Page 438 of Shadowblood Souls
It’s going to take a lot more than a brief interest in hurling pottery to manage that.
But I guess we have to start somewhere.
I’m not sure how to express those thoughts to the others either, not here. We’ll have to take another swim to talk properly as a group.
Before I can suggest that, Balthazar’s other top employee comes striding into view. Matteo rubs his hands together and fixes his piercing gaze on me.
“Zian. You’re due for a session.”
My body wants to balk, but I force it to relax. “All right.”
As I stroll over, I size him up, trying to think of anything I’ve noticed that might help me win him over. Because he’s not just an enemy but another opportunity, isn’t he?
Reaching him, I roll my shoulders as if eager to get started. “What are we working on today?”
Fourteen
Riva
The silver manacles might not weigh much, but they’re starting to chafe my wrists.
I can’t stop myself from adjusting them, as little as they budge against my skin. Even with the dampening of sweat that’s forming on my arms, they barely move a fraction of an inch.
My gaze stays fixed on the mirrored high rise visible through the van’s windshield, looming farther up the street.
We parked a few minutes ago within view of the shallow courtyard outside the shiny office building. Unfortunately, to avoid looking suspicious, we had to turn off the engine.
Can’t leave the air conditioning running without wearing out the battery. We don’t know quite how long we’ll have to wait here for the moment Balthazar is counting on.
The air is already stuffy from the sunlight streaking past the downtown buildings. I wet my lips and take a sip from the bottle of water that’s also quickly warming.
Then I glance around at the guys: Jacob in the driver’s seat across from me, Andreas and Zian in the open area behind us. “Any idea what city this is?”
Andreas leans against the back of my seat. “I haven’t recognized any of the buildings. I’m not sure what kind of writing that is on the signs either.”
Zian grimaces. “If Drey hasn’t seen it before, I definitely haven’t.”
Jacob kicks restlessly at the underside of the dash and touches one of his own manacles. “It’s not like we can go out and ask anyone.”
His statement encompasses various other things he leaves unspoken. He’d like to find out. He knows that if we deviate that far from the task Balthazar has assigned us, it won’t be worth the consequences.
We’re unlikely to find anyone who’d understand us and answer us clearly before our keeper makes us regret it anyway.
Does Balthazar have another team stationed nearby, monitoring us? Employees who don’t have our abilities but could sweep in to collect us if we go off script and he needs to knock us out?
I’m not sure anymore just how valuable or not we are to him. I trusted that our former captors wouldn’t risk our lives, but Balthazar…
Balthazar might not be sane enough to worry how many tools he goes through on his way to achieving his goals. Whatever those goals are.
My teeth set against each other with an edge of tension, but the raging frustration that’s gripped me more and more in the past several days has dulled to a low simmer of anger. The longer it burns in my gut, the more I have the sense that it’s searing away everything else I might be feeling.
Like curiosity. Like defiance.
Like hope.
Does it really matter why we’re here or what Balthazar plans to accomplish if we can’t do anything about it anyway? If he’s going to keep using us and using us some more until he’s done or we die?
The dull simmer of anger burns away the queasiness of those questions too. It’s hollowing me out.
