“Yeah, Kallister was asking me about them last night. Something happening there?”
“Travis has been taking a lot of meetings with Biotech lately. It’s raising concerns.”
“Do you think it has something to do with Mods?”
“I can’t imagine it wouldn’t. Anyway, we loaded some intel on here about the De Veldes. We want you to go through it.”
“Why me?”
“You were close with Lyddie in the Program. You might have talked about things that didn’t seem notable at the time but could have value. If you have the background, maybe something will jump out at you.”
“Okay, yeah. I’ll read tonight.”
I leave the tablet in my room, and we head down to the Temple, where the first person we see is Hawkins. He’s alone in one of thealcoves, meditating. I feel a pang of sympathy as we quietly walk past. He spends most of his time down here, though I don’t really blame him. When he’s aboveground, he has very few friends or allies. I’m pretty sure Kallister is the only person I’ve ever seen speak to Hawkins.
“Why can’t we do this in our quarters?” Gray asks.
“Because the daggerstone amplifies the gold frequency. I want to show you all the progress I’ve made this week.”
“Don’t tell me you managed to incite Hawkins.”
“Yes!” I can’t wipe the big, stupid smile off my face. “The other day.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I mean, it only lasted a few seconds before I lost my grip, but I still did it.”
We walk into an alcove and sit facing each other under the glowing blue light.
“What command do you want?” I ask eagerly.
He reaches into his pocket and takes out a switchblade. He flicks it open. “Tell me to cut myself.”
A sense of familiarity washes over me. That’s exactly what Uncle Jim asked me to do when I was a child. The first time I incited out of sheer anger and frustration, it was to order him to cut a line in his flesh.
I swallow, closing my eyes. “All right.”
Slowly, I start to gather up the gold dust in my mind. One little piece at a time, until there’s so much of it in my hands, I’m nearly bursting with it. It’s like holding a ball of power. I grip it loosely, letting the energy flow from my hands to my arms, my neck, my chest. It circles my body like strands of gold, wrapping around every part of me.
I open my eyes. Gray is watching me. I’ve learned that saying the commands out loud really is more effective, which makes me wonder if incitement is tied to the target mind in an auditory way, similarly to how projection relies on the optic nerve. It does seem like sound waves assist the process, but I can’t prove that at all, because there are times when voicing the commands does absolutely nothing.
“Ace,” I say.
His lips quirk in a smile. “Hmm?”
“Pick up the knife and cut a line in your palm.”
He doesn’t move. Our gazes remain locked.
“Pick up the knife and cut a line in your palm,” I say firmly.
His hand, which rests flat on his thigh, begins twitching.
“Holy shit,” he mutters, and I grin.
I work to maintain my grip on the gold, determined not to let a single thread escape. When I feel the strands getting looser, I take a breath and sharpen my focus.
“Pick up the knife and cut a line in your palm.”
