Page 18 of Obsession

“Is that true?” I ask, hoping he’ll reveal more.

Though he brought it up, he lets out a sharp breath to be addressing it—irritated, like checking all the boxes on a form. “I have influenced a few things out of curiosity,” he admits. “Technology, politics, religion, and so on.”

“Giving immortality to Aris’ followers,” I say slowly.

Jaegen smiles. “Yes, that.”

“Why?”

“As I said, curiosity. How do I explain this in a way you might understand… Hm. Imagine one day, you’re walking with a friend, and, abruptly, your friend leaves. You follow where he goes, and find him interacting with an anthill. Strangely, the ants are speaking back to your friend. They know his name and are asking him for things. How peculiar—you didn’t know ants knew how to do that! Your friend walks from the hill, now disinterested, and you approach. Not to intervene… at first, merely wondering how simple insects were able to talk to your friend.

“You watch their cycles: collecting food, delegating tasks, protecting their queen. You observe patterns: what they dislike, what they don’t. Maybe you first thought that they would like the rain, since they drink water, but they actually avoid it. How unexpected. You watch further, until they begin to make sense.

“Finally, you make slight changes to this anthill to see what will happen. You kill the current queen to see if they will accept another. You crush half of the colony—will they unify again or become two separate anthills? You learn. You test.”

“Aren’t there other things you could be doing instead of torturing this anthill?” I ask tightly.

“It’s only a metaphor,” he says, a playful light in his eyes. “But I see that it might have offended you.”

That’s putting it lightly.

He just called us all bugs—ants, nothing. Science experiments. I bite my lip, jaw jutting as I try to control my desire to snap. He’s no better than Aris.

“Careful, Mary.” The amusement in his expression is suddenly gone. My head pulses, like my brain is stretching against my skull. “That is what he will try to convince you, but consider him as the alternative. I meddle; he destroys.”

“Crushing the anthill,” I say quietly.

Jaegen nods. “Has Earth been my playground? Have I indulged? Yes, but what do you think a human would do if he were placed under these circumstances if he had true and absolute power? Do you think arbitrary rules would be followed? That one would follow, not lead?”

I turn away.

I can acknowledge that mankind is inherently selfish. What’s more, there are bad people, either born or made, who think only of themselves. We have killers, rapists, bullies and bigots. If those kind of people had true power, undoubtedly they would hurt others—but these are the perverse. Aberrations.

That isn’t all of us.

There are scholars and architects, writers and poets. Sculptures made from every kind of stone, thousands of inventions, and ever-changing languages. There are people much smarter and kinder than me, those who help the poor, who give their lives away like it’s nothing, those who are special and represent the best of us. And that isn’t all of us, but those people exist. And if they had power, they would never hurt anyone, because it would not even occur to them.

There is good in the world, in us. In people. According to him, he has watched us for a while now. How is it possible that he spent all of that time and learned, essentially, nothing?

The temperature rises, a bead of sweat falling down my scalp, and my rage is flushed by fear. Mary, I remind myself, he can hear your thoughts. And he does not like what you’re thinking.

My heart beats loudly as he stares down at me. There is the sense that I am beneath a lion’s claws, unable to predict what he will do next, helpless to stop what he decides.

Will he kill me? No, he needs me. Hit me, then? Strike me down? Maybe. Maybe.

Sweat rolls down my back, the beads chilling me. I wait for my punishment and try to mask my resentment. I don’t want to fuel the fire, but I hate knowing that he might act against me for just thinking. And not for thinking cruel, mean things either, but just for having an appreciation for mankind and life.

Jaegen takes a step forward, and a fresh blast of heat hits me, as well as his earthy, citrusy scent. “All I want is your loyalty,” he says, eyes like two suns. “I do have that, don’t I, Mary? We made a bargain. There are consequences for breaking those.”

A threat?

“Take it how you will.” Jaegen’s sneer twists his handsome face. “So long as you understand what needs to be done.”

I try to swallow, but my throat is dry. “I understand, Jaegen.”

He studies me for a moment, like he doesn’t believe me. Then, he nods. “We will begin now. Remove your shirt.”

I’m already terrified and on thin ice, but I can’t help but shake my head in surprise. “What?” I say, baffled.

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