The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [78]
“We don’t want to make any mistakes. We cannot afford another Selmar.”
“I will get the diaries,” Alexi said, ignoring her admonition. He turned, addressing Ariel as he left. “She is sweating. That might affect the machine. Clean her.”
“I am not his servant,” Ariel hissed.
“Be silent and do as you were bidden,” Madam Vega snapped.
Sullenly, Ariel wiped my face with a cool cloth. “Crazy as a loon, he is. Lud, but he’s creepy with those monster eyes,” he muttered under his breath.
“You forget yourself, Ariel,” Madam Vega said. “Without Alexi, all of my plans will come to nothing. Only he understands these infernal machines. Now come with me.”
I heard their voices receding in the distance and bitterly cursed my carelessness. I had practically given myself as a gift to them. And they meant to use me to find the weaponmachines that caused the Great White. Would it be any use to tell them what Cameo had said? I could not think so, remembering the relish in Madam Vega’s voice when she had spoken of giving a demonstration of power to the Council. I knew I must not help them to find Marisa’s map or I would be directly responsible for unleashing the horrors of the Great White on the world again. Bleakly, I prayed for the courage to keep silent, but the thought of being tortured terrified me.
I heard a groan and knew it meant Rushton was waking up. I decided I must tell him that his friends were searching for him, and that they had a good idea of his location. Now that I looked about me, I saw that I was strapped to the extended table of the machine I had seen earlier. I could not turn my head far because of the binding about my throat, but I could see a hand tied to a chair. It moved, straining against the bindings.
“Rushton?” I whispered.
“Elspeth?” he croaked. “I thought you were dead.”
“It was Sharna the wolves killed,” I said with a stab of renewed grief.
“I thought they had torn you apart,” Rushton said again. “I wanted to kill Ariel. Instead, he shot me with a bolt from his crossbow.” He stifled a groan, and I saw that he was again straining against his bonds.
“Rushton, I need to tell you …” I broke off, hearing the approach of footsteps. It was Alexi, and Madam Vega returned with Ariel a moment later. Among them, they had brought scrolled papers and maps and parchments, as well as several fat, battered-looking books.
“We will begin with the diaries,” Alexi announced, taking one of the books and staring down into my eyes. “I wish you to use your Misfit abilities to learn where Marisa hid a map she made. I know you have the power to hear the thoughts she had when she scribed her notes. If you cooperate, I will not need to use the Zebkrahn.”
“You will kill me, whatever happens,” I said, thinking I had to give Louis and the others time to find us.
“You will tell me!” Alexi raged. He turned to the machine, and Vega hovered behind him with anxious eyes.
“Be careful, Alexi,” she warned.
“I will teach her not to defy me,” he snarled. He did something to the buttons, and several colored lights began to pulsate. The machine hummed very faintly, and Alexi took up a bowl-shaped helmet and fitted it over my head, his strange black eyes burning down at me.
All at once, I felt a faint buzzing in my head. It was only slightly distracting, and my spirits lifted. If this was the extent of their torture, the secret of the map’s whereabouts would be safe with me. I wondered suddenly if Marisa had even known the terrible capability of the weaponmachines she had located. I remembered that cold, enigmatic face in the portrait and thought it must be so.
“Even if you find what you want, the Council will not let you rule them,” Rushton said.
“He’s just trying to get you mad,” Ariel sneered.
Alexi turned his hot, mad gaze on Ariel, who visibly quailed. “I’ll kill you if you say anything else that annoys me,” the man hissed.
“Concentrate on the girl,” snapped Madam Vega, giving Ariel a warning look. Alexi came back to the machine and turned a knob, and the buzzing in my head