Page 592 of Shadowblood Souls
I wasn’t there when she started singing the first time she woke up, but apparently her crooning is powerful enough to send whoever she focuses it on into a panic.
“The sleep I put her under will last about ten more minutes,” Lull says, looking down at her charge. “I’ll stay in case you need to send her under again. I shouldn’t need to check on the older one for another couple of hours.”
I swallow thickly. “Thank you. We should take the gag out so she can at least talk once she wakes up. I don’t want her to be more freaked out than she needs to be.”
Lull reaches to release the gag. “Just be careful. That power of hers seems to work fast.”
“Absolutely. If she starts singing—or even humming—you’d better knock her out right away.”
But when I’m through with Bethany’s mind, she shouldn’t remember that she evencanwield a power like that.
As I walk up on the other side of the bed, my stomach sinks with every step. I prop myself against the edge of the mattress and reach over to rest my hand on the girl’s forehead where the messy strands of her thin, flaxen hair have fallen aside.
I don’t have to touch a person to wipe their memories as long as I can see them, but it’s easier to focus like this. It takes a little less out of me when there’s no distance to compel my ability across.
Staring at Bethany’s slack, pale face, I can feel all the recollections whispering inside her skull. If I wanted to, I could tip myself right into them and experience those glimpses of her life.
But I already know too well what sort of experiences she’s had. I know where they’ve brought her.
Is it fair to wipe them all away like taking a magnet to a hard drive? To force her to start over from scratch?
I’m still not sure. My gut has clenched even tighter as I prepare myself.
I’ve grappled with that question a lot in the time since Riva told me what she was thinking. I kind of hate that I’m doing this… but I also can’t see any better way.
It’s this or we end up killing all those kids, all the criminals who maybe could find a better path. I’m stealing the details of their life before, but I’m also giving them a second chance they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
I focus on the sluggish stirring of the girl’s mind andpush. Almost like when I extend my talent for invisibility over someone else, but more concentrated. As if I’ve condensed the power into a psychic acid that’s eating away every piece of her past that was stored inside her brain.
In a few minutes, her mind will be as blank as my body becomes when I remove it from sight.
The room is cool, but sweat forms on my forehead. An ache creeps up the back of my own skull.
If I’m going to do this with a bunch of the other shadowbloods, we’ll probably have to space out my efforts. I’m not sure how many I could do one after the other without totally wearing myself out.
The memories dissolve beneath the sweeping wave of energy I’m propelling into Bethany’s mind. Then I sense nothing within her head at all.
I drop my hand, balling it when it starts to shake, and pull myself back from the bed. No one wants to wake up not just disoriented but with a stranger right in their face.
Griffin’s expression tenses slightly. He’s already projecting soothing emotions into her, even as she sleeps.
I guess there’s something to be said for getting a head start.
By the time Bethany shifts her limbs against the chains, my mouth has gone dry. She lets out a soft, startled sound that jabs at my heart.
Her eyes pop open. She stares at the bindings wrapped around her and then at the three of us standing around her bed.
Griffin frowns. “It’s okay,” he says in a voice soft as silk. He isn’t aiming his power at me, but the conjured calm tingles at the edges of my awareness. “We’re here to help you.”
“You had an accident,” I add. “You were badly hurt—you may not be able to remember anything.”
Bethany jerks against the chains. “Why am I all tied up? What the hell is going on?”
An edge of anger has already crept into her voice. I hold up my hands in a gesture of apology. “When the accident happened, you weren’t totally in control of yourself. You hurt some people. We just want to make sure that?—”
“Let me go!” Bethany interrupts, outright thrashing now. “You can’t do this to me. You’re all going to regret it when I get out of this shit.”
Griffin eases closer to me. “It isn’t working,” he murmurs. “The rage flared up right away, as soon as she saw her situation—so intense I can’t get through it.”
