“I’m here to gather information,” Warner says coldly. “James is one of the only people who might be able to tell us where my father is located.”
My compassion quickly turns to dust.
Catches fire.
Turns to rage.
“You’re here to interrogate him?” I say, nearly shouting. “Are you insane? The kid has only barely recovered from unbelievable trauma, and you’re here trying to mine him for information? He was probably tortured. He’s a freaking child. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Warner is unmoved by my theatrics. “He was not tortured.”
That stops me cold.
I turn to James. “You weren’t?”
James shakes his head. “Not exactly.”
“Huh.” I frown. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I’m thrilled—but if he didn’t torture you, what did Anderson do with you?”
James shrugs. “He mostly left me in solitary confinement. They didn’t beat me,” he says, rubbing absently at his ribs, “but the guards were pretty rough. And they didn’t feed me much.” He shrugs again. “But honestly, the worst part was not seeing Adam.”
I pull James into my arms again, hold him tight. “I’m so sorry,” I say gently. “That sounds horrible. And they wouldn’t let you see Adam at all? Not even once?” I pull back. Look him in the eye. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m sure he’s okay, little man. We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”
Warner makes a sound. A sound that seems almost like a laugh.
I spin around angrily. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I say. “This isn’t funny.”
“Isn’t it? I find the situation hilarious.”
I’m about to say something to Warner I really shouldn’t say in front of a ten-year-old, but when I glance back at James, I pull up short. James is rapidly shaking his head at me, his bottom lip trembling. He looks like he’s about to cry again.
I turn back to Warner. “Okay, what is going on?”
Warner almost smiles when he says, “They weren’t kidnapped.”
My eyebrows fly up my forehead. “Say what now?”
“They weren’t kidnapped.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.”
“This is not the time, bro. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Kent tracked down Anderson on his own,” Warner says, his gaze shifting to James. “He offered his allegiance in exchange for protection.”
My entire body goes slack. I nearly fall off the bed.
Warner goes on: “Kent wasn’t lying when he said he would try for amnesty. But he left out the part about being a traitor.”
“No. No way. No fucking way.”
“There was never an abduction,” Warner says. “No kidnapping. Kent bartered himself in exchange for James’s protection.”
This time, I actually fall off the bed. “Barter himself— how?” I manage to drag myself up off the floor, stumbling to my feet. “What does Adam even have to barter with? Anderson already knows all our secrets.”
It’s James who says quietly, “He gave them his power.”
I stare at the kid, blinking like an idiot.
“I don’t understand,” I say. “How can you give someone your power? You can’t just give someone your power. Right? It’s not like a pair of pants you can just take off and hand over.”
“No,” Warner says. “But it’s something The Reestablishment knows how to harvest. How else do you think my father took Sonya’s and Sara’s healing powers?”
“Adam told them what he can d-do,” James says, his voice breaking. “He told them that he can use his power to turn other people’s powers off. He thought it m-might be useful to them.”
“Imagine the possibilities,” Warner says, affecting awe. “Imagine how they might weaponize a power like that for global use—how they could make such a thing so powerful they could effectively shut down every single rebel group in the world. Reduce their Unnatural opposition to zero.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
I think I’m going to pass out. I actually feel faint. Dizzy. Like I can’t breathe. Like this is impossible. “No way,” I’m saying. I’m practically breathing the words. “No way. Not possible.”
“I once said that Kent’s ability was useless,” Warner says quietly. “But I see now that I was a fool.”