D E L P H I N I U M

I wasn't sure how long we'd been traveling when I woke up. I also didn't remember being put to sleep in the first place. But it didn't take long for me to recall what I'd left behind.

Jake. My team. My home. Everything. Not even my cold grandmother would know where I was now.

At first, I wasn't sure why I couldn't see. Had they blindfolded me? Then I remembered the iron mask. They'd purposely put me in a mask like Benny's not only so that I couldn't use my power, but also so that a reminder of what I was and where I was going was always weighing down on me.

Under the mask, I cried. I wept for Jake and the horrified expression on his face when I confessed everything to him. I knew it would make things much harder if I told him. But I needed him to know. Once.

I wept for my friends—everything they'd gone through because of the power under their skin and all of the inner turmoil we'd had with each other that I now regretted. I hadn't even gotten to see the joy on their faces when we won the battle, hadn't gotten to say goodbye.

And most of all, I wept for myself. I'd come so far in the last months, had been changing for the better. I had finally gained hope that I could be the person I wanted to be. There was so much I'd done simply to survive, looking toward a better future, and it was all for nothing.

All for nothing. All for nothing. It repeated like a rosary in my mind.

This was the end. Maybe I was going to pay for my sins now. Maybe this was life's twisted, ironic way of putting me out of my misery.

They were bringing me to Orion. The idea made me want to throw myself out of whatever vehicle we were in right now. I had dreams where this very thing happened and I always awoke, sweating and nauseous in my bed. But this was not a dream. This was real. This was a living, breathing nightmare.

How many times had Benny promised he'd bring me back to his master? I'd always gotten angry and never quite believed him. But he was doing exactly what he said he'd do.

For now, I lamented my sorry state and what would happen next. I allowed the tears to fall. But once I was brought before my old master, they would only see the wolf. There would be no weakness in the great assassin. They would never see me cry. I would be power. Even if I was being sent to my death, even if this was the end, I refused to lose myself. I might be about to die, but I would not break.

The iron mask weighed my head down, so I kept it bowed. But I had stopped weeping, wanting to be able to hear any change in sound near me. From what I could tell, I was inside the back of one of the armored trucks, chained to a bench. When I'd first awoken, I strangely hadn't been able to feel my arms and legs. Now, I knew they were very heavily bound to prevent any escapes or lashing out. My reputation was known by everyone in Imperium, especially after I'd singlehandedly destroyed the fortress.

That wouldn't happen again. Even if the dynamic power inside me hadn't bled out with all my injuries and sadness, even if I was still in that desperate, manic state I'd been that night, I would not be able to recreate it. They were expecting me to make some grand display of my power. But they were ready this time and would not make the same mistake twice.

I couldn't help but wonder how my life would end. I had never believed that it would be quietly or peacefully in my sleep. Some dark part of me always expected it to be Orion. Ever since he wasn't able to completely control me all that time ago, he was surely hellbent on having me back. He wouldn't stop until I was gone, I knew that deep within the core of my being.

The truck stopped, lurching me forward on the bench. Chains rattled. For a moment, there was silence.

Then, footsteps. Many of them. They were flooding the truck, either entering it or having been there before without my knowledge. Soldiers were coming to bring me inside. I felt movement at the ends of the chains binding me and was yanked forward. They'd even put a metal collar around my neck with a chain attached like I was an animal to be tamed.

Then, I was forced to stand on shaking legs, nearly stumbling when they shoved me out of the back of the truck and onto the paved street. It sounded as if I had a small army gathered around me. Only the best for Orion's prized killer.

Whoever was holding the ends of my chains was much, much stronger than I was. With such a lithe, thin body, I'd never been one for physical strength. In fights, I had to rely on fast movements and my mental power. That clearly wouldn't work here with the way they dragged me along like a rag doll.

I couldn't tell exactly when we made the transition from outside to the fortress, but we were inside now. For a while, I only listened to the sounds of Romanian soldiers and machinery, keeping my mind calm and blank. My feet, alone with the boots of my entourage, clicked on the tile. I remembered how black the floor was, how the blood seemed to blend in when it was spilled on top.

Because I hadn't been here in quite a time, I doubt that get my bearings about me. It made me even more skittish and uneasy to not know exactly where I was and how much time I had left before I was in their leader's presence.

There was a booming noise ahead of me. Large doors opening, perhaps? Was this Orion's throne room? The thought send chills down my spine. He was near. He was probably close enough to bury a knife between my shoulder blades and I wouldn't even know. The whispering in the room stopped as I did.

Vision wasn't necessary for me to know that I was standing before Orion's throne. The smell of blood and metal wafted into my nose. The feeling in this room was bleak and pulsing with power and fear. I could recognize it anywhere. That same feeling was ever-present in my nightmares.

"Here she is, Unul Exaltat. Just as you requested." It was Benny's voice, just to my right. I could whip out and wrap my chains around his neck, but I didn't dare. Even if I wanted to move, I didn't think I'd be able to. My hands shook too much.

"My faithful servant." Orion's voice was impossibly deep, rumbling throughout the room. It didn't sound quite human. I could sense him stepping closer to me. My heart hammered in my chest and I wondered if he could hear it. The instinct to run was primal. I needed to put space between him and I, needed him to be far away...

"Remove the mask."

Someone grasped my head and held me still. I wanted to scream and fight but my body was unable to move. Now that the mask was being removed, I found how strangely comforting it was. I didn't have to see the world around me. Though fear coursed through my blood like a drug, I'd been blind to the true horrors. Now my eyes were open and I wished they weren't.

Orion stood before me in all his glory, his massive, nearly superhuman stature towering above me and making me feel smaller and more insignificant than ever. I was the one who held enhanced abilities and yet he was a symbol of power in its rawest form. Dressed in shining black armor and a luxurious gold cape of interlocking metal pieces, he looked like a king ready for war. I did my best not to cower in front of him, but was in danger of giving in to that overpowering fear of mine. I didn't look him in the face, couldn't bring myself to find the courage to just yet.

So I glanced around at the throne room. Behind Imperium's leader was what gave this room its name: the massive throne on a raised dais that forced all other lowly servants to look up to him in fear and wonder. It was exactly as I remembered. The chair itself was in Imperium's black and gold, created to be spectacular and eye-catching. Spiked onyx points raised off of the back, giving Orion the impression that he was sitting on a throne of bone shards.

Besides all of the lower soldiers that had brought me here with Benny, behind the throne and stationed at equal intervals around the circular room stood soldiers in dark masks and black clothing. I knew from experience they would come to their master's aid if he was threatened. Another show of power.

"Look at me, Delphinium," the lethal voice came again and I looked my old master in the face this time, fearing what he might to do to me if I didn't. Holding my chin high and jaw set, I pretended like I wasn't ready to scramble away in terror.

He too, wore a mask—though it was different from the one Benny and the other higher soldiers wore. It was black as night, the forehead adorned with a shining golden half-moon with outward spikes surrounding it. Imperium's symbol. It was meant to be a sign of their cause, but I hoped to never see it again.

He'd worn it as long as I'd known him. It was yet another fear tactic. Fearing a faceless monster was much easier than fearing a single dangerous man. I had seen him without it a few times when he still controlled me. However, with a jolt of unease, I realized I couldn't recall what his real face looked like. I couldn't even remember a single feature. That only served as fuel for my hidden fear.

Something in his body language changed from murderous to relaxed. Reaching out a gloved hand, he dragged his knuckles down my bare cheek. "I have wanted you back here for a long time, Delphinium. I am happy you are back with us now. You were always my favorite of all my children."

I resisted the strong urge to cringe when he called me his child. It was what he called those of us whom he snatched from our homes and turned into his personal killers. But I couldn't move.

"It has been some time since we were together. All that fighting, all that destruction, and for what? You are simply back here with me again." He cocked his hooded head to the side. "And look at you—already in our colors, even after you swore never to wear them again."

Summoning some powerful strength I had resting inside my terrified soul, I spit at his feet. The next time he touched me, I'd cut his hand off.

His tone turned dark, not standing for this disrespect. "Is that any way to address your master?"

I would never call him the title he demanded: Unul Exaltat. It meant 'Exalted One'. Those words would never leave my lips again, especially now that he was preparing to end my life. "You are not my master anymore." It had been some time since I'd spoken Romanian.

"Your time away from us has made you stupid, Delphinium." He stepped closer and I could feel his eyes boring through the slits in his mask. "No matter where you go, no matter how far you try to run, I will always be your master."

To prevent myself from cowering away, I dug my nails into my hands. "Then why are you wasting your precious time? I'm here to be killed, aren't I? So do it. End me." It was a challenge, but I knew he'd do it. Better to be dead than still subjected to his presence and this terrible waiting.

He laughed and it was the most horrifying thing he'd done since I'd been here, a sound devoid of any shred of goodness or humor. He was belittling me because of something I'd said, but I wasn't sure what exactly he found funny about it.

"Benton told you that I was going to kill you. I suppose he had a point."

"If you're going to do it, then do it." My lips shook as I said it, daring him to kill me.

"However, Benton was lying to you to get you here. I'm not going to kill you. Not really. After all, you are one of my children, Secerător." He took another step forward, down from the dais.

"What are you-" I backed away, confused. Then, it hit me. He'd called me Secerător. The Reaper. I took a faster step back and ran into Benny, whose hands wrapped around my shoulders like iron bands. No. No.

"Take her downstairs," he commanded, the steel back in his tone like he no longer had to put on a facade. Benny still grasped me as I struggled. "Alert the doctors that we have a new patient." He was so close now, too close.

"No!" I screamed as Benny began to pull me back toward the doors. Soldiers began to surge for me, knowing that I might be a difficult package to deliver. "Don't do this." All thoughts of staying strong and resilient had flown from my mind. There was only one thought now: I couldn't go back there. I couldn't go back there.

"You know what must happen. If you struggle, you will be punished."

But this was already a punishment, the worst one he could imagine. "Please don't make me...Don't. Just kill me, if that's that you want. Kill me, please," I begged as stinging, raging tears welled up in my eyes again. My chains were pulled backward. "Just don't send me back there."

He said nothing, but I got the feeling he was smiling beneath his mask. Rage swelled. Grabbing ahold of one of his soldiers' daggers with my mind, I let it fly like a shining bullet for Orion. If I was going to be dragged to Hell, he was coming with me.

After I used the last ounce of my power, I slumped back in Benny's arms. Right before I was dragged from the throne room completely, Orion hit the blade aside with his gloved hand as if it was nothing. I had failed.

Benny and the men he commanded pulled me—kicking and screaming—down to that room I feared most. No matter how much I fought it, they continued to yank on the chains connected to my arms and neck. I was forced to yield step after step under their much greater combined strengths. My living nightmare was close.

By the time we reached the white room, my face was wet with tears and sweat. The skin beneath the chains was painful and red, but I continued to fight. An animalistic scream erupted out of me when they shoved me into the machine and held me down long enough for the doctors to clamp my body inside. I writhed like an epileptic but the hands remained on me, forcing me to be still and obedient. Just before I was released, the heavy, cold mask was placed over my face to prevent me from using my power.

New voices joined the room. Doctors. They were preparing. I begged and then spat out every curse I could think of when it did nothing to change their minds. I couldn't tell if my eyes were watering because of how much my throat hurt from screaming or if I was sobbing again. Perhaps both.

My body tensed as needles pierced my skin in countless places. I gritted my teeth as the two worst ones sank in: on either side of my head. They were filling me with their poison, the liquid that would eventually restart my brain. I would forget myself.

"Mind Sweeper Operation Two on Delphinium Tesla is ready," said a female voice.

"The process of cognitive recalibration will begin now," came the answer.

I didn't have time to throw out more curses before the raging pain filled my blood. I saw colors splash before my eyelids. Red. So much red. I was drowning in it.

No, no, no, no, no. This was not supposed to happen in real life. This was just a nightmare. If only I could wake up. I had to wake up.

I was getting better. I'd been improving; the nightmares hadn't found me as much. Lately, I'd been learning to live with what I'd done. Hadn't that been enough? All of it...all the work I'd done to improve myself was going to be forcefully burned out of me.

My throat was raw from screaming and I was vaguely aware of my nails piercing the skin of my own palms. Blood welled under my fingernails but it did nothing to distract me from the paralyzing pain. Every cell of my body was screaming for death, anything to relieve me. The pain was controlling me, inside my every movement and thought. Surely I would reach my limit soon.

I roared as I felt myself slipping away, my very essence being erased. I would not be Delphinium Tesla for much longer.

I would be something else. Something monstrous. It was already spreading its talons over my heart, clawing its way inside my mind.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything that is about to happen.

That was my last thought before everything went black.

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And then I was before the Tribunal.

I hadn't remembered waking up or even much of what had happened before. My mind felt...foggy. Strangely empty. Why was I so empty? My heart skipped a beat when I realized I couldn't remember my name.

The Tribunal sat before me in three onyx thrones. Their plague-doctor masks—with shining, beady eyes and curved metal beaks—were unlike Orion's. Nothing could be seen behind those blank stares.

I got the strange feeling that I should be scared. Why was I here?

Simultaneously, they lifted up three gold spheres connected to gold chains. Then they swung their three pendulums and I watched on with wide eyes. My gaze traced every swing. Needing to know my purpose here didn't matter any longer. Nothing mattered anymore but this.

All three spoke in a single voice that was both a whisper and a scream all at once, "Delphinium Olesya Tesla. You are ours. You are Orion's. You will always belong to Imperium." The Tribunal kept speaking, kept both repeating those things and telling me more. Their words filled my ears and my brain, making me whole again, reminding me of who I was.

And my purpose.

I didn't flinch as all their pendulums simultaneously fell without a sound. "Who are you?" they asked me when it was finished.

"I am the Unul Exaltat's most devoted servant," I said and stood on suddenly strong legs. "I am the Reaper."

▂▂▂▂▂▂ THE END ▂▂▂▂▂▂