Page 54 of Chaos
Malice
The senseof being flung back into myself was jarring, to say the least. Merri may be new at creating mental barriers, but she packed one hell of a psychic punch when she found her footing.
“Bloody hell, Merri. Where’d you get that kind of strength?” I wheezed as I tried to steady myself with a hand on one of the four posts of the bed.
She frowned, leveling her gaze on me. “That was rude.”
I scoffed. “I’m sorry, do you expect the Knights to be polite?”
“No, but... last time you just did silly little parlor tricks and took control of my body. Why did you have to invade my privacy and go snooping around in my mind?”
“Typical,” I muttered.
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”
“Your generation is so entitled. Do you really think an enemy is going to avoid doing something simply because you don’t prefer it? No, Merri. No, they’re not. They fight dirty. They will come at your weakest point and continue to batter it until you crumble because that’s how battles are won. That’s how they get what they want. There is no honor at the end of the world.”
She was pouting and it was absolutely adorable, but I wasn’t about to tell her so. Even if she’d have been receptive to it, now was hardly the time for such things. I had a point to make, and she an important lesson to learn.
“I know you’re right, and you’re only trying to help, but...” She rubbed at her chest as she trailed off. “I don’t have to like it.”
“You don’t. You just have to learn how to protect yourself so that next time I can’t get further than you want me to go.”
“What if I don’t want you inside my mind at all?”
“That would be the ideal. I want you strong enough to keep even me out of your head if I’m not welcome.”
She blinked and then looked at me, a small furrow between her brows. “How did I know it was you? Was it just because my subconscious remembered we were in the middle of our session?”
“Perhaps. Though it’s more likely it was because I’ve been in your mind before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Each being has a unique psychic fingerprint. Once you’ve experienced it, you’ll recognize it again. Sort of like spotting a familiar face in a crowd.”
Understanding flashed across Merri’s face. She knew exactly what I was referring to, and it wasn’t just because my explanation was brilliant. I’d bet every Bitcoin I owned that it was from some other personal experience. Like I’d just given her the answer to a question she hadn’t realized she’d had.
“My head hurts,” she murmured, shutting down before my eyes. “Are we done here?”
Even if she was lying, I’d let her go. What she’d done, shoving me out of her memories, was more challenging than she knew.
“Yes. Go and rest. We will pick this up at our next session. Unless...”
She looked at me, her skin a little duller than before, eyes pained, hair less glossy. Merri needed to feed.
“Unless what?”
There was no ignoring the anticipation that flared to life as I offered, “Do you need me to feed you?”
She paled further, quickly shaking her head. “No. Thank you, though. I have a camming session soon. I’m all set.”
Before I could protest, she was out the door and pulling it shut behind her. Camming wasn’t enough. We’d already addressed that issue. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something had spooked our sweet Merri, and she was pulling away from all of us again.
I supposed I’d simply have to pay her a visit while she was working then. We’d all agreed to take care of her, and if that meant being one of her clients, so be it.
Snagging my phone, I began navigating to the app but stopped short when I saw the notification.
One new voicemail.
