The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(59)

Is he missing because he’s the puppeteer of this madness?

I push the Temple doors open and walk inside.

The halls are almost empty, but in the far corner, I see a lone monk, barely out of his teens. He looks to be heading toward the big doors at the back.

Deciding to try Reading him for any useful information, I reach out and touch his bald head. Nothing happens, though. The raging emotions brought on by what’s happening outside make the focused state of Coherence extremely difficult for me to achieve. I focus on my breath and push the horror I witnessed out of my head. In, out . . . In, out . . . Though not calm, I achieve a robotic sense of relaxation, but only after what feels like an hour. It’s enough, though, and I get inside the young monk’s head.





*





We see our brothers carrying the two strangers into the guesthouse, and we follow them curiously. The sight of a young, pretty, long-haired female is a rare one at the Temple. True, we have sisters, but they don’t count. This one is even prettier than the younger of the two women staying in the guesthouse.

I, Darren, disassociate from the young monk’s thoughts. If I weren’t in a state of utter despair, I’d find it curious how the monk tried to fight against his hormone-inspired thoughts. Instead, I focus on the facts. To my huge relief, the two people he saw were Mira and Thomas. They were alive, and the monks were dragging them to where Julia and her mother are staying, and I know exactly where that is. Before I exit the monk’s head, I fast-forward through his memories a little more in search of anything useful, and I’m instantly glad I went through the trouble.

“Take me with you,” we say to the Master. “Let me protect the Enlightened ones.”

“I want you to hide in the forest,” the Master says. “I want all the younglings to do so.”

“But where are you taking them?” we ask, our heart heavy. “What will happen to us?”

“We’re going to sneak them out. There’s a path we can use at the back of the Temple,” the Master says. “Then we’ll hide in the forest, just as you must.”

“But the others will fight—”

“They are old enough to make that choice,” the Master says, “and wise enough for me to accept it.”

“But I must—”

“Please do as I tell you,” the Master says wearily. “Do not make this old man beg.”

“Okay, Master,” we say, lying for the first time this month. “I will run to the forest.”

We watch the Master and a few of the older monks leave.

We watch as our brothers walk out to do battle in front of the Temple’s entrance.

We have no intention of running into the woods.

We’re going to help our brothers.

We’re going to join the fight.

But when the gunfire begins, we find it hard to summon the courage to go.

We take a step toward the entrance, then take two steps back.

I, Darren, can’t take any more of the fear and doubt inside my host’s head, and get out.





*





Looking the young monk over, I recognize the resolve and determination on his face. In this moment, he looks as if he won the fight against his fear. He’s going to join the massacre.

I re-enter his head and Guide him to follow the Master’s advice to run and hide in the forest.

When I’m done with this task, I realize something—an answer to a puzzle I noticed earlier. I couldn’t understand why the younger monks were fighting the older monks outside. Now, however, it occurs to me that the young monks, just like the one I Read, haven’t mastered the skill of resisting Reading and Guiding. So the Super Pusher, or for that matter, any member of Kate’s team, could—and did—turn the novice monks against their brothers.

I find the idea of Pushing monks to fight each other particularly ghastly. Then again, this, at least, I can undo, but it’ll have to wait until I take care of something else—well, until I take care of two things actually.

Which do I focus on first? I’m torn between going to the guesthouse to see whether Mira and Thomas are okay, and heading to the back of the Temple to find my grandparents.

I decide to head for the guesthouse.

I go through the outside dojo, which is now empty, and enter the mansion-sized building. No one is there, at least not on the first floor. As soon as I get to the second floor, however, I find an obvious sign of activity.

The door to the nearest room has been ripped open and is lying on the floor, hinges bent. Before it was forcefully opened, it had been held in place by a latch with a big lock on it. By the looks of it, the door was padlocked from the outside.

I walk down the corridor and spot the back of a figure standing in a combative pose, fists raised, next to another padlocked door. I think I know who it is, even from this vantage point, but I get closer to make sure.

My suspicion was right.

It’s Thomas.

When I get a better look at him, my insides turn cold.

Thomas’s hands are covered in blood.





Chapter 18





I stare at his bloodied hands in a stupefied daze until I realize the blood is coming from his damaged knuckles.

Was he fighting for his life?