I stumbled and fell to my knees, the flashlight flying out of my hand and winking off into darkness. I knelt on the ground, my breath nothing more than

ragged sobs. I finally reached a breaking point. “Shut up!”

My strangled scream cut through the rising tide of whispers and haunting

din, leaving behind a heavy silence. Then an explosion of light seared my retinas, leaving indelible afterimages. Gunshots, shouted questions, the thud of flesh on flesh, and grunts of pain filled the darkness. Then came the scream that

chased the others back.

“Flash!” Blind, I reached out.

A mocking voice filled the tunnel. “Go ahead and fight, Captain, I don’t mind.”

Horror stripped everything away. Ellery. That was Ellery’s voice.

No, it couldn’t be, he wasn’t telepathic. He couldn’t be here.

Blue-white flames snapped to life, illuminating Flash’s body suspended

before me, writing in agony. Every cruel detail was crystal clear. The horror on

his face. His eyes pleading for help I couldn’t give. His mouth stretched wide in

a soundless scream. The flames eating him, inch by inch.

Next to him, Ellery laughed as he brushed his flame-covered hands in a

mockery of affection over Flash’s head. His eyes were pitch black, his lips twisted into a sadistic grin.

Reality receded and was replaced by this all-too-real nightmare. Driven by a

fury honed by time, I launched myself at him, determined this time to make it stop. To save my friend. Yet feet from my goal, my body jerked, and my knees

slammed to the ground, held in place by something I couldn’t see. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t escape. Tears pooled and my desperate, furious

scream tore through the nightmare. “No!”

The puppet master laughed. “Poor Cyn, falling apart so soon?” His voice

struck like fangs and sank their poison bone deep. “How disappointing. It didn’t

take as long as I thought it would. You’re not a strong as people think, are you?

Add a little pressure and you break.”

Hatred boiled over. “Fuck you!”

Flash’s screams peaked. The mocking laughter and taunts picked up volume

as Ellery stalked forward. “Not interested.” He covered the distance between us

between one blink and the next. He was so close, the warmth of his breath

brushed my skin. “However, there’s something else I want.”

Every instinct protested his nearness, and I scrambled back, barely realizing

that the invisible force holding me in place was gone. Even as the fire and screams faded to phantom echoes, Ellery’s laughter followed.

The only good thing my frantic movements produced was my flashlight. I

grabbed it and swung out, my intention to embed it in Ellery’s skull. Instead, there was nothing there. Off balance, I fell forward.

Kayden’s voice broke through my panic. “Take a breath, Cyn. Focus. ” It faded in and out. “He’s just playing with you. ”

Right, this was not real. It’s in the past. Already done. Flash was beyond saving. I got to my feet, my body shuddering as I tried to piece things back together. The dark rippled around me, then disappeared, only to be replaced by a

shockingly bright light. The change was too abrupt, and I threw up an arm to shield my eyes.

“Playing with you? Interesting choice of words.” The words were casual.

I dropped my arm and blinked frantically, as the world resolved into focus.

No more alley, no more darkness, no more dirt walls. Instead, Ellery sat across

from me in a nondescript chair in an empty, blank room, watching me with a taunting half-smile.

The worry that he could hear Kayden pinged across my mind, but there was

nothing I could do about it. Not yet. Right now, I didn’t dare take my attention

away from him.

He watched me like a coiled snake. “What do you think you’re doing, Cyn?”

I pressed my lips tight, refusing to answer. My mind spun through various scenarios on how to get the hell out of here. This was my mind, right? So, whatever this was, it wasn’t really him. It couldn’t be him because something about him wasn’t right. I just couldn’t pinpoint it.

“Are you sure?” His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, resting his arms

on his knees. “How much do you really know about psychic abilities? You spent

so much time running away from yours, you’re nothing but a babe in the woods.

I, on the other hand…” He leaned back with a smile. “I’ve got quite a few tricks

up my sleeve.”

Shaken by his apparent ability to read my mind, I tried slamming up my mental walls.