disgusting. I have to take it every morning and
every eve—’
‘No need to explain everything,’ Foster said, cutting him off. ‘Let’s get on.’
We went downstairs. As we walked past the doorway where I’d last seen Ketty, I felt a terrible pang. How could this place . . . these people . . . still be here, and not her?
I followed Nico and Foster outside, to the front of the castle. It was dark outside now and almost exactly thirty minutes since we’d both been sprayed with Medutox. I tried to reach Nico
through remote telepathy. At first I thought it wasn’t working, but as I focused, I soared into his mind – familiar to me now. As usual, it was intense and forceful. But now a darkness
– the colour of his pain – touched everything like a shadow.
Shall I start? I suggested telepathically. I could do some basics with Bradley. Hopefully Foster will relax if it’s all going okay. Then you take over. Let me know when
you’re about to cause the distraction. Yes?
Fine.
I broke the connection. ‘Okay, Bradley,’ I said. ‘I’m going to mind-read you now; that should help you see how getting fully into someone’s mind works, rather than
just speaking without words, which you can already do.’
I glanced at Foster. He nodded his assent. I turned back to Bradley and met his gaze. With a whoosh , I was inside his head.
He sensed me straight away. I waited a moment, letting him get used to my presence. His mind was younger than he looked. Restless . . . enquiring . . . this boy was smart and unhappy. I probed a
little further, letting the rush of his feelings wash over me. Like most people being mind-read for the first time, his thoughts were jumping about.
How is this working? What can you see? How much further can you go?
I can go wherever I want , I thought-spoke, probing a little deeper. Why was Bradley so unhappy? I caught the tail of his misery and rode it to a memory: saying goodbye to his father, Rick
. . . a blonde woman – I sensed she was his mother – in tears . . . yes, there was pain inside Bradley. He missed his father. He wanted to be with his mother. He was scared of his
uncle. Or was he just scared of being part of his uncle’s plans?
You know what Foster wants to do is crazy , I thought-spoke. And wrong.
It’s what I have to do , Bradley thought-spoke back. I thought you were going to teach me how to mind-read.
I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to encourage Foster’s protégé to develop such a powerful skill. On the other hand, Bradley would be useful, if I could just get him
on our side.
Okay , I thought-spoke. I’m going to make my mind as open to you as I can. Just relax and try to catch a thought.
I sat back in Bradley’s mind, trying to keep my own thoughts under control. If I was honest, I was more than a little intrigued. How much would Bradley – whose abilities had been
given to him via a drug rather than through genetic inheritance – be able to achieve?
It took a moment before I felt his presence, pushing gently into my mind. As soon as I sensed him, I resisted. No way did I want this boy seeing into any of my thoughts and feelings. I pushed
him away – no problem, he was too weak to resist – and broke the connection.
Bradley gasped. He staggered backwards a little.
‘You okay, Brad?’ Foster’s voice was full of concern.
‘I’m fine,’ Bradley said, a wide smile spreading over his face. ‘That was amazing. Can we go again, Ed?’
I shook my head and glanced over at Foster. ‘Not too much too soon. He needs a chance to get used to what he can do. Otherwise it’ll be overwhelming.’
I was lying, of course. If I were Bradley I’d have wanted to practise going further . . . seeing how far I could penetrate into somebody’s mind. But I wanted to hand over the lesson
to Nico now . . . to find some way of fading into the background and getting away.
Foster looked at me shrewdly. I met his gaze, resisting the slight pull to dive
every eve—’
‘No need to explain everything,’ Foster said, cutting him off. ‘Let’s get on.’
We went downstairs. As we walked past the doorway where I’d last seen Ketty, I felt a terrible pang. How could this place . . . these people . . . still be here, and not her?
I followed Nico and Foster outside, to the front of the castle. It was dark outside now and almost exactly thirty minutes since we’d both been sprayed with Medutox. I tried to reach Nico
through remote telepathy. At first I thought it wasn’t working, but as I focused, I soared into his mind – familiar to me now. As usual, it was intense and forceful. But now a darkness
– the colour of his pain – touched everything like a shadow.
Shall I start? I suggested telepathically. I could do some basics with Bradley. Hopefully Foster will relax if it’s all going okay. Then you take over. Let me know when
you’re about to cause the distraction. Yes?
Fine.
I broke the connection. ‘Okay, Bradley,’ I said. ‘I’m going to mind-read you now; that should help you see how getting fully into someone’s mind works, rather than
just speaking without words, which you can already do.’
I glanced at Foster. He nodded his assent. I turned back to Bradley and met his gaze. With a whoosh , I was inside his head.
He sensed me straight away. I waited a moment, letting him get used to my presence. His mind was younger than he looked. Restless . . . enquiring . . . this boy was smart and unhappy. I probed a
little further, letting the rush of his feelings wash over me. Like most people being mind-read for the first time, his thoughts were jumping about.
How is this working? What can you see? How much further can you go?
I can go wherever I want , I thought-spoke, probing a little deeper. Why was Bradley so unhappy? I caught the tail of his misery and rode it to a memory: saying goodbye to his father, Rick
. . . a blonde woman – I sensed she was his mother – in tears . . . yes, there was pain inside Bradley. He missed his father. He wanted to be with his mother. He was scared of his
uncle. Or was he just scared of being part of his uncle’s plans?
You know what Foster wants to do is crazy , I thought-spoke. And wrong.
It’s what I have to do , Bradley thought-spoke back. I thought you were going to teach me how to mind-read.
I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was to encourage Foster’s protégé to develop such a powerful skill. On the other hand, Bradley would be useful, if I could just get him
on our side.
Okay , I thought-spoke. I’m going to make my mind as open to you as I can. Just relax and try to catch a thought.
I sat back in Bradley’s mind, trying to keep my own thoughts under control. If I was honest, I was more than a little intrigued. How much would Bradley – whose abilities had been
given to him via a drug rather than through genetic inheritance – be able to achieve?
It took a moment before I felt his presence, pushing gently into my mind. As soon as I sensed him, I resisted. No way did I want this boy seeing into any of my thoughts and feelings. I pushed
him away – no problem, he was too weak to resist – and broke the connection.
Bradley gasped. He staggered backwards a little.
‘You okay, Brad?’ Foster’s voice was full of concern.
‘I’m fine,’ Bradley said, a wide smile spreading over his face. ‘That was amazing. Can we go again, Ed?’
I shook my head and glanced over at Foster. ‘Not too much too soon. He needs a chance to get used to what he can do. Otherwise it’ll be overwhelming.’
I was lying, of course. If I were Bradley I’d have wanted to practise going further . . . seeing how far I could penetrate into somebody’s mind. But I wanted to hand over the lesson
to Nico now . . . to find some way of fading into the background and getting away.
Foster looked at me shrewdly. I met his gaze, resisting the slight pull to dive
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