Rebel Born (Secondborn #3)(10)

Agent Crow probes his cheek gingerly. Blood wets his black collar. He eyes me with a vicious snarl. “How are you awake, Roselle?” His jaw tenses, and he moves closer.

The implication of his question sends a chill through me. Was I asleep? I glance at the mob of unmoving, brain-altered soldiers. Was I one of them?

Blood trails down the Census agent’s cheek and drips from his chin. The area around his wound swells like a budding horn, forming an angry red welt. “How is she awake?” he roars, spinning to glare behind him, addressing the sea of statuesque soldiers he finds there. No one answers. Their faces remain expressionless—inanimate. He latches on to one soldier by the front of her uniform and lifts her onto her toes. “Fetch Roselle’s technician from my airship!” When he lets go of the trooper’s collar, she doesn’t move. Agent Crow gnashes his teeth. Reaching up, he touches the disc on his temple with two fingers, maneuvering it a millimeter or two, settling it back into place. The blue light flashes again, reflecting off of the ashes that fall on us like snow. The woman animates and bounds away from us through the crowd. Agent Crow turns and faces me.

“I’ll kill you,” I growl with another heave against my captor’s arms—I’m hardly able to move at all.

A smug smile curls his lips. “How will you do that? I’m so much more powerful than you are—I’ve been enhanced.”

“Enhanced?” I laugh, shaking soot from my hair. “The only thing that will improve your personality is a lobotomy.”

“I’d hoped that we’d found a solution for your sharp tongue, Roselle—maybe the only cure is to cut it out.”

“You already did that to my father.”

“That was your mother’s idea, but I did enjoy the result.”

“You’re next. I promise.”

“Always so sure of yourself, aren’t you? I’ve missed your wicked disobedience, Roselle.” He fixes me with a sinister stare. “I find that surprising, seeing as how your mouth usually makes me want to smash all of your teeth in. Still”—his head cocks to the side—“I’ve missed your feral nature. No one resists me quite like you do, especially now, when I can make them do whatever I want—whenever I want. When you’re in a state of compliance, an altered state, it’s almost no fun hurting you.” He leans near my ear and whispers, “Almost.” The feel of his breath on my skin, along with his scent, makes me want to retch. He pulls away so he can see my face.

My stomach twists in knots. What does he mean? Wasn’t I just with him minutes ago in the Fate of Seas? How has he hurt me—and when? “How could you miss me? You just gave me a tour of your asylum.”

His bark of laughter makes my flesh crawl. “That was over a month ago, Roselle. But I’m told time is meaningless to Black-Os.”

“I’m not your drone!” I can’t help the harsh cadence of my speech. Fear suffocates me.

Shadows cast by the fire slither over his cheeks, hollowing them, but his lips curl with humor. “Ahh, but you are. You’re a Black-O, but ‘drone’ works as well. You do everything I tell you to, Roselle.”

I buck against the arms that imprison me, but on the inside I’m recoiling in horror. “Order me to do something!” I retort. “I promise you I won’t obey!”

Blue light strobes on his temple in a serpentine silhouette. I shrink away, expecting to feel something—the burn of high voltage, a hostile takeover of my brain, the vicious bite of snake venom—but seconds pass and I feel no different. His face strains. A vein pops out on his forehead; his face flushes. With a huffing pant, his fingers move to the device receiving messages from his brain. He tries to readjust it. He glares at me again until his eyes narrow and darken further.

“Something’s wrong with your device!” he bellows. “You’re supposed to integrate when I command it.” The blood, drying on his face, resembles an inkblot of a unicorn.

“Did you break your toy?” I ask, pushing out my bottom lip in a feigned pout. “You’re always the reason why we can’t have nice things, Kipson.” I use his first name to rile him, but my heart’s racing.

Has he made me one of his mind-controlled assassins?

“How is she resisting me? My implant should dominate hers.” He’s talking to himself.

What he’s saying spooks me. If I could raise my arms high enough, I’d search my scalp for scars or any other indication that they’ve tampered with my brain. My distress gains Agent Crow’s attention. His expression softens.

“Does that scare you?” he asks. “I’ve missed crushing your unfettered ego.” His palm lifts to my hair. He entwines his fingers in the thick, brown mass of it. Clenching his hand, the spiteful psychopath jerks my head back so that my face tilts upward. “I like that you’re awake. I can do whatever I want to you and you’ll feel it. No one will stop me. You’re going to take the pain I give you. Every time I awaken you, you’ll know there will be no mercy. Ever.”

In my need to avoid any contact with this monster, I jerk my face back from his, and my hair rips from my scalp. Movement over my shoulder captures his attention. His lip curls in anger. “The Stone is running off!” he barks. “Stop her!” His hand untwines from my hair and drops from me. The light on his temple blinks in rapid flashes.