Page 108 of Ramshackle
Invisible hooks pierce my limbs, my chest, my neck. My body pauses mid-attack, then pulls back to stand still in front of him. I try to move. My head. My hand. A fuckingfinger.
Nothing.
My heart pounds rapidly as it realizes the cage it’s now in.
I knew he would be tough if he was higher up in GE, but I also thought he was limited to controlling dead people. What had Thorne told me?
He controlssouls.
Fuck.
“None of that,” he chides, waving a hand at mine glowing red with my gift. It flickers, then dissipates. My other hand with the gun drops to my side. “That’s better.” Royce steps back, so he has both Vera and I in his view. “The question is, did you know she was there?” he directs to her. “Either you willfully allowed her to spy on you or you were too dumb to realize you were being watched.”
Neither Vera nor I say anything.
We can’t.
This man could do anything he wanted with us right now.
I struggle against his hold, trying to move something. Trying to call my gift back out. Maybe my gift can trip whatever control he has over me. But nothing works.
I fight back the terror that’s clawing up my chest.
Royce sighs, and his attention flicks back to me. “You can’t fight it. Or, you can try and waste your energy in the process, I suppose.” He shrugs. “It does not matter to me.”
He turns his back on Vera to move closer to me, his brows pinched as he studies me. “Oh, I see.” His face relaxes. “This is the girl Gordon’s making a fuss over. I don’t see the appeal but to each his own. Should I return you to him?”
I want to scream at him. Shoot him. Anything to get him away from me. I’m not going back.
The portal shimmers mockingly in the air a few paces back from him.
It would only take a few forced steps, and I would disappear again.
Vera makes a noise. Royce looks over his shoulder at her. “What’s that? You disagree?” There’s a long pause, and then he’s focused back on me. “Oh, right. Gordon’s teaching his pet a lesson first. I’ll leave you be, then.” His smile is dark andthreatening. “If you don’t fall in line with Gordon after this, I’ll dispose of you myself.”
He walks to the portal. “Come now, Vera. We have some things to discuss, you and I.” Her legs jerk forward on his command, and they both disappear in the portal.
The moment he’s gone, I can feel it. My body becomes heavier again, the weight of its control falling back to me where before I’d felt like a hollow doll on strings.
I move my arm to make sure, then close my hand in a fist.
Now that I’ve seen his gift in action, we need a plan on how to fight him. If he can control anyone with the snap of his fingers, then throwing more people at him isn’t going to help us.
Which reminds me that I was supposed to be keeping an eye on Evie and Tinsley. A quick glance through the one-way mirror shows that they’re already finished. All the beds are gone, leaving a large empty room and the two of them.
I still jog back to the room. They both look up when I enter.
“Where were you?” Tinsley asks, hopping forward on one foot.
There’s no sign that either of them heard what was happening on the other side of the wall. Was it soundproof? “Looking at the room next door,” I answer casually. “Everything okay in here?”
Evie nods. “We’re all set here. Just waiting on the others to get back.”
Should I see if the others need help?
You’re supposed to be keeping these two safe.I already slacked on that responsibility and I’m lucky nothing happened.
Jackson returns first.
