Chapter Two
She saw that the entire consortium was there, looking rather confused, so she lifted her hand and beckoned them to go to the nearest meeting room.
She looked at Drin. “Do you know if there are any sick bags around here?”
Drin paused, nodded, and asked, “How many?”
“Six. Probably four, but let’s not play roulette on that.”
Drin nodded and left the room, coming back with an assortment of bags.
Ava said, “Everyone gets one.”
Vikor said, “What is going on?”
“Give me two minutes. Once everyone is settled, I will begin the show. Drin, can you set the room to record?”
Drin was frowning and tapped at the com in the centre. “Recording.”
Ava took a deep breath and said, “This evening, a shadow master lured the Elf Star Consortium into assisting him with the psychic rape of escort Sixty-Six. She had no public displays or contact in her contract. He poured shadows into her and then into you to get your enthusiastic participation, and then he ripped down all of her wards and used her body’s enjoyment to bleed into all of your minds.
That’s her activation. She broadcasts pleasure, and he rode it into your thoughts, plans, accounts, everything. ”
She pulled up the images that weren’t supposed to exist and projected the sound of Jienne screaming while her body was pulled around, and then the others leaned in to participate.
The bags came out, and four out of six vomited. Ekron and Vikor were the only ones who didn’t.
“Each of you is going to have to submit to a psychic audit to see if anything is left behind. The psychics will need to learn new techniques for defense.”
Drin said, “Why didn’t she say anything?”
“He was controlling her. He’s dead, by the way. A shadow hunter claimed the bounty.” She inhaled and exhaled. “So, Klauz, you are going to be getting a resignation in the next few hours. She just isn’t going to be able to go back to work.”
He frowned, and then memory ripped through him. “Jienne.” He looked like he was going to be sick again.
Drin blinked. “That was her?”
Ava nodded. “That is her. She’s getting emergency counselling right now. I will keep her safe until she makes up her mind on what she wants to do next. Trapped in her mind and screaming for everyone to stop while a shadow controlled her body. It has an effect.”
Drin paused. “You sound like you are speaking from experience.”
Vikor said, “She is. How have you been keeping, Avagail?”
“Oh, you know, swimming in money.”
Vikor laughed. “That is what I liked about you.”
Drin looked between them. “What?”
“Ava put up the financing for Hell. When I had enough to pay her off, she took it, and that was that. No interest, no leverage, she just left.”
Ava shrugged. “I had other things to do. Any questions?” She looked around the room.
Ekron said, “Why us?”
“You touch nearly all demographics of higher society. Drin has unlimited access to actives, Vikor the club, you are at popular events and awards, you get the idea. Each of you is a different access point to Aksallan society. He could have wiggled in here and taken root. He had other young ladies that he was about to either sell or unleash in a similar manner to Sixty-Six.”
Klauz asked, “How did she get away?”
Ava looked to Drin. “Do you know?”
“The car. She had to be out, get into the transport, and check into the main hub. If she didn’t, alerts would be sounded.”
“And he was waiting for her near the transport stop. Fortunately, a hunter came out before she did.”
Drin paused. “Dex?”
“Dex. So, guards have been involved. You will all need to be checked for wormholes that another shadow user can utilize.”
“What?”
“Like a moth hole. He chewed holes in your minds to give him a hold later. My guess is that the means of transmission went from Klauz to Vikor to everyone else. He posed as an investor, and to prove he was on the up and up, he had a BDC account. Zera is going through that right now.”
Drin nodded. “Because if they got in during the final interview, the interviewer may need treatment, too.”
“Yup.” Ava straightened. “So, I just wanted to show you what had happened, mostly taken from Jienne’s own mind, so the faces were exaggerated, but he could hear her screaming no, and this isn’t going to get public. But you do need psychic repair.”
Drin nodded.
Techor was running his hands over his face. “Right. I know a psychic healer who can at least walk us through the treatment.”
Ava held up a hand. “May I recommend someone who is definitely not involved in this?”
Techor frowned. “Who?”
She beamed. “Me. I agree to work under supervision from as many watchers as you like, but since I know what I am looking for...”
“You can do it? What is your activation?”
“Analyst. Complete analyst.”
Techor stared at her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. If Jienne wants the events removed, I can do that as well, but they will be blurred as they are linked to the woodworm markings in your psyche anyway.”
Techor said, “How can we prove you can do this?”
Vikor leaned forward. “She can practice on me.”
Drin gasped. “What?”
“Ava is an upstanding person who doesn’t actually like messing with people. If she is here today, there is a larger reason.” Vikor looked at her.
“Aw. Looks like the horns haven’t grown through your brain.” She smiled.
He grinned. “Now?”
“We need to take a baseline. Arcady is still downstairs.”
Drin nodded. “Calling her.”
A few minutes later, they got a notification that Kritz and Arcady were in their lab. Ready to do diagnostics.
Ava laughed. “This is the kind of shit he lives for. I am certain we need two elevators.”
Drin smiled. “Why do I feel like I know you?”
“We have met a few times. I am usually talking with Zera or Torun.”
Remark muttered, “Torun?”
“Oh, yeah. We have met a time or two.”
She walked out the door and headed for the elevator.
Drin walked with her. “Were you an escort?”
Ava smiled. “Still am. Just not taking bookings.”
Vikor muttered, “What?”
Ava was still laughing when she, Techor, Klauz, and Remark made it to the lab floor. The gauntlet of security scans was intense, but finally, they were in the bulletproof section.
“Ah, gentlemen, thank you for joining us. Sgoth, Voss, please hold Remark. I will be quick.”
Arcady stood nearby with a containment unit, and Kritz was staring, ready to assist.
Remark was gripped on either side and said, “What?”
Ava walked toward him. “You get to go first. Don’t worry, all of your little buddies are getting the same treatment. Full recording on?”
Arcady said, “Full recording on.”
Ava pressed her hands to Remark’s head and started to chant softly. When she felt the dark presence loosen up, she pulled it out, and Arcady brought the containment unit forward. She spit it out. “Bleah. Gross.” She healed the wounds in Remark’s mind and made sure that shadows couldn’t get back in.
She turned to Techor. “Come on. You are up.”
He lunged for her, trying to land a strike. She grabbed him by the throat and held him on the floor as she chanted and pulled the shadow into her skin to spit into the next containment unit. Whispers of healing and he was good to go. She patted his chest. “Nice try, judge.”
She got up and beckoned to Klauz. He walked to her and knelt. “Thank you, chef.”
The next shadow ball was big, but he wore it well. She spit it out, and Arcady sealed it.
“Jienne had a crush on him, so there was an easier path to him via lust. Hence, her needing to quit. She’s humiliated.”
Ekron knelt, making Sgoth’s and Voss’s work easier. It was harder to get up from that position. He fought, but she kissed him, and his mind went blank so she could finish the extraction. When the shadow was out and his mind was sealed, she stood up and went to Drin. “You, too, Drin.”
“Oh. Okay.”
The shadow was there, and it had tentacles. She worked the shadows out of Drin and flooded her mind with light. That got a few hidden tendrils. One more flood of light, and the healing began as the shadow was contained.
Drin touched her head. “Oh, hell. I can feel where he was, like wounds.”
“Great. Hold your boyfriend down.” Ava was exhausted.
Vikor looked at her and knelt. Drin grabbed his horns from behind, and it was effective.
His shadow wasn’t large, which meant he hadn’t been a prime target.
She removed it, checked his mind a few times, and then flooded him with light.
Ava patched the holes left behind and sighed. “Okay. Got it all.”
Drin blinked. “You knew we had been affected.”
“Oh, yeah. He didn’t play that long unless he could leave something behind. Your consortium is a buffet of delight, but now, your minds have a non-stick armoured coating.”
She grunted and straightened. “Well, I checked Jienne already. She’s clear. He always liked an empty conduit. She will get some reinforcement tomorrow, but for tonight, she has had enough people fucking around in her head.” She heaved a sigh. “Back to the hub.”
Drin was going from one partner to the other. “They are all good. Why did you do this? How did you do this?”
“Ah, as for that. Once, a long time ago, I wanted someone to do this for me, so now, I do it for others. It’s a side hustle, as it were.”
Drin whispered, “How did you get away?”
“Well, dear Drin. I had to die.” She smiled and then walked out of the lab, swiping her way out, door by door. When she got to the elevator, she leaned against the wall.
Kritz was going to find ways to kill the shadows with projectiles or frequency weapons. Good for him.
When she saw Jienne, the woman was sitting near the counsellor. “Jienne, are you good to get a good night’s sleep?”
She looked at Ava with a watery smile. “I don’t think I will ever sleep again.”
“You will. Is she good to travel?” she asked the counsellor.
“Um. Yes. We will be in contact in the next few days. Just to finalize the reports.”
Ava smiled. “I will go with you as well.”
Jienne smiled in relief. “Thank you. Why are you being so nice to me?”