Page 223 of Silver Elite

“You do?”

“Yes. I just ignore it.”

Amazement floods her expression. “We’ve performed tests on other Aberrants. Do you realize the shock you receive when another Aberrant infiltrates your mind is the equivalent of almost five hundred volts?” She starts to laugh. “You just ignore it.”

I shrug. It’s hard to focus with the itchy sensation crawling all over my body. She’s in my mind, and I’m having trouble keeping it decoyed while trying to come up with an escape plan at the same time.

Jayde is nodding with approval. “There you go. I hear you now.”

“Because I’m letting you.” My icy tone belies the thundering of my heart.

I need to find a way out of this.

“Cross, where are you?”I plead.

“Moving as fast as I can.”

“Move faster.”

“You’re communicating with someone,” she accuses. “Who is it?”

I decoy my mind before she can figure out it’s Cross. My gaze darts toward my discarded gun. It’s in the corner of the room, maybe three feet from Jayde. She’ll shoot me before I reach it.

“Yes,” she says, answering my thoughts. “I will.”

I could lunge at her. She’ll still fire at me, but if I can get her to lower the weapon, even a few inches, I’ll have a better shot of not taking a bullet to the chest.

At this point, there’s no harm in trying.

“And what are we trying?” Jayde’s tone is distracted. Her forehead has a deep groove in it as she concentrates on pillaging my thoughts.

I take advantage of that. The only time the shield of a Mod as powerful as her might show any weakness is when she’s using those powers. When all her concentration is directed elsewhere. Directed at me. I reach out with my mind, opening a path to hers. When I encounter her shield, I start pushing.

“Your veins…They don’t change.”

She’s still reading my mind. It makes me sick to have her poking around in there, but I continue to use it to my benefit. In fact, I help her out, bringing certain thoughts to the surface, making it easier for her.

“You’re working for the Uprising. Oh, you stupid, foolish girl.”

I throw all my mental force against her shield. I slam into it as hard as I can. In my mind I imagine a crack form. Widen. Splinter at the sides. For some reason her shield looks gold now, but I go with it. I’ve found that fighting your own mind is a futile exercise. The gold shines brighter, flecks of it dancing through my head like dust motes. Long, thin fissures form across Jayde’s shield, spreading outward, like the surface of ice that’s about to break and—

I’m in.

Am I?

I don’t feel the pressure of her shield anymore trying to repel me. But she also doesn’t jerk in surprise. I didn’t get the feeling that she’d mastered the ability to ignore those five hundred volts. She seemed too stunned that it was even possible. Unless she was shocked because she believed she was the only one who could do it?

Setting my questions aside, I focus on pushing a command into her mind.

Lower your weapon.

“Stop straining yourself. You don’t need to try to read my thoughts,” Jayde assures me. “I’ll enlighten you myself. You’re fighting for the wrong team, Darlington. We’re not the villains here.”

That momentarily makes me lose my focus. I stare at her, incredulous. “You’ve murdered thousands of your own people.”

“They are not my people. Especially not the ones you’re workingfor. They’re unnatural. They’re corrupting minds.” Her gray eyes become oddly magnanimous. “If you surrender right now, I won’t kill you.”

I can’t stop a bark of laughter. “Uh-huh. I’m sure.”

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