Slave to Sensation

“He’s taken another changeling girl.” Marshall ’s razor blade of a mind.

Buried so deep that she was no longer a person, Sascha recorded the conversation without processing it. Reaction was her enemy here.

“When?” Tatiana.

“Two and a half days ago. We did too good a job of telling our subordinates to bury any further cases-they didn’t think we’d be interested in keeping up to date.” Marshall ’s tone didn’t change. “I stumbled onto the information during a conversation with one of my guards.”

“This can’t be allowed to continue.” Nikita. “In spite of what some of you insist on thinking, the changelings aren’t without power. DarkRiver hasn’t forgotten their lost female-I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re already hunting. We’d better hope they don’t grow impatient and decide one of us will do in lieu.”

If Sascha had allowed herself to think, she might’ve been startled, having been unaware that Nikita had such a clear grasp of a truth most Psy ignored.

“What pack was it this time?” Enrique.

“The SnowDancers.” Marshall.

“It’s a wonder hundreds of us aren’t already dead.” Nikita. “Those wolves are vicious.”

“They’re only changelings.” Ming’s cool menace. “What can they do?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Nikita. “They know we have to get close to influence them-close enough to be vulnerable to their weaponry. The SnowDancers took out five Psy last year. The Net was never alerted that they were in any danger. They simply winked out of existence one after the other. Their bodies have never been found.”

“Why didn’t we make an example of them?” Henry.

“The Psy who got taken out were acting foolishly. They went alone into restricted territory open only to the wolves.” Marshall ’s cold darkness. “We don’t support fools.”

“There’s no mistake this killer is Psy?” Nikita.

“The NetMind has picked up traces of certain pathological traits within the patterns of a Psy mind. The traits peak during the week that he holds the women.” Marshall. “There’s been no success in tracking him.”

“Only a very powerful psychic could hide himself so well.” Nikita. “It has to be a cardinal or someone close to cardinal level, someone who has access to the highest levels of the PsyNet and can nudge the NetMind into looking the other way occasionally. Otherwise it would’ve picked up more than traces.”

“We can’t risk exposure.” Tatiana. “He must be contained before he gives himself away.”

“I agree. It’s the only way to uphold the integrity of the PsyNet.” Shoshanna. “What if he’s a high-level Psy who’s necessary to the functioning of the Net? We need to maintain the ratio of cardinal anchors. Too many of them have proven vulnerable to this particular side effect.”

“If required, we leash him and keep him satisfied. We bring him the women he needs, women who won’t be missed, women not from aggressive packs like DarkRiver or SnowDancer. And we ensure he’s never discovered.” Marshall. “As of now, we all devote a quarter of our minds to monitoring the NetMind-the second it picks up any hint of the applicable pathology, we track it back to him.”

Applicable pathology? Something, which had once had a separate consciousness as a cardinal named Sascha, worried over the strange word choice.

“How do you know he won’t choose to go underground until we give up?” Nikita. “If he’s that good at hiding his tracks, he’s going to be aware we’re keeping watch.”

“He hasn’t killed the newest girl yet. I don’t think he’ll be able to stop himself from doing so.” Marshall. “All our research on serial killing in the Psy populace supports the compulsion theory.”

“How many others are operating at present?” Nikita. “The last data I received said fifty.”

“Those are all the ones we’re aware of. None are as much of a concern as our unknown-they aren’t preying on high-visibility victims. Most are targeting other Psy, which makes our job considerably easier.”

“What’s being done about them?” Henry.

“They’re being set up to be sentenced to rehabilitation for unrelated reasons. The ones we can’t afford to lose are being provided for. Every one of them will be taken care of without alerting the PsyNet.”

“But there will always be more.”

“That is the nature of the Psy.”

The meeting concluded without further discussion. Henry made his way back through the door and the outer core, Shoshanna by his side. They didn’t speak until they were inside the walled rooms of their private vault.

“What do you think?” Henry asked.

“It’s a reasonable outcome. We can take care of this matter without anyone knowing.”

“The changelings are suspicious.”

“Suspicion is worthless without proof. Nobody has uncovered even a single Psy serial killer since the first generation of Silence. We know how to keep our secrets.” Shoshanna’s energy flared. “Where were you?”

“In the history archives.”

“Tagging?”

“Yes. You were right again-the indicators are present in several members of the extended family, but it’s the youngest boy who might become a cause for concern.”

“Let’s discuss it tonight.” She left without a backward look.