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The Tethered Ones

Chapter 49

━━─── • ───━━━

Luna

Late afternoon the next day, the sun was barely obscured by clouds, and Luna was standing near the marsh, gazing at a collection of Hisyl shards.

Owen and Amir hadn't said much since they had gathered there, and even Ethan was unusually quiet. They were all fixated on what had happened to Lily. Amir had spoken to Ethan earlier in the day; the entire conversation had gone down without fists being thrown, and Luna had missed it. Apparently, Ethan had never seen an unstable Tethered Soul with his own eyes. He'd only heard about them.

But Dominique had.

She'd seen people who'd been brought to her in a compound, had been normal souls before being injected with various serums and then snapped days later. Violent outbursts were common just before they went into self-destruction mode. They'd all been given the same serum Luna had. According to Ethan, without it, their changes could hold, but it was rare and in most cases, they faded over time.

Dominique had stayed by Luna's side ever since she met up with them, while Amir and Owen handled the hisyl cautiously.

"I had to do it once," Dominique said quietly, focused on the overcast sky.

"Do what?"

"See one of them die like that. A Tethered Soul's unsteadiness." Squinting, she took a breath. "Nobody could stop the man from going insane. He killed one of the officers, and there was a flash of light. He vanished when the light went out, sort of like spontaneous combustion. There was nothing left. He couldn't have felt anything because it happened so fast."

Luna remembered seeing Lily trembling and knew she had to feel it. She took a breath and shifted her gaze back to Amir, despite her nausea. The hisyl was in a hole, and he knelt in front of it, talking to Owen. She was relieved that it was only a few of them out there and not the entire group. She didn't want to see Cami thriving from agony.

"Did the people who were brought to you understand why they were there?" Luna asked.

"Some did as if they agreed to it. Others were sedated. They had no idea what was going on. I believe the majority of them were homeless."

That was disgusting.

Luna, unable to remain still, moved toward the swamp's bank. The water wasn't cold, but it was still and calm. Quite the opposite of how she felt on the inside.

Dominique followed. "Lily was a nice person. She didn't deserve this. Do we even know how they found out about her, or where she went wrong?"

She shook her head. She'd spent the majority of the day contemplating everything. Even if Lily was an unintentional BARDA spy, they turned her into something destructive and psychotic. The organization themselves were unstable, but what they made and what they were doing now remained a mystery. As was the gem on Lily's wrist, which Titus also possessed.

She and Amir needed to talk to him without Ethan around, and they couldn't use their telepathic gifts. Titus had a hiccup over it, and for good reason.

"Did you ever notice anything on the victims? Like a strange gem with fire inside?"

Dominique's brow furrowed. "With the exception of one young girl, none of mine survived. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. The victims weren't wearing anything like that, and I'm not sure about the others."

Awful . . . It was just awful.

Luna swallowed, but her throat tightened. A gentle breeze ruffled the water, and a wave rolled from one bank to the other. Like a tidal wave.

Her breath stilled as she realized it was an omen.

"Guys?" Luna and Dominique both turned when Owen called out. "Are you ready to test this out?"

Were they willing to enter the house of torment? Uh, no. However, they approached the group. Owen stood, his gloved hand clutching a large circular piece of hisyl.

He shifted his gaze to Ethan. "This is your moment. Entertain us."

Ethan exhaled deeply and nodded. "I believe the first thing to determine is whether or not I have a tolerance to this thing. If I do, we have a place to start. At the very least, we know we can develop tolerance."

Amir shrugged and looked down at the shards in his hands. He charged forward without hesitation, slamming the hisyl into Ethan's face.

Luna's jaw dropped to the ground.

Owen took a step back, grinning. "Savage."

Dominique laughed quietly next to Luna.

But nothing happened for a while. Ethan finally knocked the fragments away, his nostrils flaring. "Why the hell did you do that?"

Amir scoffed. "Like you have to ask."

Dominique smirked.

Amir threw the piece back into the pile, disappointed. "It appears you have a tolerance for it, which I had hoped you didn't."

Luna stifled a laugh by clamping her hand over her mouth. Amir could be a savage jerk sometimes, but she liked that about him.

Ethan stared. "What if I didn't have a tolerance for it? I kind of wanted to brace myself for that."

"Too bad," Amir snarled.

Owen's head shook. "All right, guys, let's get back on track. How would you go about doing this?"

Ethan walked over to the hisyl pile and picked one up. There was a slight tremor this time, but he held on. "I think Amir should go first. I'll keep it on his skin until she falls. Not any longer."

Luna muttered, "You? No way?"

"Then who? Who else can tolerate this stuff?"

"Amir can," Dominique said. "He wasn't affected last time, right?"

Amir's gaze shifted to Luna, then to Dominique. "I didn't feel anything right away, but I did notice something after we got home. It was not long before I took a bath."

"Oh, gee," Ethan retorted. "I can't wait to hear about the Amazing Adventures of Amir Khan at Bath Time story. Bore me right now."

Luna stepped forward, her fist poised to slam into Ethan's cheek. Amir and Dominique both held her elbow back to stop her.

"It's okay, Luna." Amir removed his gloves and extended his arms toward Ethan. "Let's go."

There was no hesitating. Ethan took a step forward, pressing hisyl against Amir's palm. His face contorted immediately, and he tried to take a step back, but the large piece held him in place. A tremor began in his arm and spread through his body, and Luna could feel his pain.

"Why is he in so much pain?" she asked whoever was listening.

Ethan replied. "Because what they have at the facilities has been altered. This group of hisyl is brand new and hasn't been touched yet."

It was too much to stand there, watching the agony on Amir's beautiful face. Panic washed over her.

Both Luna and Dominique stepped forward, but neither could help. To get through the facility, he had to put up with the pain.

Ethan drew back, and Amir dropped to his knees, slamming his hands onto the ground in front of him. "This is so brutal."

Luna rushed forward, touching his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"He's fine," Ethan said as he tossed the hisyl piece to the ground. As their gazes locked, his right hand shook. "My skin began to burn. My tolerance must have a limit."

Luna followed Amir as he stood unsteadily. "I'm fine. It was like holding a rock of lava. It's painful, but it's doable," he said to Owen, who was staring at Ethan as if he wanted to throw him into the mouth of an alligator.

"How do we know this is going to work?" Owen asked. "Touching hisyl is not the same as being sprayed with it everywhere."

"I've walked out those doors before without incident. And they haven't sprayed it in my face before. This has to be it," Ethan concluded.

Luna remembered him saying that everything he touched was encased in whatever they'd given him. "Okay. Let's give it a try."

Luna cut Amir off with a glare as he opened his mouth. He wasn't about to change her mind.

Ethan changed his approach to the hisyl by picking up a glove. He came to Amir rather than Luna. The same thing happened with the others. Owen was on his knees, gasping for air, and Dominique was next.

It took her a little longer, which was understandable. She'd been tortured by the spray, and Luna had remembered her own experience with it. However, after about ten seconds, Dominique collapsed and said something that was not in English.

Luna's turn was up.

She nodded, her shoulders hunched. Wasn't she prepared for this? No way. Who was she kidding? This was going to be painful.

Ethan winced and advanced, but Amir stopped him. He took the hisyl from him with the glove and stood in front of her.

"No," she said. "I'm not going to let you do this."

The determined set of Amir's jaw enraged her. "I'm not going to let Ethan do it."

"Then have someone else do it." She was not going to let Amir put a shard of hisyl in her hand and hold it. "Please." She wanted to punch him when he shook his head. "You should not be doing this, Amir."

"Either me or no one, Moon."

And then she got it. He was attempting to gain control this time. She took a deep breath and faced him squarely. "Give it to me."

Surprise flashed through his chocolate-colored eyes, followed by anger. "I don't want to hurt you," he said quietly enough that only she could hear.

"You won't." Anxiety rose to the surface of her throat. "It'll be all right."

He didn't move his gaze, but she could tell he was trying. Whatever pain she was about to endure would be mutual. He'd feel it—not emotionally, but physically, as if it were his own hand. Whenever she was in pain, it was the same for him.

Luna thought that closing her eyes would help. It seemed to because she felt the coolness of the hisyl against her hand and the roughness of his glove about ten seconds later. Nothing happened right away, but then everything changed.

A burning sensation spread across her hand and then throughout her body. A thousand pinpricks of pain radiated from her skin. She bit her lower lip, suffocating her scream. It wasn't long before she was on the ground, gulping in air as she waited for the burn to subside.

Her body shook. "All right. Not bad. I need to go again."

"Hell no," Amir said, helping her to her feet. "Moon—"

She yanked free, taking more deep breaths. "I'm fine. We have to keep going. I have to withstand this."

They continued even though Amir appeared ready to throw her over his shoulder and flee like a caveman. Each person touched the hisyl many times, holding on until their bodies rebelled. They were only getting started, yet nothing got better over time.

Dominique placed two large rocks on the plywood, then dropped a sheet over the first one, saying, "It's like getting zapped with a Taser." They were all agitated and it was becoming late. Even Ethan was irritated. "It's painful, but that's what we're dealing with under BARDA."

"I understand the Taser part," Luna uttered. "It's horrible."

Amir squeezed her hand. Luna questioned if this would have any long-term consequences. Such as irregular heartbeats or post-traumatic stress disorder. The one good thing that came out of this was that she hadn't been able to think about anything else because of the mind-boggling pain and watching other people succumb to it.

Ethan slowed down until he was beside her as they finished up and began limping back to their homes. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

She remained silent.

He stuffed his hands into his jeans. "You did not deserve to be targeted. I just wish . . ."

"Wouldn't everyone be happy if their wishes were granted?" Bitterness sharpened her tone.

"Yeah." He paused. "If Lily doesn't return, they'll wonder where she is."

"Why do you care? You had her under your control at St. Matthew's. You'll be gone once you get Jamal and the kids. That is one of my wishes that is taking its time to come true."

He paused, his head cocked to one side. "I'd stay, but I'd rather take them to the beach. If nothing has happened to the beaches."

"Yeah, I haven't even considered going to the beach. Like, I know BARDA is out collecting Tethered Souls everywhere, and beaches are always the most crowded places. Aside from major cities."

She frowned and looked ahead. Amir had slowed down, no doubt trying not to put more distance between the two. Luna considered asking Ethan about the stone for a brief moment. He'd have to know something about it because he worked for BARDA. But it was too messy. He claimed he had nothing to do with them, but what could be the truth? Lily changed in an instant, and even he can, too.

She wrapped her arms around her waist. The branches above cracked against one another like a low, steady drum.

"I just wanted to thank you," Ethan said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're giving me a—"

Amir appeared in an instant, yanking Ethan's fingers from her body. "Don't even think about touching her."

Ethan paled as he drew his hand free and took a step back. "I wasn't doing anything, dude. I was simply thanking her."

Inserting himself between them, Amir growled, "I thought we had reached an agreement. You're here because we don't have another option. You're still alive because she is different than me. You're not here to gain sympathy from any of us. Understand now?"

Ethan's jaw dropped open. "Whatever. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Luna stood there watching Ethan limp past Dominique and Owen. "That was a little dramatic, A."

He growled, "I don't want him touching you." His stare was fixed on hers. "I despise the fact that he lives in the same country as you. I'm not sure I believe him."

Luna rose to her feet and kissed his cheek. "No one believes Ethan, but you can't keep threatening him every five seconds."

"I can, and I will."

She laughed and took a step back, her arms around his waist. His heart beat steadily beneath her cheek. His hands slid down her back as he bowed his head close to hers. "Do you want to do more days like this?" he asked. "A never-ending string of painful days?"

It wasn't high on her priority list. "It's a good distraction, which I need right now."

He didn't argue, which surprised her. He kissed the top of her head instead. They stood there for a short time. Dominique and Owen were gone when they separated. Moonlight began to filter through the branches. They continued walking together, and he went into the house to wash his hands.

The area was dark and silent, and her breath shuddered as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. It was difficult to go through the pain repeatedly, but it was necessary. All of them had to be ready to raid the facility again and succeed this time.

Scattered stars broke up the dark blue sky above the house. One fell, leaving a short stream of light behind as it crashed to Earth. That would have been a good time to make a wish, but her mind was on other things.

She and Amir were going to tell the group they were going on a "date night" after dinner tomorrow, but instead, they'll go to Chalmette to speak with Titus. They didn't trust Ethan enough to find out the real truth because he kept sharing things he supposedly didn't think of, which was lame. Hopefully, once they're done at the club, they'll know a little more about what happened to Lily.

She hadn't gotten much sleep that night. When she felt Amir settle in beside her, his arm firmly around her waist, she knew it had to be late. He'd just finished praying, and she was finally settled and at ease with him there, his warm breath flowing along the back of her neck.

"I love you, A," she said softly.

"I love you, Moon."

She wiggled and scooted closer. "And please, go easy on Ethan. For me."

"Maybe. For you, I might, but for him, never."

She chuckled. "I didn't expect anything less."

━━─── • ───━━━


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