Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(31)
“That sounds more like a reason to let her rot.”
“She knows how to cure your bloody noses, and your unconsciousness after you heal matters of the brain. She can remove Jack’s extreme nausea after he treats injuries.”
“And she can get rid of your panic attacks?” I asked, assuming that his panic attacks had everything to do with controlling me. Served him right.
“And Kyle’s blindness.”
Kyle longed to use his ability without experiencing temporary blindness, and I hated that Jack felt sick every time he healed someone. It would be near impossible to learn the extent of our abilities if we fell ill anytime we used our minds the way they were designed to be used.
The simple answer would be to tell Jonas no. I still wasn’t convinced I would ever use these unnatural abilities—however, what my friends chose wasn’t up to me. What if their destiny in life was to help others as only they could? I didn’t want them to suffer if there was a way for me to help them. Who was I to think I had all the answers for everybody else?
Furthermore, I had a strong desire to learn how our minds were wired. I needed to block out Jonas—and anyone else with this mindsieging ability.
“Okay, so what’s my first lesson?”
“So, you agree? You’ll heal Sandra’s brain?” His voice showed a hint of excitement.
“I didn’t say that. I want to know what you’re offering.” I was willing to do just about anything to regain control of my mind from Jonas.
He cocked his head. The corners of his lips lifted. “You don’t get it, do you?” He uncrossed his legs and slid off the bed.
“Get what? That you want me to do something that might very well kill me?”
He walked close enough to me that I could reach out and touch him. I was tempted to do just that. Would I be able to feel him if I did? Wasn’t this just a dream?
He took another step, then reached out and grabbed my wrist. His fingers wrapped around one by one, gripping my wrist with pressure that told me he was very much right there in front of me. With a quick jolt, he spun me so that I was facing away from him and staring at Sandra. “I will not let you die,” he whispered close to my ear. “But you will heal Sandra. I brought you here to get you used to the idea. I will be with you when you do it, and I will help you. I will make sure you live through the process.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “How is it possible that you can touch me if you’re not here?” How could I feel his warm breath on my cheek?
“Lexi, I am so real in your mind, that not only can you feel my body and hear my voice…” He spoke softly close to my ear. His fingers brushed along my arm on their way up my body until his hand clutched my throat. “…you’d feel pain if I squeezed just so.”
His fingers tightened around my neck, cutting off my air supply. I clawed at his hand and tried to pry his fingers away. I gagged and sputtered. I couldn’t breathe. “I’ll be in touch, Sarah Alexandra. Jack’s coming. Tell him he might want to stay away from you while you sleep.” He squeezed harder, then brushed a kiss along my jawline.
“Lexi! Lexi, wake up!”
Suddenly, Jonas’s hand was gone from my throat. I fell to my knees and sucked in a labored breath. My throat burned as I gasped for oxygen.
“Hey.” Gentle hands touched my shoulders.
I slowly raised my head. Jack’s frantic eyes searched mine. I threw myself into his arms. “Oh, Jack. I’m in huge trouble.”
Chapter Fourteen
I had avoided Jack since Tuesday, which he didn’t deserve, but he couldn’t help me get rid of Jonas—or whoever was controlling Jonas—and I couldn’t look at that helpless look on his face any longer. If I was being honest, he may have been avoiding me as well.
The library was quiet. We’d been back for four days. I sat curled up in an armchair, facing a large window overlooking the multi-purpose field where the girls’ soccer team practiced in the rain. My laptop sat open. I had read the last words Dad wrote to me at least ten times in the last hour.
I stared at the droplets of water trailing down the pane in front of me, every once in a while glancing toward the girls kicking a soccer ball around, knocking each other down on the turf. Normal, everyday activity for kids at a boarding school.
“Wellington was supposed to be a safe haven for the clones we found over the years,” Dad had said in his letter to me. The list of clones hidden in his research showed me there were many others, but I had yet to figure out who knew about us, or whom I could trust with the information I was discovering now.
I couldn’t help but hope the other clones, the ones on Dad’s list that hadn’t found their way to Wellington, had discovered a way to lead normal lives. Away from the poking and prodding of scientists. Away from people who were scared and wanted the clones destroyed.
Subconsciously, my hand drifted up toward my neck. My fingers pressed lightly against my skin, feeling for any bruising from my altercation with Jonas. The skin hadn’t darkened, nor shown any signs of redness, but I could feel it. Jonas had scarred me.
Now, three days later, I hadn’t heard a single whispered word from him. And I was thankful. Mostly. I was starting to realize that his motives didn’t line up—that he was telling me the truth when he claimed it wasn’t just him inside my head. One moment he was telling me to heal Sandra or he would hurt someone I loved. And the next? He was kissing me and assuring me that he wouldn’t let me die if I were to heal Sandra. The only thing that made sense was that someone, another clone, was behind the threats and the commands to heal Sandra.