Page 94 of Fangs
He stopped directly before me, and when he spoke, each word vibrated with fury. “You are NOT no one.”
I didn’t understand why he was angry, but it didn’t matter. I knew how to react to anger. I went silent and still, trying to be small and forgotten.
He laughed darkly, and the sound echoed around in my head like it was taunting me. “Did you really think I could ever forget you, Ember?”
The terror that went through me felt even colder than the narc. My heart was pounding in my throat, and I felt like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf.
Oh gods, don’t think about wolves.
“Do you know me?” he asked.
I shook my head, my lips pressed tightly together. His disappointment washed over me, bitter and lonely.
“What has changed?” he mused, almost to himself. “How are you here?” Strong fingers gripped my chin. “Where are you, Ember?”
I didn’t know what to do. Instinctively, I knew not to tell him my location, but I doubted he’d react well if I didn’t answer.
“Come now, love, you don’t have to hide from me,” he crooned, his free hand caressing my cheek. “I don’t want to do this the hard way. Just tell me.”
Somehow, my mind registered that a crack had appeared in the narc’s grip. “I’ll… I’ll tell you, just… I need some space,” I got out.
It was a feeble lie, and I was sure he’d see through it, but he immediately retreated. I took a deep breath and started to pace slightly. He didn’t move, but I could feel his eyes tracking me. My entire body was trembling.
“Should I know you?” My voice shook as I got closer to where I could sense fresh air drifting into the darkness.
“I’ve known you?—”
I lunged for the crack. I heard him yell and felt a hand seize my ankle for a moment, but I managed to kick it away, fighting toward consciousness as hard as I could.
I bolted upright in the real world, my splinted arm screaming in pain at the movement. It was night, and the tent was empty except for me. My heart was pounding with terror so potent that I stumbled out of bed and vomited in the corner. I could hear the Reapers outside laughing and jeering and the faint screams of a woman, and I realized with dull horror I was naked from the waist down.
Out of habit, I quickly buried the evidence of getting sick. Then I stood and found my discarded pants. It was tricky to pull them on with only one arm, but I managed. Then I crawled back into Juck’s bed, wishing he hadn’t gotten rid of my bedroll. The sheets smelled like him, another reminder there was no escape.
Maybe it was a dream. It must have been a dream. I had no spare energy to worry about a faceless shadow man in my dreams. I was already living in a nightmare.
I opened my eyes.
Mac sat on the couch beside me and stared, his face carefully expressionless. For a long time, neither of us spoke, and my stomach twisted.
“I’m not the only powered person,” I finally whispered.
He still said nothing, and I couldn’t read his expression. I tried to wait for him to ask questions, but his silence made me uneasy.
“I don’t know who he is,” I added nervously. “That was the first time I encountered him. It only happens when I’m drugged.”
That muscle in his jaw ticked. “But he knows you.”
“He said he does, but I haveno ideawho he is. He can… can see my memories, so maybe he just found my name in my head. I don’t know.”
“You think this… what’s happening to me… you think it’smypower.”
“I think so.” I desperately tried to read his expression.
“And my power is like his power.”
I nodded.
“You’re scared of him,” he said, staring at me closely. “Are you scared of me?”
