Nora Stevenson

Chapter Twelve

"Are you sure this will work?" Liam asks. He's not sure about this. But Nora nods fervently.

"Of course! It's not so far-fetched, is it?" He shrugs and agrees.

"Give it a try." He snickers at the thought that the next time Piper enters the room, she will be the subject of their experiment.

They pass the time until their victim enters once again...

Liam silences himself as footsteps pitter patter down the hallway – toward the office! He glances at Nora and nods encouragingly. She braces herself, determined to get them out of there. Liam smiles as he watches her prepare, cleaning out her mind from any and all distraction. There is only Piper.

Their captor twists the doorknob and enters the study. Liam pretends to be asleep, but he knows Nora is staring straight at Piper. She must.

He gives up, wanting to watch. Piper looks at him weirdly. Suspiciously. The three say nothing, but Piper tiptoes warily to the desk to sort through a stack of papers. In her pocket is the letter opener.

He nods to Nora. Go. And he watches in awe as his friend focuses all her strength on Piper, reaching out into her mind. Nora begins to breathe heavily, and her arms start to prickle with sweat.

Slightly disturbed, Liam forces himself to keep watching. His gaze flickers back and forth between Piper and Nora, a silent battle forged between them.

Piper stares at Nora fiercely, attempting to scare her off. But little does she know that looking in Nora's eyes only helps. Liam remembers the time when Nora had asked him to look her in the eye to see his pain. He shivers at the thought. Creepy.

Nora begins to grunt and sigh softly, forcing her eyes to stay open and fixed on Piper. At last, their eyes lock in a mutual trance.

Liam watches as Nora slowly raises her left arm. Piper does the same, her eyes widening but her gaze still fixed on Nora.

Nora wiggles the fingers on her left arm. Piper's face erupts in horror as she is forced to copy. Liam watches, uncomfortable, as his friend becomes drunk with power. She crooks her finger as if to say, "Come here." Piper obeys.

Nora seems to discover that she need not make the movements to have Piper do her bidding, but only look and point. Liam, still freaked out, decides to shift his eyes away as Nora points to the rope that binds her feet. This is wrong, his conscience tells him. This is so very, very wrong.

Nora doesn't seem to think that. Liam winces as she begins to smile madly, and he forces himself to look back at the women. Piper, still struggling against Nora's tight-held glare, unties the knot without looking. CREEPY!

Piper begins to grunt with disapproval and defiance, but she continues to untie the knots around Nora's ankles. Next, his friend glances down at her wrists, making sure that her captor's gaze follows. Piper nods monotonously and moves to untie her.

Just a few gut-wrenching moments later, Nora is free. Liam smiles to himself. Timidly.

Free of her shackles, Nora stretches and points toward the open door. Liam can tell that Piper is close to tears as he watches her shuffle out of the office and close the door behind her. Nora grins.

"WASN'T THAT COOL?!" she screams. "We've made a breakthrough! I never knew I could do this!" She laughs and turns to Liam, who hasn't said a word. "Liam?" she asks, letting out the last joyful laugh.