Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling 2)

Stop her. By any means necessary.

"Father."

"Walk with me, Faith." He turned off the main path to one that snaked deeper into the grounds. "I've heard some disturbing news."

A chill wind swept through her body in spite of the early afternoon sunshine. "Kaleb Krychek?"

To her relief, he nodded. "There are rumors he's decided to give the Council no alternative choice."

"Nothing we didn't expect."

"I want you to retire from the race."

"Father?" She turned to face him, pure surprise rooting her to the spot.

Anthony halted beside her. "You weren't trained in offensive maneuvers. Kaleb has had years of practice."

"I know that, but - "

"You're too valuable to chance being damaged."

So, her monetary profitability outweighed her father's ambition. "I understand. Business is business. But what if I wish to pursue the offer?"

"The PsyClan will assist you, of course. However, think carefully, Faith. As a cardinal foreseer, you already have considerable political power should you choose to wield it."

"I'm completely isolated."

"That can change if you want it to."

She spoke without thinking. "Can it?"

Anthony looked at her for several long moments. She wondered whether he suspected something. Then he said, "I've already lost one daughter. It's enough. I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."

She wanted to read emotion, care, love, into his statement, but knew it'd be a self-deluding lie. "Did your sources give a time frame for any attack? Or the type of offensive?" Forcing herself to think past the needs of the lonely child inside of her, she started walking again.

"Within the next two days. As for type, Krychek is known for using the PsyNet. It's suspected he has an undocumented subset of powers beneath his Tk abilities that allow him to attack without detection."

"Do you think it's something similar to Nikita Duncan's talent?"

"Mental viruses?" Anthony seemed to consider that idea. "No. It's something else. The end result of his particular skills being utilized is unique and extremely disturbing."

"I thought his targets had a tendency to disappear?"

"They do. But I've discovered that it's not Krychek who does the disappearing. It's the individual family groups -  they don't want to be associated with his victims."

"What results could cause such a radical reaction?" She wanted to gather as much information as she could on the man almost certain to become the newest member of the Council. Information was power and she was through with being powerless.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course."

"Nikita's targets either die or become incapacitated to the extent that they can't care for themselves - similar effects to certain kinds of accidental brain damage. Unfortunate for the individual but nothing organic or genetic, nothing that reflects on the extended family group."

It was very unlike her father to dance around a subject. "Why is Krychek different?"

"His targets go clinically insane."

Chapter 20

Faith was very, very glad she'd fallen a step behind Anthony, because at that moment, she couldn't have hidden her terror. "Insane?"

"As far as anyone has been able to determine, his targets begin to exhibit highly erratic behavior approximately two days after infection. By the fifth day, they're no longer sane in any sense, though the actual psych diagnosis varies from individual to individual."

She shoved down her panic and horror and attempted a semblance of calm. "That makes the decision considerably easier - I have no desire to go insane before my time. Perhaps you should inform the Council as the head of the household. It may prove unhealthy for me to venture out into the PsyNet. At least until Krychek knows I'm out of the running."

"I'll do it en route to the city."

They turned to make their way back. "Thank you." Faith ached for even the smallest indication of care, something Anthony would never be able to give her. But he was her father. How could she not hunger for his approval if nothing else?

"Faith."

"Yes, Father?"

"Be careful. Krychek may attempt to get to you some other way. Don't trust anyone until I've ensured he knows you've conceded the race."

Since she trusted no one who was connected to the Net, that wasn't going to be a problem. "What if he decides to eliminate me anyway? I might become a rival in the future."

"I've thought of a way to counter that possibility. I'll make it known that you're being put under lockdown because of aberrant mental patterns."

A cage. Her father was going to put her in a cage. Faith told herself not to care but she did. And it hurt. "How long will I have to maintain this fiction? I assume it means I have to stay out of the PsyNet?"

"I'd suggest a year. Krychek needs to forget you were ever a threat."

A year cut off from the only freedom she'd ever known. "Isn't that extreme?" No matter what else he'd done, she'd always believed that Anthony had tried to keep her safe. But this . .. this was an attempt to put her in chains and disguise it as protection.

"It's a question of your life. One year isn't much in the greater scheme of things."

A year was everything if you had decades of madness to look forward to. Though if she left the PsyNet, perhaps Vaughn could somehow heal the broken pieces in her mind. Even as she thought that, she knew it to be an impossible dream. But no matter - she'd still have more years of sanity than she would have under lockdown, a lockdown she suspected would never be reversed, reasons being found to keep her isolated and performing like the machine they'd almost turned her into.