Chapter 10

Chapter 10

               “I can’t believe I’m helping you with this,” Loqi grumbled, walking through the barracks, making sure no one saw him or his companion as they headed towards the mess hall where most of the trainees would be eating lunch.

               “I am not allowed to bring you to search for her, so I have to rely on you to get me who I can bring with me,” David said.

               “Yes, it’s a shame I could not go with you.” His tone refused to suggest his true feelings on it. He would have gone with David in a heartbeat to rescue the fair damsel, because he was curious who could have bested their soldiers and kidnapped the girl from them. A mission to have her returned to the manor had turned into her disappearing from their grasp completely. The president, frustrated with the nonsense and seeing very little in results, told David he may search for his sister, because he was not unreasonable. He said he was not unreasonable, but the honest truth was he was curious as well if Eleanore had powers like they suspected. If David returned a dud to the president it could completely mean horrible things for David, which might be up to Loqi to administer. Either way, the girls return seemed important and amusing.

               “How dare Rafe deny me,” David said, his anger still at the tip of his tongue.

               “You sound like a child that had his teddy bear taken away,” Loqi stated. They stepped into the mess hall where there was a commotion of untrained soldiers all around them. “I still would like to know myself why you would want to take this Sloane fellow with you when you could pick anyone from this mess.”

               “Sloane will put Ellie’s welfare above anything else,” David said.

               “And you don’t believe you will?” Loqi questioned.

               “I am not sure,” David said. “But if something happens, Sloane will protect her more than these things will. I want someone who will put her first with me.”

               “Because if she dies the president will question if this was all worth it,” Loqi said.

               “I care about my sister,” David argued.

               Loqi said nothing, walking ahead of David and towards the table where Sloane and Jacen sat, by themselves, isolated from the rest of the men. Loqi had wished he had truly shot Jacen and Rhapsody that day, perhaps his life would have less David in it if that was the case, but he knew the warning. The president could not afford to lose anyone with a gift, especially as they grew more rare.

               “What did the president think of the painting?” Loqi asked while they watched the young men eat, right above them without being seen or heard.

               “He said nothing to me,” David said. “Only took it to his lab. Can we possibly talk about this some other time?”

               Loqi rolled his eyes and reached out and grabbed Sloane, which caused Sloane to let out a panicked cry before Loqi welcomed him into the illusion of no longer being seen. Jacen’s eyes went wide and to be safe Loqi expanded the bubble to include Jacen.

               “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Loqi smiled. “It has been so long.”

               Jacen’s fury at seeing Loqi burned in his eyes and the way he gripped his fork. Loqi raised a finger and wagged it at him, a warning. Jacen’s fire did not cool but he stopped himself from lunging at him.

               “What’s happening right now?” Sloane asked, looking around.

               “You two are eating lunch while we are at the gates of the compound getting ready for David to leave, alone, in search of your sister,” Loqi said. “Except we are giving you an out to escape with David so that you can rescue the damsel in distress.”

               Sloane glanced back at forth at David and said, “You’re busting me out?”

               “Only to find Ellie,” David explained. “You are coming back here afterward. I will explain to Rafe upon your return that you were coerced into coming with me, and while he likely will punish you, there won’t be more than more obstacles that he can do to you.”

               “I’m in,” Sloane said, standing from the table.

               David held out his hand to Sloane. Sloane gave David his hand. David slid a silver ring along Sloane’s finger and Sloane said, “This is so sudden.”

               David rolled his eyes and said, “That keeps you under control. If you do not return in three days, you will not like the results.”

               “So we have a time limit to find Ellie,” Sloane said. He did not question what the ring would do if he did not return. He looked at David’s face and everyone could tell what he was thinking.

               “Yes,” David said flatly. “Now let’s go, because Rafe can kill this illusion if he comes out of the doctors’ offices before we get out of here. This was the only window.”

               Jacen asked, “What am I supposed to say?”

               “Tell them the truth,” David shrugged. “It won’t matter as long as we are faster.”

               Jacen did not look confident, but they had no time to waste. Loqi and David moved ahead of Sloane, who eagerly followed along. They had to pass a gate out of the barracks, where Sloane was kept completely under illusion, before they were able to go to the next gate that lead out of the capital. From there Sloane and David said a quick goodbye to Loqi, who was left behind. At their disappearance Loqi felt the pull to return to the manor.

               Loqi walked back to the president’s manor, taking his time. He walked into the manor and was waved through, as usual, with little question. Loqi had been forbidden to use his illusion gift in the manor, which he obviously broke constantly, but not when the president would know he was there. He moved to the president’s chamber and knocked briefly before letting himself into the office.

               Bastian looked up from his seat behind the desk. If Loqi did not know better he would assume the president was always behind the desk, but he knew there were many rooms that small office could lead to, and that Bastian was only a door away from looking as if he was a president doing paperwork instead of a mad scientist.

               “I do not like that he involved you,” Bastian explained to Loqi. “Tell me your opinion on this rescue mission.”

               Loqi did not sit across from the president. He stood before him at the desk, between the two chairs that were clearly pulled out as invitation. Loqi never sat before the president. “Our soldiers returned with no memory of what happened,” Loqi said. “If it’s not the girl, then she’s with someone who has a gift that we do not know about. I still believe she has the ability to manipulate and we are being kept in the dark about it.”

               Bastian clenched his fists and said, “If she does, we need her on our side.”

               “I agree,” Loqi said, and that he truly did. He would not want someone with a power almost similar to his to be on the opposite side. It felt horrible to be manipulated, he would know, the president did it to him every single day. The only thing was Loqi knew it, and it made it better. If he did not know if someone was manipulating him, because she could control his mind, he would not know what to do or how to react.

               It was a bit exciting, and terrifying.

               “What was Rafe’s reasoning for stopping Sloane?” Bastian asked.

               “From what David told me, he did not believe that Sloane would be able to go in unbiased, which is exactly why David wanted him on his side,” Loqi explained. “You should have let me go with.”

               “No,” Bastian said. “I am wasting too much man power on this endeavor as it is.”

               Loqi’s lips thinned, but he did not point out that David and Sloane were literally the only two that went after her, and David, currently, was the only one on payroll. It’s possible Bastian was afraid he was going to lose an asset in Sloane if he did not make it, and possibly David as well. Loqi knew that he was willing to lose David, though, because he now had Rhapsody in his grasp. She might have been at the hospital, enjoying her first lesson with doctors, but she was only a finger snap away and she would be called to his whim.

               Loqi was sure Bastian had other reasons for not allowing him to go along, but he would not question it, not to Bastian’s face at least. The president was erratic. Some days he would give an answer, the next day he would pull off a fingernail because he was in a bad mood. Loqi was good at illusion, but illusion could be broken, and he did not like to risk his own safety.

               “Keep an eye on Rafe,” Bastian insisted. “I do not trust him anymore.”

               “Did you ever trust him?” The words were out before Loqi could stop himself.

               Bastian looked up and a cool air filled the room. Loqi suffocated on those words until Bastian said, “No, I would never trust someone like that.”

               Loqi kept his mouth shut, but breathed.

               “You’re dismissed,” Bastian said of Loqi.

               Loqi did not hesitate.