that is. And if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to talk with him. There really was no other way.
Pablo led the way into the office. He carried Thomas all the way over to the desk, pressed the button that opened the secret door, and then headed down the stairs. I followed him, feeling like a weakling all the way. I wanted to help so bad, but I knew there was little I could do. I would only make it harder to get down the stairs if I tried to help.
He took Thomas to a middle cell. Pablo was quick to dump him on the cold concrete and back out of the cage. He slammed the door closed, locked it, and wiped his hands on his robe. He was sweating.
I stepped aside as he hurried out of the basement. I could feel both Davin’s and the woman’s eyes on me, though neither spoke. I ignored them and stared at Thomas where he lay.
He was twitching ever so slightly. I wasn’t sure if it was just normal trembling from the silver or if he was actually trying to move. His eyes blazed as he watched me. I felt horrible. I knew what it was like to have silver tainting your blood, trying in vain to move, knowing you can’t defend yourself. It was a nearly unbearable experience, one I never wanted to repeat.
A few minutes later, Jonathan came down, dressed in his own clothes. He had exchanged Lei’s sweats for a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt. His glamour was back in place, making his head whole again.
“We’ll have to wait,” he said, stopping beside me. “Since he had the knife in him the entire ride, it will take longer than normal for him to break free of the silver’s hold.”
I bit my tongue to keep from saying something nasty. How hard would it have been to take the knife out of him before dumping him in the trunk?
“Why do you think it happened now?” Jonathan asked.
“What?”
“Why did he start acting this way all of a sudden?”
“You mean acting like a savage form of Thomas?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know. I wish I did.”
Jonathan scratched at the side of his head. I noticed a few scrapes he had obtained during the battle. His shirt was long-sleeved, so I couldn’t tell if he had been hurt badly or not. I hadn’t thought to check before.
“The others acted like werewolves doing their master’s bidding,” Jonathan said. “They seemed organized, willing to fight together. I didn’t believe it until I actually saw it in person.”
“But why?” I kept coming to that. I really wanted to believe Thomas was getting better, but it was hard. Looking at him like that, paralyzed, eyes full of hate, it was hard to believe he was anything more than a monster.
Then again, weren’t we all?
“Instinct,” Jonathan said. “It has to be the reason. They are falling back on what their bodies had been trained to do.”
“And what if it’s more?” I shook my head. “What if he’s in there, knowing I did this to him?”
Jonathan moved closer but didn’t touch me. “He is long gone,” he said. “As much as both of us would like him to still be in there, it just isn’t feasible. His mind was lost the day he was tainted.”
I had to contain my rage. I knew what Jonathan was saying was probably right. Deep down, I knew the chances of Thomas turning into the brother I once knew were slim.
But I didn’t care. I had to believe we could fix this. Somehow, someway, we would bring him back.
We stood in silence, just watching Thomas. Davin coughed a few times and I vaguely wondered if they had given him his blood yet. He deserved that at least.
Thomas’s arm twitched and I quickly knelt by his cage. He couldn’t really move yet, but it was close.
“Thomas,” I said as gently as I could. “It’s me, Kat.”
A low growl came from his chest, but that was the only sign that he heard me.
“Thomas.” I kept saying his name, hoping it would trigger something. “Listen to me carefully. Can you do that?”
A foot jerked, the growl came again. My lip trembled as I tried to get out the next words. I hated seeing him like this. It tore me up inside like nothing else.
“We’re going to help you,” I said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure you come out of this. You can