Mind Maze (The Crowne Conspiracy #2)

Prologue

Caius

Fifteen Years Old

S omeone hurt her.

She’s so little and wears a big smile, but I can tell.

I can always tell because the pain looks like mine.

My own heart aches as she plays with her pretty doll with glossy brown hair and thin rubber limbs. It’s dressed in a material that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen from the toy aisle at the store. Someone made the outfit for the useless doll.

A spike of jealousy shoots through me, but I quickly squash it. Being angry because she has a fancy doll and I have next to nothing doesn’t solve any problems. We’re both in pain. No amount of nice things will ever repair a bruised and battered heart.

It’s not her fault.

Her eyes lift to meet mine and her features brighten, a tiny smile curling the corners of her lips. My chest puffs with brotherly pride. To her, I’m someone big and safe. Not scary like the monsters lurking all around us.

I give her a reassuring smile.

It’s too dangerous to make promises I can’t keep. Though I know one day I’ll get out of here, I can’t say the same for her.

If Mom and Dad were still around, this place wouldn’t be a blip on my now-scarred mind. There’d be long days on our wooded property feeding the horses, goats, chickens, and our one dairy cow. School would take place at our kitchen table where Mom would patiently transform from busy homemaker to patient teacher, bursting with knowledge about science, grammar, and even math.

I hated math, but I loved the one who taught it.

With their untimely deaths, everything was stolen away in an instant. A warm, loving home, a sense of belonging, hope, and a future.

Now, there’s nothing but pain, confusion, and utter madness.

It can’t last forever.

Three years isn’t far off. I’ll turn eighteen and leave this hellhole.

But what about her? Can I get her out too?

The other kids here aren’t like us. They’re all happy to be here. As the adults speak, they listen with rapt attention, eager to please.

I can’t stand to hear their voices. Especially his.

Is he the one who hurt her? Did he hurt her like he hurt me?

My gut clenches as I worry about what’s to come. Self-hatred claws at me knowing I’ll never be able to save her. I can barely save myself. Guilt sluices through me. I tear my gaze from her small, sweet face to study the doll again, eager to avoid her hopeful eyes.

I can’t save you… yet .

But I will.

The man I hate pats her on the head and squats beside her. My hands curl into fists as rage surges inside me. Sometimes I wish I could pummel his face into a meaty pulp. He’s always stronger and steps ahead of me, though. I never can win with him.

She tenses when he pulls the doll from her grip, whispering something to her. It appears he asks a question that she very quietly answers. Then they both stand. I stare at the doll in his hand, wishing he’d just give it back to her already.

How will she cope if he takes it away?

They both approach me.

“I’ll take good care of Calista,” he murmurs, voice low and barely audible.

Boiling hatred nearly causes me to explode on him. His next words, though, snuff out everything.

“You’re being adopted, kiddo,” he says to me. “I’ve done all I can do.”

With those words, they walk away. I stare after them, rooted in place, unable to move. Unable to save her.

Adopted?

I thought I was broken, ruined, and useless.

That’s what he told me over and over again.

What about her?

Will she be adopted too?

When I finally snap out of my daze, I race toward the doors they disappeared into. A couple of men, one dressed in a nice suit, block my path. One of them is plain and someone you’d never pick out of a crowd because he’s so unmemorable. The other has striking gray eyes and a bright smile.

“The name’s Orion Crowne,” the man says, grinning. “Ready to get out of here?”

The other man nods in approval. “Just need to swing by the boys’ home first. Make things official.”

Orion seems to ignore him, so I do too.

“Everyone has a momentous fork in the road of their life. This is yours, young man, where the direction of your life changes into something you could never begin to dream of for yourself.”

My heart pangs, the loss of my own father more prominent than ever. He always had anecdotes for life. God, I miss him.

“It’s not like I have a choice,” I rasp out, bitterness on my tongue.

At least not yet. Not until I turn eighteen.

Orion nods at the other man to leave us be. Once the man walks away, Orion clutches my shoulder, giving it a fatherly squeeze.

“The world can be yours. I’ll teach you everything I know and give you all that was taken from you. There’s freedom in that.”

He may be offering an escape from this place, but he can’t give me my parents back.

“Her too?” I ask in a small, unsure voice, casting a glance over my shoulder.

Orion cocks his head to the side, studying me intently. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

I bristle with irritation. “So the world can’t be mine?”

He’s a liar just like the rest of them.

“It can. If that’s what you want, I’ll teach you how to get it. I’ll give you the tools, resources, and knowledge. That much I can assure you.”

It’s a step.

Getting out of this place will clear my mind, something I desperately need. Then, if this man is telling the truth, I’ll have what it takes to come back and get her.

I will come back for you, Calista.

Wait for me.