Page 103 of Victorious

“No,” said the therapist, shaking his head. “I simply find your candor refreshing.” Gabriel slipped his hands in his pockets. “You believe that EOs are unnatural. An affront. And a danger to the mortal world.” He strolled along the glass partition. “On the last part, I agree. EOs are supremely dangerous. Which is why they must be studied, understood.”

Eli crossed his arms. “You know, Haverty said the same thing, when he was slicing me open on his table. When he was cracking my ribs. Cutting out my heart. So forgive me if I’m unconvinced.”

Gabriel’s expression sobered. “I’m not Dr. Haverty. And I don’t need to hurt you.” The smile flickered back. “You see, restoring life is only part of my ability.”

He touched a panel, and the wall between them split with a hydraulic hiss, revealing a gap as wide as a door.

One that Gabriel now passed straight through.

Into the cell. With Eli.

“That was a mistake,” said Eli.

Gabriel shrugged. “You won’t hurt me.”

It was strange, the way he said the words. Eli couldn’t tell if they were an order, or a hope. Either way, he didn’t care. “If you’ve read my files, then you know that’s not true.”

Eli started forward, closing the distance between his hands and Gabriel’s neck. Halfway to the therapist, the man drew a gun. Which would have been a futile gesture, but instead of pointing it at Eli, he said only, “Let me show you,” as he set the weapon on the nearby table. And backed up. Giving Eli a clear shot at the gun. And at him.

In a single stride, Eli was there, his fingers about to close around the grip when Gabriel said, “Stop.”

And Eli did.

He didn’t mean to. Didn’t want to. But his limbs suddenly locked up, his body no longer listening. At least, not to him.

A sick feeling rolled through him.

He’d felt this kind of force before. In Serena’s company. Trapped beneath her word. Her will. But he had practice. Knew that if he could just find a corner of his mind to shelter in, then he could claw back the control. The doctor’s weapon was right there. All he had to do was move his hand and—

“Leave the gun,” said Gabriel.

The command rolled over Eli, and his hand fell back to his side. The tension left his limbs, and for a terrible instant, so did the desire. His mind went blank. Then it was back, Eli’s anger redoubling as Gabriel strolled idly up to the table and reclaimed the gun.

“Your desire to resist is natural,” observed the therapist. “Admirable, even. But you should know, Eli, it’s also temporary. You will succumb, eventually. In the meantime, you can exhaust yourself trying to fight back, or you can accept that I’m in control.”

Eli smiled darkly, fingers twitching in defiance. Gabriel Gray was certainly powerful. But every EO he had ever come across had strengths, and weaknesses, and limits. It was just a matter of finding them.

“I’ve buried dozens of EOs, Dr. Gray,” he said, “And I will find a way to bury you.”

Gabriel lifted his chin, glasses sparking in the light. For a moment, tension flashed across his face. There, and then gone, replaced by that unflappable calm.

“I’m not your enemy, Eli,” he said. “You’ll see that soon enough. In the meantime, it would be better for us both if you accept that you can’t hurt me.” This time, there was force behind the words. Eli felt the order cinch around him. “I would prefer to have your consent. But I will have your cooperation either way.” He turned toward the break in the partition. “I’m sure all this must feel very overwhelming. I’ll leave you to get acclimated. We’ll talk more soon. In the meantime, stay in your room.”

Eli watched him leave, expecting the wall to seal again behind him, but it didn’t. The wall turned from glass to green again, but the opening remained, door shaped, inviting. EON, and the world beyond it, waiting on the other side.

And yet, to Eli’s horror, when he approached the gap, he found he could not cross it. His body stopped abruptly, just before the threshold. He tried to force it forward. To no avail.

Stop fighting, Gabriel’s voice echoed in his head, and he felt the weight of it, like hands on his shoulders, pushing down. But Eli pushed back.

His hands clenched into fists. His hands, which had betrayed him in the doctor’s presence. Worse, ignored him. As if his body were a wooden toy, and only Gabriel controlled the strings.

But Eli Ever was not a fucking puppet.

He had broken Serena’s hold. Found the weaknesses, the shadows, the spots she failed to reach. He would find the cracks in Gabriel’s as well.

Eli reared back, and slammed his fist into the wall as hard as he could. Pain sprang up to meet the blow as the bones inside his hand broke, knuckles splitting from the force.

The pain was brief but clarifying. A reminder that his body was still his. He wiped the blood from his knuckles, the skin already healed.