Page 234 of Silver Elite

I reach the archway and glimpse another flash of red. Adrienne. Stumbling toward the exit. She’s hunched over and moving slower than I expect.

I’m on her within seconds, pulling her backward. When she tries to resist, I drag her toward a shadowy alleyway between the venue and loading area.

“What did you do to him?” I demand.

She looks sick. Physically ill. In fact, she can hardly walk, her knees noticeably wobbling.

“What’s wrong with you?” I blurt out.

When she keels over, I instinctively steady her, shocked by how cold her skin feels. Yet her face drips with sweat.

“This is normal. N-normal response.” She can barely speak.

I suddenly remember the physical sensations I felt at Jim’s execution, when I had those eight minds in my psychic grasp. The dizziness. Fatigue. Sweat beading on my forehead. I remember the toll it took on me, using my mind to incite their will. It happened with Jayde, but to a lesser extent.

I search Adrienne’s face. “What did you do to his mind?”

Last time we met, her eyes were sharp as daggers. Now they’re dull and hazy.

“Not…the time, Darlington.” Her hand quivers as she touches her ear. “Sara. Where are you?”

At the response, she pushes away from me, only to stumble again. She holds on to the wall to stabilize herself, swaying like she’s about to faint.

“What did you do to his mind? You corrupted it?”

Her gaze slides toward me. “Where did you hear that term?”

“Is that it? Is that what you did?”

“Darlington.” It’s a pained whisper. “I need to get to the rendezvous.”

“You’re not making it anywhere in this state.” I release a heavy sigh. “Let me help. Where do you need to go?”

I see the moment she recognizes her own weakness and admits defeat. Sagging against the wall, she nods toward the transport gate.

“Come on,” I urge, guiding her forward.

She leans heavily on me for support, every step a struggle for her. We link arms as if we’re just two civilian women trying to leave the scary party where the scary bomb blew up.

With potential eyes on us now, I switch to telepathy, but to no avail. I feel her energy signature, but it’s faint. Flimsy.

“Won’t work yet,” she mumbles. “I expended too much energy.”

“How did you do that to his brain?”

Her breaths escape in shallow gasps. I notice the pallor of her skin, the drops of sweat glistening on her forehead.

“How?” I tighten my grip on her arm.

“I don’t know. It happens naturally. It’s a matter of…rewiring.”

“Rewiring.” I feel like throwing up again. “You turned him into avegetable right in front of us. I’ve never even heard of an ability like that before.”

“It’s rare,” she admits. “Rarer than incitement.”

We trudge toward the gate, where a line of cars waits to be permitted to exit. Behind us, people continue to stream out of the venue. But the chaos seems less…chaotic. The Command soldiers marching by appear to be in full control of the situation.

“I can brief you on all this later,” she whispers. “Just let me get back to the base.”

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