Page 542 of Shadowblood Souls
But the key to launching this vast war on the shadowkind now was Ursula Engel’s computer. The one we stole from her.
The one I told him how to find.
I inhale deeply and lean over the map again. I’ll check Ajax’s position, and then I’ll search for Balthazar again. If we can pick out one place he’s returning to somewhat frequently, that would at least be another start.
I focus my attention on my memories of the slim boy with the near-black skin and thoughtful eyes. The act of concentration has become almost second nature after so much practice, even though the talent isn’t technically mine.
An image of Ajax forms in my head. I reach my arm over the map, urging my fingers toward him as if by a magnetic pull.
My hand drops. I peer down at the winding lines of country borders.
Balthazar has him stashed someplace in western China now. I haven’t tracked our former captor’s movements to any specific spot there before, but he has crisscrossed Asia more than once. For all I know he’s made a brief stop that I missed.
Or he hasn’t checked in on the shadowbloods there at all since I started monitoring his movements.
As my gaze lingers on the blank territory I touched, more than an inch from any major city, a tingling sensation forms at the top of my skull.
My pulse hitches. I freeze, unsure whether I should try to shake off the feeling or see how it develops.
In the midst of my indecision, a thin but audible voice murmurs through my thoughts as if from right inside my head.Riva? Is that you?
It sounds like Ajax, as well as I can remember the solemn boy’s low voice. I open my mouth and close it again, not sure how to answer him. If I speak out loud, will he hear that?
His talent was a weak version of telepathy. His original talent, anyway. Has Balthazar expanded the fifteen-year-old’s abilities so much that he can project his own thoughts into my head across all this distance?
I think a response as “loudly” as I know how.Yes, it’s me. Are you okay, Ajax?
The voice wavers, momentarily so quiet that I can barely make out the words.Kind of. I’m alive. And I can do this now. I had this… this feeling that you were reaching out to me.
I hesitate. How much should I tell him about what I’ve been doing with Griffin’s powers?
Balthazar couldn’t know about our ability to swap talents yet. Even if Ajax doesn’t want to help the psychopath, I know far too well that he might not have the choice.
I was thinking about you, I settle on as a vague answer.You and the other shadowbloods. Are you alone or with some of the other kids?
Balthazar’s people don’t let us mingle much. There are adults here who have powers too—they get pretty brutal if we don’t listen to them.
My stomach knots. So Balthazar has his new, morally questionable shadowbloods enforcing his rule over the kids when he’s not there.
I can only imagine how badly that situation could go wrong for the younger ones.
I’m sorry,I say.We—the Firsts—managed to get away from him. We’re going to do everything we can to get you all out too.
That promise isn’t giving away anything Balthazar shouldn’t already know. I just can’t share any specific possible strategies with the boy who’s trapped thousands of miles distant.
I get the impression of a sigh.Well, I’m hanging in there. I’m mostly worried about Devon. I haven’t seen him since Clancy’s island.
It doesn’t surprise me that Balthazar has been keeping the two separate. He must have realized they were more than just friends. He split up Nadia and Booker once they left his villa too.
Losing his wife seems to be what sent him right over the deep end. I guess he’s self-aware enough to realize that we shadowbloods will be even more motivated to fight back if we can see the people we love most in peril.
Unfortunately, I can’t offer Ajax much comfort about his boyfriend.I saw him a few days ago. He was still alive then.Have you been able to talk to him like you are with me?
Ajax’s tone turns mournful.No. I’m not sure why this worked. Before, I had to be able to see a person to read their thoughts or send my own. Even with the way my power’s grown, I haven’t been hearing anyone much farther than this building we’re in.
It must be some synchronicity sparked by my use of Griffin’s talent. In a way, I was “seeing” Ajax when I found him on the map.
Has Balthazar amped up Devon’s powers too?he asks into my pause.
