Page 110 of Only a Monster

‘You told me you would,’ Nick said. ‘I believed you.’ He shifted his weight. ‘So what’s your plan? I assume you came to kill me.’

‘No,’ Joan said. ‘No. Nick, I came here to talk.’

‘To talk,’ he said flatly. He didn’t believe her. ‘What about?’

‘You.’

His lips compressed. He’d never liked talking about himself. Joan hadn’t known why until she’d seen those terrible recordings. ‘My people are prepared for any attack,’ he warned her.

Joan felt a wave of hurt. Did he really think she’d launch some attack on him in a house full of tourists? There were ordinary people outside. Did he really think she’d do something like that?

Another voice sounded from outside the cell. ‘We won’t get the truth out of her without artificial help.’ It was Astrid, straight-backed and grim. When they’d volunteered together, Astrid had run activities for the kids. She’d been a competitive fencer, and she’d shown the kids how to fight with foam swords. She must have been there on the night of the massacre, Joan realised. Had any of the other staff been with Nick too? Allies of the hero? Joan swallowed. Apart from Nick, Astrid had been her closest friend in the house.

‘I don’t want to drug her again,’ Nick said to Astrid.

‘We need to know what she’s planning,’ Astrid said. ‘You said it yourself. She’s dangerous. She wants you dead. And there are tourists here. We’re responsible for more lives than our own.’

They left Joan alone for a little while. She examined the handcuffs. With some effort, she took a bobby pin from her hair and had a go at the lock, concealing her movements behind her crooked knees. She hadn’t gotten very far before Nick and Astrid returned.

Nick tossed Joan a bottle of water.

‘What’s this?’ Joan asked.

‘Water,’ Astrid said. ‘With something in it. Almost as good as the Griffiths’ power.’

The Griffiths could induce truth, Joan remembered. ‘There’s no such thing as a truth serum,’ she said.

‘Not in this time,’ Astrid agreed. ‘Drink. At least a quarter of the bottle.’

Joan unscrewed the cap and drank half the water under Astrid’s narrow gaze. She was thirsty, and she wanted them to know that she wasn’t hiding anything. ‘How long will it take to work?’ she asked. But, to her surprise, she could already feel it.

Warmth and relaxation spread through her, from her chest to her fingertips. Rather than truly relaxing her, though, she felt the same muffled panic as when she’d inadvertently tried to travel.

‘Don’t fight it,’ Astrid said.

But Joan couldn’t help herself. She fought the blurry feeling as she’d fought the chain. She’d never liked feeling out of control.

‘What’s your name?’ Astrid said.

‘Joan Chang-Hunt.’ It came out in a weird forced burst. The drug really could compel her, she thought with a shot of fright. She hadn’t expected it to work like this. Her mouth felt separate from her brain.

‘Is your father human?’ Astrid said.

Joan was shocked by the question. She shook her head, trying to clear it. The movement felt wobbly. ‘I—’ She clenched her teeth together. The desire to answer truthfully was as intense as the need to breathe.

‘Stop fighting it,’ Astrid said. ‘Where’s your father?’

‘I don’t know!’ Joan blurted. That was the truth, she realised, relieved. She had no idea where he was right now.

‘Is he human?’

Joan struggled not to answer. It was even harder this time. ‘Yes. Stop asking me about him!’

‘All right,’ Astrid said to Nick. ‘You can talk to her now.’

After Astrid left the cell, Nick sat down with Joan, just out of reach, his back against the iron bars.

They watched each other for a while. The strange thing, Joan thought, was how familiar Nick’s presence felt. Something about him made her think of safety, of home. That wasn’t real, though. Maybe it had been real in some other timeline, but not in this one.

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