Kayla jerked Daisy this way and that as they walked, as if annoyed with her. She fell into the treatment, a mask of fearful fretting on her face and an occasional tear rolling down her cheek. All the while she took in every detail, every servant rushing by.
Up a flight of stairs and they stopped in front of double doors in a stone frame. Lennox opened the door and Kayla shoved Daisy inside.
Your mind is safe in here,she said, following.
Three cots lay spaced out within the room. Couches and cushions lined one wall and a rack of various instruments lined the other. A short bookcase made of metal scrollwork leaned against the back wall.
A fae with a deeply lined face and wearing a black apron advanced from the side wall. His hair was cut short except in the front, which fell across his forehead. His dark eyes surveyed Daisy before he looked at the others.
“What have we here?” he said in a light, playful voice.
“His Highness Tarianthiel requests the mindshivbe applied to his slave,” Lennox said haughtily.
Shiv?Daisy asked.That means shank in the human lands. Is that what it means here?
Kayla wandered a couple steps away and turned, sparing a quick and confused glance at Daisy’s face before going back to acting like she was bored.What’s ashank? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. This male will apply a barrier over your mind so that your thoughts will stay within. Your wandering thoughts, I mean. You can think—we can explain later. This will protect your mind.
“Does he now?” Bangs said, pursing his lips as he looked Daisy over again. “What is it, a human? Why would he want tospend his gold on a human? Surely her mind will be cracked open by someone powerful, anyway. This is a waste of time.”
Lennox stepped closer to the male, his size dwarfing the other. “Whether it is or it isn’t doesn’t matter. He wants it done. Do you intend to resist?”
Bangs quailed, shrinking. “No, of course not. I just wondered what secrets a human might know that he’d want to protect, that’s all. It seems outlandish. No matter. I’ll do it. Let me get prepared.” He gestured at the first cot. “Place her there and strap her down.”
Daisy couldn’t help a nervous glance at Lennox as Kayla grabbed her upper arm again. She yanked Daisy forward, shoving her toward the cot.
“Lie down, human. We haven’t got all day.”
This is going to hurt like hell,Kayla said with no remorse.It’s necessary. Stay strong. Pain sharpens the senses.
Lennox pushed down on the center of Daisy’s back, her stomach on the cot. Kayla began strapping her in.
This is a temporary fix,Lennox said.It’ll buy you time, nothing more. Once it is solidified in your mind, you will need to train in earnest to protect your thoughts. Tarian has a device to help. He’s confident it won’t take you long. If it does, we’ll need to reapply this magic. The more you do it, the more it negatively impacts your mind. Once is really the most you’ll want to contaminate yourself.
“What the fuck?” she muttered, thrashing against the newly buckled straps. Part of that was for show. Only part.Just give me time with the device. I’m sure I can do it quicker than he thinks I can. I don’t want to contaminate even a bit of my mind. I need it. It’s all I have.
You’ll be okay,Kayla said.Once almost never messes anyone up.
And my inability to fly really high without magical help was a surprise, too. Let’s not do this.
They tensed, not having thought this through, but then Bangs was leaning over her. She couldn’t see the contraption in his hands, but she felt it when he put it on the back of her neck. Her whole body jolted from the pressure. Pain seeped into her, winding through her blood and wrapping around her bones. It traveled to the very edges of her limbs and back before crawling up the back of her throat and forcing a scream. Her hair follicles tingled and the back of her neck was on fire. It burned like actual flame, and she could imagine it blackening her skin and shriveling it away. Next her brain started to sizzle, inch by inch, until the agony nearly made her black out.
She didn’t know how long it went on or if she screamed the whole time. Eventually, it ended. The pressure eased and the pain with it. Her body still convulsed against the straps, but numbness had thankfully started to spread. Or maybe that was just the absence of pain.
“What…” Bangs still leaned over her but had put the contraption onto the ground beside the cot. He pushed her hair away from the back of her neck. “What is this?”
She breathed heavily as Lennox and Kayla approached the cot.
A finger brushed against the back of her neck, right near her hairline. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt, as though what he’d done wasn’t surface level. It meant her skin hadn’t burned away after all. That was good news.
Shit!Kayla exclaimed.Fuck, Lennox, what do we do?
What is it?Daisy asked.
A nail scratched at her neck, light at first, then harder.
Lennox bent to undo the straps.
“But…this can’t be…” Bangs said hesitantly.
