By now, Sarah didn’t even have to close her eyes and concentrate. All she had to do was pay attention.
“He’s…” She stared at Brodie. “The drug’s wearing off. He’s beginning to come out of it.”
“Then,” Brodie said grimly, “we’re out of time.”
SIXTEEN
Astrid kept her eyes closed, concentrating intensely, her nimble mind feeling its way. Varden watched her, every bit as intent and glancing more than once at his watch.
“Faster is better,” he said finally, impatient.
She opened her eyes with a sigh and stared at him. “Not in this. Look, do you want me to do this, or not? Because if you do, peace and quiet will help me do it.”
There was little Varden could do but accept that, but he made a mental note to teach this one a lesson or two in obedience in the near future. “All right. Just do it.”
Astrid closed her eyes again, and for a good five minutes there was utter silence. Then she frowned, her head tilting to one side in a considering pose. A moment later she opened her eyes and looked at Varden. “I don’t think you want me to do this. He—”
“Of course I want you to do it. Do you know how to follow orders, Astrid?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then do it. Just do it.”
Astrid opened her mouth for further protest, then closed it. A faint smile curved her mouth, and her eyes glittered briefly. “Okay. You want it, you’ve got it.”
“That’s better,” Varden said, satisfied.
Astrid closed her eyes again.
The drug they used made his head pound. That was Tucker’s first clear realization. His head pounded, and his mouth was dry, and as sensation slowly returned to his body, he ached all over. And he was cold.
As before, it took him several minutes—he thought—to get his eyes to open. And, as before, all he saw was a lot of dark. But I’m not blind. It’s just fucking dark in here.
He was sure of that. He wanted to be sure of that.
But there was one difference between this time and last. He wasn’t absolutely positive, but he thought he was no longer being watched. Those eyes that had followed him into nightmares were gone now. There was no sense of anyone nearby sharing this darkness with him.
Or was that just another thing he wanted to be sure of?
No. No, he was alone here. His jailer had apparently left him alone, for some reason he couldn’t fathom or simply because he’d not been expected to recover from the drug so quickly.
He wanted to try moving and test that theory but forced himself to remain still because he had the dim idea that it had been some involuntary movement last time that had caused his jailer to jab him with a needle and knock him back out for God knows how long.
How long?
He didn’t really have a sense of time passing, but a hollow, queasy feeling told him he hadn’t eaten in at least twenty-four hours, so there was that. He was so damned stiff, he doubted he’d moved or been moved for at least that long. But was it longer?
Sarah…
Even as her name rose in his mind, he remembered that just before he had blacked out, he’d felt a whisper of her touch in his mind. Just a whisper, unfamiliar yet certainly her and real, not his imagination. For a brief moment, Sarah had been with him.
Could he reach her? He didn’t have the faintest idea how to do it, but he’d urged Sarah to try too often not to demand the same thing of himself now. If he just concentrated…
Shhhh.
He didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes until they opened suddenly and he peered warily into the darkness surrounding him. And even then, he wasn’t sure he hadn’t actually heard her until she spoke in his mind again.
Shhhh. Don’t let them touch you. Whatever happens, don’t let any of them touch you.
Sarah?
Do I sound so different this way?
It’s…I’m not used to hearing you this way.
No. It’s…strange. Her thought was almost apologetic.
Not strange. Just different.
We’ll argue about it later. She seemed amused, he thought, but something else as well. Tired. And shocked, deeply shocked, because of something that had happened…
No. Don’t go there.
But what’s happened?
Never mind. Time enough to talk about that when we get you out of there.
We?
You were right; we aren’t alone in this. I’ve found some…comrades. We’re going to get you out.
Out of where? Where the hell am I?
In the cellar of a deserted church. Listen to me. Can you pick a lock? Open a locked door?
Cautiously, he flexed fingers that felt stiff, numb, and wondered whether he could. But he answered with confidence. I learned how to pick locks to research a book.
I thought you might have. Again, he felt a flicker of amusement in Sarah, but whether it was because of his stated confidence or the actual uncertainty she surely must have felt in him, he didn’t know.
I don’t have anything to use for a tool, he admitted. And I was being watched.
But not now.
No.
All right. We have to get you out of there, and soon. If this is going to work, you can’t be where they think you are. I want you to get out of that room as soon as possible. When you get the door open, turn immediately to the right and move a dozen paces. There’s a door on the left. A storage room. Go in there, close the door behind you and wait.
But—
Tucker, it’s too dark for you to help us in any way except to put yourself out of their reach. That’s vitally important. If any of them touches you now, they’ll kill you. And me.
That was enough of a threat to gain his obedience. All right. But I may not be able to find a tool in here to pick the lock—
You’ll find one. Close by. Don’t waste any time, Tucker.
If this doesn’t work—
It will.
But I want you to know—
Shhhh. I’m going to leave you now. Try not to reach out to me; it distracts me and I need to concentrate.
He felt her easing away, and it took all his willpower not to try to follow her. Instead, he concentrated on flexing his fingers again, trying to ease the stiffness and cold numbness. To be ready.
“It’s very simple,” Duran said patiently.
The boy looked at him, amazed. “Simple? My head’s gonna hurt for a week—”
“There will be…rewards if you’re successful.”
“And all you want me to do is take it from her, the way I gave her the cobwebs?”
“Exactly.”
The boy sighed, and made himself comfortable. “All right. I’ll try.”
Softly, Duran said, “Rewards for success, Jeremy. Punishment for failure.”
Jeremy looked at him and briefly chewed his bottom lip, then shifted a bit on the couch. “All right, all right.”
Duran didn’t say anything further. He just waited. And watched.
It seemed to Tucker that he had waited an awfully long time, flexing his fingers and blowing on them, before much feeling returned to them. He put his hand down, finally, touching the stone floor as he prepared to try to push himself up. And his fingers were still so chilled that he nearly missed it.