“Good morning, Eiko.” Astrid entered with other manipulation asters.
I did move from where I sat near my headboard. “Get out.” My tattoo flashed blue.
She sighed and wandered inside. “I can’t do that. We have an important meeting.” She opened the sketchbook on my desk and flipped through some pages.
“Try,” I replied.
Energy pulsed from my eyes.
“I don’t have to.” She sat on the edge of the desk. “You’re going to come all on your own. Because if I have to force you, it’ll be to spend the rest of your life in confinement until you learn to start minding. And while you’re there, all this fancy new stuff you’ve been enjoying will be removed.” She folded her arms. “No books, not windows. The art shit you like so much will all be taken away. I’ll even remove the shelves.” She motioned to them.
“You’ve tried this before,” I stated. “It didn’t help.”
“True.” She stood and started flipping books onto the floor. “You became unstable. Emotional. Whiney,” she breathed. “A real pain in the fucking ass.” Astrid opened a book and scowled at the pages. “Like a fucking child.” She hurled it at me.
It hit the wall and dropped to the floor. Swallowing hard, I scooted toward the far corner of the bed.
“I’m over it, Eiko.” The cigar case came out. “General Mayer is on his way. He was so impressed by the magnitude of that bomb it was all he could talk about. If you want to see a kid in a toy store, that man can’t stop going on and on about incinerating thousands of people—all in one go.” She puffed on a cigar until the end glowed red.
“I am not a weapon. I refuse to be a weapon,” I stated.
“Too late.” She rubbed her forehead. “Now that we know the machine works, we don’t have to worry about sending you to the frontline. We’ll keep you here, nice and safe. We won’t have to risk someone blowing you up. Hell, you could run into another destructive and get into an actual fight.” She let out a stream of smoke. “You probably curl in a ball and let the other aster blow you into pieces. Why did we get such a pathetic onabi? A man without a backbone—worthless little shit. The southern onabi is cutthroat, I hear. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
I scowled at her.
Astrid glanced at the others. “Maybe we can trade.”
They chuckled. I had noted that not one of them had entered my room.
“Get up, Eiko. I’m not going to make the general wait. He is still a little perturbed at me for the necklace incident. All was forgiven with the bomb's success, but I’m not going to test it.”
I took a defensive position. The seals were keeping my energy subdued, and the pain was minimal.
“You want to go to confinement?” She moved closer. “Do you like confinement? I know Hellana is an annoying bitch, and Watt is a sneak. Maybe confinement would be a nice break.”
I took deep breaths.
“Eiko, if you make me force you, I will blame your disobedience on Watt and Hellana. I’ll tell Mayer they install rebellious aptitudes, and if I have any luck, they’ll both be transferred.”
I scooted forward and put my feet on the floor.
“My god,” she laughed. “Are they really your friends? Did Eiko actually make a friend?” She spun a circle. “Do I have any white seals on me? Is Watt messing with my mind?”
“He doesn’t do that,” I stated. “He’s not like you.”
“Watt was a war prisoner interrogator. You don’t know half of the shit that man has done.”
I stood. “I don’t care because he regrets it. You regret nothing.”
***
I sat cross-legged in the middle of the dome, bored out of my mind. Astrid hadn’t removed the tattoos, so it wasn’t like the battle to get me to cooperate had even started yet. I rested my chin on my palm. If I was going to sit here all day, I could do it in my room.
The doors parted and were held open so Astrid and General Mayer could enter. They walked past the entrance to the computers and started talking to one of the men stationed there. Once in a while, their eyes would travel to me and then back to the screens. I wasn’t going to put on a show for them. The general was wasting his time coming all this way to see nothing. Keeping my head down, I picked at the dirt under my nails to keep busy.
The dome turned, and Astrid entered. I pulled my legs in and glared at the floor.
“Let me see.”
“You can leave them.”
“Funny,” she muttered. Snatching my wrist, she removed my seals. She did the same on my legs. “There you go.” She patted my cheek as she stood. “Have at it.”
She left, and the dome shifted to hide the entrance. She went to join the general.
“Why isn’t he doing anything?” said a muddled voice. Mayer was looking directly at me.
Astrid motioned for me to get up. I remained seated and ignored them.
“Eiko,” said her voice over the speaker. “We’re waiting.”
I spun around so my back was to them and continued chewing on my fingernails.
“Eiko,” she stated.
Lying down, I traced the seams of the metal panels beneath me.
“The team is waiting to perform the fusion,” said Mayer. “We need his energy.”
“He’s throwing a tantrum. He found out we were using him to make bombs,” muttered Astrid. “Shitty brat. Get up!”
I glanced over my shoulder to see her marching toward one of the engineers. This was it. The fight was about to begin. She’d never taken a no. That woman always had a plan to force me to do what she wanted.
A bolt of electricity shot up from the floor. It zapped me hard enough to cause me to jump to my feet. It hit me again. I cursed and glared at the woman who stood with her arms folded. She arched her brow.
Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes. I could take it. Whatever they did, I could take the pain. I clenched my jaw as another bolt shot up my legs. It made my body vibrate. I felt my energy wanted to come out to protect me.
It wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t make me give them my power. I refused to be their weapon.
***
I could feel the buzz of energy trying to leak out to protect me from the pain. My body quivered at the electric shock. I had to hold on. I was hit again, but it wasn’t as intense. Opening my eyes, I saw the blue panel of energy that had formed beneath me. The chamber was starting to respond. I tried to force it back in, when the floor shocked me again.
I was losing this battle.
Clenching my fist, I forced myself into the seated position and knelt with my head bowed. I could do this. I was not a weapon. They couldn’t use me to win their stupid war.
The shocking stopped. I wasn’t naive enough to think it was over. Astrid wouldn't give up. Swallowing hard, I braced myself for her next attack.
The dome turned, and the doors appeared. A sense of hope fluttered in my chest. Maybe they were done trying for the day. I lifted my head to see Watt walking toward me. He lowered to his knees and cupped my face.
“Are you helping them?” I whispered.
Watt peered into my eyes. “Give them everything, Eiko.”
“No,” I said, failing to hide the hurt in my voice. “No, you know. You know what they will do. I won’t do it. I can’t. I’m not a bomb.”
He clasped my hands. “Trust me.”
“No.” I breathed out through my nose. “You’re working with them. You want to use my power to hurt others.”
Stooping down, he nodded. “I do. I want to hurt those who’ve hurt you.” He pressed a finger to my forehead. “Trust me, Eiko,” he whispered.
The seal eased the pain but didn’t do anything else. I watched Watt stand and leave the chamber. There was no possibility that Astrid sent him in here simply to get rid of a headache. My eyes followed the man as he walked behind the control panel. He said something to Astrid in passing before going to the far wall.
“Eiko,” said Astrid’s voice over the speaker. “We can do this all night. You’re not being let out until you give us what you want.”
The general bumped her to the side. “Northern Pagora needs you. Help us defeat our enemies and end this war. Think of all the lives you can save. Sacrifices need to be made for Pagora to be at peace. Reunite the empire, Eiko!”
I glanced at Watt. His expression remained blank. If he had turned on me, I’d never forgive him. Watt and Hellana could go to hell if they betrayed me and joined Astrid. I rose to my feet. I’d trust Watt this one time, but I’d never do it again if he were wrong. Whatever he had planned better work this time because I would only give him one chance.
Letting out a deep breath, I felt the energy flow through my body. My feet lifted off the ground as the room started to spin. The engineers blocked their faces as I released more and more. The general backed away, and I spotted, through the blue swirls, Astrid escorting him from the room with the other workers.
Watt remained next to the wall. He went to the speaker button and pressed it. “Don’t hold back.”
I stared at him.
He smiled. “I’ll get you out. After you blow this place to hell.”
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