device around my leg.

But there was one flaw in his plan to keep me under wraps: when he relinquished control, sometimes I was the one who took it from him. I’d learned well. The antivirus was working. When he pushed, I shoved back. I still had blackout periods, but when he gave me an inch, I took it and attempted to wrestle a mile’s worth of control from him.

Like this morning, when he took his breakfast with Rebecca in the dining room.

The minute I shoved him away, my hand dropped the spoon. I glanced toward it. None of the staff moved. I froze for a moment and tried not to smile at my minor victory. I had a part to play. A part that rained guilt on me every time I had to do it.

“Does someone plan to do their job and pick up that spoon? Now?” I demanded.

Rebecca moved quickly, picked up the spoon, wiped it, and backed away.

“I can’t stand to be around any of you. Absolutely useless.” I chortled. “Can’t even take care of me without having to be ordered to do so.” I hoped none of them noticed the mental hiccup when I paused after gaining control. “I’ll be in my study.”

The tracker on my ankle beeped as I stood and left the room. Since they’d put it on me, I had to wear simple clothes like dresses and jumpsuits. As far as security was concerned, the General took no chances. Cecelia followed me as expected.

Let her follow me now. I didn’t care what she saw.

I entered the office, but I didn’t sit down at the chair. It was useless to try to use the comm-console. He’d closed off access after my parents left.

Fear pulsed through me, steady and never-ending, but I managed to push it away. If I worried about my family too much, I wouldn’t be able to do this anymore.

I checked a few papers on my desk. After I read some documents for a while, Cecelia eventually settled into one of the seats in the corner to play on her wrist-comm. As I watched her play, I rather wished she had network access on the darn thing.

Time to make my move. I walked over to the display case where I kept the
Tactics of Combat
. The book was still inside in the box where I’d left it. The General knew I’d accessed his computer, but did he know I had discovered his secret code book?

With my back turned to Cecelia, I opened the cases and checked the box. The book was gone, but the box remained. I felt along the edge where the velvet had torn to leave a small gap. Tucked in the gap, I found the disk. Good.

The disk vibrated after I touched it. As expected, I had a new message:
Plan working. Need to escape soon. Tyson needs help. Victory Ball in New Amesbury. Three Days. Z

If this ball were an event sponsored by the Prime Minister, then the General was sure to have this on his agenda. I trusted that this disk was my way to connect with Zoe. It was now my only line of communication. But what if it had been compromised and this was a trick from Justina to lure me to New Amesbury or even a trick between the Justina and the General?