Raving Moon, Lords of the Night Book One

Chapter 24: Truth is an Illusion

We sat on the benches of South Stygia Pier 3. After being dismissed by Mr. Red we'd returned to the van and Ariane ordered Jacob to take us to the pier because she wanted to watch the waters. It was an impulse given by the avatar's dominance. Jacob did as instructed and I followed Ariane to see where the impulse ended. She led us to a set of benches on an empty stretch of the riverside development.

I felt like crap. I let him play with her head in order to get a glimpse of what he was trying to hide. Now I had to deal with the damage he'd done.

Thankfully, Mr. Red had been trying to dominate the both of us so his focus was split and his power divided. His hypnotism could be counteracted. Being present for the interaction made my work a lot easier. If Mr. Red's area of dominance had been wolf instead of rat, he could have done permanent damage.

I knelt down in front of Ariane, staring into her vacant eyes. He'd told her to watch the waters, so the water was all she could see.

"Ariane." It felt wrong to use my dominance on my partner, but it had to be done. "Ariane," I said more sternly.

Her sleepy eyes focused on mine.

"Remember the smoke," I concentrated my thoughts on clearing her mind. Mr. Red had used the cigarette smoke as a distraction, a way of lulling her conscious mind into a comfortable space. The smoke was the key. "Remember the smoke. There was a voice there. Who was that voice?"

"Yours," she said. That was a good sign.

"Who else was there? Remember."

"Mine... Agatha..." She scowled, struggling through it. "Mr. R... Mr. Red?"

"Remember his voice. Remember the smoke. Remember what he said and didn't say."

I pushed. Willing her mind to repair the holes he'd created in her memory. I had to be careful not to force my own thoughts into the gaps, I thought of the moment, the scene, but not my own observations. I wanted to help her recall, not create new memories. It was a delicate thing I'd done only a handful of times, but I knew she was smart and observant. Harder to crack. So I pushed a bit harder.

"Remember."

"Hawkins and Mr. Red... a deal... Thompson is ash-" The light returned to her eyes in a rush. She lunged forward, gasping for air as if she'd been under water. "Stay away from Agatha Home. Go to the pier and watch the water for a while then go home. No need to file a report."

The secret impulse. Mr. Red must have feared eavesdropping. Something big was happening in Stygia and Captain Hawkins was a part of it. The question was what.

I stood up and walked over to the water's edge. The black waters flowed downriver, unaware of the turmoil all around us. I thought of Carl. I needed to get my hands on that gun or someone who could tell me about it, but without an official case and a search warrant, Agatha was not going to help. My hope was sinking into the water's depths.

I felt Ariane's body heat behind me. Embarrassed about what I'd done and let him do to her, I couldn't turn around. It was strange that I never felt ashamed when I did it to a suspect or to calm down a witness. Those instances were less invasive, yes, but there was something more...

"I can still feel you both in my head," she whispered as she leaned against the railing, four inches of metal keeping us out of the water.

"Sorry about that. I wouldn't have, but I didn't know what he'd planted in your head."

"It's a good thing you were able to snap out of it."

I shook my head. "He couldn't dominate me."