Carl glanced down the corridor. “Luckily, this is a quiet time of day. We’re not as likely to be noticed. They have surveillance, but as long as we get in to see Kayla’s mother before they notice us, we should be fine.”
They stepped into the priority elevator, and Carl motioned for Xantham to use the override code. Xantham connected his tablet to the elevator panel, scanned in the palm print, and played back the code. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when a computerized voice said, “Welcome, Master Alec Tal’Vayr.”
The elevator shot upward and Xantham said, “Wow, it actually worked. Go figure. Their security kinda sucks.”
“Most people wouldn’t dream of impersonating an Inner Circle member,” Carl said dryly. “The consequences aren’t pretty.”
When the door opened, Carl let Veridian take the lead toward the Rath’Varein quarters.
“No offense, Boss, but this is a hell of a lot fancier than your digs,” Xantham observed.
Carl looked around at the expansive hall lined with a cobblestone walkway, lush greenery, and gurgling stream. “No kidding.”
Veridian pressed the button outside the ornately carved door and waited. A few moments later, the door slid open. Although Carl had met Seara before, he hadn’t paid much attention. He was taken aback at the similarity between the petite woman and Kayla. If he’d had any question in his mind about Kayla’s heritage, it was now gone.
Seara gasped at the sight of Veridian, her green eyes widening in surprise. “Veridian, you’re back. I thought you’d left.”
“I did, but I came back. Seara, this is Carl and Xantham. We’d like to see Kayla.”
Seara lowered her gaze and shook her head. “Kayla’s not here. She’s in seclusion. I’m sorry you came back all this way, Veridian. I’ll let her know you stopped by when she returns.”
Veridian’s face fell. “Please, Seara, I know something’s happened to her. I know she’s your daughter, but she’s my family too.”
Seara looked torn for a moment. Seemingly coming to a decision, she pressed her finger to her lips indicating for them to keep quiet. She furtively glanced out into the corridor before motioning for them to follow her into the common living room area. Walking over to a painting on the wall, she pressed a button hidden underneath. An unobtrusive door slid open, and she walked inside.
Curious, they followed. When the door slid shut behind them, Seara said, “This is a safe room my husband built. We can talk freely in here, but only for a short time. I’m sure they know you’re here. You shouldn’t have come back.”
“We don’t mean to intrude, Mistress Rath’Varein, but Kayla sent me a message. She said she’s being held against her will and asked for my help.” Carl pulled out his commlink and showed her the message.
Seara read over the message and sighed. “I’m sorry, but all I know is she’s in Observation Room A. They’re keeping her locked up until the metabolic booster is out of her system and they can put a security bracelet on her.”
At the sight of Carl’s confusion, she held up her wrist to show them her bracelet. “The Inner Circle has essentially been imprisoned for the last nine months. These bracelets around our wrists are just another way for the High Council to control us.”
“How is that possible?” Carl shook his head in disbelief. “With the combined abilities of the Inner Circle, the High Council should be no match for you.”
“The bracelets damper our abilities,” she said angrily, showing a trace of the fire he was used to seeing in Kayla. “We originally offered to wear them, hoping to use the combined energy of the Inner Circle to locate new resources. But now, Edwin Tal’Vayr and the High Council use them to siphon our power for their own purposes. We don’t have the strength to fight them. They were supposed to help our people, not imprison us.”
Xantham looked back and forth between them. “Um, I think I’m missing something. What power? What abilities?”
Carl frowned. He wasn’t part of the Inner Circle and knew very little of their ways. He knew more than most others because of his association with them, but they were secretive. Most of what he knew was in the form of rumors and speculation.
Seara lowered her gaze and sighed. “We don’t discuss this with outsiders, but Kayla trusts you. I would ask you to not repeat this to anyone else.”
When they all nodded their consent, she continued, “Some of us in the towers have certain extraordinary talents. Our abilities vary from person to person. Although many of us don’t share the full scope of our talents with each other, Kayla was a bit different. At a very young age, she displayed a talent for locating missing objects. We thought she might be able to help find resources. After we lost her, though, we began searching for other ways to find resources. The bracelets were one of our best hopes.”
Cruncher shook his head. “That explains why Kayla’s the best scavenger we’ve ever seen.”
Veridian looked down at Seara’s wrist. “Maybe it’s a stupid question, but why don’t you remove the bracelet?”
“It’s a complicated design. It’s impossible for us to remove it on our own. The material embedded within the bracelets actually encodes itself somehow with our DNA. If I were to forcibly remove my bracelet, it would strip me of my abilities. Losing my senses like that would be…” Seara shuddered. “Those who have removed their bracelets have either gone mad or died within hours. We haven’t found a way to escape from it successfully. The technology was too new when we originally agreed. We had no way of knowing these bracelets would end up being permanent.”
The news shocked Carl to his core. This was more than corruption. The entire foundation and social structure of the towers was built around the Inner Circle and the High Council. If they were being imprisoned, there had been a major shift in the tower’s power structure. “Who’s responsible for this?”
“Edwin Tal’Vayr is the one who implemented the design. A few other council members are also strong supporters. Essentially, anyone not wearing a bracelet is in control.”
“Alec doesn’t wear a bracelet,” Veridian observed.
Seara bristled in defense. “No, but he’s a special case because of the unique nature of his talents. He doesn’t like the bracelets and was trying to keep Kayla safe. Edwin wanted to put it on her immediately, but Alec convinced him to wait. I think Edwin was actually pleased Alec seemed interested in Kayla. A union between our families is something he’s always wanted.”
Carl’s eyes narrowed, but he put his personal feelings aside for the moment. “So what happened? Did Kayla reject him?”
Seara shook her head. “Alec can influence people and read the thoughts of other sensitives. He has to be touching them for it to work, but apparently Kayla was an exception. He can read her thoughts, and she can hear his even if they’re across the room. When Kayla realized he was reading her thoughts, she got angry and threatened to leave the towers. Edwin overheard and had her taken to an isolation room to be fitted for the bracelet.”
Xantham cringed. “Reading Kayla’s thoughts? That’s kinda scary. I can only imagine how pissed she was when she found out.”
Carl frowned. “Do you know where the observation rooms are?”
“No, but I can point you in the right direction. They won’t allow me to see her in person, but Alec arranged for me to have a video feed.”
Seara turned on the computer in the safe room and entered in a code. A small observation room appeared on the screen. Kayla was inside and appeared to be yelling at someone.
Seara pressed a button to enable audio, and they could hear Kayla shouting. “Go ahead and try it! I dare you. Next time I won’t be gentle.”
“Please, Mistress Rath’Varein,” a voice in the background pleaded. “I just need a small blood sample to check your progress.”
“Are you always this stupid, or are you making a special effort today?” She waved what looked like a food tray in a threatening manner. “Let me make this clear since you obviously have some sort of brain damage. If you try coming near me again, I’ll kick your ass.”
“I’ve had enough of this,” a new voice announced. Edwin Tal’Vayr appeared on the screen and walked purposefully over to Kayla. She managed to swipe him once with the tray before he grabbed her. He was considerably larger and easily deflected her blows before finally subduing her. She struggled against him as he lifted a small metal device. Pressing it against her, she cried out and crumpled to the floor.
“Take your sample and put her back in restraints. If my son has a problem with that, direct him to me. You have about five minutes until she regains consciousness. I’m not dealing with this nonsense again.”
