Page 9 of Ava: Part Two

“You didn’t need to recover, Mr Michelson. You might have struggled initially, but you were perfectly fine in there. Like you were on a vacation.”

And that was when he understood why they were there. He had beaten them. The Isolation had not done what they had expected it to do. It had not broken him. And they were there to find out why.

“It was no vacation, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“You’re still doing it right now. You’re blocking me,” Iulia mused. “I wonder how much more you can take before you break.”

“Iulia,” Alpha Diego said in warning.

That was something he wasn’t meant to know. Were they trying to test his limits? For what purpose?

“I’ve reviewed the tapes of your time in Isolation,” the vampire said. “You struggled the first half and then nothing. You sat still for the rest of the time; you didn’t move for two days. Tell me what happened.”

He kept his mind blank. The vampire’s allure was strong, but he kept himself hidden behind his mental wall.

“I remember going in and then coming out. If you reviewed the tapes, you know more about my time there than anyone else, sir.”

The vampire frowned at him and then looked at the other councillors. No one knew exactly how strong the Council was or their strength and weaknesses, but it looked to him like they could actually mind link each other. A vampire, a wolf and a witch. How was that even possible?

“Mr Michelson, tell me how you blocked the magic in the Isolation room,” Alpha Diego said.

And that was a command. The Alpha’s strength washed over him and had him bowing his head again. Even behind the walls he had created, he felt compelled to answer. Shadow whined. They were defeated, and it hadn’t even been much of a match. It seemed they had been toying with him at first, but now they were ready for the answers.

The magic he felt in the room increased and forced itself against the wall, the only protection that he had. He tried to reinforce it, but it was harder now. They were going to break through.

But how had he got out? He didn’t know, not for sure, and that was the truth.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“He’s not lying,” the vampire said.

“That’s impossible,” Iulia stated. “Ask him again, in a different way.”

“Mr Michelson did something happen in that room that allowed you to block yourself from the magic.”

“No. Nothing happened. You said yourself that I sat perfectly still.”

“Stop being difficult and just answer the questions. There are only three of us today, but if you don’t help us understand what happened, you will face the whole Council,” Iulia said firmly. “Tell the truth, and we can all get out of here.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say. I don’t know what you’re looking for,” he lied.

The three of them looked at each other again, and when they looked back, he knew they had decided to take this further.

He was preparing for his walls to be broken and all his shit to be laid bare when the sweetest scent hit his nose. Vanilla... A hint of orange blended in... Human.

No.

Why was she here?

“No, what?” Iulia asked.

He concentrated on his bond with Ava as he had done in Isolation, and his mental walls slammed down, pushing the witch out of his head.

“How did you do that?” Iulia mused.

She appeared more fascinated than insulted.

“You have red eyes,” the Alpha stated.

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