Indestructible (Indestructible Trilogy Book 1) (26 page)

He shakes his head. “I’m not about to give up all my secrets yet, Leah. Are you?”

I say nothing, hoping my blistering glare speaks for itself.

“You know,” he continues, “It’s a pity none of us realised how the last Transcendent came to be. If we had, we might have won the war already. As it is, you’ll both be most valuable to me.”

“I’m not fighting for you,” I say, quietly. “Never.”

“You won’t be fighting yet,” he says. “The two of you alone can’t hope to stand against the forces of Fior. But your blood will be enough for me to complete my task. I need Transcendents, and only you and Cas have the ability to create them.”

“What—me?”
I should have guessed.
I have the same healing power as Cas, after all.
Oh God. He’ll never let me go, now.
He didn’t just want one Transcendent. He wanted an army.

And now he can make one.

Jared smiles at me, like he knows what I’m thinking.

“Cas was your experiment before,” I say. “I’m betting he won’t want it to happen again.”

“Actually, he was quite compliant after you were taken. He followed me without a fuss, I’m glad to say. Wouldn’t have wanted him to wander off alone and run into the fiends.”

What? That can’t be right.

“I thought all the fiends were yours.” I cough. My throat’s so dry, my skin itches all over. I feel, for the first time in a long while, human.

And I don’t like it.

“It was necessary for me to keep some of the fiends here, yes. I needed their blood for my experiments. Cas himself carries it within him, and that same blood now resides in your veins. You are part of one of the monsters you so despise, Leah.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“You feel it, don’t you,” he says, softly. “When you fight. The power in your blood, the raging fire that nothing can quench. You’re a soldier, Leah, but you’re more than that. You’re more than a Pyro. You’ll never be free of the fire.” He pauses. “When Cas healed you, do you think he knew that?” he asks. “I admit, I’m curious. I was there when he was a child, but even I didn’t guess the potential of his healing power. He refused my requests to experiment. He was always stubborn.”

“Yes,” I say, hot anger suffusing the word. “Yes, I imagine he was. You forced him to fight to the death, repeatedly. You knew he could heal himself.
What was the point of that?”

I’m on my feet by now, screaming in his face.

Jared draws in a breath, slowly. “It’s started, then,” he murmurs.

I pause, anger still thrumming through my veins. “What?”

“The visions. The dreams. I don’t believe Cas would have confided in you willingly about his past. Am I correct?”

I grit my teeth. He’s right, of course. But that means…

“That is why the first experiments all failed. That’s why he vowed never to heal again. I’m sorry, Leah.” He stops, shakes his head, then asks, “Wouldn’t you like to see Cas? I was surprised you didn’t ask about him right away.”

“Is he a prisoner, too?”

“Prisoner?” Jared gives me an unconvincing smile. “You’re not a prisoner here, Leah. This is a sanctuary for you. It can even be your home, if you like.”

“No thanks.” I might not know exactly where I am, but I can hazard a guess. “What were you saying?” I hate asking him anything—hate even being in the same room as him, but right now, he’s the one with the answers. “How did you know I’m seeing… visions? What happened to the other people Cas healed?”

His silence sets alarm bells ringing, but I hide my sweaty palms.

“I will take you to him, if you promise not to run away.”

Fine. I’ll ask Cas, then.
One thing’s for sure: I’ll get my answers. Even though I know I won’t like them.

He beckons me, and I get to my feet, wincing as my body protests. Every movement brings a whisper of the pain, and it’s not something I can shake off. But I won’t let it distract me. I’m here for a reason. I need to find a way to save Elle and the others, to prevent this madman from destroying the base. Once I’m sure they’re safe, Cas and I can escape.

The corridor outside is painted white and carpeted in blue. Bright fluorescent lights gleam overhead, and as we turn a corner, daylight streams in through an open window. Confused, I glance out at the field of dead grass outside, which looks like it belongs to a park or school.

“Where are we?” Much as I’d rather not speak to this bastard, I figure asking questions is the quickest way to figure my way out of this place.

“I thought you knew. Did Cas not tell you? This used to be the base for Pyros until the regrettable tragedy two years ago.”

A screeching noise interrupts him, raising the hairs on my arms.
Fiends!

“They won’t hurt you,” Jared assures me.

“They’re your lab experiments?” I ask. “How many of them are running around killing people?”

Jared’s face pinches inwards. “You still don’t understand the necessity of what we do. We alone stand against the fiends, Leah. If it wasn’t for our using the fiends, we could never have created that remarkable weapon you use.”

The dagger.
I can’t make a run for it now, without my weapon. Not that there’s any way out. We passed several other windows before, and it looks like the whole building’s surrounded by high brick walls.

He catches my expression. “Not to worry, your athame dagger’s quite safe.” He’s almost smiling now, the sick bastard.

Wait. “What about
your
weapon?” I ask. “How—what did you do to me?”

Our blades touched, and that intense pain made me pass out. Like…
Nolan.
The tattoos. Is that what Nolan meant when he talked about pain? Was that how Jared tortured him, the reason he would hurt Elle to spare himself?

Jared’s stare pierces me, giving me the uncomfortable feeling he’s guessed my thoughts. Sure enough, he says, “I suspected you’d be susceptible, Leah. You haven’t fully reached your potential yet. Once you awaken as Transcendent, even my power won’t be able to subdue you.”

Why’s he telling me this?
I narrow my eyes at him, and he half-smiles. “I kept your dagger safe, Leah. You and the weapon are conduits for energy. Just like the Fiordans. Those are our true enemies,” he says. “People used to mistake us for them, as they were able to take on the form of humans. Surprised?”

I don’t say anything.

“Cas told you, I imagine. I doubt my brother would have been as forthcoming. After all, who’s to say who really committed the murder of so many humans? It was a clever idea, very clever. The apocalypse has ended the world, and mysterious figures in red are walking around, like a cult … but I digress. You and Cas have a link to the Fiordans—he, because he was born of their blood, and you, because you were reborn with
his
blood. In short: the perfect gift for me. Firstly, I need to check that your blood functions in the same way as his. You’re going to have to heal someone for me, Leah. Can you do that?”

Is he serious?
I say nothing, biting my lip.
No,
is my instinctive answer. But I doubt he’ll accept it.

He nods, as though he expected that reaction. “Stubborn, Leah. You’ll see, however, that you have no option but to comply.”

Somehow, I know what’s coming before I see it, before we round the corner and come to a metal door very much like the ones at the base. Jared unlocks it with a key he pulls from his coat pocket, and he pushes it open.

Cas lies on a bed, unmoving, face stained in blood.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I choke on a scream, my hand clapping to my mouth. The pieces of the scene fit together again, one at a time. Cas on the bed. Long claw-like slash marks crisscross his torso and face, so deep I wouldn’t recognise him if I didn’t
know
it was him. His eyelids are closed, brushed with blood.

“Cas,” I whimper into my hand.
God.
Tears come thick and fast. Forgetting all about not showing weakness in front of Jared, I reach the bed in one stride and drop to my knees beside him.

“I am sorry, Leah.”

I whirl to face him, furious tears flying from my eyes.
“You said he wasn’t harmed! You said…
you said I’d be able to feel it if he… he…” I can’t go on. My hand moves by itself to stroke his ravaged face. A sharp pain pierces me from the inside, but not a physical pain.

“I’m sorry. I did wonder, but though his blood flows in your veins, it seems the connection isn’t deep enough yet for actual physical pain to transfer over.”

He speaks like a scientist discussing hypotheses—a cold-hearted, ruthless monster. Fierce rage rises from the pain in my chest, and I feel the temperature climb.

“Watch out, Leah. You don’t want to hurt him, do you?”

I can’t hurt him. Can I?
I don’t know enough. Jared has us at his mercy, and knows it.

“What do you want me to do?” My tone comes out flat.

“Use your blood to heal him. If it works, it’s proof that his gift transferred to you. Of course, he can heal on his own, but the process takes longer and is rather more painful. It’s your choice.”

“I don’t have a weapon.” It’s like I’m listening to someone else speak from a distance. Like I’ve locked that horror somewhere inside, too deep to reach.

Jared steps forward, holding out a knife. I don’t feel anything, only numbness, and it comes as no surprise when he doesn’t hand it to me, only gestures that I hold out my hand. I do so, and he slices me across the palm.

I don’t even feel it.

The blood drips onto Cas. I direct it into the gaps in his shredded uniform, the crimson stripes which could only have been caused by a particularly vicious fiend. Tears drip onto his chest and mingle with the blood.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
My hand shakes, and I grip my wrist to hold it steady. There’s no way to tell if it’s working.

What if it doesn’t?
Would he… die?

Cas stirs, and I jump, heartbeat rising. His eyes snap open and he sits up so fast that I shoot backwards, almost tripping over.

“Cas.”

“What are you doing here?

Relief washes over me, so strong it makes my knees go weak.

“You’re okay. I thought you were—”

“The girl healed you,” Jared says. He’s been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten he stood there in the corner. Now he moves towards Cas, an expression of delight forming on his face.

“It seems you’ve transferred your gift to the girl after all. Good. That’ll make things much faster, with both of you ready to work.”

“You’re joking,” says Cas. He flashes me a pained look, and I blink, confused.

“It’s a risk we have to take,” says Jared, with an unconvincing sigh. He snaps between serious scientist and lunatic with a disconcerting speed, and I wonder whether the madness started before or after the war.
Stupid,
I tell myself.
He tortured children. He was always a madman.

“What?” I ask. “What’s going to happen to me? Am I going to die?”

Strangely, the idea doesn’t scare me, not as much as being used for one of Jared’s experiments. Not as much as that awful, all-consuming pain. But I can’t die before I stop Jared from hurting the others.

“No,” says Jared. “You won’t die—at least, not at first. But over time, the longer the two of you are connected, you’ll become insensible, little more than an empty shell, stripped of your own emotions. Taken over by…”

“Mine,” Cas says, flatly. “And you can’t blame anyone but yourself for that, Jared.”

“The visions have started already,” Jared tells him.

Cas looks away, but I see another flash of pain in his eyes. Does he feel guilty for what’s happening to me?

“They’ll get worse,” Jared continues. “I’ve never seen it happen to a fully-active Transcendent. Perhaps it’s because Leah’s not a child. I did wonder about the effects on an adult Pyro, but I never could find any willing volunteers. But what Leah’s experiencing—every other Pyro who succumbed to the visions died within a few weeks.”

My heart lurches.
Dying?
Am I really—? I look at Cas, but his gaze remains on the floor. Jared’s expression is more like pity. More of a condescending sort, not like he
regrets
his experimental subject dying.

“You’re sick,” I say, shakily. “You hurt kids just to see if Cas could heal them, then let them live visions of him being tortured until they went crazy and died? Is that it?”

Cas’s head whips up and his eyes narrow in pure rage as he stalks towards Jared. “I’m not doing
anything
else for you. Never. You’ll have to kill me first.”

“And the girl? What about her? And what about Murray and your friends back at the base? I have the means of destroying them in this very room.” He looks at me.