I have to admit, I thought I’d be worse off, I said, glancing down at my lack of wires, tubes, and other standard hospital paraphernalia. Must not have been that bad.
Alex’s face sank, into a grave mask. “It was very bad, Becca. There just wasn’t much that could be done for you.”
What do you mean? Couldn’t Min just give me some of her magic juice like she did the last time?
He shook his head, and even in the dim light I could see some of the color drain from his face.
What happened, Alex? Please tell me. I hated to ask, seeing how difficult it was for him, but I needed to know.
He sighed, bringing his arm down from my face, wrapping my hand in both of his. “When we got to Ryland’s dorm, there were no obvious signs of trouble. Min could tell that the guard charm around the building had been breached, but there was no one suspicious outside or in the hallways, and we found Ryland safe in one of the common areas with some friends. We split up, searching every room, restroom, even the roof, but there was nothing. We were reconvening outside, trying to determine what our next move should be, when Taron ran up and told us you’d gotten away.” His jaw clenched angrily. “He told us that since Min hadn’t replaced the Block on your Sciath, you’d been able to get a hold of the Iris and overwhelm him. He claimed you’d very nearly knocked him out, and that he’d come to the dorm to look for you, assuming that’s where you would have gone. Jocelyn ordered us into teams of two, but just as we were about to go off and look for you, we got your message. We could hear you screaming in our heads… hear the terror in your voice…”
He stopped, looking away for a moment, then took a deep breath before continuing. “The look of shock and panic on Taron’s face was as good as a confession, but we didn’t have time to deal with him, knowing you were in danger. Jocelyn grabbed Taron by the collar and in the blink of an eye, pulled the information we needed right out of his mind. ‘Aimirgin Hall,’ he told us. ‘There’s an open door round back’. Then he did something I’d never seen him do. He told Taron to return to his room at Lorcan and stay there until he was sent for. Ordered him not to speak or attempt to contact anyone in any way.”
And Taron actually did all that? Without trying to run, or anything?
“He had no choice. Jocelyn compelled him.”
I thought he didn’t believe in doing that sort of stuff?
“This was something of a special circumstance,” Alex said, smiling sadly.
OK, so then what happened?
“Jocelyn, Anderson, Reid, and I all made a run for Aimirgin Hall, while Min went back to Lorcan to get us a car. When we were nearly there, Reid said he could feel you connecting with him, and we told Anderson to let you know we were coming as soon as he had you in range.”
He did, though in hindsight maybe he shouldn’t have, I said without thinking.
“Why?” Alex asked, as I kicked myself for bringing it up, well aware that Alex was better off not knowing the finer details of my “alone time” with Cail.
Nothing, it just distracted me for a second, I said, trying to play it off, but finding it extremely difficult to come off passé without the aid of facial expressions. Sorry, go on, I urged, hoping to thwart any further questioning on the subject.
He eyed me, but continued. “The man who had you must have heard us coming, because as we entered the building he came running out of one of the rooms trying to make a break for it. He had the Iris in one hand, and something else – we didn’t know what it was at the time – in the other. Jocelyn was able to grab the Iris, and I heard Anderson and Reid wrestling him to the ground, while I ran into the room he’d come out of.”
So you got him?
“No, he got away. Reid and Anderson thought they had him knocked out, but he must have come to and run off. That or he was faking to begin with, just waiting for an opportunity.”
No one was guarding him?
“They were, but they all came running when they heard