Second Self

Chapter 17

"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." Zen Proverb

"I knew you'd come," Denovo said. My skin crawled at the sound of his voice. He leaned against the padded wall on the far side of his cell, watching me with an apparent air of indifference.

I snarled, "Of course you knew. You know everything, right?"

"I should put you on salary. That's how well you've carried out my plans," Denovo said.

"I wouldn't be so smug. You're the one in the cell," I said.

"Ah, yes, but you're in here too. I might add, you're in here without my brother standing guard." I couldn't help but glance at the door. Denovo caught the motion and grinned slyly.

"How long do you think it will take your followers to figure out they don't need you?" I said, following the script I'd created in my mind. It turned out to be harder to stick to my plan than I'd anticipated. It was easy in theory to tell myself to stay in charge of the conversation. The execution proved more difficult, standing face to face with Denovo.

"Do you ever wonder what's happening with the rest of your family? You know, the ones still...." Denovo paused for an excruciatingly long moment before finishing, "On Earth."

It was apparent he meant for me to fill in the blank with alive. I refused to let him pull me away from my purpose.

"Your rebellion won't last without you at the helm, and Gemini isn't about to set you free," I said, knowing Denovo thought he was the only person smart enough to lead the Severants.

"Whether or not Gemini sets me free, the Penitents will fall. There's nothing he can do to stop it. I should be thanking you, Rory," Denovo said.

"Go to hell!" I snapped, instantly regretting my loss of temper. The plan was to stay in charge. Flashes of emotion only showed weakness.

"Hell isn't part of our beliefs, although you make an interesting point. I can certainly relate to the concept of Hell since it's where my people have been living since the moment the gates between our worlds closed."

Something resembling sincerity had crept into Denovo's tone, stirring up an unexpected sense of sympathy I needed to quash.

"What if the people you left in charge fail? Don't you think the Penitents will put up a resistance? Your minions won't be smart enough to stop them. Either way, I think you're full of shit. You used the court proceedings to put out the accusation that I brought myself here. If that's true, what exactly have you done that shows real power? You say I can open rifts between worlds without even knowing I'm doing it, while all you can do is terrorize teenagers. You're a joke."

Denovo glared hotly for a moment before resuming his amused demeanour, but I couldn't help noticing his clenched fists. He reminded me of internet trolls who confused dispassion for objectivity. Lack of emotion when making an argument didn't automatically give you the win, just like adding LOL to the end of everything you wrote didn't make the other person wrong due to histrionics. The insight gave me another tool to use against Denovo.

I flashed a smile at Denovo, taking note of the corresponding twitch of his eye. "Never have I set eyes upon anyone more gullible than you. None of it was true," he said.

"That's interesting. So I'm not responsible for your cure?" Denovo shifted his gaze so that it landed on my shoulder, the same thing that had gotten me accused of lying so many times. I couldn't help wondering if people like him were to blame for that.

"Everything I told you was part of a plan to confuse your testimony. Nothing more," Denovo said.

"Huh. Do you want to know what I think?" I said. Denovo avoided my eyes, making me think people being uncomfortable when someone wouldn't look them in the eyes came from situations like these.