Rae of Hope (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (33 page)

Rae couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that this man she had trusted had been deceiving her all this time, yet it was true. The cold metal chains were irrefutable truth. “You can’t keep me locked up in here. People are looking for me.”

The headmaster tsked. “No one’s going to look tonight. Your roommate will think you’re with Riley and, by tomorrow, it won’t matter as I’ll have you convinced to work with me.” He smiled wickedly, his combover falling out of place. He looked like he’d gone mad.
From Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde…

“Your father and I devised this intriguing plan before he died. Now, you will help me complete HOC.”

“HOC? What, is that some file or something?” Rae shook her head. “I’ll never help you finish something my father started.” Rae pulled herself from off the ground. “You can go screw yourself!”

The headmaster slapped her face with a gust of air, not touching her with his hand. He smirked and stayed out of her reach, making it impossible for her to fight back or protect herself. In an oddly sing-song voice, Lanford continued talking as if they were politely discussing the weather. “You have your father’s impatience. He killed many good men too quickly because of that little angry streak of his. That’s something we'll have to remedy in you.” Lanford checked his watch and then straightened his jacket and tie.

“I need to make an appearance at the dance, so I’ll leave you.” Rae started to retort, but Lanford held up a hand, pushing air directly at her face, causing her body to instinctively react, closing off her airways. She doubled over trying to force her lungs to take in oxygen. He continued talking as if they were having a normal conversation. “Don’t worry. I shall return in a short while. In the meantime, watch the videos and take mental notes. These are skills I’ll be requiring of you. Watch it,
and
listen closely.”

Frustration and anger roiled inside of her. She felt guilty, for having suspected the dean all this time, when really the danger had been much closer to her. She remembered her meeting with the dean in his tower office at the beginning of the school year. “I’ll get out of here. These rooms are round and you’re…the devil. You can’t trap me in a corner,” she hissed.

Lanford laughed at her. “Kerrigan, you’re already trapped. What’re you doing to do? Vision your way out of the room? You’ve got Carter’s tatù and it’s useless. You have no ‘fuel’ to use. It was your father’s one weakness, one I plan to liberally exploit in you.” He paused, pointing to the floor. “There are a few bottles of water within reach for you. Don’t overdo it as you’ll have to wet yourself if you need to go. That’s always the first thing to go with you females and I’m not cleaning up any mess.” He gave her a fond, almost fatherly smile, causing her stomach to turn.
He’s insane…he’s got to be insane…and I’ve trusted him all this time!

Rae glanced to where he’d pointed and heard the dull click of the door as it locked. He’d moved and disappeared faster than she thought he could. She wondered if anyone knew he could move so quickly.
Probably not. He seems to be great at hiding things. Jerk.

She stayed where she was, propped up against the cool wall, waiting to see if the headmaster would come back. She jerked when the laptop monitor flickered and the flat screen turned the semi-dark room an eerie blue color. A video began to play. She listened as the narrator explained that it was an instructional video.

A lifespan is spent seeking success and happiness. One chases after dreams, careers, ambitions, faith, partners and money; all in the hope of finding the success and contentment they so long for. The only place we need to search is within ourselves. Our inner powers will move us forward - we must show the world our tatùs. Our capabilities and potential are far greater than anything man has ever done, or will do. We are above mankind -- above the law which rules over them.

That voice…something about that voice.
What was it? Why did it tickle her memory? Her heart stopped when she realized the narrator was her father. Rae dropped the floor in the middle of the room and hugged her knees to her chest, trying to protect herself from the memories. His voice reminded her only of the time he’d been so mean and scared her as a child. She’d trusted him, because he was her father, but he’d turned on her that night. She began to cry. She’d trusted the headmaster completely and he… he… she couldn’t even finish her train of thought. She’d never suspected any of this.

She felt so lost, so afraid and bloody cold. She had iron shackles on her wrists and the ancient, heavy metal chains felt like ice as they rubbed against her legs and arms. The entire room was cold, and her Tinker Bell outfit wasn’t made to promote warmth. Her thin jacket didn’t help much, either. Her teeth chattered as tears coursed down her cheeks.

How
did she get into this mess?
Her uncle’s words screamed back at her:
the sins of the father are the sins of the son. You can’t undo the past, Rae.

She curled into the fetal position on the cold marble. Her foot bumped against something, and with dismay, Rae realized she’d knocked over one of the bottles of water. She felt wetness against her shoe and quickly realized the marble floor wouldn’t absorb any of the liquid.

Swearing, she scooted over as much as the shackles would allow. She was already shivering. The last thing she needed was to slip into hypothermia too. She could hear the video with her father’s voice telling her she could be part of a bigger picture, a new dream for the world with endless opportunities, yet she saw no great potential in this situation.
How freakin’ ironic.

Her uncle had been right; no one was going to come save her. Her only freedom would be death, the same choice her mother had made. She’d sacrificed everything to stop her father. Rae wondered if maybe she’d need to do the same thing in order to stop Lanford.

What can I do?
Her ability was useless right now. Mimicking Carter wasn’t going to help her escape. Rae banged her head on the floor, trying to come up with something –
anything
that would give her a glimmer of hope. The ache in her heard made her gasp, but it was preferable to her inner pain. At least it was real and tangible. She thought about her friends and immediately Devon came to mind.
I’m such an IDIOT for believing Riley. Devon’s not back with Beth.
She’d been such a dummy. She needed to find a way to protect him.

Rae cringed as she remembered the picture Julian had shown her. He’d been convinced the vision meant she’d been in danger. The sketch was about right now, not about her chasing after her own personal demons.
Wait…it was about now…right now…
She shuddered at a realization.
Those were real demons, the ghost of her father, in a round room… What was with the eye of Carter watching me?
He actually had said he was on her side.

She abruptly sat up.
The eye…watching me…
She looked up, squinting trying to see if there were any video cameras watching her every move. She was pretty sure there would be. She strained, trying to force her eyes to focus on the dimly lit ceiling. It felt like she was trapped in the tower of London, with King Henry VIII about to execute her. She wished she had Devon’s tatù right then. His night-vision would allow him to clearly see that high up in the dark. She squinted again and began to pick out a small, flashing red light. She knew immediately it was a camera, and it was recording her every move. The knowledge brought her no comfort.

How long before Lanford comes back?
She thought about how disappointed her mother would have been with this end, how brief her life was and how little she had done with it. That thought brought fresh tears to her eyes.
Oh Mom…it’s not fair! Why should we have to sacrifice ourselves to stop the bad people? I grew up without you and now I have to die to save the freakin’ world?
But what choice did she have?

She was all alone, and no one was going to save her. She’d never finish her father’s work like Lanford wanted, she refused to even consider it. What she’d seen in his visions of her father was enough to show her that she was nothing like him.

She cued back into reality in when the voice on the screen stopped. The video was over, but the bloody thing had automatic playback, she could hear it resetting itself, all the little bits and chips in the laptop were zipping and whirring, doing their jobs.

She didn’t want to watch it again, but how could she possibly stop it? She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the stone wall, and tried to think of nothing. She tried to block out everything and bury all emotions.

I am totally, completely screwed
, she thought with a snort. Suddenly, thoughts of Nicholas filled her mind. He would have known how to MacGyver his way out of these shackles with a paper clip and then opened the locked, ancient iron door.
Yep, Nicholas and his amazing paperclip!
Rae barked a laugh and wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to calm her crazed mind. She needed to focus on what she could do to stop this.

I could use the shackles to strangle myself
.
All I’d have to do is cross my arms and pull tight…
She felt no fear of dying, she didn’t mind killing herself, especially if it meant saving others. Her mother had made the same sacrifice, so she could be at least as brave as her mother had been. Except, deep down Rae didn’t want to die. She wanted to live! To learn to use her gift for good, to right the wrongs, to finish school, fall in love and experience a first kiss. She was a sixteen
-
year-old girl, for goodness’ sake! Rae rolled her head from side to side as the video began to play again, trying to deny the reality of it.

Her father’s voice grated on her nerves like sandpaper. She tried to tune it out, but it only made the humming inside of her louder, and her headache worse.

Tapping her foot against the marble floor to dispel the tension building inside, she tried to cover her ears, even the clanking of the chains couldn’t block the sound out.

“Shut up!” she screamed, bellowing straight from her gut. She yelled it again and again. “Shut up! Shut up! You were never my father. You were just a monster. You told me monsters were real, and I believed you. How could I’ve ever known you were the worst monster of them all? What kind of father would want their child to grow up evil? What kind of man were you and how did my mom ever love you?”

She wished she had Molly’s gift and, for a brief second, she pretended she did, knowing the exactly how Molly’s ink felt inside her. She threw her arm in the direction of the laptop and flicked her fingers, as if to throw a bolt of electricity into the laptop and the screen to fry them.

Blue jagged lines erupted from her fingers and made a bee line for the laptop. It sparked and hissed, the smell of burnt plastic immediately filling the air. The screen blacked out. The sudden silence was deafening.

That silence screamed the truth to Rae.

Chapter 23

Your Destiny

Unable
to stop staring at the now fried computer, Rae made a conscious effort to close her mouth.
Holy…! What…?
She stood and started to pace with the shackles on her arms. Two steps one way and then backward two steps was all the room she had, but it was her mind that needed the space and it was clearing faster by the second.

I used Molly’s gift. I killed the laptop, but how? I haven’t touched Molly in hours. I’m supposed to have Dean Carter’s ability.

Rae suddenly froze on the spot as the enormity of what had just happened hit her full force.

Woah…I killed the laptop. I don’t have Carter’s ability…why not? Or do I?

Realizing she didn’t have time for
why not
, Rae focused on how to use this new-found information to free herself.
Okay, what do I know for sure?

I know I used someone’s tatù without touching them. Or out of order.