The Shadow Games, page 13
His face darkened momentarily. “In addition to being a blocker, I also have limited seeing powers. At first, I didn’t know it was a talent. I just thought I was having strange dreams. But as some of the dreams began to come true, I realized there was something different about me.” He shook his head. “No one else I knew had more than one power. Perhaps if it had been picked up at the start, I would have been trained on how to properly make sense of the visions, but I was scared at what my dreams showed me, so I didn’t confide in anyone.”
Marcus paused and fingered a plain, metal ring on his right hand. “The thing about visions is that they only tell you one possible future. The real talent in being a seer is to be able to determine where your vision lies along the spectrum of probability and how it evolves from the millions of actions people choose every day. I didn’t realize that at the time.”
He took the ring from his finger and handed it to me. I held it up to the dim candlelight and caught sight of an inscription inside.
Love you always. Cleo.
“Was Cleo your wife?”
“Husband. Or, rather, fiancé.” He smiled at my embarrassment. “I met him on my first day at the Academy, and we were inseparable. We had just gotten engaged when I had the vision. I remember waking up, sweating, and staring down at him, scarcely able to believe he was still there. I . . . I dreamed he was killed in a raid by the Academy. It terrified me so much, I tried to put safeguards in place so that what I’d seen could never come to pass.” He smiled sadly. “But in doing so, I triggered the very chain of events that led to his death.”
He held out his hand. I handed him back the ring. “I’m sorry.”
Marcus pushed the ring back onto his finger. “Thank you. In the confusion, I managed to steal a pod.” His tone turned bitter. “Perhaps I should have stayed and fought them, tried to avenge his death, but I was too much of a coward. So I came down here to die. After all, without Cleo, what did I have to live for?”
“But you survived.”
“Yes. And I am happy, in a different way.” He reached out and squeezed my hand. “And you will be, too, Vesper, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”
I knew he was trying to be kind, but his words didn’t make me feel any better. I didn’t think I could ever be happy as a slave. “I don’t know how you can stand to be at his beck and call all the time.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it that. I am not Jules’s slave, and though I carry the Caesar brand, it was my choice to take it.” He paused. “Many slaves earn their freedom, and although some leave the factions, others continue working for their leader on different terms. It’s a strange kind of family, true, but it is a family.”
My hand froze on Ty’s back. “You can earn your freedom?” The ember of hope flared in my belly.
“It’s possible, yes.” Marcus smiled. “Now, shall we get on with the training session? I’d like to move on from shielding to projection. We know you can communicate with Ty telepathically when you’re close to each other, but I want to see what your range is.”
He stood and walked over to the door, beckoning me to follow. Ty jumped up to my shoulder and settled himself on the leather vest Marcus had found for me. Another thing to add to my tally of debt.
At the door, Marcus turned. “Ty, I’d like you to stay here. We’ll walk away from the room and see how far we get before Vesper loses touch with you.”
Ty looked disgruntled as he flew off my shoulder and perched on one of the steps. He began washing himself like a cat, his rough tongue grating on his scaled body as he studiously ignored us.
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as we stepped out of the room. Marcus extracted a key from his pocket and locked the door. “For his safety,” he said quickly.
We walked through the palace, stopping at various intervals to test if I was still able to communicate with Ty. It felt like we walked miles. Up and down stairs, through vast, empty rooms and long, dingy corridors. Eventually, Marcus threw up his hands in defeat.
“Well, you don’t seem to have any limits. Within these boundaries anyway.” His expression turned thoughtful. “I wonder if it’s different if you’re communicating with a person.”
We returned to the training room, where Ty made a great show of sniffing my pockets for any sign of meat.
Huh. So much for rewarding me for my help, he said grumpily.
You can wait until lunch like the rest of us.
He huffed and curled up in my lap.
“I’m not an expert on mind-talkers,” Marcus admitted, “but I’ve done what research I can into how your ability works based on what I know of the other mind-talkers in the city.”
“How many are there?”
“The Sirens have three, we believe Bellagio has one, and there’s at least one who is factionless.”
“The guy who escaped from the slavers?”
Marcus nodded. “Yes.”
I hesitated, then added, “He warned us about Caesar.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, that’s not really surprising.” He smiled as I opened my mouth to ask why. “Let’s get started, shall we? Now, as a mind-talker, you should have the ability to implant thoughts into the heads of non-telepaths and influence their actions. The ability to control other people’s thoughts and actions depends on the strength of the mind-talker, how strong the other person’s shield is, and whether they have any talent themselves. Compared to other talents, I believe it takes a lot of power to influence another person’s mind enough to get them to do even a small action.”
I remember how the veins on Elan’s neck had stood out as he’d forced the slaver to unlock his cage and how the man had seemed to be in a trance, his eyes glazed over . . .
My stomach flipped, and I squeezed my eyes shut. But his eyes, brown with flecks of green, stared lifelessly back at me.
I killed him. Me.
A sharp pain pulled me back to the present. I stared down at the trickle of blood on my hand.
Sorry. Ty shifted uneasily on my lap. His pale snout had a red dot on the end. You went all weird.
“Are you all right, Vesper?” Frown lines creased Marcus’s weathered skin.
“Y-Yes,” I managed. “Sorry.”
No wonder mind-talkers were feared. That explained why people looked at me warily and gave me space as I passed. It wasn’t just what I did in the Colosseum. They were worried I’d control them. A shiver ran down my spine.
“Do I have to?”
Marcus gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m afraid so. It could give us a key advantage in the Games.”
“What are these Games?”
Marcus ignored me and placed his ring on the seat next to him. “I want you to try to get me to pick up the ring. I’ll lower my shield gradually to let you in.”
I chewed on my lip.
Marcus sighed. “What is it?
“What if I hurt you?”
He smiled reassuringly. “You won’t. I wouldn’t allow you to try this unless I was confident you had control.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Should I close my eyes?”
“It might help you focus.”
As Marcus had taught me, I focused on my breathing until I was calm, then reached for the source of my power. Cracking open my shield, I let a tendril drift out. At that point, I got stuck.
I opened my eyes. “It’s no good. I’m not sure what to do.”
Marcus looked thoughtful. “Hmm. Maybe start by bringing the thought of what you want me to do together in your mind, then push it out toward me.”
After half an hour, Marcus’s ring still sat on the seat. I rubbed my temples, feeling the beginning of a headache. “I’m sorry. I was trying.”
But were you trying hard enough? Really?
I pushed the thought away.
Marcus stood and stretched. “Well, it’s about time we finished. We’re due in Caesar’s room in five minutes. I want you to practice reaching out to other people’s minds. Not to intrude on their thoughts, but just to practice pushing your power out away from your body. I’ll think about how we can best approach this.”
I woke a sleepy Ty, who perched grumpily on my shoulder, then followed Marcus to the door.
“Marcus, what would happen if I did lose control of my power?”
My trainer paused, his hand on the door handle. “It would depend. At the moment, you are strong enough to kill. The more you use and develop your power, the stronger you will become.” He turned to look at me. “The most dangerous thing that can happen with any talent is to hold too much power, then lose control when using it. Normally, a person blacks out before this happens—your body intervenes to save itself—but occasionally, an exceptionally strong talent takes on too much.”
“What happens then?” I asked, part of me not wanting to know the answer.
“Their power consumes them and anyone in the immediate vicinity. That is not something you ever want to see happen.”
Marcus opened the door and gestured for me to precede him.
I stopped in the doorway. “Have you seen it happen?”
“Only once,” Marcus said. He suddenly looked old and fragile. “A long time ago. And I will never forget the sight.”
Chapter 17
The Games
CAESAR LOUNGED IN HIS chair, Nimra prowling around him, tail twitching. The creature seemed nervous around people, and I wasn’t surprised that the crowd gathered in the room stayed well back. When I spotted Cayden and Marissa, I hurried over to join them as Marcus made his way to the front of the room. Diana had already taken her customary position behind Caesar’s right shoulder, and I spotted Cato talking to a man and woman in the far corner. He nodded in acknowledgment and gave me a small smile. His companions eyed me curiously. Heat rose to my cheeks as I looked away.
“Do you know what this is about?” I asked.
“Diana wouldn’t tell me anything,” Marissa replied. “But you know what she’s like.”
“It must be something big,” Cayden said. “I think this is pretty much all the talented people in the faction.”
“Do you know anyone else?” I asked in surprise. I’d seen a few of the faces around the Forum, but I couldn’t remember having spoken to anyone. There were about thirty people in total, pretty much an even mix of men and women. Some seemed not much older than us, but most were in their late twenties or thirties. Marcus was by far the oldest.
“Not all of us lock ourselves in our room every night.” Cayden lowered his voice. “I’ve had drinks with a few of them to try and find out a bit more about this place and how we might be able to get out.”
“What did you find out?”
He shot me a sour look. “I thought you weren’t interested?”
I was about to reply when Caesar clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention. “Those who have been here a while will know what this is about.” His eyes strayed to us. “For those of you who are new, I’ll start with an explanation. As you know, food and water are in short supply down here. You get the best of what there is, but you have to earn your keep. Every year, the factions compete for control of the water wells. This year’s Games will take place in exactly twenty-eight days.”
I hadn’t even thought about where our water came from. In New Vegas, water was endlessly recycled, but from what I’d seen, there was little technology on the city floor. A low murmur rippled around the room. Ty’s tail swished across my neck, the sharp point scratching my skin.
Caesar frowned. “Bellagio has controlled the supply for the past three years, but he’s getting cocky. He doesn’t believe he can lose. With our new assets, we have the strength to win.”
All eyes in the room turned to us. I pushed my shoulders back and stared defiantly at Caesar.
Assets, my ass. We’re people.
On my shoulder, Ty let out a rumbling growl, but even I had to admit he didn’t sound very threatening.
Maybe you need to grow some fangs, I suggested, eying Nimra. Then you’d scare people.
I already have pointy things, thank you very much. Ty’s talons bit gently through my vest as a reminder.
“Based on last year’s experiences, we’ll be experimenting with some changes and the abilities Vesper, Marissa, and Cayden bring to the team.” Caesar reached up behind him and languidly stroked Diana’s arm. “As usual, my hunter will be in charge.”
“First session is in the Colosseum at ten tomorrow morning,” Diana announced, seemingly oblivious to Caesar’s touch. “I expect to see all of you there.”
Caesar swiveled his chair around, which I took as a sign that the briefing was at an end. We joined the line of people filing out of the room.
“But what are the Games?” Marissa asked as we headed for the dining room.
“I want to know what happened last year,” I added darkly. Something about Caesar’s tone of voice implied it hadn’t gone well.
A tall, blonde woman walking in front of me turned, and I recognized her as the woman who’d been talking to Cato. She looked to be in her thirties and had a sharp, angular face. Her smile was bright, but fear lingered in her eyes.
“Would you like to come to lunch with us? We can fill you in on some of the details Caesar didn’t bother to mention.”
I glanced back at Diana, who was talking to Caesar.
“Oh, don’t worry,” the woman said, as if reading my mind. “You won’t have any other training sessions today. Diana and Marcus will be meeting with Caesar all day.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. It was the first time anyone other than Cayden, Marissa, and my tutors had voluntarily spoken to me.
“Positive.” She grinned. “You might want to make the most of your time off. They may have treated you gently up until now, but tomorrow, the real training starts.”
My heart sank. I’d just gotten to the point where I felt like I could almost complete one of Diana’s sessions without thinking I would drop dead from exhaustion. If that was considered treating us gently, what would the real training entail?
We followed the blonde woman into the dining hall, grabbed bowls of stew from the servers, and headed over to a table where Cato and a red-headed man sat. The blonde woman sat next to the man and gave him an affectionate nudge.
“Move along. We got company.”
Cato grinned at us as both he and the man shifted along the bench to make room. He introduced the woman as Thora and the man as Bren. From the way their hands casually brushed each other’s on the table, I guessed they were a couple.
“What powers do you guys have?” Cayden asked.
Thora opened her hands and a spark of electricity danced between them. “I’m a leccy, like you, Marissa. Bren is a burner.”
“One of the strongest in the city,” Cato said.
“What do you mean one of the strongest?” Bren asked indignantly.
Thora gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Come on, Cato. You know his ego is big enough as it is.”
Their banter helped lighten the atmosphere. Cayden continued asking questions about how long they’d been here and what other powers people in the faction had. I guessed being a prince meant he was good at small talk.
Ty jumped onto the table and eyed my stew greedily. He preferred raw meat to cooked, but years of being half-starved and locked in a cage meant he wasn’t fussy. I let him nab a floating chunk, then batted him away with my spoon.
I have to eat, too, you know.
He made a noise of disgust and sidled over to Marissa. She eyed him warily, but her lips twitched as he rested his snout on his front legs and gazed up at her forlornly.
I took a gulp of the tepid liquid. Tasted like rat again. “So what happens in the Games? And what happened last year?”
Immediately, the atmosphere soured. The smile dropped from Cato’s face and he carefully placed his spoon onto the table. “We lost someone,” he said shortly.
“A leccy?” I asked, remembering Marcus’s comment about the lack of electricity in the palace.
“Yes.”
Thora reached out and took Cato’s hand. “She was very dear to us.”
From the grief that ravaged Cato’s face, the woman had been more than a friend to him. A sister perhaps? Or a lover? I looked down at my stew.
“What’s the deal with these wells?” Cayden broke the awkward silence.
“They’re the only reliable source of water down here,” Bren said. “One is located in front of Bellagio’s headquarters, the other out behind the Palazzo. Whoever has control of the wells can charge the other factions and the factionless for water. Water is, hands down, the most precious resource down here. We do our best to reuse it, but we don’t have the technology New Vegas has.”
“So whoever wins the Games controls the city?” Cayden asked.
Bren held up two fingers. “There are two winners. The top faction gets to pick which well they want, and whoever comes in second gets the other one. Theoretically, having two rival groups in charge of the water supply means they can’t hold everyone else hostage and it helps to keep the price down.”
I finished my stew and let the spoon clatter into the bowl. “So if Bellagio controls one well, who controls the other?”
“At last year’s Games, the Ragazzi and the Venetians joined forces.” Thora glanced at Cato. “Even so, they didn’t win, but they agreed to jointly take on the second water supply at Wynn.”
“But the truce didn’t last. They’ve been fighting among themselves all year.” Cato picked up the story. “It’s been so dangerous to go near their well that most people have bought from Bellagio.”
I tried to remember what Cato had taught me about the different factions in the city. “The Ragazzi and Venetians are run by a brother and sister, right?”
