BIKER QUEEN AND HER HELLBOUND KING

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Chapter 15

Grace

I ignored both of them and looked back at the wall, Mara was rounding off the stitches now and the burning sensation in my arm was fading.

“What was that thing he did to me today?” I asked, changing the topic.

"I couldn't move my body. I couldn't stand up. He said sit down and my legs just did it, It was like I was a puppet.” I continued with gritted teeth, just thinking about it made me angry.

“Compulsion,” Mara replied, wrapping my arm in gauze.

“I think I would need more than that so I can stop it from happening again.” I said when it seemed she wasn't going to continue, It felt like she was forgetting I was still new to all of this.

"Compulsion is mostly a Hellbound ability, although there are some other classes that have the ability." She explained, moving to the lower section of the wound. "They can project their will onto others. It works on the nervous system by overriding voluntary movement, it sends a signal that the body reads as an instruction from its own brain. Most beings can't resist it at all. Even strong Marked beings struggle against a Hellbound of Kent's age."

It sounded a lot like what vampires did. The more I thought about it, the more I believed a lot of human myths drew inspiration from Marked beings, and that made sense since there had to have been inspiration from somewhere.

"Is there a way to block it?"

"Theoretically, a strong enough will and a sufficiently developed power can push back against it," she said. "But it takes significant ability and control, neither of which you currently have."

“I broke out of it once,” I said. “The first night I got here. He tried to tell me to stay still, and I did for a few minutes or so but then I broke out of it and ran.”

Mara's hands stopped.

Jinx sat forward in his chair, his mouth hanging open.

The clinic was very quiet for a moment.

"You resisted a Hellbound’s compulsion," Mara said slowly, "on your first night. Before any significant power development. Before any meaningful proximity to Marked blood."

"Yes," I said. "Is that not normal?"

They looked at each other, and I had learned enough about this town in two weeks to know that the look they shared meant it was definitely not normal.

“You didn't break out of just any Hellbound's compulsion, Grace. You broke out of Kent's.” Jinx said in awe.

"I guess it makes sense," Mara said finally, though she said it in the way that meant she was still working out whether it actually did.

"You said you ran after you broke out of it, which means your will for survival was really high in that moment. Also, a Conduit of sufficient strength would theoretically have a natural resistance to power override. It's like competition, a fight for dominance” I let out a breath.

“I don't want to compete with anyone,” I said. “I just want my life back.”

“That life is gone,” Mara said, looking at my other hand to make sure it wasn't hurt too before taking off her gloves. “Whether you like it or not, you are part of Velmore now. And Velmore is part of you.”

I ran my good hand through my hair and sighed.

“If your ability is as developed as what I'm reading in your blood right now, the compulsion would have no anchor to hold onto." She washed her hands in a sink at the side of the room and continued, "It still shouldn't have been possible this early. You hadn't manifested yet."

"She manifested today," Jinx said, quietly.

Mara looked up at me again. I didn't confirm it out loud. I just held her gaze and she read the answer on my face.

"What manifested?" she asked.

"Telekinesis, I think," I said. "I threw a glass at Kent's head and it stopped mid air and lowered itself onto a table. My veins lit up."

"She really threw a glass at Kent's head," Jinx said to no one in particular, sounding delighted.

"And he didn't stop it," Mara said, more to herself than to me.

"He turned around and watched it happen," I told her. "He didn't move."

She tapped her chin in thought before speaking. "He let it happen because stopping it would have meant interrupting your first manifestation, and interrupting a Conduit's first manifestation might cause the ability to collapse inward." She dragged a chair and sat somewhere between Jinx and I so she could see us both as she spoke. "He knew what was happening before you did."

I thought about the look on his face when he turned around, the amber in his eyes, the expression I hadn't had a word for.

I didn't say anything else about it.

“I need to study whatever it is that was done to you to know the extent of its damage or enhancement. You'll need to come back here for wound dressing too.” I glanced at my newly bandaged arm and nodded.

“Conduits are not like other Marked beings, you're very unstable at the moment so it would be good for you… and everyone around you, if you found something fun to do to keep your spirits up” I almost laughed at that.

“You should be telling that to Kent, I've been stuck inside his bar with his eyes on every move I make.” She smiled a little and nodded.

“I'll be sure to let him know. Keep that arm dry and come back in three days.” She said, standing up from her chair to grab another dark bottle not so different from the one she'd used on my wound.

She handed it to me with instructions I only half heard because I was thinking about the ward and the Collector and Kent.

“I'll get you a shirt” I raised an eyebrow at that and she motioned towards my arm and I remembered she'd cut off my bloody sleeve. I gave her a grateful smile and stood up, testing my weight. My arm felt heavy and numb, but the throbbing had subsided into a dull ache.

Jinx walked me back to Venom after, filling the silence with a story that I didn't fully follow, which I suspected was the point.

When we reached the bar, Jinx walked me to my room. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just patted my shoulder and told me to get some sleep.

I locked the door and crawled into bed with my clothes still on, even more grateful to Mara now for the shirt. I went to bed before ten, which was earlier than I had managed since arriving in Velmore.

I woke up hours later to a cold breeze.

The room was dark, but I could tell immediately that I wasn't alone. I sat up, my heart racing, and saw a shadow sitting in the chair across from the foot of my bed. The moon was high enough to cast a pale light across the floor, illuminating Kent’s boots.

I scrambled for the lamp and turned it on, dragging my blanket to my chest.

He was awake, his eyes on the door, his forearms resting on his knees. He wasn't looking at me. His attention was at the door and I looked too, wondering what he was waiting for.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice rough with sleep.

"Something tested the ward tonight," he said, without looking at me. "Two spots.” I gulped, the sleepiness immediately disappearing.

He didn't say the rest, he didn't have to. I knew exactly what it was and who it had come for.

“Go back to sleep, Grace. You’re safe.” I knew I was safe, as much as I hated him, I could trust him to keep me safe with his twisted sense of duty.

“How am I supposed to sleep with you sitting there like a gargoyle?” I asked, more teasing than frustration.

“Don't look at me, then,” he said. He turned his gaze back to the door. “Close your eyes and pretend I'm just another piece of furniture you don't like.”

“You're an impossible man,” I muttered.

I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and lay back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Kent stayed in the chair. I listened to the quiet of the town outside the window and tried to remember the last time someone had sat up so I didn't have to.

I didn't find an answer before I fell back asleep.