Untouched (Denazen #1.5)(11)

7


Despite the fact that Kiernan insisted she knew the way, we ended up making several wrong turns. Finally back on track, we moved through the rooms, occasionally encountering other park patrons but, for the most part, were alone. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who found the haunted house stupid.

Dez was sneaking glances my way when she thought I wasn’t looking. I knew what she was thinking—what she wanted to know. It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss—especially with her—but she, as well as Kiernan, needed to be prepared just in case we ran into Samsen again. “He’s a Six.”

Dez flashed me an encouraging smile. “I kinda got that. Old friend?”

An uneasy feeling squirmed in the center of my chest, and I struggled to tamp it down. We had what Dez would call a history. “He’s a Six—and an agent. The only one ever.”

“Wait,” Dez said, confused. She stopped walking and backed against the wall. “Plenty of Sixes work for Denazen.”

“Denazen has two employee classifications. Agent and Resident. While a small group of Residents are allowed to live offsite, they’re monitored and still controlled. Agents are not. There’s no need because their loyalty is never in question.”



With every word I spoke, fury—and something else, something painful and buried—churned in my belly. Muscles involuntarily twitched as I remembered all too well my history with Samsen. If there were ever anyone at Denazen I truly feared, it would have been him.

Dez’s expression changed. Sadness…and horror. Things I never wanted her to feel when looking at me. In Dez’s eyes, I was wonderful. She said I was strong and brave. Good. Obviously she didn’t see me clearly, but none of that mattered. When she looked at me, eyes full of love and trust, I wanted to be those things. I needed to be those things.

Kiernan cleared her throat. For a change, she was so quiet, I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Right before we ran, he said he could make you hand me over if he wanted. What was that all about?”

A deep breath. “Samsen’s ability is dangerous—the most dangerous. If he makes eye contact, he can control you with nothing more than the sound of his voice.”

Dez’s lips twisted downward. With a slight shrug, she said, “So we don’t look at him. All good, right?”

“He only needs eye contact with you once to gain control.”

Dez paled. She knew what I was getting at but refused to acknowledge it. “But none of us looked at him, so we’re fine?”

The confession lodged in my throat like a million tiny pebbles. “Eye contact needs to be once,” I repeated.

Her mouth fell open. “You’re saying—”

Kiernan stomped her foot, not giving Dez a chance to finish. “Holy crap. You’re saying he’s laid his mojo on you in the past?”

“With Samsen here, I’m a danger to you both. To everyone, really. He can control me because, yes, he’s laid his mojo on me in the past.” I could speak her language—even if it was on the stupid side.



Dez shook her head and grabbed my hand. Comforting warmth flooded through me, and I tried to pull way. She didn’t understand me. I could hurt them. I could hurt her. Before we’d left on our trip, Sue had pulled me aside. She told me to watch over her daughter. Dez had tunnel vision when it came to me, and that could easily impair her judgment in the wrong kind of situation. Sue was right.

Dez folded her arms and shook her head again. “Not buying it. If that were the case, why didn’t he do it outside? He could have snagged Kiernan and me and made you follow us out the front gate like a puppy.”

I winced. “Your scream drowned him out. It made it much harder for him to gain control. His ability is complicated. Once used, it leaves a…stain on you. After time, most of it washes away, but a shadow still remains behind. He can use that shadow if he focuses hard enough…if the individual is weak enough.”

She pulled me close and wrapped both arms around my waist. I tried to pull away again, but it was a feeble attempt. “Then you have nothing to worry about, because you are hardly weak.” For a moment, I lost myself in the sensation. The smell of her hair and warm comfort of her body so close to mine. It was enough to wipe every horror from the world.

For a moment.

“So what do we do if he does make eye contact?” Kiernan said, pushing through another door. This room had quickly flashing red and blue lights. Every few seconds, a ghostlike figure would soar overhead. “Is there any way to break his control?”

“The immediate effect of his ability can be relieved if he’s rendered speechless. Once eye contact is made, if you can’t hear him, then he can’t control you. With me, though, he can use the past against us. If I get within the sound of his voice, he could make me do anything he wanted. Make me…” No. I wouldn’t think of it. I knew too well the way Samsen worked. The sick and twisted things he could come up with if for no other reason than to amuse himself.



“Bah. He doesn’t sound like such a badass,” Dez said. “We can totally take him.”

Dez was fearless and loyal. Unlike anyone I’d ever met. I was sure if she wanted it, she could get an army to follow her into battle and beyond.

“Sometimes I wonder at your complete disregard for safety…”