Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(15)
“There are those that are called Inquisitors.” He paused as if that explained everything, when in actuality, it explained nothing. “Inquisitors are not regularly talked about within the Trust. We pretend as if they don’t exist, but we and especially the Cine Tofa, depend on them tremendously. When you allow me to let you into my thoughts, my memories, my creations, you relinquish control of your mind. I can essentially take it over, not letting go till I choose to. That is why it is so important for you to trust me. Most of our kind would never take advantage of this ability and the moment someone wanted to disconnect, we would let them. However, there are a few whose jobs are to do the opposite. They will take over your mind by force, essentially imprisoning the person in their own mind.”
“But I thought that you needed me to have an open mind and allow you to come in.”
“That is the preferred method. In truth, it makes it much easier and it is not traumatic on the person. However, with a simple touch, I could take you over without your consent. It would be harsh and it would be painful, because your will would be fighting mine, but I would eventually win.”
“That’s awful.”
“It can be. Especially in times of war between the Cine Tofa and the Trust, the Cine Tofa will take prisoners of war essentially and subject them to the Inquisitors. Those that we have set free after being captured by the Cine Tofa tell horror stories. The Inquisitors there are especially talented at finding your worst fear and making you live it over and over and over again, either to try to get you to release information or just for the pleasure of making the person suffer. The prisoners are almost never the same again.”
“And the Trust condones this as well?” she sounded disgusted.
He nodded his head. “On very rare occasions, yes. And even then, they do not use all the torture techniques that the Cine Tofa does. You have to think of the Trust using it more like a jail cell or using the technique to retrieve needed information. The Cine Tofa always has an active set of Inquisitors amongst them at any time that they parade around as an intimidation technique even amongst their followers. The Trust’s inquisitors are much more… discreet.”
“Are the Trust’s Inquisitors hidden?”
“No, an Inquisitor’s job is just like any other. But people do tend to be aware of who is one, unlike most jobs. They are not feared like in the Cine Tofa.”
“Do you agree with using Inquisitors?”
Garrett looked her straight in the eye, there was no use lying. She would find out soon enough. “It was my job before I left to mentor you.”
Caitlyn paused, absorbing this information. Like many of their kind, she appeared to have mixed feelings about this line of work. “Why did you ask to mentor me?”
“Honestly, the life of an Inquisitor can be taxing. You are responsible for finding out secrets you never necessarily wanted to know in the first place. I needed a break and I’ve always been interested in training. Is this scaring you?”
Caitlyn bit her lip, her forehead wrinkled in thought. “No, but I think I would like to go back to the beach now anyways, if that is all right.”
Garrett understood completely. The idea of being under ones control fully was rather unnerving. With just a quick thought, they were back on the beach in the same position as before.
Caitlyn sighed with relief at being back. “How long were we there?” She glanced around to see if anyone had seen them.
Garrett shrugged, knowing no one would have known what they were doing even if they did see it. “Maybe thirty seconds?”
Caitlyn’s jaw dropped. “That felt like at least an hour.”
Garrett smiled. “I know. Cool, right?” It was his turn to take in the calming waves on the ocean. “There are so many amazing things that come with being an Actual. It may be unnerving at first, but you are going to find that you have found that piece to the puzzle you have been missing all your life without realizing it. I am not going to lie to you; the next year is going to be intense. There will be periods where you feel like you are on top of the world and others that are so frustrating, you feel like banging your head against a wall. But the important thing is-you are now with your family. You are home.”
Chapter 5
Caitlyn watched row after row of quintessential New England houses pass her by as she stared out the window, contemplating the changes in her life over the past forty-eight hours. Garrett and she had sat on the beach, discussing what her best course was for proceeding with her training for what felt like hours. Garrett strongly believed that she would be best served by going to a Trust training facility and immersing herself in her people. Her people. He felt that by her being among Actuals, she would finally get that sense of belonging she had desired for years.