I was sad that Jonah had disappeared from my mind but it was for the best. He couldn’t help me with what I had to do now which was using brute force and escaping my tormentors. I faced my voices. Jonah knew about me but I could worry about that later. Right now I had a council to fool. It would be easy to play the lifeless marionette as I was still feeling the invisible blow of losing my family. In the water, I saw Mige’s prom night and Juaquin’s wedding to his current girlfriend. I even saw my mom on a few dates. I saw their future but at least they had a future. Which meant they were still alive. The illusion broke when my worries settled. I had Jonah to thank for that. I guess I trusted him now and he had tried to rescue me and ended up as a captive himself. That probably wasn’t sitting well with him right now. He had his problems and he’d still come to my rescue. How had he known? Could I do the same for him if he needed it? I wondered on our connection. Was it due to the strange spell or something else?

  “Myra, what should we do about the council,” asked Jessica.

  “Isn’t it obvious? We should blow the cell apart and escape,” said Roy.

  “I suggest something more subtle,” said Mark.

  “Like what?” asked Strength.

  “We should hypnotize someone to let us out and lead us out. That way we don’t have all the brigades after us,” said Mark.

  “I’m all for hypnotizing the jerk that poisoned us,” said Benny as she flapped her wings in irritation.

  “Thou agrees. What a piece of crap, nothing like his nephew,” said Preacher clutching his book to him. Myra wondered what was inside it.

  “Actually...they are more similar than you think Preach,” muttered Strength.

  “Oh god, put it behind you already,” said Jack as he stood and faced the subconscious with a strange expression on his face.

  “What is it Jack,” I asked, glancing at his clenched fists.

  “Something’s happening to the subconscious. I think we’ll have a new brother or sister soon,” he muttered.

  The others nodded sullenly. I stared at the door leading to my subconsciousness and sighed. “Another one?”

  “There are two others left,” said Jack, turning to me and sighing.

  I nodded. “I like the plan of hypnotizing that hypocrite Gale,” I said, turning the conversation back to the previous topic of my escape.

  “I’ll do it gladly,” said Siren, smirking.

  “Alright but how do we get near him?” asked Maryanne.

  “Leave that to me. Get us out of this cell and I’ll do the rest,” said Siren, smoothing back her hair.

  “So it’s set then? We’ll break out of our cell and hypnotize Gale?” asked Strength.

  “I think a safer plan would be to hypnotize the cell guard to give us the key and take us to Gale,” said Maryanne.

  “That is a smarter plan but what about now? We are still in the room with the council,” asked Roy as he glanced subtly at Maryanne. It didn’t escape me and I sighed. Maybe it was some kind of survivor’s unity thing? I hoped so because I wasn’t the only one who had caught the glance and she wasn’t happy. I didn’t want a catfight in my head! Knowing Roy he’d encourage it but Maryanne saw everyone as a sibling. It would be incest to her. Roy was better with Jess or no one was best. I was making too big a deal of this. I needed my Invega. I was hallucinating now and seeing things that weren’t there.

  “I think we should play the listless human,” said Jack. “ We should act like we have no will. It’ll be expected and we’ll be left alone.”

  “I think she should act out...no I ain’t crazy. It would guarantee us a lockdown in our cell for one and it would scare the council to act in their own interest,” said Strength.

  “How about we all go haywire like Benny in the arena and act listless, make them think we have no control of our power as a listless human? That’ll make them act too,” said Mark.

  “I like that plan, but what about the roots? They’ll squeeze us til our death,” said Jessica.

  “Leave the roots to me. I’ve been studying them and there isn’t a reason that they wouldn’t react to my ability,” said Mark, smirking.

  “So we act out? Well, the ones they know of?” asked Maryanne.

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  The others nodded and I sighed.

  “Let’s do this then,” I said smirking, and left my world for reality.

  My eyes opened but I kept a dead look to them and shed one last tear for my family because although they were fine and would survive this ordeal, I still missed them and I had essentially failed in protecting them. Aithne somehow knew about them and could harm them at any time. I lay there staring at the wall ignoring the council. Ok, guys let the fireworks begin!

  Strength: Here I go!

  Mark: Get ready. This will feel as if you’re being torn in two.

  Jessica: Don’t you think you should’ve told her that before!

  Roy: Man that is cold! Here I go!

  Benny: This will hurt? Should we do it still then?

  Jack: Too late!

  Maryanne: Shit!

  Siren: You said it.

  I gritted my teeth and whimpered as power rushed out of me in a wave. Water circled me. Fire burned on my skin. Wind blew around me. The Earth shook, surprising the council and rifts began opening everywhere like in the arena.

  Jack: This is going to hurt but keep it together Myra!

  I screamed as waves began to circle me and stretch towards the council of every element. Aithne screamed as water barreled towards her. Each council was attacked by their weakness and I smiled inwardly while acting like a listless human.

  “What is this!” yelled Gale as he battled Ether rifts.

  “You crushed her mind and expected no repercussions,” Thorn said sarcastically as he battled fire whips and earth vines.

  “This is madness! How can one human have so much power,” asked Aithne as she evaded a water blade caused by the mixing of water and wind.

  “She’ll be an extraordinary Morgan,” said Medina as she battled a root that had grown from the ones imprisoning Myra.

  I screamed and one final wave was expelled before I collapsed unconscious or so thought the council. I was quickly refilling but the voices had pulled their power back and the tearing feeling had ended, thank God! That hurt! Why didn’t Mark warn me before I did that? Was he afraid I would have said no to the plan? Or was it something more devious at hand?

  “Guards! Take her to her cell!” yelled Gale as the Ether died down and he stopped evading rifts, The room came back to a semblance of normality and he glared at Aithne.

  “Next time know what your experiments will cause,” he said, panting.

  “You’re out of form, your majesty,” Aithne muttered.

  I snickered and hid it in a sneeze as a guard picked me up. He took me to my cell and laid me down but before he left my eyes snapped open and hypnotized him. I was pretty sure they were gold like Siren’s but I wasn’t sure.

  “Take me to the king’s room,” I said. I wasn’t sure if it would work but my voice had also changed to match Siren’s. It was captivating to hear and acted much like a siren’s call. I had this soldier in my grasp. “Act naturally,” I purred and he grabbed my chain and dragged me up the stairs and up to a wing I’d never seen before. Different pictures hung on the walls and I recognized Jonah and Datha next to an emerald-eyed beauty and a cold blond man. I was led to a large room and left alone. I sat on the large silver duvet and waited, taking in the sparsely decorated room. There was a dresser with a mirror by the wall. It had a few pictures of the emerald-eyed woman and Jonah and Datha. A picture of Arriana and Aithne and two rune amulets in the form of a wolf and a swan, too small for Gale’s neck. They were child-size or chokers. I placed my hand over them and could make out the runes for J and D on them. Did Gale truly miss his niece and nephew? I read the rest of the runes and my eyes widened. Oh hell! Could Gale truly be? He and Jonah do look like twins but… The door creaked open and I felt my heart stumble. Was this right? Could I do this? I was scared. I reminded myself I had no choice.

  Don’t do this.

  What?

  Don’t hurt his feelings more.

  What the hell?

  “What the hell are you doing in my room! Didn’t the guards take you down to your cell?”

  I took a breath and turned around gazing straight at Gale ignoring the new voice.

  “King Gale?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “You will take me to the castle outskirts and let me go. Then you will return like nothing happened. You won’t remember this happened,” I purred. Seriously Siren? I sounded like a sex kitten like this.

  Siren giggled. “Sorry?”

  I didn’t turn from Gale.

  “Y-you belong in a cell right?” he asked confused.

  I tried again.

  “You will lead me like a prisoner to the outskirts of the castle grounds and let me go! Then return and act normally. You will remember nothing of our exchange,” I stressed. Gale tilted his head but finally nodded and I took a breath.

  “Let’s go,” I said, handing him the chain.

  He curled the chain in his wrists and smirked.

  “Right, back to your cell it is. I knew we didn’t break you completely.”