Fighting for Infinity (7 page)

A FAR CRY

Nathaniel

“What do you mean you feel nothing?” I asked Faith.

She released Maryah’s hand. “I mean exactly what I said. I feel nothing. No emotions from her at all.”

“How is that possible? Has your ability stopped working?”

She stood and put her hands on her hips. “My ability works just fine. She’s astral traveling, Nathan. Her soul isn’t here. Emotions radiate from the soul.”

“So we have no way of knowing if she’s all right.” I had hoped Faith could tell me if Maryah was scared, worried, peaceful, anything at all.

“I’m sorry.” She touched my hand. “I wish I could have helped confirm that she’s okay, but I don’t have a bad feeling about this. Even if she is stuck somewhere, I don’t think
she’s in danger.”

“You’re not psychic. You can’t know that.”

She crossed her arms over her blaring pink tank top which matched her hair. “I know I’m not psychic. It’s woman’s intuition.”

The slightest movement from the bed pulled my attention away from Faith. I maneuvered around her, rushing to Maryah’s side.

A tear ran down Maryah’s cheek. I watched it cling to her jaw bone for a moment before it dripped onto the pillow. I sat beside her as another tear trailed down her other cheek.

My heart, which had been struggling to stay whole, cracked and splintered in a dozen different directions. I inhaled a shaky breath. “She’s crying.”

“What?” Faith moved closer.

I wiped away one tear and then another. My own eyes burned as I imagined what might be happening to her.

“What do I do?” My pulse hammered so hard I could feel it in my knotted throat. “Clearly, she’s suffering.”

“She can’t be,” Faith said. “She’s not in her body.”

I tucked Maryah’s hair behind her ears. “You just said emotions radiate from the soul. He’s emotionally hurting her. What if he’s torturing her in some barbaric way?”

“I don’t see how that’s possible.” Faith walked around the bed, sitting on the other side of Maryah. “Maybe she’s upset because she can’t figure out how to return to her body.”

I shook my head as I held Maryah’s soft hand. “No, it’s more than that. I know it.” I looked up, locking gazes with Faith’s blue eyes. “Soul mate’s intuition.”

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLOBE

Maryah

“I’m glad you don’t believe Dedrick,” Rina said. “Don’t believe anything he says. Ever.”

“I won’t,” I assured her. Dedrick had terrorized me for too long already. Difficult as it would be, I couldn’t be scared of him anymore. “While I was waiting for you to wake up, I came up with a plan.”

Her eyes glimmered with interest. “A plan?”

“All those needles and drugs are right there in that cabinet. Load up a couple syringes and hide them under your blanket. Next time Dedrick visits, give him a dose of his own medicine.”

“He keeps the cabinet locked.”

I glanced at the rusted but sturdy padlock. “So shatter the glass.”

“And then what?”

“He’ll be knocked out.”

“And what will I do when he wakes up? I’ll still be trapped in this room, and he’ll be angrier than ever.”

I forgot Rina couldn’t come and go as easily as blowing out a candle. “I hadn’t thought that far through my plan.”

“Trust me, I’ve been here a long time. I’ve thought of everything you can think of and more. Besides, those potions don’t work on him. He’s shielded.”

“Shielded?”

She nodded. “From the effects of the magic.”

“I don’t think he’s injecting you with magic sleeping potions. I’m pretty sure he’s drugging you.”

Rina chewed on her fingers while changing the subject. “River loves you?”

“Huh? Oh, no way. River is as crazy as his uncle.”

“I saw the way he looked at you. He was worried about you.”

“River tried to murder me. That’s a far stretch from caring.”

“Dedrick wanted you dead. River didn’t.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“I’m sure.
I know Dedrick too well.” Rina had an abrupt way of talking. Not one second passed between me saying something and her replying. It was like she never took time to think about anything. She just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

“Regardless,” I said, “I doubt I’ll be seeing River again. Dedrick locked him up because he was obsessed with me. I’m sure he won’t arrange anymore visits.”

“Silly soul,” Rina said.

“What?”

“You. You’re a silly soul.”

“Why am I silly?”

“Because you should know better.”

She was several years younger than I was, but her odd and cryptic way of talking almost made her seem too wise to debate. “I know what it feels like when someone cares about me. Nathan cares about me. My kindrily cares about me. They’re probably worried to death.”

“Worried because you’re here with Dedrick?”

“I doubt they know I’m with Dedrick, but they’ll be worried that I’m not waking up from my astral traveling session. I don’t even know how long I’ve been gone. I can’t keep track of time.”

“What will happen if they worry for too long?”

I tried thinking of an answer, but her question was odd. “I’m not sure. They’ll be upset, I suppose. Especially Nathan.”

“They love you.”

I couldn’t tell if it was a statement or if she asked it as a question. “Yes, they love me.”

“They shouldn’t worry.”

Again, I didn’t know if she meant they shouldn’t worry that I wasn’t waking up, like it was no big deal, or they shouldn’t be put through the pain o
f worrying. “I wish they didn’t, but they do. And I seem to keep getting myself into situations that make them worry more.”

“Then stop doing that.”

I huffed. “Easier said than done.”

“You make it difficult.”

“I don’t make it difficult on purpose. Bad things keep happening. Usually because of people like River and Dedrick.”

Rina hopped up on the table and ran her fingers over her book. “You attract those bad things and people.”

I was offended by her incorrect assumption and bluntness. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.” My defensiveness peppered each of my words. “I just have really bad luck.”

“The universe doesn’t operate with luck; it operates with energy and laws of attraction. You attracted the bad people and negative events in your life.”

The nerve of her. “If that’s true, then it’s your fault you live here like this, and it’s your fault Dedrick treats you so horribly.”

“That is true.”

“How can you say that? You didn’t ask to be imprisoned here your entire life. You’re a victim of circumstance.”

“No one is a victim.”

“Rina.”

“Maryah.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. 

“You attracted the good people too,” Rina said, trying to backpedal. “Your kindrily shouldn’t worry.”

“I wish I could find a way to tell them I’m okay.”

She slid off the table then poked me in the stomach as if I had a real body. “Stop wishing and start doing.”

“I can’t do anything!” I was almost shouting. “I’m trapped here.”

Her lips pursed inward like she didn’t believe me. She could see that I was trapped in my invisible cage. What did she expect me to do?

“You act like I have any control over being stuck here,” I said. “I’m helpless.”

“No one is helpless.”

“So what do you suggest I do?”

She flapped her hands at her sides like wings.
“Break out of the jar, my narrow-minded lightning bug.”

“Break out?  And how do you suggest I do that?”

She mocked my earlier words. “Shatter the glass.”

I pretended to knock on the air between us. “I would if there were glass to break, but there isn’t.”

“Even easier. Glass is energy turned solid. There’s nothing solid about the energy confining you. It should be easier to break.”

“I’ve tried reconnecting to the energy cords that link me to my body. They’ve been erased.”

She giggled while shaking her head. “Energy can’t be erased. Energy moves and changes, but it never vanishes.” She giggled again then muttered, “silly, silly soul.”

I still felt defensive, but also sort of ignorant. I should’ve paid more attention in science classes so I understood energy better. “If you know how I can return to my body, please tell me.”

Her lips straightened into an unreadable expression. “You already know the answers to all of your questions. You just have to open your eyes.”

Open your eyes
. Those words had been haunting me since the night Dedrick and Gregory almost killed me. “I’m trying, but I don’t see anything.”

Her midnight blue
gaze pinned me in place. She leaned in and whispered, “Look closer.”

I looked much more closely at Rina. Clearly, she wasn’t the scared, helpless soul she first pretended to be.

M IS FOR MYSTERIOUS

Maryah

Sometimes hours passed without Rina and I speaking to each other. She slept a lot, and I didn’t have many reasons to wake her. While sleeping, she’d twitch and make sounds like she was trying to talk with her lips sealed shut.

Did she dream of beautiful places, people who loved her, maybe even a knight in shining armor who would rescue her and take her someplace safe where she’d live happily ever after? Or was she reliving nightmares and imagining new ones?

I watched her, curled on her side, asleep
on her dingy bed. Even though she was helping Dedrick—hopefully not by choice—I wanted to help her break free. She was so young. She had her whole life ahead of her. If she got out now, maybe she’d still have a chance of living a normal life and escaping from Dedrick’s world of darkness and corruption.

The black curtain fell.

When it lifted, a woman with a long black ponytail and the signature Nefarioun snake eyes stood across from me. She held a tray in her hands that contained a dictionary, bowl of water, washcloth, glass of milk, a couple slices of bread, and a container of what looked like some sort of chocolate and vanilla spread. My mouth watered.

I pressed my invisible hand to my invisible lips, amazed how real the sensation of my mouth watering felt. I could have sworn my stomach growled.

The woman set the tray on the table. She soaked the washcloth in the water and wrung it out then walked over to Rina and knelt down beside her. Then, much to my surprise, as she wiped one of Rina’s hands with the washcloth, the woman sang.

Wake up, darling girl,

A new day is dawning.

Wake up, starry eyes,

the future is calling...

Rina bolted upright and ran to the table. Like a starved monkey, she attacked the tray, plowing her fingers into the container of chocolate and vanilla spread and shoveling it into her mouth. The woman rose from the mattress as she folded the washcloth into a perfect triangle and set it beside Rina. “Remember to breathe, darling.”

Rina continued licking the spread from her finger
s. The woman stood behind Rina, smoothing down her tangled hair. “I heard about our guest, but seeing her for myself, it’s almost unbelievable.”

Rina nodded while inhaling a bite of bread.

“How are you doing with it?” the woman asked. Rina shrugged then chugged her milk. The woman nodded as she wiped Rina’s mouth with one corner of the washcloth. The two of them interacting so comfortably reminded me of the bond I once shared with my mother.

They had the same black hair, pale skin, petite frame. The woman even walked with the same slight hitch in her left side as Rina. She easily could have been her mother. Had Rina lied to me? Was this woman her mom? Or had Dedrick fabricated a story to make Rina think her mom was gone, but in reality she was right here taking
care of Rina even while being mind-controlled by Dedrick? I wouldn’t put it past him.

But then again, I barely knew Rina. Was she lying to me to help Dedrick?

Rina lapped up the last of the spread with her bread crust while the woman flitted around the room trying to tidy up, but failing given the impossible conditions. She wore the same type of outfit as Rina and Lexie. Loose gray pants with the same type of shirt. Not one speck of color in Dedrick’s godforsaken world.

Rina finished the last of her milk and wiped her mouth with her forearm. The woman tsked her then used another corner of the washcloth to dab her mouth and wipe her arm.

“Come.” The woman pulled out the chair. “Reading time.”

Rina grabbed the timeworn dictionary from the tray and sat down. “Which letter did we leave off at last time?”

My eyes flew open wide. Rina spoke to her.

I don’t know why I assumed I was the only one who knew Rina could talk, but hearing her speak to someone else, even, possibly, her own mother, shocked me. Judging from the woman’s snake eyes, she was under Dedrick’s control. What if she told him Rina’s secret?

“We had just finished with L,” the woman said.

“Good.” Rina thumbed through the dog-eared pages. “M words are my favorite.”

“Yes, darling, I’m aware. Start with the first word.”

“Ma,” Rina read out loud. “A female human parent. See mother.” Rina lifted her eyes from the page. “Maryah, this is Evelyn.”

Was that an unconscious slip of revealing that Evelyn was her mother? Was Rina playing along with some script Dedrick had given her to fool me?

Evelyn nodded in my direction. “Charmed.” 

“Can she hear me?” I asked Rina.

Rina subtly shook her head. “Macabre.” Rina continued with the next word. “Extremely disturbing or repellent. See Dedrick.”

Evelyn grinned, but it was empty and sort of sad. “It doesn’t say that.”

“It should,” Rina said.

Evelyn stood behind Rina, brushing her hair as Rina read the next word. “Machiavellian. Not guided by or showing a concern for what is right. See unprincipled.” Rina mumbled, “or Dedrick.”

“Rina,” Evelyn scolded.

“I can’t help it. Some definitions just suit him.”

Evelyn delicately separated matted sections of Rina’s hair, making sure she didn’t yank Rina’s head as she tamed each one. “Next word please.”

“Machinate. To engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends. See—”

“Don’t say Dedrick.” Evelyn playfully tugged on Rina’s hair.

Rina slid back in her seat and pulled her legs in, planting her dirty bare feet on the chair and resting the dictionary against her thighs. “I’m skipping ahead to my favorites. Macrocosm. The whole body of things observed or assumed. See universe.” She tilted her head back and winked at Evelyn. “And your favorite. Magic. The power to control natural forces through supernatural means. See us.”

“Shh. Remember the rules.” Evelyn finished detangling Rina’s last section of hair. “Your clothes are filthy. I’ll bring you a clean set tomorrow.”

Rina turned in her chair to face Evelyn. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything, darling.”

“Tonight, keep Dedrick from coming here.”

“I suspect that will be impossible. He’ll want to check on Maryah.”

“After that. Keep him occupied for a few hours. No matter what, don’t let him come back here a second time.”

Evelyn tensed. “That is asking a lot of me.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but please.”

Evelyn
bowed her head as if thinking. She tightened the drawstring waist of her pants then replied, “Anything for you, but what are you up to?”

“I can’t say. Not yet.”

Evelyn licked her thumb then wiped a smudge of something from Rina’s chin. My own mother used to do that, and I always hated it. Judging from Rina’s scrunched up face, she hated it too. But now, I missed my mother so much that I’d happily let her spit-shine my face a dozen times a day if it meant she’d be alive again.

“Be careful,” Evelyn warned. “You know how Dedrick gets.”

“I’m always careful,” Rina assured her.

Evelyn seemed a little too willing to grant Rina’s request. The whole interaction was a bit too Hallmark moment-ish considering they were both Dedrick’s prisoners.

Mistrustful. See Rina and Evelyn.

Manipulated.
Antonym:
Maryah.

∞

Rina wouldn’t tell me anything about her plan. She barely spoke to me at all from the time Evelyn left until the time she returned much later with another tray. Rina’s dinner wasn’t much better than what I assumed was her breakfast earlier.

Just like a
fter breakfast, as soon as Evelyn left, Rina’s mouse friend scurried across the floor, and she scooped him up.

“You and Evelyn look a lot alike.” I tested Rina’s story, watching her carefully for any indicators that she had lied to me. “So much alike that she could easily pass as your mom.”

Rina’s face remained relaxed as she fed the mouse a few saved cracker crumbs. “Evelyn is pretty, so thank you for the compliment.”

“You don’t see the resemblance?”

“We both have black hair. We’ve both been defiled and treated like scum. We’re both pale because we never see the sun. If that’s what you mean, then sure, I see resemblances.”

She didn’t rapidly blink, or fidget, or talk fast, no sign whatsoever that she had lied. Maybe it really was just the prisoner lifestyle that made them look so much alike. After thinking about it, River had the same dark and dejected look as Rina and Evelyn.

Rina scratched the mouse’s head.

I hoped Na
than was taking good care of Eightball while I was gone. I had to find a way back to my kindrily. I had already put them through so much grief and worry, and now this.

“What’s wrong?” Rina asked me.

“I miss Nathan. I miss all of my family. I keep messing up and ruining lives.” Or lives ended because of me. I swallowed down the never-ending guilt of being the reason my parents were killed.

Rina cupped her mouse in her hands and hugged him to her chest. We were silent for a long time. She had her mouse, and I had no one.

Dedrick didn’t visit us after dinner like Evelyn said he would. Even after the mouse scurried into a crack in the corner, Rina sat on her mattress, waiting for what felt like two more hours.

The silence became unbearable. “Maybe he’s not coming.”

“He’ll want to check on you.” Rina sneezed.

“Bless you.”

She wiped her nose on her wrist. “Why do I need to be blessed?”

“I don’t know. It’s
what you say after someone sneezes.”

Rina’s forehead wrinkled. “Why do you say that?”

“It’s not just me. It’s everyone.” I shrugged. “It’s good manners. Evelyn has never blessed you after you sneezed?”

“When one of us sneezes we say, ‘Jupiter adsit.’”

I’d never heard that one before. “What does that mean?”

“We ask Jupiter to preserve the soul, so no one’s spirit can jump into your body during that brief moment between expelling your soul and breathing it back in.”

I laughed. “That’s almost as bad as the one my dad told me. He said demons rush out of you when you sneeze and someone has to bless you before they crawl back in.”

“Sounds like a different version of ours.” Rina rubbed her nose. “Too bad yours is wrong.”

Neither theory was realistic, but who was I to argue that her Jupiter saying was weirder than my “bless you” tradition. At least her version sounded more interesting than fighting snot demons.

Again, I asked Rina what she was planning to do, but she wouldn’t tell me. She said if she couldn’t tell Evelyn she definitely couldn’t tell me.

After another hour or so of waiting in silence, Rina stood. She walked over to the table and sat in the chair. “I don’t think he’s coming.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

Rina leaned forward, resting her head on top of her forearms. “I’m tired. I think I’ll take a nap.”

A nap sounded wonderful, but I couldn’t even sleep without my body. I’d never been a prisoner before—at least not in this lifetime, or that I could remember from other lifetimes—but I assumed regular imprisonment would be much easier than soul imprisonment.

“Enjoy your nap,” I told Rina. Her torso rose and fell as her steady breaths became slower. She murmured, “Jupiter adsit.”

I quietly obsessed about her top secret plan.