His mind filled in the gap in my thought. I watched. I retreated, lifting my mind from the heavy weight of his slowly, carefully. I thought nothing. Felt nothing.
Like him. I made sure I felt like him.
As free as I would ever be, I locked the information I needed inside the little box I’d created inside my mind. A box he couldn’t open. The box was very small. Locked. The entire time I’d been a prisoner, he’d never discovered it.
You sure about this?
Yes.
I moved quickly, taking the layout of my prison from his mind.
Feels good to be mind raping that fucker for once.
She wasn’t wrong. I felt powerful. Sure. This was what Zarren would do, if he were here. This was what Oberon would do. This was what a warrior would do.
Willow, enough. Stop. Return to your room.
There was force behind Nexus 5’s command. Perhaps, before I’d felt Zarren’s strength in my mind, the mental push would have been enough to stop me. Perhaps I would have obeyed.
Now it was too late. I’d arrived. The hidden door’s panel slid open and I stepped inside.
Willow!
I smiled.You lose, fucking asshole. You. Fucking. Lose.
I had no idea what would happen when I reached for the first crystal. Would it burn? Shock me? Would it be hot or cold to touch?
Didn’t matter. I needed to toss at least half of them into the whirling mass of magnetic disks and coils, each one bigger than I was. They weren’t attached to anything. It was like they were floating in mid-air. I wasn’t a scientist. I had no clue how any of this shit worked.
But Nexus 5 knew, and I’d stolen the information right out of his ugly, blue head.
I yanked the first crystal out of its place in the grid—was that computer stuff inside actually cut into the crystal?—and threw it as hard as I could. A flash of light temporarily blinded me when it shattered.
Willow! No!
Lesson learned. Close the eyes or deal with big, dark, flash-blind floaters blocking my vision every time.
I tossed another. And another.
The disks wobbled, the sound created a strange thumping in the air. The shock waves pushed at my chest. The coils made noise as well, like tapping a champagne flute with a fork. Ringing.
Something was definitely happening.
When I knew I had dislocated enough crystals to wreck the joint, I took one more from its place in the neat, precisely spaced energy grid, and slammed it down on what looked like the only control panel in the room.
Lights danced. An alarm went off outside, in the corridor. The grid, the walls, everything began to smoke. Little fires ignited all over the walls.
Oh, yeah. That did it.
I went back out into the corridor and sat with my back against the wall. I leaned my head back and smiled. I had five minutes, left? Ten? No idea.
Well played, Willow.
Why thank you. I agree.
I kept myself company, tried to fill my mind with memories I would miss.
Helion’s kiss. Oberon’s smile. Feeling totally and completely loved. Not everyone could say they’d ever experienced what I had. I’d be with them soon.
