Blaze of Memory is the seventh book in the overall series. Chronologically, it follows Branded by Fire and precedes the short story "Christmas in the Kitchen."
| Blaze of Memory | |
 | |
| Author | Nalini Singh |
| Publication date | November 2009 |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by Branded by Fire |
Followed by Bonds of Justice |
Synopsis[]
Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.
Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…
Characters[]
Main Characters[]
Recurring Characters[]
- Aden Kai
- Anthony Kyriakus
- Ashaya Aleine
- Clay Bennett
- Dorian Christensen
- Dr. Glen Herriford
- Henry Scott
- Jon Duchslaya
- Judd Lauren
- Kaleb Krychek
- Keenan Aleine
- Lucas Hunter
- Mercy Smith
- Ming LeBon
- Nikita Duncan
- Noor Hassan
- Sascha Duncan
- Shoshanna Scott
- Talin McKade
- Tamsyn Ryder
- Tatiana Rika-Smythe
- Vaughn D'Angelo
New Characters[]
- Aubry
- Connor
- Cory
- Cruz
- Jack Benoit
- Jamie
- Jessie Amsell
- Keisha Bale
- Maggie
- Marty
- Michel Benoit
- Nani
- Tag
- Tiara
- William Benoit
Mentioned or non-Speaking Roles[]
- Arif Adelaja
- Aryan
- Beck
- Brenna Kincaid
- Catherine Adelaja
- David
- Emily
- Greg
- Isaac
- Julian Ryder
- Larsen Brandell
- Margaret Adelaja
- Matthew
- Maya
- Melissa Benoit
- Moran
- Naeem Adelaja
- Nina
- Remi Denier
- Rina Monaghan
- Roman Ryder
- Tendaji Adelaja
- Tilly
- Zaid Adelaja
- Zarina
Plot[]
Please be aware that this book contains depictions of memory loss, abduction, torture, and forced starvation.
Prologue[]
The Forgotten left the PsyNet to live their own lives apart from the cold of Silence their brethren chose, but the Psy saw them as a threat to their absolute power so the Council hunted them down, forcing the Forgotten to run and hide. Over time, the separatists forgot who they were and whence they came, but nothing stays buried and the Forgotten are facing a turning point, that that may lead to their utter annihilation.
Chapter 1[]
A woman awakes to a brown-eyed man who’s voice she recognizes and he helps her get a few ice chips into her parched mouth. He helps her sit up and says that he doesn’t think the drugs are fully out of her system and helps her drink some water, then some orange juice. She’s hungry as well as thirsty and weak, and has been hungry for a long time. When he asks her, her name, she’s scared because she doesn’t know it.
Dr. Glen Herriford tells Devraj Santos that the memory loss could be a side effect of the drugs and to give it a little time. Meanwhile, the mystery woman falls back asleep. Glen says that tests show there’s only regular sleeping pills in her system, but her extreme disorientation suggests something else. They try and piece together what happened, Dev noting that he came home at 10 pm, then stepped out to his car 15 minutes later and found her dumped on his doorstep, unconscious; she wouldn’t have been able to make it there on her own. Her blonde hair’s matted, face’s scratched, and she looks half-starved. Glen adds to the tally the bruises on her limbs, indicating torture as the bruises are layered according to their age, but the drugs should be out of her system completely within 48 hours. Dev has no intentions of calling Enforcement since he wants to keep an eye on her until they can get to the bottom of this and Glen points out that her reaction to the sleeping pills indicates she’s Psy, but Dev knows she’s not currently a threat even though she may very well be the Council’s latest weapon against the Forgotten.
Devraj is in his office by 6:30 am. His predecessor, Marty, had been director for 40+ years and when Dev took over, he warned him that the job would eat him and his entire life. Thousands depend on him and if he’s not careful, he’ll become cruel because he’s their general in this war; he worried about Dev living the rest of his life alone. Three years in and Dev understood what Marty had meant, having had to make some hard decisions to protect his people from the Council.
He goes down to the medical unit to see her again. If she’s connected to the PsyNet, she’s a Trojan horse and he might have to kill her, which he’s trained to do. The only question is if he could do that to a confused, seemingly helpless woman, and he’s fairly certain the answer is yes. He notices her eyes are moving under her eyelids as if she’s dreaming, only Psy aren’t supposed to dream.
The woman’s dreaming of breaking under torture, giving up information that her captor wants about experiments. She says they doctored the results and never gave him the proper data. His psychic fingers dig painfully into her brain, exposing her innermost self. She wakes screaming and tells Dev “he knows about the children” before passing out again.
Chapter 2[]
Dev calls Talin McKade to speak to Jon Duchslaya, she assumes about attending a Shine school, which he refuses. She assures him that he’s been training with the Psy in their pack, though. Dev agrees that’s the best place for Jon, who’s settled well in DarkRiver, what he wants to know is how many people knew he was in the Psy lab. Only Ashaya, as far as Talin knows, since all the research assistants were killed in the lab’s destruction and Clay took care of Larsen, the one experimenting on the kids. She refuses to show Jon a photo of the woman to see if he remembers her, but does give him Ashaya’s number with a warning to be mindful of Ashaya’s feelings since she, too, is haunted by the lab. Talin’s worried about him because he’s become harder, something he’s heard a lot in recent months. His ability’s making him colder and the best person for his position since he knows how Psy think.
Keenan answers Dev’s call because his mom’s baking cookies for kindergarten. When Ashaya comes to see who he’s talking to, Dev introduces himself. Ashaya sets Keenan to cutting out cookies so he won’t have to overhear their conversation. He fills her in on the mystery woman and while she’s hopeful one of her people survived, she knows the Council would exploit the Forgotten children. Ming in particular would kill them if they couldn’t be used, confirming Dev’s own concerns. Recognizing the photo and having her own reactions to it, Ashaya says the woman’s name is Ekaterina.
Chapter 3[]
At a Council meeting, Ming reports he has some of the data that Ashaya hid before defecting and the Forgotten have recently developed abilities unknown in the PsyNet. Tatiana says that’s hardly surprising since they eliminate all unnecessary mutations to make their primary abilities stronger and purer, implying Empaths are a mutation. Nikita reminds her that Es are necessary for a stable PsyNet.
Anthony doesn’t see it as a problem since the Forgotten haven’t used those abilities to attack the Psy, indicating their abilities aren’t dangerous. Ming agrees, but still wants to monitor the Forgotten to ensure they “never again become what they once were.” No one objects.
Nikita reports that the voluntary reconditioning program is going well and Henry agrees with her that they should continue, noting that the incidents of violence have diminished. Although she has no proof, Nikita suspects another Councilor was behind them. If their purpose was to reinforce Silence in the general populace, then they’d succeeded. However, that violence will have an inevitable backlash that Nikita, at least, is bracing herself for.
As Ashaya and Dorian arrive at Shine headquarters, he warns her that Ekaterina was probably in the Council’s hands for over five months. If that’s the case, then Ming has to have ripped everything she knew out of her head. The thought of such a violation fills Dev with cold rage.
The deaths from Protocol I still haunt him, so he’s already made sure all of their kids are safe and reassures Ashaya and Dorian that the mole who’d sold them out is dead. Dorian’s happy to hear that, although Ashaya’s slightly taken aback.
Ekaterina’s sitting up in bed and drinking some more fluids; she doesn’t recognize Ashaya. She tells them that she’s clearing the mental cobwebs, but still doesn’t remember who she is. Part of Dev wants to comfort her, but has to treat her as a weapon aimed at his people. He doesn’t have much humanity left in him anymore and if he has to stop her, it might kill what’s left.
Ashaya calls her Ekaterina, but she rejects it, saying that Ekaterina is dead and there’s nothing left before going into convulsions. Dev orders her to say her name, but his words – “Say it” – send her back into the nightmare she just survived and she falls unconscious. It took her three months, but she’d finally caved and admitted that “Ekaterina is dead.”
Dr. Herriford and Ashaya figure that her name was meant to be a trigger, exacerbated by the remnants of the drugs in her system, and she notes that some of them are known to cause memory loss in Psy.
Chapter 4[]
Dev tells Dorian that he and Ashaya can’t take Ekaterina back with them, which is what Ashaya wants, but Dev points out that, that’s not the same woman Ashaya knew and Shine’s more capable of monitoring her. Dorian asks him what he’ll do if she proves dangerous, and Dev says he already knows the answer to that. If that happens, Dorian wants to know so he can prepare Ashaya. Dev agrees to do so, but privately wonders if he could do that to someone who’s already been so badly abused. The cold, hard part of him says that he can because sometimes it takes a monster to fight monsters.
May 24, 1969
A woman named Zarina writes letters as a sort of journal to her seven-month-old son, Matthew, expressing concern about the Council listening to Mercury and the Adelajas. She once considered them friends and is convinced they only want the best for the Psy, but thinks that they’ve allowed their need to save and protect to become blinding fervor.
Chapter 5[]
It’s been two days, and the name Ekaterina still doesn’t fit her quite right, that it’s no longer hers. Dev asks her what she’d prefer instead, and she gets a knowing that it’s been a long time since she’s had a choice. She doesn’t have a preference, but that name reminds her of the “shadow-man” who’d forced her to say it and then hurt her again and again. Dev suggests Trina, thinking that something similar will help her recover her memory, but it’s too close for her comfort. Then he suggests Kate and finally Katya, which she’s sure no one’s ever called her, and it feels like a fresh beginning.
Katya should probably be afraid of Devraj considering he’s big and obviously lethal, despite the suit he wears, but he’s the opposite of the cold shadow that stalks her still. Torture’s what scares her, not a quick, clean death, which is why she allows him close enough to help her brush the knots out of her matted hair.
She notes that there’s no sunshine and the word echoes in her memory, but doesn’t turn up anything concrete. Dev explains that while it’s sunny and snowy up above, they’re too far underground for that. She craves more human touch.
Katya blurts out that she does know things about the world, such as she’s Psy and shouldn’t be able to feel emotions, which she does in a confusing maelstrom, but underneath it all is constant terror. The news makes sense to her and she knows who Dev is and what Shine is, it’s only herself that she doesn’t know. He points out that she dreams, her brain processing things, even though she doesn’t want to.
She warns him that she’s a threat and he agrees, but for now plans to keep her close and she asks him not to, saying there’s something wrong with her. He agrees with that, too. It’s like there’s another shadowy presence in her head, whispering to her.
Dev must want something from her if he’s keeping her close and alive. He asks her if she remembers the research she did with Ashaya, and she remembers seeing Ashaya when he first brought Katya to Shine. When he tells her of Ashaya’s wish that Katya come stay with her, she says no and has a panic attack. After calming her down, she asks him to promise her something. She’s setting off every instinct he has to protect and help, as if she was a tailor-made weapon aimed at him and he braces himself for a plea for mercy. Instead, she asks him to kill her if she’s too broken to fix. She knows that her captor changed her and she doesn’t want to live as his creation. He reassures her that if she was going to give up, she would have by now. She asks how he knows she hasn’t already.
February 21, 2080 – Sunshine station begins work on researching compounds on Ming LeBon’s orders.
Chapter 6[]
Katya won’t eat until Dev promises that he’ll kill her if it becomes necessary, although he’s still not sure what he’s going to do with her. He can’t just toss her into the cold, but neither can he allow her to gain familiarity with Shine’s workings. Yet he tells her she’ll be having another meal in an hour after only being able to eat a little of her food and she notes that he’s used to giving orders, moreover, he’s used to being obeyed.
When asked if she’s in the PsyNet, she says of course, but when she goes to check, she says she’s trapped, buried inside her mind. Dev says she isn’t otherwise she’d be dead. Where he’d been gentle brushing her hair and making sure she ate, he’s now ruthless and she’s unwilling to let herself fall apart in front of him while he’s so cold and hard, allowing her to think through the rising panic. Obviously, she’s getting biofeedback, but doesn’t think she can enter the Net. Dev points out it’s still possible someone could use her link to get inside her head, leading her to suspect that he thinks that’s already happened and she’s someone’s puppet.
Although Dev’s first assumption’s that Katya was dumped on his doorstep as a warning and an act of hostility towards Shine and the Forgotten, he also wonders if she was left there precisely because they wouldn’t cooperate with the Council. Either way, he can’t allow her to be more important to him than the Forgotten.
Katya dreams of her tormentor, who ordered her to gather information on the Forgotten, but first and foremost she was to kill the director of the Shine Foundation, Devraj Santos. More specifically, to murder him in a way that’s obviously assassination, but she doesn’t know why, and then to take her own life afterwards. This mission is the only reason he’s letting her live because she’s easily expendable and already considered dead. If she fails, then Devraj will kill her so she’ll be dead either way. Katya wakes from a nightmare of the shadow-man, but can’t remember what it is he wanted her to do. Whatever it was, she knows she’ll be forced to do his bidding.
Chapter 7[]
Three days later, Dorian confirms that Katya’s officially listed as deceased, meaning Ming must have gotten her out beforehand because there’s not even a whisper on the Net of her surviving the lab. Ashaya suspects the amnesia’s a side effect of the psychic block, to keep her from leaking anything onto the Net. He reassures Dorian they’re working on the block and he lets Dev know that Sascha, Faith, and Ashaya will drop everything to help, all he has to do is give the word. Refusing to chance them until he knows how dangerous she is, Dev turns down the offer, although he also sees her as putting her life in his hands and so he refuses to let anyone interfere.
Glen lets Dev know that Katya’s ready to be discharged from the medical floor and should bounce back fairly quickly with regular meals and the supplements he’s given her. According to the tests they’ve done, she’s midlevel, but in what, they don’t know and she doesn’t appear to be accessing it currently. The doctor refuses to keep her in the basement, insisting she needs fresh air and sunlight. Dev reminds him that he can’t set Katya free, even though he feels like a bastard, which was why he’s director in the first place. He has an affinity for metal, a gift that began when his parents died, but that ability’s been freezing out his humanity over time.
The two men argue over Devraj’s insistence on doing all the nasty jobs himself and Glen asks him what he’s going to do with Katya instead, indicating a lack of trust in Dev not to hurt her. The implication coming from a friend hurts Dev, who says he’s not that far gone; not yet, Glen agrees.
Katya’s ready to go, dressed and having packed the things Dev’s secretary, Maggie, procured for her. She asks where Dev’s taking her and he says to his place in Vermont where he can work remotely.
Katya asks why he doesn’t dump her on someone else and the reason he gives is because he doesn’t know how big of a threat she is, but also because she awakens complex emotions and memories in him. Since he won’t let her go, she accuses him of holding her prisoner again, which he defends by saying she’s the enemy. Instead of fear and anxiety, she’s starting to get angry with him.
Upon learning they’ll be traveling by car, she gets excited at the thought of using the car to find something, but her memory cuts out again before she can figure out what. Dev stops her when she concentrates to try and jog her memory since she hates not knowing who she is. Hate obviously being an emotion, he asks her if she feels easily. Yes, since the mind, and any conditioning, will break under so much stress.
The thought of entering the elevator sends her into a panic, questioning whether her current experiences are reality or a fantasy created in her isolation in the dark and he soothes her. The elevator cab reminded her of the lightless, soundless box she was kept in, cut off from everything except pain and everyone, including the PsyNet. Even though he knows that’s a form of psychological torture, Dev shuts down any empathy for her since it can also be used to brainwash. Most likely the physical abuse was to make her more pitiable.
It takes a little while, but she calms down and reminds herself that if she survived, then she must be stronger than she thinks. This sparks a sense of pride in him towards her.
She says she remembers being chased by a panther and asks him to see if that actually happened so she can know whether or not to trust anything she thinks she remembers.
They take the stairs to the lobby and Katya immediately soaks in the daylight, which angers him to think of the deprivation she suffered even though each time he connects with metal and machines, he gets closer to the type of emotionless mindset that leads to that kind of torture. The problem is, is that he can’t avoid sensing metal and uses it as a shield; he’s willing to give up his humanity to protect his people.
Chapter 8[]
In defense against the way he reacts to Katya, Dev deliberately connects with the metal in the building around them. The vice director, Aubry, stops to talk to them and Katya takes Dev’s hand, the warmth of the connection burning away the usual cold that comes with his gift. Dev cuts him off before he can reveal anything about their inner workings, and Aubry picks up on that, saying he’ll email.
Once in the car and away from the handsome Aubry, Dev lets go of the metal. Katya notes how attractive Aubry is, but knows that true Psy wouldn’t notice due to their Silence. He corrects her: Psy in the PsyNet are Silent, Psy outside it are not. She says she remembers a Forgotten boy that was one of his, but nothing, which frustrates her. Dev knows she means Jon, who the Council would love to get their hands on.
Again, Katya tries to unlock her memories and he stops her, worried she’ll give herself an aneurysm, and says that they won’t make her the same person she was before. She does remember how cold she was before and says she’s a blunt instrument right before seizing up in pain and passing out.
Dev pulls the car over and brings her back to consciousness. She thinks her brain reacted to the words she said and essentially rebooted. She’ll say things and then she has the knowledge, so she’s not intentionally misleading him. Since they’re stopped anyway, Dev wants to get her some more food, but the thought of going into a mall with a bunch of people is intimidating to her. Before leaving her alone, he presses something so she can’t take off with the car, which was what she was itching to do, only she doesn’t know where she feels she needs to go. She points out that she could simply walk, but she’s too weak to go far and even then he still locks her inside the car.
As soon as his back is turned, Katya is compelled to open the panel to get to the car’s computronics in order to go somewhere to see something.
Chapter 9[]
Katya’s frantic efforts to hijack the car are for naught so she sits there and wonders if the urge to go north is her or something that was implanted in her mind.
Dev brings her a milkshake and says that he made a call and confirmed that her memory of a panther was real. When she goes to take a drink of the shake, she finds that it’s too thick and assumes the straw’s defective. Dev admits that it’s basically ice cream blended with so much fresh fruit it’s solid and hands her a spoon, she accuses him of wanting to see how long it’d take her to realize. Somehow, she knows that Dev isn’t supposed to have a sense of humour, which could only mean that the shadow-man gave her that knowledge, but more importantly, that he’s not omnipotent.
Dev relaxes a little now that Katya’s eating and plans on feeding her more to ensure she regains the weight she’s lost. Part of him, however, thinks that it’s best to keep her weak since she’s the enemy. His ruthless side’s been showing more and more like that of late. He remembers his most recent conversation with his great grandmother, who’s an empath, when she’d been upset that he was growing emotionless like the Psy, which wasn’t what her parents had wanted and why they’d left the PsyNet in the first place. He couldn’t break her heart by telling her that they had to make ruthless decisions in order to survive.
One of Dev’s photographs, a shell on a beach, triggers a memory of when she was a kid and the family’s car had, had a problem so they pulled over near the beach. Her parents had a join-parenting agreement and although her father seemed to have seen her as nothing more than an investment, she appears to have feelings towards him.
May 18, 2080
The staff at Sunshine Station are experiencing headaches and some have pinprick hemorrhages in their cerebral cortex.
Chapter 10[]
The windows don’t open in the bedroom Dev puts Katya in and she knows it’s to prevent her from escaping. She points out that they’re in the middle of nowhere and she wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. No, but the car does have a navigation system and notifies him if someone tried to tamper with the car. Why shouldn’t she try and escape when she’s still being held prisoner? He asks where she’d go since she was dumped like trash on his doorstep. Someone might want her, like her father. Dev reminds her that she’d just said her father saw her as little more than an investment. She wants to believe that her parents would care whether she lived or died. Dev asks her if her father would help her against the Council, but she knows he wouldn’t so she stubbornly says she’ll take care of herself.
He points out how weak she still is, pissing her off, and she’s determined to prove him wrong. She pushed him, or rather tries to, because she wants him to leave the bedroom. He steps closer to intimidate her and asks what she’ll do if he doesn’t comply. She threatens to poison him and he says bring it on, confusing her since her escape attempt angered him, but an outright threat makes him smile. The threat’s understandable, and there’s an implication that he thinks it’s cute; as for the other, however, he says she belongs to the Forgotten and he’s keeping her close until he figures out what she was meant to do to them. In other words, Dev’s a lot more lenient than the Shine director.
His behaviour’s incomprehensible to her and she asks what he wants, but he doesn't seem to have an answer to that.
Chapter 11[]
Even though Katya’s a potential bomb, Dev is attracted to her, which is putting his caring, protective side and his ruthless one at odds with each other. The attraction is mutual.
Chapter 12[]
Glen reports that one of the Shine Guardians found a kid who’s a true telepath, something that was lost early in the Forgotten’s history due to intermingling with the other races. The kid’s an orphan, parents having died in a car wreck, and has been treated for schizophrenia his whole life. He asks Dev to meet with the boy, who’s a bit of a mess, because he’s good with kids. They make plans for him to meet the kid in two days.
Dev makes Katya another ice cream smoothie and a sandwich, but when she balks at the latter, saying she’s not that hungry, he threatens to tie her to a chair until she finally cooperates and he'll hand feed her. Annoyed with him, she eats her sandwich and ignores him, but he encroaches on her personal space in retaliation.
The fact that she's irritated hits Katya and she wonders why her emotions aren't leaking onto the PsyNet. Dev says that her cage wasn't just to trap her, but to hide her, making her a more effective Trojan horse. How can he sound so calm when she's most likely programmed to kill him? He shrugs and says he's not easy to kill and she warns him that she's a telepath. The statement unlocks some of her memories and she knows she's a midlevel telepath and an M-Psy, both below 5 on the Gradient. She protests when he tells her to send to him, worried the Council will find her. He says the Council already knows the Forgotten have some abilities, he wants to know if he's strong enough to "hear" her, and he doesn't intend to let her go.
Katya telepathically asks Dev if he doesn't consider himself Psy, which he can only barely make out as a murmur. When she repeats it aloud, he says he doesn't because the Psy cut off his family and tried to annihilate them. She's Psy even if they threw her away. He suggests looking at it another way, that they gave her to him instead.
Chapter 13[]
Nikita Duncan and Kaleb Krychek examine a section of dead PsyNet. There have been threads, this is the worst spot. She thinks it's a scar from the Psy who were recently compelled to murder, but Kaleb thinks otherwise. If the Net is sick, then it could infect the Psy, and if it's growing, they need to figure out how to stop it. Kaleb thinks empaths are the solution as the last time the Net was in danger, it was when there were no empaths. Now there are millions of latent empaths and Nikita thinks this is something else, she's just not sure of what yet.
Chapter 14[]
Dev wakes Katya from a nightmare of darkness and hopelessness with a kiss. She'd been screaming and wouldn't wake no matter how he shook her. It was her first kiss and she asks for another, so he does. Since she's still scared, he holds her and to calm his hunger for her, he psychically seeks out the metal in the house.
Once she falls asleep again, he visits his grandmother on the ShadowNet and while she understands that Katya may be a threat, she's happy that his reaction to her shows that he's still human and hasn't become utterly ruthless. He asks her if she can unravel Katya's programming, but she'd have to see her to tell and he doesn't want to risk that just yet.
When Dev's conversation with his grandmother ends, Katya sleepily complains about his broadcasting keeping her awake. She can't hear him, but it's like a drumbeat on her skull, giving her a headache. He kisses her again.
In a letter from the Petrokov family archives, the revelation of the totally Silent Adelaja twins, Tendaji and Naeem, is described.
Chapter 15[]
Katya thinks that maybe her torturer had done her a favour by breaking her Silence, but Dev says there are ways of doing that without breaking a person. For the first time, she examines the compulsion in her mind, it's barbed and just tearing it out would cause major damage. Diving into it's painful, but she manages to confirm that the shadow-man isn't directly controlling her and can't see or hear what she does. Most likely she's programmed to contact him if she does learn anything important. She describes how the programming's buried so deep she can't figure out how to remove it and survive the process.
Since she's dead either way, she wants to follow her gut and go north, but he refuses to let her go.
Aubry reports to Dev about a group of young Forgotten who think that there's no need for Shine and Dev says to let them be independent and discover what it can be like without Shine's help.
In another letter from the Petrokov archives, Dev's ancestor describes meeting the Adelaja twins, how cold they are, and her fears for the future of their race.
Chapter 16[]
Katya's watching archived Psy news footage to try and shake loose more memories and Dev changes the channel to CTX, which is currently reporting on political turmoil in Sri Lanka. He cuddles her, but she tries to ask him what's going to happen when they return to New York and he tries to put off that conversation a little longer.
The news report says that four Psy attacked a Sri Lankan government building and a statement from Shoshanna Scott blaming the incident on Jax, implying that the instigators aren't true Psy rather than a sign of fractured Silence.
Dev tries to kiss her, but she stops him, asking what will happen when she insists on following her instincts to go north? He says he won't let her and she says he can try because she has nothing to lose and will do whatever it takes to escape. No longer hiding how hard he can truly be, he says he'll contain a threat at all costs.
Upset, Katya wants to try and warn Ashaya about the bits she remembers and he reminds her that she could put her, her family, and the children at risk. Since Ashaya only has a son, Dev has to clarify that, that includes Jon and Noor, who survived and are safe with DarkRiver. Katya had suspected Ashaya had gotten them out, but wasn't sure and doesn't know if she hasn't been programmed to attack Ashaya and the kids.
The not knowing what's in her own head is frustrating, disturbing, and frightening. Dev asks her if she's willing to leave the PsyNet, but she knows that the ShadowNet can't take pure-blooded Psy anymore. Dev assumes that's something the Psy know and she says the Council probably does, she and Ashaya had come to that conclusion themselves when considering their options. He says the ShadowNet's chaos given form and would probably drive most Psy insane.
Chapter 17[]
A boy named William asks his dad, Jack, how he knows if he's bad. Two months before Will had woken from a nightmare and Jack had found dozens of dead birds on the lawn, as if they'd fallen out of the sky. Jack buried the little bodies so his son would never know. Will says he hasn't done anything yet, but he knows he's bad inside and begs his dad for help.
Chapter 18[]
That night, Katya comes to Dev and he turns her down despite his attraction to her, not wanting to take advantage of her. Towards that end, he crudely asks her if she's hoping he'll spare her life if they have sex. Instead of sleeping together, he holds her until dawn.
Chapter 19[]
Shoshanna asks Henry if he's responsible for the situation in Sri Lanka. He isn't, though, having learned from the recent spate of Psy compelled to violence. They both want pure Silence, Henry to the point where they will all be one mind and no need for the Council. she thinks that's impossible without an implant. Henry agrees with Shoshanna's suspicion that Ming didn't kill all the scientists in the lab.
The regional anchor for Sri Lanka's unstable, leading to the attack, and Henry intends to bring the anchor back under control "with a little judicious telepathic reshaping." Not only would it keep him alive and his mind intact to maintain stability in the PsyNet, but the Scotts would have control over that anchor and thus that part of the Net.
Chapter 20[]
Back at Shine headquarters in Manhattan, Dev locks Katya into an apartment, telling her she'll stay there until he has answers. She points out that as longs as she's connected to the PsyNet, which she can't leave, she'll remain a threat.
The orphaned telepath, Cruz, is near Cardinal level. The medication he's been on for most of his life blocked his telepathy, which stunted his psychic development. He lacks any shields and one of Shine's telepaths, Tag, has to shield for him.
Dev manages to get Cruz to talk where nowhere else has so far.
Chapter 21[]
Frustrated by the lack of avenues of escape, Katya's somewhat flattered that Dev respects her abilities enough to put her somewhere pretty much only a teleporter can get in and out of. The thought gives her another piece of memory: she can create an amplification effect with her midrange abilities, temporarily increasing her telepathy to 9.0. This meant she could send to anyone in the resistance, however, she did so rarely, because it drains her energy and eating and sleeping more than usual would have drawn Ming's attention. Now she remembers that Ming was her captor and torturer, the shadow-man who continues to haunt her nightmares.
To test this ability, Katya drops her internal shields, but someone screams into her mind.
Tag interrupts Dev and Cruz to tear a strip off his hide for not warning him that there's a powerful telepath in the building. She brushed by him and did his best to scare her into stopping with a scream. A telepath that strong could destroy the minds of many of his people.
Drawing on the metal in the building to turn his rage cold, Dev's anger subsides when he finds Katya unconscious and bleeding from her nose. Even though Tag had done what was necessary, Dev's still pissed at him. He's torn because he feels played for a fool and yet he still wants to protect her. Tag hopes she learns a lesson because she left herself too open and he could have sent something far worse than a scream, something she should have known.
Dev cleans the blood off her face with a washcloth, but leaves it within her line of sight for when she awakens, which doesn't take long. She looks and feels like crap. He hands her a glass of vitamin water and orders her to drink it.
Hard and lethal, he demands to know when she was going to tell him how powerful she was. She swears she hadn't known until she went "exploring," but he thinks she's faking the amnesia. Upset, she insists her memory is only coming back in bits and pieces. He warns her against trying to scan anyone at Shine again because he's authorized the use of deadly force against her. His words and attitude hurt her deeply, but she does her best to hide it.
Chapter 22[]
Crying and angry, Katya's determined to get back at Dev for that.
Dev calls Ashaya to yell at her for not warning him how powerful a telepath Katya is. Ashaya says that she'd never use it to harm anyone, but Dev snaps that Katya's not the same person anymore. Dorian interrupts to snarl at Dev for yelling at his mate, telling him that the fault lies with him for not asking Ashaya about Katya's abilities in the first place. Realizing Dorian's right, he apologizes and Dorian asks if anyone was hurt. Not this time.
Dev asks Dorian about how to get a hold of Sascha because he needs help with a child telepath who can't shield and Talin had told him, with DarkRiver's consent, that Sascha's one of the best. He says to call Lucas since his alpha would kill him if he gave Dev her cell number. Giving him the code, Dorian says he'll rip out Dev's throat the next time he yells at Ashaya. Dev understands, but warns him that he's not easy prey.
Calling Lucas, Dev lays out the situation. Although he says Sascha will no doubt help the boy, he won't let her leave DarkRiver territory. Putting two and two together, Dev figures she must be pregnant. Lucas asks him to keep quiet about it since they don't want to draw the Council's attention.
Dev prepares to travel to DarkRiver.
Chapter 23[]
To Judd Lauren's complete befuddlement, Noor gives him a pretty rock she found because they're "the same" and gives him a hug.
Chapter 24[]
For the next four days, Katya works on regaining her strength and squirrels away the over the counter pain and flu medication she finds in the bathroom.
Dev tells her they're leaving and will be near Ashaya. When she protests for the sake of Ashaya's safety, he tells her to take a mild sedative. She refuses, not wanting to be helpless.
Tag and Dev argue over how to handle Katya, Tag thinking Dev's allowing his feelings to cloud his judgment.
Chapter 25[]
Once they board the plane, Dev shows Katya a pressure injector and tells her he'll never forgive her if she forces him to use it. Despite the ominous start to the journey, Katya's entertained by Tag's obvious attraction to another of their party, Tiara. She remarks that she's always been mystified by how non-Psy women could trust men who weren't bound by Silence, although there's also no real chance for domestic violence. Dev says her research must have been very thorough and tries to end the conversation.
Katya tells him she'll drop her personal shields, which she does have control over, and let him scan her mind so he can see what she knows. He sees it as an invasion, but she argues that treating her as a liar is no better.
Vaughn and Mercy escort the Shine group to the house they'll be staying in and where Sascha will meet them. Before leaving, Mercy gives Katya her number, implying that if she needs help getting away from Dev, she has but to give the word. But Katya won't because Ming's changed her too much.
Dev holds her, which pisses her off, and she tells him that he can't threaten her one minute and cuddle her the next. He admits he was extremely angry with her at the time, because he thought she was snowing him and he still thinks that, she says. Not remembering a vital ability's incomprehensible to him, like forgetting a limb.
Their argument brings up memories of what she did the labs, things she doesn't want to remember. Again, she asks him to scan her mind.
Chapter 26[]
Kaleb visits the dead area of the PsyNet and worries about the disintegration of it.
Chapter 27[]
Katya studies the block Ming put on her access to the PsyNet and learns that he'd tied it into her own mind to power her prison.
Sascha kicks out Lucas and Dev for their posturing so she can work with Cruz. Lucas wants to meet Katya and Dev says that she's staying with him, but his aggression rolls off the alpha. Still, Dev takes him to Katya's room and he tells her on Ashaya's behalf that she has a way out. Katya appreciates the offer, but she won't put Ashaya and her family at risk. If she changes her mind, she just has to say so. Dev tells her she should've taken him up on his offer.
Again, Dev says he won't let her go, but this time it's not out of anger or a ruthless need to protect his people, it's possessiveness. She warns him that she's putting the broken pieces of herself together and she won't necessarily do what he wants. He says good, he doesn't want a puppet. It's a warning because she won't allow anything to stop her and he says bring it on before kissing her.
Sascha debriefs with the Shine team, telling them that the shielding techniques they tried to teach Cruz hadn't worked because his psychic pathways were so altered that she had to come up with a new method.
Dev asks Lucas about the RainFire alpha, Remi Denier, and what that means for his people in RainFire's area. The seeds for an alliance between the Forgotten and changelings are planted.
July 10, 2080, some staff members at Sunshine Station are experiencing inexplicable hallucinations and caused extensive damage during their episodes.
Chapter 28[]
Tiara and Katya do some yoga and get to know each other.
That night, Katya has a nightmare about Larsen and what he did to Jon. At the time, her hands were tied because if she'd stabbed Larsen like she'd wanted to at the time, she would have exposed herself as a rebel and the children would have died. Dev reminds her that Jon survived and is safe. She asks if he thinks Jon would meet her because she needs to apologize.
He holds her to comfort her and things turn sexual, but ultimately doesn't go anywhere because they still don't trust each other enough to take that step.
Chapter 29[]
Jon meets with Katya and she tries to apologize for not stopping Larsen when he hurt Jon. He knows that there are holes in her memory and tells her that she did try to stop him, but Larsen backhanded her for it so hard that he heard something crack and she lost consciousness. Jon tells her not to blame herself because she was just as trapped as he was and she did what she could.
Noor escapes from Talin to interrupt Jon and Katya and their conversation moves onto how Jon's doing now.
Later, Katya asks Dev again to scan her mind, but he continues to refuse because it would make him feel like a monster. They go back and forth on it and he says it would destroy him. Realizing there's something deeper to it, she questions how bad it would be for him and he says her intel on him should tell her, but she doesn't remember. Unwilling to hurt him, she concedes the issue.
He kisses her again.
Chapter 30[]
There's some heavy petting, but Dev doesn't want to take things further with others in the house.
Cruz telepaths to Katya out of curiosity, saying he's sorry she was scared away the last time she reached out. Realizing that he's the other person they've kept separate from her the whole trip, Katya also wants to protect him and warns him that he shouldn't be talking to her. He says she's scared like he is, but they both like Dev because he makes them feel safe.
He asks her why she wants to leave and she tells him that it's inappropriate to read someone else's mind. He apologizes and says he doesn't know proper etiquette, so she explains the ethics of it in a way he can understand.
To answer his question, Katya says there's something she needs to do and Cruz offers to help her. She declines, not wanting to get him in trouble, and he remembers something his mom used to say about boys and trouble. The sadness in him softens her resolve and when he says he has a plan, she caves.
Later, Cruz screams and Katya runs into the front room while everyone's distracted, checking on the boy, but she finds the doors and windows locked and set with alarms. She quickly grinds up the cold and flu medications she brought from the Shine apartment and mixes them into the pot of coffee in the kitchen. The portion is carefully calculated since she doesn't actually want to hurt anyone and the Forgotten are part Psy, who react poorly to drugs.
Katya rushes back to her room in time for Tiara to come by and tell her the scream was someone having a nightmare.
Chapter 31[]
Creeping down the hallway later, Katya sees Dev asleep at a desk and stops to check on him, relieved to find he doesn't appear to be harmed by the dose. She finds a stunner on him and takes it. Tag's passed out on the couch and she checks on him as well, then takes all the cash in his wallet, feeling horribly guilty about it.
Sensing something, Tiara wakes up and investigates. Even though she doesn't want to, Katya threatens to hold the stunner to Tag's head and Tiara calls her on it, assuming she won't shoot her or Tag with it. Katya asks if she'd really leave Cruz vulnerable by forcing her to neutralize Tiara.
Having figured out Tiara's pressure point, Katya has her disable the alarm system, knowing that she entered a distress code as well. She doesn't care as long as the siren doesn't sound and scare Cruz.
Katya forces her outside and while apologizing, shoots her with the stunner before Tiara can go for a weapon now that Tag's no longer a potential target. While she's disoriented and uncoordinated, Katya uses Tiara's fingerprint to unlock a car and start it. Leaving Tiara on the lawn, Katya tells her that she used the lowest possible setting so she should recover in a few minutes and she'll make sure the boy's shielded until Tiara can take over again.
Katya drives off and when she feels Tiara's psychic presence, she releases her shields on Cruz's mind. After driving for twenty minutes on major road, she stops at a truckstop diner. The car's now effectively useless to her since it's not coded to her and she leaves the stunner under the seat.
A young trucker named Jessie lets her hitch a ride, but also lectures her against it since it's not safe. Katya admits she doesn't want to be caught on surveillance. Concerned, Jessie asks if she's running from abuse and Katya says no, there's something she has to do.
The car Katya took had a malfunctioning tracker, but Tiara still managed to track her to the diner. Even though Dev's angry, he's also worried that Katya hitched a ride with the wrong person. He has to get Lucas to talk to the diner staff since they refused to talk to him and he reports back with the name Jessie Amsel.
Dev calls his cousin, Michel Benoit, to ask for his help in stopping Katya.
August 18, 2080: ten Sunshine members got lost and are recovering from exposure, they have no memories of the hours they were lost.
Chapter 32[]
Jessie helps Katya get a fake ID to cross the Canadian border, but they're pulled over by a cop, Michel Benoit, before they reach the border. He threatens to charge both of them if Katya doesn't come with him and, seeing a resemblance, she asks him if he knows someone named Devraj. Michel says he has a cousin with that name, but it's not an unusual one. She thanks Jessie and she says that if Katya ever needs help to give her a call as she'd given her, her number.
Chapter 33[]
Dev arrives at his cousin's place where Michel warns him that Katya's quite furious with him before heading out. He finds her eating a huge blueberry muffin and drinking cocoa with marshmallows.
He asks her if she really thought she was going to get away and she says she's not one to give in. Someone who'd survived Ming LeBon's torture wasn't the type to meekly accept their fate. He asks her how close she is to wherever it is she feels drawn. She just knows that she's closer and it's to the northwest, meaning Alaska or the Yukon.
Dev kisses her neck and Katya says she won't be coaxed into going back, he's planning on seducing, not charming, though. Confused, she asks why he isn't yelling at her and he says she's too stubborn for yelling to work. He respects her will and thinks of her as his.
Still, he's going to drag her back even though she's no threat at this distance. He can't risk she won't use what she's seen and heard to double back and attack, but he'll give her three days. She's glad to have him go with her and she's also afraid that she won't find anything, which would mean her mind is damaged if she feels compelled for no reason. If she did have brain damage, she wouldn't have been able to sneak out.
Although Katya's a little proud of herself, with good reason, she's worried about Tiara. Dev tells her that she started a betting pool on how far Katya would get before he caught up to her; Tiara bet on the farthest distance. Tag, on the other hand, isn't very happy with her. Although she wants to ask after Cruz, she doesn't, not wanting to get him into trouble, but Dev reassures her that he's fine. She worries the Council will learn how strong Cruz and some of the Forgotten are, but he tells her to let him worry about that.
Katya doesn't know much about where she's going, but she overheard something while held captive and Ming thought her too broken to worry her hearing anything. All she knows is that it's something bad. He tells her to focus on this mission and they'll figure out the rest later.
Chapter 34[]
Katya worries she's leading Dev into a trap and he says he takes care of what's his. She asks if he was born stubborn; his mom used to say he was half-mule, but his father killed her before she could say which one of them was the mule. His dad's ability turned on him the same way the Psy's had and why they turned to Silence. Dev starts to tell her about the ShadowNet, but she stops him so she can't possibly betray him.
Dev promises to kill Ming for her, but Katya says that's her job and she doesn't want Dev near him. She doesn't want him to become a killer like Ming.
Dev calls Jack, his cousin, who's been trying to get a hold of him. Katya puts on headphones so she can't overhear anything. Jack seems to be considering Silence, or something like it, for his young son who's so terrified he'll hurt someone he self-isolates. He says Will's getting worse, but doesn't want to say how until he can confirm. Dev doesn't think Silence will solve the issue since it didn't for the Psy, but Jack argues that Dev goes cold when he mainlines machines. He might go cold, but he still feels, still remains human.
Unwilling to lose his family, Dev says Glen and his team are working on a solution and he's working with his contacts, he just asks for a few more days. Jack asks what's so important today and Dev says he's trying to save another life, which hits a little too close to home for Jack. Dev tells him to call if anything changes and he'll drop everything to come.
Katya's nose is bleeding and she blames it on the altitude.
Dev asks her about the efficacy of Silence and they discuss it, but if the Forgotten are considering it, Katya advises against it. Silence kills something in people and communities, the PsyNet itself is dying. Worse, the Council's abuses become inevitable with lack of empathy.
A letter from the Petrokov family archives dated January 1, 1979 states they've made plans since Silence has been decided on.
Chapter 35[]
Henry reports to the Council that the anchor responsible for Sri Lanka is now under constant supervision. The way he and Shoshanna are working in unison again concerns Kaleb and Nikita. While voting to have the Arrows monitor the anchor, Anthony Kyriakus says he's heard a rumour that the squad is no longer under Ming's complete control. Ming dismisses the rumour, saying the only issue is some of them have reactions to Jax, which is the most effective method of maintaining total Silence.
Chapter 36[]
Upon arrival in Alaska, Dev and Katya stop to rest for the night at a cabin his secretary, Maggie, arranged for them. She also ensured there's a duffel bag of clothes and other necessities for Katya since she hadn't come prepared for winter in Alaska.
They share the same bed.
September 18, 2080: EarthTwo Command sends a team to assess the need for evacuation.
Chapter 37[]
On the drive the next day, Dev asks Katya about her childhood and she describes what it's like to grow up Psy. She wants to ask about his childhood, but he doesn't want to and she drops the subject, afraid to learn any of his weaknesses.
Lucas insists on driving Sascha to her next session with Cruz, but she still tries to point out that she can drive and that his DarkRiver construction work load has been heavy lately; she says she has to train him before the baby's born because a little leopard won't do well with constant hovering. He knows she's right and he knows he's being hard headed, but he swears he's working on it and that their child will be a hooligan just like Roman and Julian. The twins are apparently jealous that she's having a baby, although they took it easier when she told them that they'd be bigger and could look after it.
Sascha's worried for Katya and Dev.
Chapter 38[]
Ming receives a reminder that Katya's still alive, which comes as a surprise to him, but thinks she might just succeed after all. He tells Aden Kai to stop administering Jax to some of the Arrows who appear to have reacted negatively to it to see if if there's any improvement since several have already been lost due to overuse. Aden says that Vasic Zen hasn't been on it for years because his brain has reset from it, making the drug redundant.
Chapter 39[]
Dev and Katya stop again for the night and the next day they arrive in Sunshine, Alaska, which is deserted even though a sign says population 500. It was a base for a small Psy mining company, EarthTwo, that specializes in rare minerals. The office is completely trashed and the papers have specks of dried blood on them.
Chapter 40[]
More blood’s sprayed across the wall and sofa. They find a printout of an emergency distress message dated during the time Ming held Katya captive. In the cooler, they find a bloody palm print that streaks down the wall and ends in a frozen pool of blood. There are more bloody ice patches indicating a pile of bodies. There’s more evidence of violence elsewhere, but no bodies, meaning a team must have collected them. By the amount of blood and its locations, they estimate the death toll, which indicates the attack had to have happened while most were asleep otherwise any telepaths would have called out psychically. And/or there was more than one killer.
Katya has a flashback to someone reporting to Ming that there were 120 dead out of 150 total in Sunshine, Alaska. Three were seriously injured and another six managed to hide. Of the other 21, ten died trying to attack the team of Tks who teleported in, in response to their distress signal. 11 were neutralized and put into involuntary comas.
Dev pulls Katya out of her trance and she tells him what she remembered. They wonder how over 20 people could fall into a murderous rage and she tells him of the problem in the PsyNet, of parts going out like they’ve been eaten, possibly the DarkMind’s doing. Since there’s no way to avoid possible contaminants, the rot in the Net in a particular area would affect everyone there at approximately the same rate. He wants to record it for his people, the Council will deny it and the Psy aren’t ready to know, because the Forgotten may be facing the same future.
January 5, 1979 The ShadowNet is formed and the Forgotten are shunned by their former friends and family for fear of losing their children.
Chapter 40[]
Katya’s remembering Jon and Noor’s time in the lab and Dev notes that Noor’s so young she seems to have bounced back and Jon’s a strong kid. His ability would be easy to abuse and she remembers trying to get other kids to do what she wanted when she was little. He wants to share his own stories, but doesn’t in case that’s knowledge that the Council could abuse.
Ming’s programming is so deep in her mind that she can’t disable it without damaging her brain since the cage itself is anchored in her mind. Dev’s solution is to hunt down Ming to get him to undo what he did to her mind.
Unable to sleep, Sascha wakes Lucas up to talk to him about the book her mother sent her, which said E-Psy often care so much they start to think they know what’s best for everyone. One example given was a case of an empath who tried to emotionally manipulate people into being what he thought was good, which drove them insane by forcing them against their will. Lucas points out that, that empath was a loner without family or Pack and he won’t let her turn into a megalomaniac. She hadn’t known she could force feelings onto someone else, but her initial fear relaxes.
Did Nikita send her the book to mess with her or to warn her? Or, as Lucas suggests, to create a powerful ally? The book said a cardinal empath can basically stop a riot of thousands, which would be useful to a Councilor facing rebellion. While Sascha’s no longer as vulnerable to Nikita anymore, she doesn’t understand why now. Lucas says to ask her because even if she lies, Sascha will be able to pick up other nuances. Katya’s angry with Dev for making it even easier for Ming to kill him, which is exactly what he wants. She’s so mad she starts throwing things at his head, but he easily dodges. He refuses to let anyone take her from him, nor does he intend to be stupid and not carefully plan the operation to ambush Ming. She’s scared of losing him and isn’t sure that taking out Ming is a solution.
Chapter 42[]
They discuss the unique eyes of the Forgotten and she thinks that maybe they’ll become an indicator of power like with Cardinals.
July 17, 1982 The Petrokov family has to go into hiding because Matthew is too strong a telepath David has a vision, warning his family, but refuses to join them, saying he’s too much of a liability since he’s not lucid most of the time. According to the Manual of Psy Designations, F-Psy are considered some of the strong of their race because of what their ability demands.
Chapter 43[]
Katya refuses to lose Dev to a fool’s errand when she has less than a month to live. Even if she managed to survive the deprogramming, she could survive permanently cut off from the Net. Along with the pounding in her head, her nose is bleeding again like it had in Sunshine where it was easy to blame the bitter, dry cold. Dev doesn’t know that she remembers the final session with Ming. If she completes her mission and returns by a certain date, he might remove the controls that are basically killing off parts of her brain, the non-essential parts first and autonomic functions, like breathing, last.
Chapter 44[]
Judd meets with Xavier and the Ghost. The ghost says there have been changes in the Arrow Squad, seven are being held in a facility deep in the Dinarides mountains and it’s possible they’re all being taken off Jax. If so, it’s either due to a reaction or they’ve chosen to no longer follow Ming, Judd refuses to betray his fellow Arrows by speculating on if they intend to go rogue, which the Ghost worries would destabilize the Net. Judd says that would never happen since their first order is to maintain Silence.
Chapter 45[]
Back in Vermont, Katya’s headache’s getting worse.
Chapter 46[]
Dev wakes slightly when Katya gets up and she runs back into the bedroom with a knife in her hand, but stabs herself in the thigh instead of him. He yells at her for hurting herself while performing first aid and she’s upset that she tried to kill him, even though she managed to redirect the attack. He's more than a little feral that she hurt herself rather than hurt him and has a Shine doctor, Connor, who lives nearby come to patch her up.
Chapter 47[]
Katya’s upset with herself for not leaving the day before and Dev reassures her that he’s not mad nor would he have let her leave without a fight. She falls asleep and Dev holds her, terrified to lose another woman who means the world to him. He’s determined to force Ming into removing the compulsions or die, but she says it wouldn’t work because the shield he put in would remain. They debate the likelihood of Dev’s plan working and Katya continues to worry he’ll die in the process.
At the Dinarides facility, seven Arrows are confined, monitored, and restricted from using their abilities and are cooperating. Ming’s checking to make sure they’re completely under his control, as well as Aden and Vasic, who’s currently on a covert operation in Argentina for Ming.
In a Shine meeting, the higher ups discuss the benefits and drawbacks of adopting Silence themselves. Tiara is in favour. Aubry, Eva, and Dev are against. Jack’s only considering it because his son killed the beloved family dog, Spot, that had been rescued from the pound. He’d buried the body for his son’s sake, but dug it back up and performed a necropsy while Will was asleep. He found the dog’s heart was pulverized without an outward mark on him.
Jack provides some of Will’s genetic samples so they ran check his DNA for the Tk designation. He and his wife are terrified to leave their son alone because he’s trying to will himself to death. Although nobody wants it, if Silence is the only answer for Will, they’ll teach him to be Silent.
Chapter 48[]
While Dev was in the meeting, Katya volunteered to stay in the isolation ward to make sure she couldn’t act on any more compulsions. Although he understands the caution, he hates that she locked herself away, He consults her on destructive abilities, which tends to be telekinesis, a designation lost early on in the Forgotten since there were so few Tks among the dissenters. She doesn’t know much and recommends speaking to an Arrow, which Dev knows because they hunted the Forgotten, according to their records. She doesn’t know any Arrows and recommends he talk to Ashaya, who might.
Katya’s nosebleeds are worsening, and Dev notices a pinprick hemorrhage in her eye.
After promising discretion, Ashaya gets the details on the situation and tells Dev she’ll get back to him as soon as possible.
Kiran, Dev’s grandmother, surprises him with a visit, though he chides her for coming while Katya’s there and might unwittingly convey information about Kiran. She waves it off, saying the Psy already know about her and he needed her. He tells her everything, including his urge to kill Ming. She points out all the ways his plan could go wrong, but he’s done a lot of research on it. He tries, unsuccessfully, to keep her from seeing Katya. The three of them discuss the plan against Ming, but it comes to an end when Katya’s nervous system essentially short circuits, sending her into painful spasms.
Parts of her brain have been permanently damaged, affecting her fine motor controls and her memory, but she’s determined to see this through.
Chapter 49[]
In the middle of the night, Judd visits William, who’s scared and at the same time hopeful that Judd’s there to take him away. Judd says he’s there to see if he can help, but the boy doesn’t think it’s possible because he’s a monster for killing his dog. He soon determines that Will is a Tk-Cell, like him, and he’s determined to ensure that the kid doesn’t become an accidental murderer like he did.
To prove they have the same ability, Judd cuts himself and then heals the wound. He tells Will that there’s nothing in him to fix, what he needs to learn is how to control it and use it for good, like healing. He thinks that might not be so bad, and Judd tells him that it’s pretty awesome, actually, and gives him his first lesson.
Even though Dev hates the necessity, he leaves Katya with Connor to go to Shine HQ. First off, he checks in on Cruz, who’s doing well and seems to be warming up to Tag. In a meeting, he tells the other Shine leaders that he can’t stop anyone who wants to try conditioning, but if there’s a way to help William, then they can find answers for others, too. Each has to be taken on a case by case situation since there’s no one answer for all individuals. He points out that even though there are differing opinions around the table, they’re still family who laughs together, which isn’t something that happens among the Psy.
Dev reads them a letter from his great-great-grandmother to her son, Matthew, from November 8, 1984, the same day she’d buried her husband who’d been a foreseer. She’d stubbornly refused to leave him behind when the Council hunted their family, allowing them two more years together, so Matthew should know he comes from very stubborn people who refused to let anyone stop his star from shining. Their ancestors fought for their freedom and worked to find options for their children, how can they choose to do otherwise?
After the meeting, he checks in with Katya because he’s stopped keeping secrets once he knew how little time they had left. She reassures him that they did right thing in keeping their freedom.
Chapter 52[]
Back in Vermont, Katya tells Dev she wants to meet his father and he warns her he’s not likely to forgive his father if he hasn’t by now. She understands that and while she regrets all the things she’ll never be able to do with him, she hopes that maybe she can help him see his father with a different perspective. He says it’s a waste of time and, knowing he can’t say no to her, asks him to do it for her. He complains about her dirty tactics, but still caves to her request. She has to use computrontic mobility devices to walk now.
Four hours later, they’re entering a comfortable and well-maintained psych facility. Katya’s stunned by how similar in appearance Dev and his dad, Massey Petrokov, are. Even though it’s the first time they’ve met, Massey can tell that Katya’s with Dev and he says that his son will take care of her, won’t hurt her.
Katya asks Massey to tell her about Dev’s mother. He’s hesitant at first, but it appears that he, too, can’t say no to her. They met in high school, he was a jock and she was intelligent and funny. She made him feel smart and she’d say he made her feel strong. He went to college on a football scholarship and asked her to marry him after he graduated. He was happy as a house spouse while she took over the world since he got injured after playing for four years. Sarita was successful at her investment firm. She got pregnant as soon as they started trying for a baby and was surprised at how much she liked being pregnant since she’d never felt particularly maternal. She took two years off after Dev was born and when she went back to work, Dev and Massey were close and she called them her Two Musketeers.
Inevitably, Sarita’s death comes up and Massey starts crying, Katya understands what it’s like to not be in control of one’s own mind and body. Still, Massey says he’ll carry the guilt the rest of his life; he’s not often lucid anymore and wishes he never was. They sit by the windows, all three holding hands, for as long as Massey was present.
Back at home, Dev asks Katya how she knew to ask about his mom and she says she figured he’d never asked. He tells her how he used to copy his dad and wanted to be just like him when he grew up, but after his mom’s death, he couldn’t bear even sharing the same last name and changed it to his mother’s.
They talk about her hopes for him after she’s gone. He asks her to hang on, but she can feel herself dying and is determined to go out on her terms. Despite her pleas, Dev refuses to come to terms with her impending death. Dev still stubbornly thinks they’ll find a solution. Katya knows none of his suggestions will work, such as the case of the Aleine twins, which was only possible due to Ashaya’s mating bond with Dorian and her twin bond with Amara. She can feel her heart struggling to beat.
Dev asks her to link with him when she drops out of the PsyNet, but Katya’s worried that the controls he put in her head might spread, turning her into a Trojan horse spreading a plague on the ShadowNet. While viruses can’t travel through the fabric of a psychic network, there’s no way of knowing what Ming’s done and if it could spread, she refuses to put his people in danger and begs him to let her go on her own terms. Her vision blurs from blood spreading across one eye.
Holding her to him, he says he’ll never forgive her and she’s spending the next ten lifetimes with him, at least. Going into the blasted wasteland of her mind, she finds her decaying connection to the PsyNet and cuts it. The cage Ming trapped her in shreds her as she falls out of the Net, but it doesn’t follow her, proving Dev’s suspicions correct. However, the spikes tear through her mind.
Chapter 53[]
Dev is left devastated, listening to her screams and holding her through convulsions, experiencing her agony until she passes out, close to brain-dead. Their blood is everywhere, his having been forced through his very pores.
His phone rings and he throws it against the wall hard enough to break it. Then someone knocks at his mind and he psychically punches Tag for interrupting what little time he has left with Katya. Tag tries to tell him that there’s a new link on the ShadowNet, drawing Dev’s attention to the fading star he’s connected to via a twisting silver thread. They’re both so fragile they might break at the slightest touch. His grandmother surrounds him with her love through their own link. Stunned because their net shouldn’t be able to take full-blooded Psy, his nani tells him that they can’t by choice, which was attempted with a defector back in her day. Their emotional bonds are what sets them apart from the PsyNet and holds them together.
In spite of Katya’s wishes, Dev isn’t ready to let her go and his grandmother suggests taking the time to say good-bye. He cleans her up, dresses her in her favourite t-shirt and a pair of his boxers she’d stolen from him, and tucks her into bed. Connor inserts a feeding tube.
Ashaya wants to say goodbye, too, having heard the news through Tag, who’s still working with Cruz and Sascha in DarkRiver territory. Understandably, he wants to keep her to himself, but can’t say no to Ashaya. His grandparents arrive in the morning and his nani gives him the ring his grandfather proposed with and he puts it on Katya’s left ring finger. She reassures him that Aubry, Maggie, Marty, and his grandfather are handling everything so Dev has time to grieve and say goodbye.
Soon, Sascha, Lucas, Ashaya and Dorian arrive with Keenan and Noor, the two children inseparable. Dev’s glad to have them and their laughter around Katya. Sascha wants to help Dev with her abilities, but he doesn’t want any help, doesn’t want his pain to lessen.
The kids run into the room, skidding to a stop when they see Katya unconscious on the bed, and Katya explains that she’s very sick. Noor recognizes her as “Jon’s friend” and pets Katya’s hair. Ashaya quietly gets Keenan and Noor out of the room so Dev can have some privacy.
Dev lies down on the bed next to Katya and cries.
Chapter 54[]
M-Psy are working on Ming in a completely sealed room that’s only accessible by telekinetics who are teleport-capable. The most powerful teleporter, Vasic Zen, is considering killing the Councilor and Aden Kai agrees that it wouldn’t take much effort. However, Ming’s death would create a power vacuum that would destabilize the PsyNet. Vasic points out that Aden would fill that void and would have the backing of the entire Squad, but Aden says it’s not time yet.
Vasic notes that Kaleb Krychek would’ve made an excellent Arrow and he would have, in fact, been one if Santano Enrique hadn’t taken him as his protégé. The Squad had, of course, known about Enrique’s murders. They also know of Krychek’s own kills, but unlike Ming, there’s no evidence he’s ever eliminated someone who was loyal to him. Ming on the other hand, had killed Arrows in pursuit of more power.
Chapter 55[]
That night, Dev says one more night and plans to disconnect the feeding tube in the morning. Sascha tries to help him, but he won’t let her.
Keenan and Noor run into the bedroom, laughing, and Dev stops Lucas when he goes to retrieve the kids, saying Katya would have loved to see Noor happy. After talking to Connor, Dev returns to Katya to find Keenan and Noor curled up next to her, asleep, Noor with her hand over Katya’s heart and Keenan’s over hers. Ashaya starts to move them, but Dev stops her, figuring that the children are trying to heal through touch like the DarkRiver leopards do, only they’re too young to know she can’t be fixed. He says she’d have liked to know she spent her last night on earth surrounded by hope. He doesn’t intend to sleep that night, anyway, wanting to watch her for as long as he can.
In the middle of the night, there’s an odd psychic shift in Dev’s head. Checking on the psychic plane, he finds that instead of weakening, her mental star’s become stronger. Half afraid he’s imagining it out of desperation or insanity from grief, he forces himself to wait two hours to check again and is amazed at what he finds.
The kids are pretty groggy when they wake up and Dev wants to hug them tightly. Noor wants pancakes, which she definitely gets while he has Ashaya and Connor check on Katya, both of whom think he’s gone round the bend. Connor’s astounded to find that his equipment’s showing that Katya’s brain has healed and calls Glen to bring some other gear. While Ashaya believes what he sees on the psychic plane, but they need independent confirmation for the kids’ sake, which he understands completely. Not only is it confirmed that Katya’s healed, but she’s likely to regain consciousness soon.
After taking a two-hour nap, Keenan and Noor are playing in the snow, albeit without their usual level of energy. The adults on the porch are wondering which of them did it and Ashaya says that Keenan had told her “they” fixed her. While playing with Keenan, Lucas asks him about it and the boy says that Noor “can’t go in by herself.” Noor says she had to do a lot of "weaving" and Keenan was her "truck," It made them tired and their heads are “full” and “quiet” then run off to play again.
Dev’s grandmother says that in the past some Psy had abilities that only worked in conjunction with someone else. While Noor hadn’t shown any active abilities when Shine tested her, she has a high percentage of Psy genes. And since Keenan is a midrange telepath, but crystal clear within his range, he could act as a conduit. Dorian says that Noor had told him that the Arrow who’d helped William, and she were the same, but even he doesn’t think even Judd could do what Noor had and they’re unique.
Whether or not they can define Noor’s gift, both children need to be protected and Dev promises that Shine’s resources are at their disposal. Lucas vows to protect them. Ashaya’s worried about their flame-outs, but Sascha reassures her that they’ll recover. Lucas says they’ll have to be careful because Noor won’t be able to stop herself from helping even if it means hurting herself, indicating Sascha’s tendency to do the same, and Keenan will follow Noor anywhere.
Dorian says it’s not completely unexpected that Keenan’s part of a tandem ability since his mother’s a twin and Amara and Ashaya have always been able to merge minds. If he was born with that same ability, maybe he just needed the right person and the right environment, since such gifts wouldn’t have been allowed to develop under Silence. Ashaya’s concerned about the children unduly influencing each other since young telepaths don’t always understand right from wrong when it comes to Tp. Dev doesn’t think that’ll be a problem since Keenan and Noor like each other too much as they are to try and change them. Dorian agrees, noting it’s not a good idea to try and use mind-control on one’s future mate since the two kids are adamant that they belong to each other.
Chapter 56[]
Dev’s anxious to talk to Katya, who’s still unconscious, but their bond has become unbreakable. Since she’s not tied into the ShadowNet itself, only to Dev where she gets her biofeedback, she can still access the network. When she does wake, he explains everything to her and her first concern is for the children and if the Council ever learned what they can do, but they’re well-protected between DarkRiver and Shine.
Katya’s a little nervous to check out the ShadowNet, but once she does, with Dev right beside her, she’s amazed by the beauty and chaos. He explains that travel’s achieved by using the threads connecting the people within as navigational points. To her surprise, she finds a connection between herself and Dev’s grandmother, then his grandfather through her and thousands more through Dev. There’s even a sparkling silver-blue one for her nascent friendship with Tiara. Humans can be pulled into the net through a bond with one of the Forgotten, but their mind’s automatically shield to protect them, which also keeps them from accessing the network.
The ShadowNet can’t absorb information as well as the PsyNet and requires much more effort, so they tend to rely on computers more for that while their net feeds their need for family and community. It doesn’t come as easily to her, but she can still travel this new network. She’s fascinated and overwhelmed by the ShadowNet and Dev gets her to return to the physical plane. Even though she’s exhausted, she pouts because she wasn’t done exploring.
May 5, 1995
Dev’s ancestor, Matthew Petrokov, marries and his mother writes to him about her hopes for his future and that of his children, her faith in their capacity for love as the core of their survival.
International Covers[]
