Honor partially turned her head to see all one hundred women similarly trapped by the knees on the metal floor. She tried to turn to see more, but her skin shredded. She hissed from the pain.
Kaisie was at her left. “If those knives come from every direction at the same time, we’ll be cut to ribbons.” She struggled uselessly in the knee hold. “Ducking won’t help.”
Honor partially bent at the waist, gagging. So much fear surrounded her, she couldn’t think. She could only feel, taking it all in.
It was too much.
Panic grabbed her as her lungs tried to expel the drugged gas that had been used on them. “We have to get out of here.”
The woman snorted. “Great plan. Those blades definitely will remove our heads. He needs this place filled with blood, and that’ll happen no matter what.”
“Wrong.” Honor turned her head, trying to see more of the women. Some were stoic, some agitated, and some openly weeping. The blades were all around them. Tears slid down her face. There was no way out of this.
Fear tasted like metal on her tongue. She didn’t want to die. Tears filled her eyes, and her body shook.
Sam’s face crossed her vision. The memory of his touch, of his fire, ran through her. They’d had so little time together.
She wanted more. It wasn’t fair. Where was he? What would Sam do?
He’d fight until the end. Without question. He’d also use every weapon at his disposal to do so. She pushed away the tears. She had to at least try to do the same.
Her head jerked back, and she ignored the pain in her knees. “Listen. We don’t have to die. You were all willing to fight physically with me until the cowards drugged us and brought us here. That shows that they’re afraid of us. Afraid of us as a group. We can use that.”
Kaisie whimpered. “We’re shackled to the floor.”
“So what? We’re here because we’re Enhanced, right?” Honor struggled to turn so she could see more of the women as her brain kicked in. There was more to strength than muscle. Every single woman in that tent had a gift. An Enhanced gift. As did the Fae and the witches. “That means something. One hundred of us are Enhanced. Everyone, really quickly. What are your abilities?” Her breath sped up.
“Empath,” one woman said with a sigh.
“Psychic and this doesn’t look good,” another groaned.
“I have no fucking clue,” came a third voice.
Honor turned to the witches and the Fae, who had also been moved to the tent. They were shackled to a small area that lacked knives. Her back started to protest the twisting. “Can you three really create a circle in another place?”
The first redhead nodded, her left eye bleeding. “Aye, but that doesn’t mean the ritual will be a success. We know nothing about the one that happened centuries ago. But…the general has done his research, and he was present for the first ritual, so who knows.”
Kaisie shook her head. “We’ve already tried to escape by using our talents instead of physical strength. Empaths, psychics, and even those with telekinetic powers. We’ve tried to free ourselves of this place, and we’ve been beaten down each time.”
“But I wasn’t here,” Honor said, her mind spinning. Oh, this might blow up her entire brain, but if it did, who cared? She was going to die anyway. “I can weave us all together. If we combine our mental talents the same way we were willing to combine our physical strength, we have a chance. Please. Let me try.” She shut her eyes and lowered her chin, reaching out to every mind she could touch. A murmur sounded in the crowd.
Several snapped their minds shut and threw her out, piercing her temples like blades.
She opened her eyes. “Knock it off. Everyone open wide. I have an idea, and I think it might work. We’re going to die anyway, so why not try?” She was probably going to die even if this did work. While she didn’t understand how the brain or her gift really worked, attempting to reach so many people at once would have a cost. A big one. “Everyone let me in, and we’ll coordinate. Time is running short. Please. Trust me. Don’t let these assholes win.”
“I’m in,” the Fae said as the two witches nodded. “Everyone open your minds. We really have nothing to lose at this point.” She sounded both exhausted and angry, but at least she was willing to help.
The tent flap opened, and General Jaydon strode inside, a whip in his hand.
Honor growled. “What? Drugging us wasn’t enough? The shackles and beatings aren’t enough? You need a whip? You’re a coward.”
He let the whip fly, and it landed hard across her cheekbone. She cried out as her skin was flayed open. Then he stalked over to the witches. “I am ready.” He wore a purple robe and nothing else. Honor could see symbols etched into his skin. “Now. Start the ritual.”
The two witches lowered their heads and started chanting. The Fae lady looked straight ahead but didn’t seem to be seeing anything. She also wasn’t doing anything, or was she? She glanced at Honor, slowly winked, and then resumed looking blank.
Power brushed against Honor’s brain. Tears streamed down her face, burning in the fresh cut.
The world tilted around them. The walls morphed, and heat flashed through the tent. Fire from another place. She sucked in air and reached out to the minds around her. Seeking desperately and hoping nobody threw her out.
Most were wide open, and she glided among them, feeling each tick of terror. She had to push that away to find the gifts, and she tried to be as gentle as possible, but time was short. Her own fear slowed her down, and she had to banish it as well.
The blades clanked loudly. Something hitched. Soon they would fly.
She tried to group similar gifts together. She found the empaths and tried to knit their powers together, having them reach out and send calmness to the others. The psychics were next, holding a hint of heat in their brains. She tied them together mentally, and the air around them became electrified. Sparks jumped.
Once she had them all working as one, she latched onto the telekinetics and forced their powers toward the blades. One knife dropped out of the metal to the ground. “Keep trying,” she yelled, the minor success lifting the spirits in the room. She could feel their hope as well as their fear. She could see it in the tapestries of their brains as she knitted them all together. “Empaths, more hope. Please.” Brightness steadied the group.
“Shut up,” the general bellowed, climbing up to a raised platform she hadn’t noticed. A yawning portal opened above him, swirling a rough purple color. He held up his hands and started to chant. Fire rained down, caressing him, not burning his flesh.
Honor shut her eyes and sought the other skills, the ones she couldn’t decipher easily, directing their thoughts toward the worlds beyond this one, trying to close the portal.