Violet Path (39 page)

“I’m sorry, David, but I’m not Alice.” Tears clouded my vision as I thought of Maxime.

He swung around in embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” he muttered and stepped out.

I walked out to see David with his horse and five other soldiers mounted in different uniforms. I had never seen them before and had no idea who they were. One man in his late thirties with blond hair jumped down and came at me with handcuffs and a needle. I took a step back in fear.

David moved to stand between us. “What for? We were invited for dinner. This isn’t hospitality.”

“Sorry sir, but we were given orders. Until we run tests, we must take precautions, because she hasn’t been determined as an ally yet.” The soldier seemed afraid of David, but stood his ground.

“The Shadows is your ally, and she is a part of The Shadows!”

“Sorry, sir. Either she comes with precautions or stays.”

I slowly turned around and put my hands behind my back. The cold clasp bit at my wrists, then buzzed when it was turned on.

“Wait! Why the injection?” David asked.

“It’s only to numb her hands. Precautions, sir.”

I felt a deep sting in the palms of my hands and then I couldn’t feel them. I couldn’t tell if my fingers were moving or not.

I turned around to face the escort and David, waiting for further instructions and unable to speak from mistrust and confusion.

“She’ll ride with Rhett,” the blond-haired soldier said as he pointed to an older man in a red uniform seated on a black horse.

“No, she rides with me. You drugged and cuffed her; she rides with me,” David cut in and pulled me closer to him. I was being dehumanized, hauled from one to the other without a say, but I treasured David’s guard as he looked out for me. The blond soldier couldn’t oppose David any longer.

Somehow I made it onto the horse’s back while wearing a dress and with my hands cuffed. David sat behind me with his arms on each side. He wouldn’t let me fall, but I was uncomfortable.

As we started to leave, I whispered, “Where are we going and why?”

“We’re having a meeting with one of our allies’ leaders. They haven’t decided if they still support us or not.” David still sounded irritated from the escort’s precautions.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re not sure if they still support The Shadows now that you’re a part of it. Just be patient. We’ll see how everything plays out when we get there.”

After that, every question was answered with David telling me to be patient, so I gave up.

We rode for a half-hour with two soldiers behind us and three in front. When we arrived, the place reminded me of H.S.H.S., with tall buildings and advanced technology. The Shadows was definitely the lowest-ranking camp. I also immediately noticed that I wasn’t the only girl, and that many of them were also soldiers with uniforms and weapons. I wanted to join them and show David how his laws and traditions were outdated, but knew I couldn’t. It wasn’t the time or place.

We stopped in front of the main building in the center of the city after having taken teleports. It was connected to surrounding structures by hallways, and bright lights emanated from every window. With its white and metal design, it reminded me of a hospital. It had heavy security, from soldiers to technology and advanced locks.

David helped me down, and we entered. I felt like prey walking into a trap. The blond soldier held me back, and David quickly pulled the man’s hand off my shoulder. They exchanged a glare but didn’t speak. The soldier pulled out another needle, stuck it in my palms, and my hands became warm again. I stretched my fingers and thanked him, but he didn’t respond. He called for three soldiers.

“You will be escorted to dinner while we run some tests to determine whether she is a threat or not, sir,” the blond-haired soldier said. I felt like a lab animal.

“No! This is ridiculous,” David said.

“Sorry, sir, but as long as she hasn’t been cleared, she’s considered a threat. Please follow these officers. Thank you.”

“No! I follow her. Wherever she goes, I go.”

We were taken to a white room. There was an examination table in the center surrounded by appliances of every shape and size and hooked up to thousands of outlets with power running through each of them. I was asked to lie down, and they cuffed my wrists to the bed. I was being observed and judged by everyone in the room. A man dressed in a lab coat carried an IV. I glanced to David for help, pleading with my eyes.

“What test is this?” he asked.

“This will allow her to dream memories so we can see whom she truly considers her friends and foes. We cannot hear, but the way she acts should suffice,” explained the doctor.

“Why dreams?” David asked.

“She can lie in interrogations, but seeing her memories is like looking through her eyes. When she dreams, she sees herself, so emotions won’t blur the images. The chemical will allow only memories to play, not fantasies, so they are like facts. We can also control the date and time as well as the subject of the memories. It’s our most sophisticated test,” the doctor said. He sounded like he was going to enjoy messing through my mind, like a game.

“What about my privacy?” I was scared of what they would see if they were in control. I needed to be able to hold onto some things without them being tainted.

“We’ll do our best to focus on what we need, but those lines can cross and get blurred.”

The doctor injected the chemical through the IV, then placed a strap on my forehead. He hit a switch, and a screen slowly drifted down in front of us and the lights turned off. He explained that the strap would relay my memories onto the screen and that they were being recorded on a nano-disc. He then told us that he was going to control the memories by telling me dates or specific words, such as names, so everyone had to be quiet.

More people walked in and sat in chairs behind me. I glanced at David, hoping he would ask them to leave, but he looked back helpless.

The doctor then announced that he was starting the test. My heart pounded. I had nothing to hide in the sense that I wasn’t their enemy, but I still wanted to hold onto my pride and dreams of Maxime.

I heard him say “Matthew,” and the screen instantly revealed him. I remembered him kidnapping me from Tamizeh, being locked in a cell at H.S.H.S., holding me at gunpoint. I saw him attacking me at The Shadows, then throwing a knife at Maxime.

I heard “assassin,” and remembered Nick, Sam, and Marc being shot. Then Orion and Keith showed up. David, followed by Zachary, flashed on the screen. I felt every stab, every bullet, every cut, and every punch again and again. I jerked with the memories, scratching my wrists with the cuffs. Tears filled my eyes. I felt like I was drowning.

“Stop! You’re hurting her!” David’s voice rang in my ears, but I couldn’t stop playing my thoughts and images of Anton interrogating me when I first revealed my identity. I felt him hit me, his rage burying me.

I heard “friends” and saw Lyli, Ryan, Nick, Sam, and David.

I heard “family,” and the screen went black. I was supposed to remember, but I didn’t know my family. I couldn’t show them anything.

“It’s not working. Put her to sleep; the images will be more clear,” the doctor’s voice was pure disappointment, like he had hoped for a better movie.

I felt a pinch in my arm, and my eyes shut so I couldn’t see the screen.

I heard “power” and remembered how I was stripped of it when I shared my name. I heard “spy” and thought of Keith and Orion again. I heard “trap” and imagined myself being brought there, cuffed and drugged, only to have my privacy violated. I heard “fear” and pictured Matthew. I heard “plan” and dreamt of my escape from H.S.H.S. and Maxime. I heard “David” and saw him shooting me, fighting me, and calling me Alice. I was starting to lose power over what I revealed.

I heard “Andrew” and felt like I had been shot. Those memories were private. I tried to control them, but then it turned into us dancing. I fought it. I pushed him away, but thinking of him only made it worse. I showed him protecting and healing me multiple times. I saw him holding me, kissing me, making love to me. I couldn’t hide it. I cried for him, for having given away my reminiscences, for having lost him privately and publicly. I saw his warm hand run along my face and his soft lips pressed against mine, his arm cradling me to sleep. I felt him love me, and everyone around saw it.

“That’s enough!” David yelled as he pulled the strap off my forehead.

I woke up instantly but wouldn’t open my eyes. I felt unclothed. Nothing was mine anymore, not even my memories.

“Sir, the test wasn’t over,” exclaimed the doctor.

“Yes, it is. You’ve seen enough. Uncuff her.” David’s voice was strong and lingered in the air while the soldiers hesitated.

“But we haven’t cleared her.”

“You saw her skim death a hundred times, Matthew attack her, and everyone threaten her. All she did was protect The Shadows. She is not a threat. Now let her go! It’s a miracle she’s here, and you know it after what you’ve seen.”

“Perhaps she should not be here. Perhaps she shouldn’t have just skimmed death—”

“You are way out of line!”

“Maybe so, but someone has to bring you back to reality,” the doctor said.

David was powerless. It was pointless to fight, and he was aware of his defeat.

“You crossed the line with the memories. You didn’t need to see all of that, yet you didn’t change subjects! You couldn’t find anything, and you won’t find anything that labels her as the enemy. You know that to be true, so let her go!”

“You can’t prove that was useless information.”

“And you can prove it isn’t?”

“It will need to be reviewed more closely.”

“Bullshit!”

“I’m sorry your brother fell for the enemy, but you should not be taking it out on—”

A crash resonated in the room, and I opened my eyes to see David pinning the doctor against the wall, as loads of equipment scattered across the floor. No one opposed him, not even the soldiers. He had proven his point although he couldn’t win the fight.

“Never say anything remotely close to that again. Now uncuff her!”

“Yes, sir.”

My wrists were uncuffed and feeling rushed back into my hands. I pulled the IV out and left, avoiding everyone as best I could. As I passed through the doors, I fell apart. I had been stripped of everything: power, trust, love, and memories. I had nothing left. I let my knees break, but David caught me before I hit the floor. I couldn’t look at him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest. “I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m sorry they hurt you, and I’m sorry I let them hurt you.” His reassuring voice was like a melody as it echoed through the halls. “Let’s go.” David started to pull me toward the exit, but I resisted.

“No, no, no. That did not just happen for us to walk out defeated; they can’t win. I’m sorry, but I can’t retreat in fear, not now.” There was no way that I went through that for nothing.

David nodded in approval, and we headed down the hall for dinner.

We entered a large room with a long table in the center. The walls were pure white, and the ceiling had glass windows hovering above marble floors. The table was smoothly cut and surrounded by four tall chairs. The light emanated from the corners of the room and reflected off the mirror table. I had never seen such an elegant room before. I felt out of place.

A man in a nice suit walked in with a strong step. He had salt-and-pepper hair, and his hazel eyes were surrounded by shallow wrinkles. He was slim but fit. His jaw matched his square shoulders, and his stance was very authoritative.

“You must be Alexia. What a pleasure to meet you. If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” The man smiled politely.

“Sixteen. Nice to meet you too.”

“You’re very young; I’m impressed. You’re cleared, although the test was interrupted.”

“They got the data they needed,” David said in a rash tone.

“Oh, yes, I understand. You’re looking well, David. I’m sorry to hear about your brother. We’ll do the best we can to help, you know that, right?”

“Yes, thank you. Where is Raphaelle?” David shook the man’s hand.

“She’ll be late. I’m sorry, but she got tied up. You know how it is. Please, sit.” The man showed us our seats and pulled out a chair for me. I sat down and thanked him.

I had no idea where we were, why we were here, or who these people were. I turned to David for answers.

“So . . . Charles, what have you been up to?” David asked.

“Taking care of the 6359T paperwork. When do you think you’ll have them for us?”

“I can’t give you a date, but Will is trying to get those to you as soon as possible.”

“That’s fine, but the sooner the better.”

“Of course.”

A young lady walked in with her head held high and a frisky step. She had flowing, blonde hair with green, almond-shaped eyes, and thin, red lips. Her high cheekbones and soft jawline only added to her beauty. She wore a flattering red dress with black shoes and appeared to be in her late twenties.

“And I thought Andrew was too young for warfare. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexia. Nice to see you, David. Please excuse us for two minutes; I need to have a word with Charles.” Raphaelle had a soft but commanding voice.

She walked out with Charles in silence. I waited for the door to shut, then bombarded David with questions.“What the hell are we doing here? Who are these people?”

“Calm down! You were the one who asked to stay. You’re really bipolar.”

“I’m bipolar? You shot me, kissed me, threatened me, defended me—”

“Okay, I get. Shut up!” he cut me off. “We are here with Raphaelle and Charles, leaders of Malifazo, who wanted to meet you. They have resources while we have strategy and knowledge. They’re the body, and we’re the mind. We need to stay allies to defeat Matthew, but they’re hesitant on whether they can trust you with their soldiers, so they wanted to have dinner so they can get to know you. That’s why you’re here; I was just invited because of formalities.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I was told to keep it a secret. You have to understand.”